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An image of the annunciation and the incarnation — when God became man in the womb of the Virgin Mary — was placed close to the altar during a Mass Pope Francis celebrated on July 7, 2024, in Trieste, Italy. The pope was in Trieste to attend the last morning of a July 3-7 Catholic conference on the topic of democracy. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Jul 7, 2024 / 10:41 am (CNA).

In the face of a sometimes “anesthetized,” consumerist society, we must recall the “scandal” of our Christian faith — that God became man and dwells in each of us, especially the weakest, Pope Francis said in the northern Italian city of Trieste on Sunday.

“We need the scandal of faith,” the pontiff said at a Mass on July 7. “A faith rooted in the God who became man and, therefore, [is] a human faith, a faith of flesh, which enters history, which touches people’s lives, which heals broken hearts, which becomes a leaven of hope and the seed of a new world.”

At the Mass for approximately 8,500 people in Unità d’Italia Square, next to the Port of Trieste, Francis said Catholics need “a faith that awakens consciences from slumber, that puts its finger in the wounds, in the wounds of society ... a restless faith that helps overcome mediocrity and sloth of the heart, [a faith] which becomes a thorn in the flesh of a society often anesthetized and stunned by consumerism.”

Pope Francis celebrated the Mass during a half-day visit to Trieste for the closing of the 50th Social Week of Catholics, an annual event organized by the Catholic Church in Italy dedicated to promoting Catholic social doctrine. The theme of this year’s meeting, which had about 1,200 participants, was democracy.

After addressing attendees of the July 3–7 congress at a nearby conference center, the pope rode a golf cart to a sunny Unità d’Italia for the Mass, which he concelebrated with almost 100 bishops and 260 priests.

Before Mass, he greeted a 111-year-old resident of Trieste named Maria, according to the Holy See Press Office.

Reflecting on God’s humanity in his homily, the pope said: “[God’s] presence is revealed precisely in the faces hollowed out by suffering where degradation seems to triumph. The infinity of God is hidden in human misery, the Lord stirs and makes himself a friendly presence precisely in the wounded flesh of the least, the forgotten, the discarded. There the Lord manifests himself.”

“And we, who are sometimes unnecessarily scandalized by so many small things, would do well instead to ask ourselves: Why, in the face of evil that is rampant, life that is humiliated, the problems of labor, the sufferings of migrants, do we not become scandalized?” he said.

The Social Week of Catholics was held in Trieste, a port city located on a narrow strip of Italian territory in the country’s far northeastern point, nestled between the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia, with Croatia’s border nearby.

The position of the city has made it a common arrival point for migrants coming to Europe through the Balkan migratory route.

In its annual report, an aid group noted a worrying rise in migrant children arriving in the city.

According to the International Rescue Committee, approximately 3,000 unaccompanied children arrived as migrants in Trieste in 2023, a 112% increase from the previous year.

The group says in 2023, they met and provided aid to a total of 16,052 people who arrived at the Trieste train station through the Balkan migratory route. Roughly 68% of the migrants were from Afghanistan. 

“Continue to commit yourselves to the front lines to spread the Gospel of hope, especially to those coming from the Balkan route and to all those who, in body or spirit, need encouragement and consolation,” Pope Francis said in his homily July 7.

Earlier in the morning, Francis met briefly with a group of about 150 migrants and people with disabilities.

The pope also remembered prisoners in his reflection. Trieste made headlines earlier this year due to dire overcrowding in the city’s main prison.

“Why do we remain apathetic and indifferent to the injustices of the world?” the pontiff asked. “Why do we not take to heart the plight of prisoners, which even from this city of Trieste rises as a cry of anguish? Why do we not contemplate the miseries, the pain, the discard of so many people in the city? We are afraid, we are afraid to find Christ there.”

At the end of Mass, the pope led those present in praying the Angelus, as he does every Sunday. Before reciting the Marian prayer, he referenced Trieste’s welcome of immigrants.

Trieste “is an open door to migrants — and to all those who struggle the most,” he said.

“Trieste is one of those cities that have the vocation of bringing together different people: first of all because it is a port, it is an important port, and then because it is located at the crossroads between Italy, central Europe, and the Balkans,” Francis noted. “In these situations, the challenge for the ecclesial and civil communities is to know how to combine openness and stability, welcome and identity.”

After Mass and the Angelus, Pope Francis boarded a helicopter for the Vatican from the nearby Audace Pier. He arrived at the Vatican just before 2 p.m., according to the Holy See Press Office.

Pope Francis speaks at the 50th annual Social Week of Catholics in Trieste, Italy, on the morning of July 7, 2024. At his arrival in the northern Italian city, he was greeted by Archbishop Luigi Renna, president of the organizing committee (right), and Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, president of the Italian bishops' conference (left). / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Jul 7, 2024 / 08:06 am (CNA).

Pope Francis on Sunday urged Catholics to share their faith in the public square and to combat political polarization by supporting person-centered democracy.

“Let us not be fooled by easy solutions. Let us instead get passionate about the common good,” he said at a Catholic conference on democracy in the northern Italian city of Trieste on July 7.

Francis participated in the last morning of the 50th Social Week of Catholics, an annual meeting of the Catholic Church in Italy aimed at promoting the social doctrine of the Church. The theme of the July 3–7 congress was “At the Heart of Democracy: Participate between History and the Future.”

In his speech, the pope spoke strongly of the importance of democracy — encouraging participation over partisanship and comparing ideologies to “seductresses.”

“As Catholics, on this horizon, we cannot be satisfied with a marginal or private faith,” the pope said before approximately 1,200 conference participants at the Generali Convention Center. “This means not so much to be heard, but above all to have the courage to make proposals for justice and peace in the public debate.”

“We have something to say, but not to defend privileges. No. We need to be a voice, a voice that denounces and proposes in a society that is often mute and where too many have no voice.”

“This is political love,” Francis underlined, adding that “it is a form of charity that allows politics to live up to its responsibilities and get out of polarizations, these polarizations that impoverish and do not help understand and address the challenges.”

The Social Week of Catholics congress was held in Trieste, a port city located on a narrow strip of Italian territory in the country’s far northeastern point, bordered by the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia.

Pope Francis arrived in Trieste by helicopter from the Vatican in the early morning July 7. After addressing congress delegates from across Italy, he met briefly with representatives of other Christian traditions and with a group of immigrants and people with disabilities.

The pope then celebrated Mass for an estimated 8,500 Catholics in Trieste’s Unità d’Italia Square before again boarding a helicopter to return to the Vatican.

In speaking about the Christian vision of democracy, the pontiff quoted a 1988 pastoral note from the Italian bishops, which said democracy is meant “to give meaning to everyone’s commitment to the transformation of society; to give attention to the people who remain outside or on the margins of winning economic processes and mechanisms; to give space to social solidarity in all its forms; to give support to the return of a solicitous ethic of the common good ... to give meaning to the development of the country, understood ... as an overall improvement in the quality of life, collective coexistence, democratic participation, and authentic freedom.”

“This vision, rooted in the social doctrine of the Church,” Pope Francis said, applies “not only to the Italian context but represents a warning for the whole of human society and for the journey of all peoples.”

“In fact, just as the crisis of democracy cuts across different realities and nations, in the same way the attitude of responsibility toward social transformations is a call addressed to all Christians, wherever they find themselves living and working, in every part of the world,” he added.

The pope also emphasized the importance of combating a culture of waste, as exhibited by a self-referential power “incapable of listening and serving people.”

He recalled the importance of the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity and condemned a certain attitude of “welfare-ism” that does not recognize the dignity of people, calling it “social hypocrisy.”

“Everyone must feel part of a community project; no one must feel worthless,” he said.

Bishop Earl Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, carries the Blessed Sacrament during a procession at Pickaway Correctional Institution on June 28, 2024, at one of the stops on the Seton Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. / Credit: Catholic Times/Ken Snow

Columbus, Ohio, Jul 7, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

On June 28, the Seton Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage visited Pickaway Correctional Institution in Orient, Ohio, for a Mass and procession at the facility southwest of Columbus.

Bishop Earl Fernandes celebrated the Mass along with Father Roger Landry, the chaplain for the Seton Route of the pilgrimage; Father Joseph Trapp, a diocesan prison chaplain; and Father Justin Alarcon, CFR, a member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal religious order who is traveling the entire route with the Perpetual Pilgrims accompanying the Blessed Sacrament from May in Connecticut up through the National Eucharistic Congress that starts July 17 in Indianapolis.

Approximately 35 incarcerated men attended Mass and 25 were able to participate in the procession afterward.

The chance to go inside a prison to bring Christ to the men there proved to be one of the most profound experiences of the 1,100-mile trip for the priests and the pilgrims, who along the way have visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Statue of Liberty in New York and traveled to Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; and Pittsburgh, among other places.

Later that day, the pilgrims took the Blessed Sacrament to the Mother Angeline McCrory Center on the east side of Columbus for a procession and Holy Hour for the aged and infirm residents there. In the early evening, the pilgrimage moved to Columbus’ St. Charles Preparatory School for a vigil Mass on the solemnity of Ss. Peter and Paul. The night ended with a tour of the Museum of Catholic Art and History in downtown Columbus.

At Pickaway Correctional, the bishop and priests were joined by the six pilgrims, the Sisters of the Daughters of Mary, Mother of Healing Love — who are also making the pilgrimage — and prison staff and representatives from the diocese.

Before a period of Eucharistic adoration, Fernandes and Alarcon heard confessions. The bishop and priests then celebrated Mass, which was followed by a Eucharistic procession that went outside into the yard at the prison.

Fernandes explained to the men in his homily, which he delivered in English and then in Spanish, that they were part of a unique opportunity as the only facility of its kind to experience the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage.

“Why? Because Jesus wants to be close to you,” Fernandes said. “There is nothing in the world that can keep Jesus’ mercy and Jesus’ love from you. Not even the walls of this place.”

“On the evening of the Resurrection, in St. John’s Gospel, the apostles were all locked inside, behind closed doors. They were afraid. And the risen Lord passed through those doors and he said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Jesus wants to bring you his peace, his mercy and love. He wants to bring you that peace which the world cannot give. And, so, in a way, we are grateful for the opportunity to be here, to be with you.”

He continued: “Jesus has come here to heal you, to cleanse you, to make you fit for worship, so that you may offer your gift of a humble, contrite heart, the gift of a changed life — a gift that, when changed by the love and mercy of Jesus, enables you to change the lives of others here.”

“Jesus offers that opportunity to all of you who are here on a longer-term basis, to all of us who get to walk around and breathe the fresh air — all of these things Jesus offers for us because he is merciful, because he is kind, and because he loves us,” he said. “But while Jesus offers us his mercy, he offers us something even more precious: his flesh and blood for the life of the world, in the holy Eucharist, in the holy Communion.”

“In the Eucharist, God is close. He is close to his people and he wants to be with you, here in the Diocese of Columbus and here in Pickaway Correctional.”

After the Eucharistic procession, the priests and pilgrims spent time talking with the men and getting to know their stories.

“When we went to the prison, wherever you go, finding people that love the Lord so much and so deeply shows that the love of Christ can get through any wall and gate,” said Dominic Carstens, one of the Perpetual Pilgrims, after the prison visit. “He will go to you when you’re 95 years old living in a nursing home or when you’re incarcerated.”

Brian Thoma, who has served nearly nine years of a 28-year prison sentence, celebrated his 50th birthday on the day of the pilgrimage.

“For this [the visit by the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage] to happen, it’s special,” he said. “It helps us realize that there are people out there who do care about us, they haven’t forgotten about us. It’s uplifting. It’s good for the spirit.”

Thoma, a cradle Catholic who said he was an altar server and attended Catholic grade and middle school, attends Mass in the prison chapel on a regular basis and adoration on the first Saturday of every month.

“Having Jesus present on this day is a real gift,” Thoma said. “The first thing I did after being incarcerated at CRC [Correctional Reception Center of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction] was to find a Catholic chaplain. And I got into confession and started going to Mass regularly there. And when I got transferred here [Pickaway Correctional Institution], same thing.”

“It’s helped me out. It’s something that keeps me grounded, staying in the faith,” he said. “I know that Jesus loves me. If anything, you’ve got to keep the faith, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do. It helps me. Helps me along. Helps my day to day.”

Josue Puga spent time visiting with the pilgrims and explained that he grew up Catholic and was raised in the faith by his parents. He said he attends Mass regularly in the chapel.

“[Faith] gives me peace and keeps me going day by day and helps me feel the Holy Spirit in my life,” he said. “I know Jesus will always be by my side and guide me in the right way.”

This article was originally published by The Catholic Times and is reprinted here with permission.

"Abortion isn't wrong because the Catholic Church says it's wrong,” Bishop Donald Hying of Madison, Wisconsin, pointed out. “The Catholic Church says it's wrong because it's inherently wrong.” / Credit: "EWTN News Nightly"/Screenshot

CNA Staff, Jul 6, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).

As the 2024 U.S. presidential election heats up, a Wisconsin bishop is calling on President Joe Biden to consider “the dignity of life” while other Wisconsin Catholics are also voicing their support for the pro-life cause.

“Our goal is certainly that every one of our parishes has people equipped, informed to receive, to welcome, to accompany, and to really practically help both women and men that find themselves in crisis pregnancy or crisis parenthood,” Bishop Donald Hying of Madison, Wisconsin, told EWTN News correspondent Owen Jensen.

When asked what he would say to Catholic president Biden, Hying responded: “I would say, Mr. President, we invite you to look at what the Church says about the dignity of life.” 

“It’s important to point out that abortion isn’t wrong because the Catholic Church says it’s wrong,” Hying continued. “The Catholic Church says it’s wrong because it’s inherently wrong.”

Wisconsin pro-life advocates are awaiting a state court decision on an 1849 abortion law protecting unborn children. The legislative director of Pro-Life Wisconsin, Matt Sande, voiced concern about the Wisconsin State Supreme Court’s current makeup, calling the court, which has a liberal majority of 4-3, “radicalized.”

“Not only are we looking at them ruling 940.04, our abortion ban, unenforceable, overturning it, they could be looking to find a right to abortion in our state constitution,” he told Jensen on “EWTN News Nightly.” 

Tom Usle, the northern regional manager of Students for Life, noted that now is the time to “step up” for the right to life. 

“It’s a battleground state, to be sure,” Usle said. “But we also see just more and more people are really coming to the realization that it is on us now to step up.” 

“We no longer have the excuse of: ‘Roe’ is in the way, we can’t do anything about abortion,” he said. “Now is the time that we really do have the power.”

A pro-life student in Milwaukee credited adoption with saving her life from abortion. 

“All glory be to God that I was kept and able to live given the chance at life,” Isabelle Thompson told Jensen.

Thompson, who is Catholic, gave advice for expectant mothers who may be considering abortion. 

“A pregnancy that you’ll go through is nine months of your life, and that’s hard to give that up, even if you’re not going to keep that child — especially if you’re not going to keep that child,” she said. “That’s a hard nine months to give of your life, but that’s nine months as opposed to a child’s entire life that could be gone.” 

To her biological mother who put her up for adoption years ago, Thompson said: “Just thank you. Not only for giving me life, but you gave my parents a child, something that they couldn’t have. Adoption is one of their greatest blessings.”

null / Credit: Khánh Hmoong via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 6, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Spanish family lawyer Enrique Sainz brought attention this week to a ruling handed down by a Church marriage tribunal in his country that decreed the annulment of a marriage in which the wife had an account on the OnlyFans platform. The platform primarily features self-created pornographic content that other subscribers must pay for. 

In a video posted on Instagram on July 1, the lawyer said the account on the referenced platform was created before the marriage, was not disclosed by the wife to the husband, and was continued after they were married.

When the husband discovered that his wife maintained an active channel on that platform with erotic content, he decided to present his case to the Church marriage tribunal in order to have the marriage declared null.

“In order to understand this ruling, you have to know that marriage in the Church obliges the couple to remain faithful, be open to children, and be with the other person for life, such that if at the time of contracting marriage one of them excludes any of these ends, he or she contracts invalidly and therefore the annulment of the marriage can be decreed,” Sainz explained.

The Catholic Church does not allow divorce, so an annulment means that the marriage was invalid from the beginning.

According to the lawyer, in this particular case, the tribunal ruled that the wife had violated Canon 1101 of the Code of Canon Law by excluding her fidelity at the time of the marriage. 

“The novelty of this ruling is that, despite the fact that the wife stated that she was only doing it to make a little money and that they were not sexualized photos at all since she wasn’t naked, the court considered that she had excluded fidelity, since she created the account before getting married and kept it afterward,” Sainz explained.

A priest expert in canon law analyzes the case

Father Luis Gaspar, who worked for more than 15 years as a judge of the Interdiocesan Ecclesiastical Tribunal of Lima in Peru, further explained to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, the reasons why the marriage in question could have been declared null.

According to the priest, for a Catholic marriage to be valid it must be supported by three fundamental pillars: the absence of impediments, that the celebration of the marriage complies with the liturgical regulations of the Church, and that there is free and voluntary consent.

“When can this act of consent be vitiated? When it is simulated, when it is not free, for example, when you are under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or some medications. When your consent was not fully free, or for example, your consent was simulated,” he explained.

Referring to the case of the wife who hid the OnlyFans account, he agreed with Sainz that the annulment was granted by the tribunal based on Canon 1101: “The internal consent of the mind is presumed to conform to the words or the signs used in the celebration of a marriage. If, however, either or both of the parties should by a positive act of will exclude marriage itself or any essential element of marriage or any essential property, such party contracts invalidly.”

Gaspar explained that this canon deals with simulation, therefore, “it deals with the third pillar for the validity of marriage, which is consent.”

“The consent was vitiated. Why? Because a circumstance was hidden from the other party, a behavior that will later affect married life, community life, and love of the spouses. And in fact, this happened and the annulment was requested,” he said. 

With the act of concealment, according to the priest, who holds a doctorate in canon law, “that total gift has been completely affected, the total gift of self, in one body.”

“Fidelity is directly affected, since there is not a total gift of self. Through platforms like OnlyFans, whose purpose is erotic or pornographic, the ‘one flesh’ bond is morally and sacramentally broken,” he pointed out.

Finally, Gaspar noted that the Church tribunal’s ruling came after an exhaustive study and investigation, which reached “the moral certainty that an essential property of married life, such as fidelity, was lacking.”

The annulment process

The process of declaring the nullity of a marriage is rigorous and well defined. “The first thing the husband, the wife, and then the priest or the spiritual director, or the ecclesiastical tribunal itself, have to do is make every effort for the marriage not to be null,” the priest said. If the marriage cannot be saved, the case is presented to the ecclesiastical court, where it is studied in detail. 

In cases like the OnlyFans account, the husband or wife must provide proof that the hidden conduct existed before the marriage. For example, “it can be a screenshot of that page, which can be verified,” Gaspar said. Witnesses and statements are also part of the process.

With more than 15 years of experience in the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of Lima, Gaspar has seen various cases that have led to declarations of nullity.

“For example, on the issue of simulation of consent. The issue of homosexuality [that was hidden] from the other party. Or the issue of taking drugs. [One spouse] hid the drug habit from the other,” he said. These examples illustrate the variety of situations that can vitiate marital consent. 

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

A painting of St. Maria Goretti by Giuseppe Brovelli-Soffredini. / Credit: EWTN/YouTube/screen shot

CNA Staff, Jul 6, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

St. Maria Goretti, whose feast is celebrated on July 6, is one of the youngest canonized saints in the Catholic Church. Her powerful testimony of forgiveness shows how someone’s life can dramatically change after being forgiven. 

Goretti was born on Oct. 16, 1890, in Corinaldo, Italy, to poor tenant farmers and was the third of six children. She never learned to read or write and received her first Communion much later than other children her age; however, she had a very strong faith. 

When Goretti was 9, her father died of malaria. This forced her mother to take his place working in the fields and left Maria taking care of the household and her younger siblings. Goretti never complained and, despite the hardships, remained joyful. 

During her many trips to sell eggs and buy supplies for her family at the nearby village, Goretti would stop to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Graces. Seeing as her family was too poor to pay for Masses in her father’s memory, she would instead pray the five mysteries of the rosary for the repose of her father’s soul. 

Not only did Goretti have to tend to her own family, but she also had to cook and clean for her next-door neighbors — Giovanni Serenelli and his 20-year-old son, Alessandro Serenelli. It was at this time that the younger Serenelli began to develop an impure attraction toward Maria and would often make rude and inappropriate comments to her. 

On July 5, 1902, Serenelli grabbed Goretti and attempted to sexually assault her. “No! It is a sin, God does not wish it,” young Maria reportedly said to her attacker. Filled with anger, Alessandro Serenelli stabbed Goretti 14 times.

When Goretti’s family returned home, they found her lying in a pool of blood on the floor. She was rushed to the hospital where she underwent surgery without anesthesia. She died on July 6 but before passing, forgave her attacker, saying: “Yes, for the love of Jesus I forgive him and I want him to be with me in paradise.”

Serenelli was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison. In his 11th year of incarceration, he had a vision of Goretti where she appeared to him, dressed in white, gathering lilies from a garden. She then turned and began to hand each lily to Serenelli. Each lily he took transformed into a white flame. This dream left a lasting impact on him. 

When he was released 27 years later, he immediately went to Goretti’s mother and begged her for forgiveness. She said: “If my daughter can forgive him, who am I to withhold forgiveness?”

Goretti was canonized on June 24, 1950, by Pope Pius XII with both her mother and Serenelli present. 

Serenelli went on to become a lay brother of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, where he lived in a monastery and worked as its gardener until his death. 

Today Goretti is the patron saint of rape victims, chastity, teenage girls, youth, poverty, purity, and forgiveness.

Kansas State Capitol building in Topeka. / Credit: Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jul 5, 2024 / 18:40 pm (CNA).

The Kansas Supreme Court struck down two abortion-related laws on Friday: one that banned dilation and evacuation abortions and another detailing safety regulations for abortion clinics.

The court overturned a 2015 ban of dilation and evacuation, or “D&E,” abortion, a procedure that is banned in more than 30 states. Also known as dismemberment abortions, this procedure is typically done in the second trimester of pregnancy and results in the dismemberment of an unborn child and the crushing of his or her skull.

The court also struck down a 2011 law that detailed safety regulations and licensing requirements for facilities that provided second- or third-trimester abortions, or more than four first-trimester abortions in a month. The Kansas Supreme Court found that this infringed on a women’s right to bodily autonomy. 

The rulings were made 5-1 with one judge abstaining. The two laws had already been temporarily paused due to the lawsuits.

In 2019, the Kansas Supreme Court concluded that the Kansas Constitution grants a “natural right of personal autonomy, which includes the right to control one’s own body,” the judges wrote in the decision, noting that this can include “whether to continue a pregnancy.”

The judges further noted that “the state is prohibited from restricting that right unless it can show it is doing so to further a compelling government interest.”

“A graphic description of the D&E procedure referred to in S.B. 95 is not necessary to resolving the legal issues before us,” the judges noted in their decision.

Dissenting Justice Caleb Stegall criticized the decision, saying that “it fundamentally alters the structure of our government to magnify the power of the state” and “paints the interest in unborn life championed by millions of Kansans as rooted in an ugly prejudice.”

The case was sent to a district court that found there were no “reasonable” alternatives to dismemberment abortion, and the state Supreme Court upheld that decision. 

“Adding insult to injury, extremely liberal judges of the Kansas Supreme Court have now overturned basic health and safety standards for abortion facilities when one of the state’s largest abortion franchises recently operated for an unknown period of time with no medical oversight,” Danielle Underwood, Kansans for Life director of communications, said in a July 5 statement. 

“It hurts to say ‘We told you so’ to the many Kansans who were misled by the abortion industry’s assurances that it would still be ‘heavily regulated’ in our state if voters rejected the 2022 amendment,” she added.

Kansas currently allows abortions until the 22nd week of pregnancy and requires minors to have written consent to have abortions. The state also has ongoing lawsuits in lower courts that are challenging restrictions on medication abortions.

Kansas is an abortion destination for states that protect unborn lives, such as Oklahoma and Texas. Abortions in Kansas in 2023 increased by 152% since 2020, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

“Roadmap to Reality: Carlo Acutis and Our Digital Age” is a new documentary film exploring the life of Blessed Carlo Acutis and the lessons he offers young people regarding the challenges of the digital world that will be coming to theaters in the spring of 2025. / Credit: Castletown Media

CNA Staff, Jul 5, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A new documentary film exploring the life of Blessed Carlo Acutis and the lessons he offers young people regarding the challenges of the digital world will be coming to theaters in the spring of 2025.

“Roadmap to Reality: Carlo Acutis and Our Digital Age” was announced by Castletown Media on July 1. 

This comes following the Vatican’s announcement that Acutis will be canonized. On July 1, the College of Cardinals gave a positive vote to the canonization of Acutis after Pope Francis recognized last month a second miracle attributed to the millennial’s intercession. The date for his canonization has not yet been announced.

According to a press release, “‘Roadmap to Reality’ blends live action, animation, and documentary-style interviews with Carlo’s family, friends, scholars, and tech experts. The film tackles urgent contemporary questions, examining how the rise of artificial intelligence and virtual landscape challenge our fundamental understanding of what it means to be human.”

Acutis’ mother, Antonia Salzano Acutis, is also featured in the film. In the press release, she said: “Carlo is a great example to young people today. Today, people feel as if they are in a tragic state if they don’t have access to the internet. However, the real tragedy is that our world is disconnected from God. Holiness is still possible. Carlo shows us that we can be saints in today’s world.”

Castletown Media, in collaboration with Catholic filmmaker Jim Wahlberg, is producing the film, and it will be distributed through Fathom Events. The two recently experienced success with their film project “Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist,” which became Fathom Events’ highest-grossing documentary of 2024 and is currently in first place among all documentaries released in 2024 so far.

Tim Moriarty, director of the new Acutis film and founder of Castletown Media, told CNA in an interview that discussions about making the film started about six months ago. 

“The C3 Foundation in Beaumont, Texas, is a sponsor of Christ Central Camp, which was established for the youth of Diocese of Beaumont in 2023,” he said. “Bishop David Toups, who has a deep devotion to Blessed Carlo Acutis, named the camp’s chapel in his honor. Inspired by Blessed Carlo’s witness and driven by a desire to help young people navigate the modern world’s challenges while striving for holiness, the C3 Foundation approached Jim Wahlberg and Castletown Media to create a feature-length documentary about the first millennial saint.”

The film not only tells the story of Acutis and examines issues in our digital world, but it also “follows a group of high school students from North Dakota as they embark on a pilgrimage to visit Carlo’s tomb. As part of this experience, the students leave their phones at home, emphasizing the importance of disconnecting from technology to fully engage with reality,” Moriarty added.

The director believes that a film about this young soon-to-be saint is needed because “Carlo’s life provides a road map away from the distractions of the virtual world to the real world, especially through his devotion to the Eucharist — his ‘highway to heaven.’”

“He believed that only through deep devotion to the Eucharist and the spiritual nourishment it offers can we find the strength to navigate the present dangers of our world and live a joy-filled life in Christ,” he explained. 

Moriarty called working with Acutis’ mother a “wonderful and inspiring experience.”

“Antonia affectionately refers to Carlo as her ‘little savior’ because he led her back to a strong embrace of her faith. We also had the privilege of speaking with his father, Andrea Acutis, who shared similar sentiments,” he recalled. 

“The Acutis family talks about Carlo with such grace and conviction, providing light and hope for all families striving to raise holy children in today’s world.”

As for what he hopes viewers will take away from the film, Wahlberg told CNA: “Carlo Acutis serves as a relatable and inspiring figure for today’s generation. He shows us that sanctity is still possible in modern times. By highlighting his devotion to the Eucharist and his balanced approach to technology, we aim to inspire viewers to see that holiness is attainable in our modern world.”

Moriarty added: “G.K. Chesterton once said that each generation gets its own saint according to its unique and special needs. We firmly believe that Carlo Acutis is the saint for our age. In a world increasingly dominated by technology and marked by human isolation, Carlo stands as a powerful example of using technology as a tool for evangelization rather than becoming a tool of technology.”

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died at the age of 24 in 1925, is beloved by many Catholic young people today for his enthusiastic witness to holiness that reaches “to the heights.” / Credit: Public Domain

CNA Staff, Jul 4, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, born on April 6, 1901, to a prominent and wealthy Italian family, became a popular role model soon after he died on July 4, 1925, at the age of 24. He could be declared a saint during the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, according to the head of the Vatican’s office for saints’ causes.

According to the website dedicated to him by the U.S. Catholic bishops, for years Frassati has been “a significant global patron for youth and young adults — and has a special place in the hearts of young people across the United States as well. St. John Paul II declared him a patron for World Youth Days and deemed him ‘the man of the beatitudes’ as he exemplified those blessings in his everyday life.”

Here are 12 amazing facts about his short but very intense life:

1. Despite being raised by agnostic parents, Frassati’s inclinations to help others manifested in his childhood. Once, as a child, he answered the door to find a mother begging with her son who was shoeless. He took off his own shoes and gave them to the child.

2. At an early age, he joined the Marian Sodality and the Apostleship of Prayer and obtained permission to receive daily Communion, which was rare at the time.

3. At the same time, he was known among his friends as “Il Terrore” (“The Terror”) due to his fondness for practical jokes.

4. At 17, he joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society and dedicated much of his spare time taking care of the poor, the homeless, the sick, and the demobilized servicemen returning from World War I.

5. In 1919, Frassati joined the Catholic Student Foundation and the Popular Party, whose principles were based in the social doctrine of the Church. He strongly opposed the rise of fascist leader Benito Mussolini and was jailed in Rome after joining the protest of the Catholic Workers’ Association.

6. He became notable for giving literally everything he had to the poor. He would even use his bus fare for charity and then run home to be on time for meals.

7. An avid and accomplished mountain-climber, he saw many parallels between Catholic life and his favorite pastime. He would regularly organize trips into the mountains with occasions for prayers and conversations about faith on the way up or down from the summit.

8. After what would become his final climb he wrote a simple note on a photograph: “Verso L’Alto” (“To the heights”) — a phrase that has become a popular Catholic motto.

9. At 24, Frassati became very ill with polio. Some of his friends believed that he contracted the disease from the people in the slums of Turin. In his last days, he whispered the names of people who still needed assistance to his family and friends who gathered at his bedside. He died on July 4, 1925.

10. Pier Giorgio Frassati was declared “Blessed” in 1990 by Pope John Paul II, who called him a “man of the beatitudes” and a “joyful apostle of Christ.” A year before, after visiting his tomb, John Paul II revealed that he also had felt in his own youth “the beneficial influence of his example.”

“He left the world rather young,” he said, “but he made a mark upon our entire century.”

11. In her biography of her brother, Frassati’s sister, Luciana, wrote that “he represented the finest in Christian youth: pure, happy, enthusiastic about everything that is good and beautiful.”

12. Pier Giorgio Frassati’s popularity is big among young people, especially in America. Many apostolates have been created with his name, and he is regarded as the patron of students (mainly because he wasn’t good at school), young Catholics, mountaineers, youth groups, Catholic Action, Dominican tertiaries (he became one), and World Youth Day.

This article was first published on July 4, 2021, and has been updated.

Mosaics by alleged abuser Father Marko Rupnik are displayed at the shrine in Lourdes, France. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Jul 3, 2024 / 06:38 am (CNA).

The bishop of Lourdes said Tuesday that he personally believes that the Marian shrine’s mosaics by alleged abuser Father Marko Rupnik should be removed but is holding off on making a final decision on the mosaics’ fate in the face of “strong opposition.”

Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes issued a statement on July 2 explaining that more time is needed “to discern what should be done,” as his belief that Rupnik’s mosaics should be torn down “would not be sufficiently understood” and “would add even more division and violence” at this moment. 

For now, as a “first step,” the French bishop has decided that Rupnik’s mosaics will no longer be lit up at night during the Lourdes’ nightly candlelight rosary processions with pilgrims.

The Lourdes bishop’s announcement comes less than two weeks after he met with Pope Francis in a private audience at the Vatican on June 20.

“For my part, my personal opinion is now clear … my personal opinion is that it would be preferable to remove these mosaics,” Micas said.

“This option is not widely accepted. It even meets with strong opposition on the part of some: The subject stirs up passions. Today the best decision to take is not yet ripe, and were my conviction to become a decision, it would not be sufficiently understood, and would add even more division and violence,” he added.

The bishop’s statement comes after more than a year of discernment and prayer. Micas formed a special commission in May 2023 to determine the future of the Rupnik mosaics made up of victims of abuse, sacred art specialists, lawyers, safeguarding experts, and chaplains. 

Micas told CNA in an interview at the Lourdes shrine in February that he had received a “pile of letters” from Catholics all over the world regarding Rupnik’s mosaics. 

“We’ve received letters, letters, a pile of letters — people very angry because the mosaics are still there and other people who were very angry at the idea we could remove them,” the bishop said.

“This [decision] occupies my mind, my prayer, and my heart every day, especially when I meet victims of abuse,” Micas added.

The Rupnik mosaics, added to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in 2008, depict the luminous mysteries of the rosary with the “Wedding Feast at Cana” in the center of the exterior entrance to the lower basilica. Rupnik’s wide-eyed figures are set against bright gold backdrops in marked contrast with the 19th-century shrine’s neo-Gothic stone facade.

Rupnik, a priest and artist, has been accused by about two dozen women, mostly former religious sisters, of spiritual, psychological, and sexual abuse over three decades.

He was removed from the Jesuits one year ago, and the Vatican has announced that Rupnik will face a canonical process over the abuse allegations after Pope Francis decided to waive the statute of limitations on the claims.

The priest’s prolific art career that followed his alleged abuse has created a problem for many shrines and Catholic churches across Europe and North America. Rupnik’s workshop has accounted for projects for more than 200 liturgical spaces around the world, including Fátima, the Vatican, the John Paul II shrine in Washington, D.C., and the tomb of St. Padre Pio. 

Some have argued that removing Rupnik’s art would be a manifestation of “cancel culture” and point to the work of Renaissance artists with scandalous personal lives. Others highlight the allegations that the accused priest convinced religious sisters to commit sins with him by persuading them that sinful acts would worship God and ask if his sacred art might likewise be imbued with and communicate “a false Gospel.”

The Vatican has come under criticism as it has continued to publish images of mosaics made by Rupnik on its official media outlet, Vatican News, most recently on June 28. Paolo Ruffini, the head of the Vatican’s communications office, defended using Rupnik’s art during an appearance in Atlanta on June 21, arguing that removing it wouldn’t help his accusers.

Cardinal Seán O’Malley, the pope’s top adviser on clerical sexual abuse prevention, sent a letter to the Roman Curia on June 26 asking Vatican officials not to use Rupnik’s art to “avoid sending a message that the Holy See is oblivious to the psychological distress that so many are suffering.”

For Lourdes, the problem is felt acutely as the Marian shrine is known throughout the world as a place of healing and consolation and thought of by many as a privileged place for abuse victims seeking healing. The French bishops have underscored this by gathering in Lourdes to pray and fast for victims of abuse.

In his most recent statement, Micas underlined that he believes that at Lourdes the suffering and the wounded, including victims of sexual abuse, must always come first.

“My role is to ensure that the sanctuary is welcoming to everyone, especially those who are suffering, including victims of sexual abuse and assault, both children and adults,” the bishop said.

“At Lourdes, the suffering and wounded in need of consolation and reparation must always be prioritized. This is the special grace of this shrine: Nothing should prevent them from responding to Our Lady’s message to come here on pilgrimage.” 

For this reason, Micas said he believes that mosaics should be removed. He added that Rupnik’s art “has nothing to do with other artworks whose artists and victims are deceased, sometimes for centuries.”

“Here, the victims are alive and so is the artist,” he said.

Entrusting the situation to Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Bernadette, the bishop said that he will “continue to work even more with victims and to discern what should be done here in Lourdes to honor the absolute requirement of consolation and reparation.”