Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 4, 2020 / 02:00 pm (CNA).- Howard County in Maryland has issued new guidelines for the reopening of houses of worship, bringing its regulations in line with the rest of the state. A previous executive order had prohibited… […]
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 4, 2020 / 12:30 pm (CNA).- The Bishop of Madison says a lawsuit against Dane County and the city of Madison may be needed to ensure the Church can serve the people of the diocese during the reopening phase of the coronavi… […]
CNA Staff, Jun 4, 2020 / 11:30 am (CNA).- Thousands of protesters in Hong Kong held public vigils for the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre on Thursday, despite police orders forbidding large gatherings.
On the evening of June 4, thousands took to the streets of Hong Kong to commemorate the anniversary of the 1989 massacre and to protest against new security laws being imposed on the region by the Chinese national legislature.
On June 4, 1989, as Chinese military fired on mass pro-democracy demonstrations by students in Tiananmen Square, killing at least hundreds and injuring thousands. Commemorations of the massacre are censored in the Chinese mainland, but annual vigils to remember the event have been held each year in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China.
A public vigil for the anniversary of the massacre had originally been planned to be held in Victoria Park on June 4, but police curtailed the event because of public health restrictions during the new coronavirus pandemic.
Thousands of people still climbed over police barriers into the park on Thursday evening, lighting candles and observing a moment of silence for the Tiananmen victims, according to the Hong Kong Free Press.
Elsewhere in Hong Kong, some protesters blocked streets and clashed with police, while others gathered in other parts of the city, chanting in favor of democracy and against security legislation that the Chinese national legislature is imposing on the region.
A spokesman for the diocese of Hong Kong told Catholic News Service that “special Masses” would be offered on the evening of June 4, and that the police order against the Victoria Park gathering “does not mean that there will be no vigil.”
According to the South China Morning Post, more than 3,000 riot officers were deployed in the city.
Hong Kong has enjoyed special administrative status as part of the “one country, two systems” agreement when the United Kingdom transferred control over the region to China in 1997, with its own legislature.
That status, democracy advocates have warned, is in jeopardy due to efforts by the Chinese national legislature to pass security bills imposing changes on the region without the consent of the Hong Kong legislature.
On May 27, bishop-emeritus of Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen told CNA, “We have nothing good to hope for. Hong Kong is simply completely under [China’s] control. We depend on China even for our food and water. But we put ourselves in the hands of God.”
“We rely on help from heaven…from the human perspective, we have nothing to hope,” he said
Activists held large-scale pro-democracy demonstrations last year, protesting a law that would allow for extradition of alleged criminals to mainland China. The bill eventually was pulled from consideration by the Hong Kong legislature.
These past three months have often felt like wartime, complete with restrictions and rationing. And as often happens in wartime, a parallel struggle has played out under cover of the general chaos. Its battles have […]
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 4, 2020 / 10:05 am (CNA).- Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn has denied a second allegation of sexual abuse, and said he is considering taking legal action for libel against his accusers. Both allegations relate to the… […]
CNA Staff, Jun 4, 2020 / 03:40 am (CNA).- Pope Francis on Wednesday called Bishop Mark Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso, Texas, after the bishop joined a demonstration against racial discrimination to pray for George Floyd.
Seitz told local news … […]
Denver Newsroom, Jun 4, 2020 / 03:11 am (CNA).- In the spring of 1992, then-Father David O’Connell was comfortable in parish life in south LA. The Irish-born priest had served the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for more than a decade by then, and he … […]
Spokane, Wash., Jun 3, 2020 / 06:30 pm (CNA).- St. Charles Catholic School in Spokane, Washingon adds its name to a growing list of Catholic schools across the country that hope to find a renewal through an embrace of a classical liberal arts educational model.
St. Charles sits in a part of the Spokane metro area that is thick with Catholic schools. Four other parochial schools are within a ten minute drive from St. Charles. With so many Catholic schools in the area, the question for each school is, “what sets us apart?”
St. Charles’ decision to embrace a classical liberal arts model follows a track record of schools making the same transition. In Denver, Colorado, Our Lady of Lourdes School had only 104 students enrolled when it decided to switch to a classical curriculum. The following year, enrollment increased to 180 and the growth has continued. In the fall of 2018, Lourdes opened a second campus.
St. Charles’ move to classical was not a forgone conclusion; the school has had several changes of leadership over the last few years. In 2019, the school welcomed a new pastor and principal, Fr. Esteban Soler and principal Heather Schlaich. As school leaders looked at the future of the school, they hoped to bring stability and growth to the school.
Soler said he “has a heart” for classical liberal education and for the humanities. Growing up in Argentina, the priest was classically educated from 6th grade through high school. For Schlaich, the appeal of a classical liberal arts curriculum was multifaceted.
“In doing our research, we found it is an idea that is spreading nationwide,” she said. The emphasis on the arts also impressed Schlaich, whose background is music education.
“Knowing that we needed something new and exciting in our community, and knowing that there is a need to fill because there isn’t a Catholic elementary school that is classical in Spokane, we felt this is a niche we could fill,” she added.
The decision to fill a niche role with a classical curriculum is expected to help neighboring Catholic schools. Rather than competing for the same pool of students, St. Charles hopes to bring new families into the Catholic school system.
“I’m hoping we meet that need and get more kids into Catholic school,” Schlaich said.
For those who are not familiar with it, the idea of classical education can seem mysterious. But Schlaich said there is a simple way to define the underlying principle of classical liberal arts education: “I would describe it as an integration of subjects with the faith.”
Explaining further, Soler stressed the unity of the curriculum, all subjects are rooted in faith and in the Catholic vision that all truth comes from God.
“The curriculum is oriented to help the kids to grow in a coherent base, where everything is understood as a whole, before they can go to different specifications.”
A classical education can seem old-fashioned to many, and in a way, it is. The roots of classical curriculum go right back to ancient Greece. The educational model continued to develop in Mediterranean and European countries. The curriculum is not stuck in the past though; technology is incorporated into the classroom on an as-needed basis and the curriculum meets current educational standards, school leaders told CNA.
What about Latin? The students at St. Charles will learn Latin, starting in kindergarten. The study of one or more of the classical languages, Greek or Latin, is a hallmark of classical schools. Soler will teach the students Latin himself, having an extensive background in Latin himself, studying the language for 10 years both in Argentina and in Rome.
Schlaich said that compared to a typical secular, modern school, the focus of a classical school is on “cultivating wisdom and virtue.” The school does this by “teaching the students Latin, exposing them to high quality literature, and focusing on appreciation of beauty, goodness, and truth.”
After the change was announced in the spring of 2020, those in the school community had many questions.
“I have had a lot of positive feedback, [but] there is anxiety in some people, I would say, because it is a change, and there is anxiety with any change,” Soler noted.
Priest and principal met with families to explain the changes, and while many families are supportive, some have decided to move to neighboring schools.
Heather Morrisson, a parent of St. Charles’ students said she is excited for the change in curriculum. “I love that we are integrating religion into every aspect of the curriculum and I like that we are encouraging critical thinking in the students.”
Schlaich said the response from teachers has also been enthusiastic.
“Our teachers are very loyal,” she said. “They are excited we are going to be digging deeper, looking at deeper meanings.”
Soler said he is looking forward to the adventure of undertaking this change.
“We will be the only Catholic school in the area – not in the state because we have St. Monica on Mercer Island, and there are other schools in the Seattle area looking to make the change – but we will be the only one in the area to make the change.”
Looking to the future, both Soler and Schlaich are hopeful about the transition.
“We are excited,” Fr. Soler said. “It is a challenge, but overall, I think it will be good. I think it will attract families who are not served by Catholic schools now. The school is part of the life of the parish. The mission of the parish, like every Catholic parish, is to evangelize. I hope the school will help bring the students to a deeper knowledge of Christ.”
MADISON, Wisconsin — At a time when violence in the streets and a public health pandemic weigh heavily on people’s minds, Bishop Donald J. Hying said Wednesday that the answer is more access to Holy […]
CNA Staff, Jun 3, 2020 / 05:57 pm (CNA).- A total of 434 human rights organizations from 16 countries have released a manifesto condemning the push from external groups to promote abortion in their nations during the coronavirus pandemic.
The “International Manifesto for the Right to Life” was delivered this week to the foreign ministry offices of Costa Rica, Argentina, Peru, and Ecuador.
It repudiates the U.N.’s Humanitarian Response Plan COVID-19 for Ecuador, which requires “safe, legal abortion” as a condition for aid.
The plan claims to be “humanitarian aid” but “includes a $3 million allocation to train health care personnel in so-called ‘safe and legal abortion,’ in violation of the Constitution and Ecuadoran laws,” the manifesto says.
The manifesto also rejects the “Joint Statement on Protecting Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Promoting Gender-responsiveness in the COVID-19 Crisis” signed by representatives of 59 countries – including Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Peru – which promotes access to abortion.
The International Manifesto for the Right to Life argues that there is a major disconnect between the efforts to promote abortion and the broader society’s focus on safeguarding human life amid the coronavirus crisis. Many of the countries in question have protections in their constitutions, criminal codes, and civil codes to protect human life of the moment of conception, the document notes.
Instead of advocating for pro-abortion policies, the right to life manifesto calls for a “focus on public policies based on human dignity, and for effectively putting an end to any attempt to interfere with or attack the sovereignty of our countries, in particular coming from the U.N. and its principal agencies.” It pointed specifically to the United Nations Population Fund, UN Women, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.
Martha Villafuerte, a representative of Ecuador for the Family, argued that international aid “must come without conditions or financial coercion.” She noted that Ecuador currently has the highest level of coronavirus deaths per capita recorded in Latin America.
“[I]t is unacceptable to try to take advantage of the situation to slip in through the back door a crime that the Constitution rejects,” she said.
Luis Losada, director of CitizenGO Campaigns for Latin America, called the U.N. effort to promote abortion in Ecuador a textbook example of “ideological interference.” A CitizenGO petition opposing the international pressure for abortion has garnered more than 32,000 signatures.
“[The international interference] violates the statutes of the United Nations that expressly commit it to not interfere in national policies or legislation, respecting the sovereignty of nations,” Losada said. “It violates the Constitution of Ecuador that protects the right to life from the moment of conception. And it violates the parliamentary debate (in Ecuador) that took place last year on the proposal to decriminalize abortion, which fortunately did not succeed.”
Losada said the U.N.’s humanitarian proposal is “an insult not only to the sovereignty of Ecuador but to that of the rest of the countries in the region, which take note of the impunity with which this interference is being done.”
“[T]he government of Ecuador must defend its sovereignty, national dignity, the Constitution and the right to life by rejecting this illegal and immoral proposal by the United Nations,” he said.
This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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