• Home
  • About Us
  • Support
  • Concerts & Events
  • Music & Media
  • Faith
  • Listen Live
  • Give Now

Catholic News

New Boston Archbishop Richard Henning and outgoing archbishop Cardinal Cardinal Seán O'Malley during a packed two-hour-plus installation Mass at Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Oct. 31, 2024. / Credit: Andrzej SkoniecznyBoston, Mass., Oct 31, 2024 / 19:00 pm (CNA).Newly installed Boston Archbishop Richard Henning challenged people of the archdiocese Thursday to commit to a relationship with God even when it hurts, saying that's what God does for them."He gives us the precious gift, the gift of his own heart: his Son," Henning said Oct. 31 during a packed two-hour-plus installation Mass at Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross.Henning, 60, originally from Long Island, New York, and most recently bishop of Providence, Rhode Island, replaced Cardinal Seán O'Malley, who had led the Archdiocese of Boston since 2003.As the 10th bishop and sixth archbishop of Boston, he is the first head of the diocese to come from New York, which he noted often leads to a question.Ever since h...

New Boston Archbishop Richard Henning and outgoing archbishop Cardinal Cardinal Seán O'Malley during a packed two-hour-plus installation Mass at Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Oct. 31, 2024. / Credit: Andrzej Skonieczny

Boston, Mass., Oct 31, 2024 / 19:00 pm (CNA).

Newly installed Boston Archbishop Richard Henning challenged people of the archdiocese Thursday to commit to a relationship with God even when it hurts, saying that's what God does for them.

"He gives us the precious gift, the gift of his own heart: his Son," Henning said Oct. 31 during a packed two-hour-plus installation Mass at Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

Henning, 60, originally from Long Island, New York, and most recently bishop of Providence, Rhode Island, replaced Cardinal Seán O'Malley, who had led the Archdiocese of Boston since 2003.

As the 10th bishop and sixth archbishop of Boston, he is the first head of the diocese to come from New York, which he noted often leads to a question.

Ever since he was announced as Boston's next archbishop in August, Henning said, "people have been asking me about me — all kinds of questions, about my opinions, my personality traits, and history. The most common question I've received in the last few months boils down to something like this: 'Have you ever been, and are you now, or will you ever be, a Red Sox fan?'"

The congregants laughed. Then Henning added: "Now, while that may be a very important question here in Boston, along with all those other ones, it seems to me that the most important thing that you, the people of this archdiocese, need to know about me is that I believe."

Earlier, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, presented Henning with his letter of appointment from Pope Francis, and, following tradition, Henning walked around the cathedral displaying it to the congregants.

Archbishop Richard Henning shows the letter of his appointment to the congregation during his Oct. 31, 2024, installation Mass at Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross. Credit: Andrzej Skonieczny
Archbishop Richard Henning shows the letter of his appointment to the congregation during his Oct. 31, 2024, installation Mass at Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross. Credit: Andrzej Skonieczny

After that, O'Malley and Pierre escorted Henning to the bishop's chair to the left of the altar, which he sat in, thus taking formal possession of the archdiocese, which is one of four created in 1808.

O'Malley, who widely steadied the archdiocese after the disastrous departure of Cardinal Bernard Law, received a standing ovation at the beginning of the Mass after being praised by Pierre. He got another one near the end of Mass, when Henning told O'Malley he detected "mixed feelings" among Catholics in Boston at the changing of the guard "because of the magnitude of your ministry."

New spiritual father

The procession of several hundred priests into the cathedral was more joyful than solemn. Outside, to the right of the main entrance, musicians from the Neocatechumenal Way sang rousing songs of praise, backed by eight guitars, a ukulele, two bongos, and a shofar, the ram's horn used in Jewish religious ceremonies. As priests neared the music, many smiled and some sang along as they made their way up the steps into the building.

Sean Gibney, 47, of Burlington, Massachusetts, who coordinated the group, acknowledged that it's an unusual way to welcome a new archbishop.

"Now it is. But it wasn't always. It was always the people who welcomed their shepherd," Gibney told CNA, noting that in the early Church people chose bishops by acclamation.

"So we find it a totally normal thing. He's a shepherd, because we're sheep," Gibney said, referring to Henning. "We feel in a way that the faith demands that we have to go and welcome. He's sent in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ."

David Enrique, 24, of East Boston, who sang and played guitar, was asked what the installation of Henning means to him and why he came.

"For me, we have a new father," Enrique said. "Cardinal Seán has been our father for the last 21 years, and I came to welcome my new father — my new spiritual father and our shepherd."

God is love

Acknowledging the presence of many cultures within the archdiocese, the first reading was in Spanish, with the second reading in Haitian Creole. Prayers of the Faithful were in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Vietnamese.

About half the cathedral was occupied by priests in white vestments, a turnout that Henning said "overwhelmed" him. Some, he noted, were from his home diocese of Rockville Centre on Long Island, with many from the Archdiocese of Boston.

Archbishop Richard Henning by the altar during his Oct. 31, 2024, installation Mass at Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross. Credit: Andrzej Skonieczny
Archbishop Richard Henning by the altar during his Oct. 31, 2024, installation Mass at Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross. Credit: Andrzej Skonieczny

After the chanting of the Gospel reading from John 17, Henning spoke for 21 minutes, with no notes.

He challenged listeners to develop a "deeply personal" relationship with God, a relationship, he noted, that comes with demands on both sides.

"God is love, and God summons us to love. And not in a '70s love song kind of love," Henning said. "This is a love that sweats and bleeds and dies."

Using Pope Francis' image of the Catholic Church as a "field hospital," Henning expanded on the visual, saying: "But there's only one doctor in the field hospital, and that is Jesus Christ. The rest of us are patients in need of healing."

Right ordering is necessary for a fruitful relationship with God, he said.

"Whenever human beings think they are gods, everyone else has to be slaves," Henning said. "This God makes us free."

He quoted Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Lutheran pastor and anti-Nazi dissident, about what Bonhoeffer called "the cost of discipleship."

"Faith is not just a list of beliefs. It's not just a feeling. It's a whole life," Henning said.

When O'Malley took over the archdiocese in 2003, the see was vacant, because Law had resigned in disgrace in December 2002, 11 months after the archdiocese's priest sex abuse scandal exploded.

About a dozen protesters held signs outside the cathedral before Thursday's Mass, criticizing both archbishops and the Church over priest sex abuse.

Henning acknowledged continuing pain.

"This Church of Boston, it is in a very real sense a wounded Church, because of a failure to act compassionately — the sins against the innocent," Henning said.

He noted that the Church has made efforts "to protect the vulnerable" in recent decades.

"But still we feel the weight of those wounds," Henning said. "And we owe a debt of gratitude to victim-survivors who tell their stories, for they help to protect new generations by their courage."

Full Article

Pope Francis meets with participants of Italy's Educational Commitment Movement of Catholic Action (MIEAC) national congress on Oct. 31, 2024, at a private audience held in the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Oct 31, 2024 / 10:55 am (CNA).Pope Francis encouraged members of Italy's Educational Commitment Movement of Catholic Action (MIEAC) on Thursday to not be afraid to propose high Christian ideals to young people in a secularized society."Christian education crosses unexplored terrain, marked by anthropological and cultural changes, on which we are still seeking answers in the light of the Word of God," the Holy Father said to participants of MIEAC's national congress at a private audience held in the Vatican.MIEAC is an educational project connected to Italy's Catholic Action that was established in 1990 with the aim of fostering the integral development of young people in all its dimensions: existential, spiritual, affective, cultural, social, and political.Du...

Pope Francis meets with participants of Italy's Educational Commitment Movement of Catholic Action (MIEAC) national congress on Oct. 31, 2024, at a private audience held in the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Oct 31, 2024 / 10:55 am (CNA).

Pope Francis encouraged members of Italy's Educational Commitment Movement of Catholic Action (MIEAC) on Thursday to not be afraid to propose high Christian ideals to young people in a secularized society.

"Christian education crosses unexplored terrain, marked by anthropological and cultural changes, on which we are still seeking answers in the light of the Word of God," the Holy Father said to participants of MIEAC's national congress at a private audience held in the Vatican.

MIEAC is an educational project connected to Italy's Catholic Action that was established in 1990 with the aim of fostering the integral development of young people in all its dimensions: existential, spiritual, affective, cultural, social, and political.

During the Thursday audience, the pope praised MIEAC members for their dedication amid the "labyrinths of complexities" affecting human relationships in today's society and encouraged them to "carry forward an idea and a practice of education that effectively puts the person at the center."

"The educational service that defines your movement brings with it, today perhaps even more than in the past, the challenge of operating on a human and Christian level," he said. "This is precisely the right perspective in which to continue the journey of your movement. Go forward!"

Pope Francis meets with participants of Italy's Educational Commitment Movement of Catholic Action (MIEAC) national congress on Oct. 31, 2024, at a private audience held in the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Francis meets with participants of Italy's Educational Commitment Movement of Catholic Action (MIEAC) national congress on Oct. 31, 2024, at a private audience held in the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media

Looking to the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, the Holy Father said it is necessary for teachers to sow hope in the world by paying "special attention to children, adolescents, [and] young people."

"We must look at them with trust, with empathy, I would like to say with the gaze and heart of Jesus. They are the present and the future of the world and of the Church," he shared.

"Ours is the task — entirely educational — to accompany them, support them, encourage them and, with testimony, to show them the good path that leads to being 'fratelli tutti' [all brothers]."

The Holy Father also insisted that the education of children is a task and process that needs the initiative and support of different people from church-related and secular institutions.

"It is important not to remain alone but to build and strengthen fruitful relationships with the various subjects of the educational process: families, teachers, social workers, managers and sports trainers, catechists, priests, religious men and women, without neglecting collaboration with public institutions," the pope said.

The pope's last message to MIEAC members was to "educators with a big heart" to follow the example of their founder, Venerable Giuseppe Lazzati, "a credible teacher and witness, a model of a Christian educator" who was foremost moved by love of God and others.

"Through educational processes we express our love for others, for those who are close to us or entrusted to us; and, at the same time, it is essential that education be founded, in its method and its aims, on love. Always educate with love!"

Full Article

Spain has suffered what is considered the third worst natural disaster in the country's recent history. / Credit: Courtesy of Caritas SpainMadrid, Spain, Oct 30, 2024 / 16:15 pm (CNA).Torrential rains have inundated southern and eastern Spain, leaving at least 66 people dead. In response, the Catholic Church has expressed its pain and condolences over the tragedy and Caritas has launched a special campaign.The flash flooding is considered the third largest natural disaster in Spain's contemporary history, which has primarily hit the territories of the Archdiocese of Valencia and the Dioceses of Cuenca and Albacete.Only the 1996 flood in the town of Biescas in the Pyrenees, with 89 deaths, and the 1957 flooding of the Turia River, in which between an estimated 80 and 100 lives were lost, exceed the death toll confirmed to date.The archbishop of Valencia, Enrique Benavent, celebrated a Eucharist on Wednesday morning in the Basilica of the Our Lady of the Abandoned, the city'...

Spain has suffered what is considered the third worst natural disaster in the country's recent history. / Credit: Courtesy of Caritas Spain

Madrid, Spain, Oct 30, 2024 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

Torrential rains have inundated southern and eastern Spain, leaving at least 66 people dead. In response, the Catholic Church has expressed its pain and condolences over the tragedy and Caritas has launched a special campaign.

The flash flooding is considered the third largest natural disaster in Spain's contemporary history, which has primarily hit the territories of the Archdiocese of Valencia and the Dioceses of Cuenca and Albacete.

Only the 1996 flood in the town of Biescas in the Pyrenees, with 89 deaths, and the 1957 flooding of the Turia River, in which between an estimated 80 and 100 lives were lost, exceed the death toll confirmed to date.

The archbishop of Valencia, Enrique Benavent, celebrated a Eucharist on Wednesday morning in the Basilica of the Our Lady of the Abandoned, the city's patroness. During the homily, the prelate pointed out that "those most affected are those we must keep closest to our hearts, just as those who suffer the most are those who are closest to a mother's heart."

Benavent also asked "everyone to pray before the Blessed Virgin Mary, first of all, for those who have lost their lives in this great tragedy" and asked that their families and all those who have been affected be remembered.

Hundreds of people were forced to sleep outdoors after being caught in the great torrents of water while traveling in their private vehicles yesterday afternoon. The homes of many others were flooded and their vehicles swept away in the midst of a powerful storm that at times was like a hurricane.

The Archdiocese of Valencia, which had made its facilities and resources available to citizens on Tuesday afternoon, found it was unable to meet all the needs it wanted to.

"The parishes have also been affected, but to the extent of our possibilities we must keep in mind all those who suffer, that they feel in us a helping hand, a brotherly hand, who knows how to feel compassion for them and who knows how to be attentive to their needs," Benavent explained.

Regarding those who have temporarily been left without a roof over their heads, the archbishop expressed his hope that "they may find in the Church, in Christians, a helping hand from brothers and a helping hand from friends. In this way we will also show that we are children of the Virgin of the Abandoned."

Caritas Spain mobilizes emergency campaign

Area diocesan Caritas have contacted the Archdiocese of Valencia to offer their services, as confirmed to ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, by Marisa Villaroig, head of Caritas in the Diocese of Segorbe-Castellón.

"We have put ourselves at their disposal. We are waiting for the damage to be assessed" to determine the specific needs, she indicated.

"We are a little heavy hearted," confessed Villaroig, who said she is personally going to take in some people from Valencia in her home.

Caritas Spain has announced the launch of a campaign to respond to the emergency situation in which the Valencia and Albacete branches, present in the hardest-hit areas, have a special role, despite the fact that they have also been affected.

Condolences and support from different dioceses

Since early in the morning, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and dioceses have publicly expressed their sorrow for the lost lives, their dismay over the material disasters and their readiness to work on material and spiritual recovery.

The archbishop of Valladolid and president of the Spanish Bishops' Conference, Luis Argüello, expressed on X his concern and invoked the Virgin of the Abandoned to "comfort and support everyone" and promised help from the conference.

Both Argüello and the conference's secretary general, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, have written letters to the archbishop of Valencia and the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Albacete, Monsignor Julián Ros, to express "their pain and closeness."

The archbishop of Barcelona, ??Cardinal Juan José Omella, said he was "shocked by the tragic images coming to us from Valencia and Albacete" and pledged his prayers "for the victims, their families, and all those affected."

"Experiences like this remind us of the fragility of our human condition and open us to the hope of eternal life in heaven," the cardinal said.

The archbishop of Granada, José María Gil Tamayo, also expressed his condolences, as did the archbishop of Seville, José Ángel Saiz Meneses.

The bishop of León, Luis Ángel de las Heras, and the bishop of Getafe, Ginés García, among others, also expressed their condolences.

On an institutional level, the Dioceses of Vitoria, Ávila and Mondoñedo-Ferrol, as well as the Archdiocese of Madrid, have also expressed their grief.

The Spanish government has declared three days of official mourning for the tragedy.

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

Full Article

"When you play with spirits, with elements of esotericism or occultism you are opening doors to the Evil One," warned Father Javier Ortega, a priest of the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares in Spain. / Credit: ShutterstockMadrid, Spain, Oct 30, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).Father Javier Ortega, a priest of the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares in Spain, said that costumes of demons, witches, and the dead that are usually worn for Halloween are not recommended because "you are in some way tempting the devil."In a recent interview published by the diocese on its website, Ortega asked parents to not allow their children to participate in these celebrations and, if they do, "to dress up as saints or in costumes of beautiful and lovely things."Don't let them "dress up as demons, dress up as witches, or dress up as dead people," he said, "because in some way you are opening doors, you are in some way tempting the devil… In other words, it's not something neutral."The priest also pointed out...

"When you play with spirits, with elements of esotericism or occultism you are opening doors to the Evil One," warned Father Javier Ortega, a priest of the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares in Spain. / Credit: Shutterstock

Madrid, Spain, Oct 30, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

Father Javier Ortega, a priest of the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares in Spain, said that costumes of demons, witches, and the dead that are usually worn for Halloween are not recommended because "you are in some way tempting the devil."

In a recent interview published by the diocese on its website, Ortega asked parents to not allow their children to participate in these celebrations and, if they do, "to dress up as saints or in costumes of beautiful and lovely things."

Don't let them "dress up as demons, dress up as witches, or dress up as dead people," he said, "because in some way you are opening doors, you are in some way tempting the devil… In other words, it's not something neutral."

The priest also pointed out that behind the pagan festival of Halloween "there is the influence of evil." In fact, he said that this is "the biggest day" for satanists. It's a celebration that "has nothing to do, of course, with what the Christian faith is" and in which, he lamented, "we are being a bit complicit."

"When you play with fire you can get burned, that's clear; it's not that you always get burned, but you can get burned. When you play with spirits, with elements of esotericism or occultism you are opening doors to the evil one," he warned.

The priest also warned that the evil one "also makes use of ignorance and naïveté" and, although children are often unaware of this background, "in some way they are participating in a festival that has nothing good to do with it."

"If you drink poison, even if you don't know it, you are poisoning yourself," he added.

Ortega also pointed out the danger behind esoteric or other types of practices such as Ouija, Reiki, New Age, or "yoga at certain levels" because, he added, "deep down you are invoking the evil one, you are pressing your luck."

Cultivate beauty to combat Halloween

The priest reminded that "beauty will save the world" and that it's very important to educate children in beauty: "We must care for children's imagination, so that they have beautiful and lovely things in their imagination."

He thus recommended that there shouldn't be "ugly pictures" in the children's rooms but images of the Virgin, the guardian angel, and "that children be blessed every night, that they hear words of blessing, words from heaven, words of hope."

"We live in a world that is very harmful to children, where there are ugly things and things that truly attack purity of heart, the innocence of children… So we must fight against this with all our might," he said.

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

Full Article

"It is easy to get distracted or misled by propaganda, emotional manipulation, and distortion of the truth," U.S. Shadow Sen. Zoraida Buxó, R-Puerto Rico, told the Trump campaign rally crowd in heavily Hispanic Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 29, 2024. "Watch out and stay focused on what is truly important when you go to cast your vote," she urged. / Credit: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 30, 2024 / 09:40 am (CNA).Former president Donald Trump expressed his admiration for Puerto Rico and urged Puerto Ricans and other Latino Americans to support his candidacy at a campaign rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, after facing backlash for jokes made by a comedian at a previous rally."I will deliver the best future for Puerto Ricans and for Hispanic Americans," Trump said at the Tuesday night rally. "[Vice President] Kamala [Harris] will deliver you poverty and crime.""I'm so proud that we're getting support from Latinos like never before," he said. "We...

"It is easy to get distracted or misled by propaganda, emotional manipulation, and distortion of the truth," U.S. Shadow Sen. Zoraida Buxó, R-Puerto Rico, told the Trump campaign rally crowd in heavily Hispanic Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 29, 2024. "Watch out and stay focused on what is truly important when you go to cast your vote," she urged. / Credit: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 30, 2024 / 09:40 am (CNA).

Former president Donald Trump expressed his admiration for Puerto Rico and urged Puerto Ricans and other Latino Americans to support his candidacy at a campaign rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, after facing backlash for jokes made by a comedian at a previous rally.

"I will deliver the best future for Puerto Ricans and for Hispanic Americans," Trump said at the Tuesday night rally. "[Vice President] Kamala [Harris] will deliver you poverty and crime."

"I'm so proud that we're getting support from Latinos like never before," he said. "We're setting every record [with] Hispanics, Latinos. Nobody loves our Latino community and our Puerto Rican community more than I do."

At the rally, Trump also received an endorsement from Republican Puerto Rico Shadow Sen. Zoraida Buxó — whom Trump called "terrific" and "a wonderful woman."

"We Hispanics are part of the soul of this country," Buxó said. "We have made a difference, and we will again make a difference in this coming election to bring about much-needed change."

Buxó warned that "it is easy to get distracted or misled by propaganda, emotional manipulation, and distortion of the truth and facts" but urged voters to "watch out and stay focused on what is truly important when you go to cast your vote."

"We need change and Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are not the option to bring about the kind of change that you need and want," Buxó emphasized.

More than half of Allentown is Latino and the majority of Latinos in the city are Puerto Rican.

Trump's praise for Puerto Rico and Buxó's endorsement came just two days after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made a joke about Puerto Rico at the beginning of a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The joke, which mocked the U.S. Caribbean territory, offended Puerto Ricans and prompted backlash against the former president.

"I don't know if you guys know this," Hinchcliffe said at the Sunday rally. "But there's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now."

"Yeah — I think it's called Puerto Rico," he added.

The Trump campaign immediately distanced itself from the joke, saying it does not represent the views of the president. Trump told ABC that he did not see Hinchcliffe's remarks and did not know him.

Prior to the Tuesday rally, Archbishop Roberto González of San Juan, Puerto Rico, sent an open letter to Trump, asking that he personally apologize to Puerto Ricans for Hinchcliffe's joke.

Trump did not issue an apology or even address the joke at the rally but did briefly discuss it in an interview on Fox News with Sean Hannity that aired Tuesday night. The former president said: "I have no idea who he is, never saw him, never heard of him, and don't want to hear of him." 

"They put a comedian in, which everybody does," Trump added. "You throw comedians in, you don't vet them and go crazy. It's nobody's fault. But somebody said some bad things. Now, what they've done is taken somebody that has nothing to do with the party, has nothing to do with us [who] said something and they try and make a big deal … and I can't imagine it's a big deal. I've done more for Puerto Rico than any president I think that's ever been president."

At the rally, Trump said Puerto Rican and other Latino Americans are "incredible people — energetic, smart, great entrepreneurial people."

"We have a lot of them here tonight," he said, and thanked Latino supporters of his candidacy.

"I've done more for Puerto Rico than any president by far — nobody close," Trump said. "I provided historic funding and the hospital ship when they were hit with a couple of really bad [hurricanes] right in a row. And we got the ship over there with thousands of rooms actually. It was amazing: a floating hospital, the biggest in the world."

Trump signed a disaster relief package in early 2018 to provide Puerto Rico with $16 billion in funding. Congress later allocated additional funds to Puerto Rico — but Trump faced criticism for delays in Puerto Rico receiving the funds and the strings attached to the money.

Tim Ramos, a former Republican candidate for mayor of Allentown, also expressed his support for Trump at the Tuesday rally and spoke about his Puerto Rican heritage.

"We have a proud heritage — a heritage that has seen our men fight in every war this nation has ever waged," he said. "We are a beautiful people from a beautiful island."

"We need a leader who understands that and sees that in us," Ramos added. "Donald Trump is that leader."

Harris and other Democrats have been critical of Trump following Hinchcliffe's joke. The vice president even created an advertisement that plays Hinchcliffe saying the joke, which is followed by her criticizing Trump's response to the hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico in 2017.

"I will never forget what Donald Trump did," Harris says in the advertisement. "He abandoned the island and offered nothing more than paper towels and insults. Puerto Ricans deserve better. As president, I will always fight for you and your families and together, we can chart a new way forward."

Polls show that Harris is leading Trump with Latino voters, but the polls also show her with less support from Latinos than other Democratic presidential candidates in recent elections.

Full Article

Pope Francis says Mass for All Souls' Day at the Laurentino Cemetery outside Rome, Nov. 2, 2018. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNAVatican City, Oct 30, 2024 / 10:10 am (CNA).After an October full of activity due to the Synod on Synodality, in November Pope Francis will once again mark the beginning of the month of the dead with special prayers and Masses for All Saints' and All Souls' Days. On the solemnity of All Saints on Nov. 1, Pope Francis will lead the Angelus, a traditional Marian prayer, from a window overlooking St. Peter's Square at noon Rome time, as he does on every holy day of obligation.Before the Angelus, the pope will deliver a short reflection; often it is based on the day's Gospel or feast. Afterward, he may greet some of the groups present in St. Peter's Square and draw attention to current social issues affecting the world, especially war.For All Souls' Day on Nov. 2, Francis will continue his custom of holding a Mass in a local cemetery to pray for the ...

Pope Francis says Mass for All Souls' Day at the Laurentino Cemetery outside Rome, Nov. 2, 2018. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, Oct 30, 2024 / 10:10 am (CNA).

After an October full of activity due to the Synod on Synodality, in November Pope Francis will once again mark the beginning of the month of the dead with special prayers and Masses for All Saints' and All Souls' Days. 

On the solemnity of All Saints on Nov. 1, Pope Francis will lead the Angelus, a traditional Marian prayer, from a window overlooking St. Peter's Square at noon Rome time, as he does on every holy day of obligation.

Before the Angelus, the pope will deliver a short reflection; often it is based on the day's Gospel or feast. Afterward, he may greet some of the groups present in St. Peter's Square and draw attention to current social issues affecting the world, especially war.

For All Souls' Day on Nov. 2, Francis will continue his custom of holding a Mass in a local cemetery to pray for the dead, especially the holy souls in purgatory.

The Mass will be offered at 10 a.m. in part of the nearly 52-acre Laurentino Cemetery — Rome's third largest. Pope Francis usually gives a brief, spontaneous homily on this occasion.

This will be the pope's second All Souls' Day Mass in Laurentino Cemetery. In 2018, he offered Mass in an area of the cemetery reserved for deceased children and unborn babies called the "Garden of Angels."

Since 2016, Pope Francis has celebrated or presided at a Mass in six different cemeteries in or near Rome. For All Souls' Day in 2023, Mass was offered at the small Rome War Cemetery, which contains 426 Commonwealth burials from the Second World War.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the pope opted to stay in Vatican City and celebrate Mass for the faithful departed in the Church of Our Lady of Mercy, which is surrounded by the Teutonic Cemetery — the burial place of people of German, Austrian, and Swiss descent, and particularly members of the Archconfraternity to the Sorrowful Mother of God of the Germans and Flemings.

In 2019, the pope celebrated Mass at the Catacombs of Priscilla, while in 2022 he privately visited the Teutonic Cemetery again but offered Mass for deceased bishops and cardinals in St. Peter's Basilica — another papal custom during the week of All Saints' and All Souls' Days.

On Sunday, Nov. 3, Pope Francis will again lead the Angelus in St. Peter's Square, as he does every Sunday at noon.

The following morning, on Nov. 4, he will preside at a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica for the repose of the souls of the bishops and cardinals who died during the previous year. It is the pope's practice to always offer this Mass sometime during the first week of November.

Full Article

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims as he enters St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for his Wednesday general audience on Oct. 30, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNAVatican City, Oct 30, 2024 / 10:40 am (CNA).Pope Francis addressed thousands of international pilgrims in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, urging them not to turn the sacrament of confirmation into their "last rites" as Catholics but to use it as "the beginning of an active participation in the Church."Continuing his catechetical series on the Holy Spirit and the Church, the Holy Father during his Wednesday general audience said confirmation is a "gift of God" and a "milestone" that should not mark a departure from the Church for Catholics.Pope Francis greets pilgrims as he enters St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for his Wednesday general audience on Oct. 30, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA"People say that it is the 'sacrament of goodbye' because once young people have done it they leave," he said. "They come back for wed...

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims as he enters St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for his Wednesday general audience on Oct. 30, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Oct 30, 2024 / 10:40 am (CNA).

Pope Francis addressed thousands of international pilgrims in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, urging them not to turn the sacrament of confirmation into their "last rites" as Catholics but to use it as "the beginning of an active participation in the Church."

Continuing his catechetical series on the Holy Spirit and the Church, the Holy Father during his Wednesday general audience said confirmation is a "gift of God" and a "milestone" that should not mark a departure from the Church for Catholics.

Pope Francis greets pilgrims as he enters St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for his Wednesday general audience on Oct. 30, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Pope Francis greets pilgrims as he enters St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for his Wednesday general audience on Oct. 30, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

"People say that it is the 'sacrament of goodbye' because once young people have done it they leave," he said. "They come back for weddings. That's what people say."

The pope suggested that lay faithful "who have had a personal encounter with Christ and have had some experience of the Spirit" could reignite their own faith by helping other Catholics to better prepare for confirmation, which is the sacrament of the Holy Spirit "par excellence."  

Reflecting on the accounts of the confirmation of the first Christians, recorded in the Acts of the Apostles and in St. Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, Pope Francis said it is God himself who anoints believers.

"He has put his seal upon us and given the Spirit in our hearts," he told the crowds present in St. Peter's Square. "The theme of the Holy Spirit as the royal seal with which Christ marks his sheep is at the basis of the doctrine of the indelible character conferred by this rite."

Pope Francis receives a youngster for a blessing during his Wednesday general audience on Oct. 30, 2024, in St. Peter' Square at the Vatican. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Pope Francis receives a youngster for a blessing during his Wednesday general audience on Oct. 30, 2024, in St. Peter' Square at the Vatican. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

"Confirmation is for all the faithful what Pentacost was for the entire Church. It strengthens the baptismal incorporation into Christ and the Church, and the royal consecration to the prophetic, royal, and priestly mission," he added.

During the Wednesday audience, the Holy Father expressed his desire that Catholics will "remove the ashes of habit and disengagement" to become "bearers of the flame of the Spirit" in the upcoming 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.

Drawing attention to the solemnity of All Saints' Day, celebrated on Nov. 1, the pope reminded his listeners that those who have gone before, who now enjoy "heavenly glory" and are "by the Father's side," wish to also be in communion with us and to guide us in our journey toward heaven.

Prayers for the Spirit's gift of peace in the world

After greeting pilgrims belonging to different language groups — including Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish — and expressing his closeness with the young, sick, elderly, and newlyweds, the pope exhorted all people to continue to pray for peace in the world.

Pope Francis addresses pilgrims gathered for his Wednesday general audience on Oct. 30, 2024, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Pope Francis addresses pilgrims gathered for his Wednesday general audience on Oct. 30, 2024, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

"We pray for peace. War is continuing to grow," he said. "Let us think of the countries that are suffering so much: tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Myanmar, North Kivu [in Congo], and so many other countries that are suffering from war."

"Peace is a gift of the Spirit and war is always a defeat. Nobody wins in war, everybody loses. Let's pray for peace, brothers and sisters."

Full Article

The 2023 Plenary Assembly of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) meets Sept. 25-28, 2023, outside of Toronto. / Credit: CCCB/CECCToronto, Canada, Oct 30, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).With euthanasia rates soaring across the country, Canada's Catholic bishops are appealing for greater emphasis on palliative care, including better end-of-life training for doctors and a call for policymakers to prioritize palliative services in health care.On Oct. 24, a working group following up on the International Interfaith Symposium on Palliative Care held in Toronto in May issued six targeted recommendations to improve palliative care services:Enhanced education by training health care professionals in palliative care to address patients' physical, emotional, and spiritual needsPrioritizing palliative care in health care policy with more funding, clear standards, and ensuring that palliative care is widely available and properly supported across CanadaCommunity involvement through lo...

The 2023 Plenary Assembly of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) meets Sept. 25-28, 2023, outside of Toronto. / Credit: CCCB/CECC

Toronto, Canada, Oct 30, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

With euthanasia rates soaring across the country, Canada's Catholic bishops are appealing for greater emphasis on palliative care, including better end-of-life training for doctors and a call for policymakers to prioritize palliative services in health care.

On Oct. 24, a working group following up on the International Interfaith Symposium on Palliative Care held in Toronto in May issued six targeted recommendations to improve palliative care services:

  • Enhanced education by training health care professionals in palliative care to address patients' physical, emotional, and spiritual needs

  • Prioritizing palliative care in health care policy with more funding, clear standards, and ensuring that palliative care is widely available and properly supported across Canada

  • Community involvement through local organizations and faith communities that actively support palliative care efforts and create a network of support for those at the end of life

  • Recognizing the importance of spiritual care at the end of life by integrating spiritual and pastoral support into palliative treatment plans

  • Ensuring access to high-quality end-of-life services for all Canadians regardless of location, economic status, or background

  • International collaboration through global partnerships in the palliative care field, sharing best practices and resources, promoting better care, and fostering innovation in the field

The recommendations come from a working group of Canadian and American academic experts in palliative care following the International Interfaith Symposium on Palliative Care, titled "Towards a Narrative of Hope," held May 21–23. The symposium was organized by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in partnership with the Pontifical Academy for Life.

The group of Canadian and American academic experts in palliative care will now begin a new phase of resource development and advocacy based on the recommendations, the bishops said in a press release.

In a statement included with the recommendations, the group said the Christian roots of palliative care serve as a "model of care" to "prevent and ameliorate the physical as well as the spiritual and psychosocial suffering of those facing serious, life-threatening, or life-limiting illness."

The statement highlighted Pope Francis' message to the symposium participants in which he encouraged the practice of "authentic palliative care" with the Christian understanding of "staying with — or being present to — those who are ill and dying" as a "sign of the charity and hope that are at the heart of the ministry of caregiving."

This story was first published by The B.C. Catholic on Oct. 24, 2024, and is reprinted here with permission.

Full Article

Archbishop Dennis Schnurr celebrates Mass at the tomb of St. Peter along with other bishops from the United States. / Credit: David Kerr/CNACNA Staff, Oct 29, 2024 / 13:35 pm (CNA).The archbishop of Cincinnati is ending a 110-year relationship with Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) due to the group promoting gender ideology "contrary" to Catholic teaching.Archbishop Dennis Schnurr announced that pastors in the archdiocese must discontinue any partnerships with GSUSA by December 2025."The Archdiocese of Cincinnati cannot partner with an organization that, from its highest level, advocates ideas which the Church considers false and harmful," Schnurr wrote in the Oct. 28 letter to the faithful.Schnurr noted that GSUSA "has embraced and promoted an impoverished worldview regarding gender and sexuality" through some activities, badges, and resources. GSUSA and its local chapter in Ohio "has contributed to normalizing a sexual and gender ideology contrary to the Catholic understanding o...

Archbishop Dennis Schnurr celebrates Mass at the tomb of St. Peter along with other bishops from the United States. / Credit: David Kerr/CNA

CNA Staff, Oct 29, 2024 / 13:35 pm (CNA).

The archbishop of Cincinnati is ending a 110-year relationship with Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) due to the group promoting gender ideology "contrary" to Catholic teaching.

Archbishop Dennis Schnurr announced that pastors in the archdiocese must discontinue any partnerships with GSUSA by December 2025.

"The Archdiocese of Cincinnati cannot partner with an organization that, from its highest level, advocates ideas which the Church considers false and harmful," Schnurr wrote in the Oct. 28 letter to the faithful.

Schnurr noted that GSUSA "has embraced and promoted an impoverished worldview regarding gender and sexuality" through some activities, badges, and resources. GSUSA and its local chapter in Ohio "has contributed to normalizing a sexual and gender ideology contrary to the Catholic understanding of the human person made male and female in the image and likeness of God," he noted.

"Our greatest responsibility as the Catholic Church is fidelity to the Gospel and sharing the saving mission of Christ," Schnurr said. "It is therefore essential that all youth programs at our parishes and schools affirm virtues and values consistent with the teaching of Jesus Christ."

Schnurr noted that the decision to pull away from GSUSA "has not been made lightly" and that the Church has been in conversation with leaders of the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio (GSWO).

"Despite mutually respectful discussions and communication with the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio over the past two years, we have been unable to agree on an acceptable path forward," he wrote.

In recent years, the archdiocese has been in conversation with GSWO over a "memorandum of understanding" over what practices are permissible for Girl Scout troops in the archdiocese. In 2023, the archdiocese requested that GSWO "cease promotion of activities, resources, badges, and awards repugnant to Catholic teaching," but the two groups reached an "impasse" in April of this year over phrasing in the memorandum, according to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

Schnurr noted that scouting "is fundamentally good" as it "builds virtue, discipline, and community" and "helps form responsible, well-rounded citizens." The archbishop shared his gratitude to those who served as scout leaders for "faithfully helping young people incorporate the values and lessons traditionally associated with scouting into their lives."

"While this development is difficult to share, it does not diminish my profound respect and appreciation for the many Girl Scout leaders in our archdiocese who have faithfully served our youth," Schnurr said.

GSWO said in a statement that it was "deeply disappointed" by the archbishop's decision, according to a report by WLWT5.

Objectionable Girl Scout materials, practices

In a list of objectionable Girl Scout materials, the archdiocese highlighted the "Inclusive Together" patch, which features a "Social Identity Wheel" encouraging girls to identify their sexual orientation and gender identity in group conversations.

The archdiocese also highlighted the "LGBTQ+ Pride Month Fun" patch, which promotes the idea that gender can be rejected and encourages girls to watch LGBTQ+ movies including rated R and TV-MA materials.

Several controversies have peppered the GSUSA in the past decade, such as the national group's decision to implement LGBTQ+ Pride Month patches as well as a controversy about "gender inclusive" overnight camps.

The national group says it leaves placement decisions for transgender youth on a case-by-case basis but notes that GSUSA "can serve" biological boys who identify as girls,"if the child is recognized by the family and school/community as a girl and lives culturally as a girl," according to its website.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released the results of a two-year investigation into GSUSA in 2014. The inquiry followed reports that the GSUSA contributed to the World Association of Girl Guides and Scouts, which is tied to Planned Parenthood and abortion and contraception advocacy, the USCCB found. Following the investigation, the USCCB advised dioceses to work with local Girl Scout chapters on acceptable materials for Catholic troops. 

GSUSA denies any partnership with Planned Parenthood on its website and states that it does not take a stance on abortion, birth control, or sexuality. 

American Heritage Girls are favored

Schnurr recently endorsed a faith-based scouting group, American Heritage Girls (AHG), encouraging parishes to partner with the group. AHG has a committee designed to support Catholic girls in their faith, which has Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, as its episcopal moderator. 

"Scouting can be an efficacious part of Catholic youth ministry, espousing a way of life congruent with the Gospel, as it has in our own archdiocese for decades," Schnurr stated. 

Other Catholic leaders have endorsed AHG, including Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, who, in 2017, authorized an archdiocesan transition from Girl Scouts to American Heritage Girls. Other Catholic dioceses and archdioceses including Birmingham, Alabama; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Fort Worth, Texas; Milwaukee; Omaha, Nebraska; and Rockford, Illinois, have endorsed AHG in recent years.  

GSWO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Full Article

The Reverend Mother Superior Teresa Agnes Gerlach of the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Arlington, Texas. / Credit: Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity Discalced Carmelite NunsCNA Staff, Oct 29, 2024 / 14:05 pm (CNA).A group of Texas nuns has been dismissed from religious life and returned to the lay state after a lengthy feud with their bishop over the governance of their monastery.Mother Marie of the Incarnation, the president of the Association of Christ the King, said in a letter to the Diocese of Fort Worth on Monday that the nuns of the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Arlington, Texas, have been dismissed from the Order of Discalced Carmelites and "reverted to the lay state" after more than a year of sustained defiance of their superiors.The dismissal caps a bitter and divisive feud between the Carmelite nuns and Church authorities ranging from Fort Worth Bishop Michael Olson to the Vatican itself.The controversy began last year when Olson launc...

The Reverend Mother Superior Teresa Agnes Gerlach of the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Arlington, Texas. / Credit: Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity Discalced Carmelite Nuns

CNA Staff, Oct 29, 2024 / 14:05 pm (CNA).

A group of Texas nuns has been dismissed from religious life and returned to the lay state after a lengthy feud with their bishop over the governance of their monastery.

Mother Marie of the Incarnation, the president of the Association of Christ the King, said in a letter to the Diocese of Fort Worth on Monday that the nuns of the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Arlington, Texas, have been dismissed from the Order of Discalced Carmelites and "reverted to the lay state" after more than a year of sustained defiance of their superiors.

The dismissal caps a bitter and divisive feud between the Carmelite nuns and Church authorities ranging from Fort Worth Bishop Michael Olson to the Vatican itself.

The controversy began last year when Olson launched an investigation into the monastery amid allegations that Reverend Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach had conducted an affair with a priest.

The nuns in May 2023 filed a lawsuit against Olson over the investigation, claiming violations of privacy and harming the physical and emotional well-being of the sisters. Olson eventually dismissed Gerlach from religious life.

In April of this year, the Vatican declared that the Association of Christ the King in the United States of America would oversee the "government, discipline, studies, goods, rights, and privileges" of the Texas monastery.

The nuns, however, defied the Vatican order, going so far as to associate with the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), a traditionalist group that is not in full communion with the Catholic Church and has a canonically irregular status.

'Our only wish is that they would repent'

On Monday, Mother Marie of the Incarnation said the nuns' repeated defiance included denying the authority of the Vatican's Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life as well as denying the authority of their bishop and of Marie herself as their superior. She said the nuns also committed "unlawful formal association" with SSPX. 

These violations were "exacerbated by their illicit expropriation of the juridic person of the Carmelite monastery," Mother Marie wrote. 

The nuns "entrusted to laypeople" the property of the monastery, she said, which "had been entrusted to them by countless benefactors, for the purpose of serving Christ in the Church through the Discalced Carmelite life."

The nuns' dismissal from religious life was brought about "by their own actions," Mother Marie wrote. 

"I ask for your continued prayers and sacrifices on behalf of these seven women," she said, adding that "our only wish is that the dismissed members of the Carmel would repent, so that the monastic property could again be rightly called a monastery, inhabited by Discalced Carmelite nuns, in good canonical standing with the Church of Rome."

In a brief statement accompanying the announcement, Olson echoed Mother Marie's call for prayers for the dismissed nuns, while also directing that Catholics refrain from attending Mass at the monastery. 

He also requested that the faithful "not offer financial support" to the nuns. 

In a letter last month, Olson had responded to reports that the nuns had reinstalled Gerlach as prioress in an illicit election. The bishop described the move as "scandalous" and "permeated with the odor of schism."

In her Monday letter, Mother Marie noted that a Carmelite nun "vows to live according to the rule and constitutions of the Order of Discalced Carmelites."

The nuns were given the opportunity to reunify themselves with the Church, she noted, but they "have chosen otherwise, and their choices have brought upon themselves the different status which is now theirs."

Full Article

Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Soundcloud

Public Inspection File | EEO

© 2015 - 2021 Spirit FM 90.5 - All Rights Reserved.