Washington D.C., Aug 8, 2017 / 10:33 am (CNA/EWTN News).- David Daleiden, the undercover journalist behind the 2015 Planned Parenthood videos, has appealed to the US Supreme Court for the release of more undercover footage from National Abortion Federa… […]
Denver, Colo., Aug 8, 2017 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Candid Camera, the show that caught video of unwitting people in bizarre situations, premiered in 1984 and is considered by most to be the birth of the reality TV genre.
Today, the genre dominates a large corner of both regular and cable programming, with entire channels dedicated to reality shows. But there’s an element of life that nearly all of these shows consistently fail to address – faith.
That was something Catholic speaker, author, and youth minister Chris Stefanick wanted to change.
“Most reality TV leaves out the most important things,” he told CNA.
“It struck me watching (reality TV chef) Anthony Bourdain’s trip to the Philippines, and Catholicism didn’t come up once,” he said. Approximately 86 percent of the country identifies as Catholic.
“I thought, man, you have to try really hard to go the Philippines and avoid Catholicism. We’re not really getting reality when we turn the TV on, so I thought, I want to show the full picture.”
That’s why, when approached by EWTN about creating a new Catholic TV show, Stefanick pitched the idea of “Real Life Catholic”, a travel documentary of sorts that involves telling the stories of people’s lives and faith in their own element.
The idea, and the name, are based off his experiences with his ministry “Real Life Catholic”, for which he as traveled extensively and met Catholics all over the US and the world. Stefanick said he felt called to share the stories of Catholics he had seen in his travels.
For the project, Stefanick partnered with film production company Lux Lab, founded by Nick Falls and John Wojtasek, two filmmakers who first met as missionaries for the Fellowship of Catholic University Students.
The team then started scouting locations, planning episodes, and looking for stories of faith to tell around the country for the new show.
Filming would take them all around the US and the world, including Krakow with Pope Francis and more than a million young people for World Youth Day.
Throughout the episodes, Stefanick has adventures with the Catholics he encounters, such as surfing in Hawaii, flying over cranberry bogs in Wisconsin, or walking the streets of Denver and meeting the city’s homeless. He gets his hands dirty in order to learn and showcase the Catholic culture of the particular area where he finds himself.
“It’s an incarnational going out into real life, experiencing the world of real life Catholics,” said Falls, who directed the show.
It was important, Stefanick said, to encounter Catholics and their culture in their own homes and lives, rather than talk about them from a studio. The experience has given him a new appreciation for Catholicism in his country, he said.
“A lot of the country doesn’t know just how Catholic south Louisiana is, or how amazing New Mexico is, and that it has a unique Catholic culture that is not Mexican but New Mexican.”
Stylistically, Wojtasek said it was important for him as a filmmaker that the show be as accessible as possible.
Since travel documentaries and other kinds of reality TV shows are so popular, he said he wanted the show to have a similar look and feel in order to pique people’s interest, even if they might not be Catholic.
“We wanted it to be something that someone could find and relate to, even if they came in late,” he said. “So we put those stories (of faith) within the framework of something that is very much in style and form like any other documentary or travel show or cooking show that people might want to watch and stick around for.”
“But we also don’t shy away from the deepest reality, in that we’re all made human, and we all have a spiritual component and a desire for God.”
Besides Stefanick having fun by getting out of his element, woven into every story and conversation with the people in each episode is how their Catholic faith has impacted their lives.
Through these real stories, the show tackles topics like how disabled people impact those around them, what it means to really serve the homeless, and what death with dignity means in a culture that increasingly promotes assisted suicide.
The death with dignity episode in particular “was sacred material for me,” Stefanick said, because he knew the family personally, whose wife and mother passed away within the course of two different filmings of the episode.
“To go into someone’s life and family and see how they’re coping with the death of a mom of young children, and the single dad raising the kids himself…to go into that and to see just how amazing grace is, the love, the faith, the hope that’s still there, that’s because the message of the Gospel is as real as ever,” he said.
God’s presence was felt not only on camera, but off camera as well. Wojtasek said that while he and Falls both are filmmakers by trade, they are also Catholics by faith, and God made his work and timing evident throughout the filming process.
“There’s a component of this where we recognize that there’s only so much planning we can do” before God’s timing and plans take over, he said.
For example, the last episode, which airs Aug. 8, shows Stefanick surfing in the icy-cold waters of Lake Michigan off the shores of Sheboygan, Wisc. in February, when the surrounding temperature was just 35 degrees.
On the afternoon of the shoot “it started dropping snow like crazy,” said Falls, which worried him and Wojtasek, whose film equipment isn’t waterproof.
“It was terrifying, the snow was terrifying especially for Chris, but he just had this grace that made him tackle this surfing in Lake Michigan with heavy snow falling. We couldn’t even really see through our cameras because of it, but he did it easily, the adrenaline just kind of kicked in and forced him to do it, to sacrifice for the shot,” he said.
“We were freezing, we couldn’t see, so we just had to trust we were getting the right shot,” he said. After they checked the tape, they realized the shots turned out beautifully.
“It was amazing to have the climax of our show,” he said.
Wojtasek said the show demonstrates that the universal Church is alive and active throughout the country and the world.
“To see the family of the Church has been profound, because everyone has their own story, their own journey, but we’re all pilgrims on the same road. Watching the show, what it boils down to is we’re all living life the best we can, united in this common faith,” he said.
Stefanick said the process of creating the show taught him that he needs to be more aware of the presence of God in his everyday life, and he hopes that viewers take that away from the show as well.
“It was my job as the host to put away the notes, the agenda, my email and my phone, and to pay attention to the grace of God in that moment, so that I could alert the viewer to God’s presence in the life of the person in front of me,” he said.
“And practicing that helped me a better person, and I hope people watching the show come away with that and that I continue to do that. Because life is very busy, and it’s difficult to do, but God’s calling us to find him in the moment.”
The final episode of Season 1 of “Real Life Catholic” airs Aug. 8, but episodes will be re-run on EWTN through October.
The future of the show is uncertain, depending on funding and on feedback received from viewers. The team already has plans to pitch the show to Netflix, and they have also received many invitations from the U.S. and abroad for future episodes.
Stefanick said he is encouraged by the number of people who have approached him with new ideas for episodes, because that means the show was successful at giving people a voice.
“I think of the show ‘Dirty Jobs’ and its popularity – it gave a voice to people who usually don’t have one in terms of media,” he said. “When people give me show ideas, that’s encouraging because it shows me that it successfully gives a voice. The show isn’t about me, it’s about the people that we’re highlighting.”
It’s also about reclaiming the narrative about Catholics that too often has been hijacked by secular media, who often portray Catholics as driven by guilt, or as followers of ancient and strict rules and rituals.
“The purpose was to give the average Catholic a voice and say, this is who we are, this is what we look like, it’s something beautiful, joyful, it gives us life to the full. It presents faith as something attractive, and there’s a real evangelistic power to that witness.”
Vatican City, Aug 8, 2017 / 05:45 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Tuesday it was announced that Pope Francis has named Fr. Andriy Rabiy, who has a background in child protection, as an auxiliary bishop for the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia.
Announced in an Aug. 8 communique from the Vatican, Rabiy’s appointment means he will join fellow auxiliary Bishop John Bura in serving the Archepharchy’s Metropolitan Archbishop, Stefan Soroka.
Until now he has served as “protosyncellus,” defined on the archeparchy’s website as someone – typically an auxiliary bishop or “a priest of distinguished standing” — who is given special authority to help the archbishop govern the eparchy.
Born in Lviv, Ukraine, in 1975, Rabiy eventually moved to the United States, where he adapted well to his new culture.
After completing his basic education, the bishop-elect entered the Ukrainian Seminary of St. Jehoshaphat in Washington. In 1999 he received a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America.
He was ordained a deacon in 1998, and was ordained a priest three years later Dec. 19, 2001.
Rabiy’s duties in the archeparchy have included his role as protosyncellus, being a member of the Archeparchial Council of Consultors, the Administrative Council of Pennsylvania’s Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Presbyterous Archepichal District Council, as well as Director of their Center for Prevention and Infant and Youth Protection.
The date of his episcopal ordination has not yet been set, but is expected to be announced soon.
Currently the Archeparchy of Philadephia is made up of roughly 67,250 faithful and 74 parishes under it’s canonical jurisdiction.
According to the archeparchy’s website, the community was initially established as the result of an influx of Catholic immigrants in the 1870s from the Austro-Hungarian empire who practiced the Byzantine tradition, and were known as Ruthenians.
In 1884 a priest from the tradition came and blessed what would become their first church building in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania the same year.
The community was placed under the jurisdiction of the Latin ordinaries in their places of residence by Pope Leo XIII in 1895, and in 1907 Bishop Soter Stephen Ortynsky was named their first ecclesial superior. However, he was required to obtain actual jurisdiction from each Latin ordinary in every community where his faithful had settled.
Six years later, in 1913, Bishop Ortynsky was given full jurisdiction and “sui iuri” status, meaning independent status, from Latin ordinaries by Pope St. Pius X.
In 1924 the ordinary was elevated to an exarchate, referred to as the Apostolic Exharchate of the United States of America, Faithful of the Oriental rite.
Pope Pius XII in 1956 established the Apostolic Exarchy of Stamford, Conn., assigning to it parishes located in the State of New York and the whole of New England. Then two years later, in 1958, he created the the Ecclesiastical Province of Philadelphia which included the Archeparchy of Philadelphia of the Ukrainians, and the Eparchy of Stamford.
The sitting archbishop in the Philadelphia Archeparchy oversees all Ukrainian eparchies in the United States, located in Stamford, Chicago and Parma.
Each bishop of the Philadelphia province holds jurisdiction over all faithful living in the territory of their Eparchies, meaning bishops in the Latin rite hold no authority over them. Although located in the U.S., the archeharchy answers to the See of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Kyiv, Ukraine, which is headed by Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk.
Philadelphia, Pa., Aug 8, 2017 / 03:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The archdiocese of Philadelphia voiced joy and gratitude for 10 young Discalced Carmelite nuns and a new chaplain who have recently transferred to the local Carmelite monastery.
“The support provided by the Carmelites to the mission of the local Church is inestimably valuable,” said Ken Gavin, director of communication for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
In comments to CNA, Gavin noted the youth and vitality brought by the new sisters, who are all in their 20s and 30s.
“As women who have dedicated their entire lives to contemplation and prayer for the good of others, they constantly seek intercession on behalf of all members of the Church, for the conversion of hearts to Christ, and for the ministries and good works of the Church to bear fruit,” he said.
The monastery increased their community from three to 13, in a recent transfer of six nuns from Valparaiso, Nebraska, and four more nuns from Elysburg, Pennsylvania.
As a member of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, Father William Allen will also be welcomed as the monastery’s new chaplain.
A Mass was celebrated on July 26, the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, to welcome the new sisters and introduce them to the community. The liturgy fell on the anniversary of the first Mass for the Carmel community in Philadelphia, marking 115 years since their arrival from Boston to Philadelphia.
A nun from the community who requested anonymity said the transferring sisters weren’t aware of the anniversary, and that it served as a beautiful confirmation for them.
“It was a joyous surprise for everyone. God does those little things, just to say ‘Here I am,’” she told CNA/EWTN in an Aug. 3 interview.
She noted that the addition of the sisters is not only a wonderful event that will increase both the membership and youthful zeal within the community, but something central to Philadelphia’s Catholic identity that will aid the diocese and the world by means of prayer and penance.
“Through prayer and sacrifice. We came to Carmel because we love the Church, and we love the world, we love people. And we come to sacrifice or to consecrate our lives to Jesus, who gave His life for the salvation of souls.”
“Generally, we come here for the work of redemption, which is the work of the Church of course. And that’s our major work.”
The nuns offer their work and prayer for Christians throughout all of the world: the intentions of the Holy Father, the cardinals, and Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, but especially for the conversion of sinners.
This is an important aspect of the message of Saint Teresa of Avila and Our Lady of Fatima, she said, noting the Christian obligation to aid sinners who cannot help themselves.
“Those souls in mortal sin cannot help themselves. It’s as though their hands are tied behind their backs. They cannot feed themselves, it is up to us, and through our prayer, to nourish them with God’s mercy, to beg God’s mercy upon them.”
Additionally, the community will praise God for the goodness he pours out into the world and for all those who receive his blessings.
They will also specifically pray and sacrifice for the sanctification of all their local priests – a practice of Saint Teresa, who wanted “her sisters to be warrior champions of the church to fight the spiritual battle.”
Having been involved in the French Carmelite tradition, the nun said the transition has brought about a beautiful correspondence between the French and Hispanic tradition of the Discalced Carmelite order.
The Philadelphia community stemmed from the French tradition of the Carmelites, which came to the United States from Belgium in 1790. The community of Elysburg and Valparaiso stem from the Mexican tradition of the Carmelites, which fled to San Francisco, California in fear of Mexico’s religious persecution during the Cristero War in the 1920s.
Little differences in the way the sisters wear their habits or attend Mass in Latin, she said have been a delight to experience.
Vatican City, Aug 8, 2017 / 12:38 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Tuesday marks the Feast Day of St. Dominic, the 13th century priest known for founding the Order of Preachers, commonly called the Dominicans, and for spreading devotion to the Rosary.
Surprisingl… […]
Motherwell, Scotland, Aug 7, 2017 / 04:58 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A chaste life and closeness to Christ is the vocation of every Christian, Bishop Joseph Toal of Motherwell has said in response to questions about ministry to people with same-sex attractio… […]
Cardiff, Wales, Aug 7, 2017 / 04:19 pm (CNA).- How does a pub make up for mistakenly trying to kick out a group of celebrating seminarians? By naming a beer after them and calling it the “Thirsty Priests.”
Tim Lewis is the PR Manager for Brains, the company which owns the City Arms Pub in Cardiff, Wales.
He said that re-naming one of the seminarian’s favorite beers was a small thank you for the group’s good humor in being mistaken as a bachelor party and nearly kicked out of City Arms Pub.
“We wanted to do something as a ‘thank you’ to the priests for taking the misunderstanding in such good spirits,” said Lewis, according to Wales Online.
Described as a “rich, warming ale with a clean, rewarding finish,” The Rev James beer was renamed the “Thirsty Priests,” with the added slogan “saving souls and satisfying thirsts.” It was added to the pub’s tap this past weekend.
While celebrating the July 29 ordination of Father Peter McClaren, a group of seminarians dressed in their cassocks entered the City Arms Pub, only to be turned away by staff members who mistook them for a bachelor party.
“The staff thought they were a stag. We do have quite a few issues on the weekends with parties wearing fancy dress so it is our policy to turn them away,” said assistant manager Matt Morgan, according to the BBC.
But as the seminarians were about to leave the bar, the manager overheard them praying, and, realizing the establishment’s mistake, invited the men back in for a round of beers on the house.
The seminarians took the error in good humor, and were warmly received by staff and customers for the rest of their time at the pub. The whole affair was amusing, noted the seminarians, and the men were encouraged by the positive interaction with the community – which also enabled the locals to engage the seminarians in questions about the Church.
Archbishop George Stack of Cardiff, who is also a fan of City Arms Pub, said he was happy to hear about the seminarians’ interaction with the community, noting that “Priests are of the community and for the community they serve.”
Adding to the amusement of the evening, one member of the group, Reverend Robert James – who was ordained a deacon last June – was partial to a beer resembling his own name. The Rev James, a popular ale on the bar’s menu, is now rebranded at the establishment in honor of the seminarians.
The Archdiocese of Cardiff applauded the pub for its good humor over the viral news, jokingly adding that “a number of our clergy, including the Archbishop of Cardiff, frequent your bar so don’t turf any more out please!”
Education is preparation for life. We are social, so its purpose is to prepare us for a good life in community. It affects the whole man, inculcates community ideals, and builds on what we already […]
Phoenix, Ariz., Aug 7, 2017 / 12:37 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Thomas O’Brien, the former bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix, has denied allegations he sexually molested a young boy in the late 1970s and early ’80s.
“Bishop O’Brien categorically denies the allegations,” the diocese said Aug. 3. “According to Diocese of Phoenix records, Bishop O’Brien was never assigned to any of the parishes or schools identified in the lawsuit, and no specific information has been presented which connects Bishop O’Brien to the plaintiff.
Bishop O’Brien, 81, is accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing the alleged victim several times at parishes in Phoenix and Goodyear, Ariz. from 1977-1982.
His accuser, now 47 and living near Tucson, has said he started having flashbacks of the abuse in September 2014 as he prepared for his son’s baptism, his lawyer Tim Hale told the Associated Press.
“It has turned his life upside down,” Hale said.
The Phoenix police department is investigating the allegation.
The diocese said it contacted the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office “immediately” upon learning of the allegations in September 2016.
Because the matter is pending litigation, the diocese said it would not share additional information. It expressed commitment to protecting all young people.
“We are dedicated to providing a safe environment in which every individual is valued and honored as created in the image and likeness of God. Anyone who has been a victim of abuse or who may have information concerning these crimes is encouraged to call a local law enforcement agency.”
The diocese promised continued prayers for victims of childhood abuse and pledged continued vigilance to protection efforts.
Bishop O’Brien’s handling of sex abuse charges against church employees resulted in a 2003 immunity deal. He acknowledged that he allowed employees accused of sex abuse to continue to have contact with children.
That deal said a grand jury investigating sex abuse allegations against the Church did not find evidence that the bishop engaged in sexual misconduct. But the deal did not prevent bringing charges against the bishop if there were evidence he committed sexual abuse.
After 21 years as Bishop of Phoenix, Bishop O’Brien resigned in June 2003, after being accused of striking and killing a 43-year-old man with his car in a hit-and-run accident. The bishop did not stop to help the man or to report the accident. He told investigators he didn’t realize he had hit a person, thinking the collision was with a dog, a cat, or a rock thrown at his window.
He was convicted of leaving the scene of a fatal accident, then sentenced to probation and 1,000 hours of community service.
Vatican City, Aug 7, 2017 / 12:32 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has sent a special message to Peruvians ahead of his visit to their country next year, telling them to look to the great saints of the nation as they prepare, and pointing to hope and unity as key areas of reflection.
Standing beside a statue of St. Martin de Porres, the Pope told Peruvians in his native Spanish that he will be with them in just a short time, and that “I have a great desire to go.”
“You are a people with a large legacy, (and) the most beautiful legacy that a people can have is the legacy of the saints,” he said, noting that Peru has “many saints, and great saints that mark Latin America.”
Among the best-known of these are St. Martin de Porres, St. Rose of Lima, St. Francis Solano, and St. Turibius of Mogrovejo, in addition to the widespread devotion to the image of Our Lord of the Miracles.
In his message, Pope Francis said it is the saints who built the Church in Peru, “from scattering to unity,” referring to the divisions present in the Viceroyalty of Peru, the Spanish colony during the existence of which many of Peru’s canonized saints lived.
“A saint always works along this line: from what is scattered to unity, which is what Jesus did. A Christian has to follow this path,” Pope Francis said in his message, adding that “whoever works for unity looks forward.”
While some look ahead with scepticism or bitterness, “a Christian cannot,” he said. “A Christian looks ahead with hope, because he hopes to achieve that which the Lord has promised him.”
Pope Francis closed the video telling Peruvians that he would see them soon, and that in the meantime, they have homework: “unity and hope, work on this. I’ll pray for you, you pray for me.”
The video message was published Aug. 5 by Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani of Lima.
Francis’ greeting comes just five months before his Jan. 15-21, 2018, visit to Chile and Peru. In Peru, he is slated to visit Lima, Puerto Maldonado, and Trujillo.
If his message is any indication, the saints and their role in evangelizing Peru will likely be a focus in his speeches, with a special emphasis on hope and unity – themes he is already known to speak about frequently.
As far as Peruvian saints, Rose of Lima is likely the most well-known. She was born in Lima to Spanish parents in 1586. At a very young age, she chose to consecrate her life to God.
As part of her commitment, she practiced very intense prayer and penance each day, at times depriving herself of food and sleep. She eventually joined the Third Order of St. Dominic, continuing her tough penances. After three years of illness, she died at the age of 31 in 1617.
Her feast day is celebrated Aug. 23 in many parts of the world, while in Peru and several other places it is observed Aug. 30.
Also among the more widely known saints is Martin de Porres, who was the son of a Spanish nobleman and a black slave woman.
Born in Lima in 1579, he was a talented medical apprentice and sought to enter the Dominican Order, but was initially prevented from becoming a brother due to a Peruvian law at the time that prevented people of mixed race from joining religious orders.
Instead, he lived with the community and did manual work, earning the nickname “the saint of the broom” for his diligence and care in cleaning the Dominicans’ quarters. Eventually, he was permitted to join the order despite the Peruvian law, and he worked with the sick in the infirmary.
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