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Buenos Aires, Argentina, Oct 9, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The Vatican has revoked, based on new evidence obtained in an "extraordinary procedure," the penalty of expulsion from the clerical state that two interdiocesan tribunals had determined for Father Ariel Príncipi, accused of crimes against the Sixth Commandment, which include cases of sexual abuse of minors.

Príncipi, incardinated in the Diocese of Villa de la Concepción in the city of Río Cuarto, had been accused in 2021 of the abuse of minors and was tried first by the Interdiocesan Tribunal of Córdoba, which decided to expel him from the clerical state, a penalty confirmed this year after being appealed to the Interdiocesan Tribunal of Buenos Aires.

According to a statement by the Diocese of Villa de la Concepción de Río Cuarto posted on AICA (Spanish acronym for Argentine Catholic News Agency, unrelated to CNA), the Holy See carried out an "extraordinary procedure" based on evidence received in June and July, and determined to adopt a series of definitive measures that rescind Príncipi's expulsion from the clerical state but limit his exercise of the priestly ministry.

The measures in effect from now on are: "Always under the special oversight of the ordinary to whom said priest will be entrusted, from now on he will not be able to: 1) have contact with minors; 2) exercise pastoral ministry in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal; 3) exercise full pastoral care of the Church. In addition, he will only be able to concelebrate or celebrate holy Mass in private."

Days before the announcement was made by the substitute of the Vatican Secretariat of State, Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the bishop of Villa de la Concepción de Río Cuarto, Adolfo Uriona, had told the local newspaper Puntal that Príncipi's case "was investigated by the canonical tribunal of Córdoba, which after confirming the facts that were reported decided to expel him."

"The canonical tribunal of Buenos Aires also confirmed these facts and ratified the expulsion," he then explained, acknowledging that they were awaiting notification from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The vicar general of the Diocese of Río Cuarto, Father Juan Giordano, explained to ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, that the statements made by Uriona to the newspaper Puntal were "based on information that he had at his disposal up to that moment" and in response to questions from the press, not through an official communication from the diocese.

At that time, Giordano clarified, "we were waiting for confirmation from the dicastery; it had not come to us formally, because there was also some possibility that [the priest would file] an appeal. Thus, on Sept. 25, Bishop Uriona published the statement that he received the day before from the Secretariat of State of the Holy See," he said, and it was communicated through AICA, "because the Secretariat of State expressly requested that this statement be made public."

"What we know so far is what the statement says. Obviously we are trying to get more details to see how this will proceed but what we know is the statement," the vicar general explained.

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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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 8, 2024 / 16:30 pm (CNA).

A group of 10 scientists is suing the publisher that retracted their studies showing the health risks associated with abortion drugs.

The suit against Sage Publications, filed on Oct. 3 in the Superior Court for Ventura County, California, alleges that the researchers' studies were retracted simply because of the scientists' pro-life views.

At the center of the lawsuit are three studies that Sage published in the scientific journal Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology (HSRME) in 2019, 2021, and 2022.

One of the articles was cited heavily in the recent Supreme Court case AHM v. FDA in which a coalition of doctors from the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine and several other groups sought to compel the FDA to revoke its approval of the abortion drug mifepristone because of its associated dangers to women's health and well-being.

The scientists argue that while their studies were peer-reviewed and had previously been praised for their academic rigor, the publisher retracted them in bad faith for political reasons.

The scientists are being represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom and Consovoy McCarthy PLLC.

What did the chemical abortion study say?

The 2021 study cited in AHM v. FDA said that emergency room visits "are at greater risk to occur following a chemical rather than a surgical abortion."

It showed that in a study cohort of 423,000 women undergoing chemical abortions between 1999 and 2015, there were 121,283 subsequent emergency room visits occurring within 30 days of the procedure.

The study concluded that "the incidence and per-abortion rate of ER visits following any induced [chemical] abortion are growing, but chemical abortion is consistently and progressively associated with more postabortion ER visit morbidity than surgical abortion."

The study also said that there is a "distinct trend of a growing number of women miscoded as receiving treatment for spontaneous abortion in the ER following a chemical abortion."

Why were the studies retracted?

As AHM v. FDA was working its way through the courts in 2023, Chris Adkins, a professor at the South University School of Pharmacy in Savannah, Georgia, submitted a concern to Sage in which he accused the scientists associated with the three studies of exaggerating their findings and misrepresenting the data in ways that were "grossly misleading."

States Newsroom, which first reported on Adkins' accusations, reported him saying of the researchers: "I can't prove that there was intent to deceive, but I struggled to find an alternative reason to present your data in such a way that exaggerates the magnitude."

States Newsroom also reported that Adkins was worried about the legal status of abortion after the overturn of Roe v. Wade.

"I now have a daughter that is born in a world where there is no Roe v. Wade, no federal recognition that women have the right of bodily autonomy," Adkins said, adding: "I'm going to support her in whatever way I can." 

After learning of Adkins' concerns Sage discovered that all but one of the article's authors had an affiliation with one or more of the pro-life organizations the Charlotte Lozier Institute, Elliot Institute, and the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Sage claimed that this presented a conflict of interest regarding the studies concerning abortion.

Sage also conducted a post-publication peer review in which they claimed to have identified "fundamental problems with the study design and methodology, unjustified or incorrect factual assumptions, material errors in the authors' analysis of the data, and misleading presentations of the data."

Sage concluded that the studies demonstrated a "lack of scientific rigor" that "invalidate[s] the authors' conclusions in whole or in part."

Scientists respond

In their lawsuit, the studies' authors claim that they "complied with all submission guidelines and all requirements in Sage's publishing agreements."

The suit said that "following each submission, HSRME conducted a double-blind peer review of each article, which Sage claims is thorough and rigorous" and that "after peer review, HSRME accepted all three articles for publication."

According to the suit, the authors' attempts to respond to the accusations and to prove the scientific validity of their studies were rebuffed and ignored by Sage.

In addition to retracting the studies, the lead researcher associated with the articles, Dr. James Studnicki, was removed from the board of the HSRME without any prior notice and with no explanation other than his association with the retracted articles.

The researchers allege that Sage intentionally sought to discredit them and ruin their reputations because of their pro-life views.

"Sage's wrongdoing," the suit states, "has been causing enormous and incalculable harm to the authors' professional reputations, as Sage intended."

Phil Sechler, a senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement announcing the suit that "politics should never sway science, especially when that science is vital for saving and protecting lives."

"Sage punished these highly respected and credentialed scientists simply because they believe in preserving life from conception to natural death," he continued. "These actions have caused irreparable harm to the authors of these articles, and we are urging Sage to come to the arbitration table — as it is legally bound to do — rescind the retractions, and remedy the reputational damage the researchers have suffered at the hands of abortion lobbyists."

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CNA Staff, Oct 8, 2024 / 17:30 pm (CNA).

A charter school in Oklahoma is aiming to be the first publicly-funded religious charter school in the United States after it appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday after lower courts ruled against it this summer.

St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School and Oklahoma's charter school board filed separate petitions Oct. 7 with the Supreme Court after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled last summer that the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board could not authorize a charter with a Catholic school.

The court in its ruling said that extending public funding to a religious school would be a "slippery slope" that could lead to "the destruction of Oklahomans' freedom to practice religion without fear of governmental intervention."

The court subsequently ordered the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board to rescind the school's contract.

St. Isidore petitioned the Supreme Court to review the Oklahoma decision on the basis of Supreme Court precedent and the free exercise clause of the First Amendment on Monday. The school was represented by the Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic of Notre Dame Law School, a teaching law practice that trains Notre Dame law students.

The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a legal nonprofit that defends First Amendment rights, filed a petition the same day on behalf of the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board.

In the Oct. 7 petition, ADF argued that the Oklahoma Supreme Court had ruled contrary to the precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court, which "has repeatedly struck down states' attempts to exclude religious schools, parents, and students from publicly available benefits based solely on their religion."

For instance, a 2022 Supreme Court ruling found that Maine couldn't exclude religious schools from a tuition aid program because it violates the free exercise clause.

Michael Scaperlanda, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and chairman of the board of St. Isidore, said that a mission of Catholic education "is to serve the whole community by building new learning opportunities so that every child can thrive in a school that suits her own needs."

"Too many children in our state don't have that chance," Scaperlanda said in an Oct. 7 statement. "We want to help solve that problem by opening a school for children who find the available options unable to meet their needs and who lack the resources to consider other choices."

Oklahoma ranked 49th in education in the U.S. in 2024, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, with 84% of its eighth graders testing "not proficient" in math and 76% of its fourth graders "not proficient" in reading.

"Oklahoma parents and children are better off with more choices, not fewer. There's great irony in state officials who claim to be in favor of religious liberty discriminating against St. Isidore because of its Catholic beliefs," ADF senior counsel Phil Sechler said in an Oct. 7 statement. "The U.S. Constitution protects St. Isidore's freedom to operate according to its faith and supports the board's decision to approve such learning options for Oklahoma families."

Sechler said the case is about "bolster[ing] religious freedom across Oklahoma."

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Buenos Aires, Argentina, Oct 8, 2024 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

"Mother, Under Your Gaze We Seek Unity" was the theme that brought together more than 2.3 million of the faithful this past weekend to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lujan in Argentina as part of the 50th Youth Pilgrimage.

Coming from the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, which organized the pilgrimage through the Popular Piety Commission, the pilgrims began to arrive in Luján during the day on Saturday under a radiant sun after walking more than 37 miles to the shrine and continued to pour in on Sunday.

On their way, they received the blessing of priests, support from volunteers, and inspiration from music groups from the different dioceses of western Buenos Aires.

Upon arriving at the basilica in Luján, they were able to attend different Masses. The main Mass of the day for the huge crowd of pilgrims was held at 7 a.m. and celebrated by the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge García Cuerva, who arrived on foot from St. Cajetan Shrine located in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Liniers.

In his homily, the prelate addressed a few words to the Virgin of Luján: "To say to you 'mother' unites us; there is the foundation to begin to build the national unity so longed for," he said.

"Saying to you 'mother,' 'mom,' makes us children and brothers and sisters. That is how we came on pilgrimage. As a people, all so different, all so equal. We have traveled many kilometers, we have brought our intentions to Mary" in an experience "with others" and with "solidarity and joy."

Citing the "youth of 1975," protagonists of the first Youth Pilgrimage to Luján, he said: "In each step we have taken up to this point we have experienced what it is to be a people who walk together toward their ideal of freedom and justice. And that is why we came. It is because we young people are increasingly understanding that we are part of a people, the people of God in Latin America, whose heart is the humble and the workers."

'Mother, look at your weary people'

At the feet of the Virgin, the archbishop referred to the situation in Argentina, with so many children "trapped by drugs," others sick, young people "distressed by not being able to realize their life projects," and those who "cannot make ends meet to feed their families."

"Mother, look at your weary people, look at your people who are making a great effort to hold on to hope, to shoulder the country and overcome the crisis that we have been going through for years," he prayed. "Look at your pilgrim people, who come with all their intentions, with their wounds and hopes."

A call to humility 'to build bridges'

The archbishop then referred to the poverty index for the first half of 2024 in Argentina: "In the face of crises, the wise seek solutions, the mediocre seek those to blame. There are many mediocre people who, faced with the appalling and painful 52.9% index of poverty, began to look for those to blame," he said.

"From the house of Mary, we ask you: Please unite behind two or three important issues for all Argentines. Let us ask for the humility to work with others, to create consensus and agreements, and to build bridges, because the bravest thing we can do is ask for help," he urged.

"Let us not give up on being brothers and sisters, on seeking solutions together, on building a more just and fraternal homeland, on freeing ourselves from prejudices, hatred, and sterile confrontations, on continuing to entrust our lives to the Virgin of Luján," he urged, assuring that she "encourages us to continue walking in life, weary, but not dejected, beaten, but with hope and without giving up."

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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Bangalore, India, Oct 8, 2024 / 10:50 am (CNA).

India's bishops recently launched a digital tool to help support the country's hundreds of millions of migrants, hoping to address what one bishop calls the "serious concern" of migrant well-being. 

The digital portal was launched on Sept. 27 in Bangalore by the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) ahead of the Vatican's 110th World Day of Migrants and Refugees on Sept. 29.

The digital portal, CCBI said in a press release, has been linked to the CatholicConnectIn platform of the Indian Church "to assist migrants moving for work, education, or other reasons of displacement. This initiative aligns with the vision of Pope Francis, who advocates for welcoming, protecting, promoting, and integrating migrants and refugees."

Archbishop Victor Henry Thakur, who heads the CCBI Commission for Migrants as well as the  Archdiocese of Raipur, told CNA: "Migration is a reality and the Church has the duty to accompany migrants."

"Dismissing migration as a problem, some argue that migration should be stopped," the prelate said. "When people struggle for survival and jobs, they move to greener places for better opportunities. The constitution also gives them the right to move."

Immigrants are estimated to be nearly one-third of India's 1.44 billion people.

Migrant care "became a serious concern for the Church [in India] from early 2000," Thakur said. "It is a challenging task for us to connect our social service wings at the diocesan level to reach out to as many migrants as possible."

"India, home to one of the world's largest diasporas, has over 450 million internal migrants," the CCBI said in announcing the portal. "They often face challenges related to displacement, exploitation, and access to basic services." 

"In response, the Catholic Church is stepping up efforts to assist migrants, refugees, internally displaced persons, unaccompanied minors, and victims of human trafficking."

"The portal will serve as a vital resource, allowing migrants to register and access Church services regardless of their location," the bishops said. "Dioceses and parishes across India will support the initiative by helping migrants register, while trained volunteers from migrant communities will extend aid to those in distress."

Father Jaison Vadassery, the secretary of the bishops' Commission for Migrants, told CNA that "the service is open to all, regardless of caste, creed, or religion. The portal will enable the Church to accompany migrants in a more meaningful way. The platform will help migrants enroll in government schemes and provide assistance during emergencies, such as securing health care or education for their children."

Vadassery said the commission has a lot of technical work to do to link the digital portal to a multilingual website that will connect all the country's dioceses so that migrants can seek support from anywhere. 

"Our goal is to provide migrants a window to register and access Church services regardless of their location by helping them integrate into their host communities while remaining connected to their cultural and religious roots," the priest said.

"A team of computer experts are setting up faultless networking while our regional coordinators are supervising surveys at the diocesan level,"  he added. 

"We have already conducted surveys among migrants in the Agra, Meerut, and Delhi Dioceses. In Delhi alone, we interviewed 400 migrants. Getting information is difficult as they are suspicious about fraudsters," Sister Rani Punnasseril, a nun with the Sisters of the Holy Cross and the coordinator of  the migrant commission for the northern region, told CNA.

"Several teams are now engaged in conducting surveys among the migrants," she said.

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Madrid, Spain, Oct 8, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Spain has 3,500 beatified martyrs from the religious persecution of the 20th century and another 4,000 could also be beatified in the coming years, according to Father José Carlos Martín de la Hoz, a priest who is an expert in these processes.

"A few months ago, at the request of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, a survey was taken, speaking with all the delegates of the Causes of Saints of all the dioceses, and a list of another 4,000 possible blesseds was made," he said.

"When this work is finished, which we will finish in four years, there will be 7,500 martyrs, blesseds on our altars," explained Martín de la Hoz, director of the Office of the Causes of Saints for Opus Dei.

The priest made the prediction during the presentation in Madrid of the book "Hogares de amor y perdón II" ("Homes of Love and Forgiveness II"), published by the Enraizados en Cristo Association ("Rooted in Christ"), which contains the testimony of 23 families who were noted for the dedication and fidelity of their members to the point of giving their lives.

Martín de la Hoz emphasized that "what is most impressive is that those 7,500 martyrs, blesseds, their martyrdom is documented, that is, they died out of hatred for the faith and it is documented that they died forgiving."

In his talk, the expert also explained that "the first dicastery to be opened in Christianity, in the Church, is the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints," as can be seen in the Acts of the Apostles, where it is stated that "the first decision taken by the Church is to preserve the memory of the martyrs." Not without reason, during the time of the first Christians, "Mass was celebrated on the tombs of the martyrs," he added.

Origin of the 20th-century religious persecution in Spain

Martín de la Hoz explained how studying the causes of the martyrs of the 20th century leads to considering that "it all began in the Cortes of Cadiz" in 1812, whose constitution begins by saying "'in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,' but then what is established and delineated is what was called liberalism."

During the 19th century, "the progressive liberals and the conservative liberals alternated being in power, but in the end what unites them is a very violent persecution against the Church. It's as if all the Enlightenment and the French Revolution that had happened in central Europe suddenly appeared in Spain."

"This hatred that is present, that is spreading, that is constant and continuous, is penetrating" the strata of intellectuals, of workers, in the countryside, all the way up to the times of the Second Republic (1931–1936), he said.

The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War was, in the expert's opinion, "the emergence of something that was already in motion, because it had been unfolding for a century. That is why it is very important to return to the memory of the martyrs, because they are the ones who are going to help us rebuild a united society."

An example of forgiveness

Among the testimonies of forgiveness compiled in "Hogares de amor y perdón II," there is one offered by Luis García Chillón, who remembers his uncle, Hermenegildo Chillón Cabrera, martyred in the town of Talavera de la Reina in Toledo province, Spain.

Mere, as he was known in the area, was a town watchman and at the age of 29 he was dismissed by the mayor, Francisco Cancho, a member of the Popular Front. One night in February 1936, 20 men beat him up and left him half dead.

He spent 12 days in the hospital and when he was released, he tried to recover in Tarancón in Cuenca province. After the start of the war in July 1936, they went looking for him to imprison him in the convent of the nuns known as "Ildefonsas." It was Aug. 22.

After a summary trial by the so-called "people's committee," he was taken out of the place in handcuffs and a cowbell was hung around his neck while they deliberated whether to burn him or shoot him. Finally, they took him to the place of his martyrdom. Before dying, he asked his executioners to give his wallet to his mother with these words: "Give her a hug and another one for yourself, so that you [the executioner] may forgive me if I failed you in any way."

His nephew Luis believes that "at the moment of truth, when these words are said, they are felt deeply and imply a tremendous greatness of spirit." From these words he deduces, despite not knowing his uncle, "that this man forgave those who were martyring him."

For him, "this shows a unique greatness of heart" and makes it clear that, regardless of the religious practice that his uncle had, "the blood of the martyrs cleanses everything, heals everything."

He also noted that "in my Uncle Hermenegildo's family there was never any talk of hatred or resentment" and that today the relatives of the martyrs "have no desire to settle any score or any desire for revenge or anything like that. But we cannot allow them to be forgotten either."

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

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CNA Newsroom, Oct 7, 2024 / 16:00 pm (CNA).

On the World Day of Prayer and Fasting held on the Oct. 7 feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, Pope Francis addressed a letter to Catholics in the Middle East on the one-year anniversary of Hamas' attack on Israel.

In his letter, the Holy Father expressed his closeness with those "who dwell in the lands of which the Scriptures speak most often," suffering as a result of the ongoing conflict spreading throughout the region.

"As Christians, we must never tire of imploring peace from God. That is why, on this day, I have urged everyone to observe a day of prayer and fasting. Prayer and fasting are the weapons of love that change history," reads the Holy Father's letter, released one day after he prayed a rosary for peace at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.

"In order to bear fruit and give life, do not let yourselves be engulfed by the darkness that surrounds you. Planted in your sacred lands, become sprouts of hope, because the light of faith leads you to testify to love amid words of hatred, to encounter amid growing confrontation, to unity amid increasing hostility," the pope said.

Middle East synod participants echo pope's call for prayer 

Since the start of Synod on Synodality meetings in the Vatican this month, synod delegates and participants have echoed Pope Francis' pleas for prayers and solidarity with communities across the war-ravaged region.

Synod participant Deacon Adel Abolouh of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Syria, who attended the pope's Sunday rosary for peace, said it was a beautiful experience that inspires people to become "missionaries of peace."

"After praying for peace we start having a mission of making peace happen," he said in an interview with ACI Mena, CNA's Arabic-language news partner.

"The pope's invitation for prayer makes the world's conscience realize that there are people seeking peace."

Recalling the fear of his two children, who were awoken by Israeli missile strikes in his city of Damascus last week, Abolouh expressed his sadness for the younger generations, whose conversations now revolve around "war and weapons." 

"The Church needs to keep pressuring the international public opinion to stop wars," he said.

Rita Kouroumilian, a Lebanese Armenian Catholic participating in this month's synod discussions, expressed her gratitude for the Holy Father's closeness to the people of Lebanon, who are suffering following the escalation of the conflict last month that killed more than 500 people in a single day.

Reiterating Pope Francis' call for peace, Kouroumilian invited everyone to continue to pray for peace in her country and the Middle East.

"The holy rosary is our only weapon against the enemy," she shared with ACI Mena. "None other than prayer and fasting are capable of stopping the war. It is the only way to peace."

On Saturday, Pope Francis also met with synod delegate Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian of the Armenian Catholic Church in Lebanon as a sign of fraternity with Lebanese Catholic leaders.

'Praying and fasting cannot be done without almsgiving'

Following synod meetings on Monday morning, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, invited all synod participants to donate alms for a parish priest serving Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities near the priest's church in Gaza.

"Prayer and fasting cannot be done without almsgiving, which must make us suffer, must even hurt us, because we give up what belongs to us to give to our neighbor who is in difficulty or is even about to die," Krajewski stated.

According to the latest United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report, approximately 41,600 Palestinian men, women, and children have been killed, and an additional 96,600 injured, since the escalation of the conflict one year ago. OCHA reported that more than 1,500 Israeli and foreign nationals have been killed since Hamas' 2023 attack on Israel. 

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CNA Staff, Oct 7, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).

Police in the Indian state of Goa are on the hunt for a Hindu man who allegedly publicly disrespected St. Francis Xavier and disputed the saint's title as protector of the state, leading to complaints from the state's Christians, who deeply venerate St. Francis.

Catholic news outlet UCA News reported that Subhash Velingkar, a former state-unit chief of the powerful Hindu group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, publicly questioned the authenticity of the relics of St. Francis Xavier housed in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa.

The relics are only exposed for veneration every 10 years. The next period of exposition and veneration is due to start on Nov. 21 and end on Jan. 5, 2025.

Velingkar reportedly said at a public meeting on Oct. 1 that a "DNA test" should be conducted on the relics to prove that the body is really that of the saint and not, as Velingkar claims, a Buddhist monk from neighboring Sri Lanka.

Describing Velingkar as a "right-wing Hindu leader," UCA News reported that Christians in Goa filed more than a dozen complaints that Velingkar is "outraging the religious feelings and insulting religious beliefs" under provisions of the Indian penal code and have demanded Velingkar's arrest. 

"The Catholic community of Goa condemns the derogatory statements against St. Francis Xavier … We appeal to the concerned authorities to take strict necessary action," Father Savio Fernandes, secretary of the Council for Social Justice and Peace of the Goa Archdiocese, said in a statement to UCA News. 

Goa state, India's smallest by area, is located on the country's west coast. It was ruled by Portugal as a colony for over 400 years, until 1961. As a result of the state's Portuguese influence, it remains one of the most Christian of all of India's states, with a quarter of the population identifying as Christian, according to a 2011 national census. 

The people of Goa have a strong devotion to St. Francis Xavier, the famed Jesuit missionary who evangelized the area beginning in 1542. He is known there as "Goencho Saib," which means "the protector of Goa."

The last exposition of St. Francis' relics lasted from Nov. 22, 2014, until Jan. 4, 2015, and drew millions of pilgrims. 

India has seen a surge in Hindu nationalism and violence against Christians in recent years, especially in places governed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. The northeast Indian state of Manipur has seen mayhem and bloodshed amid an ethnic conflict that has killed hundreds of Christians since last year. In addition, reports have emerged of persecution of Sikhs, a religious minority in the northwestern state of Punjab in India.

A group of over 300 U.S. Christian leaders sent a letter to the U.S. State Department in August urging the agency to put India on a watchlist of countries that have "engaged in" or tolerated "particularly severe violations of religious freedom."

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said in 2023 that it was "alarmed by India's increased transnational targeting of religious minorities and those advocating on their behalf." As recently as May, a USCIRF report included India among the countries with the worst religious persecution in the world.

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CNA Staff, Oct 7, 2024 / 17:30 pm (CNA).

Since Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris picked him as her running mate, vice presidential candidate Tim Walz has faced challenges from Republicans, pro-life advocates, and the media to defend his extreme positions on abortion. 

As governor of Minnesota, Walz has signed several far-reaching abortion laws that have significantly expanded abortion in that state, including legislation that enshrines abortion without restrictions up to the point of birth in the state constitution.

Nevertheless, Walz has skirted the issue and refused to say that he signed legislation that allows abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.

What has Walz said?

In the vice presidential debate with Sen. JD Vance this month, the moderator asked Walz to answer "yes or no" whether he supports abortion through the ninth month of pregnancy.

"Former President Trump said in the last debate that you believe abortion 'in the ninth month is absolutely fine.' Yes or no? Is that what you support?" Walz was asked.

Walz dodged the question, saying: "That's not what the bill says." 

"In Minnesota, what we did was restore Roe v. Wade," he said. 

Minnesota law goes further than Roe, however. Before it was overturned, Roe v. Wade legalized abortion throughout the entire United States, until roughly the end of the second trimester.

And in a recent Fox News interview Walz was pressed further on the matter by anchor Shannon Bream, who noted that there is "no ban or limit on abortion in Minnesota based on how far along in a pregnancy you are." 

Walz again appeared to dodge the question. 

"Look, the vice president and I have been clear. The restoration of Roe v. Wade is what we're asking for," he said. When Bream pointed out that Minnesota law goes well beyond Roe v. Wade, Walz said: "The law is very clear. It does not change that. That has been debunked on every occasion."

What does Minnesota law say? 

Though Walz appears eager to avoid discussing the details of the law he signed, Minnesota law does in fact allow for abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, with no restrictions whatsoever, and that legislation to guarantee this "right" was signed by Walz himself. 

The state's Protect Reproductive Options Act, signed by Walz in January 2023, establishes that, in Minnesota, "every individual who becomes pregnant has a fundamental right to continue the pregnancy and give birth, or obtain an abortion, and to make autonomous decisions about how to exercise this fundamental right." The measure imposes no restrictions on abortion at any stage and enshrines that "right" in the state constitution.

Both pro-life and pro-abortion advocates agree that there are no restrictions on abortion in Minnesota. The group Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) says on its website that the law signed by Walz imposes "no limitations [on abortion] at any stage in pregnancy," 

The website AbortionFinder, meanwhile, states that abortion "is legal throughout pregnancy in Minnesota" and that there is "no ban or limit on abortion in Minnesota based on how far along in pregnancy you are."

MCCL co-executive director Cathy Blaeser told CNA on Monday that Minnesota is in a state of "abortion free-for-all."

"We have a law that allows for abortion through all nine months of pregnancy with no protections for women or children at any gestational age," she said. 

Asked if Minnesota's law goes beyond Roe v. Wade as the Fox News host claimed, Blaeser said: "Yes." 

"Initially, Roe v. Wade provided for a 'trimester' structure, even though in practice it allowed for abortion throughout nine months of pregnancy," she said. "But it allowed states to put in protections with gestational age." 

"But Minnesota currently would not allow for that," she said, pointing out that women can obtain abortions in the state "for any reason and for no reason."

Blaeser further pointed out that Minnesota law offers "no parameters to protect minor girls under the age of 18, and no protections for parents to be notified if their minor daughters get an abortion." 

On its website, AbortionFinder also states that "parental involvement is not required in Minnesota" and that underage girls "can consent to an abortion and do not have to notify a parent to get an abortion in Minnesota."

Asked about Walz's appearing to dodge questions related to Minnesota's abortion laws, Blaeser told CNA: "He's actively lying. He's not telling the truth about what the law does in this state."

"He is trying to avoid answering those questions simply because he knows the American people do not support abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy," she said.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 7, 2024 / 18:00 pm (CNA).

The Supreme Court on Monday denied an appeal by the Biden administration to compel emergency room doctors in Texas to perform abortions.

The decision leaves in place a January ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Becerra v. State of Texas. The 5th Circuit Court ruled that the administration's attempt to use the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) to mandate abortions as necessary, stabilizing treatment "goes beyond" the intent of the law.

In its ruling, the 5th Circuit said that EMTALA "does not mandate medical treatments, let alone abortion care, nor does it preempt Texas law."

This is the latest development in the administration's attempt to use EMTALA to mandate abortions as necessary treatment.

The administration has been arguing in court that EMTALA includes abortion as part of the mandated emergency care hospitals must provide. Under this reading of EMTALA, any hospital with an emergency department that refused to perform abortions would risk losing its federal funding.

Matt Bowman, senior counsel at the Alliance Defending Freedom, a law firm involved in the case, applauded the Supreme Court decision, saying that "federal bureaucrats have no business compelling doctors or hospitals to end unborn lives."

"Every state allows doctors to do whatever is necessary to preserve the life of a mother. But elective abortion is not lifesaving care — it ends the life of the unborn child — and the government has no authority to force doctors to perform these dangerous procedures," Bowman said. "We are pleased that the Supreme Court decided the 5th Circuit's ruling should stand, allowing emergency rooms to fulfill their primary function — saving lives."

Dr. Ingrid Skop, an OB-GYN who practices in Texas and serves as director of medical affairs at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, also praised the decision.

"As a board-certified OB-GYN practicing in Texas for over 30 years, I have been privileged to care for both pregnant mothers and their unborn babies. I have delivered over 5,000 babies over the course of my career, and after Texas passed its law protecting unborn life, my care remained unchanged," Skop said.

She also noted that "the laws of every state allow physicians to intervene to protect a woman's life in a pregnancy emergency."

This follows another decision by the Supreme Court issued in June that upheld a ruling in a similar case, Moyle v. Idaho. That decision allowed the federal government to compel emergency room doctors in Idaho to perform abortions.

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