Catholic News

Military personnel in dress uniforms attend the Armed Forces Jubilee Mass in St. Peter's Square on Feb. 9, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Feb 9, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Pope Francis presided over the Jubilee Mass for Armed Forces, Police and Security Personnel on Sunday, with Archbishop Diego Ravelli reading his prepared homily as the pontiff recovers from bronchitis.

Over the Feb. 8-9 weekend, approximately 30,000 men and women from more than 100 countries participated in various jubilee festivities in Rome, including a pilgrimage to the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica.

During the outdoor Mass in St. Peter's Square, Archbishop Ravelli, reading the pope's prepared homily, thanked those who have dedicated their lives to a "lofty mission that embraces numerous aspects of social and political life."

"You are present in penitentiaries and at the forefront of the fight against crime and the various forms of violence that threaten to disrupt the life of society," Ravelli read from the pope's text.

The prepared homily continued: "I think too of all those engaged in relief work in the wake of natural disasters, the safeguarding of the environment, rescue efforts at sea, the protection of the vulnerable and the promotion of peace."

Praising their vigilance amid "the opposing forces of evil," the homily noted that security personnel who protect the defenseless and uphold law and order in cities and neighborhoods can "teach us that goodness can prevail over everything."

The papal text also acknowledged the chaplains who provide moral and spiritual support to military and security personnel, describing them as "the presence of Christ, who desires to walk at your side, to offer you a listening and sympathetic ear, to encourage you to set out ever anew and to support you in your daily service."

The homily concluded with a call for those gathered to have the courage to be peacemakers who never lose sight of their purpose to save and protect lives, warning: "Be vigilant not to be taken in by the illusion of power and the roar of arms... Be vigilant lest you be poisoned by propaganda that instils hatred, divides the world into friends to be defended and foes to fight."

Speaking in his own voice during the Angelus prayer that followed the Mass, Pope Francis invoked the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, for those who are the "servants of the security and freedom of their peoples."

"This armed service should be exercised only in legitimate defense, never to impose domination over other nations, always observing the international conventions," the pope said, referencing Gaudium et Spes.

"Brothers and sisters, let us pray for peace in the tormented Ukraine, in Palestine, in Israel and throughout the Middle East, in Myanmar, in Kivu, in Sudan," he urged.

"May the weapons be silent everywhere and the cry of the peoples, who ask for peace, be heard!"

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Derek Ruth has written his story of recovery from a traumatic brain injury and meeting Jesus and Mary in a new book, "The Eight-Minute Flight." / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Ruth family

Lincoln, Neb., Feb 9, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

It was a hard hit on the football field, but 12-year-old Derek Ruth of Lincoln, Nebraska, was able to answer all his coach's questions correctly, so it looked like he was okay.

Suddenly, he ripped off his helmet, screamed, "My head!" and collapsed into his coach's arms.

As he was life-flighted for emergency surgery, Ruth had a remarkable meeting with Jesus, the first of many tangible encounters he would have as he battled back from the traumatic brain injury. Now, 16 years later, he has written a book about his experiences to help people and to bring them to Christ: "The Eight-Minute Flight."

"After my first initial encounter with Jesus in heaven, I kept quiet about that experience and only told a few select people, such as my parents and brothers," Ruth recalled. "I decided to write a book about my life because Jesus kept appearing to me on somewhat of a regular basis when I was in my late teenage years, early 20s."

His memory remains clear of standing before Jesus in heaven while emergency medical technicians were fighting to save his life. 

"I had no real sense of leaving my physical body," Ruth said. "I could feel all my extremities when I was standing in front of Jesus. It was like I still had my earthly body, but everything was purified and glorified. The quality of the air in heaven made my body feel amazing, especially my hands and feet…. I just felt perfect."

Overwhelmed with a sense of peace, Ruth's eyes were focused on Jesus Christ, who stood before the boy, emanating pure love.

"The only way I can describe it is to say that the physical presence of Jesus is awesome!" Ruth revealed. "His face was perfect. It had a beautiful glow that was completely white — the whitest white I have ever seen. The heart of Jesus was bursting with unconditional light."

During this moment, the Lord gave Ruth a choice. And so his battle to recover from a traumatic brain injury began.

After his first surgery, Ruth was comatose and resting on a tilt table that elevated his head, a proven method of increasing successful recovery. Doctors also employed induced hypothermia, cooling his body to further protect his brain. A second surgery ensued when his brain continued to swell.

When he finally awoke, he was unable to do anything for himself. The once-healthy athlete only had the use of his left hand.

"Words cannot even come close to giving a comparison to that feeling," Ruth remembered. "It was just flat out brutal, and at that point I was scared to death."

Day by day, he fought to regain everything he had lost in the head injury. His family — including his mother and grandfather, who are both physical therapists — remained at his side to help, and countless people prayed for his recovery.

When things got tough, Ruth, a member of North American Martyrs Parish in Lincoln, turned to prayer.

"My faith has gotten me through every trial and tribulation I was faced with," he stated. "My faith has only grown stronger, along with my personal prayer life."

While still an inpatient at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, he finally told his mother about meeting Jesus in heaven.

"My mom was not surprised or shocked when I told her about being in heaven with Jesus, because Mom knew the person I was and understood how important my Catholic faith is to me," he said. "Mom also knew about my devotion to the most holy rosary."

As his recovery progressed, he would occasionally be in prayer when Jesus or the Blessed Mother would appear to him. After learning about Mother Teresa from Father Raymond Jansen, a priest in the Diocese of Lincoln, he began praying for her assistance, and she, too, appeared to him.

"Every appearance I have had up to this point came as an unexpected surprise, and it is scary," he admitted, "… praying to Jesus and Mary and just having them appear to me unexpectedly!"

Now a University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate with a sociology degree, Derek lives independently despite some lingering effects from the brain injury. He is limited in his gait and fine motor movements, and he uses a text-to-speech device for verbal communication.

"The visible marks such as my numerous scars are a constant reminder of what I have been through," he said.

Overall, Ruth emerged with stronger faith and gratitude.

"This experience has changed me by [teaching me to] not take anything for granted, even the little things, because I have learned the hard way how life can change just like that."

Through the years, Ruth has journaled about his recovery, faith, and encounters with Christ. During college, he determined to put it all into a book so that he could share it with a wider audience.

Now he finds himself in high demand from various retail outlets and organizations who want to book him for speaking engagements.

"I would love to continue telling my story in hopes that it will inspire others," he said.

"The Eight-Minute Flight" is now available for purchase locally and online. Ruth's website is theeightminuteflight.com and contains more details, photos, and testimonials from people who have read advanced copies of his book.

One person who shared a testimonial is Bishop James Conley, who met Derek in 2013 shortly after he was installed as bishop of Lincoln.

"Getting to know Derek as a friend and hearing his remarkable story of faith, courage, trust, resilience, and acceptance has profoundly moved me as a bishop," Conley said.

"Derek's deep Catholic faith, nurtured by devout parents, continues to inform his life, providing him with a firm foundation for his hope, purpose, and motivation to move forward in life day after day. Through hard work, discipline, and perseverance, and with the heart of a true athlete, Derek continues to provide true hope for all of us, particularly as he describes in vivid language the long and enduring road of rehabilitation."

This story was first published by Southern Nebraska Register on Jan. 10, 2025, and has been reprinted here with permission.

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Cardinal Kurt Koch speaks to journalists at the Synod on Synodality press briefing held at the Vatican's Holy See Press Office on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Madrid, Spain, Feb 9, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

In his acceptance speech for the honorary doctorate awarded him by the Catholic University of Valencia, Cardinal Kurt Koch rejected the extreme positions of progressives and traditionalists regarding the Second Vatican Council.

The prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity reflected in his address on the tension between the two essential parts of the Second Vatican Council: fidelity to the sources and fidelity to the signs of the times.

For the cardinal, "the relationship between these two dimensions has always characterized the Church, but the tension has become more acute in a new way after Vatican II."

Faced with this dichotomy, Koch argued that "beyond secularist conformism and separatist fundamentalism, it is necessary to seek a third path in the Catholic faith, which has already been shown to us by the council."

According to the prefect, both the so-called progressives and the traditionalists "conceive of Vatican II as a rupture, although in opposite ways." For the former, the rupture occurred after the council, while the latter understand that it occurred during it.

In light of this, the cardinal considered that "the two extreme positions are so close, precisely because they do not interpret Vatican II within the general tradition of the Church."

In his address, Koch recalled, with regard to the traditionalist view that focuses solely on the sources, that Pope Benedict XVI stated that "the magisterial authority of the Church cannot be frozen in 1962."

The risk of worldliness in the Church

On the other hand, "if the emphasis is placed solely on 'aggiornamento' [updating], there is a danger that the opening of the Church to the world, desired and achieved by the council, will become a hasty adaptation of the foundations of faith to the spirit of the modern age," the cardinal noted.

"Many currents in the postconciliar period were so oriented toward the world that they did not notice the tentacles of the modern spirit or underestimated its impact," the cardinal observed, "so that the so-called conversion to the world did not cause the leaven of the Gospel to permeate modern society more but rather led to a broad conformism of the Church with the world."

Koch's proposal in the face of both positions, which he considers equally disruptive, is "the restoration of a healthy balance in the relationship between the faith and the Church on the one hand and the world on the other."

In his view, if the Church cannot be confused with the world, "the original identity of faith and the Church must not be defined in such a way that it separates itself from the world in a fundamentalist way."

In this sense, he added that the dialogue between the Church and the contemporary world "must not make faith and the Church adapt to the world in a secularist way, dangerously renouncing her identity."

What does the reform of the Church mean?

For the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, the reform of the Church cannot imply "a change of essence" but consists in "the elimination of what is inauthentic" through a process of purification of the Church "based on its origins," so that "the form of the one Church willed by Christ can become visible again."

"For the council, fidelity to its origins and conformity to the times were not opposed to each other. Rather, the council wanted to proclaim the Catholic faith in a way that was both faithful to its origins and appropriate to the times, in order to be able to transmit the truth and beauty of the faith to the people of today, so that they can understand it and accept it as an aid to their lives," he emphasized.

For the cardinal, "the council did not create a new Church in rupture with tradition, nor did it conceive a different faith, but rather it aimed at a renewal of faith and a Church renewed on the basis of the spirit of the Christian message that has been revealed once and for all and transmitted in the living tradition of the Church."

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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WBVM/Tampa (90.5 Spirit FM) announces the promotion of Davis Watts to Program Director. Watts will continue to serve as Music Director and host of the More Music Middays (10 a.m. - 3 p.m.) Watts says, "It's been an honor serving the Tampa Bay community with this amazing team for the past 13 years. I feel that the Lord, our listeners and the industry friends I've made over these years have prepared me for the exciting challenge of leading our air staff and I'm eager to get started."  

Watts joined the Spirit FM team in 2008, moving through the ranks of night time announcer, to middays, Music Director and now Program Director.  "I've seen tremendous growth in Davis, and a hunger to improve not only his craft, but the station's as a whole.  I'm excited that he's up to the challenge." said John Morris, Station Manager. 

Spirit FM is a 100,000 FM station serving the Tampa/St. Petersburg market since May 1986. The station is owned by the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg, the only Catholic station in the country programming contemporary Christian music. For more information about Spirit FM, visit myspiritfm.com.

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