Chile's bishops push back against president's abortion and euthanasia advocacy

The president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, announced his support for measures to legalize abortion and euthanasia in the country. / Credit: Wikimedia CommonsACI Prensa Staff, Jun 5, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).The Chilean Bishops' Conference issued a statement in response to President Gabriel Boric's announcement that he will push for the legalization of abortion and euthanasia.In the president's June 1 address to the opening session of the country's congress, he announced that at the end of the year he will introduce a bill to legalize abortion.Boric called for "a democratic debate on sexual and reproductive rights."The announcement, which was surprising since the government had said that it would not move forward on the issue during 2024, created a stir and some lawmakers present walked out in protest.The Chilean president also announced that he will prioritize a bill on euthanasia and palliative care that is currently before the Senate."We owe a response to those who suffer from incur...

Pope Francis to write reflection on Sacred Heart of Jesus devotion

Pope Francis speaks at the general audience in St. Peter's Square on May 22, 2024. An altar painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Francesco de Rhoden inside the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Rome, Italy. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA. [L] CNA file photo [R]Vatican City, Jun 5, 2024 / 05:40 am (CNA).Pope Francis will prepare a reflection on the Sacred Heart of Jesus for a world "that seems to have lost its heart," he announced Wednesday."I am happy to prepare a document that brings together the valuable reflections of previous magisterial texts and a long history going back to the Sacred Scriptures to re-propose today to the whole Church this devotion, full of spiritual beauty," he said at the end of his weekly audience with the public June 5. The pontiff said he intends to publish the document in September, and asked for prayers as he prepares the reflection."I believe it will do us much good to meditate on various aspects of the Lord's love, which can illumina...

Mexico elects first woman president: Who is she and what does she believe?

Mexican president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum. / Credit: Wikimedia CommonsACI Prensa Staff, Jun 3, 2024 / 19:45 pm (CNA).In a historic election, Claudia Sheinbaum will be the first woman to become president of Mexico, succeeding incumbent Andrés Manuel López Obrador, whose "legacy" she promised to "save" at the close of her campaign on May 29. Who is she, what does she think, and what is her relationship with the Catholic Church?Sheinbaum, the candidate of the Let's Keep Making History political alliance consisting of the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), the Labor Party (PT), and the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM), obtained a solid majority of the votes in the country's three-candidate June 2 presidential election. The director of the National Electoral Institute (INE), Guadalupe Taddei, reported in the early hours of June 3 that according to the results from the rapid count, Sheinbaum led her principal rival, Xóchitl Gálvez, by between 30 and 34 points. Gálvez...

Netherlands permits euthanasia for physically healthy 29-year-old woman

null / Credit: Sam Tanno/ShutterstockCNA Newsroom, Jun 4, 2024 / 09:45 am (CNA).A physically healthy 29-year-old woman was allowed to end her life through physician-assisted suicide in the Netherlands on the grounds of depression, sparking renewed debate about the sanctity of life and legislation.Zoraya ter Beek died by euthanasia on May 22. Despite being physically healthy, the woman from Oldenzaal, a town near the German border, chose to end her life due to mental health issues.Only days before her death, ter Beek told The Guardian: "People think that when you're mentally ill, you can't think straight, which is insulting."Diagnosed with depression, anxiety, trauma, and other issues, she was approved to die by assisted suicide for "unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement," as per the official Dutch Euthanasia Code.Her case has reignited a contentious debate across Western countries. France is currently debating the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide, ...

Catholic priest injured in Chicago shooting after confronting car thieves

St. Ignatius College Prep is located in the Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago. / Credit: Andrew Jameson|Wikipedia|CC BY-SA 3.0CNA Staff, Jun 4, 2024 / 16:52 pm (CNA).A Catholic priest in Chicago sustained injuries after being fired upon by individuals reportedly engaged in the act of stealing catalytic converters.Father Jeremiah Lynch heard what sounded like construction work early Monday morning outside the Jesuit residence where he lives in Little Italy on Chicago's West Side.The priest reportedly "poked his head out the door" and "saw something unusual happening" in the parking lot of the residence, Kristyn Hartman, a spokeswoman for nearby St. Ignatius College Prep, told local Chicago station WLS-TV Monday. The house is located just north of the school's campus.After inquiring about the situation, the individuals opened fire on the priest.Lynch said, "'Hey, what are you doing?'" Hartman told the news network. "And that's when they started shooting."The p...

On tap at 2024 Society of Catholic Scientists convention: AI, evolution, and the nature of faith

Attendees at the 2019 Society of Catholic Scientists convention listen to a talk in South Bend, Indiana. / Courtesy of Stephen BarrSt. Louis, Mo., Jun 3, 2024 / 06:20 am (CNA).What does the development of artificial intelligence say about the human soul? Do humans actually have free will? What leads scientific-minded people to convert to Christianity?The Society of Catholic Scientists' (SCS) annual convention, taking place June 7-9 at Mundelein Seminary northwest of Chicago, promises to tackle these questions and more. Stephen Barr, a PhD physicist at the University of Delaware and founder of the group, told CNA that the group has grown to over 2,000 members worldwide since its founding in 2016, with its first annual conference taking place in 2017. On the Society's website, the organization describes itself as an answer to the call of Pope St. John Paul II that "members of the Church who are active scientists" be of service to those who are attempting to "integrate t...

Religious women help launch program to combat sexual abuse, 'create a culture of care'

null / Credit: godongphoto/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Jun 3, 2024 / 14:25 pm (CNA).Religious sisters and consecrated women in collaboration with Catholic organizations launched an e-learning program recently to combat the abuse crisis in the Church.There are more than half a million religious sisters and consecrated women worldwide. While incidents of abuse still happen in the Church, recent studies show that the number of clergy abuse incidents have decreased sharply since the 1970s and 1980s.Launched with the help of religious sisters and consecrated women on May 24, the e-learning program helps educate women religious on how to protect children and vulnerable adults from sexual abuse situations."By focusing on the fundamental principles of faith, vows, and community, this initiative aims to give religious women around the world the means to defend the dignity and to protect minors and vulnerable adults in many different contexts," the press release read.The e-learning tool was a...

In Title IX lawsuit, Texas professors say they won't accommodate students who get abortions

null / Credit: ShutterstockCNA Staff, Jun 3, 2024 / 13:55 pm (CNA).Two university professors in Texas are suing the federal government over its recently revised Title IX rules, stating that they would refuse to abide by the government's order to offer excused absences and other accommodations to female students who obtain abortions. In their lawsuit filed last month, University of Texas-Austin professors Daniel Bonevac and John Hatfield said they "do not intend to accommodate student absences from class to obtain abortions," including abortions that are illegal under state law as well as "purely elective abortions that are not medically required."Nor would the professors "hire a teaching assistant who has violated the abortion laws of Texas or the federal-law prohibitions on the shipment or receipt of abortion pills and abortion-related paraphernalia."The U.S. Department of Education issued new regulations in April that radically redefined long-standing...

Pope Francis appoints California priest to remote island post in Polynesia

An aerial view of Tuvalu, an island nation in Polynesia, South Pacific Ocean, Oceania. / Credit: maloff/ShutterstockRome Newsroom, Jun 3, 2024 / 12:33 pm (CNA).Pope Francis on Monday appointed a California priest to a missionary post on a remote island in Polynesia.Father Eliseo Napiere, the pastor of St. James the Less Parish in the Diocese of San Bernardino, California, will be taking up a new post as the head of the Mission Sui Iuris of Funafuti on the island nation of Tuvalu.Tuvalu is a small country made up of nine islands in the Pacific Ocean located about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It is the second least-populous country in the world after Vatican City, but unlike Vatican City, it has only about 100 Catholics and one parish, according to the Association of Religion Data Archives.Once he relocates to Tuvalu, Napiere should not expect many visitors. Last year, the United Nations World Tourism Organization named Tuvalu as the least-visited country in the world, de...

Pilgrims of hope amid crisis: Archbishop Fisichella on the 2025 Jubilee

Archbishop Rino Fisichella sat down with EWTN News on April 10, 2024, in Rome. / Credit: Screenshot / EWTN YouTubeNational Catholic Register, Jun 2, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Archbishop Rino Fisichella is the pro-prefect for the Section of New Evangelization of the Dicastery for Evangelization.He recently discussed in an interview with Andreas Thonhauser, EWTN's Rome bureau chief, the preparations for Jubilee 2025 and why it is important to prepare for the jubilee in prayer as a pilgrim of hope.Fisichella, 72, also explained the challenges amid a decline of Christianity and a crisis of faith in the West and the hope that is springing from the Catholic Church in Africa and Asia.Thonhauser: Your Excellency, you are responsible for preparing and organizing Jubilee 2025. How are things progressing?Fisichella: Things are well. We have a few weeks to wait for the first official event of the jubilee, but I should say that the preparation is at a good stage. It's complicated because I woul...