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CNA Staff, Jul 30, 2024 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, has launched a video series that plans to examine "culture, science, politics, the arts, and current issues" through "the lens of reason and faith." 

Hosted by the school's former president, Father Dave Pivonka, TOR, "In Focus: Confronting the Woke World" takes inspiration from "Awake, Not Woke: A Christian Response to the Cult of Progressive Ideology," a 2021 book by Catholic author Noelle Mering. 

The first series features Mering herself, who is also an editor of the website TheologyofHome.com, a mother of six, and a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. 

"The speed with which [the woke movement] has taken over most of our major public and private institutions is extraordinary," Pivonka said in a press release from the school. 

"We must never retreat from the world but always seek to engage it and to share the light of Christ, the only source of true human freedom and flourishing."

"It is easy to think the woke ideology is too political or polarizing for Christian engagement," Mering said. "But this is a movement that stems from something far more fundamental than politics." 

"I truly appreciate being able to discuss this in depth with Father Dave, who keeps love for persons and true care for their well-being at the forefront of our minds and hearts," she continued.

"I can think of no one better than Noelle Mering to help us tackle the profound challenge of the woke movement," Pivonka said.

Most of these ideological differences come down to an understanding of human anthropology, Pivonka argued in the trailer for the series.

"In many ways all of this ideology is wrestling with the fundamental question 'What is the human person?'" he said.

Mering noted in the trailer that Catholics must always be "for the person in front of us."

"One thing we never want to do is to collapse the person into the ideology," she said.  

"Isn't that the danger, that we as Catholic Christians have, is to actually do exactly the same thing that they're doing?" Pivonka added. "'I don't need to engage them, I can just ignore them' — and that's not the answer." 

"In Focus" will be featured on Franciscan University's online platform FaithandReason.com, which features free videos and podcasts on topics ranging from the Church to culture, politics to philosophy, and morality to the marketplace. 

Franciscan plans to release three episodes of the series per year.

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CNA Staff, Jul 29, 2024 / 13:57 pm (CNA).

A United Kingdom high court judge upheld the British government's emergency ban on puberty blockers for minors on Monday, finding the blockers carry "very substantial risks and very narrow benefit." 

Advocacy group TransActual challenged the U.K.'s ban along with a 15-year-old who remains unnamed due to a court order.

Justice Beverly Lang cited England's National Health Service (NHS) study that preceded the restrictions, calling it "powerful scientific evidence in support of restrictions on the supply of puberty blockers on the grounds that they were potentially harmful" in her decision.

The 2022 restrictions, based on a study known as the Cass Review, prevent the prescription and supply of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues known as "puberty blockers" for minors except when used in clinical trials.

While the emergency ban on prescribing puberty blockers is set to expire in September, the U.K. government has set "indefinite restrictions" on puberty blocker prescriptions within England, in line with NHS guidelines.

TransActual condemned the court decision in a July 29 statement, saying that the study was led by "anti-trans" academics.

"We are seriously concerned about the safety and welfare of young trans people in the U.K.," said TransActual director for health care Chay Brown. "Over the last few years, they have come to view the U.K. medical establishment as paying lip service to their needs, and all too happy to weaponize their very existence in pursuit of a now discredited culture war."

Advocates for puberty blockers argue that the drugs help young people buy "time to think," according to court documents.

The drugs block a child's natural development during puberty, preventing the production of hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen. Puberty blockers also stunt growth in height, a girl's breast development, and a boy's facial hair growth, among other things.

The final report of the Cass Review, cited frequently by the judge, found that "there is no evidence that puberty blockers buy time to think, and some concern that they may change the trajectory of psychosexual gender identity development."

The Cass Review was an in-depth study based on input from clinicians and professionals experienced in gender services, as well as parents and organizations working with LGBTQ+ children.

"The professionals who participated in the study were often conflicted because they recognized the distress of young people and felt the urge to treat them, but at the same time, most had doubts because of the lack of information on long-term physical and psychological outcomes," the Cass Review final report read, as cited in the court decision.

Many professionals and parents feel pressured to take the puberty blocker route for children out of a fear of increased suicidality in transgender individuals, the report noted. While the suicide rate for transgender individuals is disproportionately high, the study found no evidence to suggest that hormone treatment reduced the risk of dying by suicide and noted that the suicide risk of people with gender dysphoria "remained comparable to other young people with a similar range of mental health and psychosocial challenges." 

In a 2022 letter cited by the court, Dr. Hilary Cass, who chaired the study, recommended "an established research tragedy and infrastructure" to address outstanding questions about the treatment of gender dysphoria.

Without it, she said, "the evidence gap will continue to be filled with polarized opinion and conjecture, which does little to help the children and young people, and their families and carers, who need support and information on which to make decisions."

The Cass Review is one of many studies looking more closely at treatment of gender dysphoria. A recent Mayo Clinic study found that puberty blockers may cause "irreversible damage" to young boys, while a 2022 study gained national attention after it found that putting children on puberty blockers can harm bone density.

"We cannot encourage or give support to reconstructive or drug-based medical intervention that harms the body, nor can we legitimize or uphold a way of living that is not respectful of the truth and vocation of each man and each woman, called to live according to the divine plan," the Catholic bishops of England and Wales wrote in an April 25 statement on gender identity. 

"You are still our brothers and sisters," the bishops said in a statement directed toward "transgendered" individuals. "We cannot be indifferent to your struggle and the path you may have chosen. The doors of the Church are open to you, and you should find, from all members of the Church, a welcome that is compassionate, sensitive, and respectful."

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 29, 2024 / 14:57 pm (CNA).

President Joe Biden on Monday unveiled a proposal to reform the United States Supreme Court by adding term limits and an ethics code, saying he was motivated in part by the overturning of Roe v. Wade and other recent rulings.

In a July 29 op-ed for the Washington Post attributed to Biden, the president said "term limits would help ensure that the court's membership changes with some regularity." The plan would give justices one 18-year term. The president would appoint one justice every two years, which would ensure that the Supreme Court continues to have nine justices.

"The United States is the only major constitutional democracy that gives lifetime seats to its high court," Biden continued. "Term limits would help ensure that the court's membership changes with some regularity. That would make timing for court nominations more predictable and less arbitrary. It would reduce the chance that any single presidency radically alters the makeup of the court for generations to come."

One motivation for these proposals cited by the president was the "dangerous and extreme decisions that overturn settled legal precedent  — including Roe v. Wade." In the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision in 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe in a 6-3 ruling. Both states and the federal government can now restrict abortion, according to the new legal standard.

In the op-ed, the president also called for an "enforceable ethics code," which would require Supreme Court justices to disclose gifts, refrain from political activity, and recuse themselves from cases if the justice or the justice's spouse has a conflict of interest.

The president alleged in his op-ed that "scandals involving several justices have caused the public to question the court's fairness and independence." He added that undisclosed gifts and conflicts of interest "raise legitimate questions about the court's impartiality."

"Every other federal judge is bound by an enforceable code of conduct, and there is no reason for the Supreme Court to be exempt," Biden said.

Numerous Democratic lawmakers started calling for Supreme Court reforms after former President Donald Trump nominated Justice Amy Coney Barrett to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg upon the latter's death. This altered the makeup of the court, which now has six justices appointed by Republicans and only three appointed by Democrats. 

Biden did not indicate how the code would be enforced in his op-ed and did not say whether he intended to enact these changes legislatively or through constitutional amendments.

John Malcolm, vice president of the Institute for Constitutional Government at the conservative Heritage Foundation, told CNA that he believes Biden would need constitutional amendments to enact either of these reforms but acknowledged that some respected constitutional scholars believe they could be enacted legislatively.

Malcolm, who testified to the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States about such reforms, told CNA that "anything that is designed to curb [the Supreme Court's] authority impinges on the separation of powers."

Congress has established codes of conduct for lower courts, but Malcolm noted that "all other lower courts are created by Congress, so Congress has the authority to impose all kinds of restrictions." Alternatively, he said the powers granted to the Supreme Court are established in the Constitution and that Congress has no more authority to enact a code of conduct on the Supreme Court "than the Supreme Court has to impose a code of conduct on Congress."

However, even if the president tried to enact the reforms legislatively, Malcolm said there is no chance it could pass because it's "such a patently political move that I can't imagine any Republican supporting it." He also noted that Biden did not propose these reforms as a senator, vice president, or even at the beginning of his presidency but only now that there is strong support from his Democratic base.

"Never at any time has he called for any Supreme Court reforms," Malcom said. "Now all of a sudden, when there [is] … now 99 days until an election … now is when he calls for reforms. This is a blatant attempt to try to turn the Supreme Court into an election issue." 

In the Washington Post op-ed, the president also called for a constitutional amendment that would declare that former presidents do not have any immunity for crimes committed while in office. He criticized a recent Supreme Court ruling that found that presidents have some immunity from criminal prosecutions for official acts taken as commander in chief.

"I share our founders' belief that the president's power is limited, not absolute," Biden said. "We are a nation of laws — not of kings or dictators."

Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House of Representatives. Democrats hold a narrow majority in the Senate but not a large enough majority to overcome the 60-vote threshold needed to end debate on most bills.

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CNA Newsroom, Jul 29, 2024 / 06:30 am (CNA).

The University of Notre Dame will hold an August summit to gather elected officials, academic researchers, and other nonprofit leaders to plan effective use of the sum total of $50 billion in settlements to victims of the opioid crisis. 

Led by Notre Dame's Poverty Initiative, "A Pathway to Hope: Summit on the National Opioids Settlement" is being convened to examine a series of high-dollar payouts from lawsuits brought against drug manufacturers and distributors following rises in fatalities linked to opioid usage. 

Scheduled for Aug. 5-6, the summit will bring together elected officials, academic researchers, attorneys general, and other nonprofit leaders to develop strategies for the distribution of those funds.

"Across the United States, the opioid epidemic has devastated communities as opioid-related deaths have skyrocketed," read the Notre Dame July 19 press release. 

"According to data from the National Vital Statistics System and the CDC Wonder Database, the opioid death rate rose by 2,473 percent between 1979 and 2022."

Presentations at the event will frame the crisis, explain its impact on communities and families, and share potential solutions. 

Father Edward Malloy, former president of the University of Notre Dame (1987-2005), a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, and a member of the board of directors for the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, will be a guest speaker at the event. 

Huntington, West Virginia Mayor Stephen Williams, a co-chair in the U.S. Conference of Mayors Task Force on Substance Abuse, Prevention, and Recovery Services, is also set to speak at the event.

The Summit will also feature a workshop led by Notre Dame economics experts from the Department of Economics and the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities. 

The goal will be to develop "a co-created research agenda led by Notre Dame faculty to work with people on the frontlines to ensure the approaches are accurate, scalable and effective," according to the release.

"A primary goal of the Poverty Initiative, which launched last fall, is to bring faculty together with policymakers, philanthropists and providers to discover new pathways to break the cycle of poverty," said economics professor Jim Sullivan, who heads the Poverty Initiative, which is designed to study anti-poverty efforts and develop pathways out of poverty for people around the world.

"The Pathway to Hope Summit embodies that mission as the University will convene some of the nation's leading experts to find solutions to the opioid crisis that has afflicted families all across this country," he added.

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CNA Newsroom, Jul 28, 2024 / 10:51 am (CNA).

Crookston Bishop Andrew Cozzens this weekend slammed what he described as the "heinous" mockery of the Christian faith displayed at the Summer Olympics in Paris on Friday, urging Catholics to respond to the spectacle with fasting and prayer.

The drag queen-led parody of the Last Supper featured during Friday's opening ceremonies of the 2024 Paris Olympics sparked a wave of incensed reactions and denunciations from Catholic leaders and others around the world.

The controversial scene, part of the 1.5 billion euros (about $1.62 billion) spectacle to kick off the Olympic Games, featured drag queens portraying the apostles and an overweight DJ as Jesus in what appeared to be a part of a fashion show apparently mocking Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting.

In a statement on Saturday, Cozzens—who also serves as the chairman of the board of the National Eucharistic Congress—said the performers "publicly defamed" the Last Supper with the "evil" display.

Cozzens noted that at the National Eucharistic Congress this month, the faithful gathered to "make reparation for our sins" and pray for "healing and forgiveness."

Yet a week later, he noted, nearly a billion spectators in person and via telecast "witnessed the public mockery of the Mass," in which the Last Supper "was depicted in heinous fashion, leaving us in such shock, sorrow and righteous anger that words cannot describe it."

The bishop said that throughout history Christ has "called us—the people of God—to respond to the darkness of evil with the light that comes from the Lord." Cozzens pointed out that the Last Supper, along with the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Christ, form the Paschal Mystery.

"Jesus experienced his Passion anew Friday night in Paris when his Last Supper was publicly defamed," the bishop said. "As his living body, we are invited to enter into this moment of passion with him, this moment of public shame, mockery, and persecution. We do this through prayer and fasting. And our greatest prayer—in season and out of season—is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass."

Cozzens urged the faithful to attend Mass this week with "renewed zeal," to "pray for healing and forgiveness for all those who participated in this mockery," and to "commit ourselves this week to greater prayer and fasting in reparation for this sin."

He further suggested attending Mass more than once in the coming week and considering an extra Holy Hour.

"We may also be called upon to speak about this evil. Let us do so with love and charity, but also with firmness," the bishop said. He urged Catholics to "ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen us with the virtue of fortitude."

"France and the entire world are saved by the love poured out through the Mass, which came to us through the Last Supper," he wrote. "Inspired by the many martyrs who shed their blood to witness to the truth of the Mass, we will not stand aside and quietly abide as the world mocks our greatest gift from the Lord Jesus."

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Vatican City, Jul 28, 2024 / 08:15 am (CNA).

Pope Francis on Sunday noted three gestures from the Bible account of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes which he argued are mirrored by Jesus at the Last Supper and by the faithful in each Mass.

The pope pointed out "offering, giving thanks, and sharing" as highlights of the miracle recounted in the Gospel of John, offering his reflection on the Sunday Gospel before praying the midday Angelus with those gathered under the scorching sun in St. Peter's Square. 

The temperature for the noonday prayer was already at 95 degrees as many in the crowds sheltered from the heat under colorful umbrellas.

"The Gospel tells us about a boy who has five loaves and two fish," the pope noted, saying that the boy's gesture of offering, as well as our own, is an acknowledgment that "we have something good to give, and we say our 'yes,' even if what we have is too little compared to what is needed."

The pope left his text to insist that Catholics are invited to offer what we have and are, even if the offering seems too insignificant and poor.

This offering is lived out in each Mass, as the priest offers the bread and wine, "and each person offers himself, his own life," he said. This offering becomes the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

"It is a gesture that may seem small, when we think of the immense needs of humanity," the pope acknowledged, "...but God makes it the material for the greatest miracle there is: that in which He Himself — Himself! — makes Himself present among us, for the salvation of the world."

"We can ask ourselves," the pope suggested: "Do I truly believe that, by the grace of God, I have something unique to give to my brothers and sisters?"

Our offering is intimately linked to the next gesture, that of gratitude, the pope argued. 

The pope suggested words we can pray to the Father: "All that I have is your gift, Lord, and to give thanks I can only give you back what you first gave me, together with your Son Jesus Christ, adding to it what I can."

"Each of us can add a little something," he insisted, inviting the faithful to reflect: "What can I give to the Lord? What can the little one give? Our poor love. Saying, 'Lord, I love you.' We poor people: Our love is so small! But we can give it to the Lord, the Lord welcomes it."

Fruit of everyone's gift

These gifts then lead to sharing, the pope explained.

"In the Mass is Communion, when together we approach the altar to receive the Body and Blood of Christ: the fruit of everyone's gift transformed by the Lord into food for all. It is a beautiful moment, that of Communion, which teaches us to live every gesture of love as a gift of grace, both for the giver and the receiver," he said.

The pope invited the faithful to receive Our Lady's help to live each Mass with this attitude of faith, "to recognize and savor every day the 'miracles' of God's grace."

After praying the Angelus and giving his apostolic blessing, the pope assured his closeness to those who have suffered from landslides in Ethiopia. 

Landslides hit the remote mountainous zone of Gofa in southern Ethiopia Sunday night into Monday morning, triggered by heavy rains in the region. Well over 200 people are already confirmed dead, with the United Nations projecting that the death toll could end up closer to 500.

The pope then spoke of the continuing problem of world hunger, calling the international community to take a stand against the "scandal" of "wasting resources to fuel wars large and small."

"While there are so many people in the world suffering from disasters and hunger, we continue to build and sell weapons," he lamented. He said this "contradicts the spirit of brotherhood of the Olympic Games that have just begun. Let us not forget, brothers and sisters: War is defeat!"

"I will not forsake you"

The pope also noted that today is the 4th World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, a celebration he initiated in 2020. This year's theme is drawn from Psalm 71: "Do not cast me off in my old age."

"Today's day calls us to listen to the voice of the elderly who say, 'Do not forsake me!' and to respond, 'I will not forsake you!'" the pope said.

"Let us say 'no' to the loneliness of the elderly! Our future depends greatly on how grandparents and grandchildren learn to live together. Let's not forget the elderly!" he said, inviting the faithful to a round of applause for all the grandparents.

The pope concluded his weekly meeting with the faithful with his traditional good wishes for a nice lunch, and the request: "Please don't forget to pray for me."

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ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 28, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

At just 4 years of age Emilio Madrid Mérida played the celebration of "Mass" at home with his stuffed animals. Now, at 16, he dreams of being a priest and says he has found happiness in the seminary in Badajoz, Spain, where he has already been for three years.

Speaking with ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, at St. García the Abbot Parish in Algeciras, a city in southern Spain near Gibraltar where he is with his family on vacation, the young man explained that for him a vocation is "the call that God gives you to make you happy."

"From a very young age, in this parish when I was 4 years old I started helping at Mass. I wanted to be like the priest and at home I played at celebrating Mass with my stuffed animals," he related.

Seminarian at 13

At just 13 years of age, he wanted to enter the minor seminary of St. Antón Diocesan School in Badajoz, a city on the border with Portugal about 140 miles from Lisbon, where he currently lives with his mother.

It was a decision that came to him naturally despite the "surprise" it caused to those around him, especially his family.

"Although my entire family has been practicing Catholics and hasn't put any obstacles in the way, my mother was surprised when I told her my decision."

He recalled that his mother "cried" while helping him pack his suitcase to leave home and that now she shares his joy at seeing that her son is happy. His friends were "very sad, but every 15 days I leave the seminary and I can see them. In general, they took it very well and were very happy," he said.

'My heart is somewhere else'

Emilio said the majority of young people today have things they are preoccupied with, such as having fun, and he assured that he does too, although in a different way: "I am young, I still live in this world, and those things can also be there."

However, he shared that he has "his heart in another place" and sees things "with different eyes, not so worldly, but that I relate the things of this world to God."

The young seminarian emphasized that "God wants us to be happy," but "we have to know where to find happiness."

He also directs a clear message to young men who feel a vocation to the priesthood: "I would invite them to go with their parish priest, talk to them and go see the seminary."

"I was embarrassed to go to the seminary, and after being with them one afternoon I decided to stay, and I have been there for three years now," he told ACI Prensa.

Emilio said what he likes about the seminary is "the family that we have formed among us" as well as "sharing faith with and knowing that you are with companions who are pursuing the same thing you are."

Next year he will begin his college prep studies and later he wants to study theology. In a few years, he imagines himself being a priest, helping others, and every day trying to be "as much like Jesus as I can."  

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 Newsroom, Jul 27, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The National Eucharistic Congress which gathered more than 50,000 Catholics together last week in Indianapolis was "powerful," "moving," and filled with "extraordinary reverence," according to religious sisters, a priest, a seminarian, and a bishop who attended the culminating event in the U.S. bishops three year Eucharistic Revival.

Religious and clergy were well-represented at the congress, with more than 1,170 priests, 1,200 religious brothers and sisters, 610 seminarians, and 200 bishops. CNA spoke to some of them about what moments and reflections were most life-changing and memorable.  

Reverence permeated the Congress 

"The most powerful moments were the moments of adoration in Lucas Oil Stadium, when everybody was on their knees, adoring the Lord in praise and in silence, too," recalled Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska. 

Bishop Conley remembered seeing everyone, including his brother bishops "caught up in the mystery of the beauty of God" during adoration.  

"The common denominator that ran through all of the liturgical encounter was reverence; that we were recognizing God as our Lord, in silence and in song," he said. "St. Augustine is famously quoted as saying, 'Only the lover sings,' and the only proper response to the love of God is to sing with our hearts."

Aidan Aguero, a 19-year-old seminarian with the Archdiocese of Seattle, recalled being moved during the silence of adoration by "seeing that everyone was having some encounter with Christ."

"[With] all 60,000 people there adoring our Lord in the Eucharist, people encountering our Lord in the Eucharist,  there was something moving there," he said. "Nobody can deny that something was moving in that stadium, and as Catholics, we believe that's the Holy Spirit. We believe that it's Christ in the Eucharist."

Sister Mary Aloysius of Jesus Kim, the General Sister Servant for the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT), also recalled the "prayerfulness" of adoration, calling it "stunning. "

"Just imagine this football stadium filled with people, and when our Lord comes out, the lights are out, it's dark, and there's just light shining on the monstrance, and the place is quiet. These 50,000 people are adoring our Lord silently," she said. 

"That was so moving, so beautiful, so stunning, that it just moves us to tears," she recalled. "And even now, when I look back on it, I am still moved to tears."

The whole body of Christ 

Unlike many retreats or conventions which focus on one age group, the Congress brought together Catholics of every age and vocation. 

"The whole body of Christ, from pregnant moms with children in tow to grandparents and great-grandparents in wheelchairs, and everything in between," was there, Bishop Conley observed. 

"It was the experience of the whole body of Christ coming together," he said. "Every vocation and every dimension of the Church, the Body of Christ."

More than 100 sisters of the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist attended the congress.  Sister Mary Michael Carlton, their Vicaress General, recalled that there was a natural friendliness of attendees toward whoever they encountered — workers, locals, homeless people.

"We had one sister singing on the street with one of the homeless people, and he ended up coming to the Congress — somebody registered him for the Congress, and he was later in the procession with his congress badge on," she said. "They weren't in the periphery. They were part of this movement, too."

"There was a lot of ministry to the poor and homeless during those days," Conley added. 

Christ in the City, a Catholic organization that uses a relational approach to ministry to the homeless, organized street walks for ministering to the poor and homeless, he recalled. 

"It wasn't just an internal ad intra experience, but it was going out of ourselves and out into the streets to proclaim that Christ is risen, he's alive, he loves you, and to present him to everyone who will listen," he continued. 

A web of processions

The Body of Christ then took to the streets in a eucharistic procession through Indianapolis, Conley recalled.

"I saw that [procession] as taking Christ to the streets and claiming the city for God," Conley reflected. "Taking Jesus to the streets and proclaiming that Jesus Christ is King and that he is the king of the world. He's the center of everything, and he's not just in our churches — he's out on the streets with the poor."

"People that were in their office buildings and people who were in their shops and their restaurants; they saw this happening," he noted.

Anyone who attended the Congress will tell you about the great procession through the streets of Indianapolis of more than 60,000 people. But there was also a "spontaneous web of processions" back at the convention center, that one priest said was "deeply moving."

The liturgical team needed to move the Blessed Sacrament throughout the convention center for different periods of adoration, but there weren't enough back ways, and the halls were thick with crowds of people moving between break-out sessions, explained Father Patrick Briscoe, a Dominican priest and liturgical organizer for the event. 

So, the priests took Jesus through the crowd in the monstrance. In the rush of switching sessions, the people paused, and knelt quietly as Jesus passed by. 

"People in these jam-packed hallways, trying to scramble from one session to the next, dropped to their knees," he recalled. "They shouted out, 'Jesus is coming,' and dropped to their knees and waited and prayed until the Blessed Sacrament had walked past them."

"Our people's devotion was extraordinary," Briscoe continued. "And part of that was a new posture that they had been taught as a result of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which had taught and modeled the reverence one should show the Blessed Sacrament, but also the spirit of the event made it a very natural thing." 

"It was deeply moving because in another context, it could have been inconvenient or unexpected," he added. "And so to see our people respond with patient and extraordinary reverence really touched my heart as a priest."

A defining moment for the decades 

"It showcased the strength of our tradition, and it demonstrated to people that the Church is alive," said Briscoe. "It allowed people to express their love for the Church. To show up for a celebration that wasn't political, that wasn't charged with the fraught and polarizing climate that so many other activities and events are charged with today, was supremely liberating." 

World Youth Day 1993 in Denver with St. John Paul II was a defining moment for a generation. The call to a "New Evangelization" reverberates through the decades. 

The movement was both the fruit of WYD93, and a new form of it, Sister Aloysius observed. 

"I do think it's like a World Youth Day in Denver, and it will be one of those moments where we go back and remember, and people will find their vocations or hear God speaking to them in these talks, and then say, 'When I was in Indianapolis in 2024, that's when my life changed,'" Sister Mary Michael reflected.  

"I do think powerful conversions were happening at the Congress itself," she added. "And these people who attended will go back to their parishes and start their own revivals. They'll start drawing people back to the faith in their families or in their local communities that haven't been to Mass in a long time."

"The Lord planted so many beautiful seeds in his garden of his church," Aguero reflected. "And the Lord, in our faith and hope in him, will, through the Holy Spirit, nurture and grow those seeds for the flourishing of his church." 

The event was so effective because it was "led by liturgy," Bishop Conley observed. 

"I'm convinced that the New Evangelization will never take place, never really be truly fruitful without an experience of the liturgy and the transcendence," he said. "You can have all the apologetics in the world. You can have all of the instruction and Bible studies and all of that, but unless you have this experience of beauty — the beauty of God in a transcendent prayerful worship experience, which really takes you out of yourself into the mystery of the love of God through prayer and through the sacrament — then that's where we truly encounter the living Lord."

"We meet him, and we have this heart-to-heart encounter that really goes beyond reason to worship. When we were caught up into the beauty and love and mercy of God through prayer and sacrament. And that's what we had. That's what we experienced."

Go forth: Taking the message home 

"I think the most important thing is, yes, it was amazing, but at the end of the day, we have to experience our own personal revival, and I think that's what really made a difference," Sister Aloysius said.

"For me, I can say it really did touch my heart, and it deepened my love for our eucharistic Lord. So there definitely was a personal revival within me," she said. "From there, the message, especially on the last day, was to go out and share what we have tasted, heard, and seen with our own eyes to others. And that is going to be the impact. We have to go through our own personal revival through repentance." 

"The message [of the conference] was to now take this experience that you've had of unity, of encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist — this really intimate, powerful experience of Christ's love and mercy in the Eucharist. Take that now, and take that back with you to your homes," Conley said. 

"Reach out to those who have either fallen away or who no longer go to church or who are still questioning and looking for answers: this is what I hope will be the fruit, and this is what the message was," he continued. 

"But for me, I think seeing how on fire Catholics were for the eucharistic Lord and going out to the streets to tell people about Jesus, it really increased my zeal for souls," Sister Mary Michael Carlton said.

"It facilitated [revival] for us there, but then what I hoped that it did, at least did in me, was that it showed that you don't need to get 60,000 people together and all these bishops, all these sisters — you don't need to get all these people together to have that encounter in the Eucharist," Aguero said. 

"The Eucharist that was there is the same Eucharist that comes down every single Sunday during Mass, every single day at daily Mass," he concluded. "It's the same Eucharist that awaits us in our chapels for when we are going home." 

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ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 27, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).

The Diocese of Tehuacán, located in the Mexican state of Puebla, reported that Bishop Gonzalo Alonso Calzada Guerrero was driving on a highway when he was "assaulted and his vehicle and personal belongings were stolen." 

In a July 24 statement, the Diocese of Tehuacán reported that the incident occurred on the morning of July 23, while the prelate was heading to a community in the state to celebrate its patron saint's feast day.

The news outlet N+ reported that after the robbery, the armed men tied the bishop's hands and feet and abandoned him on a hill. According to the report, Calzada managed to free himself and ask for help; however, the diocese has not commented on this detail.

In the statement, the diocese said that the prelate "was unharmed and has filed the related complaint" with the authorities. In addition, the diocese expressed its gratitude to "God and our Blessed Mother, who always accompanies him, for caring for him and protecting him."

At the same time, the diocese asked the religious community to continue "praying for peace in our country," especially, "for all the brothers who face these situations every day, for the families who are harmed and despoiled, that they find relief and strength."

The Diocese of Tehuacán also asked for prayers for the assailants, "for these brothers who hurt families so much, that God may move their hearts to conversion."

According to data from the executive secretariat of the National Public Safety System, from January to June 2024, 3,679 "four-wheeled cars" were stolen in the state of Puebla, of which 1,652 involved violence.

On April 3, Eduardo Cervantes Merino, the bishop of Orizaba in the state of Veracruz — a diocese adjacent to Tehuacán — reported that he and the priests who accompanied him were also assaulted on a highway.

Concerned for youth

Two days after being robbed "at gunpoint," Calzada shared his experience at a Mass celebrated at St. James the Apostle parish in Caltepec, where he lamented that the people who robbed him of his belongings were "young people between 20 and 22 years old."

"It made me think about what we are doing as a Church, as a family, as a society to form young people, because they are doing this because they're not finding meaning in their lives, they're not finding something that's really worth living for and they put their lives at risk," said the prelate.

Calzada urged society not to accept juvenile delinquency as something normal and urged those present to pay greater attention to the evangelization of young people. He also encouraged parents to "care for their children, be close to them and talk to them: that's the way they can help them find the path."

"Before God, [parents] will have to give an account of what they have done for their children," the bishop emphasized.

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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ACI Africa, Jul 27, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Seminarians in Africa are not allowed "to be themselves" and must find ways "to get by," a Catholic priest from Nigeria has said, challenging institutions that form future priests to encourage better communication between seminarians and those who form them. 

In his presentation at the seventh session of the ongoing synodal conversations being held ahead of the October session in Rome, Father Augustine Anwuchie, a Fidei Donum priest serving in Niger, decried the "lack of authenticity" in priestly formation in Africa, noting that some seminarians are forced to adopt a "survival mentality" in their interactions with their superiors. 

"During my formation, I had the opportunity to study in two seminaries in Nigeria. I saw 'survival mentality' where seminarians, because of how formation is structured, adopt ways to survive around their formators — how to survive around bishops, around Christians and in Christian communities," Anwuchie said.

"I have been a vice rector at a seminary and I saw a lack of openness. You see lack of authenticity," he said during the July 19 meeting that the Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network organized in collaboration with the Conference of Major Superiors of Africa and Madagascar.

The Nigerian-born priest, who serves as assistant pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes in Niger's Diocese of Maradi, continued: "I am not saying that we should copy everything that is done in Europe. But there are aspects of formation that formators in Africa can borrow from other places, including encouraging openness, communication, and authenticity with seminarians."

According to Anwuchie, priests who are not formed "to be authentic" experience difficulties when relating to other Christians. "Instead of becoming men, we continue to live as boys and this is not helping in our pastoral work," he said.

He lamented that in many major seminaries in Africa, aspects of human formation and the expansion of emotional intelligence are neglected while what seminarians "ought to do" and how they "ought to behave" is emphasized.

Seminarians become reactive to situations, he said, which continues when they become priests.

Anwuchie expressed concern that most parishes in his native country of Nigeria, and in Africa generally, are experiencing crises between clergy and laity because priests are not imparted with "emotional intelligence" during their formation.

The July 19 meeting was the latest in a series of digital meetings that theologians and other experts in Africa have organized to deepen their understanding of the synthesis report that came out of the October 2023 session of the multiyear Synod on Synodality. 

Participants in the virtual event explored the theme "The Revision of Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis in a Missionary Synodal Perspective" based on the December 2015 document of the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy translated as "The Gift of the Priestly Vocation."

The online discussions, also known as "palavers," were structured around present-day seminary formation in Africa, with participants reflecting on what is working and what is not working based on experiences from different parts of the continent. 

In her presentation, Sister Dominica Dipio pointed out the disconnect and said she had observed it in seminaries and in the life of priests in parishes and in communities.

The Ugandan-born member of the Missionary Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Church and consultor of the Pontifical Council for Culture expressed concern that many priests do not continue with formation, which participants at the July 19 palaver agreed should be ongoing.

"Most of the priests are overwhelmed by their assignments and they quickly burn out. They hardly have time to engage in their own formation, which is supposed to be ongoing," said Dipio, who is also a professor of literature at Uganda's Makerere University.

"I have met priests in retreats who have for years not had the experience of retreat. The involvement in mission takes all their time and burns them out," Dipio said, appealing to bishops to allow priests "to reconnect with God as the center."

"For our priests, ongoing formation is quite a challenge and we need to support them, especially the young ones," Dipio said.

Cardinal Stephen Brislin from the Archdiocese of Cape Town in South Africa reminded participants at the palaver that the ongoing formation of priests is a responsibility of each episcopal see and religious order.

Brislin noted that seminaries in Africa are already doing "an excellent job" in terms of academic formation, intellectual stimulation, and teaching students discipline and routine.

However, Brislin said that seminarians should be involved in the joys and struggles of ordinary people, adding: "To the extent that seminaries are not providing that, I think it is incumbent that dioceses supplement it during holidays, to put them in communities and situations where they can be with people and people can take some responsibility as well in this formation."

This article was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

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