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ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 16, 2024 / 18:10 pm (CNA).

Following the tragic fire that destroyed St. Anthony of Padua Church and the Franciscan convent in Iquique, Chile, the local bishop, Isauro Covili Linfati, offered words of encouragement to the community. Meanwhile the cause of the fire is under investigation.

In a video message recorded in front of the gutted-out church, the prelate noted that the people have gone through "such a difficult and painful situation as the loss of this church," which he described as a "tremendous drama."

In this context, he offered "words of encouragement and hope to the entire community."

"It is true that this place of St. Anthony is an emblematic place, significant in the heart and in the life of the city and this area, and also of the region. There are so many brothers and sisters, hundreds and thousands of brothers and sisters who have a bond with this place by their faith, by their affection, by family history," he recalled.

He thus encouraged people to live this time as a time of mourning and from there "for us to be able to recover as people and also restore the site, God willing, in the future," he said with earnest, hoping that this experience "allows us to encounter one another, to reencounter one another, to be more united every day."

The prelate also recalled the Franciscan brothers who arrived from Belgium at the beginning of the 20th century as well as the Chileans and Peruvians who worked "so that this place might continue to be significant in the hearts and lives of all of us."

Despite the sadness, Covili assured that the Church is hopeful, "because from the experience of mourning we can recover." He also hoped that the presence of the Franciscans "can continue in this place, so that this place continues to be so significant, because the city can only be understood from here, from this point," he said.

Possibility of arson being investigated

Construction on the historic church began in 1899 and was completed in 1904. 

The Chilean province's Environmental and Cultural Heritage Crimes Investigation Brigade is in charge of the investigation to try to determine the cause of the fire.

The head of the brigade, Sub-Prefect Maritza Cossio Rodríguez, emphasized that "the parish is a national monument, declared a historical monument on Oct. 25, 1994, and it is our responsibility to investigate this type of incident," the Chilean website Pura Noticia explains.

In addition, Cossio said that action is being taken "to determine if there was participation by third parties and to establish responsibilities in this catastrophe."

The same website also notes that a day earlier, as reported by some faithful of the community, a small fire had been put out that did not cause major problems.

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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Vatican City, Oct 16, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).

The Vatican Museums this week unveiled one of its most celebrated acquisitions, the "Apollo Belvedere," after years of intensive restoration work by Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums (PAVM) on the ancient marble statue.

Following the discovery of the statue in Rome in 1489, Pope Julius II requested the Apollo Belvedere to be brought to the Vatican in the early 16th century to be part of a papal collection known as the Courtyard of Statues in Belvedere, which highlighted the mythical origins of ancient Rome.

Monsignor Terence Hogan, PAVM coordinator and a priest of the Archdiocese of Miami, said the restoration of Apollo Belvedere is "significant because it gives us an insight into the early history of Rome" before the rise of Christianity. 

"It gives us an insight into culture and also faith and history," Hogan said in an interview with EWTN News. "We [the Vatican Museums] are the oldest museum in the world and so people from all around the world now can appreciate the faith, the art, the history, the culture of so many centuries." 

The restoration of Apollo Belvedere, directed by the Vatican Museums' Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, faced several challenges before its official unveiling on Oct. 15, including the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019, which delayed the project.

"We closed on Christmas Eve 2019; however the actual work on the sculpture — between the research project and the actual study and restoration — has been just over two years," said Claudia Valeri, curator of the Greek and Roman antiquities department.

"The preciousness of this sculpture is infinite because it is an iconic statue among classical sculptures," she added.

According to Valeri, a significant archaeological discovery in northern Naples in the 1950s recovered the original plaster casts of the missing left hand of the Apollo Belvedere.

The cast was used by the Vatican's restoration teams to create the marble copy of the hand now seen on the newly unveiled statue.

Valeri also said further study analysis of the statue of the ancient Roman god indicates that the all-white marble statue once had golden hair.

"Analysis detected traces of gold. We imagine that Apollo's hair was golden, and by the way the Greek poets describe him to us as 'radiant Apollo,'" Valeri told EWTN News.

Almost 500 years have passed since the last restorative works were carried out by Italian sculptor and architect Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli between 1532 and 1533.

EWTN Vatican Bureau intern Angelina Martsisheuskaya contributed to this report.

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CNA Staff, Oct 16, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The Diocese of Orange in California has officially finished its renovation of Christ Cathedral, a onetime-Protestant megachurch, after more than a decade of work that brings to completion what the diocese calls a "major center of Catholic worship."

The cathedral has been fully operational for five years and currently hosts nearly a dozen Masses in multiple languages every weekend, serving upward of 12,000 Catholics. 

The diocese in 2011 purchased the massive glass-faced building, previously the center of the Presbyterian Shepherd's Grove congregation, for $57.5 million. The diocese had long been planning to build a new cathedral in nearby Santa Ana before the building, then known as the Crystal Cathedral, went up for auction.

Shortly after its purchase, the diocese launched a total renovation project to "redesign the main building to comply [with] Catholic liturgical tradition and needs." The diocese ultimately dedicated the cathedral in 2019 after a seven-year, $77-million renovation process.

The diocese announced earlier this month that it had finally completed the renovation of the building, heralding a "milestone moment in the history of the diocese" that has established the cathedral as "a major center of Catholic worship for the West Coast."

The diocese said it had finished work on the building's St. Callistus Chapel and Crypts, which finalized "all the major components of the original vision to transform the Crystal Cathedral into Christ Cathedral." A dedication Mass of the chapel and crypts was held on Monday.

"It was a long path to reach this moment," Orange Bishop Kevin Vann said in the release, "but the Lord gets us to where we need to be."

"I hope all feel a great sense of gratitude, and I'm particularly thankful for everybody who participated in this, from beginning to end," the bishop said. 

The full project included "renovating the cathedral, arboretum, and Tower of Hope; expanding the Cathedral Memorial Gardens cemetery; building the Our Lady of La Vang Shrine and Marian Gardens; and restoring the Hazel Wright Organ," the diocese said. 

The Hazel Wright Organ, the cathedral says on its website, is "the fifth-largest pipe organ in the world, with more than 17,000 pipes, more than 300 stops, and nearly 300 ranks."  

It was built in 1982 and is "arguably the most widely heard organ in the world," owing to the widely-viewed weekly "Hour of Power" television show that had for years been broadcast out of the building by the Shepherd's Grove congregation. 

The St. Callistus chapel, meanwhile, features "an elaborate tabernacle inspired by 12-century masterpieces of medieval goldsmithing," the diocese said. Music for the chapel will be provided by a smaller pipe organ. A relic of the third-century St. Callistus I will also reside in the chapel's reliquary.

The chapel also features a tribute to Robert Schuller, the founder of the Crystal Cathedral, as well as his wife, Arvella. Both were "key supporters in the sale of their iconic glass church and its environs to the Diocese of Orange."

The cathedral's expansive campus includes multiple buildings, including a diocesan pastoral center, a cultural center, a gift shop, and several other structures. EWTN, the parent company of CNA, also has a television studio on the campus.

The Orange Diocese includes 1.3 million Catholics, 58 parishes, five Catholic centers, and 36 schools. Every weekend, Christ Cathedral offers a total of 11 Masses in four languages — English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Chinese.

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Vatican City, Oct 16, 2024 / 09:10 am (CNA).

Pope Francis expressed hope for "reconciled differences" between Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians during his Wednesday general audience, reflecting on the centuries-old "Filioque" dispute that has divided Western and Eastern Christians.

In his catechesis on the Holy Spirit on Oct. 16, Pope Francis reflected on the words of the Nicene Creed: "I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son." Adopted in its earliest form at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, the Nicene Creed is recited by Catholics during Sunday Mass.

Pope Francis noted that the later addition of the "Filioque," Latin for "and from the Son" in the creed, sparked a dispute that "has been the reason, or pretext, for so many arguments and divisions between the Church of the East and the Church of the West."

The pope added, however, that "the climate of dialogue between the two Churches has lost the acrimony of the past and today allows us to hope for full mutual acceptance, as one of the main 'reconciled differences.'"

Francis underscored the importance of moving beyond past disputes, calling for unity and reconciliation among Christians despite their differences. "I like to say this: 'Reconciled differences,'" the pope said.

"Among Christians, there are many differences: He follows this school, that one another; this person is a Protestant, that person … The important thing is that these differences are reconciled in the love of walking together," Pope Francis said in St. Peter's Square.

Pope Francis' comments come as his designated peace envoy Cardinal Matteo Zuppi wraps up a trip to Moscow where he met Tuesday with a top-ranking member of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, the head of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations.

More than a dozen Orthodox and Protestant leaders are also in Rome this month as "fraternal delegates" in the ongoing Synod on Synodality assembly, including representatives of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and all of Africa, the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, the Lutheran World Federation, and the World Mennonite Conference.

Pope Francis emphasized that the Holy Spirit is "life-giving" and said that this truth can unite Christians today. "Having overcome this obstacle, today we can value the most important prerogative for us that is proclaimed in the article of the Creed, namely that the Holy Spirit is 'life-giving,' the 'giver of life,'" he said.

In his reflection, the pope described how in the Genesis creation account, God's breath gave life to Adam, turning a clay figure into a "living being."

"Now, in the new creation, the Holy Spirit is the one who gives believers new life, the life of Christ, a supernatural life, as children of God," Francis explained. He quoted the apostle Paul's letter to the Romans 8:2: "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death." 

Pope Francis emphasized that the Holy Spirit grants eternal life, which is a source of great hope. 

"Where is the great and consoling news for us in all this? It is that the life given to us by the Holy Spirit is eternal life," the pope said. 

"Faith frees us from the horror of having to admit that everything ends here, that there is no redemption for the suffering and injustice that reign sovereign on earth." Citing Romans 8:11, he added: "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you."

"Let us cultivate this faith also for those who, often through no fault of their own, lack it and struggle to find meaning in life. And let us not forget to thank him who, through his death, has obtained this priceless gift for us," the pope added.

Pope Francis offered greetings to pilgrims in St. Peter's Square from England, France, Brazil, Poland, Denmark, Norway, South Africa, India, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Canada, and the United States.

At the end of the general audience, Pope Francis appealed once again for peace in the world, urging people not to forget to pray for countries at war.

"Let us not forget war-torn Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Myanmar," he said. "Brothers and sisters, let us remember that war is always, always, a defeat. Let us not forget this, and let us pray for peace and work for peace."

The pope also offered advice to a group of young people in the crowd who recently received the sacrament of confirmation.

"Dear young people, open your hearts to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit to be courageous witnesses of the Gospel," he said.

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Vatican City, Oct 16, 2024 / 10:20 am (CNA).

We cannot "reinvent the Catholic faith" or "teach a different Catholicism in different countries," Australian Archbishop Anthony Fisher, OP, of Sydney and a delegate at the Synod on Synodality said in an interview this week.

As the synodal assembly debates part 3 of the Instrumentum Laboris on "places," the bishops and laypeople are considering questions such as the future of synodality and the role and authority of national bishops' conferences, the archbishop told "EWTN News Nightly" on Oct. 15 in an interview to be broadcast Friday.

Should bishops' conferences "have the authority to teach a different Catholicism in different countries or to decide a different liturgy in different countries or different Mass for different countries? Do they bring their own local culture to questions in the area of morals, for instance?" Fisher told "EWTN News Nightly" Associate Producer Bénédicte Cedergren. 

"Could we, for instance, envision a Church where you have ordination of women in some countries but not in other countries, or you have same-sex marriages in some countries but not in other countries, or you have an Arian Christology in some countries and a Nicene Christology in others?" he continued. "You might guess, I think no."

The Dominican archbishop leads one of Australia's largest archdioceses by number of Catholics. Sydney serves around 590,000 Catholics and has a population of nearly 5.3 million people.

As one of 15 bishops on the ordinary council of the Synod of Bishops for the Synod on Synodality, Fisher attended the first session of the synodal assembly in October 2023 and is back in Rome this month for the second session.

After three years of consultations at the local and universal level, at the end of this month the Catholic Church will conclude a process of discernment about how to become more synodal and more missionary.

Fisher told "EWTN News Nightly" he is "very concerned" that Catholics "hold on to the deposit of faith, the apostolic tradition, that we don't imagine, in the vanity of our age, that we are going to reinvent the Catholic faith or the Catholic Church."

"In fact, this is a tremendous treasure that we've received from generation after generation before us, all the way back to Our Lord Jesus Christ and his apostles. And we are here to transmit that faithfully to the next generations after us," he said.

The archbishop acknowledged that our understanding of the deposit of faith has developed over time and will continue to develop, and added that he thinks it is an exciting feature of the Church that "we've managed to have a great variety of cultures and different ways of praying and different ways of evangelizing, and yet we hold together as one in Christ."

"But it is the one faith, and it's important to me, coming from the peripheries of the Church in Australia, about as far away as you can be from Rome in the world," he said, that "it's the one Church, it's the one faith and we want to keep celebrating that even amidst our cultural diversity."

Changes being debated

Fisher said one of the important questions the synod is debating this week is what is "the scope and what are the limits of the local and the cultural" in the universal Catholic Church.

The Synod on Synodality is discussing the third and final part of the Instrumentum Laboris, or working document, Oct. 15–18. The last week of the gathering, which ends Oct. 27, will be dedicated to drafting and revising the final document.

In paragraph 91 of the third part, the document notes that there are structures such as parish councils, deaneries, and dioceses already regulated in canon law that "could prove to be even more suitable for giving a synodal approach a concrete form."

"These councils can become subjects of ecclesial discernment and synodal decision-making …," the document continues. "Therefore, this is one of the most promising areas on which to act for a swift implementation of the synodal proposals and orientations, leading to changes with an effective and rapid impact."

A little further in the same part of the working document, it also says: "Episcopal conferences are fundamental instruments for creating links and sharing experiences between the Churches and for decentralizing governance and pastoral planning."

"From all that has been gathered so far during this synodal process, the following proposals emerge: (a) recognition of episcopal conferences as ecclesial subjects endowed with doctrinal authority, assuming sociocultural diversity within the framework of a multifaceted Church and favoring the appreciation of liturgical, disciplinary, theological, and spiritual expressions appropriate to different sociocultural contexts," the text says in paragraph 97.

Interculturality in the Church

In the context of these ideas, Fisher said he thinks "we need to have the same faith, the same morals, the same Church order, and essentially the same liturgy."

"But we do make space for the different ritual traditions in the Church and for different cultural adaptations and for different ways of evangelizing in different places," he added.

The archbishop noted that in his Archdiocese of Sydney, for example, they have many different Catholic ritual traditions, such as the Maronites, Melkites, Chaldeans, Ukrainians, and Syro-Malabars.

"We know they bring different spiritualities ... a different Mass and different prayer forms, but also often a different understanding of synodality, of the roles of bishops, of the way you choose bishops, they have different canon law and a different Church order while still being part of the one Catholic Church," he underlined.

"And it is part of the excitement of the Church, I think, that you can go to a Maronite Mass and it's very different, and yet you also know it's the same thing: It's the Lord coming to us under the elements of bread and wine, but he's really present, his humanity and divinity, for us."

Bénédicte Cedergren, an associate producer for "EWTN News Nightly," contributed to this report.

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Ann Arbor, Michigan, Oct 16, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A celebration of two beloved saints recently served to highlight an initiative to found an authentically Catholic hospital and medical school in the Midwest. 

Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing, Michigan, celebrated a Mass at Holy Spirit Parish in nearby Brighton, Michigan, on Oct. 5 in honor of St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) and St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast days fell just days before. 

Boyea told a capacity crowd at dinner after Mass that the time is right for an authentically Catholic hospital in his diocese, which encompasses the state capital and much of southern Michigan. He said it will reflect the legacy of Padre Pio, who founded his Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza (Home for the Relief of Suffering) in Italy in the 1950s, and which was intended to be the first of many hospitals.

Earlier this year, nonprofit Catholic Healthcare International (CHI) signed a purchase agreement with Trinity Health, a national Catholic medical system, to buy a 140,000-square-foot hospital in Howell, Michigan, a rural small town. CHI Founder Jere Palazzolo told CNA the development comes as the culture of death increasingly endangers human life. The project's episcopal advisers are Cardinal Raymond Burke and Boyea. Financing and donors are still being sought to complete the purchase.

In 1956, beloved Padre Pio of Pietrelcina founded a respected major research medical center now administered by the Vatican. The saint described it as "a place of prayer and science" and "a healing place where patients, doctors, and priests will serve as reserves of love." No other such Casas have been created. 

Father Timothy Nelson, a CHI board member and cardiologist, told CNA: "I'm convinced that the project is of God. It is needed in a cultural climate where Catholics and Catholic medical care are being challenged."

Palazzolo said CHI will complement services offered by Trinity, allowing CHI to "focus on our mission to provide a real continuum of care from conception to natural death." 

When completed, the project is slated to house a medical school, embryo orphanage, outpatient and rehabilitative services, birthing unit, family medicine practice, and the Terri Schiavo Home for the Brain Injured.

"The medical center will serve as a place of hope and healing for students, patients, their families, and the entire community," Palazzolo said. It aims to become operational in 2026.

Back in 2009, CHI signed an agreement with the Casa in Italy to recreate the facility under Boyea. Burke has also emphasized the need for a truly faithful Catholic medical school to train physicians who value life and the dignity of human life, created in the image and likeness of God. As part of the project, CHI is seeking accreditation for a school of osteopathic medicine.

Dr. George Mychaskiw, the president of the proposed medical school who has founded medical schools elsewhere in the U.S., explained to CNA that some Catholic hospitals have fallen short of the culture of life espoused by the Church.

Echoing Burke, he said: "This medical school will provide the equivalent of a master's in bioethics and armor physicians with the faith and truth to stand with their patients, protecting the lives and dignity of the most vulnerable." 

He observed that the current euphemisms of "'reproductive health care,' 'ending suffering,' and 'no one would want to live like that'" so common in secular systems today are reminiscent of Nazi Germany. 

A veteran medical administrator, Palazzolo said abortion, contraception, in-vitro fertilization, euthanasia, and so-called "gender-affirming care" involving cross-sex hormones and surgical mutilation of secondary sexual characteristics will not be tolerated.

"We will emphasize the care of the unborn consistent with the teachings of the Catholic faith," he said. 

To underscore its foundation in prayer and faith, CHI has also developed the Worldwide Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Program. This unites adorers around the world in their intentions and in support of the mission of the Home for the Relief of Suffering in Italy and Michigan.

The forthcoming hospital in Michigan comes as Do No Harm, a secular advocacy group focused on combating transgenderism, released its stoptheharmdatabase.com website detailing transgender surgeries and interventions carried out on minors by ostensibly Catholic hospitals. 

"In a lot of Catholic systems, there is very little difference between them and secular systems," Palazzolo said, adding: "St. John Paul II was so strong in saying how Catholic systems should be operated and shouldn't get into joint ventures and alliances with non-Catholic systems."

With changes in reimbursement and government regulations, it became increasingly difficult for Catholic systems to stand firm, he said.

"Because it limited some of their business opportunities, many systems forfeited their Catholic identity or ignored the Church. This is across the country. There are few truly Catholic systems in our country," he explained.

The need for truly Catholic health care systems, Palazzolo pointed out, has also become more acute following the sale of hospitals owned by Ascension Healthcare to secular systems in Michigan and Illinois.

At the event, CNA also interviewed Anglican priest Calvin Robinson, a CHI board member who was in attendance. 

Robinson recently relocated from England to Michigan where he pastors an Anglican parish in Grand Rapids. He became especially well known after a 2023 Oxford Union debate in which he vigorously defended the institution of holy matrimony. 

He told CNA that his role in the project is to promote medical education grounded in Catholic teaching: "We are founding the medical school so that Catholic health care professionals are trained, particularly when it comes to abortion, IVF, end-of-life care, and euthanasia." 

"What we find is that many medical professionals end up becoming worldly and so they are pressured or incentivized to participate in things that any Catholic should object to. We want to train professionals so that they can say, 'I'm a Catholic. I can't do this,'" Robinson said. 

"I have been visiting the U.S. about once a month for the last two years and I am encouraged after being here. People are openly proclaiming the name of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. People still believe in Christ and in freedom. But that can't be said for the United Kingdom and most of Europe at this point," he said.

At the event, Robinson also deplored the erosion of civil rights in the U.K. "If you give in to the woke mob, you have no legs to stand on," he said.

"Either you stand for something or you do not stand at all," he said and related that he has relocated to the U.S. out of fear of persecution. He received a standing ovation from attendees at the event.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 15, 2024 / 18:05 pm (CNA).

An FBI whistleblower who spent two years fighting to regain his security clearance after questioning the agency's leadership told CNA that his Catholic faith and his desire to serve the public motivated his actions.

"I felt convicted in my actions by the Holy Spirit," Marcus Allen, the FBI whistleblower, told CNA.

Allen, who served in the Marine Corps from 2000 to 2005, has held a Top Secret security clearance since 2001, with the exception of the two years it was suspended. He joined the FBI in 2015 as a staff operations specialist. In 2019, he was the employee of the year at the Charlotte Field Office.

In March 2022, the FBI suspended Allen's security clearance. According to Allen, this disciplinary action was a result of concerns he had raised with his supervisors about FBI Director Christopher Wray's testimony concerning the events of Jan. 6, 2021. He said he believed the action was also a result of his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

According to the FBI, Allen was suspended due to "security concerns" related to "allegiance to the United States" and "personal conduct." 

Allen, in an interview with CNA, said he had expressed concerns to his supervisors that the FBI director had refused to answer questions from lawmakers about federal agents and informants at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He further asked whether there were confidential informants present that day during the protest and attack on the U.S. Capitol building.

Allen later sued the FBI and reached a settlement in May of this year, which reinstated his security clearance and guaranteed the FBI would provide back pay.

Testifying before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government last month, Allen said his suspension was a form of retaliation — a concern that lawmakers are investigating. He further noted that during the discovery process, his lawyers found that one official had referred to him as "delusional" for praying to the Holy Spirit in his decision-making process. Another official referred to him as "over the top" regarding his opinions on politics, religion, and COVID-19.

His lawyers argued that the FBI's decision to revoke his security clearance was partially based on his religious beliefs, which are protected under the First Amendment. He is represented by Empower Oversight Whistleblowers and Research, a whistleblower advocacy group.

"There are pretty disturbing comments about my faith [in the discovery documents]," Allen told CNA. "... My faith apparently was a problem for these people."

Allen said his questions about Jan. 6 and COVID-19, which he argued "should have been protected," appeared to be the primary motive for alleged FBI retaliation but that "it started to bubble to the surface that they also had an issue with my faith" through information obtained through the discovery process.

Allen's issues began when he spoke to his supervisors to express concerns about FBI Director Wray's testimonies to Congress in which the director repeatedly declined to say whether FBI agents or informants were among the Jan. 6 protesters. Allen, who has worked on internal and domestic terrorism issues, told CNA he would expect that federal agents or informants would be present.

"Any time there's an event like that … of course we have assets there," Allen said. "It's such an easy question for anybody in the FBI to answer."

Allen added that "normally there's a legitimate reason for us to have somebody there … [and the FBI assets are] not there to cause an issue or commit an act of violence." He said that even at smaller events, "we just have people there and there's a legal reason [and it is] justifiable to have people there." 

"That's what I was trying to call attention to with my chain of command," he continued. "... I think they were more concerned that I questioned the integrity of the director."

Allen said he felt the need to "speak up" about his concerns with Wray's answers to lawmakers because "silence" can make someone an "accomplice to sin."

"I consider myself a faithful Catholic Christian animated by the Gospel of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," Allen said, noting that he regularly prays the rosary and the Chaplet of the Holy Spirit. 

Allen also said he raised concerns because he is a "proud American citizen." He emphasized to CNA that he expressed his concerns "the proper way" by going through his chain of command instead of going to the media.

The whistleblower also made an appearance on the YouTube channel for the nonprofit Catholics for Catholics in which he prayed the rosary with the host, discussed what led to his suspension, and talked about his faith.

The video, however, was quickly removed by YouTube for violating its policies related to speech about COVID-19, according to Catholics for Catholics CEO John Yep. Allen referenced two medicines, ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, in the video.

Yep told CNA the COVID-19 comments were "the official reason" it was removed but said "there's a high probability that the Biden administration could have been pressuring YouTube" to remove the video.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan sent a letter to Sundar Pichai, the CEO of YouTube's parent company Alphabet, following the video's removal. He asked why the video was censored and whether Biden-Harris administration officials prompted the company to take it down.

According to the letter, Jordan's inquiry is part of the broader effort to investigate alleged FBI "collusion with Big Tech to censor American speech online."

Following Jordan's letter, YouTube reinstated the video in its entirety, Yep said. He added that he looks forward to Alphabet responding to the inquiry because "this could have been a censoring of religious [and] political speech." 

CNA reached out to Alphabet for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. 

Allen told CNA he's "not really that shocked" that YouTube initially removed the conversation, saying "censorship is ramping up." However, he added, "I think it's pretty ridiculous considering the content of the conversation that was taken down."

The FBI faced scrutiny over its treatment of Catholics after a leaked Richmond FBI memo detailed efforts to investigate a supposed link between "radical-traditionalist" Catholics and "the far-right white nationalist movement." The document discussed "threat mitigation" strategies through "trip wire or source development" within churches that offer the Latin Mass and "radical-traditionalist" Catholic online communities.

The FBI retracted the document after it became public and apologized for its content. A report from the Biden-Harris Department of Justice "failed to adhere to FBI standards" but showed no evidence of "malicious intent."

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CNA Newsroom, Oct 15, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Oct. 15 is the day when the Catholic Church remembers the Spanish Carmelite reformer and doctor of the Church St. Teresa of Ávila, whose life of prayer serves as an example for many Catholics today.

Teresa Sanchez Cepeda Davila y Ahumada was born in the Castilian city of Ávila in 1515, the third child in a family descended from Jewish merchants who had converted to Christianity during the reign of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

As a child, Teresa was captivated by the thought of eternity and the vision of God granted to the saints in heaven. She experienced many profound hardships, including the loss of her mother at age 14, which caused her to develop a devotion to the Virgin Mary. She also suffered through many debilitating illnesses and physical pain, nurturing a life of deep contemplative prayer. 

Here's what she had to say about suffering:

1. Remember your mortality.

"O my Lord, and my spouse, the desired hour is now come," she stated. "The hour is at last come, wherein I shall pass out of this exile, and my soul shall enjoy in thy company what it hath so earnestly longed for." 

2. We are called to suffer for truth.

"Truth suffers but never dies."

3. Suffering can serve as an active form of prayer — if we allow it.

"It shouldn't be thought that he who suffers isn't praying, for he is offering this to God. And often he is praying much more than the one who is breaking his head in solitude, thinking that if he has squeezed out some tears he is thereby praying."

4. Even out of evil, God can work for our good and the good of others.

"God knows how to draw good from evil. And the good is all the greater in the measure that we diligently strive that he not be offended in anything."

5. We act as instruments of Christ to bring aid and hope for those who suffer.

"Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul."

6. Every trial has a purpose, even if we won't see it fulfilled on earth.

"Courage, courage, my daughters. Remember that God does not give anyone more trials than can be suffered and that his majesty is with the afflicted. For this is certain, there is no reason to fear but to hope in his mercy. He will reveal the whole truth; and some machinations, which the devil kept hidden so as to create a disturbance, will be made known."

7. If someone in your life causes you to suffer, all the more reason to take them to prayer.

"I have taken particular care to pray to the Lord for those who think I am angry with them."

8. Suffering increases our humility if we allow it, thus drawing us closer to God. 

"The closer one approaches to God, the simpler one becomes."

9. God is close to those who mourn. 

"We need no wings to go in search of him but have only to look upon him present within us."

10. The people God places in our life bear his image and often can help us to endure our own cross.

"What a great favor God does to those he places in the company of good people!"

This article was first published on Oct. 15, 2022, and has been updated.

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CNA Staff, Oct 14, 2024 / 14:55 pm (CNA).

After Michigan's Catholic bishops condemned a video of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, saying she was "mocking" the Eucharist, Whitmer has apologized for how the video "had been construed." 

The viral video shows Whitmer feeding Liz Plank, a Canadian author, journalist, and influencer with 611,000 followers on her Instagram page "feministabulous," a Dorito chip during a session of "Chip Chat."

The video garnered controversy last week as many Catholics interpreted Plank's posture and the placement of the Dorito on the tongue as a mockery of the reception of holy Communion. Some noted that Plank appears to be kneeling in the video.

Michigan Catholics have since protested outside Whitmer's home in a "Rosary Rally for Religious Respect" organized by CatholicVote, a political advocacy group.

Michigan's Catholic bishops on Friday condemned the video after it went viral, with its president and CEO, Paul Long, saying that "whether or not insulting Catholics and the Eucharist was the intent, it has had an offensive impact."

But Whitmer said in a recent statement that mockery was not her intention. 

"Over 25 years in public service, I would never do something to denigrate someone's faith," Whitmer said in a statement shared with CNA. "I've used my platform to stand up for people's right to hold and practice their personal religious beliefs. My team has spoken to the Michigan Catholic Conference."

"What was supposed to be a video about the importance of the CHIPS Act to Michigan jobs has been construed as something it was never intended to be, and I apologize for that," Whitmer said. 

The caption of the video, which was edited, references the CHIPS Act, a 2022 Biden administration law known as the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act.

"If he won't, Gretchen Whitmer will," the caption of Plank's Instagram post read. "Chips aren't just delicious, the CHIPS Act is a game-changer for U.S. tech and manufacturing, boosting domestic production of semiconductors to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers! Donald Trump would put that at risk."

Defenders of Whitmer assert that the video was part of a TikTok trend in which a person is fed by another person. A clip of "The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert and "Bear" star Jeremy Allen White taking part in the trend went viral in June.

"I will also note, Liz is not kneeling in the video. She is seated," Whitmer's press secretary, Stacey LaRouche, told CNA on Monday. 

"No one was on their knees. I'm sitting on a couch that's visible in the shot," Plank said in a post on X on Sunday. 

Plank has also criticized the media's attention to the controversy in a post on her Substack, saying it takes away attention from the CHIPS Act.  

"In the last 24 hours, I've become the target of a right-wing conspiracy accusing me of performing satanic rituals with Doritos," Plank wrote. "I wish I were kidding — but apparently, snack-based witchcraft is where we're at in this election cycle!" 

In response to the governor's apology, Michigan's Catholic bishops reiterated their call for respect toward people of all religious backgrounds.

"It is our hope the governor and her team now more fully understand and appreciate the hurt that has been caused," Long told CNA. "We reiterate our call for elected officials to be respectful and civil towards persons of religious faith, be they Christian, Muslim, or Jewish. Mockery of religious persons and traditions have regrettably become too prevalent in our state and country — it must end."  

"With prayers for all elected officials and their service to promote the common good in our state, community leaders up to and including the governor must recognize how their words and actions become the norm for broader society," Long continued.

Long had said on Friday that the video "goes further than the viral online trend that inspired it, specifically imitating the posture and gestures of Catholics receiving the Holy Eucharist, in which we believe that Jesus Christ is truly present."

"It is not just distasteful or 'strange'; it is an all-too-familiar example of an elected official mocking religious persons and their practices," Long continued. "While dialogue on this issue with the governor's office is appreciated, whether or not insulting Catholics and the Eucharist was the intent, it has had an offensive impact."

Long noted that Michiganders and others across the country "have grown tired of and continue to express their alarm at the bar of civility and respect toward people of faith lowering by the day."

"Michigan is a religiously diverse state and includes thriving communities of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim believers," Long noted, calling on members of public office "to return a level of respect, civility, and appreciation for those who have found peace and fulfillment in life by worshipping God and serving their neighbor."

The Dorito video was part of a larger interview with Whitmer where she and Plank discussed various issues, including abortion — in the full video on Plank's YouTube channel, Whitmer, known for her defense of abortion in Michigan, joked about "post-birth abortions" in reference to Trump's comment about the abortion bill signed into law by Minnesota governor and 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.

Later in the video, Whitmer noted that she was open to dialogue with those who disagree on the abortion issue.

"For people who don't agree with me on reproductive rights, I'm confident there are other things we could find common ground on," Whitmer said. "But it starts with talking to one another. It starts with listening and it starts with actually asking someone else questions and not judging them, but trying to understand."

This article has been updated.

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CNA Staff, Oct 14, 2024 / 15:25 pm (CNA).

South Korean officials warned Monday of rapidly growing military threats from North Korea, with tensions escalating.

Days before, a South Korean prelate, in an interview with Fides News Agency, said Catholics continue to pray for peace and hope but that "hope is fading" for reunification between the two East Asian countries.

The South Korean government said Monday that North Korea is preparing to destroy some inter-Korean roads following allegations that Seoul flew drones over northern territories, the Associated Press reported.

North Korean troops have also reportedly been sent to the border between the two countries, with the communist government saying its soldiers are prepared to strike against South Korean targets.

Ahead of the escalating conflict, Seoul Archbishop Peter Soon-taick Chung told Fides that the "desire for reunification is diminishing" among South Koreans.

The archbishop also serves as the apostolic administrator of Pyongyang, North Korea; a bishop has not operated directly out of Pyongyang for decades. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said in its 2024 annual report that religious freedom is "nonexistent" in North Korea, with "state-controlled religious sites and organizations" including the Korean Catholic Association offering an "illusion of freedom of religion." 

The total Catholic population of the country has been estimated to range from 800 to 3,000 faithful. 

"I think many young people in the South are beginning to believe that reconciliation or reunification are not viable paths. Hope is fading," Chung told the news agency. 

"I think it is appropriate to continue to dream of peaceful coexistence and to keep the light of hope burning in Korean society, especially today," the prelate said. 

But "in the current stalemate, with the total blockade of communication routes, the situation is very bleak," he said.

Chung told the news service that Catholics will "continue with prayer and education for peace." 

"We are approaching the Holy Year, which has as its theme hope; we are pilgrims of hope, also with regard to relations with the North," he said. 

Bishop Simon Kim Ju-young of the Diocese of Chuncheon in South Korea told Fides that "both sides view each other with a certain hostility and all channels are closed, even that of humanitarian aid, which was kept open in the past." The bishop also serves as president of the Episcopal Commission for Reconciliation.

"And even if the Korean public opinion is still quite divided on policy towards the North, all Koreans are united when it comes to sending humanitarian aid to North Korea," he said. 

"But North Korea keeps all channels closed, including humanitarian ones," he added. 

"We pray above all for the doors to open. All the faithful of the Church in Korea participate in this prayer," the bishop said.

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