Ss. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church

Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church. / Credit: Nickolay Vinokurov/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Dec 12, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill is sending letters in support of new mothers in Russia as part of a new project designed to encourage pregnant women to keep their babies, according to a Russian state news agency.

There were a reported 500,000 abortions in Russia in 2022, even as Russia’s birth rate hit its lowest in a quarter century this year. Amid the demographic crisis in Russia, the patriarch has committed to combatting the “tragedy” of abortion.

The goal of the letters is to encourage women to keep their babies, according to “Hello, Mom!” leader Natalia Moskvitina, president of the charity group Women for Life.

“Women received letters from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill during their gynecologist appointments at the Church Hospital of St. Alexis in Moscow,” Moskvitina said in a statement to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. “These letters aim to support women during a particularly vulnerable time — the early stages of pregnancy.”

The “Hello, Mom!” project was organized by Women for Life, a pro-life group that was awarded a grant of 5 million rubles (about $46,700) for the project. It also receives state funding. The “Hello, Mom!” letter project now spans 16 regions of Russia, according to a report by RIA Novosti.

Moskvitina said that many women who come to the Church Hospital of St. Alexis were encouraged by others in their lives — whether family members or other institutions — to have an abortion rather than carry the child to term.

“Mothers often come seeking a second opinion — either because they have doubts themselves or want more information about their pregnancy,” she said. “At St. Alexis Hospital, abortion is never suggested. Instead, staff strive to provide care and help women view their pregnancy objectively.” 

In his letters, the Russian Orthodox patriarch offers encouragement and congratulations to the new mothers, wishing them “good health, peace of mind, and many blessings from Christ, the Giver of Life.” 

“You are now experiencing a special time when a great miracle of God is happening: A new person is preparing to come into the world,” a translation of the letter reads. 

“The anticipation of the birth of a child is always filled with both anxiety and joy. But as Our Lord Jesus Christ calls, let not your heart be troubled, and let it not be afraid,” he writes, citing John 14:27. “Let these encouraging words of the Savior, his generous help and love strengthen you on the responsible path to motherhood.

The patriarch’s letter reminds mothers: “You are not alone” and that there are people surrounding them “who are ready to support” them. He also shares his hope that the baby “will be united with Christ in the sacrament of baptism and will receive the opportunity to grow spiritually in the saving grace of God.”

In addition to the letter, patients will be given an information booklet titled “Hello, Mom…”, which details measures that support new mothers at the federal and regional levels, coupons for discounted goods, and a pair of baby booties, according to a report by a local newspaper.

Women for Life’s “Hello, Mom!” group also hosts seminars for doctors, psychologists, and social workers to learn how to support women in choosing life as well as offering a 24/7 pregnancy support hotline.

Abortion is legal in Russia up to the 12th week of pregnancy, and later in some cases. In some areas of Russia, “incitement to abortion” is against the law and punishable by fines. The Health Ministry instructs doctors to encourage pregnant women not to abort.

Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy (third from the left, with president of ABC Entertainment Karey Burke, Caitlin Jenner, and producer Jane Cha Cutler at at fundraiser event for the Center for Transyouth Health and Development-Children's Hospital on Feb. 1, 2020) is being sued by a woman who says she was rushed into a gender transition. / Credit: Michael Tullberg/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 11, 2024 / 15:35 pm (CNA).

A 20-year-old California woman is alleging that doctors, a children’s hospital, and a pediatric gender clinic negligently pushed her into a hormonal and surgical gender transition beginning when she was only 12 years old in a lawsuit filed late last week.

The lawsuit, filed by UCLA student Kaya Clementine Breen, claims that “her body has been profoundly damaged in ways that can never be repaired” following the hormone therapy and surgeries she received to make her body appear similar to a boy.

Breen was prescribed puberty blockers at age 12 after one visit to a gender clinic, received testosterone at age 13, and had a double mastectomy at age 14 to remove both breasts, according to the court filing. She suffered mental health problems and irreversible physical changes after the procedures.

The lawsuit alleges the doctors failed to properly assess her mental health problems and provided her parents with false and misleading information to encourage the gender transition she now regrets. She is seeking monetary damages for ongoing physical and mental repercussions.

“This so-called ‘treatment’ of Clementine by her providers represents a despicable, failed medical experiment and a knowing, deliberate, and gross breach of the standard of care that was substantially certain to cause serious harm,” the lawsuit asserts.

Immediately prescribed puberty blockers at age 12

According to the lawsuit, Breen first expressed to a school counselor that she felt “life would be so much easier if she were a boy” when she was 11 years old in the fall of 2016. When the counselor informed her parents, they took her to the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles (CHLA).

Breen was put under the care of Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, the medical director of the center whom she met on Dec. 27, 2016, shortly after Breen turned 12, according to the lawsuit. The suit states that Olson-Kennedy “immediately diagnosed [Breen] with gender dysphoria and told her that she was ‘trans’ … within minutes during her very first visit.”

According to the lawsuit, Olson-Kennedy “immediately” recommended puberty blockers to be surgically implanted into her arm — a procedure Breen received on March 6, 2017.

The lawsuit asserts Olson-Kennedy “performed no mental health assessment” and “did not ask about things like past trauma, abuse, or mental health struggles or diagnoses” before her recommendation. For this reason, Breen’s lawyers allege that Olson-Kennedy did not learn of the “prolonged sexual abuse she suffered around the ages of 6 and 7” or the numerous mental health problems she struggled with, including anxiety, depression, and undiagnosed PTSD. 

Breen, the lawsuit states, was “struggling with the thought of developing into a woman, not surprising given the sexual abuse she had suffered.”

A spokesperson for CHLA told CNA that the hospital does “not comment on pending litigation; and out of respect for patient privacy and in compliance with state and federal laws, we do not comment on specific patients and/or their treatment.”

“The Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has provided high-quality, age-appropriate, medically necessary care for more than 30 years,” the spokesperson said. “Treatment is patient- and family-centered, following guidelines from professional organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, and Endocrine Society.”

Olson-Kennedy has come under scrutiny after the New York Times reported that she concealed the results of a taxpayer-funded study about the mental health effects of providing children transgender drugs because her research could not find any mental health benefits.

Jordan Campbell, one of Breen’s lawyers, told CNA that Breen was “one of the patients in that study.”

Olson-Kennedy did not respond to CNA’s request for comment.

Both the CHLA and Olson-Kennedy are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Testosterone at 13, transgender surgery at 14

During Breen’s third visit to the transgender clinic on Sept. 9, 2017, the lawsuit alleges that Olson-Kennedy questioned her about whether boys in her school were going through puberty and recommended that she receive testosterone to “keep you on track.” It adds that Breen “expressed doubt” about testosterone, but Olson-Kennedy told her she “would be more likely to fully ‘pass’ as a ‘cis male.’”

The lawsuit asserts that Breen “hesitantly agreed” to receive testosterone, but her parents “were very much against the suggestion.” It alleges Olson-Kennedy “lied” to the parents and told them Breen was “suicidal” and “if they did not agree to cross-sex hormone therapy, [Breen] would commit suicide.” 

“She bluntly asked them if they would rather have a living son or a dead daughter,” the lawsuit asserts. “In tears, [Breen’s] parents would ‘consent’ to allowing Dr. Olson-Kennedy and her team [to] inject their confused, suffering child with life-altering testosterone.”

The lawsuit alleges Olson-Kennedy failed to discuss the “irreversible effects” and did not discuss alternatives. Breen began receiving testosterone on Jan. 26, 2018, when she was 13.

During her sixth visit to the gender clinic on Sept. 5, 2018, the lawsuit states Olson-Kennedy recommended a double mastectomy to remove both of her breasts. It alleges she “misled them by emphasizing the supposed importance of getting such a radical procedure early.”

Breen received the surgery on May 14, 2019, when she was 14. According to the litigation, Breen “had a brief, 30-minute pre-op meeting” with the doctor, Scott Mosser, and was given a consent form that was “facially deficient, including but not limited to failing to disclose the experimental nature of the procedure, failing to list the known risks, and failing to list all alternative forms of treatment.” 

CNA reached out to the Gender Confirmation Center, where Mosser is employed, to ask him for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. He is named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

Following the surgery, the lawsuit states Breen had “thoughts of suicide” and her “mental health had begun to spiral” with depression and intense anger. She also developed psychosis and had “auditory and visual hallucinations,” attempted “suicide by hanging,” and began “cutting her wrists.” 

Campbell told CNA the doctors were “completely ignoring her rapidly decreasing mental health” and acted “negligently” by prescribing “life-altering treatment” to a “deeply troubled, traumatized child.”

The lawsuit states Breen “began to realize that she may not actually be ‘trans’ but rather had been suffering from PTSD and other issues related to her unresolved trauma.” She scaled back the testosterone and her mental health issues began to resolve. She eventually stopped taking testosterone.

“Once she stopped, her mental health issues improved even further,” the lawsuit adds. “Her psychosis and hallucinations went away. Her depression went away. Her attention problems went away. Her anxiety went away. She began to have a healthy view of her body. In short, she began to heal.”

Campbell said Breen is trying to “recapture her femininity” and is now taking estrogen to reverse some of the effects of testosterone and intends to get chest reconstruction surgery, but added that “of course, it’s not the same thing as having her healthy breasts.”

“All the damage from the hormones, the surgery, is pretty much irreversible,” Campbell said. 

The lawsuit adds that Breen is likely infertile, “would not be able to breastfeed” even if she could get pregnant, and is “at risk for bone-related problems later in life.”

Breen is seeking monetary damages for medical expenses, pain, and suffering, and the cost of the lawsuit. Her lawyers are seeking a trial by jury.

In 24 states, lawmakers have banned transgender drugs and surgeries for children, and two states have banned just the surgeries. Both procedures remain legal in 24 states.

The interior of St. Boniface is seen in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. / Credit: John Maurer

CNA Staff, Dec 11, 2024 / 15:05 pm (CNA).

Parishioners in a small Wisconsin city have launched a GoFundMe as part of an effort to save a nearly 150-year-old church from permanent closure. 

Advocates for St. Boniface Church in Manitowoc are hoping to raise $8,000 to bankroll an appeal at the Vatican to stop the Diocese of Green Bay from shuttering the church. The parish itself dates to the 1850s while the current building was constructed in 1886. 

The diocese ordered the parish to merge with several others in 2005, with the last regularly scheduled Mass taking place there that year and the most recent Mass taking place in 2013. 

Bishop David Ricken issued a decree last year ordering that the 137-year-old building be relegated to “profane but not sordid use,” meaning it can be sold and used for nonreligious purposes so long as they are not immoral or offensive to the Catholic faith.

The bishop said in the decree that the building had not regularly been used since 2005 and was “no longer necessary for the care of souls in the community.” He also cited the building’s physical decline and the accompanying financial burden, as well as a decline of Catholics in the area.

John Maurer and Emily Baumann, who are leading a GoFundMe fundraising effort, told CNA that they hope to preserve St. Boniface’s status as a church. 

The present GoFundMe campaign — which aims to raise $8,000 — is small by the standards of many church preservation efforts. Mauer said the funds are meant solely to help pay for attorney’s fees at the Vatican where the parish’s advocates are currently arguing their case. 

“We’ve been going back and forth at the diocesan level,” he said. “The bishop sustained his decree two years ago. That’s why it went to Rome.”

“We went to the Court of the Dicastery for the Clergy. They ruled in favor of Bishop Ricken’s decree,” he continued. “We then went to the Supreme Tribunal. They sided with the lower court. Now we’re at the Congresso of the Apostolic Signatura.”

Though the $8,000 campaign will go toward the attorney at the Vatican, Baumann noted that advocates have already raised a considerable amount of money to help fund a church restoration.

“We can’t quite do anything with restoration until we get approval to be in the church and use the church,” she said. “But we already have secured all the money necessary for a full restoration. We’ve had it for a few years now. We just haven’t had the permission.”

In his decree, Ricken said the structure of St. Boniface is “in danger of decay and damage.” Baumann, on the other hand, argued that the church is in good physical shape and mostly requires cosmetic updates.

“We had contractors in to assess the roof and structure, and they said this building is in really good shape,” she said.

“That’s part of the reason we’re fighting so strongly. If most of the parish were able to walk through the doors today, they’d be shocked at what a good condition it’s in.”

A diocesan spokesperson declined to comment directly on the present fundraising effort. Mauer said there is “definitely huge support” throughout the local Catholic community to see the church restored.

“It’s not some small fringe group,” he said. “People are pledging money. We have to turn them away because we can’t take the money now. But they want to see it restored.”

Baumann said she has observed similar eagerness from community members to see the church preserved. “There’s really a deep-seated desire as a whole to see that building used,” she said.

“Our hope is with all we’re doing, maybe it deserves a second look,” she added.

Philippe Villeneuve, the architect of the restoration of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, speaks with EWTN News’ Colm Flynn about his devotion to Our Lady on “EWTN News In Depth.” / Credit: Screenshot/“EWTN News In Depth”

CNA Staff, Dec 11, 2024 / 14:35 pm (CNA).

The chief architect of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris shared in an interview with EWTN that he felt Our Lady guided the restoration of the 861-year-old cathedral following the fire that ravaged the building in April 2019.

In an interview with Colm Flynn on “EWTN News In Depth,” architect Philippe Villeneuve said that he was a believer with a “particular devotion to Mary.”

When asked if he was “a man of faith,” Villeneuve explained that he had kept this private during the rebuilding, but now he is ready to reveal it.

“I spent five years saying nothing about this because I’m a civil servant in a secular republic, and therefore, I couldn’t say something like this,” Villeneuve told Flynn. “But now, I have to reveal that yes.”

“I have a particular devotion to the Virgin Mary, and at the risk of sounding totally crazy — or like Joan of Arc — I never stopped feeling support coming from up there,” he said. 

The architect shared that without Mary’s guidance, he didn’t think the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris would have been possible. 

The reconstruction of Notre Dame was no small undertaking. A team of more than 2,000 people worked on the 800 million euro (about $840 million) restoration. The original building had taken nearly 200 years to build, but Villeneuve had only five years to restore it. 

“I don’t think this project would’ve been possible otherwise, and I think that’s what gave me the strength and determination to move forward because I knew I was supported from up there,” Villeneuve said.

The fire had destroyed the cathedral’s roof, spire, and three sections of the vault — but the organ, paintings, stained glass, and furniture were intact. 

With pressure from the French government and the 340,000 private donors from around the world, Villeneuve had to ensure that original techniques and materials were used as much as possible. 

“It was an enormous amount of work,” he continued. “I realize it now looking at where we came from. I’m really amazed by the beauty — amazed by the work, by the quality of work.”

Villeneuve has long had a love for the historic cathedral. 

“I’ve been madly in love with Notre Dame de Paris since I was little,” he said. “Growing up, it was inside the cathedral where I felt good.” 

Villeneuve shared that he had made a model of the cathedral when he was 16 years old.

“I was really captivated by it, moved by it,” he said. “And little did I know as a kid when I was building the cathedral out of card and paper that one day I would be working on the real cathedral.”

The doors of the newly restored cathedral were officially reopened to the public Saturday evening, Dec. 7, just over five years after a blaze ravaged the iconic structure’s roof, frame, and spire. More than 1,500 people attended the opening ceremony, including about 40 world leaders such as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as 170 bishops. The archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, celebrated the first Mass and consecrated the altar on Dec. 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. 

“When I laid the last stone of the vault in the north transept, it brought me back,” the architect recalled. “And I saw myself as a kid again building this vault with paper and cardboard.” 

The cathedral has a deeper spiritual meaning, not just for its architect, but for those across France and even around the world.   

Monsignor Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, the rector and archpriest of Notre Dame Cathedral, called the building “the soul of France.” 

“Because this cathedral is something of the soul of France, the history of our country is intimately linked with the history of the cathedral,” Dumas told Flynn.

But its “influence extends far beyond France,” the rector noted. 

“The cathedral does not belong to Parisians, nor to Catholics, nor to the French, but it is the common good of all humanity,” Dumas continued. “And its stones speak of God because they have been animated by prayer for more than 800 years.” 

Father Juan Miguel Ferrer Grenesche of the Archdiocese of Toledo in Spain is an expert in popular piety. / Credit: Nicolás de Cárdenas/ACI Prensa

Madrid, Spain, Dec 11, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Father Juan Miguel Ferrer Grenesche, a Spanish priest and an expert in liturgy and popular piety, explained in anticipation of Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to Corsica on his 47th apostolic journey that the pontiff “has highly valued popular piety” throughout his life.

Popular piety, in this sense, means the piety characteristic of a people, often manifested in public expressions of faith. 

On Dec. 15, the pope will visit the city of Ajaccio, the capital of the French island, to close a conference on popular religiosity in the Mediterranean in which Ferrer will participate, speaking about processions and popular faith in Spain.

In an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Ferrer explained how he believes the pope will approach his participation in this conference, since “in Latin America he has greatly valued popular piety,” especially with his participation in the meetings of the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops’ Council (CELAM, by its Spanish acronym).

After the Second Vatican Council, the priest explained, the Latin American bishops decided at a conference held in Medellín, Colombia, in 1968 to distance themselves in some way from popular religiosity, considering that it was “too contaminated by pagan elements, superstitions, witchcraft, and other things.”

This reluctance changed at the conference held in Puebla, Mexico, in 1979, Ferrer explained, noting that “if care is taken, there are many elements that can be helpful and complement the great contribution of the liturgy, which the council said did not exhaust the spiritual life of the Church.”

Pope Francis was consecrated as a bishop in 1992 and six years later he became archbishop of Buenos Aires. In 2001, St. John Paul II made him a cardinal. In that capacity, he participated in the CELAM conference held in Aparecida, Brazil, in 2007.

“As cardinal of Buenos Aires he played a key role in the final document, because in it popular religiosity is clearly seen as an element that expresses the inculturation of Christianity in the masses of people on the entire continent,” Ferrer explained.

Pope Francis “wants the Church to present what remains of popular religiosity as a platform for encounter, as an Areopagus for evangelization,” the Spanish priest summed up.

Popular piety, ‘last lifeline’ for many

Regarding the content of the conference that Pope Francis will close, the Spanish priest explained that, in a secularized society, popular piety is for many people “the last lifeline to connect with transcendence and not to completely break with the Christian religious tradition.”

He also commented that the Church likes to talk more about “popular piety” than “popular religiosity” because understood in this latter sense it can be considered “excessively aseptic or disconnected from Christian sources or roots.”

In evangelization, popular piety also allows us to reach those who don’t know the depth and richness of formal liturgy and through “a cultural adaptation” is able to “preserve the connection between the human heart’s thirst for God and the sources of revelation: the word of God, the life of Christ, the sacraments, the Church itself.”

Preserving the religious sense of life

Ferrer also pointed out that “where there is a strong popular religiosity, the religious sense of life is preserved,” despite sins, “doctrinal lapses,” neglect, or laziness.

In this context, it’s possible that “someone who has a religious sense of life can receive the Christian message more easily. On the contrary, where all manifestations of popular religiosity or popular piety have been eliminated, we could say that people’s souls have dried up.”

In this regard, the expert pointed out that psychologist Victor Frankl discovered that even more pathologies “arise from the repression of the religious instinct” than from the repression of the sexual instinct, as his teacher, Sigmund Freud, maintained.

“In societies where people’s souls have dried up, where everything has to be rational, where everything has to be empirical, where there is no room for the religious or the transcendent, then phenomena of crises, we might say, arise and sowing the Gospel becomes very difficult,” the priest observed.

Ferrer also explained that popular piety, expressed through processions, with their statues, music, etc., attracts many people of different ages in whom different emotions are awakened.

However, “for a Catholic Christian that’s not enough, but it’s also true that if we then add to the mixture with skill and pastoral art, with presence, liturgical celebration and formation, it becomes a source of volunteers for any task in the parishes or, in the dioceses, a source of vocations for our religious communities and for our seminaries.”

Popular piety in Corsica

When asked about the particularities of popular piety in Corsica, Ferrer said that Corsica “has a strong tradition of confraternities and brotherhoods [that typically sponsor and organize processions],” with influences from Italy and southern France, “coming very much from the Dominicans and Franciscans who preached and looked after these areas of the Mediterranean.”

Over the years, “people took it up as something very much theirs and very much their own, and in addition, much of the singing has been preserved, which is very important in Corsica” and is characterized by being “very peculiar, nasal, very striking.”

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

St. Austin Catholic Church and School once the construction project was underway. / Credit: St. Austin Catholic Church and School

Seattle, Wash., Dec 11, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Catholic Church in the United States is facing a real estate reckoning. Declining congregations, shifting demographics, and aging infrastructure have left thousands of Church properties underutilized or vacant. As dioceses merge and parishes close, leaders grapple with determining the future of these valuable yet costly assets.

The Church’s predicament is a delicate balancing act between financial pressures and mission objectives. Burdened by immense financial obligations — maintenance deficits often soaring into the millions — these properties are more than assets on a ledger. They are sacred spaces with spiritual significance, historical landmarks, and community pillars. These values transcend monetary measurement, yet decisions must be made.

“Many of these properties are dilapidated or just unused, and the overhead costs are immense,” said Michael Lyons, founder of [Y] Impact Ventures, an impact investment firm focusing on driving social good and financial return by boosting the value of housing through community building. “At the same time, the Church lacks funds from a ministry standpoint. There’s an arbitrage that needs to be addressed.”

Amid a national housing shortage and the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, some dioceses are adopting creative approaches to repurpose Church properties, aligning financial obligations with their mission.

Austin’s blueprint for balancing mission and finances

Facing mounting costs to maintain aging facilities, St. Austin Catholic Parish in Austin, Texas, saw an opportunity in its prime location near the University of Texas. In 2020, the parish entered a 99-year ground lease for half of its acreage with developer Greystar.

“The income from that lease allowed us to rebuild our school,” said Trish Dolese, partner at Emmaus Projects LLC, who guided the parish. “We tore down everything except the church and now have brand-new school and ministry spaces.”

Dolese highlighted the challenges the Church faces in real estate decisions. 

“The Church always thinks long term,” she said. “This can make them reluctant to make quick decisions about investing in real estate assets, which often conflicts with development timelines.”

The $45 million project was primarily funded by lease income, covering 88% of the costs. The parish raised an additional $7 million to complete financing. Despite the development, St. Austin retains ownership of the land and will regain full control — including all improvements — when the lease concludes.

“They built a 29-story student housing tower with affordable units and included a gym for our school and parish,” Dolese explained. “Because it’s a school, we can take tax-exempt status.”

By leveraging their proximity to the university, the parish found a win-win solution. “We still own the property, and life continues to happen in this church,” Dolese said.

Lyons points to this project as a model. “Instead of having to fire-sale the property, they maintained control and bought themselves time and financial runway,” he said.

Mission-driven repurposing of Church properties

Many parishes prioritize mission-driven initiatives, using their properties to serve vulnerable populations.

In Philadelphia, the Sisters of St. Joseph transformed a former convent into a men’s transitional home for immigrants and refugees. Since 2017, the SSJ Newcomer Housing Alliance has provided shelter and support to over 50 men from various countries.

“Each of those has been a success story,” said Sister Eileen McNally, the refugee coordinator. Building on this success, they plan to renovate another convent to accommodate 12 families of newcomer women and children within the year.

Their efforts won the “To the Heights Award” at the Church Properties Conference at the University of Notre Dame. “The $15,000 prize money will probably go to repairs,” McNally added.

“It’s about more than just housing,” she said. “We’re offering a supportive environment where newcomers can adjust to life in the United States.”

Reviving sacred spaces for redemption

In Cincinnati, the Serenelli Project aims to build a supportive community for individuals transitioning out of incarceration. Named after Alessandro Serenelli — who experienced a profound conversion after murdering St. Maria Goretti — the initiative seeks to restore the unused Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church.

“We expect to close on the church and rectory by the end of 2025,” said Marty Arlinghaus, founder of the project. “We’re actively searching for a director of community life to kick-start the monastic brotherhood.”

“Our goal is to provide a place where men can live in a structured, faith-based environment,” Arlinghaus said. “It’s about healing, redemption, and giving individuals a second chance.”

Navigating challenges and charting a path forward

Despite innovative projects, many Church leaders struggle with managing real estate assets effectively. The complexities of property management, combined with the Church’s mission, present significant hurdles.

“There is a broad lack of appreciation for the financial realities of Church property,” said Maddy Johnson, program manager of the Church Properties Initiative at Notre Dame’s Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate. “Many of these properties are running seven-figure maintenance deficits.”

According to a 2020 Faith Communities Today report, two-thirds of churches in the U.S. have annual incomes of less than $100,000. “They face capital repairs that easily run into millions, plus ongoing costs to maintain these buildings,” Johnson said.

Administrators often have “dollar signs at the top of their minds” for good reason, she added. “A paradigm shift is required if these properties are to be reused within the life of the Church.”

Timing is another significant hurdle, as institutional processes can impede prompt decisions. “There are high bars bishops have to pass to divest property,” Dolese explained. “We have to balance our long-term vision with development timelines.”

Prolonged deficits pose additional challenges. “It’s crucial for dioceses to get ahead of these issues,” Lyons said. “Those who recognize issues early can pursue innovative solutions.”

Yet, Johnson sees a positive shift.

“We’re witnessing dioceses adopting creative, mission-aligned strategies,” she said. “Groups like the Loretto movement and the Sant’Egidio Community are laypeople united in ecclesial forms. This is a promising model for transferring responsibility when an asset can still be used within the Church.”

“There’s a lot of hope in this,” Lyons affirmed. “By finding creative solutions that align financial realities with the Church’s mission, we can help institutions adapt while staying true to their core values.”

Dolese believes reimagining Church properties is essential.

“The future use has more to say than our current use,” she said. “There’s value in preserving that legacy while adapting to new realities.”

Former Sistine Chapel choir director Monsignor Massimo Palombella leads the choir during a performance on May 9, 2018, in New York City. / Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for AEG

CNA Staff, Dec 10, 2024 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

A pair of former Vatican officials has been found guilty of embezzlement and abuse of office as part of a long-running investigation into financial irregularities at a prominent choir there. 

Monsignor Massimo Palombella, who previously directed the Sistine Chapel Choir in Vatican City, and Michelangelo Nardella, who was the choir’s manager, were both found guilty in the Vatican City State Tribunal on various counts of embezzlement, laundering, and abuse stemming from their time leading the choir.

Nardella’s wife, Simona Rossi, was also convicted of embezzlement in connection with the scandal.

News of financial improprieties at the choir first broke in 2018 amid reports that Palombella and Nardella used choir concert proceeds for personal expenses. The Vatican launched an investigation that year.

Palombella resigned his position at the choir in July 2019. In January of that same year, Pope Francis issued a motu proprio that among other things moved the Sistine Chapel Choir under the administration of the Office of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations.

Palombella was sentenced to just over three years in prison as well as a fine of 9,000 euros (about $9,500); Nardella will spend four years and eight months in prison and pay 7,000 euros (about $7,400) in fines. Nardella was also served with “perpetual disqualification from holding public office.”

Rossi, meanwhile, will serve two years in prison and pay 5,000 euros (about $5,300) in fines, along with a similar disqualification from public office. 

All three defendants will further be subject to the confiscation of tens of thousands of euros as part of restitution for the embezzlement crimes, and all will be required to pay legal fees.

Known officially as the Cappella Musicale Pontificia Sistina, the Sistine Chapel Choir is composed of 20 professional singers from around the world as well as a treble section made up of 35 boys aged 9–13 called the Pueri Cantores.

With a 1,500-year history, the Sistine Chapel Choir is believed to be the oldest active choir in the world.

Pope Francis speaks to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Paul Pelosi after Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on June 29, 2022. / Vatican Media

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 10, 2024 / 15:15 pm (CNA).

Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi criticized Pope Francis for the Vatican’s deal with China regarding bishop appointments during an interview with the National Catholic Reporter published on Tuesday, Dec. 10.

The congresswoman from California and former speaker of the House of Representatives told the outlet that she is “not too happy” about the Vatican-China agreement, saying: “I don’t know what they have achieved” and adding: “Do you know of any success?”

“We have, for decades, seen the suffering of Catholics in China,” Pelosi, who is Catholic, told the Reporter. “I have a completely different view [from Francis]. … Why should the Chinese government be having a say in the appointment of bishops? I’ve talked to some folks here and they’re, ‘Well, we have to keep up with the times.’ What?! I don’t get that.”

In January 2018, Pope Francis and Chinese officials entered into a deal that gives the Chinese Communist Party input on bishop appointments. Most of the details of the deal and how it functions have not been made public, but the pontiff revealed in September 2023 that the agreement created a joint China-Vatican commission on the appointment of bishops.

The agreement has been renewed three times, most recently in October. The most recent renewal extends the deal into October 2028. Despite the appearance of friendlier relations on the surface, a report published in October by the Hudson Institute found that the “religious repression of the Catholic Church in China has intensified” since the deal went into effect. In November 2022, the Vatican accused China of violating the terms of the deal. 

In her interview with the Reporter, Pelosi referenced the Gospel of Matthew in her critique of the Vatican-China agreement. 

“Let me say it this way: ‘Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,’” Pelosi said. “Every bishop has sprung from that rock. And now, the Chinese government?”

The congresswoman said she had spoken to the papal nuncio about “what our concerns were,” and commented that those concerns were bipartisan: “This brings a lot of us together because, over time, even bishops were being killed. I mean, this is like martyrs.”

Pelosi also showed solidarity with Cardinal Joseph Zen, the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong and staunch critic of the Chinese Communist Party and Vatican-China deal. In 2022, Hong Kong police arrested the cardinal for his role in assisting pro-democracy protesters for their legal fees, but he was later released on bail.

“With all the respect in the world for His Holiness, Pope Francis, my point of view is closer to the cardinal of Hong Kong, Joseph Zen,” Pelosi told the Reporter.

In 2020, Zen told CNA that he had not seen any positive changes for the Church following the deal with China. 

“Is there any choice between helping the government to destroy the Church or resisting the government to keep our faith?” Zen said.

According to a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in October, China has continued its persecution of Catholics and other religious faiths through its policy of the “sinicization of religion,” which means to make the religion conform to Chinese culture.

The report noted that, in practice, the policy essentially subordinates faiths to “the [Chinese Communist Party’s] political agenda and Marxist vision for religion.” This includes censorship of religious texts, forcing clergy to preach the party’s ideology, and requiring the display of Chinese Communist Party slogans in the churches.

In her interview with the Reporter, Pelosi also spoke about a wide variety of other issues, which included the decline of Catholic support for the Democratic Party in the 2024 elections and her feuds with Catholic bishops over her adamant support of abortion.

Although her bishop, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, prohibited her from receiving Communion within the archdiocese because of her support for abortion, Pelosi told the Reporter that she “received Communion anyway” and said: “That’s his problem; not mine.” 

“My Catholic faith is: Christ is my savior,” Pelosi said. “It has nothing to do with the bishops.”

Pelosi won her reelection by a more than 60-point margin in the heavily Democratic 11th Congressional District in California. The congresswoman, who turns 85 in March 2025, resigned from her leadership position within the Democratic Party in 2016 and was replaced by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who currently serves as the House minority leader.

The flag of the European Union flying in Rome. / Credit: Bohumil Petrik/CNA

Madrid, Spain, Dec 10, 2024 / 13:30 pm (CNA).

The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) has called on the European Union (EU) to appoint a coordinator for the fight against anti-Christian hatred in the same way it already employs coordinators to combat hate directed against Jews and Muslims.

“The time is mature for the appointment of an EU coordinator on combating anti-Christian hatred in Europe,” said Alessandro Calcagno, an adviser to the bishops on fundamental rights, during his speech at the European Prayer Breakfast held at the European Parliament last week.

“It is not a question of victimism but equal access to tools of protection,” Calcagno said. 

COMECE is the body that officially represents the Catholic Church to the EU.

Calcagno explained that the right to freedom of religion, as well as provisions to fight against discrimination on the grounds of religion, should not be seen only through the prism of protecting faith communities that are religious minorities. 

“It is necessary to break the ‘majorities vs. minorities’ dynamic that underpins the approach of certain actors and policymakers,” Calcagno stated.

Appointing a coordinator is one of the priorities that Calcagno, on behalf of the European bishops, outlined in relation to the exercise of religious freedom in the EU, among which is “need to ensure equal protection to all dimensions of this core fundamental right, including the institutional one,” he highlighted.

“Too often, freedom of religion is depicted as a ‘problematic’ right, and its collective dimension, compared with its individual dimension, is neglected,” the adviser said.

The need to protect places of worship and data of a religious nature as well as better integrate the defense of religious freedom into EU policies was also addressed during the event.

The European Prayer Breakfast, attended by some 450 participants from across the continent and beyond, was held in conjunction with a panel focused on current trends of rising religious intolerance in Europe.

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

Ålesund, a port town on the west coast of Norway. / Credit: May_Lana/Shutterstock

Oslo, Norway, Dec 10, 2024 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

On Monday, the parish community of Our Lady’s Church in Ålesund, a port town on the west coast of Norway, gathered for a day of prayer dedicated to the unborn in the wake of new abortion laws in the country. 

This year, the celebration of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary — usually celebrated Dec. 8 — was moved to Monday, Dec. 9, as the second Sunday of Advent took precedence. The day began with Mass followed by adoration and the recitation of the rosary, emphasizing the inviolable dignity of human life from the moment of conception.

The parish’s initiative was in part a response to recent changes in Norway’s abortion laws, which for the first time allow for sex-selective abortions and so-called “twin reduction” procedures. 

The new abortion laws, adopted by Norway’s Parliament on Dec. 3, also extend the legal limit for abortion from 12 to 18 weeks. Women in Norway can still have abortions beyond that time frame with the approval of a medical board.  

The changes in the law have sparked debates in Norwegian society and within church communities, raising serious ethical and moral concerns. Faced with these realities, the diocese sought to respond through prayer, reflection, and increased awareness.

Father Dariusz Buras, parochial vicar of Our Lady’s Church, told EWTN Norway, CNA’s news partner, that he drew inspiration for the pro-life event from Sts. Teresa of Calcutta and Gianna Beretta Molla.

During her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo in 1979, Mother Teresa highlighted the unborn as one of the most vulnerable in our time. She described abortion as a threat to peace, asking poignantly: “If a mother can kill her own child in the womb, what is to prevent you and me from killing each other?” Stressing that nations that permit abortion are spiritually impoverished, she promoted adoption as a hopeful alternative, showing that every child can find a loving home.

Another prominent saint for the unborn, Gianna Beretta Molla (1922–1962), was an Italian physician and mother who faced a grave moral dilemma when she was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor during her pregnancy. She chose to carry her child to term despite the risk to her own life, because she saw the unborn child as an irreplaceable human being. After giving birth to her daughter, Gianna Emanuela, Molla died of complications. 

Canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2004, St. Gianna Molla remains a modern example of heroic love for life, even under difficult circumstances.

While Mother Teresa addressed the right to life of the unborn from a global perspective, St. Gianna Beretta Molla demonstrated through her life that care for the unborn is not just an abstract principle but a concrete reality — a pastoral, medical, and maternal care that prioritizes the life of the child. 

Together, the lives of the two saints are a reminder of the Christian call to protect life in all circumstances and to offer alternatives to destruction, such as social support, adoption, and prioritizing the vulnerable with sacrificial love.

Monday’s gathering at Our Lady’s Church in Ålesund, inspired by the witness of the two saints, became a moment of deep reflection and prayer in a society where laws increasingly undermine human dignity, especially the dignity of the unborn.