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Denver, Colo., Sep 23, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The state constitutions of California, Colorado, and Hawaii still define marriage as a union between one man and one woman, but measures on the 2024 election ballots in those states could remove this traditional definition.

The proposed removal of the long-standing language on marriage is largely seen as symbolic, since the U.S. Supreme Court already legalized same-sex marriage in all U.S. jurisdictions in its 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision. Nonetheless, in 2020, Nevada became the first state to repeal its constitutional provision defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

In Colorado, the state constitution currently maintains that "only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state." The ballot measure, if successful, would remove this definition, which has been defunct since 2015. 

The "Protecting the Freedom to Marry" amendment, also known as Amendment J, has been added to the state's November ballot after being approved by a two-thirds vote of the Colorado House and Senate.

Colorado's bishops take a stand

Brittany Vessely, executive director of the Colorado Catholic Conference, noted that "while Obergefell made same-sex marriage status quo, there are still important considerations concerning [Amendment J]."

"Marriage is based on the truth that men and women are complementary, the biological fact that reproduction depends on a man and a woman, and the social science that supports the reality that children need both a mother and a father to flourish," Vessely told CNA. "This amendment rejects the truth of what marriage is."

"This measure will change current Colorado law only if Obergefell is overturned," Vessely noted. "If the decision is overturned, then there are no legal protections for marriage — the institution that best protects the interest of the family and children."

The Colorado bishops made a statement opposing Amendment J earlier this year, saying that it was "imperative" for faithful Catholics to oppose Amendment J as well as a pro-abortion amendment that would allow public funding of abortion and enshrine abortion as a right in the constitution. 

California's bishops have not taken an official stance

Meanwhile, California's ballot measure proposes to not only remove the definition of marriage, like Colorado's, but also add the "right to marry" as a "fundamental right" in the state's constitution. Known as Proposition 3, the measure would repeal the 2008 state constitutional amendment that defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman.  

Jonathan Keller, president of the California Family Council, is leading opposition to Proposition 3. "If you abolish the definition of marriage and say that marriage can mean anything, then marriage actually means nothing," Keller pointed out.

Keller also warned that passage of the amendment could easily lead to the legalization of other irregular forms of marriage, including child marriage and polygamy.

According to Kathleen Domingo, executive director of the California Catholic Conference, California bishops have not taken an official stance on Proposition 3.

"The bishops of California have not taken a position on Prop 3," Domingo told CNA. "If passed, Prop 3 will not affect Catholic institutions in any way," she indicated.

Supporters of the measure include California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California. 

Hawaii's bishops 'will not take a formal position' on the measure

Hawaii's ballot measure would potentially remove a 1998 constitutional amendment that states that "the Legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples." Subsequent to the 1998 amendment, Hawaii's Marriage Equality Act of 2013 explicitly legalized same-sex marriage in the state two years before the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Eva Andrade, executive director of the Hawaii Catholic Conference, told CNA that removing the language from the state constitution would be "unnecessary."

"The Hawaii Catholic Conference recognizes that in 1998, nearly 70% of voters granted state legislators the authority to define marriage," she said. "Given that federal law now recognizes same-sex marriage, removing this language from the constitution is unnecessary." 

Andrade noted that the conference "will not take a formal position" on the ballot measure. She noted that "a 'yes' vote removes the 1998 language, protecting same-sex marriage if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns current law; a 'no' vote retains legislative authority to define marriage; and a blank vote counts as a 'no' vote."

"In Hawaii, blank votes count as no votes, and the yes votes must be 51% to win," Andrade said. "Historically speaking, changes to the constitution are difficult to make, and we must help the voters understand the process."

American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, and the Democratic Party of Hawaii, among others, support the measure.

According to a 2023 Pew Research survey, 63% of Americans believe same-sex marriage should be legal, while 34% are against it. Support for same-sex marriage increased steadily in the U.S. from 2004 to 2017 while remaining steady since, according to Pew.

The Catholic Church teaches that "homosexual persons are called to chastity" and that homosexual acts are contrary to natural law and close the sexual act off from the gift of life, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Nos. 2359, 2357). The catechism also condemns any "unjust discrimination" toward people with homosexual inclinations.

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Vatican City, Sep 22, 2024 / 09:25 am (CNA).

On Sunday, Pope Francis recalled Jesus' teaching that true power is found by taking care of others, not by exploiting them or using them.

"With a word as simple as it is decisive, Jesus renews our way of living. He teaches us that true power does not lie in the dominion of the strongest but in care for the weakest," the pope said in his weekly Angelus address Sept. 22.

"True power," Francis emphasized, "is taking care of the weakest; that makes you great."

The pontiff delivered his brief reflection on the day's Gospel from a window of the Apostolic Palace, which overlooks St. Peter's Square, where thousands had gathered to see the pope and to pray with him.

After leading the Angelus prayer in Latin, Pope Francis remembered a Catholic man who dedicated his life to serving the weak: Juan Antonio López, a Catholic environmental activist who was killed after leaving his church in Tocoa in northeastern Honduras on Sept. 14.

In addition to his work in defense of the environment, López was a delegate of the Word of God in the Diocese of Trujillo, where, with the permission of the local bishop, he would lead celebrations of the Word of God, which include the proclamation of the Gospel and the distribution of Eucharistic hosts previously consecrated by priests. Delegates of the Word of God serve in places where priests visit infrequently.

López was also his diocese's social justice coordinator, a founding member of the integral ecology council, and a member of the Municipal Committee for the Defense of Common and Public Goods of Tocoa. The Catholic husband and father was known for his defense of creation and the rights of the poor and Indigenous in the face of environmental exploitation in Honduras.

"I join in the mourning of the Church and the condemnation of all forms of violence," the pontiff said. "I am close to those who see their elementary rights trampled upon and those who work for the common good in response to the cry of the poor and the earth."

"How many people, how many, suffer and die because of power struggles," Pope Francis said in his reflection before the Angelus. "Theirs are lives that the world rejects, as it rejected Jesus… When [Jesus] was delivered into the hands of men, he found not an embrace but a cross. Nevertheless, the Gospel remains a living and hopeful word: He who was rejected is risen; he is Lord!"

In his message, Pope Francis described the scene in the day's Gospel passage: "Today the Gospel of the liturgy (Mark 9:30-37) tells us about Jesus who announces what will happen at the culmination of his life: 'The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise.'"

"The disciples, however, while they are following the Master, have other things in their mind and on their lips," the pope pointed out. "When Jesus asks them what they were talking about, they do not answer."

This silence, Francis noted, is telling. "The disciples are silent because they were discussing who was the greatest. What a contrast with the words of the Lord! While Jesus confided in them the meaning of his very life, they were talking about power."

The pope noted the words of Jesus to his disciples: "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all."

Then Jesus, Pope Francis explained, illustrated his point by embracing a child, telling his disciples: "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me."

"The child has no power; he has needs," he said. "We, all of us, are alive because we have been welcomed, but power makes us forget this truth. Then we become people who dominate, not servants, and the first to suffer as a result are the last: the little ones, the weak, the poor."

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ACI Africa, Sep 22, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Members of the African Synodal Digital Youth Influencers who graduated recently from the African Digital Faith Influencers Formation program of the Pan African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN) were told to "brace for the challenges that lie ahead of [them] in the digital peripheries [they] seek to evangelize."

In his keynote address at the Sept. 12 graduation ceremony, Bishop Godfrey Igwebuike Onah of Nigeria's Diocese of Nsukka warned the 56 participants in the PACTPAN program of the complexities that exist in digital spaces.

Onah reminded the graduates that in the Church, the digital world is still at the periphery needing to be evangelized.

"Life at the periphery is not easy. There is no order. If you have experienced a slum in any city, then you will understand that evangelizing the periphery is not a joke," he said. 

"If we consider the digital world as the periphery for our evangelization, we should not expect the order we find in usual missionary spaces and structures. Part of that is the flexibility of the digital world."

"We must be encouraged by St. Francis, who challenges us to move out from the center and get to the peripheries," the bishop said.

PACTPAN's Digital Faith Influencers Formation program began in February with more than 100 candidates who came from 52 African countries.

In an interview with ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, following the graduation, Sister Josephine Bakhita, an official at PACTPAN's "Church of Now" who coordinated the formation program, said that some candidates had to drop out of the program, which was solely online.

"Some of our students could not keep up with the classes owing to internet challenges and they had to drop out along the way. But a bigger percent of them managed to complete the training and unveil projects they will be engaging in in their dioceses and parishes," Bakhita, of the Sisters of Mary of Kakamega, said in a Sept. 13 interview.

The PACTPAN course was designed to equip participants with skills to become faith champions among their peers living in what the facilitators of the program described as "digital peripheries."

It was developed to empower young African leaders with the skills necessary to engage in digital evangelization, advocate for social justice, and provide impactful community service.

In his address at the graduation ceremony, Onah underlined the need to "reevangelize" digital peripheries, noting that the digital world "is driving modern culture."

"Unless we Africans help shape the values that will be promoted by the digital world, we will end up being destroyed by those values," the bishop said.

"Digital technologies have become very important," he said, adding: "When we think we are lost in a corner where nobody will take note of us, digital technology throws us into the center of world attention, even in spite of ourselves. This is an indication to all of us that we can no longer take any of these things for granted; we are living in a new reality."

Onah lauded organizers of the digital influencing formation program, noting that participants in the initiative had been prepared, empowered, and were ready to spread the Gospel.

Emphasizing Pope Francis' message on reaching out to the peripheries, Onah expressed gratitude to the Holy Father, who he said is always encouraging the people of God to take new initiatives, not to just continue doing business as usual "but to explore new grounds even at the risk of being wounded."

"We are reminded of the Holy Father saying that he prefers a Church that is soiled, dirtied, and wounded while ministering to people, especially in difficult areas, to a Church that remains clean and pure because it doesn't dare to risk," Onah said.

He added: "When we come before God, perhaps, we will present to him our clean hands, having done everything to prevent ourselves from being stained by the world. I may say, 'Father, my hands are clean,' but he will tell me, 'Yes, they are clean, but they are also empty.' It is a risky business, a business in which we may soil our hands, but it will definitely not be empty."

Onah encouraged digital faith influencers, especially those who enjoy creating content, to accept being evangelized on digital platforms as well.

He said the digital world as "the recipient of evangelization" is subtle, adding: "My challenge to the graduates and to all of us in this digital era is not to just see the digital world as an instrument of evangelization, no matter how well we are able to use it, but as subjects needing to be evangelized."

In his address at the graduation ceremony, the first assistant of the secretary-general of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), Father Alfred Bebodu, challenged the students to amplify the voice of reason in digital spaces.

Bebodu lauded the young influencers for investing their hard work and dedication in completing eight months of training, saying: "Your commitment reflects the vibrancy of the Church in Africa, and it fills us with hope for the future."

"You are now entrusted with great responsibility to be voices of faith and reason in the digital space, addressing not only spiritual matters but also social, economic, and environmental challenges facing our continent," he said.

Bebodu reminded the graduates that the mission of SECAM has always been to promote evangelization and integral human development for all the people of God in Africa and its islands.

He said the young people's role as "digital faith influencers" perfectly aligns with the mission of SECAM.

"As we prepare for the jubilee year, marking a significant milestone for the Church in Africa next year, we also look to the future with vision and commitment. One of the priorities for the next 25 years will be the integration of technology in evangelization," he said.

The SECAM official warned the young faith influencers that the digital era is a sensitive one requiring careful study.

Digital technologies, he said, are tools that can either procure much success in helping evangelization or bring about destruction.

"Strategy comes [into] play," Bebodu said, adding: "We envision platforms that will cultivate the hearts of the youths and broader communities fostering both spiritual growth and social cohesion. Your creativity, knowledge, and passion will be instrumental in realizing this vision." 

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

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CNA Staff, Sep 21, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

A group of Carmelite nuns in Arlington, Texas, announced this month that they would henceforth 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.

The nuns have been at the center of considerable controversy since last year after an investigation was launched by the Diocese of Fort Worth over reported sexual misconduct by the order's reverend mother superior. 

The nuns defied a Vatican decree on their monastery's governance and sought a restraining order against Bishop Michael Olson, the bishop of Fort Worth. The nuns' rejection of authority "is scandalous and is permeated with the odor of schism," Olson said this week. 

Church leaders have at times argued the same thing about SSPX, a controversial fraternity of priests known for their strict traditional celebration of the Latin Mass and opposition to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

The animating principle of the group "is the priesthood and all that pertains to it and nothing but what concerns it," SSPX says on its website. The group was founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a French prelate who was a sharp critic of many of the changes brought about by Vatican II. 

In addition to the modern revisions of the Mass, Lefebvre also opposed "ecumenism — a viewpoint which considered all religions as beneficial and valid — and collegiality — which insisted that the Church be ruled primarily by the democratic process and bishops' conferences," according to the group's website. 

The group runs priories, chapels, and missions around the world as well as seminaries. It commands several hundred priests and a few hundred more seminarians. 

Perhaps the group's most controversial moment came in 1988 when Lefebvre consecrated four bishops in Écône, Switzerland, in explicit defiance of Pope John Paul II. Within hours the Vatican declared that Lefebvre and the four bishops had incurred excommunication on themselves.

In his motu proprio Ecclesia Dei, John Paul argued that it was "impossible to remain faithful to the Tradition while breaking the ecclesial bond with him to whom, in the person of the Apostle Peter, Christ himself entrusted the ministry of unity in his Church."

Pope Benedict XVI lifted this excommunication in 2009, though he explained in a letter that SSPX does not have canonical status and therefore "its ministers do not exercise legitimate ministries in the Church." 

Pope Francis further expanded the group's privileges, ordering during the 2015–2016 Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy that confessions heard by SSPX priests were valid; he subsequently extended this order indefinitely. 

In 2017, meanwhile, he ??approved a way for the group's priests to witness marriages validly, giving diocesan bishops or other local ordinaries the ability to authorize such decisions. 

Can Catholics attend a Mass given by priests of SSPX?

Some Catholics seek out SSPX-ministered Masses due to their solemnity and fidelity to earlier forms of the liturgy. But is this allowed by the Church? 

Jimmy Akin, a senior apologist with Catholic Answers, told CNA that SSPX "is not currently in schism." 

"In 1988, John Paul II ruled that the episcopal ordinations the society had conducted in disobedience to the Roman pontiff implied in practice the rejection of the Roman primacy and therefore constituted a schismatic act," he noted. 

"This triggered the automatic penalty of excommunication for schism for the bishops involved and, in John Paul II's words, anyone who gave 'formal adherence' to the schism."

Pope Benedict XVI's 2009 lifting of those excommunications "implies that the SSPX is no longer in schism, since schism carries an automatic excommunication," he said. 

"If they were still in a state of schism, the excommunications could not have been lifted without the law immediately reimposing them. Therefore, they are no longer in schism."

But the priests of the society are "celebrating Mass without the proper permissions, creating a canonically irregular situation," Akin said.

He pointed out that the Code of Canon Law stipulates that Catholics "can participate in the Eucharistic sacrifice and receive holy Communion in any Catholic rite." Since SSPX is using the approved 1962 rite of the Mass, "the faithful can attend it and receive holy Communion."

"The fact it is being celebrated in a canonically irregular situation does not change this," Akin said. 

He pointed out that "every time a priest commits a liturgical abuse, it creates a canonically irregular situation," but that the Church "does not want the laity to have to judge which canonically irregular situations involve 'too much' of a departure from the law." 

Thus the faithful's "right to attend and receive holy Communion in any Catholic rite is protected."

Though the faithful are not strictly prohibited from attending SSPX Masses, Church leaders have in several instances warned Catholics against doing so except in serious circumstances.

"The Masses they [SSPX] celebrate are also valid, but it is considered morally illicit for the faithful to participate in these Masses unless they are physically or morally impeded from participating in a Mass celebrated by a Catholic priest in good standing," Monsignor Camille Perl, then-secretary of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, said in 1995.

A 1998 letter by Perl noted that the "schismatic mentality" of SSPX led the pontifical commission to "consistently [discourage] the faithful from attending Masses celebrated under the aegis of the Society of St. Pius X."

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CNA Staff, Sep 21, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Pro-life advocates have seen significant gains in rolling back the death penalty in states around the country in recent years. A smaller but still determined band of activists and policymakers, meanwhile, is hoping for a similar victory at the federal level. 

The vast majority of executions in the United States are carried out at the state level. Since the U.S. Supreme Court's 1976 Gregg v. Georgia decision affirming the legality of the death penalty, just 16 convicts have been put to death by the federal government, compared with nearly 1,600 by state governments.

Since the turn of the century, the death penalty has become increasingly unpopular in the United States. A majority of states are currently not executing prisoners. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have outlawed the death penalty, while an additional six states have executive holds on capital punishment.

Federal executions are relatively rare affairs, although 13 inmates were executed in the last six months of President Donald Trump's first term.

Among them was Lisa Montgomery, who murdered Bobbie Jo Stinnett in Missouri in 2004 in order to steal her unborn baby. Montgomery was the first woman to be executed by the federal government in nearly 70 years.

Advocates had argued prior to her execution that she had endured a "lifetime of horrific torture" that had given her permanent brain damage and "[disrupted] her ability to function normally."

President Joe Biden campaigned in 2020 to abolish the federal death penalty; the Biden administration issued a moratorium on executions after Biden took office. But a total of 40 federal inmates remain on death row.

A group of Democratic senators introduced the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act in 2021 in a bid to abolish federal capital punishment. That bill died in committee. The senators reintroduced the bill during the current session of Congress.

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, who co-sponsored both bills, told CNA that the measure faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where Democrats hold a very slim majority. 

For most proposals in the Senate, Kaine noted, the rules stipulate a 60-vote threshold. "We're not yet there," he said of the death penalty measure. "We just have to keep kind of working at it and finding Republican colleagues who are willing to join us." 

He pointed to the successful bipartisan effort to abolish the death penalty in Virginia in 2021 under Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam. "I'm very pleased with what Virginia was able to do under Gov. Northam, and not just with the Democratic vote," he said. "There were Republicans who played an important role in that effort."

Kaine is Catholic and said the Church's opposition to the death penalty is an "important component" in his opposition to capital punishment. 

The Church's stance against capital punishment was strengthened several years ago with an addition to the Catechism of the Catholic Church stipulating that the death penalty is "inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person." The Church "works with determination for its abolition worldwide," the catechism states.

"Another is the reality that humans make mistakes," Kaine argued. "If we put someone in jail or prison by mistake — and we occasionally do — there's some ability to correct the mistake. But history has been filled with instances of executions later found to be the wrong person." 

"It could [also] be somebody who did commit a crime but had a significant mental deficiency where putting them to death wasn't the just outcome," he argued. 

"The human capacity for error has always been one of the reasons I oppose the death penalty."

'We must mobilize our Catholic community'

The present federal abolition bill is currently at the Senate Judiciary Committee and hasn't shown signs of moving. Kaine, who is not a member of the Judiciary Committee, told CNA he wasn't sure if the measure would be voted on anytime soon.

Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, the executive director of the anti-death-penalty Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN), said the group is maintaining "a posture of persistent hope, prayer, and action as we work to abolish the scourge of capital punishment." 

Murphy noted that although the federal government under the Biden administration put a moratorium on federal executions, "the Justice Department [still] pursued death sentences for certain cases." 

"There is still time for President Biden to carry out his campaign promise," she said. "As he approaches the end of his presidency and the beginning of the Jubilee Year of his Catholic faith, we believe there are opportunities for him to take bold action at the federal level, like commuting the federal death row, that can herald the beginning of the end of capital punishment."

CMN says it was given "renewed resolve" after the flurry of executions in the Trump administration's final months, which constituted "more federal executions than any president [had performed] in 120 years," Murphy said. 

The group "grew more acutely aware that not only must we mobilize our Catholic community, we also must partner with diverse groups to accomplish our mission."

The federal death penalty could be scrapped by an abolition bill, Murphy noted. "That would require the vote of 60 senators, which in turn would require a large tilt in the senatorial balance," she said. "That would likely take a few years."

Whether or not it will come to pass is uncertain on this side of the November elections. Several forecasts have Republicans taking the U.S. Senate and keeping the U.S. House. If Trump were to win in November, that would likely scuttle efforts to abolish the federal death penalty via legislation for at least four years.

It's unclear if a Kamala Harris presidency would advance those efforts, however. Harris herself has not signaled her feelings on the death penalty over the brief course of her campaign (there are "so many other burning issues that rest on this election," Murphy noted). 

Kaine told CNA that he had not spoken with the vice president on the issue, though he said he would "not be surprised if she continued the current Biden practice" of a capital punishment moratorium. 

Notably, the 2024 Democratic National Committee platform dropped its opposition to the death penalty, the first time in years that the issue has been absent from the official party line. 

Patrick Whelan, the president of the Boston-based Catholic Democrats political group, claimed that Harris herself is "strongly opposed to the death penalty."  

"I don't know the inside baseball, but I suspect the platform committee concluded that they didn't want to create a vulnerability in an election where Mr. Trump has tried to make violent immigrant crime a big campaign issue," Whelan told CNA.  

"I also wonder if the language in the 2020 platform wasn't directly a product of President Biden's Catholicism, and the Church's unequivocal stance on the issue under Pope Francis," he said. 

Catholic Democrats, Whelan noted, "through our 20-year history has always been unequivocally opposed to the death penalty."

The death penalty will likely remain a relatively ancillary issue to the vast majority of voters in the final weeks of the 2024 contest, with abortion, immigration, and the economy taking top spot on most polls. 

Still, advocates will continue to press the issue. Kaine noted that in Virginia, Republicans from unlikely environs — such as the conservative southwestern portion of the state — joined with Democrats to help abolish it. 

The coalition of lawmakers who ultimately scrapped the death penalty in Virginia "might not have been the ones everyone predicted," Kaine said. 

"That gives me hope at the federal level," he said. 

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CNA Staff, Sep 21, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Seventy-one years ago, on Sept. 21, 1953, a young Jorge Mario Bergoglio's priestly vocation was born. He would enter the novitiate of the Society of Jesus on March 11, 1958, and be ordained a priest on Dec. 13, 1969, just days before his 33rd birthday. On March 13, 2013, he would be elected pope.

In a homily given in May 2013, Pope Francis shared the story of when he felt the stirrings of the call to the priesthood: "I passed by the parish where I was going, found a priest, whom I did not know, and felt the need to go to confession. This was an experience of encounter: I found that someone was waiting for me."

The pope explained that he didn't know why he felt so called to go to confession, especially since he didn't know the priest. After confession, he felt "that something had changed."

"I was not the same. I had heard something like a voice, a call: I was convinced that I should become a priest," he said. 

The day of Pope Francis' life-changing experience also happened to be the day the Church celebrates the feast of St. Matthew, the tax collector whom Jesus called to become an apostle. 

Given that his own vocation came through an experience of God's mercy, Pope Francis chose his motto, "Miserando atque eligendo," from a homily given by St. Bede on the call of St. Matthew. The quote translates to "by having mercy, he called him."

The pope has also repeatedly described the painting of the vocation of St. Matthew by Caravaggio in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome.

In a homily given on Sept. 21, 2017, Pope Francis recalled: "Jesus came from healing a paralytic and as he was leaving he found this man called Matthew. The Gospel says: 'He saw a man called Matthew.' And where was this man? Sitting at the tax booth. One of those who made the people of Israel pay taxes, to give them to the Romans — a traitor to his country."

"The man felt looked down upon by Jesus. He said to him, 'Follow me.' And he got up and followed him. But what happened? That is the power of Jesus' gaze. Surely he looked at him with so much love, with so much mercy, that look of the merciful Jesus. 'Follow me, come,'" he said. "And the other looking sideways, with one eye on God and the other on money, clinging to money as Caravaggio painted him: just like that, clinging and also with a surly, gruff look. And Jesus loving, merciful. And the resistance of the man who wanted money — he was such a slave to money — falls."

The pope has also shared that he often feels like he can relate to Matthew. 

"That finger of Jesus like that, toward Matthew. That's how I am. That's how I feel. Like Matthew," Pope Francis said in an interview with Father Antonio Spadaro. 

"It is Matthew's gesture that strikes me," the pope said. "He grabs his money, as if to say: 'No, not me! No, this money is mine!' Here, this is me: a sinner to whom the Lord has turned his eyes. And this is what I said when they asked me if I would accept my election as pope."

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Rome Newsroom, Sep 21, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The second Vatican assembly for the global Synod on Synodality will kick off on Oct. 2, bringing together clerics and laity alike for nearly one month of discussions. Here is what you need to know:

What is the Synod on Synodality?

The Synod on Synodality, initiated by Pope Francis in October 2021, is a multiyear, worldwide undertaking during which Catholics were asked to submit feedback to their local dioceses on the question "What steps does the Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our 'journeying together?'"

The Catholic Church's massive synodal process has already undergone diocesan, national, and continental stages as well as the first global assembly at the Vatican in October 2023. The upcoming October 2024 session will be the second and final global assembly, culminating the discernment phase of the synod.

What does synodality mean?

Synodality was defined in the 2023 summary report as "the walk of Christians with Christ and toward the kingdom, together with all humanity." It involves "coming together in assembly at the different ecclesial levels of life, listening to one another, dialogue, communal discernment, consensus-building as an expression of Christ's making himself present alive in the Spirit, and decision-making in differentiated co-responsibility."

Pope Francis has said that he envisions the Synod on Synodality as "a journey in accordance with the Spirit, not a parliament for demanding rights and claiming needs in accordance with the agenda of the world, nor an occasion for following wherever the wind is blowing, but the opportunity to be docile to the breath of the Holy Spirit."

What are the main questions and themes for the 2024 synod assembly?

The 2024 Instrumentum Laboris, building on the results of the 2023 session, outlines three overarching questions:

1. How can we be more fully a sign and instrument of union with God and of the unity of all humanity?

2. How can we better share gifts and tasks in the service of the Gospel?

3. What processes, structures, and institutions are needed in a missionary synodal Church?

The document focuses on "how the synodal Church is on mission" and proposes concrete ways to implement a more synodal approach in Church governance, theology, mission, and discernment of doctrine.

What are some of the topics that could be addressed in the synod assembly?

The 2024 Instrumentum Laboris has avoided emphasizing some controversial topics already discussed in the 2023 session. Instead of directly addressing issues like LGBTQ demands, these topics have been delegated to specialized study groups for further examination.

The document also proposes what it describes as new ways of approaching "controversial" issues within the Church. It suggests promoting "initiatives that allow for shared discernment on doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues" and proposes confidential meetings of experts, possibly including those directly affected by these issues.

How does the Synod on Synodality differ from past synods of bishops?

A synod is a meeting of bishops gathered to discuss a topic of theological or pastoral significance in order to prepare a document of advice or counsel to the pope.

For the first time, the Synod of Bishops in 2023 included voting delegates who are not bishops. Nearly a third of the 364 voting delegates were chosen directly by the pope, including laypeople, priests, consecrated women, and deacons. Fifty-four voting members are women.

Who are the participants?

The General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops has reported that the initial diocesan listening phase concluded with the participation of 112 out of 114 of the world's Catholic bishops' conferences.

According to a report from the U.S. bishops' conference, about 700,000 people participated in the diocesan phase of the synod in the U.S. out of 66.8 million Catholics in the country, or about 1%.

The October assembly will include 368 voting members and 96 nonvoting participants. 

Who are the key organizers of the Synod on Synodality?

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the 66-year-old archbishop of Luxembourg, remains one of the leading organizers of the Synod on Synodality as the relator general. The Jesuit cardinal is a member of Pope Francis' council of cardinal advisers. In a March 2023 interview, Hollerich expressed openness to the possibility of women priests in the future and described the part of Church teaching calling homosexuality "intrinsically disordered" as "a bit dubious."

Cardinal Mario Grech continues to serve as the secretary general for the Synod of Bishops. The former bishop of Gozo, Malta, Grech was one of two authors of the Maltese bishops' controversial pastoral guidelines on Amoris Laetitia, which stated that divorced and remarried Catholics, in certain cases and after "honest discernment," could receive Communion. In 2022, Grech decried the public criticism of the German "Synodal Way" as "denunciation."

What happens after the synod?

The October 2024 assembly marks the end of the discernment phase. The next phase will focus on implementation. Fifteen study groups, formed to address topics from the 2023 session, will continue their work through June 2025. So while they will provide progress updates at the beginning of the October session, their work extends past the October synod.

The Instrumentum Laboris asserts that "without tangible changes, the vision of a synodal Church will not be credible."

Is there a prayer for the Synod on Synodality?

The following "Prayer of Invocation to the Holy Spirit" was published by the organizers:

"We stand before you, Holy Spirit, as we gather together in your name. With you alone to guide us, make yourself at home in our hearts; teach us the way we must go and how we are to pursue it. We are weak and sinful; do not let us promote disorder. Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path nor partiality influence our actions. Let us find in you our unity so that we may journey together to eternal life and not stray from the way of truth and what is right. All this we ask of you, who are at work in every place and time, in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever. Amen."

This article was updated on Sept. 20, 2024.

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CNA Staff, Sep 20, 2024 / 14:10 pm (CNA).

The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, released guidelines on Sept.12 affirming that diocesan schools and institutes must practice the Church's teaching on sexuality and gender while being compassionate toward those struggling with gender dysphoria. 

Bishop Kevin Rhoades notes in the policy that all diocesan institutes must use pronouns that align with a student's biological sex. The policy does not permit the use of "'preferred pronouns" in any capacity.

It further requires that students use the uniforms and bathrooms that match their biological "God-given sexual identity" and attend single-sex sports and programs that match their biological sex as well. 

The 11-page document, approved earlier this month by Rhoades, also prohibits "public advocacy for, or celebration of, sexual behavior or ideologies contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church."

"Active, hostile, and public defiance of these teachings is prohibited since it is harmful to the institution's Catholic identity and mission," Rhoades writes. 

Regarding the treatment of people struggling with gender dysphoria, Rhoades recommends a compassionate response that does not involve life-altering surgeries or sterilizing drugs. 

Diocesan institutions may not cooperate in "transgender" surgical or chemical interventions such as puberty blockers or surgery on diocesan property, the guidelines say. 

"While we strongly support efforts to alleviate the suffering of those who struggle with their sexual identity, we cannot support interventions which we believe ultimately harm them," Rhoades notes. "We support pastoral and counseling services to alleviate their suffering and assist them in accepting the God-given gift of their sexual identity."

Rhoades highlights the importance of chastity for all people. Single people must live chastity in continence, while married couples must live "conjugal chastity."

"One of the greatest challenges today is the criticism and rejection by many of the Catholic Christian anthropology," he writes. "In particular, the truths we uphold regarding sexual identity, sexuality, and marriage have become increasingly unpopular after decades of a cultural shift away from a previous consensus on these matters." 

Rhoades' diocese has faced challenges in this area in recent years. The bishop last year spoke out against the all-female Catholic St. Mary's College, accepting any students who "identify" as women. The college has since reversed the policy.

In the diocesan guidelines, Rhoades highlights the importance of "compassion and sensitivity" toward all those who struggle with gender dysphoria and same-sex attraction. 

The diocese expects all who work with young people to uphold Church teaching while affirming people's "God-given dignity and worth, and to treat them with the love and compassion of Christ." 

"Ministers have a special responsibility to assist those who are hurting or struggling, including those dealing with confusion about their sexual identity or with same-sex attraction," Rhoades writes. "Ministers must not tolerate any ridiculing, bullying, or hostile speech or behavior directed against them."

The bishop provided guidance on pastoral accompaniment of those struggling with gender dysphoria or same-sex attraction. 

"It is important, through listening, to gain an understanding of the needs, difficulties, and challenges experienced by the young people regarding their sexual identity or regarding their same-sex attraction," Rhoades notes. "These are often complicated realities."

Rhoades notes that when talking to young people who may be distressed about this, it is important to "be attentive to their pain, to listen to their voicing of their pain with a compassionate ear and heart, to assure them that they are not alone in their suffering."

"The dialogue and conversation should proceed according to the needs of each individual young person, their questions, and their personal struggles," he writes. 

Rhoades notes that in some cases, it may be helpful or necessary to provide referrals to mental health counselors or psychologists "who are faithful to authentic Catholic Christian anthropology."

"It is also good to help them to bring their needs to God in prayer, to rest in his love, and to have recourse to the Lord's grace and healing in the sacraments, especially reconciliation and the holy Eucharist," Rhoades adds. 

"It is a special challenge for us to educate and guide our young people according to the Church's teachings on sexuality and chastity," Rhoades notes. "It is important that we present these teachings as a path of love, a way to human flourishing, happiness, holiness, and true freedom." 

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Madrid, Spain, Sep 20, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

For the first time, a sculptor and native of Japan will be awarded the Ratzinger Prize.

His name is Etsuro Sotoo, born in 1953 in Fukuoka, Japan, and a graduate of Kyoto University.

A 1978 visit to Spain changed the course of his life forever. 

Arriving in the city of Barcelona, he was impressed by the construction of the Sagrada Familia basilica and asked to work there as a sculptor.

Following instructions left by Antoni Gaudí, the renowned Spanish architect of the monument, still under construction, Sotoo began his work on the basilica's Nativity façade.

During his stay in Barcelona, ?Sotoo converted to Catholicism and received the sacrament of baptism. 

Sotoo is an enthusiastic advocate of the cause of canonization of Gaudí, known as "God's architect."

Sotoo's handiwork is found in various parts of the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia and in other places in Spain as well as in Japan and Italy, in the Cathedral of Florence.

Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the Sagrada Familia basilica during a trip to Barcelona in 2010, expressing his great appreciation for the figure and art of Gaudí. 

Cyril O'Regan

Irish theologian Cyril O'Regan is also a winner of the 2024 Ratzinger Prize.

Since 1999, he has been a professor of systematic theology in the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

He studied philosophy in Ireland and earned a doctorate, also earning another doctorate in theology at Yale University in Connecticut. 

O'Regan is the author of numerous articles and several books, including "The Heterodox Hegel" (1994), "Gnostic Return in Modernity" (2001), "Theology and the Spaces of Apocalyptic" (2009), "Anatomy of Misremembering" (2014), and "Newman and Ratzinger" (publication in progress).

His lectures are highly appreciated by his students, and he has dedicated several relevant articles to the figure and teachings of Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI).

"I am delighted and also feel incredibly honored given the caliber of scholars and thinkers who have received it before me," O'Regan said of the recognition.

Nov. 22 award ceremony and Mass

On Friday, Nov. 22, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, secretary of state of the Holy See, is scheduled to present the prize to both O'Regan and Sotoo. 

The ceremony will take place in the Sala Regia of the Apostolic Palace. That same morning, a Mass will be celebrated in memory of Pope Benedict XVI at his tomb in the Vatican Grottoes. The two winners will be received by Pope Francis.

What is the Ratzinger Prize?

The Ratzinger Prize was started in 2011 to recognize scholars whose work demonstrates a significant contribution to theology in the spirit of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Bavarian theologian who became Pope Benedict XVI.

The awardees are chosen by Pope Francis based on the recommendations of a committee made up of five cardinals who are members of the Roman Curia.

It is currently made up of Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity; Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture; Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization; and Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg, president of the Pope Benedict XVI Institute.

With the 2024 edition, the total number of Ratzinger Prize winners ascends to 30. These are mainly eminent personalities in the studies of dogmatic or fundamental theology, sacred Scripture, patristics, philosophy, law, sociology, or in artistic activity such as music, architecture, and now sculpture. 

The winners, who hail from 18 different countries on five continents, are not only Catholics but also belong to other faith traditions, such as Anglicanism, Lutheranism, and Judaism.

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, Sep 19, 2024 / 17:15 pm (CNA).

Former President Donald Trump is no longer planning to attend an event with Polish President Andrzej Duda at a Catholic Marian shrine in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 22.

The campaign's scheduled stop at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown has been canceled. The reason for the change in Trump's schedule is unclear.

On Sunday afternoon, the Polish-American Smolensk Disaster Commemoration Committee will unveil a monument at the shrine's cemetery to commemorate the Polish solidarity movement and its fight for independence against the Soviet-backed communist regime of the 1940s through the 1980s.

A spokesperson for the shrine could not be reached for comment. 

The shrine pays homage to the historic Black Madonna icon in the southern Polish city of Czestochowa. According to legend, the original icon in Poland was painted by St. Luke the Evangelist on a tabletop that was built by Jesus Christ when he was a carpenter. The existence and veneration of the icon in Poland are well documented as early as the 1300s.

The eastern Pennsylvania shrine was constructed in 1955 and underwent renovations in the 1960s. The icon of the Black Madonna in Doylestown is a copy of the Polish icon and was blessed by St. John XXIII, according to the shrine's website.

Bucks County is an important battleground in the swing state of Pennsylvania. President Joe Biden won the county by less than 4.4 percentage points in 2020 and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won the county by about three-quarters of a percentage point in 2016.

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