Dublin archdiocese seeks 4,000 Eucharistic ministers for papal Mass

Turin, Italy, Jun 7, 2017 / 03:01 am (Church Pop).- Police in Italy are investigating the missing relic of the brain of St. John Bosco, which was reportedly stolen from its reliquary on Friday night.

The Salesians, the religious order founded by St. John Bosco, issued desperate pleas for prayers for its return after it was discovered missing June 2.

The reliquary was kept in the Basilica of John Bosco in Castelnuovo, fewer than 20 miles east of Turin. It contained a small piece of the saint’s brain.

“We are very saddened, along with the many devotees … for what happened,” Fr. Ezio Orsini, rector of the Basilica, said in a statement.

“We trust that John Bosco can touch the heart of (whomever committed this act) as he transformed the lives of young he met,” he said. “We are also confident that though you can steal a relic of John Bosco, as has happened, you can not steal John Bosco from us and from the many pilgrims who daily visit these places.”

St. John Bosco was a 19th century Italian priest who had a particular love and apostolate for at-risk and underserved youth. Today, the order serves youth throughout the world primarily in schools, homeless shelters, and community centers.

The basilica, located in the saint’s birthplace, has experienced some other minor thefts in recent weeks, though nothing of spiritual value.

Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia of Turin also commented on the missing relic, saying it was news “you would never want to hear, because it makes us think of a profound moral misery” that someone would steal something of spiritual and devotional value, he told an Italian news source.

The archbishop said that he asked all of his priests to say a special prayer during their Pentecost Masses for the Salesian family and the recovery of the relic, so that it can “continue to be a point of devotion for the millions of faithful who come to the sanctuary dedicated to him.”

He implored whomever stole the relic to return it immediately.

“I also invite those who have stolen the relic to return it immediately, without conditions: in order to close this painful chapter and in order to continue to honor the memory of John Bosco in his native place. “

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Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg at a press conference of the German "Synodal Way" / Synodaler Weg / Max von Lachner

CNA Newsroom, Jul 22, 2022 / 09:42 am (CNA).
The latest warning by the Holy See about the risk of a new schism from Ge… […]

Stockholm, Sweden, Apr 27, 2017 / 03:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A new Swedish study has shown that women who are taking the contraceptive pill might be putting themselves at risk for decreasing their overall health and well-being.
 
Mood swings, energy level shifts, and a “significantly lower” quality of  life were the reported side effects of the contraceptive pill when the three-month study had concluded.
 
“Despite the fact that an estimated 100 million women around the world use contraceptive pills we know surprisingly little today about the pill’s effect on women’s health,” said Professor Angelica Linden Hirschberg, one of the study’s leaders, according to the Karolinska Institute.
 
“The scientific base is very limited as regards the contraceptive pill’s effect on quality of life and depression and there is a great need for randomized studies where it is compared to placebos,” Dr. Hirschberg continued.
 
The study that explored the side effects of contraception was conducted by the Karolinska Institute and Stockholm School of Economics, and included 340 healthy women between the age of 18-35. Their findings were recently published in the scientific journal “Fertility and Sterility.”
 
A randomized group of women in the study were given a placebo pill, and the other group was given a common contraceptive pill with levonorgestrel and ethniylestradoil. Both groups of women and the leaders of the study were unaware of which pills the women were taking.
 
Compared to the placebo group, the women taking the pill reported back saying their self-control, vitality and moods were all impacted by the contraception, and noted that their quality of life plunged significantly.
 
“This possible degradation of quality of life should be paid attention to and taken into account in conjunctions with prescribing of contraceptive pills and when choosing a method of contraception,” stated Niklas Zethraeus, one of the study’s co-authors, according to the Independent.
 
While most women are aware that some side effects come will taking contraceptive pills, more and more studies are showing just how negative the impact can be.
 
Last year, a popular Danish study reported the adverse connection between hormonal birth control and depression, which linked women on the pill to a subsequent use of anti-depressants.
 
While this particular Swedish study did not pick up on any increase in depression, the researchers did note that contraception cannot be generalized and that different pills carry different side effects.
 
“All types of hormonal contraception have advantages and disadvantages. This possible effect on life quality adds to this knowledge and could be of particular importance for women who have experienced negative mood symptoms previously,” Dr. Hirschberg stated.
 
For the over 100 million users of contraceptive pills, the study’s researchers suggested that the negative life quality impact could be of “clinical importance” for women, and is something that women should be aware of.  

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