Ss. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church

Reconstruction of the face of St. Teresa of Ávila as she would have appeared at approximately age 50. / Credit: Courtesy of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, Iberian Province

Madrid, Spain, Apr 2, 2025 / 12:23 pm (CNA).

A scientific reconstruction of what would have been the face of St. Teresa of Ávila when she was 50 years old was presented recently in Alba de Tormes, the town in Salamanca province in Spain where the Carmelite nun died and where she is buried. 

The reconstruction was based on an anthropomorphic and forensic study, historical evidence, and contemporary descriptions. The work was directed by Professor Ruggero D’Anastasio of D’Annunzio University in Chieti-Pescara, Italy, and carried out by Professor Jennifer Mann, a specialist at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine at Monash University in Australia.

The presentation of the scientifically reconstructed head is the result of the canonical recognition of the tomb of the reformer of the Carmelite order, authorized last August by the Vatican.

Mann explained in a statement released by the Iberian Province of the Discalced Carmelites that, in addition to scientific data, her work was based on other important sources such as “a portrait by Friar Juan de la Miseria and a detailed description of St. Teresa written by Mother Mary of St. Joseph, who lived with the saint.”

To obtain the final result, the skull was first reconstructed with clay, “correctly positioning the jaw,” reconstructing missing teeth, and using “a combination of forensic facial approximation methodologies used in the United States and the United Kingdom.”

The main muscles were molded with soft, oil-based clay, and the soft tissues (eyes, nose, lips) were estimated using formulas based on head measurements and studying the X-rays.

Other formulas allowed for the calculation of the length, width, and angle of the nose as well as a proportional orientation for the placement of the eyes in the sockets of the skull.

“With the consent of the father postulator general of the Discalced Carmelites, I sculpted St. Teresa of Jesus at around the age of 50, reflecting her plump appearance, as described by Mother Mary of St. Joseph,” the specialist explained.

Furthermore, “the veil, headdress, and habit of St. Teresa of Jesus were inspired by specific paintings, following the advice of Father Miguel Ángel González.”

“This sculpture may be the most accurate representation of what St. Teresa of Jesus really looked like during her lifetime,” Mann said.

At the time of the first reformed convent 

St. Teresa turned 50 on March 28, 1565, and the reconstruction work represents her at that age. It was around that time that St. Joseph convent in Ávila was founded, the first of those reformed by the Spanish mystic. She lived there between August 1562 and 1567.

The saint noted in the “Book of My Life,” known as the “Autograph of El Escorial,” that she lived there “the happiest and most restful years of my life, whose peace and quiet my soul often misses sorely.”

In a text by González, Carmelite prior of Alba de Tormes, it is noted that during these times, St. Teresa lived “under high spiritual tension. These were years of ecstatic tension in her mystical life. She was crossing her sixth mansion, with great impetus and a great surge of love, with forebodings of imminent arrival at the port of the other life.”

“Mansions” refers to the stages of spiritual growth detailed in her book “The Interior Castle.” 

During those years, she wrote her well-known “The Way of Perfection” and the constitutions for her new way of understanding of cloistered life, a reform that she quickly extended. On Aug. 13, 1567, she left the monastery of Ávila for Medina del Campo, where she began the second of her 17 foundations throughout Spain, geographically distributed from north to south, from Burgos to Seville.

Mummified remains in an ‘extraordinary state of preservation’

The medical and scientific team that made possible the reconstruction of the saint’s face also submitted a 53-page document to the Order of Discalced Carmelites offering a comprehensive summary of the research conducted by anthropologist Luigi Capasso.

The summary of the report details that all of the saint’s remains examined (distributed between Spain and Italy) have been naturally mummified and are in an “extraordinary state of preservation.”

The report notes that on her face, “the scalp is preserved, with many traces of brown hair, the left auricle, the right eye, which still retains its eyelids, the dark iris, the three-dimensionality of the eyeball, all the soft tissues of the nasal pyramid, including the nostrils and the apex of the nasal cartilages.”

The “relaxed facial muscles still convey the sense of serenity with which the saint shows she faced the moment of her death.”

Anthropometric calculations determine that the probable height of St. Teresa was 156.8 centimeters (a little over 5 feet), and an examination of her bones suggests that she suffered from osteoporosis. 

She also had an anterior curvature of the neck and trunk, which gave her “a forward-leaning appearance, with her head tilted downward, which also made her take a forced and uncomfortable supine position, with her head unable to rest on the pillow when lying down.”

The saint also suffered from bilateral knee osteoarthritis, “very severe on the left and milder on the right,” and a bone condition below both heels associated with pain, according to the study.

Regarding her mouth, of which only three teeth remain, it is deduced that she suffered, among other ailments, from “severe dental caries [advanced tooth decay], severe tooth wear, and obvious tartar deposits.”

On her right arm, an injury can be seen that could be a result of her writing habits.

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

The Basilica of the Holy Trinity at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima in Portugal. / Credit: Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Rome Newsroom, Apr 2, 2025 / 10:52 am (CNA).

While a Catholic shrine in Lourdes, France, announced on Monday it is covering mosaics by alleged abuser Father Marko Rupnik on the doors to one of its basilicas, another of the world’s most popular sites of Marian devotion said it is not considering removing its own Rupnik artwork.

A spokesperson for the Fátima shrine in Portugal told the Portuguese news outlet 7Margens via email this week that the international shrine is not taking down the mosaic installation but has stopped using its image in any distributed materials.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima, which receives over 6 million visitors a year, is located on the site of the Virgin Mary’s apparitions to three shepherd children in 1917.

The back wall of the shrine’s largest and most modern worship space, the Basilica of the Holy Trinity, is covered in an enormous, floor-to-ceiling work by Rupnik and several of his artist collaborators.

The approximately 33-by-164-foot gold mosaic was installed in 2007 and features the paschal lamb at the center flanked by saints and angels.

“We are not considering removing it. However, since we became aware of the accusations against Father [Marko Ivan] Rupnik, we have suspended the use of the image, the entire work, and its details in our dissemination of materials,” the shrine’s communications department told 7Margens.

Echoing a similar statement made to OSV News in July 2024, the shrine said it “strongly repudiates the acts committed by Father [Marko Ivan] Rupnik,” and it “has already expressed its solidarity with the victims.”

Rupnik, a native of Slovenia, was expelled from the Jesuits in June 2023 for disobedience following the public revelation that he was accused of the sexual and psychological abuse of dozens of women under his spiritual care in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The priest is currently under canonical investigation by the Vatican.

The abuse accusations sparked an enormous debate about whether to remove the hundreds of religious artworks created by Rupnik and his collaborators through his Rome-based art and theology center, the Centro Aletti.

At least 230 religious sites around the world feature Rupnik’s distinctive mosaics, from some of the biggest international shrines to smaller chapels and churches, including the Redemptoris Mater chapel in the Vatican.

Victims of sexual abuse and organizations that support them have called for the works to be removed or covered, especially since some of the accusations against Rupnik allege he committed abuse in the context of the creation of his art.

In July 2024, the bishop who oversees the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France said he had received opposition to the idea of removing the Rupnik mosaics on the facade of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary but that, as a first step, they would no longer be lit up at night.

On March 31, Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes announced a further step — the covering of the main entrances to the basilica, which also feature mosaics by Rupnik.

In the United States, the Knights of Columbus announced July 10, 2024, that it would cover the Rupnik mosaics located in the two chapels of the National Shrine of St. John Paul II in Washington, D.C., and in the chapel in the Knights’ headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut.

“Today we run the risk that our organizations, so dependent on the welfare state ... could be easily confused with a very bureaucratic NGO [nongovernmental organization],” said Archbishop Luis Argüello, president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference. / Credit: Spanish Bishops’ Conference

Madrid, Spain, Apr 1, 2025 / 17:24 pm (CNA).

The president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference (CEE, by its Spanish acronym), Archbishop Luis Argüello, opened the conference’s 127th plenary assembly this week with a deep analysis of Spain’s growing secularization, noting that the time has ended when one could say “I am Catholic because I was born in Spain.”

“The time has passed, settled for centuries, when we said: I’m Catholic because I was born in Spain,” Argüello said, noting that the Church can no longer take for granted that people are converted or initiated in the Catholic faith in today’s society.

During his talk, the archbishop of Valladolid noted the worrying situation that while there are 23,000 baptismal fonts distributed over the country’s 22,921 parishes, many of them “have no water” due to lack of Christian community that can “help the Holy Spirit engender new Christians” and in more populated areas there is “a very weak awareness of the responsibility entailed in having a baptismal font.”

This panorama represents a “large, quantitative and qualitative challenge” that requires discernment, especially considering that in numerous rural parishes it is no longer possible to celebrate the Sunday Eucharist, while in large cities there is a remarkable contrast of schedules and celebrations according to the neighborhoods.

The difficulty of ‘transforming emotion into virtue’

Given the situation, the archbishop of Valladolid added that “it has never been possible to be a Christian alone” and therefore the task of promoting communities “where living the integral formation of the heart” becomes especially important.

In this regard, he emphasized the role of various retreat movements and apostolates such as Emmaus, Ephphatha, Bartimaeus, the Conjugal Love Project, Life in the Spirit, Hakuna, etc. that “make an impact along with the invitation to continue” in the Christian life but that are faced with the difficulty of “transforming an emotional experience into virtue, of finding specific ways to grow that go beyond recreating the the initial impact.” 

Regarding the social and charitable work of Catholic organizations, Argüello warned that “today we run the risk that our organizations, so dependent on the welfare state, its rules, and subsidies for the third sector [nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and nonprofits], might offer in a weak way the novelty of Christian love and could be easily confused with a very bureaucratic NGO.”

“The same thing could happen to us in our educational or communications endeavors,” he added.

A farewell to the apostolic nuncio

At the beginning of his address, Argüello offered words of recognition to Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the outgoing nuncio, thanking him for “the work he has done during these five years in Spain,” emphasizing that “many of us here have received, through his mediation, the episcopal commission that the Holy Father has bestowed upon us.”

These words, along with the expression of best wishes in his new role as nuncio to the European Union, drew the only applause during Argüello’s talk.

Auza expressed his gratitude for the farewell remarks and said during his address that he has shared “the joys and sorrows of Spanish society and the Church” and that, over the course of five and a half years, “with the desire to always know and serve you, in the name of the Holy Father, I have strived to do my best wherever I have been called.” 

Regarding his time in the various Spanish dioceses, “from Covadonga to Granada,” he emphasized that the brotherhoods and confraternities remind him “how Andalusian the Church in the Philippines is, especially during Holy Week.”

Protest over the resignification of the Valley of the Fallen

During Monday’s assembly, a group of about 50 people gathered outside CEE headquarters in Madrid, protesting that the conference is collaborating with plans to “resignify” the Valley of the Fallen, a monumental war memorial built as a final resting place for combatants from both sides of the Spanish Civil War.

The memorial was commissioned by Francisco Franco, Spain’s longtime head of state and leader of the winning Nationalist side in the bloody conflict with leftist Republican forces.

The leftist governing coalition in Spain considers the memorial a monument to Franco and his dictatorship.

The controversy over the monument is colored by the fact that Franco supported the Catholic Church, which was caught in the middle and was severely persecuted by elements of the Republican side.

Some of those present outside CEE headquarters carried banners with the slogan “Cobo Judas,” referring to the archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal José Cobo, who is involved in the resignification process.

Near CEE headquarters, a wall was tagged with graffiti with slogans such as “CEE traitors,” “The valley is not to be touched,” “Bishops, you sell Christ for 30 [pieces of silver],” and “Betrayal of the martyrs.”

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

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

Rome Newsroom, Mar 31, 2025 / 11:03 am (CNA).

The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France announced Monday that the entrances to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, featuring art by the disgraced artist Father Marko Rupnik, are being covered.

Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes called the decision a “second step” after his initial decision in July 2024 to no longer light up the mosaics at night and during processions.

“You know my opinion about the presence of these mosaics on the doors of the basilica. It seemed to me, together with my collaborators, that a new symbolic step had to be taken to make the entrance to the basilica easier for all those who today cannot cross the threshold,” Micas said in an online post from the renowned Marian apparition site.

Mosaics by the alleged sexual abuser Rupnik, who is under investigation and awaiting a trial by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, were added to the neo-Gothic facade of the lower Lourdes basilica in 2008.

The basilica’s side doors were covered on the morning of March 31, and the two central doors will be covered in a few days, according to the shrine. The coverings are yellow with small crosses and the words “With Mary, Pilgrims of Hope 2025.”

For the 2025 Jubilee of Hope, Micas decreed the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes to be one of two places in the diocese where pilgrims can receive a jubilee plenary indulgence. He said “passing through the entrance doors of the basilica had to be symbolic of the moment,” and noted that the third Friday of Lent, March 28, was also the Memorial Day of Prayer for the victims of sexual abuse committed in the Church of France.

After forming a special commission in May 2023, Micas announced in July 2024 that, as a “first step,” he had decided the mosaics will no longer be lit up at night during the shrine’s nightly candlelight rosary processions. He said his personal opinion was that the art installations should be completely removed, but it was too early for a final decision.

The shrine’s next steps regarding the Rupnik artwork, Micas said on March 31, is to continue with the commission “to move forward calmly rather than under pressure from various sources.”

“We are working for the long term, for the victims, for the Church, for Lourdes and its message for all,” he added.

Marlene Watkins, the leader of the North American Lourdes Volunteers, posted on the Facebook page “Our Lady of Lourdes Hospitality North American Volunteers” on Monday, welcoming the French bishop’s “thoughtful, prayerful, and courageous discernment to address this art in the sanctuary.”

“This step in his wise plan makes it possible for some and easier for many victims and those who love them to enter the Holy Doors for this jubilee. His timing seems slow to some unaware of French art legalities — but his plan is prudent and methodical to take measured steps to make the removal possible. He asked for our prayers for this from the announcement of his decision. Please, let us continue to pray,” Watkins wrote.

The mosaics from Rupnik and his art and theology school, the Centro Aletti in Rome, depict the luminous mysteries of the rosary with the Wedding Feast at Cana in the center. Rupnik’s signature red dot decorates one of the arched panels above the entrance.

Rupnik, a priest and artist, has been accused of spiritual, psychological, and sexual abuse of religious sisters. He was removed from the Jesuits in June 2023. He is currently facing a canonical trial over the allegations he abused dozens of women religious, including some within the context of the creation of his art.

The priest’s prolific art career has created a problem for many shrines and Catholic churches across Europe and North America. Rupnik’s workshop was involved in projects for over 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.

The Knights of Columbus last year covered mosaics by Rupnik in the two chapels of the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington and in the chapel at the Knights’ headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut, a dramatic move that represented at the time the strongest public stand by a major Catholic organization regarding the former Jesuit’s embattled art.

A monumental cross towers above the Valley of the Fallen complex. / Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Madrid, Spain, Mar 30, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

In a statement published by the Archdiocese of Madrid, Cardinal José Cobo defended his role as an interlocutor between the Vatican and the Spanish government in the process of resignifying the Valley of the Fallen, a massive monument dedicated to both sides of the Spanish Civil War.

The statement, issued after the recent change of the prior of the Benedictine community at the historic site, seeks to clarify the agreements reached and the scope of the planned modifications to the monument.

Released just after 10:30 p.m. local time on March 26, the Archdiocese of Madrid’s statement regretted “the leak and dissemination of some recently published information about the resignification of the Valley of the Fallen, within an open process of dialogue.”

The concept of “resignification,” in the case of historical or symbolic spaces such as the Valley of the Fallen, seeks to reinterpret or redefine their meaning in order to adapt them to new contexts, perspectives, or purposes.

The statement from the Archdiocese of Madrid specifies that “to date, the only definitive agreement has been the permanence of the Benedictine community and the non-desacralization of the basilica, as well as respect for all religious elements located outside it.”

However, the statement admits that some type of modification to the church has been agreed upon, but it has not been specified: “Regarding any alterations within the church, they will be studied respecting the liturgical criteria and the purpose for which the basilica was built, guaranteeing independent access.”

The archdiocese also emphasized that “any other aspect related to the resignification is the exclusive responsibility of the Holy See and the government, which are the parties that conducted the negotiations.”

Furthermore, the statement emphasizes that the Spanish cardinal “has participated in this process as a designated interlocutor within an ecclesiastical commission,” which has entailed “an exchange of private notes on how to articulate the resignification of the Valley of the Fallen, always ensuring respect for the religious elements and the permanence of worship in the basilica.”

Finally, the Archdiocese of Madrid emphasized that, “beyond pastoral activity,” Cobo’s role is one of “accompaniment, but without having jurisdiction over the basilica or the religious community residing there.”

The statement came just hours after El Diario published that an agreement had been reached between the Vatican and the Spanish government to achieve the intended political “resignification” of the monument.

This agreement, in whose process Cobo allegedly participated, was reportedly finalized in a meeting between Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Minister of the Presidency Félix Bolaños on Feb. 25 in Rome.

In response to this statement, numerous X subscribers responded with accusations of treason and other forms of accusations against Cobo.

Changes to the interior of the pontifical basilica

The recent replacement of the prior at the Benedictine community, confirmed March 25, is reportedly part of the agreement reached. In addition, it is not ruled out that both the previous prior, Santiago Cantera, and one other monk may be transferred from the community because the Spanish government disapproves of them. 

According to the same information, only the altar and pews are expected to remain untouched, but changes may be made to the dome, vestibule, atrium, and nave, which are part of the Pontifical Basilica of the Holy Cross.

Brief history of the Valley of the Fallen

The Valley of the Fallen, inaugurated in 1959, is a monumental complex built after the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and is located about 30 miles from Madrid. It consists of a basilica situated underground in an excavated space in the mountain, an imposing cross, a Benedictine monastery, a school, and a monumental Stations of the Cross.

Among the monument’s founding purposes are “to pray to God for the souls of those who died in the National Crusade, to implore the blessings of the Almighty for Spain, and to work for the understanding and establishment of peace among men, based on Christian social justice.”

The complex was commissioned by Gen. Francisco Franco, Spain’s longtime head of state and leader of the winning Nationalist side in the bloody conflict with leftist Republican forces.

The controversy over the monument is colored by the fact that Franco supported the Catholic Church, which was caught in the middle and was being severely persecuted by elements of the Republicans. 

Between 33,000 and 50,000 Spaniards from both sides are interred there. In 1975, King Juan Carlos decided that Franco should be buried there. José Antonio Primo de Rivera, the founder of the Spanish Falange political party, who was executed for sedition in the early months of the war, was also buried there. 

Since 2007, the government led by Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE, by its Spanish acronym) implemented a series of measures to resignify the site, which leftist parties decry as a monument to Franco and his dictatorship. 

These measures have been reinforced since 2018 when Pedro Sánchez, also of the PSOE, took office as prime minister in a coalition with communist and separatist parties and heirs of terrorist groups.

In October 2019, the government ordered Franco’s remains to be exhumed and moved to another cemetery, an event broadcast live on public television.

In 2023, the same procedure was followed with Primo de Rivera’s remains, but at the family’s request and in a discreet manner in anticipation of the government’s wishes.

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

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

ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 28, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).

The bishops of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) held their spring assembly this week in Italy, a meeting in which they considered the European Union’s vocation in the face of current challenges.

From Nemi, a town outside Rome where the meeting took place behind closed doors March 26-27, COMECE secretary-general Father Manuel Barrios spoke with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, and explained the foundations of the mission.

The European Union, a project for peace with Christian roots

“The innate vocation of the European Union is to guarantee peace on the continent and in the world,” the Spanish priest said, noting that the EU was born as a project of reconciliation after the Second World War, so its mission is also to “defend and promote human rights, freedom, democracy, and the dignity of the person,” essential principles enshrined in its founding treaties.

Barrios also emphasized that Europe was evangelized and has Christian roots, a legacy that defines its identity. However, he warned that secularization is advancing strongly and that these values ​​are being eclipsed:

“With secularization, human beings distance themselves not only from transcendence but also from themselves, because the two are linked. We are in a time of rethinking many things, including the way human beings understand themselves,” he noted.

Values ​​eclipsed by secularization

While he acknowledged that many of the principles that inspire the European Union are currently upheld, he regrets that their origins are often lost sight of: “We are forgetting their Christian roots.”

For Barrios, this loss of awareness is, in some cases, intentional: “These values ​​are eclipsed because there is no awareness of them, and sometimes because people don’t want to be aware of them.”

Barrios emphasized that the values ​​that shaped the EU are not just a political construct but part of Europe’s cultural identity. “The European Union was not born solely from a geographical delimitation,” he pointed out.

To face this trend, the priest singled out the need for the personal witness of laypeople in Europe as well as “the witness of the Church and of ecclesial communities.“ He also emphasized the need for a new evangelization as well as “knowing how to dialogue with contemporary culture,“ a task he believes remains to be done despite being “foundational in Europe.“

Rearmament: ‘It’s legitimate for Europe to think about its security’

Regarding plans for rearmament in Europe, a topic Barrios indicated was part of the meeting’s agenda, he explained that the bishops’ position is that it is “correct, licit, and legitimate for Europe to think about its defense and security, especially in a world as turbulent as ours, with so much uncertainty.”

However, he pointed out that “we must not forget that the ultimate goal is peace and that this is Europe’s vocation. So, ‘yes’ to defense, but without losing sight of the fundamental human desire, which is the desire for peace.”

The priest also emphasized working with European institutions to “make the voice of the Church heard in Europe” in the face of challenges such as competitiveness, conflict, sustainability, and migration.

COMECE’s spring assembly brought together bishops, political leaders, and experts as well as representatives of the Vatican, including Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Richard Gallagher, secretary for relations with states.

Also attending was an observer from Ukraine (a non-EU member), members of the Greek Catholic Church, former Italian prime ministers Mario Monti and Paolo Gentiloni, and the EU ambassador to the Holy See, Martin Selmayr.

“The beauty of these meetings is that we hear the voices of different sensibilities and different concerns. The war in Ukraine, for example, is perceived very differently in Spain or here in Italy, in Lithuania, in Poland, and in other countries closer to [Ukraine]. So it’s also very good to listen to each other and see the different concerns,” Barrios noted.

Concluding pilgrimage of hope

The meeting concluded with a pilgrimage to the Holy Door of St. Peter’s and with a Mass in the basilica. Barrios expressed his enthusiasm for the pilgrimage: “The message of hope is very important in this time we are living in, because there is so much despair, so much uncertainty, and it is necessary to make it clear that our hope as Christians is founded on Jesus Christ.”

“Also in Europe, which has an aging population, and where the future often seems bleak, we as Christians must propose the good proclamation of the Gospel,” he said.

For Barrios, the holy year can bear many fruits, even with Pope Francis ailing. “Despite this situation, the Church continues to powerfully proclaim her message and continues to count on the successor of Peter,” he said.

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

St. Hedwig Cathedral in Berlin, Germany. / Credit: Cedric BLN via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

CNA Deutsch, Mar 28, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

For the first time, fewer than 20 million Catholics live in Germany, according to the 2024 Church statistics published by the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) on Thursday, March 27. Although the downward trend has slowed compared with the previous year, it is noticeable.

The total number of Catholics in Germany is 19,769,237, of which only 6.6% — just over 1.3 million Catholics — practice their faith and regularly attend Mass on Sundays. Last year, there were 20,345,872 Catholics living in Germany. 

With a population of 83.6 million, Catholics now make up less than a quarter of the population. Less than 2% of the population are attending Mass.

In 2024, the Church recorded more than 321,000 resignations (a formal process of leaving the Church by declaration after which the person pays no church tax and is provided a letter of excommunication), compared with only about 6,600 new members and readmissions. In addition, the DBK reported about 116,000 baptisms (the previous year there were more than 131,000) but also almost 213,000 burials.

In five dioceses, the percentage of Mass-goers is in the double digits. The smallest German diocese, Görlitz, leads the field, with 14.4% of Catholics attending Sunday Mass. Two other eastern German dioceses — Dresden-Meissen and Erfurt — also have double digits, as do the two Bavarian dioceses of Eichstätt and Regensburg.

The weakest dioceses in terms of Sunday Mass attendance are Aachen and Trier, each with only 4.5% of Catholics coming to church.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.

The British Parliament building in London. / Credit: Marinesea/Shutterstock

London, England, Mar 27, 2025 / 13:30 pm (CNA).

A parliamentary bill that would unleash medically assisted suicide on England and Wales might not be implemented for another four years amid a growing climate of concern about the viability of such a system.

According to several U.K. publications, including The Times, the Guardian, and the Catholic Herald, the future of the legislation looks uncertain since it may not take effect until 2029 following amendments to the proposed legislation.

It was originally thought that the bill might take two years to implement, but Member of Parliament (MP) Kim Leadbeater, sponsor of the bill, said the delay might be as long as four years.

According to Leadbeater’s spokesperson, “Kim has always been clear that it’s more important to get the assisted dying legislation right than to do it quickly.”

“The bill now contains even stronger safeguards than when it was first tabled, with a new judge-led voluntary assisted dying commission and multidisciplinary panels to examine every application. These will inevitably take longer to implement,” the spokesperson continued.

“But the four-year limit is not a target, it’s a backstop. Kim hopes and believes the service can be delivered more quickly if it becomes law later this year.”

Since members of Parliament voted in support of the bill in January, the bill has been going through the committee stage of its passage, during which it has been scrutinized by several MPs.

However, the process has been mired in controversy due to accusations of bias from campaigners, who highlight that the committee has a disproportionate majority of members who support the bill.

On March 26, The Times newspaper wrote an editorial titled “The Dangerously Flawed Assisted Dying Legislation Should Be Abandoned,” which concluded: “The thankless task of scrutinizing this sinister and half-baked proposal has fallen to a few brave MPs on the committee … Thanks to them its flaws have been fatally exposed. It remains only to administer the coup de grace and kill this bill.”

Following the news that implementation might be delayed, former Paralympian and cross bench peer (a non-party political member who sits on the benches that cross the chamber of the House of Lords) Tanni Grey-Thompson told CNA: “I’m disappointed with the process. This is the biggest legislative change to our society potentially ever, and it feels like it’s been pushed through at a pace. When you take note of the number of amendments to improve the safeguards that are being rejected, it’s quite disappointing.”

“We’ve continually been told it’s the safest bill in the world, but that’s quite a low bar as every jurisdiction has changed since inception and the safeguards have become weaker,” she added. “It’s hard to know what to make of this potential delay and whether it’s because they’ve begun to understand that, in its current format, the bill is unworkable.”

Grey-Thompson continued: “So many organizations have come out and said it’s an awful bill. If the government is committed to wanting to help people, they need to look at palliative care. When you look at the other proposals around cuts to welfare and winter fuel, it’s pushing vulnerable people into greater vulnerability. On the back of the budget, many charities have talked about the impact on the vulnerable. It’s a worrying time.”

The General House of the Society of Jesus in Rome. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

CNA Staff, Mar 26, 2025 / 19:05 pm (CNA).

The Society of Jesus is offering reparations to about 20 women who say they were sexually, psychologically, and spiritually abused by the disgraced ex-Jesuit artist Father Marko Rupnik.

Rupnik is accused of having committed serious sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse of dozens of religious sisters under his spiritual care over decades. His case is currently under investigation by the Vatican.

Father Johan Verschueren, Rupnik’s former superior and current general counsellor and delegate for the Interprovincial Houses and Works of the Society of Jesus in Rome, said he sent a letter to the women who have come forward with accusations against Rupnik, offering an open invitation to reparations, according to The Associated Press.

While the letters were not made public out of respect to the alleged victims, some excerpts were shared by Laura Sgrò, a lawyer for the alleged victims, Religion News Service reported. 

In the letters, Verschueren reportedly lamented that Rupnik had not publicly taken responsibility for his actions nor repented. He told The Associated Press that in the letters he invited alleged victims to share what they needed and how the order can meet that need.  

Verschueren also reportedly offered to start a “process of healing” and shared that the Jesuit order is “uneasy” with the situation and aware that “the various kinds of violence suffered at the time are compounded by the pain caused by the lack of listening and justice for many years.”

Sgrò thanked the Jesuits for the gesture of reparation and called on the Vatican in the statement to follow “the example of the Society of Jesus and bring Marko Rupnik to trial as soon as possible, restoring dignity to the victims.” 

“There really can be no more delay now; justice just has to be done,” she said.

In Sgrò’s statement, the alleged victims thanked Verschueren for “acknowledging the mistakes made thus far” and having “finally welcomed and embraced the victims of Marko Rupnik, offering them the support that had been lacking until now.”

The Jesuits want to protect the privacy of the alleged victims and do not plan to share future information on dialogue with them, Verschueren told RNS. 

“Any eventual journey toward reparation will depend entirely on the person who was invited,” Verschueren told RNS.

“We wrote the letter because we, too, need reparation and healing,” he continued. “We have a lot to learn from them, and to do better in the future, to avoid any type of abuse in the company of Jesus.”

Highlands El Encinar School in Madrid. / Credit: Courtesy of Highlands School

Madrid, Spain, Mar 26, 2025 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

The principal of the Regnum Christi Highlands El Encinar school in Madrid, Father Jesús María Delgado, LC, has resigned days after five complaints of sexual abuse involving Father Marcelino de Andrés, former secretary of the disgraced founder of the Legion, Marcial Maciel, were reported.

De Andrés, who served as the school’s chaplain, was arrested March 6 by Spain’s National Police and released subject to restrictions. The priest was initially accused of sexually abusing one female student but subsequently four additional complaints were received.

According to the seventh statement issued by the institution since the case broke, Delgado has resigned from his duties.

“Given the situation we are going through at the school where I am principal, which has caused profound pain and distrust in our institution, I believe I must resign as principal,” the letter begins.

Delgado said he shares the pain of “those who feel betrayed, despondent, and dismayed” over the recent revelations. 

He asked forgiveness for “all this pain” and encouraged the school to embark on “a new phase, with the urgent task of undertaking the necessary reforms to continue striving for excellence, heal the pain, and restore lost trust.”

The statement, signed by Father Javier Cereceda, LC, president of the board of directors of Regnum Christi Schools of Spain, announced that Regnum Christi consecrated woman Marilú Álvarez is taking over the position of principal, having undergone “a meticulous vetting process in all areas of her competencies and personal and professional background.”

‘And now what?’

In an eighth statement also published on the school’s website, Cereceda addressed all the Legionaries of Christ and other members of Regnum Christi in Spain, as well as the educational communities of the institution’s schools across the country, stating that “the serious incidents reported once again confront us with the reality of the suffering caused throughout our history, for which we humbly ask forgiveness.”

In the letter he recalled the steps taken since 2019, when a thorough review began starting with the abuses committed by founder Maciel and which led to the refounding of the institution, whose new statutes were definitively approved on Feb. 5.

“Amid the pain we are experiencing, the question arises in many hearts: and now what? We want to tell you that the answer to this question, out of humility and commitment, is that we’re not giving up, we’re not quitting, we’re not abandoning the path of renewal we embarked on then,” the priest assured.

“We know that what we do for a culture of care, prevention, truth, justice, and healing will never be enough and never be too much,” Cereceda acknowledged.

The priest pledged that “we will redouble our efforts sparing nothing to conduct a thorough review of our institutional culture and to continue promoting a culture of zero abuse.”

“It’s our responsibility to reflect on what we have gone through, draw lessons, and learn from each experience. We also ask all members of Regnum Christi, the Church, and all of society to continue helping and supporting us so that we can always be faithful in this commitment that we publicly renew today,” he concluded.

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