Catholic doctors, ethicists criticize Pontifical Academy for Life

Statue of St. Peter in front of St. Peter's Basilica. / Credit: Vatican MediaCNA Newsroom, May 31, 2024 / 09:47 am (CNA).Representatives of the Australian Catholic Medical Association, with the support of several Catholic moral theologians and bioethicists, have criticized a book published by the Pontifical Academy for Life for its lack of understanding of "current science" and specific areas of medicine. The experts argue that the book spreads "misleading and confusing" theological and medical information that contradicts established Church teachings on contraception and assisted reproductive technologies.The book in question, "Etica Teologica Della Vita" (ETV), covers "Theological Ethics of Life: Scripture, Tradition, and Practical Challenges." The 528-page Italian publication is a synthesis of a seminar sponsored by the academy in 2021.The critique, published April 23 in the Linacre Quarterly, the official journal of the Catholic Medical Association, describes cont...

Church responds to mob attack on Christians in Pakistan

Catholics attend Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Lahore, on Aug. 20, 2023, four days after mob attacked several Pakistani churches over blasphemy allegations. More than 80 Christian homes and 19 churches were vandalized when hundreds rampaged through a Christian neighbourhood in Jaranwala in Punjab province on Aug. 16. / Credit: ARIF ALI/AFP via Getty ImagesBlackburn, UK, May 31, 2024 / 15:40 pm (CNA).Church officials strongly condemned a recent attack on Christians in Sargodha, Pakistan, and expressed disappointment over the level of intolerance in Pakistani society.On May 25, a violent mob attacked the homes of two Christian families in Mujahid Colony, Sargodha City, about 150 miles south of Islamabad, in Punjab province of Pakistan. The mob burned and vandalized the Christian houses and their shoe factory after Nazir Masih, a Catholic, was accused of blasphemy for allegedly desecrating pages of the Holy Quran.Masih, 76, spent a couple of years ...

Tennessee bans 'abortion trafficking' of underage girls   

null / Credit: ShutterstockCNA Staff, May 31, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).An adult who helps an underage girl get a surgical or chemical abortion in Tennessee will be liable to criminal prosecution and a civil lawsuit for wrongful death starting July 1 if a new law enacted this week takes effect.The new Class C felony, called "abortion trafficking of a minor," applies to an adult who "recruits, harbors, or transports" a pregnant girl 17 or younger within the state for the purpose of procuring an abortion. It does not apply to the parents or legal guardian of the underage girl. A Class C felony in Tennessee carries a prison sentence of between three and 15 years and may carry a fine of up to $10,000. Abortion is already illegal in Tennessee except to preserve the life of the mother or "prevent serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman," according to a statute enacted in April 2023. Tennessee is one of 14 states t...

U.S. bishops to Congress: Abortion funding is 'antithesis of healthcare and justice'

Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, speaks at Philadelphia's Eucharistic Congress on Sept. 30, 2023.  / Credit: Sarah Webb/Archdiocese of PhiladelphiaCNA Staff, May 31, 2024 / 14:20 pm (CNA).In a recent letter to Congress, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) decried federal abortion funding and the commodification of human beings through IVF, while encouraging pro-family policies and restorative reproductive medicine. Bishop Michael Burbidge, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities and the Bishop of Arlington, highlighted in the May 16 letter that the USCCB "will oppose any bill that expands taxpayer funding of abortion."We take this stand because abortion funded by the government advances neither healthcare nor justice; it is the antithesis of healthcare and justice," he stated in the letter to members of the House and Senate Appropriations committees.As the abortion battle continues in the U.S. ...

As Jimmy Lai languishes in prison, fellow activists convicted in Hong Kong

Frances Hui is policy and advocacy coordinator for the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation. / Credit: "EWTN News Nightly"/ScreenshotCNA Staff, May 31, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).Fourteen pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong have been convicted of subversion while billionaire Catholic convert Jimmy Lai, 76, remains imprisoned and on trial on similar charges.The 14 were among 47 activists charged with conspiracy to commit subversion through an unofficial primary election in 2020 under a national security law passed by China following anti-government protests that year. It is the same law being used to prosecute Lai. On Thursday, the court ruled that the dissidents' activism would have caused a "constitutional crisis for Hong Kong."Lai, who has been imprisoned for three years, remains in the midst of his own trial. In January, he pleaded not guilty to the national security law charges brought against him. Frances Hui, policy and advocacy coordinator for th...

A major organ build in Virginia highlights the 'multidisciplinary' art of church organ-making

The new gallery organ sits under construction at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond, Virginia. / Credit: Alexa EdlundCNA Staff, May 29, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA)."Much longer than any of us." That's how long Anne Kenny-Urban says the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart's newly installed organ will last. Kenny-Urban, a board member of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart Foundation in the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, is part of the huge team of administrators and advocates that have spent nearly a decade planning and executing the replacement of the cathedral's more-than-century-old gallery organ. The instrument was installed shortly after the cathedral was completed in 1906. Built by the John Brown Company of Wilmington, Delaware, it was reportedly the largest in the country at the time. Over the course of nearly 120 years, it received countless repairs, renovations, and upgrades in order to keep it running, including a complete rebuild in 1940 and a major renova...

Pope Francis opens new catechetical cycle on Holy Spirt's role in salvation

Pope Francis greets pilgrims as he arrives at his general audience on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaRome Newsroom, May 29, 2024 / 09:22 am (CNA).Pope Francis on Wednesday opened a new catechetical series during his weekly general audience, focusing on the theme of creation across history and the role of the Holy Spirit in the story of salvation. Titled "The Spirit and the Bride: The Holy Spirit Guides God's People Toward Jesus Our Hope," the new cycle will unfold across three main themes: the Old Testament, the New Testament, and "the time of the Church." "The Spirit of God, who in the beginning transformed chaos into cosmos, is at work to bring about this transformation in every person," the pope said during the general audience held May 29 in St. Peter's Square.Pope Francis blesses a toddler during his general audience on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican MediaThe ...

A new player in post-secondary Catholic education: San Damiano College for the Trades

San Damiano College for the Trades, which is currently accepting applications for its inaugural class in the fall of 2025, is geared toward young men and will be located on the former Springfield, Illinois, campus of the Franciscan Brothers of the Holy Cross. / Credit: San Damiano College for the TradesAnn Arbor, Michigan, May 29, 2024 / 15:30 pm (CNA).The founding of San Damiano College for the Trades responds to a call from Springfield, Illinois, Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki to set a new path for Catholic education in the diocese and broader United States.The new college, which is currently accepting applications for its inaugural class in the fall of 2025, is geared toward young men and will be located on the former Springfield, Illinois, campus of the Franciscan Brothers of the Holy Cross, who operated the St. James Trade School there from 1928 to 1972.According to a press release from San Damiano, the Norbertine order of priests and brothers, which have a priory on campus, wi...

U.S. bishops' synod synthesis reveals desire for greater unity, evangelization

Pope Francis among the delegates of the Synod on Synodality held in October 2023. / Credit: Vatican MediaCNA Staff, May 29, 2024 / 17:23 pm (CNA).A synthesis of feedback received from 35,000 U.S. Catholics as part of the ongoing Synod on Synodality reveals that amid political and theological polarization, many lay Catholics desire unity, both among themselves and among the clergy.In addition, participants in synodal listening sessions acknowledged that the synodal process has unearthed tensions in the Church, in which some said they "were challenged by the Church's "indecisiveness," by "lack of reverence," and by the perception that the Church is "changing the traditional methods." But other participants also expressed concern that some people, including those who identify as LGBT, "feel hurt by the Church and are not willing to come back."  "This document reflects the sense that there exists among Catholics in the United States a deep desire to rebuild and strengthen our ...

Nuncio in Kenya: Church in Europe is losing 'its inner compass'

Archbishop Hubertus van Megen celebrates the episcopal consecration of Father John Kiplimo Lelei as auxiliary bishop of Kenya's Diocese of Eldoret on May 25, 2024. / Credit: Diocese of Eldoret, KenyaACI Africa, May 29, 2024 / 16:00 pm (CNA).The Church in Africa, which for many years was considered a missionary territory, has evolved and is growing "stronger" compared with the Church in Europe, which seems to have "weakened," according to the representative of the Holy Father in Kenya.Archbishop Hubertus van Megen, who was preaching during the episcopal consecration of Father John Kiplimo Lelei as auxiliary bishop of Kenya's Diocese of Eldoret, highlighted some of the weaknesses of the Church in Europe, which he said reflect an orientation toward secularism.Van Megen cited the president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo of the Archdiocese of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, on the progress of the Chu...