In its 2024 annual report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) calls for additional sanctions on Iranian authorities and officials amidst new harsh enforcement of mandatory hijab legislation, and urges the Department of State to add five more States to the existing list of 12 Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) for their severe violations of religious freedom.

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In an interview with Vatican News, Monsignor Robert Vitillo, Secretary General of the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC), discusses how international experts participating in the Consultation in the Vatican, jointly sponsored by the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, will support rights and dignified conditions for workers, and will be an opportunity for effective social change.

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The President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) says the Church in Africa is living in a “new Kairos” moment as the Church continues to grow.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 6, 2024 / 18:37 pm (CNA).

Ryan Burge, a leading researcher on religion and politics, recently compiled data indicating that “cafeteria Catholicism” is rampant in the United States. Specifically, the country’s Catholics express widespread disagreement with the Church’s teaching on abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty.

The term “cafeteria Catholic” refers to a Catholic who picks and chooses which Church teachings he or she affirms and adheres to. Washington, D.C., Cardinal Wilton Gregory recently used the term to describe President Joe Biden, who as president has advocated for unrestricted abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.

Burge found that only 0.9% of Catholics agree with Church teaching on all three of the issues.  His conclusions were based on 2022 data collected by the Global Social Survey (GSS) and compiled by the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA). Burge told CNA that the 0.9% number is an all-time low since GSS started collecting data in 1972.

“It’s not just many Catholics who disagree with the teachings of the Church — in fact, if you look at the data, it’s nearly all of them,” said Burge, who teaches political science at Eastern Illinois University. 

This coincides with an overall 12% decline in Church attendance among Catholics over the last two decades, as found by Gallup.

Abortion

Despite the Catholic Church’s clear teaching that abortion is gravely immoral, Burge said, there is “clear majority support for elective abortion in almost every circumstance.”

Over 50% of Catholics support abortion when the mother’s health is at risk, the child is the result of rape, if there is a “strong chance of serious defect in the baby,” and when the family or mother either does not want or cannot support another child. 

Nearly 90% of Catholics support abortion in such cases in which the mother’s health is at risk. Over 80% of Catholics support abortion in cases of rape, and close to 80% of Catholics support abortion for serious defects. 

ARDA also reports that 17.7% of Catholics believe abortion should be illegal in all cases. 

Euthanasia 

Regarding euthanasia, which the Church teaches is morally unacceptable, and suicide, which the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls “contrary to love for the living God,” most Catholics again are not in agreement with the Church’s teaching. 

According to the data, 70% of Catholics support euthanasia, defined in the survey as a person’s ability to commit suicide in the case of an incurable disease. As pointed out by Burge, Catholics’ support for euthanasia and assisted suicide has been growing since the 1980s. 

Death penalty 

In recent decades, the Church has been increasingly voicing its opposition to the death penalty. In 2018, the Catechism of the Catholic Church was revised to reflect that opposition.

The catechism acknowledges that in the past “recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good.”

“Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes. In addition, a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state. Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption,” the catechism indicates.

The catechism goes on to quote Pope Francis in stating that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.”

Despite this, ARDA found that 61% of Catholics are in favor of the death penalty for convicted murderers. Support for the death penalty among Catholics has waned in recent decades after reaching a high of 81% in 1990. 

‘A lot of work to do’

Monsignor Charles Pope, a Catholic author and pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Church in the Archdiocese of Washington, told CNA that the 0.9% number does not accurately represent Catholics’ “buy-in” to the faith. 

Pope called the study “very unfair” and said it is “bringing things together which need to be analyzed separately.” He pointed out that the Church is clear in its teaching that abortion is intrinsically evil, while there is more leeway when it comes to the death penalty, which he described as a “prudential” rather than a “doctrinal” matter. 

He agreed, however, that there is still a disconnect between Church teaching and what many Catholics believe. This, he thinks, is due to what he called “the politicization of moral issues.” 

“Politics, sadly, is driving the conversation more than faith, because we are very worldly in our outlook,” he said. “So, if there’s one positive thing to take from this study it’s that we certainly have a lot of work to do to convince our own faithful of our teachings.”

“We’ve got a lot of work to do, but it doesn’t mean our teachings are wrong,” he went on. “It’s not the job of the Church to reflect the public opinion polls of our people, it’s the job of the Church to say: ‘Here’s what Jesus says.’”

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 6, 2024 / 17:40 pm (CNA).

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh is expanding its social services offered to people who are homeless and those in poverty with a newly created “Compassion Corner” opening in August. 

The nonprofit charity group is renovating a former office building located in downtown Pittsburgh to provide health care services, mental health services, job training programs, a place for the homeless population to eat, and a variety of other resources. The nearly 45,000-square-foot building is located at 111 Boulevard of the Allies, next to The Red Door (run by the Catholic Divine Mercy Parish), which provides services such as food for people who are homeless.

“I believe this is all divinely led,” Christopher Scoletti, a board member of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and previous president of the board, said during an official launch last week. 

“I believe God is working and channeling the love that we all have for our communities, for our neighbors, for one another,” Scoletti added. “I believe God is channeling the pride that we have for the City of Pittsburgh to enforce a powerful change for a better future.”

Susan Rauscher, who serves as the charity’s executive director, told CNA that the new building will allow Catholic Charities to provide more medical and dental care, which it offers to those in poverty for free. She said this expansion will allow for more dental chairs and more medical services, among other things. 

“[We’re] really excited about the increase in the number of people who can get health care services,” Rauscher said. 

According to Rauscher, the added space will allow the nonprofit to provide mental wellness services, which will include anger management and therapy. The group will also provide job training services, which will include a free 12-week telecommunications course, and connect them with employers with whom the charity has existing relationships. The job programs will include training for five certifications. 

“Moving into the new building gives us some additional space to move into new areas that help us bring holistic solutions to our clients,” Rauscher added.

Because of the Compassion Corner’s proximity to The Red Door, Catholic Charities will create a spot for people who are homeless to eat inside. Rauscher noted that those people will also receive access to these services. 

“[Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh is] pushing toward not only providing that emergency assistance and those basic needs but also incorporating case management and that long-term stability,” Rauscher said.

More than 100 elected officials, community leaders, and business leaders attended the official launch of the Compassion Corner, according to the diocesan Catholic Charities. This included Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, who praised the work of the nonprofit and said Christians “can’t just read the Bible and teach the Bible” but need to show their faith in Christ through the “works and deeds that we do.”

“That falls on all of us to do,” Gainey said during a speech at the launch. “It doesn’t just fall on government [and] nonprofit [organizations]. It falls on us.”

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh has raised about $12 million in donations for its Campaign for Compassion Corner to provide these services, which is more than 70% of its goal of $17 million. The group is trying to raise $13 million for Catholic Charities and $4 million for its partner, Gift of Mary, an emergency women’s shelter. 

Rauscher told CNA that 100% of the staff at the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh has personally contributed to the fundraising effort. She praised the work of the staff, saying: “They can squeeze every penny out of every dollar that’s entrusted to us and turn it into solutions for the people they serve.”

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh serves about 20,000 people annually, according to Rauscher. She said the nonprofit served about 23,000 people last year.

CNA Staff, May 6, 2024 / 17:20 pm (CNA).

A Catholic bishop walked the length of the Gaza Strip on April 29 in support of those suffering due to the Israel-Hamas conflict. 

Bishop Bart van Roijen of the Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador in Newfoundland, Canada, walked 42 kilometers, a little over 26 miles, from York Harbor to Corner Brook and ended his journey with a prayer service at the Cathedral of the Holy Redeemer. 

People around the world are participating in similar walks to call for a cease-fire in Gaza and for peace in both Israel and Palestine. 

Van Roijen told CNA in an interview that he felt called to do this walk because he wanted “to quietly witness to the sufferings of both citizenries and to make a strong statement that the atrocities, damage, and indignities that are being done must end.”

He explained that just a few days before being approached to take part in the walk, he was speaking with someone about the difficulties he was having with the “unresolved conflicts in the world and how they were perpetuated by endless justifications, open acts of aggression, and an unwillingness to dialogue in a meaningful way.”

“I expressed a tiredness with the whole idea of taking sides when it was clear that atrocities have, and continue to be, committed by both sides and that the civilian populations, on both sides of a conflict, are always the ones who pay the price,” van Roijen said.

He added: “The idea of a 42-kilometer walk helped me focus some of this energy on something constructive that was building greater awareness and solidarity with a civilian population that was forced to migrate 42 kilometers from the North to the South of Gaza, and helped me to appreciate how difficult this must be when dealing with possessions, children, infirmities, checkpoints, ongoing conflict, and the possibility of being targeted.”

Van Roijen emphasized that the walk allowed him to “move from my response to the atrocities committed by both sides to a spirit of offering it to God.”

The bishop completed the walk in six hours and 45 minutes. The weather hovered between 46 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit and, despite the rain and wind, the clergyman did not take any breaks and managed to stay dry thanks to his umbrella and rubber boots. 

He credited his four-mile walk to and from his office each day during the winter months for being properly prepared. 

“Walking along the Bay of Islands, from York Harbor to the Cathedral in Corner Brook, gave me some nice views of the bay and the surrounding hills and villages,” he said.

“It also gave me the sense of the Gaza Strip in its proximity to its own body of water and the narrowness of its borders,” he said, adding: “By walking and praying I was given a sense of peace — a peace that I was able to integrate into the prayer service that followed at the cathedral.”

As for what Catholics can do to aid in the current situation, van Roijen said: “Ours is a role of intercession, healing, and reconciliation, not of judgment or condemnation,” adding: “Though we should be strong in our insistence of the inviolable and inalienable dignity of all people, and that atrocities have been and are committed by both sides.” 

“Catholics need to stand with the Palestinian and Israeli citizens who have had their human rights and dignity violated, to insist that all forms of violence cease, all hostages be released, and all channels of dialogue be opened,” he said.

“This conflict, like all conflicts big or small, is perpetuated by all those who contribute fuel to the fire, either in word or deed. The more resources and arguments that are provided to each side, and the more we divide ourselves into factions, the more conflict rages,” he expressed. 

He urged the faithful to “be wiser in regards to conflict within our Church, communities, countries, and world.”

“Rather than perpetuate it by immediately taking sides,” he continued, “we need to challenge it and expose it for what it is: a failure to be truly human in word or deed, an affront to our dignity as humans and as brothers and sisters to one another.”

ACI Prensa Staff, May 6, 2024 / 16:48 pm (CNA).

The miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius, bishop, martyr, and patron saint of Naples, Italy, was repeated in St. Clare Basilica on May 4.

The Archdiocese of Naples reported on its website that on May 4 at 6:38 p.m. local time, the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius occurred once again. 

St. Januarius was martyred in the year 305, during the fierce persecution unleashed by the Roman emperor Diocletian.

The miraculous liquefaction occurred during the Mass offered by the archbishop of Naples, Domenico Battaglia, with Abbot Vincenzo De Gregorio participating and the mayor of Naples, Gaetano Manfredi, in attendance.

When the miracle is repeated, a white cloth is waved to indicate to the people that the miraculous sign has taken place. On this occasion, De Gregorio gave the sign.

‘It’s not an oracle’

Challenging the belief that when the blood does not liquefy some misfortune might occur, Battaglia told those present at the Mass that “this blood is the sign of a dream of salvation, of hope, of trust. It is not an oracle to consult but a compass to follow because it is always well oriented toward Christ, the origin and goal of our journey, our history and the history of the world.”

“The hagiographic sources and records of Bishop Januarius’ martyrdom tell us how he, without any fear, put the good of his brothers before his own safety, going to visit a brother imprisoned because of his faith in Christ,” Battaglia continued.

The prelate then prayed to the martyr: “Help us to walk along the paths of time and history, with our gaze fixed on the Lord whom you have loved and served, and may we always be with feet ready to go to our brothers and sisters who are in physical, interior, or social prisons.”

“May we be like you, who despite the danger and persecution, for the love of God and the brethren, were not afraid to set out and risk your life to spread the bread of the Word that restores the brothers imprisoned because of the Gospel and the violence of men,” he also prayed.

Still addressing the patron saint of Naples, the archbishop continued: “Witness of fruitful blood, pray with us and help us to pray without tiring so that in this your city innocent blood will not be shed again, so that in our Europe, in the Holy Land and the world, fratricidal conflicts cease” and may Jesus Christ “defeat all violence, wipe away the tears of pain and disarm with forgiveness all desire for revenge.”

The liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius

The miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of the martyred bishop St. Januarius usually occurs three times a year.

The first occasion is the day commemorating the transfer of his remains to Naples, the Saturday before the first Sunday in May; and the second is his liturgical feast day, Sept. 19.

The third occasion is Dec. 16, when devotees thank him for his intercession to lessen the effects of the eruption of the Mount Vesuvius volcano, which occurred in 1631.

Who is St. Januarius?

St. Januarius was the bishop of Benevento in the Campania region, an Italian diocese adjacent to Naples, where he was born in 272.

During the persecution of the Church by the Roman emperor Diocletian, known as the “Great Persecution” (303–313), Januarius was taken prisoner along with a group of other Christians and subjected to terrible tortures.

The bishop and his friends refused to renounce their faith and worship the pagan gods. Despite the cruelties they were subjected to, none of them gave in and all were sentenced to death.

They tried to burn them alive in a furnace, but the fire did not harm them. They were then thrown to the lions, but the animals did not come near them. So the Romans decided to behead them all. On Sept. 19, 305, St. Januarius and his friends were executed near Pozzuoli.

Every Sept. 19, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Januarius, bishop and martyr.

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

CNA Staff, May 6, 2024 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

Katie Ledecky, Olympic swimmer, devout Catholic, and winner of 10 Olympic medals, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Friday. 

“Thank you Mr. President for this honor, and thank you to everyone at the White House for an incredibly special day!” Ledecky wrote in a post on X.

Since she began her Olympic career in 2012 as a 15-year-old in the London Olympics, Ledecky has earned seven Olympic gold medals and three silver medals. She also earned 26 world championship medals, 21 of which are gold, and she currently holds two world records in the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle events. 

Ledecky finds herself among other iconic athletes including gymnast Simone Biles, golfer Tiger Woods, and baseball star Babe Ruth in receiving the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom.

But between the excitement of the Olympics, Ledecky is a regular parishioner of the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, Maryland.

Raised in Washington, D.C., she attended Catholic high school and practices her faith by praying before her meets, according to her local diocesan newspaper, the Catholic Standard.

Ledecky was a student at the all-girls Catholic school Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart when she flew to London for her first Olympic competition. The Olympian has since returned to Stone Ridge to visit with the students and share her gratitude for the community’s support for her.

She’s not the only Catholic to receive the medal this year. Jesuit priest Father Gregory Boyle, who founded a rehabilitation program for gang members, was one of 19 who received the Medal of Freedom this year.

Biden also extended the award posthumously to Jim Thorpe, who in 1912 became the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal, as well as to his political allies such as former speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrat Party leaders.  

President Joe Biden is himself Catholic, though he has received criticism from Church leaders for his pro-abortion stance. 

Ledecky will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will begin July 26, while her memoir, “Just Add Water: My Swimming Life” is set to be released on June 11.

ACI Prensa Staff, May 6, 2024 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

Under the theme “Colombia, With Life There Is Hope,” tens of thousands of Colombians took to the streets May 4 in more than 110 cities and towns during the South American country’s 18th National March for Life, according to the United for Life platform, which organized the event.

The marchers called on Colombia’s Constitutional Court to annul its rulings that decriminalized and subsequently liberalized abortion.

United for Life was also joined by multiple pro-life organizations, including 40 Days for Life, the Men’s Rosary, and Rachel’s Vineyard, as well as dioceses, nuns, priests, families, and numerous laypeople.

The simultaneous pro-life demonstrations took place in Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Cúcuta, Montería, Pereira, Cumaral, and scores of other cities.

In Bogotá, the marchers departed from the National Park and went down 7th Street until reaching Plaza Bolívar in the center of the Colombian capital.

In front of the thousands of people holding light blue flags and wearing blue neckerchiefs — the color of the pro-life movement — the president of United for Life, Jesús Magaña, read a manifesto in which he decried the “close to 20,000 abortions that have taken place in the city of Bogotá alone,” which amounts to “20 times more than other causes of violent deaths.”

Magaña also warned that the Constitutional Court intends to “say that abortion is a fundamental right, against the entire letter and spirit of our constitution, the feelings of the Colombian people, and signed international treaties.”

“We are unwilling to remain silent and stand by in the face of the largest massacre in the country,” he declared.

“Which is why,” he said, “as citizens of Colombia who love, respect, and defend life, we have mobilized in 114 cities throughout the country to fill the streets and squares and proclaim firmly, loudly, and clearly that life is sacred, that it must be respected and cared for from the moment of fertilization until natural death.”

In addition to abortion, the pro-life leader pointed out that Colombia’s survival is in danger from “euthanasia, suicide, and structural conditions that deny life.”

The United for Life manifesto demanded that the Constitutional Court annul its pro-abortion rulings C-355 of 2006 and C-055 of 2022, “which are producing a terrible holocaust.” In addition, the organization urged the Legislature to shelve “euthanasia bills” and pass “laws that protect life,” pregnancy, motherhood, and the family.

The manifesto also demanded the Legislature “defeat bill 270 of 2024 that prohibits parents from choosing the best psychological treatment for their children according to their convictions, values, and principles.”

The text also called for forceful action against child sexual exploitation and support for “women with crisis or unexpected pregnancies through well-funded public policies.”

‘The only lord of life is God’

Among those who addressed the participants was Father Laureano Barón, a priest of the Archdiocese of Bogotá who emphasized that “the only lord of life is God, from natural conception to natural death.”

“Let everyone know that Colombia is a pro-life country,” he said, encouraging prayers for the conversion of “all those who try to implement and carry forward projects that cause the death of the innocent.”

“We wish evil on no one. We ask that God touch their hearts,” Barón said.

United for Life noted that in 2023 alone, “according to figures, 52,000 elective abortions occurred in Colombia.”

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

CNA Staff, May 6, 2024 / 14:57 pm (CNA).

New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday filed a lawsuit against multiple pregnancy resource centers and a pro-life group over what the prosecutor alleged were misleading statements about abortion pill reversal. 

James said in the filing that the defendants — the group Heartbeat International and 11 crisis pregnancy centers affiliated with the nonprofit — have engaged in “repeated and persistent misleading and/or false claims” regarding the medical procedure of abortion pill reversal. 

The abortion pill is a two-step procedure in which a pregnant woman first ingests the drug mifepristone, which cuts off the unborn baby’s supply of the hormone progesterone, leading to the baby’s death. 

The woman then takes a second drug, misoprostol, which causes the uterus to contract, eventually expelling the baby’s body. 

Abortion pill reversal works by administering progesterone in high doses after a woman has ingested mifepristone; the hormone is meant to counteract the effects of the abortive drug. Several surveys have found evidence that the drug can be effective at halting a medicated abortion. 

Downplaying that evidence by pointing to scientific disputes over the studies in question, James in her filing alleged that there is “no competent and reliable scientific evidence” to support the abortion pill reversal procedure. 

The defendants “distort the evidence and mislead New Yorkers” with claims about the effectiveness and safety of abortion pill reversal, James argued. 

The filing asks that the defendants be ordered to “remove from their websites, social media accounts, and other promotional materials” their claims about abortion pill reversal, that they be fined thousands of dollars for their purported violations of state law, and that they be prohibited from making similar claims in the future about abortion pill reversal. 

In a statement announcing the filing, James claimed that abortions “cannot be reversed.”

The state “must protect pregnant [women’s] right to make safe, well-informed decisions about their health,” she argued in the press release. 

This is not the first time that abortion pill reversal has been targeted by pro-abortion politicians and government officials. 

California Attorney General Rob Bonta in September 2023 sued five pro-life pregnancy centers and Heartbeat International, accusing them of utilizing fraudulent and misleading statements when advertising the abortion pill reversal drug.

In April 2023, meanwhile, Colorado enacted several new pro-abortion laws including a ban on abortion pill reversal treatments.

A mother-and-daughter team of Catholic nurse practitioners brought suit against the Colorado law in October in order to be allowed to continue their ministry helping women reverse unwanted chemical abortions.

A judge quickly issued an injunction against the reversal ban, allowing the women to continue their medical practice while the lawsuit plays out in court.