By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) – With St. Teresa of Kolkata’s death 25 years ago, there is an entire generation of young men and women who did not see much about her life and legacy, serving “the poorest of the poor.”
That meant it was time to put her back in the spotlight, said a panel of those who were promoting a new documentary about the life of this saint, known popularly as Mother Teresa, who founded the Missionaries of Charity.
At her beatification in 2003, St. John Paul II called her a “courageous woman whom I have always felt beside me.”
Filmmaker David Naglieri talks with a Missionaries of Charity nun after a private screening of the documentary film, “Mother Teresa: No Greater Love,” at the Knights of Columbus’ Campo Pio XI in Rome Sept. 1, 2022. Produced by the Knights of Columbus, the film will be released in more than 900 theaters Oct. 3 and 4. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Mother Teresa was “an icon of the good Samaritan” who went “everywhere to serve Christ in the poorest of the poor. Not even conflict and war could stand in her way,” the late pope said.
Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly said at a news conference hosted at Vatican Radio Aug. 31 that the Knights made this film “to reach a new generation with the witness and example of Mother Teresa” and to inspire them.
Produced by the Knights of Columbus, “Mother Teresa: No Greater Love,” had its Vatican premiere Aug. 31, ahead of its release to more than 900 theaters Oct. 3 and 4.
“Thank you for all the efforts made to capture the life of this saint, whose life and testimony have borne much fruit,” wrote Pope Francis, who canonized her at the Vatican in 2016.
“Thank you for promoting this type of initiative that helps, in a creative manner, to make accessible the zeal for evangelization, especially for the young generations promoting the desire to follow the Lord who loved us first,” the pope said in an Aug. 25 letter written to Kelly, replying to news of the Vatican premiere. Mother Teresa was born Agnes Ganxhe Bojaxhiu to Albanian parents in Skopje, now capital of North Macedonia, on Aug. 26, 1910. On Sept. 5, 1997, she died of cardiac arrest at the motherhouse of the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, India.
The documentary, by Emmy award-winning filmmaker, David Naglieri, features archival footage and interviews with dozens of commentators who knew Mother Teresa personally. It was filmed on five continents, providing interviews with many Missionaries of Charity and offering on-the-ground images of their work following in Mother Teresa’s footsteps.
The documentary shows the work Mother Teresa inspired and, “when she was feeding the hungry or holding the hands of someone as they lay dying, she was treating them as she would the most important person in her life, Jesus Christ himself,” Kelly said in a media release.
“She was teaching us to have a heart that sees, and if we can learn to see as she did, the world would be a radically different and, I would say, better place,” he said.
By Simon Caldwell MANCHESTER, England (CNS) – Catholics in the U.K. paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II following her death Sept. 8 and the end of a reign that lasted more than 70 years.
Pope Francis sent a telegram addressed “To His Majesty the King, Charles III,” her son who immediately ascended to the throne.
“I willingly join all who mourn her loss in praying for the late queen’s eternal rest and in paying tribute to her life of unstinting service to the good of the nation and the Commonwealth, her example of devotion to duty, her steadfast witness of faith in Jesus Christ and her firm hope in his promises,” Pope Francis said. The British sovereign died “peacefully” at Balmoral, the royal residence in Scotland, surrounded by members of her family. She was 96.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, paid tribute using many of the queen’s own words.
“On 21 April 1947, on her 21st birthday, Princess Elizabeth said, ‘I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service,’” Cardinal Nichols said. “Now, 75 years later, we are heartbroken in our loss at her death and so full of admiration for the unfailing way in which she fulfilled that declaration.”
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II talks with Pope Francis during a meeting at the Vatican in this April 3, 2014, file photo. Queen Elizabeth died Sept. 8, 2022, at the age of 96. (CNS photo/Maria Grazia Picciarella, pool)
“Even in my sorrow, shared with so many around the world, I am filled with an immense sense of gratitude for the gift to the world that has been the life of Queen Elizabeth II,” he said. “At this time, we pray for the repose of the soul of Her Majesty. We do so with confidence, because the Christian faith marked every day of her life and activity.”
The cardinal quoted Queen Elizabeth’s Christmas message from 2000, in which she said the teachings of Christ and her own “personal accountability before God” gave her a framework of how to live, and that Christ’s words and example offered her “great comfort in difficult times.”
Cardinal Nichols said: “This faith, so often and so eloquently proclaimed in her public messages, has been an inspiration to me, and I am sure to many. The wisdom, stability and service which she consistently embodied, often in circumstances of extreme difficulty, are a shining legacy and testament to her faith.” He also offered prayers “for His Majesty the King, as he assumes his new office, even as he mourns his mother. God save the king.”
Bishop Hugh Gilbert, president of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, praised Queen Elizabeth for her life of “outstanding and dedicated public service.”
“Her determination to remain active to the end of her long life has been an example of Christian leadership, which demonstrated her great stoicism and commitment to duty and was undoubtedly a source of stability and continuity in times of great change,” he said. “Scotland’s Catholic bishops will remember her in our prayers and pray for all those who mourn her loss.”
Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury said: “As we grieve together, we know that, in losing our beloved queen, we have lost the person whose steadfast loyalty, service and humility has helped us make sense of who we are through decades of extraordinary change in our world, nation and society.”
Queen Elizabeth died 17 months after the death of her husband, Philip, who died in April 2021 at age 99. Her 73-year marriage to Philip was the longest of any British sovereign.
The U.K. has entered a 10-day period of mourning.
Elizabeth was born on April 26, 1926, to Prince Albert, Duke of York, and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. She acceded to the throne Feb. 6, 1952, and during her coronation in Westminster Abbey June 2, 1953, Queen Elizabeth was open about her Christian faith.
“When I spoke to you last, at Christmas, I asked you all, whatever your religion, to pray for me on the day of my coronation to pray that God would give me wisdom and strength to carry out the promises that I should then be making,” the queen said in her address. “Throughout this memorable day, I have been uplifted and sustained by the knowledge that your thoughts and prayers were with me.”
The accession of 1952 made 2022 the year when the world’s oldest monarch and the longest-serving monarch in British history celebrated the platinum jubilee of her reign – the point when Elizabeth had sat on the British throne for 70 years.
The queen was able to witness the celebrations in her honor but handed over all of her public duties to her nearest relatives. Her final act of office was to receive Prime Minister Liz Truss in Scotland Sept. 6, when she was also last photographed.
Fourteen prime ministers served during her reign, beginning with Sir Winston Churchill. Truss was the 15th to greet her in that office.
During her reign, Queen Elizabeth met with four popes — Francis, Benedict, John Paul II and John XXIII, and as princess she met Pope Pius XII.
The queen sometimes joked about her longevity, once quoting Groucho Marx, saying: “Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough.”
Este es un póster promocional oficial del documental “Going Home Like a Shooting Star: Thea Bowman’s Journey to Sainthood”. El documental se transmitirá en las estaciones de ABC de todo el país a partir del 2 de octubre de 2022. (Foto de CNS/cortesía de NewGroup Media)
La hermana Anna Bakutara riega su brassica en el invernadero de la granja de St. Mary’s Abbey, una orden cerrada de cistercienses, en Glencairn, Irlanda, el 30 de agosto de 2022. El monasterio utiliza energía verde y agricultura sostenible para tratar de hacerse auto- suficiente para calefacción y comida. (Foto del CNS/Clodagh Kilcoyne, Reuters)
El cardenal Adalberto Martínez Flores de Asunción, Paraguay, saluda a un hombre durante la ceremonia de bienvenida frente a la Catedral Metropolitana de Asunción, el 1 de septiembre de 2019. 1 de enero de 2022. El cardenal Martínez se convirtió en el primer cardenal del mundo. 27 consistorio. (Foto del CNS/César Olmedo, Reuters)
Un hombre camina por una carretera a lo largo de la costa dañada por el tifón Hinnamnor en Ulsan, Corea del Sur, el 6 de septiembre de 2022. Corea del Sur fue azotada por fuertes lluvias y fuertes vientos, pero evitó la extensa destrucción que muchos temían cuando el tifón Hinnamnor, uno de los las tormentas más fuertes que jamás hayan llegado a sus costas, se abrieron paso hacia el mar más rápido de lo que esperaban los meteorólogos. (Foto del CNS/Agencia de Noticias Yonhap vía Reuters)
Los pakistaníes buscan ayuda alimentaria luego de las fuertes lluvias durante la temporada del monzón en Sehwan, Pakistán, el 1 de septiembre de 2022. Catholic Relief Services está trabajando con socios para distribuir ayuda a miles de personas afectadas por las inundaciones que han devastado la región. (Foto CNS/Yasir Rajput, Reuters)
Un hombre sostiene una foto del Papa Juan Pablo I antes de la celebración por el Papa Francisco de la beatificación del Papa Juan Pablo I en la Plaza de San Pedro en el Vaticano el 4 de septiembre de 2022. (Foto de CNS/Paul Haring)
Mujeres jóvenes a favor de la vida aparecen en una foto de archivo durante una protesta contra un proyecto de ley sobre el aborto en Madrid. La Conferencia Episcopal Española criticó un proyecto de ley respaldado por el gobierno que permitiría a mujeres de 16 años o más abortar sin el conocimiento o consentimiento de los padres e impondría multas e inhabilitaciones por objetar al personal médico. (CNS photo/Dani Cardona, Reuters)
Los nuevos cardenales salen en procesión después de la Misa del Papa Francisco con los nuevos cardenales en la Basílica de San Pedro en el Vaticano el 30 de agosto de 2022. En la foto de izquierda a derecha están el cardenal Leonardo Ulrich Steiner de Manaus, Brasil, el cardenal estadounidense Robert W. McElroy de San Diego, el cardenal italiano Oscar Cantoni de Como y el cardenal brasileño Paulo Cezar Costa de Brasilia. (Foto del SNC/Paul Haring)
Los partidarios de la opción “Rechazo” reaccionan a los resultados del referéndum sobre una nueva constitución chilena en Concepción el 4 de septiembre de 2022. Los obispos chilenos piden un nuevo acuerdo inclusivo luego de que se rechazara la constitución propuesta. (Foto del CNS/Rodrigo Garrido, Reuters)
La ventana trasera de un taxi con la imagen de la reina Isabel II se estaciona cerca del Palacio de Buckingham en Londres el 8 de septiembre de 2022, mientras la gente se reúne después del anuncio de que la monarca con el reinado más largo de Gran Bretaña y la figura decorativa de la nación durante siete décadas murió a la edad de 96 años. (Foto CNS/Peter Nicholls, Reuters)
NATION WASHINGTON (CNS) – Decrying President Joe Biden’s new executive order on abortion, the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life committee said Aug. 5 that “continued promotion of abortion takes lives and irreparably harms vulnerable pregnant mothers, their families and society. Even preceding the Dobbs decision, my brother bishops and I have implored the nation to stand with moms in need, and work together to protect and support women and children,” Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori said in a statement. “It is the wrong direction to take at a moment when we should be working to support women and to build up a culture of life,” added the prelate, who heads the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Pro-life Activities. On Aug. 3, Biden signed an executive order instructing the Department of Health and Human Services “to advance access to reproductive health care services, including, to the extent permitted by federal law, through Medicaid for patients traveling across state lines for medical care.” In his statement, Archbishop Lori said: “I continue to call on the president and all our elected officials to increase support and care to mothers and babies, rather than facilitate the destruction of defenseless, voiceless human beings,” he said.
LAFAYETTE, La. (CNS) – The annual Fête-Dieu du Têche in the Diocese of Lafayette took place on the feast of the Assumption, Aug. 15, and this year’s 40-mile eucharistic procession by boat down the Bayou Têche coincides with the U.S. Catholic Church’s three-year National Eucharistic Revival now underway. “In an effort to cultivate a deeper devotion to Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist, boaters will be able to choose a patron from a list of 50 eucharistic witnesses – saints and blesseds “who exemplified a life totally dedicated to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist,” according to a news release about this year’s event. Saints known for their love of the Eucharist were highlighted, including St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Jean Vianney, St. Katharine Drexel, St. Teresa of Kolkata, as well as Blessed Carlo Acutis. “The intention for the all-day spiritual and cultural celebration will be for a ‘Renaissance Eucharistique’ in Acadiana and beyond,” the release said. Acadiana refers to the French Louisiana region – composed of 22 parishes – that is home to the Cajun people. Cajuns are descendants of the Acadians, a people exiled from present-day Nova Scotia by the British during the French and Indian War. They settled along the bayous and prairies of southwest Louisiana.
VATICAN VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis plans to make his long-awaited visit to Ukraine before his trip to Kazakhstan in September, said Andrii Yurash, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See. In a series of tweets posted Aug. 6 after meeting with the pope, Yurash said the people of Ukraine “have been waiting for the pope” since the start of the war and will “be happy to greet him before his trip to Kazakhstan.” “I am very close to Ukraine and want to express this closeness (through) my visit to Ukraine,” the pope said, according to the Ukrainian ambassador. “Moments of communication with (the) Holy Father are always inspirational,” he said in a follow-up tweet. “Especially when there is a chance to discuss and promote subjects that are ‘on the table’ for a long time, like the pope’s visit to Ukraine.” The pope expressed on several occasions his desire to not only visit Ukraine, but also Russia to plead for an end to the conflict. In an interview with Catholic News Service July 18, Yurash said that while Ukraine was ready for a papal visit, he doubted the pope would be able to visit Moscow.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis recognized the martyrdom of Hungarian Father Péter Oros, who was killed at the height of the Cold War by Soviets in Ukraine. During a meeting Aug. 5 with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the pope also signed decrees advancing the sainthood causes of four other men and one woman. According to the dicastery’s website, Father Oros was born in Biri, present-day Hungary, in 1917 and was ordained a priest for the Ruthenian Eparchy of Mukachevo in 1942. Some records indicate a Byzantine bishop born in the same year with a similar name. Although the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints states Father Oros was an Eastern-rite Catholic priest, it was not unusual at the time for an auxiliary bishop to be named clandestinely. After the annexation of the Transcarpathian territory in present-day Ukraine, the suppression of Eastern Catholic churches forced Father Oros into hiding. After a warrant for his arrest was issued in 1953, he was shot and killed by a police officer at a train station in Siltse, Ukraine, while attempting to flee.
WORLD LAGOS, Nigeria (CNS) – Nigerian officials identified six suspects arrested in connection with the June 5 attack that killed 40 people at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo. Maj. Gen. Jimmy Akpor, defense department spokesman, said all were linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province group. He said the arrests were made through a joint effort of military and defense officials. Akpor said a preliminary investigation showed that “Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza was the mastermind of the terror attack on the Catholic Church in Owo as well as the attack on a police station” in Kogi state June 23. In the second attack, a police officer was killed and weapons were stolen. Omeiza is sometimes known as Bin Malik. Police also arrested Momoh Otohu Abubakar, Aliyu Yusuf Itopa and Auwal Ishaq Onimisi for the Owo attack, in which attackers sneaked into a Pentecost Mass with explosives. Akpor confirmed Aug. 10 that the four were arrested Aug. 1. On Aug. 11, Akpor said officials had arrested two more suspects: Al-Qasim Idris and Abdulhaleem Idris. Officials did not release a motive for the attack.
AACHEN, Germany (CNS) – Missio, one of Germany’s Pontifical Mission Societies, marked the third World Day Against Witch Hunts Aug. 10 by warning that the phenomenon is on the increase worldwide. The German Catholic news agency KNA said that in at least 43 countries, women, but also men and children, are in mortal danger because they are being persecuted as alleged witches, according to the 2022 World Map of Witch Hunts published by missio Aachen. Missio said it had added Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe to the map since last year. Most of the countries affected are in Africa, but the phenomenon also exists in Southeast Asia as well as Mexico, Bolivia, Guatemala and Haiti. The current missio world map is based on conservative estimates. Other lists put the number of affected countries near 60, KNA reported. Experts said more people had been killed as alleged witches and sorcerers worldwide in the past 60 years than in the 350 years of European witch hunts. The accusation of witchcraft often is triggered by sudden and inexplicable deaths or illnesses, but also by weather phenomena, Swiss Franciscan Sister Lorena Jenal said in a recent interview with KNA.
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Cuban bishops and Pope Francis asked for prayers as a major fire has caused at least one death, more than 100 injuries and left 17 firefighters missing in Cuba. The fire initially began with a lightning strike that hit a tank at an oil facility Aug. 5 and has since spread along the port city of Matanzas. Thousands were evacuated from the region as the fire spread from one tank to three. Some feared wind was spreading the contamination to other parts of the island, including to the capital, Havana, about 60 miles away. Pope Francis, in a telegram sent to the Cuban bishops via Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, said he was following news about the “unfortunate accident. May the Lord grant you strength in this moment of pain and sustain the work of extinction (of flames) and (of) search and rescue,” the telegram said.
Esta vista aérea muestra una parte deforestada de la selva amazónica en Manaus, estado de Amazonas, Brasil, el 8 de julio de 2022. El papa Francisco emitió un mensaje para el Día Mundial de Oración por el Cuidado de la Creación, el 1 de septiembre, pidiendo “un pacto entre los seres humanos y el medio ambiente” para luchar contra el cambio climático. (Foto CNS/Bruno Kelly)
Ola de calor en Maryland. La gente se refresca en el agua durante una ola de calor a lo largo de la Bahía Chesapeake de Maryland en North Beach, Maryland, el 21 de julio de 2022. Alrededor de 110 millones de personas están bajo alertas de calor en más de dos docenas de estados desde California hasta Nueva Inglaterra, y muchas áreas. registrando altas temperaturas en los años 90 o tres dígitos. (Foto del CNS/Tony O’Brien, Reuters)
Un arco iris se ve contra las nubes de lluvia sobre la basílica del Sacré-Coeur del siglo XIX en Montmartre en París el 23 de febrero de 2015. Un informe del Senado francés advierte que los consejos con problemas de liquidez podrían verse obligados a demoler iglesias históricas. (Foto del CNS/Christian Hartmann, Reuters)
El papa Francisco visita el lago mientras participa en la peregrinación de Ana y la Liturgia de la Palabra en el Lago Santa Ana en Alberta, Canadá el 26 de julio de 2022. (Foto CNS/Paul Haring)
Una columna de humo oscurece el cielo en Matanzas, Cuba el 8 de agosto de 2022 tras una serie de explosiones que comenzó cuando un relámpago generó un incendio en un almacenamiento de crudo. El incendio amenaza con hundir a la isla en una crisis más profunda, ya que obligó a las autoridades a cerrar una planta termoeléctrica. (Foto CNS/Alexandre Meneghini, Reuters)
Bishop Rolando José Álvarez of Matagalpa, Nicaragua, is pictured in a screenshot from video at his residence in Matagalpa as riot police block the door. The bishop said the police were preventing him, six priests and six laypeople from leaving the local diocesan offices. (CNS screenshot/YouTube)
Un barco participa en la Fête-Dieu du Têche anual en la Diócesis de Lafayette, Luisiana, el 15 de agosto de 2021. La procesión eucarística de 40 millas en barco y a pie a lo largo del Bayou Têche se lleva a cabo en la fiesta de la Asunción de María. La procesión de 2022 se produce unos dos meses después del lanzamiento del Avivamiento Eucarístico Nacional de tres años de la Iglesia Católica de EE. UU. (Foto de CNS/cortesía del padre Michael Champagne)
Girl Texas
Un estudiante visto en Uvalde, Texas, 15 de agosto de 2022. Catholic Extension, una sociedad misionera papal con sede en Chicago, anunció ese mismo día que otorgó 30 becas completas a sobrevivientes del tiroteo masivo en la Escuela Primaria Robb que desean transferirse a la escuela local. Escuela católica en Uvalde, Texas. Catholic Extension recauda fondos para ayudar a construir comunidades de fe y construir iglesias en las diócesis misioneras de los EE. UU. (Foto de CNS/cortesía de Extensión Católica)
By Joanna Puddister King JACKSON – On the evening of July 6, the Jackson Women’s Health Organization closed its doors for the final time, making it the first time in 49 years that the state of Mississippi has no operating abortion clinic. This coming after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its nearly five decades old decision in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion.
The Court’s opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization handed down on Friday, June 24 held that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, with the authority to regulate abortion returned to the states.
JACKSON – Jackson Women’s Health Organization – the last abortion facility in the state – closed permanently on July 7 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. (Photo by Joanna Puddister King)
The Dobbs case centered around Mississippi legislation that was passed in 2018 called the Gestational Age Act, that sought to prohibit abortions after 15 weeks gestation. The Jackson abortion clinic and one of its doctors sued Mississippi officials in federal court, saying that the law was unconstitutional.
The federal district court and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, both ruled in favor of the clinic, blocking enactment of the law.
In May 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court decided it would take up Dobbs, marking the first time since Roe that it would take up a pre-viability ban. More than 140 amici curiae briefs were filed with the Supreme Court on the Dobbs case, the very first being from the Dioceses of Jackson and Biloxi, stating that “the church has a vested interest in this matter – the dignity and sanctity of all human life.”
While originally asking the Court to hear arguments on a viability question – whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional – Mississippi changed course and argued before the Supreme Court on Dec. 1, 2021 that Roe should be completely overturned and the authority to regulate abortions be returned to the states.
With Associate Justice Samuel Alito writing for a 5-4 majority he states that “we hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. … The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision.”
Alito’s opinion closely mirrored a leaked initial draft majority opinion, shared on May 2 by Politico.
Alito was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Chief Justice John Roberts concurred with the majority but in a separate opinion wrote that he would have taken “a more measured course” by “rejecting the misguided viability line” by Roe and Casey, but not overturning Roe completely.
The Supreme Court has six Catholics on the bench – Justices Alito, Kavanaugh, Thomas, Coney Barrett, Roberts and Sonja Sotomayor, with the latter joining Justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan in dissent of the majority.
“One result of today’s decision is certain,” wrote the dissenting justices,” the curtailment of women’s rights, and of their status as free and equal citizens.”
Of major concern of the dissenting justices was the discarding of the viability balance afforded by Roe and Casey.
“Today, the Court discards that balance. It says that from the very moment of fertilization, a woman has no rights to speak of,” the justices wrote, mentioning that some state’s already passed “trigger” laws contingent on the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
Mississippi’s trigger law passed in 2007, only allowing abortion if the pregnant woman’s life is in danger or if the pregnancy is caused by a rape reported to law enforcement. Twelve other states also have trigger laws. On Monday, June 27, after Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch certified that Roe had been overturned, the clock began to tick on the trigger law which was set to take effect 10 days post determination on July 7.
After the Dobbs decision was released, many statements were released in celebration and some in outrage.
JACKSON – Officers were present to keep the peace and direct traffic in and out of the Jackson Women’s Health Organization on Saturday, July 2, days before the clinic closed. (Photo by Joanna King)
Bishops Joseph R. Kopacz and Louis F. Kihnemann released a joint statement commending the decision and recognizing much needs to be done to assist mothers and families.
“The church will continue to accompany women and couples who are facing difficult or unexpected pregnancies and during the early years of parenthood, through initiatives such as Walking with Moms in Need,” stated the bishops in their June 24 statement.
“Our respective dioceses will continue to collaborate with organizations such as Her Plan, Pro-Life Mississippi and many others to bring vital services to support mothers and the unborn.”
Catholic leader, Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann stated that Mississippi is a leader on protecting the unborn with a law in place that prohibits abortion.
“I am pro-life,” stated Hosemann. “I am also pro-child. In addition to protecting the unborn, we must also focus on other ways to support women, children and families.”
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who led efforts to overturn Roe, also released a statement after the decision stating, “Now, our work to empower women and promote life truly begins. The Court has let loose its hold on abortion policy making and given it back to the people.”
The USCCB also released a statement by Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
“Today’s decision is also the fruit of prayers, sacrifices, and advocacy of countless ordinary Americans from every walk of life. Over these long years, millions of our fellow citizens have worked together peacefully to educate and persuade their neighbors about the injustice of abortion, to offer care and counseling to women, and to work for alternatives to abortion.”
The environment outside of the Jackson Women’s Health Organization – also known as the “Pink House” due to the bright pink hue it was painted in January 2013 – was anything but peaceful in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision. Until the clinic closed for good on the evening of July 6, pro-life and pro-choice voices clashed amid national and local news reporters from near and far.
As an effort to keep providing services, the Jackson Women’s Health Organization requested a temporary restraining order to block the trigger law from taking effect but it was denied by chancery judge, Debbra K. Halford on Tuesday, July 5, reasoning that the state Supreme Court would reverse the 1998 Pro-Choice Mississippi v. Fordice ruling that relied on the Mississippi Constitution for a right to privacy.
Abortion demonstrators are seen near the Supreme Court in Washington June 24, 2022, as the court overruled the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision in its ruling in the Dobbs case on a Mississippi law banning most abortions after 15 weeks. (CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn)
The abortion clinic filed a petition to the Mississippi Supreme Court allow it to reopen, citing Fordice where the court stated it did not “interpret our Constitution as recognizing an explicit right to an abortion, we believe that autonomous bodily integrity is protected under the right to privacy as stated in In re Brown.” On July 11, the court rejected the clinic’s plea to stop the abortion ban. The court will wait for arguments from Attorney General Fitch to be submitted before ruling on the petition.
Nationally, President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Friday, July 8, aiming to protect access to abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe. The order attempts to protect access to medication abortion, access to contraception and to guarantee a patient’s right to emergency medical services.
Speaking from the White House on July 8, President Biden urged women to “head to the ballot box” to “reclaim the right taken from them by the court.” He stated that “the fastest way to restore Roe is to pass a national law, codifying Roe.”
In response, the USCCB released a statement from Archbishop Lori stating, “I implore the president to abandon this path that leads to death and destruction and to choose life. As always, the Catholic Church stands ready to work with this Administration and all elected officials to protect the right to life of every human being and to ensure that pregnant and parenting mothers are fully supported in the care of their children before and after birth.”
Bishops Kopacz and Kihnemann remain “grateful for the Supreme Court’s decision but are also mindful that the battle to uphold the sanctity of life is an ongoing effort.”
“Let us pray and continue to raise our voices both in our churches and in our communities in defense of human dignity and justice.”
Statement from Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz and Bishop Louis F. Kihneman on Supreme Court’s Ruling in Dobbs. v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
Today, Lady Justice has turned her attention to the cry of the unborn child hidden in the refuge of his or her mother’s womb. Today, justice has not abandoned that unborn child and his or her capacity to feel pain, but there is still more work to be done.
Together with many throughout our country, we join in prayer that states are now able to protect women and children from the injustice of abortion. The Catholic Church has had a vested interest in this matter – the dignity and sanctity of all human life.
The church has a long history of service to those who are most vulnerable and remains the largest private provider of social services in the United States. Through its charity agencies, and the independent efforts of its members, the Catholic Church is supporting all women in addition to the child in the womb.
The church will continue to accompany women and couples who are facing difficult or unexpected pregnancies and during the early years of parenthood, through initiatives such as Walking with Moms in Need. With our brother bishops, we renew our commitment to preserving the dignity and sanctity of all human life by:
• Ensuring our Catholic parishes are places of welcome for women facing challenging pregnancies or who find it difficult to care for their children after birth, so that any mother needing assistance will receive life-affirming support and be connected to appropriate programs and resources where she can get help.
• Helping fellow Catholics recognize the needs of pregnant and parenting moms in their communities, enabling parishioners to know these mothers, to listen to them and to help them obtain the necessities of life for their families.
• Being witnesses of love and life by expanding and improving the extensive network of comprehensive care including pregnancy help centers, and Catholic health care and social service agencies.
• Increasing our advocacy for laws that ensure the right to life for the unborn and that no mother or family lacks the basic resources needed to care for their children, regardless of race, age, immigration status or any other factor.
• Continuing to support and advocate for public policies and programs directed toward building up the common good and fostering integral human development, with a special concern for the needs of low-income families and immigrants.
In all of these ways and more, the Catholic Church witnesses to the sanctity of human life, from conception to natural death, and continues to work to build a culture of life in our nation.
Our respective dioceses continue to collaborate with organizations such as Her Plan, Pro-Life Mississippi and many others to bring vital services to support mothers and the unborn.
The community can immediately accompany women and couples who are facing difficult or unexpected pregnancies through the Walking with Moms in Need initiative in the Diocese of Jackson. For more information on how to get involved or offer support to women in need, please contact the Office of Family Ministry coordinator in the Diocese of Jackson at charlene.bearden@jacksondiocese.org. In the Diocese of Biloxi, contact Deacon Jim Gunkel, director of the Office of Family Ministry and Family Life at jgunkel@biloxidiocese.org or Margaret Miller, coordinator of Walking with Moms at mrmiller@biloxidiocese.org.
Additionally, there are Catholic Charities Community Outreach Centers located in the Diocese of Biloxi in Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Waveland and Pascagoula. These centers provide confidential pregnancy testing; Medicaid pregnancy confirmations; life-affirming options counseling; case management (including budgeting and goal setting); basic needs assistance; car seats and safe sleeping spaces for infants; diapers formula, clothing, blankets, socks, etc.; and representative payee services. The Diocese of Biloxi is also sharing the pro-life message through its Pro-Life Billboard initiative.
The Diocese of Biloxi will also be resuming adoptions and foster parenting services in the near future, complementing existing programs in the Diocese of Jackson that have provided those services through Catholic Charities, Inc. for over a half century.
Again, we are grateful for the Supreme Court’s decision but are also mindful that the battle to uphold the sanctity of life is an ongoing effort. Let us pray and continue to raise our voices both in our churches and in our communities in defense of human dignity and justice.
NATION WASHINGTON (CNS) – Sister Simone Campbell, a longtime advocate for economic justice and health care policy, and late labor leader Richard Trumka received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in a White House ceremony. President Joe Biden presented the award to 15 others as well July 7. “For so many people and for the nation, Sister Simone Campbell is a gift from God. For the past 50 years she has embodied the belief in our church that faith without works is dead,” Biden said of the woman religious whose career has focused on advocating for poor and voiceless people. Sister Campbell, a California native and a member of the Sisters of Social Service, stepped down as executive director of Network, a Catholic social justice lobbying organization, in March 2021 after serving for 17 years. Biden particularly noted her role in passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, a complex law which expanded access to health care for millions of people. He also cited a series of annual “Nuns on the Bus” nationwide tours that Sister Campbell led touting health care as a right and that federal budgets were moral documents that must reflect the priorities of serving poor and marginalized people. “Compassionate and brave, humble and strong, today Sister Simone remains a beacon of light. She’s the embodiment of a covenant of trust, hope and progress of a nation,” Biden said. Trumka was president of the AFL-CIO from 2009 until his death in August 2021. The faith of Trumka, a Catholic born to a Polish father and an Italian mother, helped shape a lifelong career in the labor movement.
CHICAGO (CNS) – Saying he watched “in horror” news reports in the aftermath of a mass shooting during a suburban Fourth of July parade, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago offered prayers for the victims. Authorities said seven people died – five on the parade route and two later in the hospital – and 30 others were injured when a gunman opened fired on people lining the parade route. “What should have been a peaceful celebration of our nation’s founding ended in unspeakable tragedy,” Cardinal Cupich said in a
A tricycle is seen near the scene of a mass shooting in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Ill., July 4, 2022. (CNS photo/Max Herman, Reuters)
statement released hours after the tragedy by the archdiocese of Chicago. Pointing to the victims, who authorities said ranged in age from 8 to 85, Cardinal Cupich said, “Weapons designed to rapidly destroy human bodies have no place in civil society.” Law enforcement authorities charged Robert E. Crimo III, 21, of suburban Chicago with seven counts of murder after the shooting in Highland Park in Chicago’s affluent North Shore. Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said the suspect would receive a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole if convicted of the charges. He also said other charges were pending. The man was apprehended without incident on a busy highway in a nearby suburb after briefly fleeing officers. Highland Park police said witnesses reported seeing a man with a long gun indiscriminately firing dozens of rounds from a rooftop at parade spectators, sending marchers and viewers scurrying for cover.
WASHINGTON (CNS) – In a 6-3 vote June 27, the Supreme Court ruled that a former high school football coach had the right to pray on the football field after games because his prayers were private speech and did not represent the public school’s endorsement of religion. “The Constitution and the best of our traditions counsel mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike,” said the court’s majority opinion, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch. Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan dissented. The court’s majority opinion also emphasized that “respect for religious expressions is indispensable to life in a free and diverse Republic – whether those expressions take place in a sanctuary or on a field.” It said the case focused on a government entity seeking to “punish an individual for engaging in a brief, quiet, personal religious observance doubly protected by the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment” and that the “Constitution neither mandates nor tolerates that kind of discrimination.” Joseph Kennedy, former assistant coach at Bremerton High School, outside of Seattle, said his postgame prayers on the field cost him his job. The coach had been told by school district officials to stop these prayers on the 50-yard line, and he refused. When his contract was not renewed, he sued the school for violating his First Amendment rights.
VATICAN VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis said the goals he has achieved in more than nine years as pope were simply the fruit of the ideas discussed by the College of Cardinals prior to his election. In an interview with Argentine news agency Telam published July 1, the pope said that objectives, such as the reform of the Roman Curia, were “neither my invention nor a dream I had after a night of indigestion. I gathered everything that we, the cardinals, had said at the pre-conclave meetings, the things we believed the new pope should do. Then, we spoke of the things that needed to be changed, the issues that needed to be tackled,” he said. “I carried out the things that were asked back then. I do not think there was anything original of mine. I set in motion what we all had requested,” he added. The apostolic constitution reforming the Roman Curia, titled “Praedicate Evangelium” (“Preach the Gospel”) went into effect June 5. In the document, the pope said the purpose of the constitution was to “better harmonize the present exercise of the Curia’s service with the path of evangelization that the church, especially in this season, is living.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Before celebrating the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis is asking Catholics around the world to dedicate time in 2023 to studying the documents of the Second Vatican Council. Presenting the official logo for the Holy Year June 28, Archbishop Rino Fisichella also announced the pope’s plan for helping Catholics prepare for the celebration: focusing on the four constitutions issued by Vatican II in 2023; and focusing on prayer in 2024. The four Vatican II constitutions are: Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (“Sacrosanctum Concilium”); Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (“Lumen Gentium”); Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (“Dei Verbum”); and Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (“Gaudium et Spes”). Archbishop Fisichella, whom the pope appointed to coordinate planning the Holy Year, said, “A series of user-friendly resources, written in appealing language, are being produced to arouse curiosity in those who have no memory” of the council, which was held 1962-65. Details about the 2024 year of prayer and spiritual preparation for the jubilee are still being worked out, the archbishop said. The Vatican already had announced that Pope Francis chose “Pilgrims of Hope” as the theme for the Holy Year.
WORLD HONG KONG (CNS) – The Chinese Communist Party is seeking to expand its apparatus to monitor and curb religious activities in cyberspace through training and deploying hundreds of “auditors” across the country, triggering concerns from rights groups. Under the guidance of the Communist Party, the Ethnic and Religious Commission of Guangdong Province in southern China held a test for the first group of auditors for the state-run Internet Religious Information Services in early June, the China Christian Daily reported. The Internet Religious Information Services agency was formed in March after China’s State Administration for Religious Affairs announced the “Administrative Measures for Internet Religious Information Services” late last year. The measures have been formulated by several state agencies in line with existing legislation in China such as the “Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China,” “Administrative Measures for Internet Information Services,” and the revised “Regulations on Religious Affairs.”
CIUDAD DE MÉXICO (CNS) – Las Misioneras de la Caridad han sido expulsadas de Nicaragua, el último de una serie de ataques contra la Iglesia Católica y sus ministerios por parte del gobierno cada vez más represivo del país centroamericano.
La orden de hermanas, fundada por Santa Teresa de Kolkata, conocida popularmente como Madre Teresa, opera un hogar para adolescentes abandonados, un hogar para ancianos, y una guardería para familias de escasos recursos en Nicaragua.
Varios líderes católicos informaron y tuitearon la noticia de la expulsión el 28 de junio. Los medios de comunicación nicaragüenses informaron de la salida de las hermanas como parte de una ofensiva contra organizaciones no gubernamentales por parte de los sandinistas en el poder.
El obispo auxiliar Silvio José Báez de Managua, quien actualmente radica en Miami por motivos de seguridad, tuiteó: “Me da mucha tristeza que la dictadura haya obligado a las (hermanas) . . . a abandonar el país. Nada justifica privar a los pobres de atención caritativa. Soy testigo del servicio amoroso que prestaban las hermanas. Que Dios las bendiga”.
Miembro de las Misioneras de la Caridad aparece en una foto de archivo cerca de una imagen de Santa Teresa de Calcuta durante la misa en la catedral de Managua, Nicaragua. La orden religiosa ha sido expulsada de Nicaragua. (CNS photo/Oswaldo Rivas, Reuters)
El presidente de Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, y sus aliados han perseguido cada vez más a la Iglesia Católica y a la sociedad civil. El presidente, que ganó la reelección el año pasado — considerada fraudulenta por opositores y observadores externos — está concentrando poder; continúa reteniendo presos políticos y ha cerrado puntos de expresión política.
Una hermana de las Misioneras de la Caridad en Nicaragua contactada por la publicación española Alfa y Omega dijo: “De momento no podemos realizar nuestra labor. Nos pararon”. Ella dijo que las hermanas no tenían información adicional aparte de lo que habían leído en los medios. También agregó lacónicamente: “No podemos hablar por este teléfono”.
El medio de noticias nicaragüense Confidencial dijo que un informe del Ministerio del Interior alega que las Misioneras de la Caridad “incumplieron con sus obligaciones”. Otro supuesto problema es que el consejo de administración de la orden tiene más del 25 por ciento permitido de participación extranjera, supuestamente violando una regla aprobada solo en los últimos meses.
Informe de prensa Nicaragua ha extinguido oficialmente la personería jurídica de unos 770 grupos no gubernamentales, incluyendo algunas organizaciones católicas. Una votación oficial en la asamblea nacional sobre el estatus legal de las Misioneras de la Caridad debía haber tenido lugar el 28 de junio, según Confidencial.
El 27 de julio, el obispo Rolando Álvarez de Matagalpa tuiteó que Telecable, un proveedor de televisión por cable, había eliminado el canal de televisión diocesano TV Merced por instrucción de los reguladores. TV Merced dijo en un comunicado que continuaría transmitiendo a través de las redes sociales.
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Congregaciones de religiosas de todo el mundo pueden sentirse abrumadas con el cuidado que necesitan las hermanas mayores, pero a menudo, los recursos que se dan por sentado en países desarrollados ni siquiera existen en otros países.
Por ejemplo, mientras que las congregaciones de todo el mundo brindan a sus hermanas mayores acceso a atención espiritual, solo el 11 por ciento de las monjas en Kenia tienen instalaciones con rampas de acceso y no hay equipo médico disponible. En algunos países, las religiosas ni siquiera hablan de los problemas de sus miembros mayores.
El Centro de Investigación Aplicada en el Apostolado de la Universidad de Georgetown (CARA por sus siglas en inglés) está comprometido en una asociación de investigación global para identificar las necesidades de las comunidades de hermanas católicas en el cuidado de sus hermanas ancianas y enfermas en Kenia, Uganda, Zambia, Ghana, Nigeria, México y los Estados Unidos. Los investigadores han descubierto que, en muchos casos, las religiosas no se dieron cuenta de que otras congregaciones enfrentaban problemas similares.
La hermana Bibiana Ngundo de la Universidad Católica de África Oriental en Nairobi, Kenia, habla ante una pequeña audiencia en Washington el 23 de junio de 2022. Dijo que las congregaciones religiosas deben hablar sobre la situación del envejecimiento. (Foto CNS/Barb Fraze)
Algunos de los investigadores hablaron con un pequeño grupo en Washington en junio. Cada comunidad religiosa ha estado “sufriendo el impacto del proceso de envejecimiento, sola”, dijo la Hermana Brenda Hernández, miembro de las Hijas de María Inmaculada de Guadalupe de la Ciudad de México, quien ha estado involucrada en la investigación del proyecto de CARA. “Nos faltan instalaciones, nos falta asistencia”, así como cuidadores capacitados y dinero para ayudar a las hermanas mayores.
La hermana Bibiana Ngundo, miembro de las Hermanitas de San Francisco que realiza investigaciones en la Universidad Católica de África Oriental en Nairobi, Kenia, habló de situaciones similares que mostraron que las hermanas africanas no hablan sobre el envejecimiento.
“Las hermanas que fueron puestas en el hogar para ancianos nunca fueron preparadas”, dijo, y una incluso se negó, diciendo: “No, si me voy, me muero”. “Las hermanas deben estar preparadas a partir de los 40, 50 y 60 años”, dijo, y enfatizó que las congregaciones religiosas deben hablar sobre el envejecimiento.
La hermana de la Asunción Candida Mukundi, quien trabaja en la investigación junto con la hermana Ngundo, habló sobre el desafío de la falta de hogares para las hermanas mayores y dijo que las congregaciones podrían ayudarse. “Cada congregación cuidaba de sus propias hermanas”, dijo y, mientras participaban en la investigación, los miembros de diferentes órdenes aprendieron que podían compartir sus problemas entre sí.
Ella y sus colegas hablaron con miembros de 57 congregaciones religiosas en Kenia. Una de las primeras cosas que hicieron fue capacitar a las superioras religiosas sobre cómo completar la encuesta de formularios de Google. En la 12ª Conferencia Trienal sobre la Historia de las Mujeres Religiosas en el Centro Cushwa de la Universidad de Notre Dame a fines de junio, la Hermana Mukundi y otras personas involucradas en el proyecto presentaron algunas de sus investigaciones.
La hermana Mukundi dijo que los hallazgos fueron “una llamada de atención a las congregaciones en Kenia para que se vuelvan más agresivas en el reclutamiento de vocaciones, la sostenibilidad de las vocaciones, la preparación para la vejez, mantenerse al día con los signos de los tiempos en términos de apostolados y en el cuidado de hermanas mayores”.
Ella dijo que las monjas esperaban compartir recursos y obtener fondos para una estructura física central que permitiera a las hermanas mayores vivir en una vida comunitaria holística. Entre otras cosas, esto facilitaría que los expertos en geriatría ofrecieran servicios.
También ayudaría a aliviar parte del estrés de las hermanas. “Soy vieja y débil, pero a veces tengo que llevar agua para bañarme en un balde por falta de duchas”, dijo una monja anciana en la encuesta.
Los manifestantes agarran una bandera estadounidense gigante mientras participan en el desfile del Día de la Independencia en Port Jefferson, Nueva York, el 4 de julio de 2022. (Foto de CNS/Gregory A. Shemitz)
A pesar de la lluvia y el viento persistentes, el primer día de la Segunda Asamblea del Quinto Consejo Plenario de Australia se inauguró en Sídney con una ceremonia indígena de fumar. (Foto del CNS/Giovanni Portelli, The Catholic Weekly)
A migrant in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, is seen near the “Kiki Romero” temporary migrant shelter Aug. 1, 2021, after being rescued by the police from inside a house where human smugglers kept migrants and others. (CNS photo/Jose Luis Gonzalez, Reuters)
Se ve un triciclo cerca de la escena de un tiroteo masivo en el suburbio de Highland Park, Illinois, en Chicago, el 4 de julio de 2022. (Foto de CNS/Max Herman, Reuters)
Las mujeres indígenas rezan sobre los ataúdes del padre jesuita Javier Campos y Joaquín Mora durante su misa fúnebre en la iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús en Chihuahua, México, el 25 de junio de 2022. Los dos sacerdotes fueron asesinados en la parroquia el 20 de junio cuando ofrecían refugio a un guía turístico en busca de protección. (Foto CNS/José Luis González, Reuters)
Partidarios posan con banderas chinas y de Hong Kong en Hong Kong el 1 de julio de 2022, en el 25 aniversario de la entrega de la antigua colonia británica al gobierno chino. (Foto del CNS/Paul Yeung, Reuters)
Las plantas de soja dañadas afectadas por el agua de mar salada que fluye hacia el río Po, afectado por la sequía, se muestran en Porto Tolle, Italia, el 23 de junio de 2022. El río Po, el más largo de Italia, se extiende desde los Alpes en el noroeste hasta el Mar Adriático en el este. No es sólo la falta de lluvia el problema. La Agencia Espacial Europea dice que las altas temperaturas y la falta de nieve en las montañas que alimentan el río también están empeorando la situación. (Foto del CNS/Guglielmo Mangiapane, Reuters)
Debra Ponce, a la izquierda, y Angelita Olvera de San Antonio lloran el 28 de junio de 2022, cerca del lugar donde decenas de inmigrantes fueron encontrados muertos dentro de un camión de remolque el día anterior. (Foto del CNS/Go Nakamura, Reuters)
El presidente de Filipinas, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Louise Araneta-Marcos, esposa de Louise Araneta-Marcos, observa el desfile civil y militar durante la ceremonia de inauguración del Museo Nacional en Manila, Filipinas, el 30 de junio de 2022. (Foto de CNS/Eloisa López, Reuters)
El padre Daniel L. Mode, capellán jefe de la Guardia Costera de EE. UU., se encuentra en el gran atrio de la sede de la Guardia Costera en Washington. Detrás de él hay un enorme muro de banderas e insignias del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional y la Guardia Costera de EE. UU. (Foto de CNS/Leslie Miller, Heraldo católico)
