Congreso Eucarístico en Quito: Las respuestas proféticas que laIglesia puede dar en tiempos de crisis

Por Eduardo Campos Lima
(OSV News) – Los dos primeros días de ponencias del 53 Congreso Eucarístico Internacional en Quito, Ecuador, contrastaron las penurias que actualmente enfrentan muchas personas en diferentes partes del mundo con las respuestas proféticas que la Iglesia puede dar en tiempos de crisis.

Los oradores que intervinieron en este evento, que se desarrolló del 8 al 15 de septiembre, compartieron sus puntos de vista sobre las duras realidades que viven millones de personas en la actualidad, desde las víctimas inocentes de la guerra en Ucrania hasta las familias de inmigrantes que emprenden viajes traicioneros desde Sudamérica a Estados Unidos y acaban encontrando más exclusión y violencia.

En su intervención, Rodrigo Guerra, secretario laico de la Pontificia Comisión para América Latina, resumió la mayor parte de las actuales “heridas del mundo”, como vienen llamando los organizadores del congreso a los problemas sociales que pueden ser sanados por el sentido de fraternidad que proporciona la Eucaristía.

An Indigenous woman takes notes at a panel Sept. 10, 2024, during the International Eucharistic Congress in Quito, Ecuador. The Sept. 8-15 congress focused on a call to build fraternity as a way of healing the wounds of a world full of fractures and violence. (OSV News photo/courtesy International Eucharistic Congress)

Él mencionó la desigualdad social y el aumento de la brecha entre ricos y pobres, algo especialmente alarmante en América Latina; la falta de cuidado de la Tierra, con todas las consecuencias ecológicas que esto conlleva; y la inexistencia de fraternidad y perdón cuando se trata de desacuerdos políticos.

“Muchos de nuestros países están desgarrados por tremendas polarizaciones por oposiciones ideológicas gravísimas”, dijo Guerra, añadiendo que el populismo – tanto de derecha como de izquierda – es el resultado indeseable de esas fracturas sociales.

También mencionó la inmigración masiva – y la ausencia de una acogida adecuada por parte de los países de destino – como uno de los retos más complejos de la actualidad.

Leyden Rovelo-Krull, que dirige la Oficina del Ministerio Hispano de la Diócesis de Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, compartió su experiencia de trabajo con inmigrantes que acaban de ser liberados por el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos tras un largo viaje desde Sudamérica o Centroamérica hasta la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México.

Recordó que en 1983 la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de EE.UU. afirmó que la presencia hispana y latina en la vida eclesial estadounidense era “una bendición de Dios para la Iglesia y para nuestro país”, dado que esos inmigrantes habían revitalizado parroquias en todo el país.

A pesar de ello, un alto porcentaje de ciudadanos estadounidenses ha manifestado su oposición a la llegada de migrantes latinoamericanos, incluidos fieles católicos.

Rovelo-Krull describió los sufrimientos de algunas de las personas que ha conocido durante su trabajo, como una madre que perdió a su hija de 5 años mientras cruzaba Centroamérica y tuvo que enterrarla por el camino, en un punto que no sabe exactamente dónde está.

El trauma de tantas familias inmigrantes puede ser comparable al de las víctimas de la invasión rusa a Ucrania, descrita vívidamente por el obispo auxiliar Hryhoriy Komar, de la eparquía católica de Sambir-Drohobych, ciudad cercana a la frontera con Polonia. Contó a la audiencia que al menos 20.000 niños ucranianos han sido secuestrados por los ocupantes rusos.

“Ahora en el mundo hay 6 millones de refugiados ucranianos y 10 millones de refugiados dentro del país. Muchos pueblos y ciudades ya desaparecieron, sepultando bajo ruinas a la gente”, afirmó.

Los rusos han ocupado gran parte del país, por lo que no es posible saber cuántos ucranianos fueron asesinados, añadió el obispo Komar.
Para muchos participantes, esas descripciones les llevaron a reflexionar sobre sus propias realidades. Ese fue el caso del obispo Geovanni Paz, de Latacunga, Ecuador.

“Algunos de esos temas me impactan mucho, como los desafíos de la inmigración, que también se notan en mi diócesis”, dijo a OSV News.

Mons. Paz afirmó que de vez en cuando salen autobuses que llevan decenas de personas al norte con gente de las pequeñas comunidades andinas de su diócesis que buscan una vida mejor.

“Antes recibíamos grupos de 1.200 niños para la catequesis y ahora somos sólo 400”, dijo, y agregó que muchos niños son dejados por sus padres para vivir con sus abuelos, y terminan abandonando la escuela e involucrándose con las drogas y la delincuencia.

“Algunas de esas personas son deportadas a Ecuador apenas llegan a Estados Unidos. Nos cuentan las violaciones de derechos humanos que sufren en el camino”, lamentó monseñor Paz.

Mientras el Papa Francisco defiende los derechos de los inmigrantes, la mayoría de las sociedades los han estado rechazando, dijo el obispo.

“Tenemos que ser una Iglesia profética. De lo contrario, estaremos siendo cómplices”, argumentó.

Al día siguiente hubo presentaciones sobre fuertes voces proféticas. El 10 de septiembre, los obispos latinoamericanos hablaron de algunas de las figuras más veneradas en la historia de la Iglesia católica de la región. Es el caso del obispo ecuatoriano Leônidas Proaño (1910-1988), que dedicó su vida a los indígenas y campesinos, y de San Óscar Romero (1917-1980), arzobispo salvadoreño asesinado por el régimen militar.

El padre Juan Carlos Garzón, secretario general de la CEI, dijo que “en los momentos más difíciles Dios nos envía los profetas de nuestro tiempo”.

“Queríamos descubrir las heridas del mundo y luego ver después cómo Cristo viene a redimirnos”, explicó el padre Garzón.

(Eduardo Campos Lima escribe para OSV News desde São Paulo.)

Second synod session to open with penitential liturgy

By Justin McLellan
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The second session of the Synod of Bishops on synodality, set to bring 368 bishops, priests, religious and laypeople to the Vatican, will begin by asking forgiveness for various sins on behalf of all the baptized.

As synod members did before last year’s session, they will spend two days on retreat before beginning work; that period of reflection will conclude Oct. 1 with a penitential liturgy presided over by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican announced.

This is the official logo for the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. (CNS photo/courtesy Synod of Bishops)

The liturgy will include time to listen to the testimonies of three people: one who suffered from the sin of abuse, one from the sin of war and third from the sin of indifference to the plight of migrants, according to a Vatican statement announcing the liturgy.

Afterward, “the confession of a number of sins will take place,” said the statement, released Sept. 16. “The aim is not to denounce the sin of others, but to acknowledge oneself as a member of those who, by omission or action, become the cause of suffering and responsible for the evil inflicted on the innocent and defenseless.”

According to the Vatican, the sins confessed will include: sins against peace; sins against creation, sins against Indigenous populations and migrants; the sin of abuse; sins against women, family and youth; the sin of “using doctrine as stones to be hurled”; sins against poverty; and sins against synodality or the lack of listening and communion.

The liturgy is open to all but is specifically geared toward young people, as it “directs the Church’s inner gaze to the faces of new generations,” the Vatican said.

“Indeed, it will be the young people present in the Basilica who will receive the sign that the future of the Church is theirs, and that the request for forgiveness is the first step of a faith-filled and missionary credibility that must be reestablished,” it said.

Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the synod, said that in addressing young people, the church wants “to communicate to them and to the world that the church is in a dynamic of conversion.”

“After all, this is the path to holiness, not that there is no sin but that we recognize our limits, our weakness, that we are open to conversion, to learning, always with the help of the Lord,” he said.

Presenting details for the upcoming synod session at a news conference Sept. 16, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, relator general of the synod, said most of the participants would be the same as those who participated in the first assembly, which was held in October 2023, though 25 changes were made for different reasons, such as health problems.

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, who participated last year as an alternate delegate of the U.S. bishops’ conference, will not be at the assembly; Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, who was elected but could not attend in 2023, will take his place as part of the U.S. delegation.

Cardinal Hollerich said that of the 368 voting members, 96 — or just over a quarter — are not bishops. Additionally, he said the number of representatives from other Christian communities participating in the synod without voting privileges increased from 12 to 16 “given the great interest that the sister churches have shown in this synodal journey.”

Jesuit Father Giacomo Costa, special secretary of the synod, said at the news conference that unlike the first session of the synod on synodality’s assembly, which focused on “an awareness and identification of some priorities,” the second session is about “going in-depth” into some of the key points raised during the listening sessions around the world and during the first assembly.

But Cardinal Grech confirmed that some of the more controversial points raised, including about ordaining women to the diaconate, would not be a topic of discussion at the assembly. In March, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had established study groups to examine those issues and report back to him in 2025. But the groups will share a progress report with the synod members at the beginning of the October assembly.

Whereas the synod assembly produced a synthesis report at the end of its first session in 2023, the 2024 session will produce a final document to be given to the pope.

“To date, there has always been a communication to the people of God on the part of the Holy Father,” Cardinal Grech said in response to a question on whether the pope will issue a post-synodal exhortation after the synod.

Another introduction into this year’s session is the organization of four public “theological-pastoral forums” centered on different topics for a deeper understanding of synodality. The forums, hosted in Rome and open to the public, are titled: “People of God as Subject of the Mission”; “The Role and Authority of the Bishop in a Synodal Church”; “The Mutual Relationship Local Church-Universal Church”; and “The Exercise of the Primacy and the Synod of Bishops.”

The forums are intended to respond to the need to “continue the theological, canonical and pastoral deepening of the meaning of synodality for the different aspects of the Church’s faith and to offer theologians and canonists the opportunity to contribute to the work of the Assembly,” a Vatican statement said.

New study says Shroud of Turin bloodstains are ‘consistent with Jesus Christ’s tortures’

By Junno Arocho Esteves
(OSV News) — A study published in July revealed that a new analysis of the Shroud of Turin, including the composition and a microscopic analysis of bloodstains, shows that the marks are consistent with the tortures endured by Christ as described in the Gospels.

The study, titled “New Insights on Blood Evidence from the Turin Shroud Consistent with Jesus Christ’s Tortures,” stated that the presence of creatinine particles with ferritin, which are often a by-product of muscle contractions, “confirms, at a microscopic level, the very heavy torture suffered by Jesus of the HST,” or Holy Shroud of Turin.

Furthermore, “numerous bloodstains scattered throughout the double body image of the HST show evidence that Jesus of the HST was tortured,” it stated.

“Bloodstained marks all over the body image which are consistent with pre-crucifixion flagellation, bloodstained marks on the head that are consistent with a ‘crown’ of thorns, blood marks on the hand and feet that are consistent with crucifixion and the bloodstain on the chest that evidences a post-mortem wound that corresponds with the post-mortem spear wound that Christ received as is described in the Bible,” the report said.

The new study was written by Giulio Fanti, associate professor of Mechanical and Thermal Measurements at the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Padua. According to his personal website, Fanti has studied and written about the famed burial cloth since 2004.

The funding for the study, the report said, “was partially supported by a religious group
that requested anonymity” and that the group entrusted Fanti with “the analysis of the so-called ‘Padre Pio handkerchief,’ a fabric on which two images considered miraculous are imprinted on the front and back of (a Shroud of Turin-like) Jesus Christ and Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, respectively.”

According to the report, a preliminary study conducted by Fanti, along with Christian Privitera, an engineer, revealed the presence “of an almost transparent substance” between the bloodstained threads of the shroud.

“This substance, given its origin and in agreement with other scholars who have analyzed the Shroud of Oviedo, could be the semi-transparent fluid produced by pulmonary edema,” the report said, referring to the excessive accumulation of fluid in the lungs that Jesus was believed to have suffered from while on the cross.

The Shroud of Oviedo, Spain, is what both tradition and scientific studies claim was the cloth used to cover and clean the face of Jesus after the crucifixion.

Fanti’s study on the Shroud of Turin stated that aside from confirming the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ torture, including the flagellation, the right eye of the man of the shroud, given that it was “more sunken” with a vertical mark over the “apparently furrowed” eyelid,” indicate that he “could have been blinded by another blow of the scourge on the head.”

“As an alternative to the scourge mark on the right eye, one can think of a wound produced by a thorn from the crown placed on Jesus’ head,” the report stated.

The 14-foot-by-4-foot shroud features a full-length photonegative image of a man, front and back, bearing signs of wounds that correspond to the Gospel accounts of the torture Jesus endured in his passion and death.

The Shroud of Turin is pictured in a file photo during a preview for journalists at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy. A study published in July revealed that a new analysis of the shroud, including the composition and a microscopic analysis of the blood, shows that the marks are consistent with the tortures endured by Christ as described in the Gospels. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

The Catholic Church has never officially ruled on the shroud’s authenticity, saying judgments about its age and origin belonged to scientific investigation. Scientists have debated its authenticity for decades, and studies have led to conflicting results.

A 1988 carbon testing dated the cloth to the 12th century, leading many to conclude that the shroud is a medieval forgery. However, scientists have challenged that claim by noting that the methodology of the testing was erroneous and that the sample used in the carbon dating process was a piece used to mend the cloth in the Middle Ages.

A 2014 study published in the 2018 Journal of Forensic Sciences by Matteo Borrini, an Italian forensic scientist, and Luigi Garlaschelli, an Italian chemist, stated that blood patterns on the shroud were not consistent with those left by a crucified person.

Garlaschelli also posted a YouTube video of his experiment in 2015 using a live person to study the blood patterns in various positions as well as pressing a sponge against a plastic mannequin to examine the way the fake blood flowed.

However, several experts and researchers criticized the 2014 study, stating that their findings lacked the accuracy of past studies, some of which involved cadavers of men who died of hemopericardium, the pooling of blood in the heart, which is believed to be what ultimately caused Jesus’ death on the cross.

In his report, Fanti questioned the results of the 1988 study, stating that certain factors, including the presence of neutron radiation, transformed elements in the shroud, “thus heavily skewing the results of the radiocarbon dating of the HST performed in 1988 by many centuries.”

(Junno Arocho Esteves reports for OSV News from Malmö, Sweden.)

Briefs

NATION
DENVER (OSV News) – The organization that coordinates efforts related to the National Eucharistic Revival announced Sept. 3 the launch of the Society of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus to boost revival efforts. In an email to supporters, Jason Shanks, CEO of National Eucharistic Congress Inc., described the society as a way people “can help and remain closely connected to the many ongoing efforts of charity and evangelization, of pilgrimage and procession – of mission – to bring Christ to every corner of our nation.” Joining the society requires a minimum $10 monthly donation to National Eucharistic Congress Inc. Members will receive a copy of “For the Life of the World: Invited to Eucharistic Mission” by Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, who serves as board chairman of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., and Tim Glemkowski, the founding CEO of National Eucharistic Congress Inc., who served in that role until Aug. 1. Society members also receive access to the National Eucharistic Congress digital platform, which includes all of the talks from the July 17-21 National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, as well as additional Eucharist-related content. Information on joining the society can be found at www.eucharisticcongress.org/donate.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Ahead of Hispanic Heritage Month, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for Cultural Diversity in the Church has released a resource kit “to help illustrate the profound impact of the Hispanic/Latino community within the Catholic Church in the United States,” according to a Sept. 4 press release. This resource kit includes statistical information on the Catholic population in the United States, categorized by race/ethnicity, a statistical profile of Hispanic/Latino ministry, the percentage of Hispanic/Latino Catholics by diocese and the percentage growth of Hispanic/Latino Catholics in the Millennial and Gen Z generations. It also reports on the growth of the Hispanic/Latino population in the church’s 14 episcopal regions and the estimated Hispanic/Latino population in the U.S. in 2022 by country of origin, as well as a timeline of Hispanic/Latino ministry events and milestones spanning from 1945 to 2024. Alejandro Aguilera-Titus, assistant director of Hispanic Affairs under the USCCB’s cultural diversity secretariat, said that through the information in this resource, they hope to “help show the vibrant faith and the richness of the Hispanic and Latino communities within our Church and society.” The resource kit – published in English and Spanish – is available on the USCCB website: usccb.org/committees/hispaniclatino-affairs.

VATICAN
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNS) – Even members of the most remote, smallest and poorest Christian communities are called to share the Gospel and to do so, first, by the way they live, Pope Francis told the Catholics of Indonesia. With tens of thousands of people gathered in Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium Sept. 5 – and thousands more watching on screens from Madya Stadium, a smaller venue nearby – Pope Francis presided over his only public Mass in Indonesia. He was scheduled to fly to Papua New Guinea the next morning. Seated together wearing the bright green, yellow, white, blue, red or black t-shirts designating the parish, diocese or Catholic organization they belong to, the crowd made the main stadium look like it was built with Lego bricks. The people arrived at the stadium hours early, visiting with each other, singing hymns and lively modern Christian songs and praying the rosary. In his homily, Pope Francis urged Indonesian Catholics “to sow seeds of love, confidently tread the path of dialogue, continue to show your goodness and kindness with your characteristic smile and be builders of unity and peace.” Pope Francis asked the crowd not to forget that “the first task of the disciple is not to clothe ourselves with an outwardly perfect religiosity, do extraordinary things or engage in grandiose undertakings. The first step, instead, is to know how to listen to the only word that saves, the word of Jesus.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The Earth is ailing, and it needs the prayers of Catholics as well as their personal commitment to caring for creation, Pope Francis said. “Let us pray that each of us listen with our hearts to the cry of the Earth and of the victims of environmental disasters and climate change, making a personal commitment to care for the world we inhabit,” the pope said in a video message released Aug. 30 by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network. The network posts a short video of the pope offering his specific prayer intention each month, and members of the network pray for that intention each day. Pope Francis’ intention for September is: “For the cry of the Earth,” which coincides with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation Sept. 1 and its inauguration of the monthlong “Season of Creation.”

Pope Francis receives wine from women in traditional Indonesian dress during the presentation of gifts as he celebrates Mass in Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, Mass Sept. 5, 2023. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

WORLD
KATSINA, Nigeria (OSV News) – Back to school will be especially tough in Nigeria this year as a new report shows that Fulani herders, or ethnic militia, are killing Nigerian civilians unopposed. Mass killings, abductions and the torture of whole families go largely unchallenged as government forces pursue targets hundreds of miles away, according to the research findings. As the security situation in Nigeria worsens, an increasing number of schools, especially in the northern part of the country, face forced shutdown on the verge of a new academic year. This has led to a significant decline in student enrollment, with many citizens relocating within the country or going abroad. A new report published Aug. 29 by the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa – a four-year data project on religious persecution in Nigeria – showed that the most populous African country was an extremely violent and insecure place to live in the reporting period from October 2019 to September 2023, at least in parts of the country. In total, 55,910 people were killed in 9,970 attacks, while 21,621 people were abducted in 2,705 attacks, the report said. “Many civilians lived in high levels of insecurity and fear of the unexpected,” the report said. The data shows that more Nigerian Christians were victims of violence than Nigerians with other religious affiliations.

JERUSALEM (OSV News) – The Holy Land’s sacred sites overflow with tourists in normal times, but with war in Gaza, most airlines have canceled flights to the region. The streets of the Old City of Jerusalem are deserted with merchant’s stalls shuttered. Yet for two Catholic peace activists from the United States, it was the perfect time to visit. Invited by Palestinian Christian groups, they joined with 10 other U.S. Christians and flew to neighboring Jordan. From there they journeyed overland to Palestine and Israel. “Church leaders here asked people from the United States to come and stand in solidarity with their brothers and sisters. That concept of solidarity is central to my faith, to the way that I think about the cross,” said Kelly Johnson, an associate professor of religious studies at the University of Dayton, Ohio. The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 40,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Scott Wright, a 74-year-old Pax Christi member from Washington who worked for years with refugees in Central America, said he wanted to come precisely because it was a difficult time. The U.S. Catholic delegation’s schedule included interviews with church leaders, clerics, nonviolent activists, Palestinian farmers and urban residents whose lands have been appropriated by army-backed settlers, and families whose homes have been demolished in East Jerusalem. In Rahat, Israel, the group helped local residents pack food boxes for distribution inside Gaza.

Faith and prayer sustained him, says Ukrainian Catholic priest captured, tortured by Russia

By Gina Christian , OSV News

Faith, prayer and a transcendent hope in Christ sustained a Ukrainian Catholic priest amid more than a year and a half of Russian captivity and torture — and now, he is sharing his story to remind others that God “loves us and wants to save us.”

Redemptorist Father Bohdan Geleta reflected on his experiences in an hourlong interview with host Taras Babenchuk that aired Aug. 20 on Zhyve TV, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church’s television channel.

In November 2022, Father Geleta and his fellow Redemptorist Father Ivan Levitsky were seized by Russian forces from their parish, Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in Berdyansk, Ukraine.

The two — whose exact locations and conditions were largely unknown to Ukrainian and church officials for most of their 18-month captivity — were among 10 prisoners returned to Ukraine in late June. Both priests had lost significant amounts of weight, and their heads had been shaved.

Father Geleta confirmed that he and Father Levitsky had been subjected to both psychological and physical torture at the hands of Russian forces, confirming reports that Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the UGCC, had received within the first weeks of the priests’ capture, which took place a full nine months after Russian troops took over Berdyansk.

Draped in Ukrainian flags, Redemptorist Fathers Bohdan Geleta, left, and Ivan Levytsky, right, pose for a photo at the Kyiv airport in Ukraine June 29, 2024. To the far right is Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, apostolic nuncio to Ukraine. (CNS photo/Courtesy Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Communications Department)

Initially, the two priests had been able to continue their pastoral ministry after the Russian occupation, celebrating Divine Liturgy, praying and taking in refugees, said Father Geleta.

In fact, the refugees motivated them to stay, he said, and provide both spiritual and material support.

Yet prayers for peace had to be done “very delicately” since “it was dangerous to express such a sentiment there,” he said — and a car marked with the letter “Z,” a symbol of Russian troops in Ukraine, circled the church “several times” as “a sign” that Russian occupiers were watching.

On Nov. 16, 2022, the occupiers made their move in broad daylight. Father Geleta had just returned from a burial and was preparing to celebrate Divine Liturgy; Father Levitsky was about to hold an outdoor prayer gathering.

“Two masked people came into the church. I think they were military. They were carrying weapons, and they came up and said in Russian: ‘Come with us,'” Father Geleta recalled. “I asked them in Ukrainian what they wanted, why they came into the church dressed like they were. They told me that they did not understand Ukrainian. I switched to Russian. Then I changed my clothes, took off my vestments, and went with them to the central pre-trial detention center in Berdyansk … And there they drew up a report that Father Ivan and I had violated some rules. We had to take permission from the authorities to pray in the city.”

The charge is a typical one for Russian occupation forces in Ukraine, who have broadly sought to suppress all faiths except Russian-aligned Orthodox groups by destroying houses of worship; detaining, torturing and killing clergy; and creating laws — in violation of the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit the imposition of outside rule by occupying forces — to restrict religious practice. In Zaporizhzhia, the region surrounding Berdyansk, Russian occupation officials issued a written decree banning the UGCC as well as the Knights of Columbus and Caritas, the official humanitarian arm of the worldwide Catholic Church.

Father Geleta and Father Levitsky, who were kept separate for most of their imprisonment, were first taken to damp basement cells where they “could also hear screams from our cell in the corridors,” as captives were tortured. One of Father Geleta’s cellmates had been electrically shocked and forced to learn the Russian national anthem — or face execution.

The priests were first offered an opportunity to cooperate with employees of the FSB, Russia’s security bureau, which has in some cases sought to recruit religious leaders to promote Russia’s grip in occupied areas of Ukraine.

“They said if we agreed, they would show us around and tell us what we needed to do,” said Father Geleta. “But we refused.”

The priests were also questioned on camera by Russian propagandists, he said, noting that his inquisitors “really don’t like the word ‘war,'” but instead prefer the Kremlin’s euphemism, “special military operation” to describe their attacks on Ukraine, which began in 2014 and which have been determined to constitute genocide, according to two major reports from the New Lines Institute and the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights.

Yet “neither Father Ivan nor I compromised,” said Father Geleta. “We just told the truth, that it was a war, that they were criminals, to their faces,” he said, adding that it was clear they would be “punished” for their stance.

Their captors, Father Geleta said, “forgot about us for four months,” after which they accused the priests of storing weapons in their church, a charge for which they were to be tried and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The two were transferred for five more months to Russian penal colony No. 77 in Berdyansk, where Father Geleta was moved to a solitary cell with a speaker that was “was blaring Soviet songs all day long,” which he was forced to listen to.

“I realized then how a person goes crazy, I realized why people commit suicide then,” said Father Geleta. “And, of course, the Lord God helps, and he gives strength through prayer. God, Jesus Christ, Mary and the angels were all present. Prayer was salvation. And as I was saying, I felt the prayer of the church.”

The priests were moved once more — driven handcuffed and blindfolded, with bags on their heads — to another penal colony in Horlivka, located in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, where prisoners were “harmed almost every day … the admission was very terrible, very cruel,” said Father Geleta.

Those who had fought in Ukraine’s Azov regiment, which along with civilians had defied Russia’s occupation of Mariupol until the city fell in May 2022, were “very much abused there,” he said.

The priests were also abused multiple times. “I was almost never beaten during the admission, but Father Ivan was beaten so severely that he lost consciousness twice,” Father Geleta said.

The Ukrainian priest said that while he was being tortured — something “you can’t get used to” — he “remembered Jesus Christ, his cross, his suffering.”

“And such strength and grace poured in that, that I was saying: Lord, I can sympathize with you,” he said. “When they were taking me somewhere, I was already preparing internally, praying and asking God to give me strength. I did not know whether I would survive or not.”

He and Father Levitsky shared a cell for just 15 days of their 10-month imprisonment at Horlivka, where according to the priest about 2,000 prisoners of war were held.

“We had the opportunity to get to know a lot of people,” said Father Geleta. “They told us a lot, and they were looking for help from the inside, spiritual help.”

While unable to celebrate liturgy, Father Geleta said he began holding morning and evening prayer meetings of about five minutes each, reading a passage from a Russian-language Bible, reciting the Our Father and Hail Mary, and then praying for prisoners’ intentions.

“It was enough to “spiritually gain such energy and go on living,” he said. “I wouldn’t say that it was some kind of propaganda or preaching, because the Our Father and the Hail Mary are common Christian prayers. … The warders didn’t even come in and see us.”

Father Geleta said he was also able to hear confessions, and sensed that “the whole church” prayed for the priests’ release.

He said his captors considered UGCC Catholics as “sect that split from Orthodoxy,” and that the UGCC and its priests must be “eradicated, isolated from society, and purified.”

“They genuinely praise God. Genuinely, yet they beat people, you know?” Father Geleta said of his captors. “It’s such religious fanaticism.”

When the June prisoner exchange was arranged, he and Father Levitsky thought they were possibly being moved to Siberia, said Father Geleta, who felt “profoundly grateful” upon regaining his freedom.

“Even now I cannot digest it all, realize it. It is still … coming to me,” he said.

As he readjusts to freedom, Father Geleta has discerned the hand of the divine in the sufferings he and Father Levitsky endured.

“Together with Father Ivan we sympathized and bore this cross with those prisoners who fought for freedom, for a free Ukraine, for winning this happiness of not only living like people, but being close to God, to the salvation of the Lord,” he said.

“And it will probably remain there, this particle, for a lifetime, you know, as long as I live on earth,” he acknowledged.

“And I want to tell all the others, and especially those families, those mothers, wives, who have their sons, their fathers, their sisters in captivity, not to lose hope, to pray, to turn to God, and everything will be all right. The Lord God knows that even through these sufferings he leads everyone to himself. We do not know this, it is a mystery. Otherwise, a person might not be able to bear it,” Father Geleta said.

Carmelites find St. Teresa of Ávila’s body still incorrupt after opening coffin for study of relics

ALBA DE TORMES, Spain (OSV News) — The silver coffin of St. Teresa of Ávila was opened in Alba de Tormes Aug. 28 only to confirm her body has remained incorrupt since her death in 1582. The opening of her tomb marks the beginning of a study of her relics, which will be carried out by Italian doctors and scientists — with the approval of the Vatican.

The last opening of St. Teresa’s coffin happened in 1914, 110 years ago. The Spanish Diocese of Ávila now wants to obtain canonical recognition of the relics from Rome.

According to the announcement made by the postulator general of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, Father Marco Chiesa, those present at the scene were able to see that “it is in the same condition as when it was last opened in 1914.” The then-general of the Carmelites, Clemente de los Santos, wanted to see the body of the foundress. Both openings — 110 years ago and now — confirmed that the body of St. Teresa has remained incorrupt since her death.

The silver coffin containing the body of St. Teresa of Avila in Alba de Tormes, Spain, is opened for the first time since 1914 and marked the beginning of a study of her relics, which will be carried out by Italian doctors and scientists with Vatican approval. (OSV News photo/courtesy Order of Carmel) Editors: best quality available.

St. Teresa was a Spanish nun, one of the great mystics and religious women of the Catholic Church, and an author of spiritual classics. She started the Carmelite reform, which restored and emphasized the contemplative character of Carmelite life. St. Teresa was elevated to doctor of the church in 1970 by Pope Paul VI, the first woman to be honored with the title.

According to the Diocese of Ávila, the process of reaching the silver coffin containing the body of St. Teresa has been complicated. First, the marble slab in the tomb had to be removed. Then, the reliquaries were moved to the room set aside for the study of the relics. The community of Discalced Carmelites, together with the general postulator of the order, members of the ecclesiastical tribunal and a small group of religious participated in this transfer by singing the Te Deum.

The silver tomb was opened only in the presence of the scientific medical team and members of the ecclesiastical court.

Scholars, the diocese said, were struck by its “magnificent” state of preservation and robustness. The team also praised “excellent” workmanship of St. Teresa’s tomb, which was donated to the community by King Ferdinand VI and his wife, Barbara of Braganza.

Two goldsmiths assisted the opening operation and 10 keys that protect the tomb were used: three that are kept in Alba de Tormes, three kept by the Duke of Alba, another three that the father general keeps in Rome, in addition to the key kept by the king of Spain. Three of these keys are to open the outer gate, three are to open the marble tomb, and the other four are to open the silver coffin.

An inscription with the name of the saint is seen on a piece of cloth accompanying the silver coffin of St. Teresa of Ávila during the Aug. 28, 2024, opening of tomb in Alba de Tormes, Spain. The opening of her tomb marks the beginning of a study of her relics, which will be carried out by Italian doctors and scientists with Vatican approval. (OSV News photo/courtesy Order of Carmel) Editors: best quality available.

A first look at her body revealed, Father Chiesa recounted, that “the last few years were difficult for her to walk, due to the pain that she herself described.”

He added that in “analyzing her foot in Rome, we saw the presence of calcareous thorns that made walking almost impossible.” “But she walked,” having the ability to “move forward, despite her physical defects,” explained the postulator.

It is still too early to obtain conclusive results, Father Chiesa said, but assured that with the new study it will be possible to “learn interesting facts about Teresa and also recommendations for the conservation of the relics.”

(The story was originally published in Alfa y Omega, Spanish Catholic news outlet. OSV News contributed to this report.)

Breves del mundo

A statue of Mary, Our Lady of Grace, is seen on the altar as Pope Francis celebrates Mass at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 5, 2023. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

NACIÓN
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – El Secretariado de Diversidad Cultural en la Iglesia de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de los Estados Unidos (USCCB) anunció que desarrolló un kit de recursos que ayudará “a ilustrar el profundo impacto de la comunidad hispana/latina dentro de la Iglesia Católica en los Estados Unidos”. Este recurso – publicado en inglés y en español – incluye información estadística sobre la población católica en los Estados Unidos, categorizada por raza/etnia, un perfil estadístico del ministerio hispano/latino, el porcentaje de católicos hispanos/latinos por diócesis y el crecimiento porcentual de los católicos hispanos/latinos en las generaciones Millennial y Gen Z. Así mismo, informa sobre el crecimiento de la población hispana/latina en las 14 regiones episcopales y sobre la población hispana/latina estimada en Estados Unidos en 2022 por país de origen; además de los eventos y logros del ministerio hispano/latino en una cronología que abarca desde 1945 hasta el 2024. Alejandro Aguilera-Titus, subdirector de Asuntos Hispanos del Secretariado de Diversidad Cultural en la Iglesia, dijo en este comunicado de prensa que gracias a la información contenida en este recurso esperan “ayudar a mostrar la fe vibrante y la riqueza de las comunidades hispanas y latinas dentro de nuestra Iglesia y la sociedad”. Para acceder a este kit de recursos y conocer en detalle la información, visite https://www.usccb.org/committees/hispaniclatino-affairs y descargue el PDF.

VATICANO
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNS) – Incluso los miembros de las comunidades cristianas más remotas, pequeñas y pobres están llamados a compartir el Evangelio y a hacerlo, en primer lugar, con su forma de vivir, dijo el Papa Francisco a los católicos de Indonesia. Con decenas de miles de personas reunidas en el estadio Gelora Bung Karno de Yakarta el 5 de septiembre – y miles más viéndolo en pantallas desde el estadio Madya, un lugar más pequeño cercano-, el Papa Francisco presidió su única misa pública en I –donesia. Tenía previsto volar a Papúa Nueva Guinea a la mañana siguiente. La multitud, sentada y vestida con las brillantes camisetas verdes, amarillas, blancas, azules, rojas o negras que designan la parroquia, diócesis u organización católica a la que pertenecen, hizo que el estadio principal pareciera construido con ladrillos de Lego. La gente llegó al estadio horas antes, visitándose unos a otros, cantando himnos y animadas canciones cristianas modernas y rezando el rosario. En su homilía, el Papa Francisco instó a los católicos indonesios a «sembrar semillas de amor, recorrer con confianza el camino del diálogo, seguir mostrando vuestra bondad y amabilidad con vuestra característica sonrisa y ser constructores de unidad y paz.» El Papa Francisco pidió a la multitud que no olvidara que «la primera tarea del discípulo no es revestirse de una religiosidad exteriormente perfecta, hacer cosas extraordinarias o comprometerse en empresas grandiosas. El primer paso, en cambio, es saber escuchar la única palabra que salva, la palabra de Jesús.»
CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) – Mientras la Iglesia Católica y los cristianos en general experimentan una intensa persecución en Nicaragua, el Papa Francisco expresó su aliento y apoyo a las personas que viven bajo el régimen autoritario del país. “Al amado pueblo de Nicaragua: les animo a renovar su esperanza en Jesús”, dijo después de rezar el Ángelus el 25 de agosto. “Recordad que el Espíritu Santo guía siempre la historia hacia proyectos más altos”. La semana anterior, el gobierno nicaragüense revocó el estatus legal de 1.500 organizaciones sin ánimo de lucro que operaban en el país, muchas de ellas iglesias cristianas, así como organizaciones caritativas católicas y congregaciones religiosas. La Asamblea Nacional de Nicaragua también aprobó el 20 de agosto nuevas medidas fiscales que requerirían a iglesias y organizaciones religiosas de todas las confesiones a pagar impuestos. Además, durante las tres primeras semanas de agosto, nueve sacerdotes católicos fueron detenidos en Nicaragua y exiliados a Roma. “Que la Virgen Inmaculada los proteja en los momentos de prueba y los ayude a sentir su ternura materna; que Nuestra Señora acompañe al amado pueblo de Nicaragua”, rezó el Papa con los visitantes en la Plaza de San Pedro.

MUNDO
CIUDAD DE MÉXICO (OSV News) – El cardenal Álvaro Ramazzini de Huehuetenango, Guatemala, ha advertido que los cárteles de la droga controlan la frontera entre México y Guatemala, provocando espasmos de violencia que han hecho huir a cientos de mexicanos a su diócesis. En declaraciones a la prensa en Panamá tras la X Reunión de Obispos y Agentes de Pastoral Migratoria de América del Norte, Centroamérica y el Caribe, el cardenal Ramazzini cuestionó la inacción del gobierno mexicano mientras cárteles de la droga rivales se disputan territorios en el sureño estado de Chiapas. “Estamos en un área donde los cárteles de la droga tienen el poder total”, dijo el cardenal el 22 de agosto. “No logro entender verdaderamente qué es lo que el gobierno mexicano ha dejado de hacer para haber llegado a este punto de perder el control total de ese de ese lado de la frontera nuestra,” dijo el cardenal el 22 de agosto. Sus comentarios siguieron a una declaración conjunta del 21 de agosto de las Diócesis de Huehuetenango y San Marcos, Guatemala, y San Cristóbal de las Casas, México, en la que describían siete comunidades de Chiapas, convertidas “en un campo de batalla por la disputa del territorio entre grupos criminales que obligan a los hombres (de la zona) a ir al frente, a cuidar las plumas, a cerrar caminos, ellos y sus familias enfrentar un terror que nunca imaginaron. … que ningún nivel de gobierno ha querido escuchar y atender en sus raíces”. La declaración está firmada por el cardenal Ramazzini, el obispo de San Marcos, Bernabé Sagastume, y el obispo de San Cristóbal de las Casas, Rodrigo Aguiar Martínez. El obispo José Guadalupe Torres Campos, obispo de Ciudad Juárez y director de la Pastoral de Movilidad Humana del Episcopado Mexicano.

American Olympic medalists in Paris known for leaning on faith

By OSV News
(OSV News) – Among American Olympians achieving a spot on the podium in Paris are Catholics who have expressed their dependence on faith over the years as they’ve pursued excellence in their athletic pursuits.

Swimmer Katie Ledecky is outspoken about how her Catholic faith guides her life.

On Aug. 3, Ledecky became the most decorated American female gold medalist in any sport as well as one of only two women from any nation, in any sport, to win nine gold medals. It was her fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in the 800 freestyle. She has 14 medals total. Just two days earlier she won her 13th Olympic medal – in itself historic. She took silver in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay.

After the 2021 Olympic games in Tokyo, the Catholic school graduate told the Catholic Standard, the Archdiocese of Washington’s newspaper, that she prayed the Hail Mary before each race to calm her nerves, just as she had during the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.

U.S. women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay silver medal winners Erin Gemmell, Katie Ledecky, Paige Madden and Claire Weinstein, celebrate on the podium after winning Aug. 1, 2024, during the Olympic Games at Paris La Defense Arena. Gemmell and Ledecky are graduates of Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, Maryland. (OSV News photo/Evgenia Novozhenina, Reuters)

“My faith remains very important in my life, especially the last two years,” Ledecky told the Catholic Standard in 2021. She noted that watching livestreamed Mass, celebrated by her godfather Jesuit Father Jim Shea at a parish in Charlotte, North Carolina, helped her through the pandemic.

“My faith is strong, and I realized more how important that is,” she said.

Ledecky, 27, has nine gold, four silver and one bronze Olympic medals. In Paris, she is teammates with two fellow alumnae of her all-girls high school, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, Maryland: Phoebe Bacon and Erin Gemmell. Gemmell medaled alongside Ledecky with the 4×200 meter relay.

Ledecky and Bacon also attended the elementary Little Flower School in Bethesda, where both families are members of the parish.

They are among a host of U.S. Olympians who are Catholic, were raised in the faith, or attended Catholic schools or colleges and are now competing in Paris. Several have spoken in the past about the role their faith has played in their training and shaped their self-perception.

U.S. Olympic gymnast and Paris gold medalist Simone Biles, who was raised Catholic and in years past spoke about the role of faith in her life, has said she credits God for her success.

The high-flying 27-year-old, who trains in Spring, Texas, at her World Champions Centre gym, said in the past that when she travels, she sometimes takes with her a statue of St. Sebastian, the patron saint of athletes, and she also carries a rosary her mother gave her. Her parents have told media that they often pray the rosary for Simone. Biles and her family have also been known to attend St. James Catholic Church in Spring.

Biles, who won gold in the women’s gymnastics all-around competition in Paris Aug. 1 and helped lead the U.S. women to a team gold July 30, made those comments to Us Weekly in 2016.

“I never thought I’d be who I am,” she told Vanity Fair in a story published in January, “but look at God’s blessings.”

Simone Biles of United States in action on the Floor Exercise Artistic Gymnastics Women’s All-Around Final during the 2024 Paris Olympics at Bercy Arena Aug. 1, 2024. She won the gold medal. (OSV News photo/Mike Blake, Reuters)

In recent years, Biles has been more private about her faith journey. In 2021, she diverged from church teaching on abortion access, saying on Twitter (now X) that she was “very pro-choice” arguing “you should not control someone elses body/decision.”

However, Biles has also been outspoken about addressing and prioritizing mental health, an issue the U.S. bishops have sought to raise with the National Catholic Mental Health Campaign. Following the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics, Biles (a survivor of sexual abuse perpetrated by Larry Nassar, a USA Gymnastics’ national-team doctor) publicly admitted that she struggled with her mental health and athletics. At the time, she had stepped out of the Olympic competition after experiencing the “twisties,” a sense of disorientation when in motion that could lead to serious injury.

In Paris, however, Biles has exuded confidence – publicly thanking her therapist for routine care – and her dedication to her sport has paid off, with many calling her the “greatest of all time.” She is now the most decorated U.S. Olympic gymnast in history, with nine Olympic medals.

Ryan Murphy, a Catholic swimmer who grew up in Florida, is taking home a bronze medal in the men’s 100-meter backstroke. In a 2016 interview with the National Catholic Register, he described the importance of having an active prayer life and living out his faith. He said, “I’m a firm believer in God. My faith is important to me. There are, however, times when I rely on him more than others. Overall, I am private in my spirituality.”

Murphy, 29, drew the spotlight in Paris not only for his race, but for the sign his wife, Bridget, held up as he was walking to the podium: “Ryan it’s a girl!” The couple, who married in September, are reportedly expecting their first child in January.

A former altar boy, Murphy described his family to the Register as ardent supporters of Catholic education. The story described him as having “a great devotion to St. Christopher, the patron saint of swimmers.”

He garnered attention during the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro – where he won three gold medals – after genuflecting following a swim.

“I believe God has given me a great talent, for which I’m eternally grateful,” he told the Register at the time. “My faith gives me comfort despite the outcome of a race. I ultimately believe – I know – God has a larger plan for me.”

(Staff of the Texas Catholic Herald also contributed to this story.)

Briefs

NATION
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Celebrating an Aug. 3 Mass for the Outreach 2024 LGBTQ Catholic Ministry Conference at Georgetown University, Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory of Washington stressed the need for sincere dialogue in seeking unity in the Catholic Church. “In many respects, you are engaging in an act of synodality – the vision and invitation proposed by Pope Francis that sincerely and openly speaking and listening to one another under the light and guidance of the Holy Spirit is the way that the church grows in perfection,” Cardinal Gregory said in his homily at the Mass, which was celebrated at the university’s Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart. The annual Outreach conference – held Aug. 2-4 this year – brings together Catholics who identify as LGBTQ and supporters of that community. According to the conference’s website, the gathering is held to “build community, share best practices and worship together.” The cardinal praised the Outreach conference attendees for their willingness to engage in discussions at a challenging time for the Catholic Church and the United States. Concluding his homily, the cardinal said, “The presence and the pastoral needs of our LGBTQ sisters and brothers may often be viewed as a volatile topic, but they must be faced with sincerity and genuine compassion. I pray that this conference advance that goal and make us a stronger, holier, and more welcoming church and nation.”

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The Catholic Benefits Association filed a motion July 24 in federal court for preliminary injunction against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over two regulations it says violates Catholics’ religious beliefs. The group objects to two regulations issued earlier this year. One is the final regulation issued for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, granting workers protections for time off and other job accommodations for pregnancy-related medical conditions such as miscarriage, stillbirth and lactation – but also for abortion, which was opposed by many of the bill’s supporters, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The other was a provision of the EEOC’s “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment,” which CBA CEO Doug Wilson argued in a statement means that “if an employer declines to use an employee’s preferred pronouns or refuses to grant him or her access to bathrooms or locker rooms for the opposite sex, such decisions would constitute actionable sexual harassment.” Both regulations, Wilson said, “imposed mandates unacceptable for Catholic employers and never intended by Congress.” Martin Nussbaum, CBA’s general counsel at the Colorado Springs-Colorado-based First and Fourteenth law firm, explained to OSV News the Supreme Court’s recent overturning of its Chevron doctrine eliminates the courts’ deference to regulatory agencies’ interpretation of law that would have put a heavier burden on the CBA’s legal challenge. The CBA’s membership comprises Catholic dioceses, hospitals, school systems, religious orders and other entities that offer their employees insurance and benefit programs that adhere to Catholic teaching.

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis said he dreams of visiting China one day and, especially, praying at the Shrine of Our Lady of Sheshan near Shanghai. In an interview with Jesuit Father Pedro Chia, director of communications for the Jesuit’s Chinese Province, the pope said he also would want to meet with the country’s bishops and with all Chinese Catholics, who “are indeed a faithful people who have gone through so much and remained faithful.” Vatican-Chinese relations have been difficult for decades with the country’s communist authorities being suspicious of Catholicism as a “foreign” influence on their people. The interview, conducted in Spanish, was filmed in the library of the Apostolic Palace May 24, the feast of Our Lady of Sheshan, also known as Our Lady Help of Christians. The Jesuit’s Chinese Province released the video on YouTube Aug. 9.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – More than a week after the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games, the Vatican joined people who complained that a segment of the show featuring drag performers offended Christians. “The Holy See was saddened by certain scenes in the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Paris and can only join the voices that have been raised in recent days to deplore the offense caused to many Christians and believers of other religions,” said the statement published by the Vatican press office late Aug. 3. The Vatican statement did not specifically identify the July 26 performance, which featured drag performers, including one wearing a crown, seated at a table in a scene that reminded many people of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting of the Last Supper. “In a prestigious event where the whole world gathers around common values, there should be no allusions that ridicule the religious convictions of many people,” the Vatican statement said.

WORLD
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (OSV News) – At least 11 churchmen have been detained by police and paramilitaries over a weeklong assault in northern Nicaragua, depleting the already demoralized Diocese of Matagalpa – whose leader, Bishop Rolando Álvarez, lives in exile. Nine priests and a deacon were detained Aug. 1 and 2 – with some taken from parishes and parish residences – according to independent Nicaragua media. An octogenarian priest was also detained July 27 in the Diocese of Estelí, where Bishop Álvarez is apostolic administrator. “The Diocese of Matagalpa practically no longer has any clergy. We’ve been expelled, pressured and forced to flee. Parishes are on their own,” an exiled priest, familiar with the diocese, told OSV News. “(The church) has been attacked from all sides. They’ve removed clergy, they’ve frozen its accounts. The church has survived,” he added. But he said of the ruling Sandinista regime, “Their ultimate goal is is to exterminate the diocesan church where Monsignor Rolando (Álvarez) is still bishop.” The arrests reflected the deepening repression of the Catholic Church in the Central American country, which has careened toward totalitarianism. President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosarillo Murillo, continue to crack down on dissent, close spaces for civil society and infringe on freedom worship – with priests being spied upon and forced to watch their words during Mass.

SÃO PAULO (OSV News) – The Aug. 9 passenger plane crash in the city of Vinhedo, Brazil, killed all 62 on board, greatly touching different Catholic communities in the country. Pope Francis prayed for the victims of the crash during his Aug. 11 Angelus prayer in the Vatican: “Let us … pray for the victims of the tragic air crash in Brazil,” he said. A twin-engine turboprop plane, traveling from Cascavel, in Paraná state, to Guarulhos airport, in the São Paulo metropolitan area, crashed close to residential buildings, dropping 17,000 feet in just one minute, only 45 miles away from its destination. Many of Voepass Brazilian airline passengers lived in the region of the Archdiocese of Cascavel, which released a letter of condolences a few hours after the incident and informed that all Masses celebrated over the following three days would be dedicated to the victims. “Our Archbishop, José Mário Scalon Angonese, expresses his deepest solidarity to the families affected by this tragedy. He joins the community in prayer and offers his spiritual support, wishing that divine comfort can alleviate the sorrow and pain of everyone who is suffering,” the note, posted on the archdiocese’s Facebook page, read. The parish church of St. Peter the Apostle in Guaratinguetá, in São Paulo state, was also affected by the tragedy. Local churchgoers Maria Auxiliadora Vaz de Arruda and her husband José Cloves Arruda were among the victims. Father Aloísio dos Santos Mota released a statement in order to express his special sorrow for the loss of the couple. The wife, called Dona Dôra in her church community, was known all across the region. “I’ve been her parish priest for five years, since I arrived in Guaratinguetá. She had an iconic presence in our church, a protagonism that everybody could notice,” Father Mota told OSV News.

Briefs

NATION

LAFAYETTE, La. (OSV News) – Gov. Jeff Landry, R-La., vetoed $1 million in state funds for an emergency homeless shelter run by Catholic Charities of Acadiana over the organization’s work with migrants, he acknowledged in press statements. Landry, a Catholic, said that he vetoed the funds for the largest homeless shelter in Lafayette on the basis of his allegation that the shelter’s operator, Catholic Charities of Acadiana, facilitates illegal immigration, a charge the Catholic Church’s charitable arm denied. The move comes as some elected officials have grown increasingly hostile toward nongovernmental organizations, including Catholic ones, that provide resources such as food and shelter to migrants, including those at the U.S.-Mexico border. In July, a state judge denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s effort to shut down Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas, a Catholic nonprofit serving migrants, finding his office “failed to establish probable grounds for the proceedings” and violated the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act. In February, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty, issued a statement expressing solidarity with faith-driven ministries to migrants, saying it was the “strong tradition of religious liberty” that allows Catholics “to live out our faith in full.”

A mosaic by Father Marko Rupnik illustrating the Holy Family is pictured in a file photo at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington. The Knights of Columbus announced July 11, 2024, it will cover mosaics by ex-Jesuit Father Mark Rupnik at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington and the Holy Family Chapel at the Knights’ headquarters in New Haven, Conn. (OSV News photo/Julie Asher)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (OSV News) – The Knights of Columbus announced July 11 the organization will cover mosaics by ex-Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington and the Holy Family Chapel at the Knights’ headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut. In a statement, the Knights said the decision came at “the conclusion of a careful and thorough process.” The mosaics will be obscured by fabric “which will remain in place at least until the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) issues its decision on the pending sexual abuse cases against artist Father Marko Rupnik.” After that “a permanent plaster covering may be in order.” Father Rupnik, whose distinctive mosaics are known for their oversized black, almond-shaped eyes, was expelled from the Society of Jesus in 2023 after refusing to obey their measures imposed in response to credible accusations that he spiritually, psychologically or sexually abused some two dozen women and at least one man. He remains a priest living and working in Rome as the director of art and dean of theology at Centro Aletti, the religious art community he founded in 1991. Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly said in the statement that the Knights had to prioritize the needs of abuse victims, especially as “the allegations are current, unresolved and horrific.” He noted the Knights’ commitment to proclaim Jesus Christ’s Good News and said, “Shrines are places of healing, prayer and reconciliation. They should not cause victims further suffering.”

EXTON, Pa. (OSV News) – “The Bible in 10 Minutes,” a new viral video offering by Father Mike Schmitz and Ascension, earned 358,000 views in just 24 hours, according to a July 10 news release from Exton-based Ascension, a multimedia Catholic network and a leader in Catholic faith formation and digital content. The audience response makes this Father Schmitz’s most “viral video ever, more than doubling his previous one-day record of 160,000 views set with his 2022 review of ‘The Sound of Freedom,'” the release said. Father Schmitz, a priest of the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, has gained a national following for, among other things, his popular “The Bible in a Year” and “The Catechism in a Year” podcasts from Ascension. He will be a featured keynote speaker during the National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21 in Indianapolis. Father Schmitz and Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart, founder and servant mother of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth in the Archdiocese of Boston, are scheduled to address the congress’s July 18 evening revival session 7-9:30 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium. “The Bible in 10 Minutes” can be found on the “Ascension Presents” YouTube channel.

VATICAN

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The working document for the October assembly of the Synod of Bishops on synodality called for responses to how all the baptized can better serve the Catholic Church and help heal humanity’s “deepest wounds.” The document said the synod should spur the church to become a “refuge” and “shelter” for those in need or distress and encourage Catholics to “allow themselves to be led by the Spirit of the Lord to horizons that they had not previously glimpsed” as brothers and sisters in Christ. “This is the ongoing conversion of the way of being the Church that the synodal process invites us to undertake,” the document said. The 30-page document, called an “instrumentum laboris,” was released at the Vatican July 9. It will serve as a discussion guideline for the synod’s second session Oct. 2-27, which reflects on the theme: “How to be a missionary synodal Church.” The reflections are the next step in the synod’s overarching theme: “For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission.” Synodal practice “calls us to mutual care, interdependence and co-responsibility for the common good,” it said, and it is willing to listen to everyone, in contrast to methods “in which the concentration of power shuts out the voices of the poorest, the marginalized and minorities.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis prayed in thanksgiving for the release of two Ukrainian Catholic priests who were held in Russian captivity for more than 19 months, calling on Christians to pray for the release of all prisoners of war. “I give thanks to God for the freeing of the two Greek Catholic priests,” he said after praying the Angelus June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. “May all the prisoners of this war soon return home.” The pope expressed his sorrow for all people suffering because of war around the world, asking Christians to “pray for all populations wounded and threatened by fighting, that God may free them and support them in the struggle for peace.” The two priests, Redemptorist Fathers Ivan Levytsky and Bohdan Geleta, were arrested in the occupied city of Berdyansk Nov. 16, 2022, according to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which said that after military items were placed in a church in the town the two priests were arrested for the “illegal possession of weapons.” Fathers Levystky and Geleta were among 10 prisoners who were released to Ukrainian authorities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in a June 28 post on X. “I would also like to recognize the Holy See’s efforts to bring these people home,” the president said in his post.

WORLD

PARIS (OSV News) – The capital of France’s Normandy region held its breath on July 11 as reports and social media pictures spread that the Rouen Cathedral’s spire was on fire, causing the building to be evacuated. Around 70 firefighters brought the blaze under control in less than two hours, much to everyone’s relief. “In the end, there was more fear than harm,” Archbishop Dominique Lebrun of Rouen told OSV News on July 12. “Today, the cathedral is reopened,” he said. Rouen Cathedral is the tallest church in France. It was in Rouen that St. Joan of Arc was burned alive in 1431, during the Hundred Years’ War between France and England. As in Paris, the Seine River flows through the city. “The fire started inside the spire, right at the edge,” Archbishop Lebrun said. “But in the end it only burned a large plastic casing from the restoration work currently underway. The rest was untouched.” The origin of the fire, thought to be accidental, is not yet known. “I am very grateful to the entire rescue chain, including the sacristans, firefighters, contractors, police and civil authorities, who acted with great professionalism,” Archbishop Lebrun told OSV News. The spire of the cathedral, unlike Notre Dame’s in Paris, is made of cast iron, so the fire did not spread, but four construction site workers were injured by smoke inhalation and were psychologically shocked.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (OSV News) – The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem issued a strong condemnation after the Israeli military targeted a Catholic school in Gaza that killed four people, including a senior Hamas official. In a statement published July 7, the patriarchate said it was monitoring reports of a strike on Holy Family School, which “has, since the beginning of the war, been a place of refuge for hundreds of civilians.” “The Latin Patriarchate condemns, in the strongest terms, the targeting of civilians or any belligerent actions that fall short of ensuring that civilians remain outside the combat scene,” the statement read. The patriarchate called for a cease-fire agreement “that would put an immediate end to the horrifying bloodbath and humanitarian catastrophe in the region.” According to multiple news reports, including by The Associated Press, Israeli airstrikes took place overnight July 6-7 in Gaza, killing 13 Palestinians. The strike against Holy Family School, which was operating as a shelter, claimed the lives of four people, including Ihab al-Ghussein, Hamas’ undersecretary of labor. In a statement, Hamas mourned the death of al-Ghussein, whose wife and daughter were killed in strikes in the early days of the war, AP reported. Israeli military officials justified the attack on the school, arguing that the bombing struck a Hamas military building and a weapons-making facility “in the area of a school building.”

Women hold patients outside Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv
, Ukraine’s capital, July 8, 2024, after it was severely damaged during Russian missile strikes amid Russia’s war on Ukraine. At least 31 were killed and over 135 injured as Russian bombers pummeled Kyiv
 and numerous other cities throughout the nation that day with more than 40 missiles and guided aerial bombs, with one striking the large children’s hospital, where emergency crews searched the rubble for victims. (OSV News photo/Gleb Garanich, Reuters)

KYIV, Ukraine (OSV News) – A July 8 attack by Russia on a children’s hospital and other civilian targets throughout Ukraine is “a sin that cries out to heaven for revenge,” said the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. At least 42 have been killed and over 190 injured as Russian bombers pummeled Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and numerous cities throughout the nation with more than 40 missiles and guided aerial bombs. Among the sites struck was the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv, where two adults died and about 50 were injured, including seven children. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, father and head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, released a July 8 statement denouncing the strike. “In the name of God, with all determination, we condemn this crime against humanity. … This is a sin that cries out to heaven for revenge,” he said. He noted that doctors, medical workers and volunteers bloodied in the strike were digging through the hospital’s wreckage “to save even those children whose hearts are beating there under the rubble.” “Today we cry with all the victims. Today we want to pray for all the dead … (and) wrap our Christian love around all the wounded,” said Major Archbishop Shevchuk. He concluded his statement with a prayer “for the protection and victory of the lives of our children and women.