Sicilian city celebrates 400th year of feast of St. Rosalia

Czestochowa, Poland, Nov 20, 2018 / 11:18 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The bishops of Poland published Monday a statement on the sexual abuse of minors by some clerics, asking forgiveness of the victims and calling for action, prayer, and penance.

When sexual abuse “appears among the clergy, it becomes the source of a particular scandal,” the bishops said in their Nov. 19 statement, prepared during their plenary assembly at Jasna Gora.

“The disillusionment and the outrage are all the more painful because children, instead of receiving caring love and accompaniment as they seek the closeness of Jesus, experience violence and the brutal detachment from their dignity as children.”

The bishops made frequent reference in their statement to the words of Pope Francis and Benedict XVI, as well as of St. John Paul II.

“For many believers, especially for young people who are sincerely looking for God, sexual scandals involving clergy are becoming a hard test of faith and a reason for great scandal,” they said.

“The Church in Poland wants to be increasingly effective so that the safety of children and young people, according to the will of the Lord, will become a priority for all communities and families,” they added.

The bishops said they have begun collecting data on sexual abuse of minors by clerics in Poland, and said that such an act is “an extremely grave sin.”

“We ask God, the victims of abuse, their families and the Church community for forgiveness for all the harm done to children and young people and their relatives by clerics, consecrated persons and lay workers in the Church. We ask the Lord to give us light, strength, and courage to resolutely combat the moral and spiritual corruption that is the main source of sexual abuse against minors. We ask the Lord to make our efforts to create an open and child-friendly environment in the Church effective.”

They said they have acted for many years to eliminate such crimes from among the clergy: “Any sign of possible criminal acts leads to a preliminary investigation, and if the probability is confirmed, the Holy See and the prosecutor’s office are informed. We ask those who have been harmed by the clergy to report the damage suffered to ecclesiastical superiors and to the appropriate state authorities.”

The bishops noted that each dioceses has a delegate to receive reports of abuse, who will “help the victim to get psychological, legal, and pastoral support” so as “to help the victims to take the steps necessary to overcome the consequences of the damage suffered.”

The bishops’ conference has, for five years, appointed a child protection coordinators who “organizes many formation meetings for the diocesan and religious clergy that are slowly but effectively changing attitudes and raising awareness. We are also preparing in dioceses, orders and religious congregations a prevention system to help to protect children and adolescents from potential sexual abuse. We want ecclesial communities to be a safe place for children and young people and to make their safety a priority for the whole society. On this occasion, we appeal to all those who take this to heart to effectively combat threats against children and young people, especially in the sphere of the Internet.”

“We are also more attentive to the human and spiritual formation in the seminaries and to priestly formation. For this purpose, for several years, formation is given the educators in the seminaries so that they may work competently on the formation of future priests and avoid admitting immature people, unable to faithfully pronounce their vows and promises, to become members of the clergy.”

They urged prayer and penance to “open our hearts to the spirit of authentic conversion; let us live in harmony and love with all people of good will and fight against all abuses of power, sexuality, and conscience, in all environments, especially in the Church communities where children live and grow.”

The bishops urged perpetrators to repentance: “Openly acknowledge your guilt, submit yourselves to the demands of justice, but do not despair of God’s mercy.”

“May Mary, the Mother of Beautiful Love, ask her Son to give us his grace so that we may express our sincere sorrow and act with determination in a courageous struggle against every kind of danger, coming from some clerics, inflicted on children and young people,” the Polish bishops concluded.

“Let us not forget to ask for conversion for the perpetrators of these wrongs. Let us also ask for the entire Church, both clergy and laity, the spirit of unity and Christian love of our neighbor. Let us be strengthened by the example and intercession of martyr priests who gave their lives in defense of human dignity.”

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London, England, Sep 14, 2017 / 12:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- It’s a tough time for Catholics in public life, and not just in the United States.

Last week, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) grilled Catholic lawyer Amy Coney Barrett on her religious views during a hearing for her nomination as a federal circuit court judge, in a line of questioning that “smacks of the worst sort of anti-Catholic bigotry,” theologian Dr. Chad Pecknold told CNA Sept. 6.

Across the pond, a Catholic member of Parliament in the U.K. faced his own round of hostile questions, during an interview on the morning show Good Morning Britain.

After a brief question about immigration and Brexit, hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid vigorously interrogated Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg on his views on same-sex marriage and abortion, both of which are legal in the U.K. The MP is seen by some as a potential Conservative Party leader and even a possible future prime minister.

When repeatedly asked about his views on same-sex marriage, Rees-Mogg responded that he supports the teaching of the Catholic Church, and that the teaching is “completely clear.”

Continually grilled about both this issue and then about abortion, Rees-Mogg noted that while he opposes same-sex marriage and abortion on moral grounds, he equally follows the teaching of the Church not to judge others. He also noted that the laws of the land will not change due to his religious beliefs, because liberal Democrats comprise Parliament’s majority.

“None of these issues are party-political, they are issues that are decided by Parliament on free votes,” Rees-Mogg said. “They are not determined by the Prime Minister, there’s no question of these laws being changed. There would not be a majority in the House of Commons for that.”

Morgan then asks Rees-Mogg if the people could accept a leader with Catholic religious views.

“I think the Conservatives are much more tolerant of religious faith, and so they should be,” Rees-Mogg said.

“It’s all very well to say we live in a multicultural country, until you’re a Christian, until you hold the traditional views of the Catholic Church,” he added. “And that seems to be fundamentally wrong. People are entitled to hold these views, but also the Democratic majority is entitled to have the laws of the land as they are, which do not go with the teaching of the Catholic Church and will not go with the teaching of the Catholic Church.”

Numerous Catholic leaders applauded the British MP’s public witness to his faith.

“Well done Jacob Rees-Mogg! Thank you so much for standing up for Catholics and clearly yet gently proclaiming the teaching of Christ,” tweeted Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth.

Luke Coppen, editor of the Catholic Herald, told CNA in e-mail comments that this is not the first time Catholic politicians in the UK have experience such antagonism.

“Hostility towards Catholicism is nothing new in Britain. Indeed, it is nothing now compared to what it was in the Elizabethan era,” during which it was illegal – and often fatal – to be Catholic, Coppen noted.

Rather than being frightened by the friction that faith and politics sometimes bring, faithful Catholics should continue to serve in the public sphere, Coppen said.

“They are an example to us: we should always seek to serve the wider society because our faith obliges us to,” he said.

Some have even compared Rees-Mogg’s witness to that of St. Thomas More, who opposed King Henry VIII’s remarriage after failing to secure a decree of nullity, and his ploy to break from Rome and become the leader of the Church of England. His faithfulness to the Church cost him his life, and St. Thomas More is often invoked as a patron saint of religious freedom.

“In this week’s magazine we have a headline describing Rees-Mogg as ‘the Thomas More of breakfast television,’” Coppen said.

“That’s tongue in cheek, of course, because he was very brave. But he’s unlikely to be executed,” he noted, though Catholics in public life “may no longer receive invitations to certain dinner parties.”

Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury also praised Rees-Mogg’s remarks, and also encouraged Catholics to continue to be active, faithful participants in the public sphere.

“…beyond the immediate furore I am sure public figures like Jacob Rees-Mogg will ultimately be respected for their courage and integrity,” he told CNA.

“I am sure we need to see greater Christian witness in political life rather than a withdrawal of faithful Catholics from the public square and from the public debates of our time. The challenge faced by Christians today allows us to see more clearly why Saint Thomas More was made a patron saint for statesmen.”

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Dublin, Ireland, Feb 15, 2018 / 10:36 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Hundreds of people rallied in the coastal suburb of Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, on Saturday to show support for the country’s 8th amendment, which protects the right to life of both mothers and their unborn children.

The Feb. 10 event was called “Loving the 8th” and was organized by Dún Laoghaire Life Canvas and Cherish All the Children Equally as an extension of the Save the 8th Campaign.

Ireland’s 8th constitutional amendment was added in 1983 with nearly 67 percent of voters in favor and 33 percent opposed. It recognizes the equal right to life of the unborn child and the mother, outlawing abortion except in medical emergencies.

A referendum in May will ask voters if they want to repeal the amendment.

Mairéad Hughes, spokesperson for the Save the 8th Campaign, expressed the movement’s gratitude for local pro-life groups, and said the theme “Loving the 8th” would continue through this week.

“We were so delighted to see such a great crowd come out for this event today, and it’s really indicative of how people are becoming energized at a local level to save the 8th amendment ahead of the referendum,” she said in a statement on the campaign’s website.

“It was such a positive event, pointing out that the pro-life 8th amendment protects both mother and baby, and is a provision [that] has saved so many lives.”

Those in attendance showed their support for the amendment with heart-shaped balloons, posters, and hats with the logo “Loving the 8th” in response to the upcoming referendum.

“I believe our laws currently show love to both mother and child, and we want people to understand that the 8th is life-saving, and that is why we’re Loving the 8th,” Hughes said.

“The 8th encourages us to support women in crisis and to love both them and their baby, and surely that’s the most progressive and compassionate way forward for Ireland,” she said. “[As] a mother whose baby was born very early because I had serious complications, I know the 8th protected us both. I know the value of the 8th.”

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