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(Vatican Radio) Bolivian bishops have decried a proposed change to the country’s penal code that would permit abortion in several circumstances.

The Bolivian Episcopal Conference has appealed to legislators and the whole of society “to defend the right to life, which is seen as seriously threatened by this proposal for reform.”

Currently being discussed by the country’s Plurinational Legislative Assembly, the amendment would mean abortion could be carried out in the first eight weeks of gestation in the case of there being no resources to bring up the child, or if the mother is a student, or to prevent a risk to the mother's general health.

It also seeks to permit abortion at any stage of pregnancy when there is a risk to the mother’s life. Other cases would be when there is a suspected disability, and when a young girl becomes pregnant because of rape or incest. 

“Life is a gift from God and no one can dispose of it under any circumstances,” said Bishop Aurelio Pesoa Ribera, the Secretary General of the Bishop’s Conference.

“The proposal introduces a foreign ideological colonialization that discards boys and girls born in fragile situations and accepts the sad violence of abortion as a way of providing solutions to social and economic problems.

“As the Church, we cannot accept these premises. The state has the obligation to implement public policies aimed at improving the lives of people and policies of support to pregnant woman, as well as violence prevention.”

The proposed amendment would also establish “poverty” as a reason for impunity for crimes such as infanticide and euthanasia. The bishops statement says this would imply “that being poor would be a justification to violate any laws.”

The bishops insist that the draft law goes against the Constitution, which establishes the right to life, and against the Civil Code, which recognises this right from conception.

The statement, which is headed by Jesus’s words “I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10), echoes the exhortations of Pope Francis “to protect and guard the most vulnerable and to work for the life and dignity of all, especially the poorest”.

(Richard Marsden)

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Indianapolis, Ind., Mar 15, 2017 / 06:26 am (CNA).- There is an alarming increase in demonic activity being reported by those who work in exorcism ministry, said the exorcist for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Although steps are being taken to increase the number of exorcists, demand is still outpacing supply.

Father Vincent Lampert has been an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis since 2005 and is the pastor at St. Malachy’s in Indianapolis. He trained at the North American College in Rome and assisted with more than 40 exorcisms with longtime Italian exorcist Father Carmine De Filippi. Although the identities of most exorcists are hidden, Father Lampert often gives talks to warn against evil and turn people toward the power of God.

In an interview with the National Catholic Register, he said that he sees an increasing number of people involved in Satanic rituals and opening themselves up to evil.

“The problem isn’t that the devil has upped his game, but more people are willing to play it,” Father Lampert said. He pointed to rampant pornography, illegal drugs use and the occult. “Where there is demonic activity, there is always an entry point,” he said.

Last October, Father Lampert met in Rome with the International Association of Exorcists, a group of 400 Catholic leaders and priests. It is a support group that meets every other year. According to him, group members agree that there is a great need for more exorcists.

Actual demonic possessions are rare, however, Father Lampert explained. “I’ve only seen three possessions in the last three years, but there is also infestation, vexation and obsession.”

He explained that demonic infestation happens in places where things might move and there are loud noises. With vexation, a person is physically attacked and might have marks such as bruises, bites or scratches. Demonic obsession involves mental attacks, such as persistent thoughts of evil racing through one’s mind.

“In possessions,” Father Lampert said, “I have seen eyes rolled back in the head, throwing out obscenities, bodily contortions, foul odors, temperatures drop in the room, and I’ve witnessed someone levitating.”

When he was appointed as an exorcist by his bishop in 2005, there were only 12 others. He said there are now about 50 other exorcists that he knows of personally in the United States.

Bishops Respond

The Catholic bishops are aware of increased reports of demonic activity because a priest can only perform an exorcism with episcopal permission. According to Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, “Canon law requires a bishop to give permission before a priest can do a major exorcism, but bishops don’t receive any formal training in exorcism.”

To help support bishops, in 2010, while he was the chairman of the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Paprocki organized a two-day conference on all aspects of exorcism.

As a direct response to the need for trained exorcists in the U.S., the Milwaukee-based Pope Leo XII Institute was founded in 2012 to support “the spiritual formation of priests to bring the light of Christ to dispel evil.” It began as a series of informal meetings at the request of U.S. bishops wanting education and training. It was also a response to Pope St. John Paul II’s recommendation that every diocese appoint an exorcist. A spokesman with the U.S. bishops’ conference said that, although ideally every diocese should have its own exorcist, no statistics are kept as to the actual numbers.

Msgr. John Esseff, president of the institute’s board of directors, was one of the founding members. He has been a priest for 63 years and an exorcist in the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, for more than 40 years. He often gives talks at the institute on exorcism and deliverance.

“As the acceptance of sin has increased, so, too, has demonic activity,” Msgr. Esseff said. “The bishops saw the need for more trained exorcists because so many cases were being referred from all over the country to the dioceses that had exorcists.”

“A person should be cared for in his own diocese,” he added.

The Pope Leo XIII Institute graduated the first class of 55 exorcists, priests and deacons from its two-year program in 2015. The training involves 10-day sessions given at Mundelein Seminary in the Archdiocese of Chicago, twice a year for two years. A second class of 52 will graduate this fall.

“I’m hopeful bishop are becoming more aware of their role as the ‘chief exorcist’ for the diocese,” Msgr. Esseff said. “There is also still some resistance of the reality of Satan,” in the Church, among priests and bishops, he added, “as if there is just evil and not the devil.”

“The only one that can overcome Satan is Jesus,” Msgr. Esseff said. “He overcomes the kingdom of evil with light. And every priest represents Jesus. The devil does not see the priest – he sees Jesus.”

Minor Exorcisms

Bishop Paprocki, who has also given lectures at the Pope Leo XIII Institute, said he likes to emphasize the difference between major and minor exorcisms. “A minor exorcism occurs very frequently in the Church, every time we do a baptism,” he told the Register. “It is a matter of rejecting Satan and all his works.”

A priest does not need a bishop’s permission to do minor exorcisms in situations where there is an evil influence, Bishop Paprocki explained. “It’s just a matter of praying to God to overcome evil influences.”

“The reason a major exorcism needs a bishop’s permission is that the priest talks directly to the devil and commands him in the name of Jesus Christ to leave that person,” he said. “For the priest to be able to do that, he needs the authority of the Church behind him.”

Father Lampert said that a priest, and even laypeople, can pray minor exorcism prayers because they address God. “The lay faithful should not give commands to demons,” he said. “Demons recognize the authority of bishops and the Church. If you claim authority on your own, it can get you into trouble,” he warned the laity. He referred to the example in Acts 19, when some Jewish exorcists tried to expel an evil spirit. The devil said: “Jesus I recognize, Paul I know, but who are you?” Then he attacked them.

“It’s not the exorcists that have the power,” Father Lampert said, “but the power and authority of the Church that comes from Jesus Christ. Catholics understand that individuals don’t have that power.”

Everyone interviewed for this article stated that the ordinary work of the devil is temptation, so it is sin that gives him a foothold in people’s lives. They all encouraged people to have strong prayer lives and to go to confession and receive the Eucharist frequently.

Father Lampert cautions people not to give too much attention to the devil, as well. “The focus should be on God and Jesus Christ,” he said. “When I remind myself that God is in charge, it puts everything in perspective, and the worry and fear dissipates.”

He added, “If people would build up their faith lives, the devil will be defeated.”

 

Originally published at the National Catholic Register.

 

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Vatican City, Mar 15, 2017 / 06:33 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday Pope Francis warned against the hypocrisy that comes from believing that the ability to genuinely love others is based on our own efforts or goodness, rather than being only and always a gift from God.

“We are called to love, to charity: this is our highest calling, our vocation for excellence,” he said March 15, asking: “how can we be sure that our love is sincere, that our charity is genuine?”

“Behind all this there is a false idea, that is to say, if we love, it is because we are good; as if charity were man’s creation, a product of our heart. Charity, however, is first and foremost a grace, a gift; to love is a gift of God, and we have to ask. And He gives it willingly, if we ask it.”

Showing love to others, Francis said, is not something that we do to shine a light on who or what we are, but to show better who God is, and what he freely gives to us.

And the only way we can express this in our encounters with others is if we have encountered it first in the “gentle and merciful face of Jesus.” Without this, our charity is in danger of being hypocritical, he said.

Speaking during the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis reflected on the passage from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, which says: “Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor.”

“Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord,” the passage continues. “Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality.”

These things are not easy to do, the Pope said, but clarified that the words of St. Paul are not a reproach of all the times we fail or do not live up to the commandments.

Instead, these words give us the grace of realizing that we cannot love perfectly on our own, but that “we need the Lord to continually renew this gift in our hearts, through the experience of his infinite mercy,” he said.

“Paul invites us to recognize that we are sinners, and that our way of loving is marked by sin. At the same time, however, he is the bearer of a new proclamation of hope: the Lord opens before us a way of liberation, of salvation.”

Above all, we have hope, he said, because even in our own failures we know that “God’s love never fails,” and if we ask, he will give us the grace to love more perfectly.

“The Risen Lord who lives among us…is able to heal our heart: he does, if we ask it,” he said. “It is he who allows us, despite our littleness and poverty, to experience the compassion of the Father, and to celebrate the wonders of his love.”

“Indeed, it is God himself who, taking residence in our hearts and in our lives, continues to be close and to serve all those we meet every day on our journey,” he said.

When we invite God into our hearts, allowing ourselves to be loved by him, only then can we sincerely act out the great commandment “to become instruments of God’s love,” Pope Francis said.

“And then, yes, we will return to appreciate the little things, simple and ordinary; and we will be able to love others as God loves them, wanting their good; that they be saints, friends of God.”

The Pope concluded by saying that in doing this, we will “be happy for the chance to get closer to the poor and humble, as Jesus is with each of us when we are away from him, to bend at the foot of brothers, as he, the Good Samaritan, does with each of us, with his compassion and forgiveness.”

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By Junno Arocho Esteves

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Employers who make business deals that threaten people's livelihood commit a sin that robs men, women and their families of their dignity, Pope Francis said.

"Whoever -- because of economic maneuvering and business dealings that are not all clear -- closes factories and businesses and takes work away from men and women commits a grave sin," the pope said March 15 before concluding his weekly general audience.

The pope was speaking to a group of employees from Italy's Sky television; several hundred employees risk losing their jobs after the company announced plans to move their Rome headquarters to Milan.

According to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Sky Italia claimed the move was due to rising costs and an outdated digital infrastructure in Rome. Local workers' unions have criticized the company's decision that will force 300 workers to transfer from the capital while an estimated 200 employees will be left without a job.  

Before the audience began, the pope circled St. Peter's Square in the popemobile, stopping along the way to kiss babies and wave to the thousands of pilgrims present.

Stepping out of his popemobile, the pope also greeted several Chinese pilgrims from the Tanjin Meng Fu Lu Chang group.

One pilgrim holding a child couldn't contain his emotions, kneeling and prostrating while the pope stooped down to help him up. The child he carried also bowed respectfully.

Another Chinese pilgrim approached the pope on her knees while the pope, visibly moved, tried to raise her up. He also greeted the other pilgrims, who were waving Chinese flags and holding a statue of Our Lady of Fatima, which he blessed.  

In his main audience talk, part of a series on Christian hope, Pope Francis reflected on St. Paul's call in his Letter to the Romans for Christians to be "joyful in hope" and sincere in their love.

A Christian's "highest vocation" is the call to love and charity. However, the pope said, St. Paul also warns of "the risk that our charity can become hypocritical."

"Hypocrisy can infiltrate anywhere, even in our way of loving," he said, especially when acts of love or charity are done "to put ourselves on display or so that we feel fulfilled."

Christians, he added, must ask themselves if their love is sincere and "not that of a soap opera."

"There is a false, misleading idea behind all this: namely that if we love, it is because we are good, as if charity was a creation of man, a product of our heart," the pope said.

Charity and love, he continued, are a grace that is meant to shine forth what "the Lord gives us and what we freely receive."

St. Paul's warning, the pope explained, is "not so much a reproach but rather an encouragement to revive hope in us."

"We need the Lord to continually renew this gift in our hearts through the experience of his mercy," Pope Francis said. "In this way, we will be able to appreciate the little, simple and ordinary things again, and we will be able to love others as God loves them."

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