Catholic News

http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=8838&view=post&articleid=280898&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0

Rome Newsroom, Dec 5, 2024 / 17:35 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis will create 21 new cardinals at a consistory this Saturday, including Archbishop Domenico Battaglia of Naples, Italy, who said he sees the appointment not as a personal honor but as "a call to dream together of a Church that gets its hands dirty, that is not afraid of the peripheries and that allows itself to be guided by the transforming power of the Gospel."

In an interview with ACI Stampa, CNA's Italian-language news partner, Battaglia described his initial reaction to the news as "a deep inner silence, inhabited by awe but also by fear."

"At that moment I felt all the weight and grace of a call that I had neither sought nor imagined," said the 62-year-old archbishop, who is known in his diocese simply as "Don Mimmo."

Appointed as archbishop of Naples in late 2020, Battaglia spent more than 20 years leading a center for drug rehabilitation in Catanzaro.

Speaking about what it means to become a cardinal in Naples today, Battaglia emphasized that "this is the meaning of the purple: service, not honor."

"Becoming a cardinal in this time and in this city means embracing the cross of the weakest, making room for their dreams and struggles, sharing the hope of those who, despite a thousand difficulties, continue to believe in a different future," he told ACI Stampa. "Naples when it loves, loves totally, and I believe that in this, my people, can help me in this totality of giving."

Battaglia drew inspiration from Bishop Tonino Bello, a venerated Italian prelate known for his work with the poor, quoting his saying: "We do not have the right to sit on the side of the road and watch those who pass by; we must take up the path again with the Gospel in our hands and poverty in our hearts."

The archbishop acknowledged that the challenges facing Naples are complex. "Naples is a city that changes you before you can even imagine changing it," he said. "In these years I have seen the beating heart of this land emerge powerfully: the generosity of people, the creativity that flourishes even in the midst of decay, the deep faith of those who rely on God with all their fragility."

However, he also pointed to ongoing struggles, particularly among young people. "I have also seen the pain that does not cease, the loneliness of so many, the young people struggling to find prospects, the bonds broken by malfeasance, and especially the difficulty of children living in a real educational emergency."

To address these challenges, Battaglia has initiated an Educational Pact in Naples, bringing together various stakeholders involved in education and youth work. "Naples cannot be changed from above: We need to walk together, listen, get alongside people, build networks of hope," he explained.

Looking toward his new role as cardinal, Battaglia said he sees it as "an invitation to go even deeper" rather than a culmination. "I will try to continue my journey together with my Church, starting again always and every day from the streets, the alleys, the faces that meet my life every day," he said.

He emphasized that as a cardinal, he feels "even stronger the call to widen my heart to the entire universal Church, collaborating with Pope Francis and my brother bishops, to proclaim the Gospel and continue to give voice to the least, to denounce injustice, to build alliances for the common good."

Battaglia, who participated in the recent Synod on Synodality, also reflected on the connection between synodality and hope, particularly in light of the upcoming Jubilee Year of Hope declared by Pope Francis.

"Synodality is walking together, while hope is the force that pushes us to take steps," he said. 

"The pope invites us to be a Church not closed in on itself but open to dialogue, to listening to each other, to building common paths. This is not only a method but a way of life, a conversion of the heart."

The consistory for the creation of new cardinals will take place on Saturday, Dec. 7, at St. Peter's Basilica.

This story was originally published by ACI Stampa, CNA's Italian-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Full Article

http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=8838&view=post&articleid=280893&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0

Puebla, Mexico, Dec 5, 2024 / 11:00 am (CNA).

Over the past six years, the legalization of abortion has accelerated rapidly in Mexico, with 19 of the country's 32 states taking steps to decriminalize the deadly procedure.

What's behind this trend? ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, asked several pro-life leaders in Mexico to weigh in.

Political factors 

Luis Antonio Hernández is responsible for the Mexican platform Voto Católico, which analyzes the positions of Mexican politicians as they relate to the values ??of the Church.

In dialogue with ACI Prensa, Hernández pointed out that the increasing decriminalization of abortion throughout the country "could not be explained without the role played by the majorities achieved and built by MORENA," the National Regeneration Movement, founded in 2011 by former president Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador.

This role, according to Hernández, was carried out hand in hand with his political allies during the country's most recent election cycles: the Labor Party (PT) and the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM).

In 2007, Mexico City — previously the Federal District or D.F. — was the first entity to decriminalize abortion up to 12 weeks. This happened while Marcelo Ebrard, who at that time was part of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), was head of government, the party López Obrador also belonged to at the time. 

In October 2011, López Obrador left the PRD and formalized the creation of MORENA. When he won the 2018 elections, Ebrard joined his government as minister of foreign affairs.

A major push for the decriminalization of abortion got underway during López Obrador's six-year term in power, between December 2018 and October of this year. MORENA, which in the 2018 elections obtained a large majority in the congresses of several states, took advantage of its power political effort to promote legislation in favor of abortion, getting 12 state congresses to approve regulations favorable to the practice.

Since Oct. 1 of this year, following the inauguration of the country's new president, Claudia Sheinbaum — also from the MORENA party — and thanks to the majority her party holds in additional state congresses, the states of Jalisco, Michoacán, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, State of Mexico, and Chiapas have all decriminalized abortion up to 12 weeks.

While during López Obrador's six-year term abortion was decriminalized in an average of two states per year, under Sheinbaum, in just 59 days, six states have done so.

Another important point highlighted by Hernández is the arrival of a woman to the country's presidency. This is a factor that, he said, "has been the touchstone to promote this agenda that seeks to achieve supposed benefits and false rights for women." 

As Hernández sees it, the ideological training of a large number of MORENA's legislative and political officials has also played a crucial role, as they appear to be "fully convinced of this ideological current."

Marcial Padilla, director of the pro-life platform ConParticipación, agreed that abortion is being decriminalized in Mexico "by a political will that is telling local congresses to carry out these actions." 

This, he told ACI Prensa, "is noticeable in the dirty, accelerated way in which these processes are being carried out, including sometimes even hiding it from society or voting in secret as happened in Jalisco." 

During an evening session on Oct. 4 of this year, the Congress of Jalisco took up and voted on modifications to the state penal code. With 20 votes in favor, 16 against, and one abstention, abortion was decriminalized up to 12 weeks. However, the voting was done in an anonymous manner, so it is not public knowledge who the legislators who approved the initiative are. 

"It is a political decision far removed from society," Padilla said, warning that "as long as we have a government that thinks about pushing women to consider abortion as an option instead of addressing their real needs, we are only going to see a spiral of violence and a spiral of death."

Breakdown of the family 

Padilla also said that one of the factors that has facilitated the decriminalization of abortion in the country is an "accelerated decomposition of nuclear families." 

The "instability of family units means that women increasingly find themselves in a vulnerable situation in which situations may arise where they become afraid, feel alone, and come to think about abortion," he said.

Paulina Mendieta, spokesperson for the Women for Mexico collective and other initiatives to help vulnerable women, warned that "abortion is a million-dollar industry." She noted that there are international aid organizations that offer money to local institutions "and they tell you that there is a condition [to give it to you] and the condition is often the promotion of abortion."

Mendieta also pointed out the "lack of creativity to solve the real problems of our country. So, because of this mental laziness, they prefer to say: 'Abortion [is] an option. Because we do not have the possibility of really resolving what women are experiencing.'"

In this sense, she called on platforms that defend women and are in favor of abortion to realize that legislators, by approving these measures, "are not solving women's problems; on the contrary, they get her more into trouble. "They should be the first to call abortion a false solution."

She pointed out that a woman who suffers domestic violence "is going to commit an abortion and lose the life of her child, but she is going to return home and continue being violated."

"Abortion is not solving women's real problems," she reiterated.

The 'spiral of silence'

One of the reasons why abortion is becoming normalized, according to Mendieta, is the so-called "spiral of silence." She observed that in popular consultation exercises carried out by the National Front for the Family in the State of Mexico and Mexico City, "the vast majority [of the people] are against abortion."

However, she explained that "for the media and social networks in general, it is better to say that you are in favor of abortion. So, the moment someone says 'This is not right,' they are crossed out, they are punished."

In 2023, the French multinational market research and consulting company Ipsos conducted a survey on abortion in Mexico. 

The results found that 26% of respondents believed abortion should be legal in most cases, while 23% believed it should be illegal in most cases. Another 19% believed it should be legal in all cases, while 16% maintained that it should be illegal in all cases. Sixteen percent of the respondents did not express a defined position.

Those who defend life, Mendieta lamented, are accused of being "ignorant, that we do not know the reality of women, that we are losers, that we are wasting our time, that we are not in favor of women." 

With these accusations, according to the pro-life leader, "they silence you, they punish you socially for saying that you are against abortion."

A spiritual battle 

María Lourdes Varela, director of the 40 Days for Life prayer campaign for Latin America, assured ACI Prensa that "behind every abortion is the devil." 

Varela said that in today's society there is the widespread idea that a baby represents a "great threat to the dream, to the profession, to the future of the girl, and turns into the enemy of his or her own mother," and that is "what the devil wants: to separate any act of love and life from God." 

"The devil rejoices in the murder of babies in the womb," the pro-life leader said.

She explained that, although the outlook seems bleak and at times it feels like "a lost war," in their days of prayer outside abortion clinics they find the opposite, because it is then "when we see conversions, when we see lives saved, even if it is only one. They are like caresses from God telling us: 'Keep going, keep fighting.'"

"In the face of the pain of seeing so many lives lost, so many laws and so many people defending things that are aberrations," Varela invited the faithful to "continue seeing Christ triumphant. So I encourage you to persevere in faith. How? Well, through the sacraments."

Why so much interest in abortion? 

In a Dec. 1 editorial, the Archdiocese of Mexico expressed its concern about the "number of states that have addressed the issue in a synchronized manner, and with unprecedented speed." 

The text, published in the weekly Desde la Fe, denounced that those who promote abortion "maintain the same narratives of supposed benefits for women and supposed rights" and criticized the fact that "arguments against it are not taken into account, even though they are well-founded in science and law."

In addition, the editorial warned that the "misnamed 'right to decide' is really a slogan that disguises the intention to force pregnant women in a state of vulnerability to abortion."

The archdiocese also recalled that "each of us loses some humanity when one of our brothers is discarded, murdered, whether in his development in the womb or as an adult" and stressed that "no economic benefit, no ideological benefit, compensates the loss of human beings at the hands of others."

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

Full Article

http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=8838&view=post&articleid=280883&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0

Vatican City, Dec 4, 2024 / 13:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis was handed the key to a new Mercedes-Benz "popemobile" on Wednesday by the CEO of the German luxury car brand.

Ola Källenius, the CEO of Mercedes-Benz, presented the pope with a white and chrome key fob inside a white box after showing off the new open-air vehicle in a parking lot inside Vatican City on Dec. 4.

The modified G-Wagon features a rotating heated seat and a heated hand rail to keep the pope warm while greeting pilgrims during winter rides around St. Peter's Square.

The fully electric, white SUV is emblazoned with Francis' coat of arms, has black detailing, and has chrome rims. Two small Holy See flags wave from the front hood.

The license plate of the papal ride is "SCV 1," which is the Italian acronym for Vatican City State.

Mercedes-Benz has provided vehicles for the Vatican for 94 years. During the last 45 years, the pope has used "popemobiles" based on the Mercedes-Benz G-Class. 

"With the new popemobile, Pope Francis is the first pontiff to travel in an all-electric Mercedes-Benz during his public appearances. This is a great honor for our company and I would like to thank His Holiness for his trust," Källenius said in a Dec. 4 press release.

Pope Francis has been using full or partially electric cars for several years. In 2023, the Vatican also announced a partnership with auto manufacturer Volkswagen to introduce an all-electric, zero-impact car fleet in the Vatican by 2030.

Full Article

http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=8838&view=post&articleid=280882&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0

CNA Staff, Dec 4, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

A priest in New Orleans pleaded guilty this week to kidnapping and raping a teenage boy in the 1970s, heading off a long-delayed trial that launched with an indictment last year. 

In September of last year, 93-year-old Father Lawrence Hecker was indicted on charges of aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, an aggravated crime against nature, and theft. 

The sex abuse crimes are alleged to have occurred between Jan. 1, 1975, and Dec. 31, 1976, according to the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office. 

His trial was repeatedly delayed this year amid Hecker's ill health and uncertainty over his mental competency to stand trial. Orleans Parish First Assistant District Attorney Ned McGowan had promised to "roll him in on a gurney" to try him.

On Tuesday, meanwhile, the priest filed a guilty plea with the court, with his lawyer saying the priest "decid[ed] that he wanted to take responsibility for the crimes that he committed."

"I think it was just a matter of, we were on the finish line, this was the day before the trial, I think he came to the realization of what that was going to look like, and he made the decision to enter the guilty plea," Hecker's attorney, Bobby Hjortsberg, said outside of Orleans Criminal Court on Tuesday. 

Asked why the trial had been delayed for so long, Hjortsberg told reporters that Hecker is "an old, old man" who is "deteriorating." 

The trial "has been a long, difficult process for everybody involved, especially obviously the victims," Hjortsberg noted. 

Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams told reporters that when Hecker returns for sentencing, "the judge is going to sentence him to a life sentence."

"I believe this investigation and this prosecution represents a critical moment for some little boys who are now men — some of them who are now grandfathers — who have lived with this horrific abuse for years," Williams said. 

The Archdiocese of New Orleans lists Hecker as among the priests who "are alive and have been accused of sexually abusing a minor, which led to their removal from ministry."

The archdiocesan website says it received allegations against Hecker in 1996 and removed him from ministry in 2002. The archdiocese says the "time frame" of Hecker's abuse spans the late 1960s and the early 1970s. The priest had in 1999 reportedly confessed to abusing multiple teenage boys during those years.

In a statement on Wednesday, the archdiocese said: "It is our hope and prayer that the court proceedings bring healing and peace to the survivor and all survivors of sexual abuse." 

"We continue to hold all survivors in prayer," the statement added. 

Full Article

http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=8838&view=post&articleid=280881&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0

London, England, Dec 4, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

The case for assisted dying rests on dangerous misconceptions about the reality of death and dying, according to leading palliative care doctors across England and Wales.

Following a Westminster debate on Nov. 29 in which members of England's Parliament (MPs) voted in favor of legalizing assisted suicide, 15 palliative care specialists voiced their concerns in a letter to The Times, published Dec. 3.

Reflecting on the historic vote, the signatories wrote that "anyone watching the debate would have been forgiven for thinking that most deaths involve great suffering."  

"While we do not deny 'bad deaths' can happen, most reflect failure of care," the doctors wrote. "As the bill progresses through Parliament we must ensure that this is accompanied by progress in understanding 'ordinary dying.'"

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was initiated by MP Kim Leadbeater and allows terminally-ill adults aged 18 or over the right to request medically assisted suicide.

The bill passed its Second Reading last Friday, with 330 MPs voting in favor of it and 275 against it.

The Association of Palliative Medicine in the U.K. is opposed to changing the law on assisted suicide in England and Wales.

In their letter to the Times, the palliative medical experts highlighted a number of other misconceptions underpinning the debate before the vote, including the idea that people regularly resort to starving themselves to death and that covert euthanasia is already happening across England and Wales.

"Several MPs suggested that many people resort to starving themselves to death, which we believe misunderstands the expected reduction in oral intake in dying people as the body shuts down," the doctors wrote. 

"Other misconceptions concerned the use of morphine to treat pain and suffering at the end of life, with the conflicting suggestions that there is both a limit to the amount of morphine that can be safely used and that high doses of morphine are already used as 'covert' assisted dying," they said.

Pro-life campaigners are now redoubling their strategic efforts to ensure the bill falls at the next hurdle.

A statement released by Right to Life UK on Nov. 29 read: "A large number of MPs who voted for the bill indicated that they were only doing so with a view to debating the bill at further stages. As the vote margin was 55 votes, it would only take 28 MPs to move their vote to opposing the bill for it to be voted down at Third Reading. This provides a clear path for those opposing the bill to defeat it at Third Reading."

Full Article

http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=8838&view=post&articleid=280872&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0

Lima Newsroom, Dec 4, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The bishops of Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala are inviting the faithful to participate in a day of prayer for the Catholic Church in Nicaragua on Sunday, Dec. 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

"On ??the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, Nicaraguan Catholics lift their voices in a great festival of praise known as 'la gritería,'" the bishops of Central America said in a Nov. 29 statement. On this occasion, they pointed out, "in Nicaragua and throughout Central America, the traditional Marian devotion is expressed that is so deeply rooted in the piety of our people."

The "gritería" (clamor) is celebrated on Dec. 7 in Nicaragua on the eve of the feast of the Immaculate Conception, when the faithful walk the streets and visit altars erected in honor of the Virgin Mary praying, singing, and lighting fireworks while shouting "Who causes so much joy?" and responding with "The conception of Mary!"

In their statement, the bishops expressed their "profound solidarity and communion with the people of God in Nicaragua, who often face a challenging reality."

In their text, the prelates encouraged Catholics in each jurisdiction or parish to "join in prayer this cry of faith and hope, peace and freedom, which the faithful people direct to their mother and patroness. Our thoughts are with you, Nicaraguan brothers and sisters. We fraternally join your outcry, which respectfully hopes to find an answer."

The bishops' announcement came just prior to the Dec. 2 letter Pope Francis wrote to the Catholics of Nicaragua in which he encouraged them to be certain that faith and hope "work miracles."

Relentless persecution

The persecution of the Catholic Church by the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and "co-president," Rosario Murillo, seems to have no end.

A few days ago, the regime approved a reform of the country's constitution that further restricts religious freedom and freedom of expression in the country, which are already quite limited. Among the most controversial measures is a provision that requires that "religious organizations must remain free of all foreign control."

In mid-November, the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship expelled from the country the bishop of Jinotega and president of the country's bishops' conference, Carlos Enrique Herrera Gutiérrez, who had criticized a mayor, an Ortega supporter, who interfered with Mass by blasting loud music in front of the diocesan cathedral.

Herrera Gutiérrez and other bishops, priests, and religious have been subject to constant monitoring, persecution, and abduction as well as imprisonment in deplorable conditions.

Numerous members of the clergy have been deported from the country, stripped of their Nicaraguan citizenship and made stateless, as is the case of the bishop of Matagalpa, Rolando Álvarez, who was exiled to Rome in January along with Isidoro Mora, the bishop of Siuna; 15 priests; and two seminarians.

Under the socialist regime, Catholics have been silenced and public expressions of faith, such as prayers for the persecuted and other pastoral and spiritual activities, have been prohibited.

Between 2018 and 2024, 870 attacks against the Catholic Church were recorded in Nicaragua, as documented in the report "Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church?" by exiled lawyer and researcher Martha Patricia Molina.

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

Full Article

http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=8838&view=post&articleid=280866&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0

Lima Newsroom, Dec 3, 2024 / 16:05 pm (CNA).

Catholics exiled from Nicaragua are expressing their gratitude for the recent letter of encouragement Pope Francis sent to the persecuted Church in the Central American country.  

"In the midst of this wave of repression and religious persecution unprecedented in our history, his words of encouragement are a balm for our spirit and a reminder of the transforming power of faith and hope," said Félix Maradiaga in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner.

Maradiaga, a former presidential candidate and former political prisoner, added that "the Holy Father's closeness to us as a pastor reaffirms our trust in divine providence, even when we face trials and challenges that seem insurmountable."

For Martha Patricia Molina, a researcher whose reports have documented hundreds of attacks by the Nicaraguan dictatorship against the Catholic Church in the country in recent years, Pope Francis' letter shows that "he follows up and pays attention to the serious situation facing Nicaragua."

"At this time, anything written by the Nicaraguan Bishops' Conference would be a reason for the Sandinista dictatorship to continue deporting bishops, and Pope Francis knows that," Molina said. "I feel that's why he sent us this beautiful message."

"Our people are Marian, and during these days we are praying the novena to the Immaculate Conception. Receiving this pastoral letter from Pope Francis during this special time is a gift from God," she added.

Industrial mechanic Pedro Gutiérrez, who was deported to Guatemala in September, told the Spanish-language edition of EWTN News that Nicaraguans and many other people in the world as well would like Pope Francis to take a tougher approach to the dictatorship, given the crimes that have been committed against the country's Catholics.

After comparing Pope Francis to St. John Paul II, who "confronted dictators, great tyrants," Gutiérrez called on the pontiff "not to remain silent about the injustices that these criminals are committing against the Catholic Church itself."

"We would like a Pope Francis who defends the Catholic Church, who stands up for the Catholic Church," he emphasized.

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

Full Article

http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=8838&view=post&articleid=280865&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0

CNA Staff, Dec 3, 2024 / 16:35 pm (CNA).

Bishop Michael Olson of the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, announced on Monday that the Vatican had issued a decree of suppression to forcibly close the Carmelite Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Arlington, Texas. 

For nearly 19 months, a dispute between the bishop of Fort Worth and seven women who are members of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Arlington, Texas, a Latin Mass religious community, has played out in court papers and public statements. 

Olson said the de facto head of the monastery, Reverend Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach, had admitted to engaging in illicit sexual activity with a priest and that he therefore removed her as prioress, in accord with his proper authority. Gerlach has denied the accusations and has claimed that the bishop has overstepped his rightful authority because he wants to acquire the monastery's land. The bishop denies that claim.

The following timeline is based on court documents; news stories; public statements on the website of the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas; and public statements on the website of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Arlington. 

1958: Discalced Carmelite nuns take up residence in Fort Worth, Texas. 

1984: Discalced Carmelite nuns move to a new monastery (Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity) on a 72-acre wooded property in Arlington, Texas. 

2013: Bishop Michael Olson becomes bishop of the Diocese of Fort Worth.

August 2020: Discalced Carmelite nuns ask permission from the Vatican to join a new association of Carmelites (known as the Discalced Carmelite Association of Christ the King), thus moving from the jurisdiction of a Discalced Carmelites provincial to the bishop of Fort Worth; in October 2020 the Vatican's Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life grants the request.

April 24, 2023: Olson visits the Discalced Carmelite monastery in Arlington, Texas, saying he had gotten a report that the prioress, Reverend Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach, had "committed sins against the Sixth Commandment and violated her vow of chastity with a priest from outside the Diocese of Fort Worth"; the bishop takes Gerlach's computer, iPad, and cellphone, according to subsequent court papers.

May 3, 2023: Gerlach and another nun, Sister Francis Therese, file a state lawsuit in Tarrant County district court in Fort Worth against Olson and the Diocese of Fort Worth, claiming the bishop has abused his power and overstepped his authority and calling his charges of misconduct against Gerlach "patently false and defamatory." 

May 16, 2023: Olson issues a statement saying that on April 24, 2023, he began a Church investigation of Gerlach after he received a report of misconduct by Gerlach; his statement notes that the Carmelite nuns filed a civil lawsuit against him. 

May 31, 2023: Olson announces that the Vatican has issued a decree appointing him "pontifical commissary" of the Carmelite monastery in Arlington, meaning he is what he calls "the pope's representative in this matter." 

June 1, 2023: Olson issues a statement saying he has dismissed Gerlach from the Order of Discalced Carmelites, saying he has found her "guilty of having violated the Sixth Commandment of the Decalogue and her vow of chastity"; Gerlach appeals to Rome.

June 14, 2023: Diocese of Fort Worth releases photos that diocesan officials say show marijuana edibles and marijuana paraphernalia at the monastery; the diocese says the photos came from a confidential informant. A lawyer for the nuns suggests the drugs in the photos were staged by the diocese.

June 27, 2023: A lawyer for the Diocese of Fort Worth plays in open court a recording of a conversation between Olson and Gerlach in which Gerlach admits to having had inappropriate telephone contact with a priest, at one point saying: "I made a horrible, horrible mistake," according to The Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Gerlach has before and since the court proceeding denied allegations of misconduct — a lawyer for Gerlach says she has serious physical ailments and was suffering from the effects of medications designed to control seizures when she spoke with the bishop that day and that she underwent surgery the day after the interview.

June 30, 2023: A judge dismisses the nuns' lawsuit, saying the court lacks jurisdiction.

Aug. 18, 2023: Gerlach announces that the Carmelite Monastery of Arlington is no longer under the authority of Olson and forbids him from coming onto the property.

Aug. 19, 2023: Olson issues a statement saying that Gerlach may have incurred "latae sententiae excommunication" — which canon law defines as automatic excommunication "upon the commission of an offense" (Canon 1314) — for what he calls her "scandalous and schismatic actions."

According to the bishop, the statement Gerlach issued the previous day "publicly rejected my authority as diocesan bishop and pontifical commissary." The bishop's statement says the other nuns might have incurred the same type of excommunication, "depending on their complicity" in Gerlach's actions; the bishop declares the monastery "closed to public access." 

April 18, 2024: Olson announces that Mother Marie of the Incarnation, a Discalced Carmelite who is president of the Discalced Carmelite Association of Christ the King but who does not live at the Carmelite monastery in Arlington, is now the "lawful superior" of the monastery; the announcement is accompanied by a decree from the Vatican dicastery that oversees religious orders.

May 22, 2024: Olson announces that the Vatican has overturned his decree dismissing Gerlach from the Carmelites on the grounds that she did not abuse her authority as head of the monastery because she had no authority over the priest who Olson says took part in illicit sexual activity with Gerlach; the Vatican on April 30 also issues a decree upholding the bishop's investigation and another decree upholding the bishop's suspension of Gerlach as prioress. 

Sept. 14, 2024: The Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Arlington announce a formal association with the Society of St. Pius X, which will supply a priest for the nuns' spiritual needs. (The Society of St. Pius X is a canonically irregular traditionalist Catholic association.) The nuns also announce that they reelected Gerlach as their prioress in August. 

Sept. 17, 2024: Olson announces that the Carmelite nuns' actions are "scandalous" and "permeated with the odor of schism," and he warns Catholics not to partake of sacraments at the monastery or give money to the nuns. 

Oct. 28, 2024: Olson announces that the prioress he appointed as what he calls the "legitimate superior" of the Arlington monastery, Mother Marie of the Incarnation, has dismissed the seven women of the monastery from the Order of Discalced Carmelites, returning them to lay status. 

Oct. 30, 2024: The Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Arlington post a statement on the monastery's website saying that "any 'dismissal' declared by Mother Marie of the Association of Christ the King is a moot point" because of the monastery's association with the Society of St. Pius X. The nuns say their religious vows were "professed to God" and "cannot be dismissed or taken away." They also say that they pray for Pope Francis and Olson every day and that "any claim that we have departed from the Catholic faith is ridiculous."

Oct. 31, 2024: Olson announces that the Society of St. Pius X is "not in full communion or good standing with the Catholic Church" and that sacraments offered by the society under ordinary circumstances are valid but illicit. 

Dec. 2, 2024: Olson announces that the Holy See's Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life has suppressed the Carmelite Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity as of Nov. 28.

Full Article

http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=8838&view=post&articleid=280864&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0

Vatican City, Dec 3, 2024 / 17:55 pm (CNA).

On the evening Dec. 2, the rite of "recognitio" (Latin for "verification") took place in St. Peter's Basilica. This is a traditional ceremony to verify and ascertain that the Holy Door, closed during the last holy year, is intact, sealed, and ready to be reopened at the beginning of the new Jubilee 2025.

The pilgrimage to the Holy Doors is a central act of the jubilee. Passing through them during the holy year symbolizes entry into a new life in Christ and the beginning of a journey of conversion.

The ceremony began with a prayer led by the archpriest of the basilica, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti. Then the "sampietrini," employees of the Fabric of St. Peter's who are responsible for the oversight and maintenance of the Vatican basilica, tore down the wall that seals the Holy Door inside the church.

Once the wall protecting the Holy Door was demolished, the workers removed a metal box that had been kept inside it since the closing of the Jubilee of Mercy on Nov. 20, 2016.

The box contains the key with which the Holy Father will open the Holy Door on the evening of Dec. 24. It also contains the handles, the parchment of the act certifying its closure, four golden bricks, and some medals, including those of the pontificates of Francis, Benedict XVI, and St. John Paul II.

Gambetti was in charge of leading a procession, with the singing of the litanies of the saints, from the Holy Door to the Altar of Confession, where he paused for a moment in prayer.

The participants in the rite then proceeded to the Chapter House, where the metal box removed from the Holy Door was opened. Present were Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, and Archbishop Diego Ravelli, master of pontifical liturgical celebrations, who received the documents and objects of the recognitio, which will be given to Pope Francis.

On Tuesday afternoon, the same ceremony took place for the Holy Door of St. John Lateran basilica. On Dec. 5 the rite of recognitio will take place in St. Paul Outside the Walls basilica and on Dec. 6 in St. Mary Major Basilica.

A ceremony full of meaning

The jubilee year, one of the most anticipated and important events of the Catholic Church, is marked by different solemn ceremonies with centuries of tradition.

In 1499, Pope Alexander VI wanted to define the ceremonial norms of the jubilee. He entrusted this task to the then-master of ceremonies, Johannes Bruckard, who established different rites that continue to be celebrated today, although with some variations.

From the Jubilee of 1500 until the Jubilee of 1975, it was the pope who began the construction of the wall that enclosed the Holy Door. With a hammer, made of gold and later of silver, he would symbolically strike the wall three times. Later, the masons would take charge of demolishing it completely.

The wall was usually covered in turn by a simple wooden door, which was removed and replaced at the beginning and end of each holy year. However, on Dec. 24, 1949, it was replaced by a bronze door blessed by Pope Pius XII.

In 1975, the rite of closing the Holy Door was modified, as the trowel and bricks were no longer used, and the panels of the bronze door were simply closed, giving greater prominence to the door than to the wall. 

That same year, the tradition of including a metal chest inside the wall began, since previously symbolic elements such as golden bricks were inserted with the mortar with which the wall was rebuilt.

For the Jubilee of 1983, John Paul II did not use the hammer during the opening of the Holy Door.

During the jubilees of the 20th century, each of the steps that make up the rite of recognitio were consolidated. These include the demolition of the wall, the recovery of the symbolic objects, and the solemn procession with liturgical chants.

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

Full Article

http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=8838&view=post&articleid=280860&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0

Seattle, Wash., Dec 3, 2024 / 09:05 am (CNA).

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced plans to travel to Paris this Saturday to attend the grand reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral, marking his first foreign visit since winning the presidential election in November.

Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social platform, stating: "It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the reopening of the magnificent and historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been fully restored after a devastating fire five years ago."

He also praised French President Emmanuel Macron, saying he has done a "wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so. It will be a very special day for all!" Macron was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate Trump after his electoral win last month.

The reopening will be a high-security affair. About 6,000 police officers and members of the gendarmerie will be deployed on Saturday and Sunday for the event, which is expected to be attended by about 50 heads of state and government, Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez said at a press conference. Pope Francis said in September he would not attend.

The Île de la Cité, where Notre Dame is located in the middle of the River Seine, will be accessible only to invited guests and residents of the island, Nuñez added. There will be room for 40,000 spectators along the Seine's southern bank.

The reopening service, presided by Archbishop Laurent Ulrich, will be attended by Macron, other officials, donors and Parisian clergy. The service will include the singing of the Te Deum, the Magnificat, prayers for the world, and the Lord's Prayer.

In a gesture of unity, Catholic churches throughout the United States have been encouraged by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to peal their bells at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 7.

The inaugural Mass will be celebrated the following day, where the archbishop will consecrate the high altar. About 170 bishops and priests from around the world will participate, along with one priest from each of the 106 parishes in the Archdiocese of Paris.

Events from Dec. 8–15 will follow, inviting the faithful and those involved in the restoration to daily services. The cathedral will resume its daily schedule starting Dec. 16.

Notre Dame, an iconic symbol of French heritage and Gothic architecture, suffered major damage in April 2019 when a fire engulfed its roof and spire. Its main structure was saved, along with many of its priceless contents, but the $760 million restoration project has been monumental, involving teams of architects, artisans, and engineers dedicated to preserving the cathedral's historical integrity.

Prior to the fire, the cathedral attracted between 14 million to 15 million visitors annually, according to France's Tourism Board.

Full Article