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Adoration. / Thoom / Shutterstock.CNA Staff, Mar 28, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).Did you know that it is possible to sing a special song of adoration on Holy Thursday and have your soul purified?It's true, and the song is "Tantum Ergo."First, some background...A plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ to remove all temporal punishment due to sin.What does this mean?"An indulgence does not confer grace. An indulgence is not a remission of the guilt due to sin. The guilt due to sin is ordinarily taken away by the sacraments of baptism and penance (confession), in which we receive forgiveness for sins through Jesus Christ," the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) explains in this helpful Q&A."Although guilt is taken away, and with it the eternal penalty that is due to sin, namely, damnation, the eternal loss of the presence of God, there remain consequences for sins that those who have committed them ...

Adoration. / Thoom / Shutterstock.

CNA Staff, Mar 28, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Did you know that it is possible to sing a special song of adoration on Holy Thursday and have your soul purified?

It's true, and the song is "Tantum Ergo."

First, some background...

A plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ to remove all temporal punishment due to sin.

What does this mean?

"An indulgence does not confer grace. An indulgence is not a remission of the guilt due to sin. The guilt due to sin is ordinarily taken away by the sacraments of baptism and penance (confession), in which we receive forgiveness for sins through Jesus Christ," the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) explains in this helpful Q&A.

"Although guilt is taken away, and with it the eternal penalty that is due to sin, namely, damnation, the eternal loss of the presence of God, there remain consequences for sins that those who have committed them must bear. There is what is traditionally called the temporal punishment for sin."

What is temporal punishment?

As the USCCB explains: "Every sinful act creates a disorder within the soul of the human person; it distorts our desires and affections, leaving us with 'an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth or after death in the state called purgatory.'"

For this reason, the USCCB continues: "Those who have received forgiveness for their sins still have an obligation to undergo a difficult and painful process (the temporal penalty for sin) to be purified of the consequences of their sins and to restore the disrupted relationships."

Through a plenary indulgence, we can be spared this purification process. As the USCCB explains it: "By God's grace, participation in a prayer or action that has an indulgence attached to it brings about the necessary restoration and reparation without the suffering that would normally accompany it."

On Holy Thursday, you can receive this special gift, resulting in the purification of your soul, by singing the "Tantum Ergo." If you aren't familiar with this beautiful hymn, watch this short video.

The "Tantum Ergo" is the last two verses of "Pange Lingua," a Latin hymn written by St. Thomas Aquinas. "Tantum Ergo" is short for the first words of the hymn's second-to-last verse, "Tantum ergo Sacramentum," which in Latin simply means "Therefore, so greatly the Sacrament."

These magnificent verses are an expression of adoration of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. For this reason, it is usually sung before the benediction when the priest blesses those gathered with the monstrance. 

After Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, the faithful are invited to participate in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament throughout the night. This represents the disciples who were invited to stay up throughout the night with the Lord during his agony in the garden before his betrayal by Judas. Singing the "Tantum Ergo" at this time is how you obtain the plenary indulgence.

As always the case with plenary indulgences, certain conditions must be satisfied to receive the grace. According to the USCCB, these conditions are: sacramental confession, reception of holy Communion; prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father; and complete detachment from all sin, even venial sin.

The first three conditions (confession, Communion, and prayers for the pope's intentions) can be fulfilled a few days before or after performing the works to gain the indulgence (in this case, singing the "Tantum Ergo" during adoration), but it is appropriate that Communion and the prayer take place on the same day that the work is completed.

Here are words to the "Tantum Ergo":

Tantum ergo Sacramentum

Veneremur cernui:

Et antiquum documentum

Novo cedat ritui:

Praestet fides supplementum

Sensuum defectui.

Genitori, Genitoque

Laus et iubilatio,

Salus, honor, virtus quoque

Sit et benedictio

Procedenti ab utroque

Compar sit laudatio.

Amen.

And here's the English version:

Down in adoration falling,
Lo! the sacred Host we hail,
Lo! oe'r ancient forms departing
Newer rites of grace prevail;
Faith for all defects supplying,
Where the feeble senses fail.

To the everlasting Father,
And the Son Who reigns on high
With the Holy Spirit proceeding
Forth from each eternally,
Be salvation, honor, blessing,
Might and endless majesty.
Amen.

This story was originally posted on CNA on April 13, 2022, and has been updated.

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Asian elephant. / Credit: Filiz Elaerts / Unsplash (CC0)CNA Newsroom, Mar 27, 2024 / 13:00 pm (CNA).Despite repeated protests from Catholic bishops, wildlife attacks continue to pose a severe threat to the lives and properties of both Catholics and other residents in the Southern Indian state of Kerala. On Wednesday, local media reported significant damage from two elephants in Kerala's Idukki district, alongside a tiger's attack on livestock. This year alone, elephant attacks have resulted in 27 fatalities in the region. Video footage of a Catholic man trampled to death on Feb. 10 made headlines and sparked protests, only to be followed by news of a potential mauling by a tiger of a Catholic woman on her way to Mass four days after the fatal attack. Further fatal elephant tramplings followed the incident.The Catholic Church in Kerala has been leading the charge in urging the government to take decisive action to protect human lives. "The series of shocking ...

Asian elephant. / Credit: Filiz Elaerts / Unsplash (CC0)

CNA Newsroom, Mar 27, 2024 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

Despite repeated protests from Catholic bishops, wildlife attacks continue to pose a severe threat to the lives and properties of both Catholics and other residents in the Southern Indian state of Kerala. 

On Wednesday, local media reported significant damage from two elephants in Kerala's Idukki district, alongside a tiger's attack on livestock. 

This year alone, elephant attacks have resulted in 27 fatalities in the region. Video footage of a Catholic man trampled to death on Feb. 10 made headlines and sparked protests, only to be followed by news of a potential mauling by a tiger of a Catholic woman on her way to Mass four days after the fatal attack. 

Further fatal elephant tramplings followed the incident.

The Catholic Church in Kerala has been leading the charge in urging the government to take decisive action to protect human lives. 

"The series of shocking elephant killings has terrorized the people. They are even scared to go out now," Bishop Jose Porunnedam of Mananthavady, in the district of Wayanad, told the National Catholic Register, CNA's sister news partner, on March 4.

Several major Catholic organizations, including the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council (KCBC) and the Kerala-based Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, have issued statements calling for the prioritization of protecting human beings from marauding wild animals.

On Palm Sunday, Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil, head of the Syro-Malabar Church, warned of a misconception "that wild animals are given more importance than human beings." 

The bishops' council urged the state government not to trivialize people's concerns. 

"Over time, Kerala has seen a rise in the quantity and intensity of wildlife attacks. There has been a noticeable rise in wildlife attacks in Wayanad and neighboring districts in the past year," noted the KCBC in its Feb. 18 statement.

The March 27 attacks in Idukki are part of a longer-term trend of increasing wildlife attacks. Government data for 2022-23 registered 8,873 wildlife attacks leading to 98 deaths. 

In response to the crisis, India's federal government has announced plans to erect elephant-proof barriers across Kerala. This measure aims to prevent further tragic incidents and addresses the call from Church representatives for more effective protection strategies.

Kerala's geography, bordering the Western Ghats — a mountain range known for its biodiversity, including approximately 25% of the world's wild Asian elephants — complicates the situation. The onset of the dry season in February, which leads to a scarcity of forest resources, has driven wild animals to encroach more frequently on human habitats, thereby increasing the likelihood of conflict.

More than 30% of Wayanad district's population of 800,000 are Catholics, alongside additional Christian denominations.

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Catholic faithful offer prayers during an Ash Wednesday Mass at St. Mary's Basilica in Secunderabad, the twin city of Hyderabad in India on Feb. 14, 2024. / Credit: NOAH SEELAM/AFP via Getty ImagesBangalore, India, Mar 27, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).A watchdog group that monitors violence committed against Christians in India has released a study documenting 161 such crimes in the first 75 days of 2024.These numbers may underestimate the number of crimes and acts of persecution committed against Christians in India, according to A.C. Michael, a Catholic and coordinator of the United Christian Forum (UCF), which released the report. "These figures are based only on the complaints registered on our toll-free helpline number (1-800-208-4545) to report incidents of anti-Christian violence. The actual numbers will be certainly much more," Michael told CNA on March 27."We feel frustrated that despite documenting and making public the shocking data regularly, there has been no re...

Catholic faithful offer prayers during an Ash Wednesday Mass at St. Mary's Basilica in Secunderabad, the twin city of Hyderabad in India on Feb. 14, 2024. / Credit: NOAH SEELAM/AFP via Getty Images

Bangalore, India, Mar 27, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

A watchdog group that monitors violence committed against Christians in India has released a study documenting 161 such crimes in the first 75 days of 2024.

These numbers may underestimate the number of crimes and acts of persecution committed against Christians in India, according to A.C. Michael, a Catholic and coordinator of the United Christian Forum (UCF), which released the report. 

"These figures are based only on the complaints registered on our toll-free helpline number (1-800-208-4545) to report incidents of anti-Christian violence. The actual numbers will be certainly much more," Michael told CNA on March 27.

"We feel frustrated that despite documenting and making public the shocking data regularly, there has been no response from the government nor any effort has been made to curb the steadily rising number of violent incidents," he said.

Categorizing the 161 incidents, Michael listed 71 cases of detainment/arrest by the police, 18 incidents of social ostracization, 72 cases of physical violence, 15 cases of forced "reconversion," one incident of a church being sealed, and another in which a church was torched, with mob violence being part of most of these incidents.

Violence and persecution against minority Christians, who account for only 2.3% of India's 1.41 billion people (nearly 80% of whom are Hindu), have been on a steady rise since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rose to power under the stewardship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi after winning the 2014 national election. In May 2019, the BJP was reelected with an increased majority.

UCF had recorded only 147 incidents of violence against Christians in 2014, Michael said. The number of incidents went up to 177 in 2015, 208 in 2016, 240 in 2017, 292 in 2018, 328 in 2019, 279 in 2020, 505 in 2021, 599 in 2022, and 731 in 2023.

The UCF statement also highlighted the victimization of Christians in BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh state in central India, which reported "incidents with dignity of burial rights denied to Christian families."

"Chhattisgarh, a state notoriously known for social ostracization of Christians, is the No. 1 leading state in assaults against Christians with 47 incidents of reported violence," the UCF pointed out.

"Christians are being denied access to water from the community borewells of the village. Sadly, even dead Christians are not spared, as many were denied burial as per Christian rituals. Local [Hindu fundamentalist] villagers have been threatening to cremate the bodies as a final act of reconversion," UCF decried.

Such blatant attacks on the Christians, Michael said, are rooted in BJP leaders' anti-Christian rhetoric. He noted that Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai accused "Christian missionaries of carrying out religious conversion under the guise of providing education and health care facilities while warning to stop the practice."

But, Michael pointed out, Christians in Chhattisgarh account for just 2% of the state's 25 million people.

The UCF statement also highlighted the persecution of Christians in BJP-ruled northern Uttar Pradesh, which has a population of 231 million and "ranks second [among] states where Indian citizens are being persecuted for practicing Christianity." 

"There is clear evidence of state-sponsored harassment of Christians in this state as the police file false allegations of conversion against the pastors even for praying in birthday parties and other social gatherings. UCF helpline has recorded over 30 incidents of arrests and detentions of pastors under the UP Freedom of Religion Act," the Christian Forum noted.

CNA has reported in detail how Father Babu Francis, social service director of Allahabad Diocese in Uttar Pradesh state, was jailed for over 80 days after being arrested on charges of false conversion in early October. 

Similarly, CNA also reported about how Father Dominic Pinto, director of the Pastoral Centre of Lucknow Diocese, was arrested in February on a false conversion charge. Pinto was released on bail on March 13. 

Of the 161 incidents recorded in the first 75 days of 2024, UCF pointed out: "There are 122 Christians who have either been detained or arrested on the false allegation of conversions."

The UCF data was released on the eve of the March 22 National Day of Prayer that the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) called for in the wake of increasing atrocities against Christians and religious polarization in the country. 

Thousands of churches across the country held special prayers on the day with special holy hours, rosaries, and Stations of Cross in response to the CBCI appeal for "peace and harmony."

Meanwhile, the 2023 year report of the Religious Liberty Commission of Evangelical Fellowship of India expressed anguish over "the alarmingly steep rise in the number of violent incidents against the Christian community."

"The Indian political apparatus, its law enforcement agencies, and its justice system, specially at the level of villages and small towns, have been found wanting and slow in its responses despite urgent pleas for help from victims, church leaders, and civil society," the report lamented.

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On Holy Wednesday, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerated the column to which, according to tradition, Jesus was bound to be scourged. They prayed the station dedicated to the column during the daily procession that the Franciscans perform inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. At the end, they intoned the hymn "Columna Nobilis" and then, one by one, they performed an act of veneration. March 27, 2024. / Credit: Marinella BandiniJerusalem, Mar 27, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).In Jerusalem on Holy Wednesday, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerate the two stones that, according to the Gospel of Luke, were stained with the blood of Jesus during his passion.The first stone is venerated at the Basilica of the Agony, which stands at the place where Jesus withdrew to pray after the Last Supper in an orchard known as Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives.Father Alessandro Coniglio, who presided over the Holy Wednesday Mass at the Basilica of the Agony (G...

On Holy Wednesday, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerated the column to which, according to tradition, Jesus was bound to be scourged. They prayed the station dedicated to the column during the daily procession that the Franciscans perform inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. At the end, they intoned the hymn "Columna Nobilis" and then, one by one, they performed an act of veneration. March 27, 2024. / Credit: Marinella Bandini

Jerusalem, Mar 27, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

In Jerusalem on Holy Wednesday, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerate the two stones that, according to the Gospel of Luke, were stained with the blood of Jesus during his passion.

The first stone is venerated at the Basilica of the Agony, which stands at the place where Jesus withdrew to pray after the Last Supper in an orchard known as Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives.

Father Alessandro Coniglio, who presided over the Holy Wednesday Mass at the Basilica of the Agony (Gethsemane), incenses the stone of agony at the beginning of the Eucharistic celebration.  This is the very place where Jesus withdrew to pray after the Last Supper, in an orchard known as Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives. March 27, 2024. Credit: Courtesy of the Custody of the Holy Land
Father Alessandro Coniglio, who presided over the Holy Wednesday Mass at the Basilica of the Agony (Gethsemane), incenses the stone of agony at the beginning of the Eucharistic celebration. This is the very place where Jesus withdrew to pray after the Last Supper, in an orchard known as Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives. March 27, 2024. Credit: Courtesy of the Custody of the Holy Land

Right here, on the morning of Holy Wednesday, the Passion according to Luke (Luke 22:14–23:56) is chanted, which narrates the transformation of Jesus' sweat into "drops of blood falling to the ground" as he was praying. At the moment this event is described, the chronicler and the reader of the Passion venerate the "stone of agony" at the center of the presbytery.

Father Alessandro Coniglio, who presided over the Mass, emphasized to CNA that "the mystery of the blood of Christ is at the heart of Holy Week. In the Old Testament, blood is the sign of life: Jesus giving his blood signifies the gift of his life for us and our redemption."

Three friars of the Custody of the Holy Land chant the Passion according to Luke (Lk 22:14-23:56) during the Holy Wednesday Mass on March 27, 2024. In Jerusalem on Holy Wednesday, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerate the two stones that, according to the Gospel of Luke, were stained with the blood of Jesus during his Passion. Credit: Courtesy of the Custody of the Holy Land
Three friars of the Custody of the Holy Land chant the Passion according to Luke (Lk 22:14-23:56) during the Holy Wednesday Mass on March 27, 2024. In Jerusalem on Holy Wednesday, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerate the two stones that, according to the Gospel of Luke, were stained with the blood of Jesus during his Passion. Credit: Courtesy of the Custody of the Holy Land

The other stone venerated is the column of the Flagellation, whose base is now preserved in the Chapel of the Apparition (of Jesus to his mother) at the Holy Sepulcher, belonging to the Franciscans. Tradition says that while Jesus was being struck by the scourge, the column to which he was bound became stained with his blood.

"During the Byzantine era, this column was kept in the basilica of Hagia Sion (Holy Mary in Zion) on Mount Zion in Jerusalem," Franciscan friar Stéphane Milovitch, president of the Holy Sepulcher community and director of the Cultural Heritage Office of the Custody of the Holy Land, told CNA.

Already in the fourth century, the Spanish pilgrim Egeria in her diary spoke of this column and recounted that the veneration, at that time, took place at dawn on Good Friday at the Cenacle (upper room).

The column of the Flagellation, made of red porphyry, is kept in a niche within the Chapel of the Apparition inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, where it has been preserved since the 14th century. On Holy Wednesday, a day especially dedicated to its veneration, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land prepare a special adornment with drapes and flowers for the column. March 27, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini
The column of the Flagellation, made of red porphyry, is kept in a niche within the Chapel of the Apparition inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, where it has been preserved since the 14th century. On Holy Wednesday, a day especially dedicated to its veneration, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land prepare a special adornment with drapes and flowers for the column. March 27, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

After the destruction of the Byzantine basilica, the traces of the column were lost, but it reappeared in the 14th century at the Holy Sepulcher, where it is still visible today in a niche next to the altar in the Chapel of the Apparition.

"The pilgrim Felix Fabri, a German Dominican who arrived here in the late 1400s, speaks of three columns of the Flagellation," Milovitch recounted, "one at the Holy Sepulcher, one at Santa Prassede in Rome, and one in Lyon, France, of which the memory has been lost today. These are very ancient traditions."

The friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerated the column to which, according to tradition, Jesus was bound to be scourged. In Jerusalem, on Holy Wednesday, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerate the two stones that, according to the Gospel of Luke, were stained with the blood of Jesus during his Passion, including the column of the Flagellation. Tradition says that while Jesus was being struck by the scourge, this column to which he was bound became stained with his blood. March 27, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini
The friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerated the column to which, according to tradition, Jesus was bound to be scourged. In Jerusalem, on Holy Wednesday, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerate the two stones that, according to the Gospel of Luke, were stained with the blood of Jesus during his Passion, including the column of the Flagellation. Tradition says that while Jesus was being struck by the scourge, this column to which he was bound became stained with his blood. March 27, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

In front of the red porphyry column, surrounded by drapes and ornaments on this day of remembrance, the friars prayed the station dedicated to the column during the daily procession that the Franciscans undertake inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. At the end, they intoned the hymn "Columna Nobilis" and then, one by one, performed an act of veneration.

In the afternoon, members of other Christian churches — Greek Orthodox, Armenians, and Copts — also arrived to venerate the column of the Flagellation.

In the afternoon of Holy Wednesday, the Armenian monks of the community of the Holy Sepulcher visit the Chapel of the Apparition of the Franciscans and venerate the column of the Flagellation preserved there. After taking turns kissing the column, they all pray together in front of it. March 27, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini
In the afternoon of Holy Wednesday, the Armenian monks of the community of the Holy Sepulcher visit the Chapel of the Apparition of the Franciscans and venerate the column of the Flagellation preserved there. After taking turns kissing the column, they all pray together in front of it. March 27, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

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Catholics gather in Rome's Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island on Holy Tuesday, March 26, 2024, for a prayer vigil honoring Christians who have been killed for their faith in recent years. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Mar 27, 2024 / 10:45 am (CNA).Catholics gathered in Rome on Holy Tuesday for a prayer vigil honoring Christians who have been killed for their faith in recent years.A monk in Nigeria who was kidnapped and brutally murdered last fall, catechists in Mexico killed on their way to a Eucharistic procession in June, and Catholics who died in Myanmar when an airstrike hit their church last year were among those honored by the prayer vigil.Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, the prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, presided over the vigil on March 26 in Rome's Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island."Persecuted Christians show us, in every age, that nothing … is superior to the bond with Christ. In the martyrs, we see...

Catholics gather in Rome's Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island on Holy Tuesday, March 26, 2024, for a prayer vigil honoring Christians who have been killed for their faith in recent years. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Mar 27, 2024 / 10:45 am (CNA).

Catholics gathered in Rome on Holy Tuesday for a prayer vigil honoring Christians who have been killed for their faith in recent years.

A monk in Nigeria who was kidnapped and brutally murdered last fall, catechists in Mexico killed on their way to a Eucharistic procession in June, and Catholics who died in Myanmar when an airstrike hit their church last year were among those honored by the prayer vigil.

Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, the prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, presided over the vigil on March 26 in Rome's Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island.

"Persecuted Christians show us, in every age, that nothing … is superior to the bond with Christ. In the martyrs, we see that communion with Jesus is far more precious than earthly life, family ties, everything," Farrell said.

Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, the prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, presides over a prayer vigil honoring Christians who have been killed for their faith in recent years on March 26, 2024, in Rome's Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, the prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, presides over a prayer vigil honoring Christians who have been killed for their faith in recent years on March 26, 2024, in Rome's Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

"This 'witness of blood' that the martyrs give to Christ is a powerful prophetic voice and a great sign of hope because the kingdom of God will continue to spread; indeed, thanks to the martyrs, it will be even better known and loved.

The prayer vigil was held on Holy Tuesday, a day in which the Church reflected on Jesus' words to Peter at the Last Supper in the Gospel of John: "Will you lay down your life for me?"

Candles were lit during the vigil as the names of more than 50 Christians killed for their faith in the past century were read aloud. 

Catholics gather in Rome's Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island on Holy Tuesday, March 26, 2024, for a prayer vigil honoring Christians who have been killed for their faith in recent years. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Catholics gather in Rome's Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island on Holy Tuesday, March 26, 2024, for a prayer vigil honoring Christians who have been killed for their faith in recent years. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

The congregation sang "Kyrie Eleison" after each name, which included Shahbaz Bhatti killed in Pakistan in 2011, Father Olivier Maire killed in France in 2021, and the Missionaries of Charity killed in Yemen in 2016. 

"Many who have suffered for their faith and lost their lives in China" were also remembered.

Four crucifixes and palm branches were carried in procession to honor those killed in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, the Americas, and Africa respectively.

The names of more than 10 Catholic priests and brothers killed in Africa last year were honored, including Father Jacques Yaro Zerbo killed in Burkina Faso, Father Charles Onomhoale Igechi killed in Nigeria, and Father Pol Feyen killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Members of the local Orthodox and Protestant Christian communities also took part in a prayer vigil honoring Christians who have been killed for their faith in recent years in Rome's Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island on Holy Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Members of the local Orthodox and Protestant Christian communities also took part in a prayer vigil honoring Christians who have been killed for their faith in recent years in Rome's Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island on Holy Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Members of the local Orthodox and Protestant Christian communities also took part in the prayer vigil at the St. Bartholomew basilica organized by the Catholic Community of Sant'Egidio and the Diocese of Rome.

The basilica was so packed for the prayer vigil that overflow seating was needed in the piazza outside of the church on the overcast night in Rome.

The basilica of 'new martyrs'

The Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island is devoted to Christian martyrs of the 20th and 21st centuries, referred to as the "new martyrs," connecting the tradition of Rome's apostolic martyrs to the persecution of Christians today.

The church was first commissioned in 998 by German Emperor Otto III to receive the remains of St. Bartholomew, who was flayed alive for his faith, and St. Adalbert, bishop of Prague who was martyred in 997 during the evangelization of Poland.

Catholics gathered in Rome's Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island on Holy Tuesday, March 26, 2024, for a prayer vigil honoring Christians who have been killed for their faith in recent years. The basilica was so packed for the prayer vigil that overflow seating was needed in the piazza outside of the church on the overcast night in Rome. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Catholics gathered in Rome's Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island on Holy Tuesday, March 26, 2024, for a prayer vigil honoring Christians who have been killed for their faith in recent years. The basilica was so packed for the prayer vigil that overflow seating was needed in the piazza outside of the church on the overcast night in Rome. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Today the basilica houses some of the relics of the apostle and medieval evangelist alongside those of St. Maximilian Kolbe, martyred in Auschwitz, and Sister Leonella Sgorbati, a missionary nurse in Somalia in the height of the country's civil war. Her last words as she was murdered in 2006 were "I forgive them, I forgive, I forgive."

The basilica also has the breviary of Father Jacques Hamel, who was killed in 2016 by ISIS terrorists in France while celebrating Mass. 

Pope Francis gave the basilica a little wooden bird from the Orthodox Church of the Holy Mother of God in Syria, a church that burned during the bombing of Aleppo in the Syrian civil war. The bird was brought back to Rome with the humanitarian corridors of the Catholic Community of St. Egidio, a lay movement dedicated to works of charity, who have been entrusted with the spiritual care of the Basilica of St. Bartholomew.

The basilica is flanked on either side by chapels containing relics of Christians martyred under communism and Nazism respectively, marking the 20th century as the bloodiest century in the history of the Catholic Church.

Today Rome's Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island houses some of the relics of the apostle and medieval evangelist alongside many others, including those of St. Maximilian Kolbe, martyred in Auschwitz, and Sister Leonella Sgorbati, a missionary nurse in Somalia in the height of the country's civil war. The basilica also has the breviary of Father Jacques Hamel, who was killed in 2016 by ISIS terrorists in France while celebrating Mass. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Today Rome's Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island houses some of the relics of the apostle and medieval evangelist alongside many others, including those of St. Maximilian Kolbe, martyred in Auschwitz, and Sister Leonella Sgorbati, a missionary nurse in Somalia in the height of the country's civil war. The basilica also has the breviary of Father Jacques Hamel, who was killed in 2016 by ISIS terrorists in France while celebrating Mass. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

The story of the basilica's dedication to the "new martyrs" began with St. John Paul II. In 1998, Pope John Paul II established the Commission for the New Martyrs of the Great Jubilee, giving them the task "not only to document Catholic martyrs but also Protestant and Orthodox, saying in the blood of the martyrs, the Church is already united. There was this vision of the ecumenicism of the blood."

The Basilica of St. Bartholomew continues the ecumenical focus today by honoring the Anglican martyrs of the Solomon Islands, a brotherhood working for reconciliation among the ethnic groups who were killed in 1992-93 and Russian Orthodox Father Alexander Men, who was assassinated in Moscow in 1990.

Ahead of the Catholic Church's 2025 Jubilee, Pope Francis has tasked a new commission within the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints with creating an archive of the lives of Christian martyrs, both Catholic and non-Catholic, killed in the last quarter-century.

A prayer vigil on March 26, 2024, honoring recent martyrs took place facing a large icon in the basilica of the
A prayer vigil on March 26, 2024, honoring recent martyrs took place facing a large icon in the basilica of the "New Martyrs and Witnesses to the Faith of the 20th and 21st centuries," which was blessed by both an Orthodox patriarch and the cardinal vicar of Rome. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Tuesday's prayer vigil took place facing a large icon in the basilica of the "New Martyrs and Witnesses to the Faith of the 20th and 21st centuries," which was blessed by both an Orthodox patriarch and the cardinal vicar of Rome.

"Brothers and sisters, in this time wounded by war and terrorism, let us walk together seeking the light of Easter," Farrell said at the vigil.

"May the witness of contemporary martyrs strengthen us in faith, ignite in us the fire of charity, and help us to hope in the victory over evil and death of Christ Jesus Our Lord."

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Christendom's president-elect, George Harne, is currently a professor at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. Before then, he served as president of Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts for nine years. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom CollegeCNA Staff, Mar 26, 2024 / 15:15 pm (CNA).Christendom College, a Virginia-based Catholic liberal arts college, announced on Monday that George Harne will serve as the college's fourth president.Currently a professor at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, Harne is a music history and liberal arts scholar who formerly served as president of Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts in Warner, New Hampshire, for nine years until 2020.Harne will succeed Timothy O'Donnell, who has served as Christendom College president for more than 30 years, or two-thirds of the college's lifetime. "On behalf of the entire college, I want to congratulate and welcome Dr. George Harne as our new president," O'Donnell said in a March 25 press release...

Christendom's president-elect, George Harne, is currently a professor at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. Before then, he served as president of Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts for nine years. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College

CNA Staff, Mar 26, 2024 / 15:15 pm (CNA).

Christendom College, a Virginia-based Catholic liberal arts college, announced on Monday that George Harne will serve as the college's fourth president.

Currently a professor at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, Harne is a music history and liberal arts scholar who formerly served as president of Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts in Warner, New Hampshire, for nine years until 2020.

Harne will succeed Timothy O'Donnell, who has served as Christendom College president for more than 30 years, or two-thirds of the college's lifetime. 

"On behalf of the entire college, I want to congratulate and welcome Dr. George Harne as our new president," O'Donnell said in a March 25 press release

Christendom College's current president, Timothy O'Donnell, will retire after 30 years. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College
Christendom College's current president, Timothy O'Donnell, will retire after 30 years. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College

"Christendom will be in good hands, and we are blessed to have him as our incoming president."

Harne earned a master's of liberal studies in 1998 from St. John's College and completed his graduate work in musicology at Princeton, where he earned an M.F.A. in 2000 and his Ph.D. in 2008. 

"For many years, I've admired Christendom College and President O'Donnell's leadership from afar," Harne said in a video statement. "Christendom has always been a model of what is possible for truly faithful Catholic liberal education."

A convert to Catholicism, Harne grew up in Florida as a southern Pentecostalist. He and his wife were married in a Presbyterian church, but he became Episocopalian in graduate school. As his interest in Church history and the Catholic intellectual tradition grew, he and his family decided to become Catholic and joined the Church in 2005.

"I truly believe that Christendom will play a leading role in the renewal of the Church and Catholic higher education in the next 50 years," Harne said in the press release.

"As the college soon moves into its fifth decade, it will stand courageously as the model of Catholic higher education in this country, providing young men and women with the education they need to become wise, serve as salt and light in our world, and renew the very foundations of our society," he continued. 

Harne will begin transitioning into the role in June, with his official term beginning in July.

Christendom College's campus is in Front Royal, Virginia, which is just about an hour west of Washington, D.C. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College
Christendom College's campus is in Front Royal, Virginia, which is just about an hour west of Washington, D.C. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College

"I am blessed to have known Dr. Harne for years," O'Donnell said in the announcement. "Dr. Harne and his lovely and talented wife, Debbie, together will make an outstanding team for Christendom. He will lead this college with wisdom and courage, building upon the past and leading it into a bright future."

O'Donnell leaves behind a legacy of campus growth at Christendom, from the new Christ the King Chapel — a Gothic-inspired chapel that seats more than 500 — to the college endowment, which grew from $200,000 to more than $28 million under his tenure.

The cornerstone of Christ the King Chapel was blessed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008. 

Drone shot of Christendom College's Christ the King Chapel in Front Royal, Virginia. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College
Drone shot of Christendom College's Christ the King Chapel in Front Royal, Virginia. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College

"I want to give thanks to Christ the King for the opportunity to have served the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and board of this college, which holds such an important place in Catholic higher education and in the work of the Church at large," O'Donnell continued.

"Christendom College has stood as a beacon for what Catholic higher education can be in America since its founding," Harne said. "I am honored to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Timothy O'Donnell and the other previous presidents of this institution. There is much work ahead, and I am humbled to play a part in the history of this extraordinary college." 

"Dr. Harne will bring experience, leadership, vision, and humility to his role as president of Christendom College, thanks to his extensive background in higher education administration, fundraising, and teaching," said chairman of the college's board of directors, Stephen O'Keefe, in the announcement. 

"The college has never been in a stronger position, and Dr. Harne will help guide our institution into its exciting next chapter."

O'Keefe co-chaired the special committee that led the presidential search.

"To all those who love Christendom, I pledge that I accept this role as a sacred trust. I pledge continuity and organic development, animated by fidelity to the founding," Harne said in the video announcement. "I will seek to build wisely on the foundation that has been faithfully laid. Our Church and society, now more than ever, need Christendom graduates serving as salt and light in the world."

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The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on March 26, 2024, for a lawsuit brought by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM), which seeks to impose more restrictions on the prescription of mifepristone. / Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNAWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 26, 2024 / 15:45 pm (CNA).United States Supreme Court justices on Tuesday pressed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone but appeared skeptical that a pro-life doctor's group challenging the agency had any legal standing to sue. The justices heard oral arguments on March 26 for a lawsuit brought by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM), which seeks to impose more restrictions on the prescription of mifepristone. The drug is approved to chemically abort a child up to 10 weeks into the mother's pregnancy. AHM, which represents pro-life medical groups, sued the FDA in November 2022 to challenge the agency's approval of mifepristone. The lawsuit further challeng...

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on March 26, 2024, for a lawsuit brought by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM), which seeks to impose more restrictions on the prescription of mifepristone. / Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 26, 2024 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

United States Supreme Court justices on Tuesday pressed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone but appeared skeptical that a pro-life doctor's group challenging the agency had any legal standing to sue. 

The justices heard oral arguments on March 26 for a lawsuit brought by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM), which seeks to impose more restrictions on the prescription of mifepristone. The drug is approved to chemically abort a child up to 10 weeks into the mother's pregnancy. 

AHM, which represents pro-life medical groups, sued the FDA in November 2022 to challenge the agency's approval of mifepristone. The lawsuit further challenged the FDA's subsequent deregulation of the drug, particularly its permission to prescribe the medicine without an in-person doctor's visit and to dispense the drug through the mail. 

FDA questioned on abortion pill's safety

During oral arguments, the court's more conservative justices questioned the FDA's lawyer, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar, on whether the FDA followed proper protocol when deregulating mifepristone.

This Supreme Court case is the most-watched abortion-related decision since the court overturned Roe v. Wade, which allowed states to impose restrictions on abortion. Six justices voted to overturn the precedent: Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch. 

Barrett, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, expressed concern that ending the in-person requirement could "lead to mistakes in gestational aging" because doctors would not be able to perform an ultrasound. She asked whether this "could increase the need for a [dilatation and curettage procedure or increase] the amount of bleeding."

Alito questioned why the agency only studied the effects of the deregulatory actions individually rather than studying how they could pose a safety risk when taken together as a whole. 

In defending the FDA's decisions, Prelogar told the justices that the FDA "demonstrated that these changes … were safe" through its analysis of studies and that the deregulation being safe was not reliant on "other different safeguards in place." She also noted that ultrasounds had never been required by the FDA. 

"I don't think you can fault the agency for not giving even more explicit attention to this issue," she said. 

Prelogar said the FDA found that some studies suggested the deregulation would increase emergency room visits but found no evidence that it would increase adverse effects. She said the "FDA's actions were lawful" and that AHM "just disagree[s] with the agency's analysis of the data before it."

"That's a question that Congress has entrusted to the FDA," Prelogar said.

Jessica Ellsworth, a lawyer representing mifepristone provider Danco Laboratories, similarly expressed concern about courts assuming the authority to determine how the FDA handles its protocol related to studying the safety of drugs and deregulation. 

"Courts are just not in a position to parse through [the studies] and second guess [the FDA's conclusion]," Ellsworth said.

Erin Hawley, a lawyer for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which is representing AHM, later countered the arguments from the FDA and Danco, saying that in-person visits would increase the likelihood of the woman receiving an ultrasound before being prescribed the drugs, rather than "to be able to order these online with a couple of screening questions."

Does AHM have legal standing to sue? 

When Hawley was questioned about the lawsuit, the justices focused heavily on whether AHM had any legal standing to sue the FDA. 

Hawley argued that her clients, some of whom are emergency room doctors, have standing to sue because they are forced to care for women suffering from complications with the abortion pill, even if the doctors object to abortion.

"[They are] forced to manage abortion drugs' harm," she said.

Although federal law allows doctors to refrain from providing services that violate the doctor's conscience, Hawley claimed that objections in these situations are not practical because of the "emergency nature of these procedures." 

Hawley said the lack of in-person care leads to inadequate follow-ups for the women who use the drug, which leads them to seek care in emergency rooms. 

"[The FDA's deregulations] turn emergency rooms into that follow-up visit," Hawley said.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, said that federal law already protects their right to object and questioned why the court would need to impose "an order preventing anyone from having access to these drugs at all" to remedy these concerns. 

During the conversation, Trump-appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch similarly expressed concern about a district court's ability to restrict access to a drug nationwide based on the legal objections from a handful of doctors.

Both Alito and Thomas pressed the FDA's lawyer on who would be allowed to sue the FDA in this situation if not AHM. Prelogar said it would be hard to identify any person or group who would have the legal standing to file a lawsuit.

The Supreme Court is expected to decide the case by June. 

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Some Greek Orthodox monks at the entrance of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher wait for the solemn entrance of the patriarch on Saturday, March 23, 2024, for the First Vesper of the first Sunday of Lent, called the "Sunday of Orthodoxy." / Credit: Courtesy of Gianfranco Pinto OstuniJerusalem, Mar 26, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).As the Catholic Church in the Holy Land entered Holy Week by literally retracing the steps of Jesus' passion in Jerusalem, the Orthodox churches took their first steps into Lent.The Eastern churches follow the Julian calendar, which means Easter Sunday 2024 falls on May 5. Next year, however, the Catholic and Orthodox Easter will fall on the same day. Unlike the Catholic Church, which marks the beginning of Lent with a strong call to penance symbolized by Ash Wednesday, Orthodox churches do not have specific celebrations that open this penitential period.His Eminence Anba Antonios (right), Coptic Orthodox archbishop of Jerusalem, incenses the edi...

Some Greek Orthodox monks at the entrance of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher wait for the solemn entrance of the patriarch on Saturday, March 23, 2024, for the First Vesper of the first Sunday of Lent, called the "Sunday of Orthodoxy." / Credit: Courtesy of Gianfranco Pinto Ostuni

Jerusalem, Mar 26, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).

As the Catholic Church in the Holy Land entered Holy Week by literally retracing the steps of Jesus' passion in Jerusalem, the Orthodox churches took their first steps into Lent.

The Eastern churches follow the Julian calendar, which means Easter Sunday 2024 falls on May 5. Next year, however, the Catholic and Orthodox Easter will fall on the same day. 

Unlike the Catholic Church, which marks the beginning of Lent with a strong call to penance symbolized by Ash Wednesday, Orthodox churches do not have specific celebrations that open this penitential period.

His Eminence Anba Antonios (right), Coptic Orthodox archbishop of Jerusalem, incenses the edicule of the Holy Sepulcher (containing Christ's tomb) during the Sunday Mass on March 17, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini
His Eminence Anba Antonios (right), Coptic Orthodox archbishop of Jerusalem, incenses the edicule of the Holy Sepulcher (containing Christ's tomb) during the Sunday Mass on March 17, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

The most distinctive celebration is that of the Armenians, which celebrated its "Yeregoyan" service (the vespers, literally "hour of the evening"), on Saturday, March 16, in the Armenian Cathedral of St. James in Jerusalem. All the altars and some icons were covered with purple drapes, the color of Lent. The Catholic Church used to observe this tradition as well, but now it is often limited to the paschal triduum.

The Armenian period of Great Lent is similar to the other Christian churches.

The Armenian monks in front of the main altar of St. James Cathedral in Jerusalem, covered by a purple cloth.
The Armenian monks in front of the main altar of St. James Cathedral in Jerusalem, covered by a purple cloth. "During the Great Lent, we observe 40 days of fasting, meaning that meat and dairy are forbidden," the chancellor of the Armenian Patriarchate, Father Aghan Gogchyan, told CNA. "The most extreme period of fasting is held the week before Easter Sunday, where many monks, according to historical tradition, live on only bread, salt, and water, eating once per day." Credit: Marinella Bandini

"During the Great Lent, we observe 40 days of fasting, meaning that meat and dairy are forbidden, according to ancient Church tradition," the chancellor of the Armenian patriarchate, Father Aghan Gogchyan, told CNA. "The most extreme period of fasting is held the week before Easter Sunday, where many monks, according to historical tradition, live on only bread, salt, and water, eating once per day." During the 40 days of Lent, it is not even permitted to receive the Eucharist.

"For us," Gogchyan highlighted, "it is a period where we reflect with, rather than on, the period of fasting held by Our Lord Jesus Christ in the desert. All of Christ's encounters, according to the Gospels, are remembered and reflected on during the Lenten liturgies. It is a period of self-cleansing, where we prepare ourselves for the unworthy gift of Christ's resurrection and the subsequent hope of eternal life that comes with it."

An Armenian monk draws the purple curtain in front of one of the icons of the Virgin Mary located on the columns that border the sanctuary in the Armenian Cathedral of St. James in Jerusalem. On Saturday, March 16, 2024, in the Armenian Cathedral of Saint James in Jerusalem, during the
An Armenian monk draws the purple curtain in front of one of the icons of the Virgin Mary located on the columns that border the sanctuary in the Armenian Cathedral of St. James in Jerusalem. On Saturday, March 16, 2024, in the Armenian Cathedral of Saint James in Jerusalem, during the "Yeregoyan" service (the Vespers, literally meaning "Hour of the evening"), all the altars and some icons were covered with purple drapes. Credit: Marinella Bandini

If the entire Christian tradition emphasizes the aspect of purification, the Orthodox churches particularly emphasize fasting as the primary tool of purification. Almost all Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year are dedicated to fasting.

In the Coptic Orthodox Church, for example, they observe more than 200 fasting days per year. It is also the only church where Lent lasts for 55 days (it began on Monday, March 11, and includes the Holy Week). 

Father Antonious Al Orshalemy, the Coptic archimandrite (archbishop) of Jerusalem, explained to CNA: "During Lent we observe total fasting from midnight to 3 p.m. We cannot eat meat and animal products; fish is only allowed on certain days. The aim is to return to the state of humanity before the original sin, when they only ate fruits from the Garden. The ability to control food intake helps in managing passions and becoming more spiritual individuals," he said. Fasting is interrupted only on Saturdays and Sundays, the memorial of the Resurrection.

A moment of prayer of the Syriac Orthodox monks at the convent of St. Mark in Jerusalem. On Sunday, March 17, the eve of Lent,
A moment of prayer of the Syriac Orthodox monks at the convent of St. Mark in Jerusalem. On Sunday, March 17, the eve of Lent, "during the evening prayer, there is a moment when those present exchange forgiveness with each other. It is a moment of purification before starting Lent," Dayroyo (Father) Boulus Khano explained to CNA. He is in the picture holding the book. Credit: Marinella Bandini

On Sunday, March 17, the eve of Lent, the Syriac Orthodox Church celebrated a special rite dedicated to forgiveness (a similar ceremony takes place in the Greek Orthodox tradition on the same day, called "Forgiveness Sunday"). 

"During the evening prayer, there is a moment when those present exchange forgiveness with each other. It is a moment of purification before starting Lent," Dayroyo (Father) Boulus Khano, a monk and priest of the Syriac Orthodox Monastery of St. Mark in Jerusalem, explained to CNA. Syriac Orthodox believers observe total fasting from midnight to noon and follow a mostly vegan diet (although fish is allowed).

In all Christian traditions, Lent follows a specific prayer itinerary, emphasizing certain episodes or figures from the Gospels and intensively praying the Psalms. In the Syriac Catholic tradition, Lent is particularly guided by the words of the prophets and those of the Church Fathers. Every day at noon — the moment when the absolute fast is broken — a special prayer is held in the church during which the participants bow down 40 times.

His Eminence Anba Antonios (on the right), Coptic archbishop of Jerusalem, and Father Antonius Al Orshalemy, general secretary of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, during the Mass of the first Sunday of Lent on March 17, 2024. In the Coptic Orthodox Church, Lent lasts 55 days and begins one week before the other churches. Credit: Marinella Bandini
His Eminence Anba Antonios (on the right), Coptic archbishop of Jerusalem, and Father Antonius Al Orshalemy, general secretary of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, during the Mass of the first Sunday of Lent on March 17, 2024. In the Coptic Orthodox Church, Lent lasts 55 days and begins one week before the other churches. Credit: Marinella Bandini

On Sunday, March 24, in Jerusalem, the Latin Church celebrated Palm Sunday at the Holy Sepulcher. This year, after the palm procession, the Eucharistic celebration took place at a side altar dedicated to Mary Magdalene instead of in front of the edicule containing Christ's tomb. This was done to make room for the celebration of the first Sunday of Lent in the Orthodox churches, creating a mosaic of chants, languages, fragrances, and liturgies.

The Greek Orthodox, in particular, celebrated the "Sunday (of the triumph) of Orthodoxy." The theme of the day is victory of the true faith and, in particular, the victory over iconoclasm by the decision of the Seventh Ecumenical Council. The service commemorates the restoration of icons for use in services and private devotional life of Christians.

Also for the Greek Orthodox tradition, observance of Great Lent is characterized by abstaining from many foods — especially meat and dairy products, fish, wine, and oil, intensified private and public prayer, and almsgiving. Strict fasting is forbidden on Saturday and Sunday. Fasting is closely linked to prayer, so much so that the fathers of the Orthodox church have referred to fasting without prayer as "the fast of the demons" since they do not eat, but neither do they pray.

The entrance of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, which is also the location of the convent of St. Mark. Here, the Syriac Orthodox faithful oversee several revered sites, including the house of St. Mark and the Cenacle, where Jesus is believed to have had the Last Supper with his apostles. Credit: Marinella Bandini
The entrance of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, which is also the location of the convent of St. Mark. Here, the Syriac Orthodox faithful oversee several revered sites, including the house of St. Mark and the Cenacle, where Jesus is believed to have had the Last Supper with his apostles. Credit: Marinella Bandini

The Great Lent and the Holy Week culminate in the ceremony of the Holy Light (also known as the Holy Fire), which is celebrated in the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The Holy Fire is a ceremony usually attended by all Christians in Jerusalem, regardless of denomination, and is one of the most characteristic and famous events in the Holy City.

According to the Greek Orthodox tradition, the Holy Fire is a miracle that occurs every year, the day preceding Pascha, dating back to the fourth century. Every year, at noon, the patriarch of Jerusalem stands alone and in the darkness inside the tomb of Christ, reciting a specific prayer, until the Holy Fire descends and spontaneously lights a lamp of olive oil held by the patriarch. Before entering, he is inspected by Israeli authorities to prove that he does not carry the technical means to light the fire. 

In a moment the light spreads throughout the basilica, with the faithful passing the fire over their faces because they say the Holy Fire does not burn hair or faces in the first 33 minutes after it is ignited.

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Archbishop Dionisio Guillermo García of Santiago de Cuba prays before an image of Mary in the Basilica National Sanctuary of Our Lady of Charity on March 24, 2024. / Credit: Archbishopric of Santiago de CubaACI Prensa Staff, Mar 26, 2024 / 17:30 pm (CNA).The archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, Dionisio Guillermo García, offered a lengthy prayer before the nation's patroness, the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, on Palm Sunday, imploring the Virgin for the needs of the people, hoping that they find freedom and the light of faith amid adversity. "Our people have said and repeat what we all know: electricity and food. Is that unattainable? Is that asking too much? No no no. Our people also ask for freedom, so that everyone can reach their goals in life and ensure that their children benefit the most."  In an atmosphere of silence, the archbishop offered his prayer in the emblematic National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre Basilica.This took place a week after crowds i...

Archbishop Dionisio Guillermo García of Santiago de Cuba prays before an image of Mary in the Basilica National Sanctuary of Our Lady of Charity on March 24, 2024. / Credit: Archbishopric of Santiago de Cuba

ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 26, 2024 / 17:30 pm (CNA).

The archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, Dionisio Guillermo García, offered a lengthy prayer before the nation's patroness, the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, on Palm Sunday, imploring the Virgin for the needs of the people, hoping that they find freedom and the light of faith amid adversity. 

"Our people have said and repeat what we all know: electricity and food. Is that unattainable? Is that asking too much? No no no. Our people also ask for freedom, so that everyone can reach their goals in life and ensure that their children benefit the most."  

In an atmosphere of silence, the archbishop offered his prayer in the emblematic National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre Basilica.

This took place a week after crowds in several cities in Cuba took to the streets to demand a change in the system, due to the continuous power outages and food shortages on the island, where people have been living under a dictatorship for more than 60 years.

Continuing his prayer, García referred to the role of the Virgin Mary as the mediator of the supplications and longings of the Cuban people: "I want to ask you what the pilgrims come before you to pray for... We want to live with less pressing needs, we want to try to live a normal life in which everyone can make their plan and life project."

"We want to use the hours of our time in reading and in service, but many times we use them in the daily struggle to obtain the essentials of life, which are almost always in short supply. The nights become long, without power. We ask, Lord, that you give us inner power," he continued.

García also addressed the need to eradicate violence in the streets and to promote mutual respect among citizens: "We ask you, Mother, that we all be one and that we Cubans respect one another... In the same way that we are beginning Holy Week, let us accompany the sacrifice of Jesus."

"I ask you that we have the hope of that people who were awaiting the Messiah. We know that one day the light will come to our people, the inner light. I ask you that we may realize that if we do not do the will of God, which is to do good, we will fail in life," he prayed.

"We also ask you, Father, that one day we will see the light, the light [to resolve] these problems. But also that we all find the light of faith, which is what leads us precisely to give an account of everything that exists, of what we experience," he added.

The archbishop ended his petitions with a Hail Mary for peace and unity: "Let us pray for the Cuban people and for the faith of the Cuban people... Let us pray."

"Our Lady of Charity, pray for us. Our Lady of Charity, pray for us. With your protection we take refuge, Holy Mother of God, do not reject the supplications that we address to you in our necessities, but rather, deliver us from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen," García concluded.

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

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Hundreds of pro-life and pro-abortion demonstrators hold rallies alongside each other as the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the high-stakes abortion pill case Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. Food and Drug Administration, March 26, 2024. / Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNAWashington D.C., Mar 26, 2024 / 18:15 pm (CNA).Several hundred pro-life and pro-abortion activists held dueling rallies outside the Supreme Court building on Tuesday as the justices heard oral arguments in the high-stakes abortion pill case, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. Food and Drug Administration (AHM v. FDA).At issue in the case is whether the FDA should restore certain restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone that were in place prior to 2016, most notably those removed by the Biden administration such as prohibiting administering the pills through the mail or via telemedicine. At the pro-life rally, abortion demonstrators blasted loud music in an attempt to drown out the pro-life speak...

Hundreds of pro-life and pro-abortion demonstrators hold rallies alongside each other as the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the high-stakes abortion pill case Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. Food and Drug Administration, March 26, 2024. / Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

Washington D.C., Mar 26, 2024 / 18:15 pm (CNA).

Several hundred pro-life and pro-abortion activists held dueling rallies outside the Supreme Court building on Tuesday as the justices heard oral arguments in the high-stakes abortion pill case, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. Food and Drug Administration (AHM v. FDA).

At issue in the case is whether the FDA should restore certain restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone that were in place prior to 2016, most notably those removed by the Biden administration such as prohibiting administering the pills through the mail or via telemedicine. 

At the pro-life rally, abortion demonstrators blasted loud music in an attempt to drown out the pro-life speakers.

Many pro-abortion demonstrators wore pink and held homemade signs such as one that read: "Leave my mifepristone alone." Other signs held by abortion activists had vulgar messages on them, with some mocking conservative Supreme Court justices.

Pro-lifers, meanwhile, held signs reading: "Chemical abortion hurts women" and "Women's health matters," while some prayed. 

During a few tense moments, Capitol Police officers, who lined the street, had to intervene to separate the two groups as demonstrators got into each other's faces and shouted slogans over megaphones.

CNA spoke with some of the demonstrators to learn why they came. Here is what they said:

'My daughter has rights' 

Savanna Deretich (left) with Students for Life and Savannah Evans (right) with Live Action stand in front of the Supreme Court building as pro-life demonstrators, March 26, 2024. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA
Savanna Deretich (left) with Students for Life and Savannah Evans (right) with Live Action stand in front of the Supreme Court building as pro-life demonstrators, March 26, 2024. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

Savannah Evans, a pro-life activist with Live Action, traveled from Florida to stand for life in front of the Supreme Court. Evans, who is 34 weeks pregnant, lifted her sweater to reveal her baby bump on which she had written the words "Human Too."

"Human life begins with fertilization, and anything after that is the killing of a human being," Evans said.

"I'm out here because I'm 34 weeks pregnant, and I believe that my daughter has rights."

'Force the FDA to do their job'

Ken Meekins, a student from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, said he came because he believes that "the abortion pill does hurt women."

"I'm here to stand for women's health," he said. "I think that it's awful because the majority of abortions are chemical abortions. And not only that, they're even more dangerous than surgical abortions because they're done at home. And so, I'm out here today to ask the Supreme Court to force the FDA to do their job."

 'The pope should not dictate what medications we're allowed to take'

Ashley Wilson (left) and Kate Hoeting (right) with Catholics for Choice stand in front of the Supreme Court on March 26, 2024. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA
Ashley Wilson (left) and Kate Hoeting (right) with Catholics for Choice stand in front of the Supreme Court on March 26, 2024. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

Ashley Wilson and Kate Hoeting, members of a group that calls itself "Catholics for Choice," were in front of the Supreme Court building advocating for abortion. They claimed to represent what they said was the majority of Catholics who "disagree with the bishops on abortion." Wilson called the attempt to regulate abortion pills an example of "religious overreach."

"One in four abortion patients in this country is Catholic," Wilson said. "So, we trust a woman's conscience-informed decision to have an abortion if she needs one."

Pro-abortion demonstrators cheer as Catholics for Choice President Jamie Manson gives a speech in front of the Supreme Court building, March 26, 2024. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA
Pro-abortion demonstrators cheer as Catholics for Choice President Jamie Manson gives a speech in front of the Supreme Court building, March 26, 2024. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

 Jamie Manson, president of Catholics for Choice, was one of the speakers at the pro-abortion rally. She called the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the movement to place more restrictions on abortion "part of a coordinated long game to undermine democracy and establish a theocracy."

"The pope should not dictate what medications we're allowed to take in the United States," she went on. "We want doctors, not doctrine, to shape our health care."

'I came to D.C. today to stand up for my patients'

There were a large number of pro-life doctors, many from the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), who rallied in front of the Supreme Court, March 26, 2024. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA
There were a large number of pro-life doctors, many from the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), who rallied in front of the Supreme Court, March 26, 2024. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

Dr. Susan Bane, an OB-GYN from North Carolina and member of the American Association of Pro-Life OB-GYNs (AAPLOG), spoke at the pro-life rally. 

She told CNA that she is advocating for restrictions on mifepristone because of the life-threatening dangers the drug poses to women. She said it is especially dangerous to administer mifepristone without medical supervision. 

"I came to D.C. today to stand up for my patients as well as the thousands of pro-life members of AAPLOG to care for women," she said.

"The FDA's own labeling says 1 in 25 women who use abortion drugs will go to the emergency department and they show up with potentially life-threatening complications, retained tissue infections requiring antibiotics, bleeding that's so severe that they need transfusions or emergency surgery."

"So, women should have the ongoing care of a doctor when taking high-risk drugs. And that's why we want to see these safeguards put back in place," she went on. "We want the FDA to do their job, and their job is to protect our patients."

'Science tells us that there is a life in the womb' 

Hayden Laye, a member of the Democrats for Life of America, traveled to D.C. from South Carolina. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA
Hayden Laye, a member of the Democrats for Life of America, traveled to D.C. from South Carolina. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

Hayden Laye, a member of Democrats for Life of America, traveled to D.C. from South Carolina. He said that his belief in science tells him that "there is life in the womb."

"As a Democrat, I'm against killing human beings, and that includes human beings in the womb," he said.

He added that he felt "compelled" to come to express his support for restoring safeguards on the abortion pill out of concern for his community.

"I just want to make sure that both women and children in my state, in my community, are safe, are protected. I hope and pray that the Supreme Court upholds the safety laws for women regarding the abortion bill."

'We look to protect the women and children of Texas' 

Jade and Casey Casias from Amarillo, Texas, traveled over 1,500 miles to show support for the pro-life side. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA
Jade and Casey Casias from Amarillo, Texas, traveled over 1,500 miles to show support for the pro-life side. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

 Jade Casias and her husband, Casey Casias, came to demonstrate for life. They flew over 1,500 miles from Amarillo, Texas, where AHM v. FDA originated.

"In Texas, we're really big on our pro-life issue," Jade said. "We don't come up to Washington, D.C., regularly to protest or anything. I haven't been here in years, and this is my husband's first time. But because that case originated in Amarillo, we felt like it was necessary to really represent our culture."

Despite abortion being illegal through all nine months of pregnancy in Texas, Jade said that mifepristone, which can be obtained via mail and administered without any doctor's supervision, still threatens Texan women's lives.

"We're seeing that abortion pills are being mailed to our women," she said. "We're here to say, mifepristone, we don't want that across state lines, but more than that, we want to have a call to say everyone needs to have some action in this."

'Pray, pray, pray. I think that's the answer' 

Joan McKee, a Catholic pro-lifer from D.C., said what we need is to "pray, pray, pray." Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA
Joan McKee, a Catholic pro-lifer from D.C., said what we need is to "pray, pray, pray." Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

Joan McKee, a Catholic pro-lifer from D.C., said she came to "help these people stop murdering their children."

While tensions were high between the two crowds, with people trying to out-scream one another, McKee was holding a rosary in her hand. She said she was praying for not only an end to abortion but also the conversion of those advocating for abortion.

"Pray the rosary, pray to St. Joseph, the Holy Family," she said. "Pray, pray, pray. I think that's the answer."

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