St. Callistus Roman Catholic Church

The suspect who allegedly vandalized statues at the St. Therese of Lisieux Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn is seen in footage on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. / Credit: New York City Police Department

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 24, 2024 / 09:15 am (CNA).

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is offering a reward of up to $3,500 for help in solving a possible “hate crime” after a man vandalized two religious statues at a Catholic parish in Brooklyn this week.

A video captured by a surveillance camera on Tuesday shows the man approach a century-old statue of the Blessed Mother stepping on the head of a serpent — which represents Satan — in the garden of the St. Therese of Lisieux Church in Brooklyn. 

The footage shows the suspect damaging part of the statue with his hands before using a brick to break parts of the statue. The suspect breaks off part of the left thumb with his hands, then picks up a brick from the ground and uses it to beat the bottom of the statue. The video then shows him raise the brick and use it to completely break off the right hand of the statue.

Diocese of Brooklyn spokesman John Quaglione told CNA there is a crack in the base of the statue and that the vandal broke the head of the serpent and part of the serpent’s body at the feet of the Virgin Mary.

He said the parish had just completed renovations on the statue that has sat next to the church for nearly 100 years.

Quaglione told CNA there was also damage to a statue of St. Therese of Lisieux on the property. He said the statue has a chip on the right arm and outside the palm of her hand. The top part and the arms of the crucifix have also been broken off, according to Quaglione.

A spokesperson for the NYPD told CNA that the vandalism occurred at about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. He said the NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the vandalism as “a hate crime criminal mischief incident.”

Quaglione told CNA that hate crimes against houses of worship have increased in recent years in the city. 

He said the police have been “very cooperative” and are “doing their necessary investigation” but that the diocese has not yet received any updates on whether there are leads on the suspect. 

“These statues have stood outside this Brooklyn church for many years, welcoming those coming to Mass and offering a place for those passing by to pray,” Quaglione said. 

“Father [Liju] Augustine [the pastor] and the entire parish are deeply troubled by this act of hatred, but they will not be deterred from the practice of their faith.”

Quaglione said it’s unclear whether the attacks are based on an “anger at God” or whether “they [are] just looking to damage property.” 

He said that “instead of vandalizing,” anyone struggling with financial problems, mental health issues, or hunger should “ring the doorbell of our rectory and ask for help” to be connected with services.

“I’d encourage a turn away from violence and a turn toward coming to us for help,” Quaglione said. 

A spokesperson for the police department told CNA that the police are “asking for the public’s assistance in ascertaining the identity and whereabouts of the individual.” Residents can submit tips to New York’s Crime Stoppers website.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., with Catherine Hadro and Matthew Bunson on the set of EWTN News live from the Synod on Synodality in Rome, Oct. 24, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Oct 24, 2024 / 08:40 am (CNA).

The Catholic Church’s final session of the multiyear Synod on Synodality is in its final week. Here’s what’s happening during the last week of the gathering in Rome.

What you should know 

• Decoding the Synod on Synodality: CNA’s essential terminology guide

• Here’s what is new at the Synod on Synodality Part 2

The story so far 

Oct. 24: From Rome to Ukraine: Archbishop Broglio discusses synod and global Church challenges

Archbishop Timothy Broglio explains the importance of balancing collaborative church governance while maintaining the essential role of bishops in their dioceses. He also shares moving experiences of meeting bishops from regions like Nepal, where Christians are a small minority, and addresses current challenges facing military chaplains in Ukraine and Israel.

Reflecting on the synod, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Archbishop for the Military Services, USA, shares insights with EWTN News hosts Catherine Hadro and Matthew Bunson about this year's Synod on Synodality in Rome.

Oct. 24: Cardinal Czerny: Legacy of synod will be implementation of Vatican II

Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, hopes the legacy of the Synod on Synodality launched by Pope Francis will be the implementation of the Second Vatican Council in order to exercise the mission of Jesus Christ in the modern-day world.

The Canadian cardinal tells EWTN News hosts Catherine Hadro and Matthew Bunson: “The central insight of Vatican II is that we are all enjoying equal dignity as Christians by our baptism.” Kristina Millare has more.

Oct. 23: As Synod’s end nears, progressives brace for disappointment

With hot-button issues sidelined and major changes seemingly off the table, progressive Catholics feel led astray by synod organizers’ grand promises, writes Jonathan Liedl for the National Catholic Register.

Those who have advocated for things like women deacons and the acceptance of same-sex relations are bracing for a “final cold shower.”

Oct. 22: In EWTN Interview, Bishop Rhoades reflects on synod progress

In a wide-ranging conversation with EWTN News hosts Catherine Hadro and Matthew Bunson, Fort Wayne-South Bend Bishop Kevin Rhoades reflects on the synod’s evolving dialogue, the role of women in the Church — and shares expectations as the assembly flows toward its culminating document this week.

Oct. 22: African bishops speak: How has the Synod on Synodality impacted the Church in Africa?

Father Don Bosco Onyalla, editor-in-chief of ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, tells CNA in an interview that the theological concept of synodality “where people come together” is a reality and tradition that is already lived among Catholics across the continent. And what are African prelates saying about the gathering in Rome? Kristina Millare reports.

Oct. 21: Fernández: Diaconate ‘is not today’ the answer for promoting women in Church leadership

Cardinal Víctor Fernández reaffirms Pope Francis’ position against women’s access to the diaconate, an issue that will continue to be evaluated by a specialized commission while the Synod on Synodality continues to reflect on the role of women in the Church outside of ordained ministry. Almudena Martínez-Bordiú has more.

Oct. 21: Special coverage LIVE from the Vatican

Watch the EWTN News special from the Vatican covering the last week of the Synod on Synodality. Hosts Catherine Hadro; Father Thomas Petri, OP; and Matthew Bunson analyze the latest developments from the synod with special guests.

Oct. 20: Pope Francis presides at canonization Mass for 14 new saints

Pope Francis canonizes 14 new saints, including a father of eight and Franciscan friars killed in Syria for refusing to renounce their faith and convert to Islam.

Presiding over a Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, the pope declares three 19th-century founders of religious orders and the 11 “Martyrs of Damascus” as saints to be venerated by the global Catholic Church, commending their lives of sacrifice, missionary zeal, and service to the Church. Courtney Mares reports.

Oct. 20: Cardinal Fernández promises follow-up meeting after controversial absence

Sources confirm to CNA over the weekend that there is significant frustration among synod delegates over Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández’s absence from the Friday meeting about the study group on women’s roles in the Church. This includes questions surrounding the possibility of female deacons, notes AC Wimmer.

How the meeting was conducted caused outrage, too, as paper slips with an email address were reportedly distributed.

Oct. 19: Synod, Zen, and Sinicization: Vatican’s China deal sparks tensions 

Two prominent Catholics — Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong and American author George Weigel — level sharp criticisms at the Synod on Synodality, focusing particularly on the Vatican’s approach to China.

The synod takes place against the backdrop of the ongoing debate over the diplomatic relationship between the Holy See and Beijing, particularly the Sino-Vatican deal on bishop appointments, AC Wimmer writes.

Oct. 19: Here’s what’s happening during the last week of the Synod on Synodality

After two and a half weeks, the last of two assemblies for the Synod on Synodality is now in its final stretch before officially concluding on Oct. 27.

As conversations on the agenda set by the Instrumentum Laboris, or working document, wrapped up last week, the focus going forward is on the writing and editing of the Synod on Synodality’s final document. Hannah Brockhaus has more.

Oct. 18: Synod delegates urge young Catholics to learn how to listen to others in a polarized world

More than 30 students — most of whom were from the U.S. — from over 10 universities attend “The University Students in Dialogue with Synod Leaders,” an event organized by the General Secretariat of the Synod held in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. 

The event was moderated by four young staff members of the Synod on Synodality’s communications team who presented questions to four guest panelists participating in the second global synodal session at the Vatican. Kristina Millare reports.

Oct. 17: Cardinal Bo calls for diocesan synods around the world

The head of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference (FABC), Cardinal Charles Bo of the Archdiocese of Yangon, Myanmar, said diocesan synods are an effective means to “build a vision and mission” for local Churches.

The high-ranking prelate from the country also known as Burma tells journalists that synodality on a diocesan level is not a new concept for the Catholic Church, reports Kristina Millare.

Meet the 14 people who will be canonized saints this weekend

The Catholic Church’s newest saints will include a priest whose intercession led to the miraculous healing of a man mauled by a jaguar, a woman who convinced a pope to call for a worldwide novena to the Holy Spirit, and 11 men killed in Syria for refusing to renounce their faith and convert to Islam. Courtney Mares reports.

Oct. 16: Synod proposal to ‘decentralize’ doctrinal authority met with major pushback

Decentralizing doctrinal authority, or deciding certain doctrinal questions at local levels rather than universally, has been seen as a pivotal step for those aiming to make dramatic changes to Catholic teaching, writes Jonathan Liedl for the National Catholic Register.

Oct. 16: Dutch cardinal advocates Christ-centered reform over controversial issues

A Dutch cardinal cautions against misguided reform efforts within the Catholic Church, warning that regional solutions to contentious issues could undermine the Church’s credibility.

Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk, archbishop of Utrecht, emphasizes the importance of maintaining unity with the universal Church: “We must walk a common path and not deviate from the world Church,” he said, reflecting Pope Francis’ 2019 letter to German Catholics. “If unity in proclamation is lost, the Church loses its credibility,” Eijk says.

Oct. 16: Australian archbishop: Synod on Synodality cannot ‘reinvent the Catholic faith’

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 tells EWTN News.

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 says in his interview with “EWTN News Nightly” Associate Producer Bénédicte Cedergren.

Oct. 15: Cardinal from Amazon: ‘Many of our women are true deaconesses’

Cardinal Leonardo Steiner, the archbishop of Manaus in Brazil who is participating in the Synod on Synodality, said during a daily press briefing at the synod on Tuesday that “many of our women are true ‘deaconesses’” and pointed out that Pope Francis “has not closed the question” of the ordination of married men. Almudena Martínez-Bordiú has more.

The cardinal is known for being a defender of the poor, Indigenous people and is also considered “pro-LGBTQ.” In the past he has stated that “there will be a way” to end mandatory priestly celibacy.

Oct. 15: Warning against fatigue from Church leader at Synod on Synodality

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich asks participants to maintain energy levels at the gathering, reports EWTN Vatican Bureau Chief Andreas Thonhauser for “EWTN News Nightly,” as participants delve into the theme of “places,” exploring relationships between cultures and diverse Church needs worldwide.

Meanwhile, Bishop Robert Barron, in an exclusive interview with EWTN’s Colm Flynn, defined synodality as encompassing wider consultation, greater accountability, and transparency.

The synod’s universal nature is highlighted by the presence of Eastern Catholic Churches, with Archbishop Fülöp Kocsis sharing insights on the richness of diverse experiences. Jonathan Liedl, senior editor for the National Catholic Register, points to a significant discussion on decentralization: The proposal under consideration could potentially grant national bishops’ conferences more authority in doctrinal decision-making, marking a potential shift in the Church’s governance structure.

Oct. 15: How ‘special interest advocacy’ works at the Synod on Synodality

Don’t be surprised to see a fresh round of news stories about support for ordaining women at the Synod on Synodality. It’s a reasonable expectation — writes Jonathan Liedl in his analysis for the National Catholic Register — given an advocacy group blasted out an email, obtained by the Register, inviting synod delegates to join them at an event promoting the cause.

In so doing, they are following a familiar script that’s being used to influence the Synod on Synodality — or at least perceptions of it, he explains.

Oct. 15: ‘Synodality Tent’: A place to reflect on the presence of Latin America in the Church

“The Synodality Tent” is the title of an initiative promoted by the Amerindia Network and the Latin American Observatory on Synodality whose objective is to reflect on the presence of Latin America in the Catholic Church as well as to continue promoting the synodal process.

This place for encounter and dialogue, which also aims to offer an experience of faith, opened in Rome in the context of the second session of the Synod on Synodality, writes Almudena Martínez-Bordiú.

Oct. 12: Catholics invited to ‘adopt’ Synod on Synodality members

Prayer groups are sponsoring an online platform through which you can “adopt” a Synod on Synodality member to pray for during the month of October.

After submitting an email address on the webpage oremusprosynodo.org, the name of one of the 368 voting members of the 2024 meeting of the Synod on Synodality appears with the exhortation to pray for them. Hannah Brockhaus has more.

Should the Church be governed by gender-balanced synods?

At a theological forum held at the Jesuits’ world headquarters in Rome this week, an influential canon lawyer argues that the Catholic Church should be governed by synods balanced according to gender, among other factors, and empowered to make decisions, not merely recommendations. Jonathan Liedl reports for the National Catholic Register.

Oct. 11: Pope Francis, synod pray where first Christian martyrs of Rome were killed

Pope Francis and Synod on Synodality participants pray together at the site of the first Christian martyrdoms in Rome on Friday evening.

As attendees hold candles with drip protectors imprinted with an image of the 15th-century painting “Mater Ecclesiae” (“Mother of the Church”), Pope Francis leads those present in praying the Our Father but does not give the meditation prepared for the event, Hannah Brockhaus reports.

Oct. 11: What happens when a Chinese bishop takes the floor for the first time at the synod?

Synod sources tell EWTN News that Bishop Joseph Yang Yongqiang of the Diocese of Hangzhou spoke to synod participants about the history of Chinese Catholicism, China’s agreement with the Vatican on the appointment of bishops, and cultural exchange. Andrea Gagliarducci has more.

Oct. 10: Pope Francis’ Brazilian pick for cardinal calls for ordaining married priests

Archbishop Jaime Spengler, OFM, at a briefing for the Synod on Synodality confirms plans for a trial run of an Amazonian rite of the Mass and urges “openness” to the idea of married priests to serve certain communities.

The 64-year-old prelate, a descendant of German immigrants, is a prominent figure in the Church in his home country and throughout South America, heading both the Catholic bishops’ conference of Brazil and the Latin American bishops’ conference (CELAM), writes Hannah Brockhaus.

Oct. 10: Why is ‘women’s ordination’ still dominating media coverage of the synod?

News media has a built-in tendency to downplay nuance and highlight novelty, and this is arguably accentuated at the Synod on Synodality, writes Jonathan Liedl for the National Catholic Register. Two synod members say synod communications head Paolo Ruffini overstated the strength of calls for “women’s ordination.” Read the full analysis here.

Oct. 10: Non-Catholic delegates put Christian unity in focus at Synod on Synodality

Three fraternal delegates — non-Catholic representatives of Christian churches participating in this year’s session of the Synod on Synodality — take center stage at Thursday’s Synod on Synodality press briefing held at the Vatican’s Holy See Press Office.

Speaking about “the great importance of relationality” among Christian churches, Anglican Bishop Martin Warner of Chichester — co-chair of the English-Welsh Anglican-Roman Catholic Committee — speaks about the “sense of family” that has developed between the Catholic Church and the Church of England, particularly during the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Kristina Millare reports.

Oct. 9: Synod debates on bishops, laypeople opened to public at theology forums

Synod on Synodality events open to the public give a glimpse Wednesday evening into the private debates happening among delegates and theological experts on the issues of a bishop’s authority and his relationship to the laity in light of synodality.

Thomas Söding, vice president of the lay organization promoting the German Synodal Way, argued that bishops shouldn’t control or dictate discipleship but should encourage diverse expressions of faith.

Italian canonist Donata Horak criticized the Roman Catholic Church’s current structure as “monarchical” and out of step with democratic sensibilities. She suggested that the Latin Church adopt deliberative synods, as seen in Eastern Catholic churches, although she did not note that these do not allow lay voting, notes Hannah Brockhaus.

Oct. 9: Synod delegates look to St. John Henry Newman as theological guide

Australian Bishop Anthony Randazzo, a synod delegate and president of the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania, says St. John Henry Newman famously showed “that the Church would look foolish without the laity” and should help ease fears that collaboration with the laity is heterodoxical.

“I think that this way of thinking should liberate us in the Church from believing that any one group or vocation alone drives the bus,” the bishop of the Diocese of Broken Bay, Australia, emphasizes. Randazzo made a powerful statement against pushes for so-called “women’s ordination,” explains Jonathan Liedl for the National Catholic Register.

Oct.

Oct. 8: Catholic bishops from mainland China and Taiwan in dialogue at Synod on Synodality

In an interview with CNA, the first Indigenous bishop of Taiwan says he met with the two bishops from mainland China taking part in the synod and plans to meet with them again. “It’s very important to dialogue with them, to respect each other. I think it’s good … not only for the Chinese, for the whole Church,” Bishop Norbert Pu of Taiwan tells Courtney Mares.

Oct. 8: Who is in charge of drafting the final document of the Synod of Synodality?

Paolo Ruffini, the synod’s communications head, announces the 14 members of the Final Document Commission. The seven continental delegates are:

• Catherine Clifford, a theologian from St. Paul University in Ottawa, for North America

• Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, for Africa

• Father Clarence Davedassan of Malaysia is the pick from Asia

• Bishop Shane Mackinlay of Sandhurst, Australia, for Oceania

• Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio of Bogotá, Colombia, for Central and South America

• Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline of Marseille, France, for Europe

• Bishop Mounir Khairallah, a Maronite prelate, for the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Middle East

The other members include three direct picks from Pope Francis and four automatic appointments, writes Jonathan Liedl.

Oct. 8: Synod participants donate for Gaza parish

In a video played for journalists at the Holy See Press Office on Oct. 8, Gaza parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli thanks synod participants for both prayers and financial help, because in Gaza, “everyone is in need of everything.”

The pope’s charity office announces that synod participants donated 32,000 euros (about $35,000) for the Catholic parish in Gaza from synod participants on Oct. 7, the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.

The synod donations were combined with another 30,000 euros (about $33,000) from Pope Francis’ charity coffers and sent to Holy Family Parish, the only Roman Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip, which is sheltering hundreds of Palestinian Catholics.

Oct. 7: Pope invites prayer for the Middle East as participants from that region begin week 2 of the synod

Since the beginning of the Synod on Synodality, synod delegates and participants have echoed Pope Francis’ pleas for prayers and solidarity with communities across the war-ravaged region. As the second week of the synod gets underway, on the World Day of Prayer and Fasting held on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, Pope Francis addressed Catholics in the Middle East on the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel. Kristina Millare has more.

Oct. 7: Women deacons off the table? Synod delegate claims ‘some women sense a call to priesthood’

While the topic of “women deacons” is not formally up for discussion at the Synod on Synodality assembly this month, the official Vatican press conference for the synod showcases a female delegate who spoke about women experiencing “a call to priesthood,” Courtney Mares reports.

Oct. 6: Pope Francis and synod participants pray rosary for peace

Invoking the intercession of the Virgin Mary for peace in the world amid an escalating conflict in the Middle East and the ongoing war in Ukraine, Pope Francis presides over a rosary prayer in Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major on Sunday evening, Courtney Mares reports.

Oct. 5: A call for peace and an announcement of dialogue

A Lebanese bishop makes an impassioned plea for peace and forgiveness at the Synod on Synodality’s daily press briefing on Saturday as the assembly’s first week draws to a close.

Bishop Mounir Khairallah of Batroun shares his personal experience of violence and forgiveness, recounting how his parents were murdered when he was just 5 years old.

Meanwhile, a dialogue with study groups is announced for Oct. 18 after synod delegates vote for more interaction with the groups established by Pope Francis.

Oct. 4: What’s behind the viral photo of Pope Francis venerating a chair?

Pope Francis sits before the historic relic of St. Peter’s chair in the Ottoboni sacristy of St. Peter’s Basilica after celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Square ahead of the second session of the Synod on Synodality. What is behind this viral image? Madalaine Elhabbal explains.

Oct. 4: Participants put spotlight on world’s poor

Closing the first week of meetings, participants from different continents put a spotlight on the plight of the world’s poor and vulnerable on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, Kristina Millare reports. 

The first week at the Synod on Synodality — revolution or much ado about nothing? 

Vaticanist Andrea Gagliarducci analyzes the first days of the gathering in Rome. He writes: “It seems clear that while the delegates may discuss many things over the next three weeks, nothing will be decided. There will be no doctrinal changes. No diminution of the role of the bishop. No rush to resolve the question of opening the diaconate to women.” 

Oct. 3: Many voices to be heard 

Cardinal Mario Grech, general secretary of the synod, says at a press conference that “every believer, man or woman, and every group, association, movement, or community will be able to participate with their own contribution” via the synod’s 10 study groups.

Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, tells journalists the work of participants in the second session of the Synod on Synodality is to find the “cohesive voice” that expresses the life of the Church.

Oct. 3: Cardinal Fernández rules out women deacons

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, on Oct. 3 shuts down speculation regarding further theological study into the possibility of women being ordained as deacons. Father Giacomo Costa, special secretary of the synod, says this month’s discussions held in the Vatican should serve as “laboratories of synodal life,” Kristina Millare reports.

Oct. 3: Solving sexuality questions with ‘contextual fidelity’?

A study group appointed by Pope Francis to explore a synodal approach to the Church’s most debated issues — including sexual morality and life matters — proposes “contextual fidelity” and a “new paradigm” that downplays long-standing Church teaching, Jonathan Liedl notes. 

Oct. 2: Pope Francis calls for new ways for bishops to be ‘synodal’

At the first meeting of the full assembly of the Synod on Synodality on Wednesday, Pope Francis says a bishop’s ministry should include cooperation with laypeople and that the synod will need to identify “differing forms” of the exercise of this ministry.

Oct. 2: Pope Francis opens synod, warns against personal ‘agendas’

Pope Francis opens the second and final session of the Synod on Synodality, which is meant to deepen the missionary perspective of the Church, explains EWTN Vatican Bureau Chief Andreas Thonhauser.

“Let us be careful not to see our contributions as points to defend at all costs or agendas to be imposed,” the pope says at the synod’s opening Mass on Oct. 2, Courtney Mares reports. The pontiff warns: “Ours is not a parliamentary assembly but rather a place of listening in communion.”

Oct. 2: Looming questions about role of German ‘synodality’ 

“More candor about the motivations of the German Synodal Path and its vision of the Catholic future would be helpful in determining what, if anything, it has to offer the world Church at Synod 2024,” comments George Weigel in the National Catholic Register.

Oct. 1: Penitential liturgy is held in St. Peter’s Basilica; more than 500 people attend

On the eve of the second session of the Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis says the Catholic Church must first acknowledge its sins and ask for forgiveness before it can be credible in carrying out the mission Jesus Christ entrusted to his Church, Kristina Millare reports. 

Nine years ago, this papal speech set the ‘synodality’ machine in motion

Since Pope Francis’ 2015 speech, synodality has grown from a theological concept into a guiding principle of Church governance. Analysis from Jonathan Liedl in the National Catholic Register.

A reconstruction of an ancient church recently discovered in Armenia. The newly discovered church measures about 100 feet across and is shaped like an octagon with “cruciform annexes oriented east-west and north-south,” according to Achim Lictenberger, who noted the discovery of a similar structure from a slightly later period found in Abchazia (Sebastopol). / Credit: AGAP

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 24, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

A team of German and Armenian researchers made a groundbreaking discovery last week of an ancient church in Armenia dating back to the fourth century, making it the oldest documented church in Armenia, which is considered the first Christian nation in the world.

In an email correspondence with CNA, co-directors of the project Achim Lichtenberger and Torben Schreiber of the University of Münster and Hayk Gyulamiryan of the Armenian Academy of Sciences explained the significance of the discovery made by the team at the site of the ancient city of Artaxata. The project’s fourth co-director, Mkrtich H. Zardaryan, could not be reached for comment by the time of publication. 

Historic roots of Christianity in Armenia

“Being the first country which adopted Christianity at the state level, and where the apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew preached Christianity in the early first century, this discovery is a very important fact for Armenians,” Gyulamiryan told CNA, further stating that “the findings are among the most important in Armenia in recent decades.”

Lichtenberger also emphasized the site’s particular importance, as the church was discovered near the monastery of Khor Virap, where Gregory the Illuminator had been kept in prison before he converted the Armenian king Tiradates III to Christianity in the fourth century. 

As Gyulamiryan stated, although the roots of Christianity may be traced back to the time of the apostles in Armenia, it was not until 301 that Christianity was proclaimed the official religion of Armenia. 

According to tradition, Armenia’s conversion is attributed to St. Gregory the Illuminator, a Christian evangelist and convert from Zoroastrianism who miraculously cured the nation’s pagan king of a peculiar “illness” after no other pagan priest was able to do so. 

The widely-adopted story of how Armenia became Christian draws from a mythical history promulgated by the fifth-century author Agathangelos, the Armenian researcher explained. 

As the legend goes, the pagan king of Armenia had become fascinated by the beauty of St. Hripsime, a nun who had fled with her abbess and community from persecution in Rome. The king offered to marry and make her queen, but Hripsime refused and was able to ward off the king’s advances through miraculous strength.

After the king ultimately had Hripsime and her community killed, historians claim he was “turned into a wild boar who tore at his own flesh” and could not be cured by any priests of pagan or Zoroastrian temples who attempted the feat.

Eventually, the king’s sister persuaded him to appeal to St. Gregory, whom the king had imprisoned for the past 15 years. Once St. Gregory was released, he cured the king of his “disease” and converted him and the entire royal family to the Christian faith.

Artaxata, where these events are believed to have taken place, is “a major place related to early Christianity in Armenia,” Lichtenberger told CNA.

St. Gregory is revered both in the Orthodox Armenian Apostolic Church and in the Catholic Church traditions. In 2005, Pope John Paul II erected a 19-foot statue of St. Gregory in the north courtyard of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.

The discovery

The newly-discovered church measures about 100 feet across and is shaped like an octagon with “cruciform annexes oriented east-west and north-south,” according to Lichtenberger, who noted the discovery of a similar structure from a slightly later period found in Abchazia (Sebastopol).

Although the Artaxata site was previously discovered, Lichtenberger told CNA that the church had been buried underground and gone undiscovered until the team carried out its magnetic prospections and excavations this past spring.

The researchers confirmed in September the age of the church to be from about 350 A.D. using radiocarbon dating techniques on a series of samples taken from a wooden platform belonging to the original construction of the building.

Ahead of the autumn excavations this year, Gyulamiryan told CNA he remembered thinking that the team “should confidently dig up the next chapter of the history of Armenia.”

According to Lichtenberger, the radiocarbon date from the wooden samples corresponded with pottery shards that were also discovered inside the church and with “the overall construction technique of the building using substantial amounts of mortar.” 

“In the center of the church we encountered significant amounts of marble decoration that suggest that this part was prominently adorned,” he said. Interestingly, the German researcher noted that the state of the building upon discovery indicated that it had perhaps met a hostile end.

“The building was heavily destroyed (maybe intentionally),” he wrote, “the marble construction smashed, parts of the floor tiles removed, the roof set on fire, and all was buried in a huge collapse of roof tiles and burnt roof beams.”

However, according to Lichtenberger, there are no primary literary sources that correspond to the church, as “literary sources only relate to a seventh-century A.D. church in Artaxata.”

By contrast, while the Armenian literary tradition attests that the oldest church in the country is the Etchmiadzin Cathedral, Lichtenberger noted, “archeological evidence from this place does not date back to the mid-fourth century A.D.”

“This does not mean that Etchmiadzin is younger than the Artaxata church, it only means that the Artaxata church provides earlier archaeological evidence,” he added. “Therefore we assume that the Artaxata church is the oldest archaeologically attested church in Armenia.”

Future of the project 

Schreiber shared with CNA in another email chain that analysis of data collected from the site will play a significant role in future archeological measures.

“The interaction of the excavation results, the geophysical survey, and the scientific investigations (natural sciences) will keep us busy in the coming year,” Schreiber said. “However, we are certain that these measures will provide us with a very comprehensive picture of this extraordinary and important find.”

The research team from the University of Münster and the Armenian Academy of Sciences have been at the Artaxata site since 2018 and have also made other noteworthy discoveries, including an unfinished Roman aqueduct, a Hellenistic sanctuary, and the remains of an Urartian settlement, according to Lichhtenberger.

The team of researchers also includes 10 students from the German university along with various internal and external specialists who consulted with the team on different groups of materials at the site, including animal and human bones, plants, or “archaeobotanical” matter, marble, plaster, pottery, and roof tiles — “of which we found a lot,” Lichtenberger said. 

“We will continue the work of the Armenian-German Artaxata Project in the future,” he told CNA. 

A missionary priest of the Order of St. Elijah celebrates a Mass attended by Christians liberated from slavery in a small chapel in Pakistan. / Credit: Courtesy of Order of St. Elijah

Ann Arbor, Michigan, Oct 24, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

There are young people who are called to serve in dangerous places, not just in the military but also as missionaries. The latter call has been heeded by a select few, willing to go where the faith has been oppressed or even absent for centuries. 

Project Omnes Gentes is a Catholic missionary initiative of the Order of St. Elijah, based in Argentina, to share the Gospel for the first time to nations who do not know Christ. It organizes short-term missions to the most remote places, including Malawi, Pakistan, Tibet, and Yemen.

CNA interviewed missionaries who recently returned from Pakistan, where they freed nearly 200 Christians from slavery. Rico and Diego are not further identified because of the peril it represents for them and persecuted Christians. 

Diego, a young lay Spaniard who recently reconverted to the faith, bravely threw himself into one of the most perilous missions yet undertaken by the order. “Since my conversion about five months ago, I have felt a great need to spread the Gospel,” he told CNA.

Recalling his conversion, he said once leaving Mass as an unbeliever, he suddenly felt an “oppressive presence, like an immense and heavy blanket.” Diego cried out to God for help. 

“After having let God be part of my life again, multiplying its value exponentially, I could not remain silent, I had to go on a mission. With the Order of St. Elijah, I could. I couldn’t be more grateful to God for putting them in my path and being able to help them preach the Gospel,” he said.

Diego accompanied Rico, a priest of the order, to the Punjab region of Pakistan, a country dominated by Islam. According to International Christian Concern, at least 1,000 girls and women in that country are annually abducted, raped, and forced to convert to Islam. A report by InfoVaticana claimed some 700 of these are Christians. Many are forced into hard labor or domestic slavery.

Father Rico told CNA: “Thanks to God and the holy Virgin, the mission accomplished its goals. We rescued five illiterate female sex slaves, who were raped for 10 years by four different men. When the rapists went looking for them, we were able to take them into hiding. We also rescued 75 debt slaves: among whom, there were people who were tortured and many little girls. We ‘bought’ them with the money donated to us by a bishop.”

“After the rescues, we assist them with what they need to survive. We want to start a small safe neighborhood for freed slaves — why not dream if ‘nothing will be impossible with God,’” he said, quoting Luke 1:37. The new Christian enclave, he said, will be called “Pax,” Latin for “peace.”

It was no coincidence, Father Rico said, that he began his work on the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, Aug. 15, and finished on the feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary, Sept. 12. He will return within a few months to liberate more.

“Of the 80 freed slaves, six Christian families had fallen into unwilling apostasy because they had renounced Christ and become Muslims,” he said. “The men were tortured and women raped in the process. When we went to rescue them, they said they were sorry. Those families were Protestant Christians.” He was under nearly constant surveillance by Muslim informants, whose testimony could have meant death.

“We saw malice so extreme that it could not be merely human malice. I think it was a preternatural, demonic malice. How else can it be explained that they drug a man to rape his wife and kill the baby generated in the rape through an abortion?” Father Rico said.

He added that he hopes to consult with Catholic psychologists and social workers to help the healing of the liberated slaves. “Above all, we will place the victims before the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary,” he said.

The priest said the unbaptized and Protestant Christians requested admittance to full communion with the Catholic Church. He baptized according to the traditional Rituale Romanum, which includes several exorcisms.

“We gave them images of the Holy Family, Bibles, and rosaries. We celebrated holy Mass for them and put them in contact with a priest who will catechize them. They entered the Catholic Church full of joy,” he recounted.

“Seeing the Holy Spirit work such miracles, and seeing how Christians prefer death rather than renounce the faith, united me with the mystical body of Christ on levels that I could not have imagined,” Diego said. “It is truly overwhelming to talk to these persecuted Catholics about their conversions, their faith, their experiences. I am sure that many of them, living through that hell, will earn heaven.”

According to a 2023 report by WalkFree, approximately 10 out of every 1,000 Pakistanis are engaged in forced labor. In other words, 2.3 million Pakistanis are subjected to forced labor or forced marriage. The nonprofit watchdog says Pakistan ranks 18th in the world and fourth in Asia for these practices. The U.S. Department of Labor reports that forced labor is notable in brickmaking, carpet weaving, coal mining, and agriculture.

Pakistan’s Christians are frequently targeted by Muslims and authorities for violating the country’s strict Muslim blasphemy laws that forbid denouncing Islam and its founder, Muhammad. In September, Aid to the Church in Need reported that a Pakistani woman, a mother of four, was sentenced to death for the alleged crime.

Pope Francis speaks at the general audience in St. Peter's Square on Oct. 23, 2024. An altar painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Francesco de Rhoden inside the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Rome, Italy. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA [L] CNA file photo [R]

Rome Newsroom, Oct 24, 2024 / 06:01 am (CNA).

Pope Francis released a new encyclical Dilexit Nos  (“He Loved Us”) on Thursday, calling for a renewed understanding of devotion to the Sacred Heart in the modern era and its many pressing challenges.

In the document, the pope argues that the spirituality of the Sacred Heart offers a vital response to what he calls a “liquid society” dominated by technology and consumerism.

Pope Francis writes: “Living as we do in an age of superficiality, rushing frenetically from one thing to another without really knowing why, and ending up as insatiable consumers and slaves to the mechanisms of a market unconcerned about the deeper meaning of our lives, all of us need to rediscover the importance of the heart.”

Subtitled “Letter on the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ,” the document is the first papal encyclical dedicated entirely to the Sacred Heart since Pope Pius XII’s Haurietis Aquas in 1956.

Throughout the document, Francis weaves together traditional elements of Sacred Heart devotion with contemporary concerns, presenting Christ’s heart as the principle unifying reality in a fragmented world.

The document’s release fulfills an announcement made by the pope in June, when he noted that meditating on the Lord’s love can “illuminate the path of ecclesial renewal and say something meaningful to a world that seems to have lost its heart.”

At a press conference presenting the document on Thursday, Italian Archbishop Bruno Forte said the encyclical expresses “in a profound way the heart and the inspiring motive of the whole ministry and magisterium of Pope Francis.”

The theologian added that in his opinion, the text is “the key to understanding this pope’s magisterium.”

Forte, who is a member of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, presented the encyclical together with Sister Antonella Fraccaro, superior general of the Disciples of the Gospel (Discepole del Vangelo).

From Scripture to AI: inside the pope’s vision

The approximately 30,000-word encyclical draws extensively from Scripture and tradition, featuring insights from St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Francis de Sales, and St. Charles de Foucauld.

Released as the Synod on Synodality is concluding its monthlong deliberations in Rome, the document emphasizes both personal spirituality and communal missionary commitment.

Francis develops his vision across five chapters, beginning with a philosophical and theological exploration of “the importance of the heart” before moving through reflections on Christ’s actions and words of love, the theological meaning of Sacred Heart devotion, its spiritual dynamics and social implications.

Algorithms in the digital world

“The algorithms operating in the digital world show that our thoughts and will are much more ‘uniform’ than we had previously thought,” Francis writes, arguing that technological solutions alone cannot address the deeper needs of the human heart.

He emphasizes that the meaning of the word “heart” is not sufficiently captured by biology, psychology, anthropology, or any other science.

“In this age of artificial intelligence, we cannot forget that poetry and love are necessary to save our humanity. No algorithm will ever be able to capture, for example, the nostalgia that all of us feel, whatever our age, and wherever we live,” Francis writes.

The pope emphasizes that devotion to the Sacred Heart is not merely a private spiritual practice but has profound implications for social life and human relationships.

“The world can change, beginning with the heart,” he writes, connecting individual transformation with broader social renewal.

Sacred Heart teaching from Pius XII to Francis

The encyclical builds on centuries of Catholic devotion to the Sacred Heart while offering fresh insights for modern challenges. Francis cites extensively from previous papal teachings, particularly from St. John Paul II.

“Devotion to the Sacred Heart, as it developed in Europe two centuries ago, under the impulse of the mystical experiences of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, was a response to Jansenist rigor, which ended up disregarding God’s infinite mercy,” the late pope writes.

“The men and women of the third millennium need the heart of Christ in order to know God and to know themselves; they need it to build the civilization of love.”

Heidegger, goosebumps, and the heart

In a significant theological and philosophical development, the encyclical engages deeply with modern thought, particularly through its discussion of German philosopher Martin Heidegger’s understanding of human emotion and understanding.

The pope cites Heidegger’s insight that “philosophy does not begin with a pure concept or certainty but with a shock,” as “without deep emotion, thought cannot begin. The first mental image would thus be goosebumps.”

For Francis, this is where the heart comes in as it “listens in a non-metaphoric way to ‘the silent voice’ of being, allowing itself to be tempered and determined by it.”

‘A new civilization of love’: the path forward

“The heart is also capable of unifying and harmonizing our personal history, which may seem hopelessly fragmented,” the pope writes, “yet is the place where everything can make sense.”

“The Gospel tells us this in speaking of Our Lady, who saw things with the heart.”

The document calls for a renewal of traditional Sacred Heart practices on this understanding while emphasizing their contemporary relevance.

“Our communities will succeed in uniting and reconciling differing minds and wills, so that the Spirit can guide us in unity as brothers and sisters. Reconciliation and peace are also born of the heart. The heart of Christ is ‘ecstasy,’ openness, gift, and encounter.”

The pope concludes by connecting this spiritual vision to the Church’s broader mission in the modern world, calling for what he — following St. John Paul II — terms a “civilization of love” built on the foundation of Christ’s love.

This vision also connects directly to previous social encyclicals by Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti, presenting Christ’s love as the foundation for addressing and solving contemporary challenges.

Hanna Brockhaus contributed to this report.

Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence in the film “Conclave,” which opens in theaters Oct. 25, 2024, in the U.S. / Credit: Focus Features

CNA Staff, Oct 24, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Arriving on moviegoers’ screens this Friday, the new movie “Conclave” bills itself as a star-studded mystery-thriller centered on the selection of a new pope for the Catholic Church. The film, which opens Oct. 25 in the U.S., is poised to make a splash at the box office and is already generating awards-season buzz.

In the weeks leading up to its release, however, the film has already garnered considerable controversy and biting criticism — with much of the ire from Catholics centered on the film’s twist ending.

Based on a 2016 novel by British author Robert Harris, “Conclave” follows a group of the Church’s cardinals as they navigate ecclesiastical politics, personal rivalries and scandals, and other obstacles as they seek to elect the Church’s new leader.

In the end, the cardinals inadvertently elect to the papacy a person who they believed to be a man — but in reality, the cardinal they elected was born a woman and raised as a male by her parents because she was born with an intersex condition.

Though not a new idea by any stretch of the imagination, the question of whether the Catholic Church could or would ever ordain women — either as deacons or as priests, bishops, or even pope — has been hotly debated lately, especially amid the ongoing Synod on Synodality, despite Church officials reiterating that women’s ordination is off the table.

To explore this question, CNA spoke with Father Carter Griffin, a Princeton graduate and former Navy officer who is today a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., rector of St. John Paul II Seminary, and author of several books on priestly celibacy and other topics.

The Church’s constant teaching on this question, reiterated strongly by recent popes, is that the Church won’t — and in fact, can’t — ordain women.

Perhaps the best-known of these teachings is contained in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, an apostolic letter from St. John Paul II in which he stated categorically that “the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.”

Pope Francis has repeatedly taught the same, notably in October 2023 when he publicly reaffirmed the impossibility of women becoming priests, or even modern Church deacons, stating that “holy orders [are] reserved for men.”

Griffin acknowledged, however, that some women — especially those who feel drawn to the idea of becoming a priest — might view the Church’s prohibition on female ordination as sexist, discriminatory, and unfair, as well as a missed opportunity to put the gifts of women to work as ordained ministers.

Some might think, Griffin told CNA, that “limiting priestly ordination to men alone would be unfair and unjust if there were no rational basis for the distinction. After all, women and men are created in the image and likeness of God with equal dignity and with reason, freedom, and immortal souls.”

But, he stressed, equality doesn’t mean identical roles — men and women have different roles to play in the Church, as well as in life in general.

“God created us differently in part so that we could exercise different roles and complement one another as mothers and fathers. This is true in the natural sphere but also in the order of grace,” he continued.

While the Church is unable to ordain them, there are countless ways that women have long served and continue to serve the Catholic Church, such as through religious orders, in parish life, education, health care, in other Catholic ministries, and within Catholic families.

It’s also vital, Griffin said, to recognize that one role in the Church is not necessarily “better” than another. Priesthood is, or at least ought to be, more about service to others than about power over them — the biblical image of Christ washing his disciples’ feet is a good illustration of this, he said.

“Inasmuch as some priests have historically failed to fulfill Christ’s command and his example of love — indeed, none of us fulfills it perfectly — we priests are partly responsible for these erroneous standards of power associated with the priesthood,” he added.

“The fact that the priesthood has lost some of its social esteem in recent years, especially in the turbulent wake of the clerical sex-abuse crisis, is in some respects a blessing … The implicit claim that the priesthood is about wielding power in the Church seems less believable today than it has for many decades, perhaps centuries. That’s a good thing.”

Griffin also pointed out that the human being most highly revered in the Catholic Church was not a priest or a bishop but rather the Virgin Mary.

It goes to show, he said, that the priesthood is about far more than prestige and rather points to a deeper reality about Christ’s relationship with his people, the Church.

There are other scriptural reasons to support the Church’s teaching as well. By involving women in his ministry at a time of deeply entrenched discrimination, Jesus himself was clearly unafraid to celebrate women and challenge the social norms of first-century Israel — and yet his 12 apostles, the first bishops, were all male. 

“If Jesus wanted to ordain women priests, he would have,” Griffin commented.

Sacramental worldview

To better understand the Church’s teaching about the all-male priesthood, Griffin said it is vital to understand the “sacramental worldview” — a deeply Catholic recognition of spiritual realities hidden beneath visible signs. 

The sacraments “were instituted by Christ and make present his grace in powerful ways through ordinary signs,” Griffin said. For example, the water used in baptism is not “just” water but symbolizes the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on a new Christian. 

The priesthood, specifically, is a visible sign meant to point to the invisible reality of Christ’s presence as the “spouse” of his bride, the Church, which has always been understood to be female.

In the Old Testament, God revealed himself as a bridegroom of Israel; in the New Testament, Jesus extends that teaching and reveals himself as the bridegroom of the Church, Griffin noted. 

“Priests are conformed and united to Christ in such a way that they exercise their spiritual fatherhood in union with the feminine Church. Ordaining women would obscure that priestly paternity as well as the femininity of the bride of Christ.”

The fact that Jesus chose to become a man, then, is “not just one physical characteristic among many, such as his height or hair color, but an essential element of his revelation as spouse of the Church,” Griffin noted.

In priestly ordination, Griffin explained, a man is conformed to Christ in such a way that Jesus truly becomes present through him. Throughout his priestly ministry, but especially at Mass, the priest stands in the place of Christ who, as a bridegroom, lays down his life for his bride, the Church.

As for the question of women who feel that God is calling them to be ordained, Griffin — who works with discerning seminarians in his role as rector — pointed out that just because someone feels drawn to something, even deeply, that doesn’t mean they have a calling from God. 

The Church should treat those who feel hurt by the Church’s teachings with empathy while not reneging on those teachings, he said.

“Today, when there is so much confusion about human sexuality and gender, the clarity surrounding priestly ordination is a healthy sign of contradiction. Precisely when so many are downplaying the differences between men and women or erasing objective gender distinctions altogether, the Church reaffirms in the male priesthood the gender differentiation willed by God,” Griffin said.

What about the ‘tough cases?’

In the “Conclave” book as well as the film, the fictional cardinal who is ultimately elected pope is revealed to be a biological woman, born intersex, who was raised as a male and believed herself to be a male. In the narrative, it is also revealed that the late pope elevated the woman to a cardinal, even after learning her true identity. 

Statistics vary, but according to some estimates, about 1.7% of people are born intersex, which means they have reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t appear to fit the typical definitions of male or female.

The Catholic view of this phenomenon, as explained by Father Tad Pacholczyk of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, is that intersex people do not possess a “third sex” but rather exhibit variations within the male or female sex. While advocating for compassionate care for intersex individuals, Pacholczyk acknowledged that these individuals might face unique challenges in supporting their “intrinsic maleness” or “intrinsic femaleness.”

Any treatment that an intersex person undergoes should aim to restore bodily functions that align with a person’s underlying biological sex rather than affirming a different gender identity, Pacholczyk said.

For his part, Griffin explained that “a stable, secure, and well-ordered sexual identity is a necessary condition for priestly formation and ordination.” A biological female identifying as a male would not, in fact, be a male — and thus would be ineligible for the priesthood.

“It is our individual and unique creation as either male or female that identifies us as man or woman, not our subjective feelings or choices,” he said.

While intersex cases like the one in the film are rare, Griffin said that as a seminary rector, he has had to grapple with the possibility that biological women who identify as men may seek entry, even secretly, into the seminary — a possibility that is not as remote as you might think. 

A couple of years ago, Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee, then chairman of the bishops’ national canonical affairs committee, warned his fellow bishops in a memo that the committee had received multiple reports of women living under transgender identities being “unknowingly admitted” to U.S. seminaries or formation houses.

In one case, Listecki said, “the individual’s sacramental records had been fraudulently obtained to reflect her new identity.” At the time, Listecki suggested that bishops should consider requiring DNA tests or physical examinations to ensure that all seminarians are biological men.

Griffin said the question of how to make sure that women are not being clandestinely ordained is “an issue we’re all looking at more carefully.”

“Among the many elements of an application for priestly formation, every seminarian receives a full physical examination from a medical professional to ensure that he has the necessary physical health for priestly ministry. While historically such an examination would not have included testing for biological sex, increasingly dioceses are requiring just that,” he continued.

“In addition, an application for priestly formation includes references from individuals from different phases of a candidate’s life, including his family members, pastors, teachers, friends, and employers. No system is perfect, but if we take these precautions seriously it would be extremely difficult for someone who is not male to enter the seminary under false pretenses.”

null / Credit: Fer Gregory/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Oct 23, 2024 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

An off-Broadway theater in Manhattan has closed down after its landlord — the Archdiocese of New York — began exercising greater scrutiny over the plays performed there to ensure they were in line with Catholic teaching. 

The New York-based art group SheNYC said in a press release on Tuesday that the archdiocese had recently imposed “strict content guidelines” on the plays performed at the Connelly Theater in Manhattan’s East Village.

The Connelly Theater is housed within the Cornelia Connelly Center, a Catholic girls school. SheNYC said in its release that the archdiocese “has directed the theater to deny the space to any shows or companies that would be seen as inappropriate by the Catholic Church,” including shows about abortion and transgenderism. 

“The priest in charge of the jurisdiction is personally screening scripts to ensure they fit within strictly Catholic doctrines,” the group said.

The New York Times on Wednesday reported that theater manager Josh Luxenberg resigned from his post last week amid the dispute. The Connelly Center, meanwhile, reportedly announced on Tuesday that it was “suspending all operations of its theater.”

New York Archdiocese spokesman Joe Zwilling told CNA in a statement on Wednesday: “It is the standard practice of the archdiocese that nothing should take place on Church-owned property that is contrary to the teaching of the Church.”

“That applies to plays, television shows or movies being shot, music videos being recorded, or other performances,” Zwilling said.

Neither the Catholic school nor the theater responded to queries from CNA regarding the dispute and the shutdown.

But Brianne Wetzel, the school’s executive director, told the New York Times that the archdiocese “has sole control over the approval process of the productions that are performed there.” Income from the theater has been used to offset operating costs at the school, Wetzel told the paper. 

School officials did not know when the theater would reopen, Wetzel said. 

Asked via email if the archdiocese had mandated the theater’s closure, meanwhile, Zwilling on Wednesday said: “We did not order it to be closed.”

The theater was recently scheduled to host a performance of “Becoming Eve,” a play based on the eponymous memoir by Abby Stein, a man who was ordained a Hasidic rabbi before he began to identify as a woman.

SheNYC, meanwhile, said the archdiocese “specifically [called] out shows we’ve done in the past at the theater.” The art group has previously performed plays featuring lesbian romances and “transgender” characters.

Anglican nuns from Sisterhood of St. Mary (photographed with bishops from the Anglican Church of North America’s Diocese of the Living Word) are among those suing the state of New York for requiring that they cover abortion in their health plans. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Becket Law

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 23, 2024 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

A group of nuns and religious associations fighting for exemption from a New York law mandating they provide abortion coverage to their employees has gained support from a coalition of Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Catholic, and other Christian groups as they take their legal battle to the Supreme Court.

In Diocese of Albany v. Harris, the plaintiffs are suing the state of New York after it mandated employers to cover abortions in their employee health insurance plans. The nuns have been engaged in the litigation since first filing suit in 2017. Their case is one of several religious freedom cases that could be on the Supreme Court docket this term.

Twenty states including Texas, Florida, Georgia, and Ohio have thrown their weight behind the case, alongside the University of Notre Dame’s Religious Liberty Clinic and various Catholic health care professionals and organizations. Together with the various religious groups, they collectively filed seven friend-of-the-court briefs asking the Supreme Court to block the mandate.

“New York is bullying nuns into bankrolling abortions because they serve all people, no matter their faith,” said Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at the religious liberty law firm Becket, in a press release. “That is unacceptable — as this outpouring of support shows, religious organizations should be free to care for the needy without having to violate their beliefs.”

The plaintiffs, including the Sisters of St. Mary, a contemplative order of goat-herding Anglican nuns, asked the state in the filing for protection against the regulation, but the New York court refused.

Following the initial decision, the religious groups appealed to the Supreme Court, which returned it to the state court in May. In their filing, they asked the court to reconsider the case in light of Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, a religious liberty case that upheld the religious liberty of private Catholic adoption agencies.

However, the lower court once again denied the plaintiffs’ appeals, upholding the abortion mandate, leading Becket to appeal to the Supreme Court for a second time this past September.

The seven briefs include a joint contribution from Muslim and Hindu groups as well as from Jewish and Christian groups, including the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) and representatives from various Protestant denominations.

In their respective briefings, the diverse coalition explains why the protection of religious freedom is crucial for those who are practicing members of a minority faith.

“Abortion has been at the center of a religious, moral, political, and judicial firestorm for decades,” the amicus briefing filed by the Christian coalition reads. “Until recently, supporters and opponents of abortion rights acknowledged that coercing religious organizations to support abortion triggers profound questions of religious freedom.”

Having previously forced religious charity organizations to include contraception in their employee health plans, the briefing states, “New York has taken the long next step” by “dragooning religious organizations into becoming complicit in abortion,” a move the briefing calls “an intolerable invasion of religious autonomy.”

“The Constitution protects the free exercise of religion,” the brief submitted by The Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team of the Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness adds. “In a religiously pluralistic and highly regulated society like ours, there can be no free exercise of religion for minority faiths without religious exemptions.”

The Supreme Court will consider whether to hear the case “later this fall,” according to Becket.

Pope Francis delivers a message during his general audience on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Lima Newsroom, Oct 23, 2024 / 15:05 pm (CNA).

The apostolic nunciature in Peru announced that Pope Francis has approved the expulsion of two more members of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (Sodality of Christian Life) in the wake of the report of the special mission he sent in July 2023 to investigate allegations of abuse.

The statement from the nunciature was published Oct. 21 by the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference.

The text mentions José Ambrozic Velezmoro, former assistant for Temporalities, Communications, and Apostolate as well as former vicar general, along with Father Luis Antonio Ferroggiaro Dentone.

Although the name of Ricardo Trenemann Young also appears in the statement, his expulsion from the sodality had already been announced on Sept. 25.

According to the nunciature, Pope Francis made the decision “after evaluating the defense [statements] corresponding to the accusations that emerged during the ‘Special Mission’” entrusted to Archbishop Charles Scicluna and Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and official of the same dicastery, respectively.

“In adopting this decision, the scandal caused by the number and gravity of the abuses reported by the victims was considered, particularly contrary to the balanced and liberating experience of the evangelical counsels in the context of the ecclesial apostolate,” the statement added.

The statement said that “these are cases of abuse of office and authority, particularly in the form of abuse in the administration of ecclesiastical goods, as well as sexual abuse, in some cases even of minors.”

“In this regard, in the case of Rev. Ferroggiaro Dentone, the present disciplinary decision is not an obstacle to the proceedings that are simultaneously being carried out by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, given the clerical state of the accused,” it explained.

The statement concluded by stating that “Pope Francis, together with the bishops of Peru and those places where the Sodality of Christian Life is present, saddened by what happened, ask forgiveness from the victims and join in their suffering. They also ask this society of apostolic life to, without further delay, provide for justice and reparation.”

On Sept. 30, the sodality published a statement signed by its superior general, José David Correa González, affirming that it accepts with “humility and obedience” the decision of the pope to expel several of its members and renewed its “adherence to the Vicar of Christ” and its love for the Catholic Church.

The text was issued following the dismissal of 10 of its members, announced on Sept. 25.

The apostolate assured that it will continue “collaborating with the various bodies of guidance and accompaniment that the Holy See indicates to us” and reiterated its commitment “to listening to and caring for the victims, and to the processes of reparation through justice and truth.”

Correa also said the sodalits will continue with the process of renewal, “trusting in the Lord who has sustained us throughout these years and will continue to accompany us under the care of holy Mary our Mother.”

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

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a church service at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church on Oct. 20, 2024, in Stonecrest, Georgia. / Credit: Megan Varner/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 23, 2024 / 14:35 pm (CNA).

Vice President Kamala Harris confirmed that she would oppose religious exemptions in abortion laws if elected president and emphasized that she would not make concessions to Republicans on the issue.

The Democratic nominee made the comments in a Tuesday interview when NBC News’ Hallie Jackson asked Harris “what concessions would be on the table” when considering federal laws on abortion and specifically whether she would consider “religious exemptions.”

“I don’t think we should be making concessions when we’re talking about a fundamental freedom to make decisions about your own body,” Harris responded.

Jackson followed up on the question, asking whether the vice president would extend “an olive branch” to moderate Republicans who support legal abortion but do not support all of Harris’ abortion policies. But the Democratic nominee also rejected this, saying abortion “cannot be negotiable.”

“I’m not gonna engage in hypotheticals because we could go on a variety of scenarios,” Harris said. “Let’s just start with a fundamental fact, a basic freedom has been taken from the women of America: the freedom to make decisions about their own body. And that cannot be negotiable, which is that we need to put back in the protections of Roe v. Wade.”

Harris continued, adding that former president Donald Trump “allowed Roe v. Wade to be overturned” and said: “So that’s my point about what is nonnegotiable — it has to be that we agree that it is so fundamental that we allow women the ability with their doctor, with, if they choose, talking with their faith leader, to be able to make these decisions and not have the government tell her what to do.”

The vice president’s opposition to religious freedom exemptions regarding abortion laws is consistent with her record as a senator. In 2019, Harris introduced the Do No Harm Act, which would have scaled back religious liberty exemptions to government mandates that exist in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Under the proposed law, which failed to make it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, religious employers would not be exempt from covering “any health care item or service” that is required under federal law. This would have eliminated religious exemptions to any coverage related to abortion, contraception, transgender surgeries, or any other health care issue.

Harris introduced the proposal when the Catholic Little Sisters of the Poor sought a religious exemption to an Affordable Care Act rule that mandated coverage of drugs that could induce abortions. Although the sisters were initially denied, they obtained their religious exemption with a victory in the United States Supreme Court thanks to the exemptions that Harris was trying to remove from federal law.

Opposition to religious liberty exemptions for abortion is also consistent with the Biden-Harris administration’s policies over the last four years.

The Biden-Harris Department of Health and Human Services promulgated a rule in 2022 that sought to force all hospitals, including Catholic hospitals, to provide abortions if it constituted a “stabilizing treatment” under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). This rule was blocked by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit and the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the administration’s appeal.

According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “direct abortion is never permissible.” 

Grazie Pozo Christie, a senior fellow at The Catholic Association, said in a statement that Harris “should clarify, and quickly, whether given the chance she would force Americans who object on religious or conscience grounds to participate in abortion.”

“Sadly, it would not be the first time Harris has used her political power to trample the rights of religious Americans,” Christie said.

Harris has committed to enshrining a legal right to abortion into federal law at least until the point of viability by codifying the abortion standards set in the now-defunct Roe v. Wade ruling. During her candidacy for president, she has also refused to disavow late-term abortion, which is legal in several states.