Convent founded by Mother Teresa burned down in continued escalation of violence in Haiti

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Boston, Mass., Aug 23, 2023 / 14:23 pm (CNA).
South Carolina’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a law protecting unborn babies with detectable heartbeats from abortion is constitutional and can go into effect. Th… […]

Washington D.C., Jun 15, 2018 / 05:01 pm (CNA).- The Trump administration has pointed to the Bible in justifying its “zero-tolerance immigration policy,” which includes the separation of immigrant children from their parents.

According to one Catholic theology professor, though, scripture has much more to say on the topic of immigration.

On June 14, Attorney General Jeff Sessions referred to Romans 13 in a speech to law enforcement officers in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

“I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes,” said Sessions.

When asked about the attorney general’s statement, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders provided further Biblical interpretation.

“I can say that it is very biblical to enforce the law.  That is, actually, repeated a number of times throughout the Bible,” said Sanders in a press conference on June 14.

The statement comes at a time when many Catholic bishops have been critical of the current U.S. practice of separating migrant children from their parents at the border. On June 5, the United Nations condemned the practice as “a serious violation of the rights of the child.”

“The Attorney General cites a famous passage in the theological tradition,” said theology professor Dr. Joseph Capizzi, who teaches moral theology and ethics at The Catholic University of America.

In the New American Bible translation, Romans 13:1 reads, “Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God.”

“Essentially Paul is encouraging those who follow Christ to have a disposition of respect to those in political authority because, in essence, they are there by providence,” Capizzi told CNA. “It does not, by any means, license a blanket support for all laws that are made by those in political authority.”

“The obvious connection here for Catholics is the way we think about abortion,” explained Capizzi, who said that Catholics should not simply follow abortion laws because they are the law, but seek to change them because they are not moral laws.

Scripture is “legitimate as a source of wisdom to draw on” in the public square, continued Capizzi, who said that the Bible can “help us inform the way we think about things, maybe to deepen or challenge certain kind of thoughts we have about politics.”

But the Bible has a lot more to say about immigration than the attorney general’s “clumsy invocation of Paul’s letter to the Romans,” he said.

“The whole story of the Hebrew Scriptures is the story of a people that has been exiled and persecuted,” Capizzi told CNA. The Israelites are wandering, stateless and homeless, and yet they understand that they are called by God to “welcome those who are strangers among them.” Scripture calls everyone, even those who are themselves migrants, to welcome the vulnerable, he said.

The U.S. bishops for years have called for comprehensive immigration reform. They have recognized the importance of national security and border protection, but have also stressed the human rights and dignity of immigrants, the need to address root causes of migration, and the importance of family unity.

Earlier this week, on June 11, Sessions released a ruling stating that domestic abuse and gang violence claims alone should not be considered grounds for asylum claims. This decision also drew strong criticism from the bishops.

“At its core, asylum is an instrument to preserve the right to life. The Attorney General’s recent decision elicits deep concern because it potentially strips asylum from many women who lack adequate protection,” said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Houston-Galveston, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, in a statement on June 13.

The cardinal also condemned family separation at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Our government has the discretion in our laws to ensure that young children are not separated from their parents and exposed to irreparable harm and trauma…Separating babies from their mothers is not the answer and is immoral.”

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Detail of Adoration of an Angel by Fra Angelico, early 1400’s. / Wikimedia commons.

Denver Newsroom, Oct 2, 2021 / 00:30 am (CNA).

Oct. 2 is the feast day of the guardian angels, just three days after the feast of the archangels. These liturgical days provide a great reason to refresh your devotion to the angelic beings that surround us at every moment. These are five prayers that every Catholic should know and pray to increase their devotion to the guardian angels, the archangels, and the mysteries of faith they are so instrumental in communicating. 

1. The Prayer to Your Guardian Angel. When traveling, in danger, or just for an everyday devotion, this prayer is a powerful way to call upon the super-intelligent and angelic beings assigned to each person at baptism to assist them on their journey to heaven. The guardian angels are an expression of God’s providence and His love. They can help enlighten one’s conscience, guard one from attacks of the devil and physical dangers, and guide them toward holiness. This prayer is a must-have in the arsenal of invocations for Catholics. 

2. The Prayer to St. Michael. As Prince of the Heavenly Host, St. Michael is one of the two patron protectors of the Holy Church, a post he shares with St. Joseph. This prayer has special importance for the Catholic Church, therefore. It was ordered to be prayed after the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass worldwide in response to a vision of Pope Leo XIII had of Satan attacking the Church. In recent years, Pope Francis has encouraged great devotion to this prayer. 

3. The Chaplet of St. Michael. The chaplet of St. Michael is a prayer inspired by a vision of St. Michael to a Portuguese nun and Servant of God, Antonia d’Astonac, in the middle of the 18th century. The prayer has been indulgenced by the Church and is a devotion that honors the nine choirs of angels, not just St. Michael. According to the EWTN website, “St. Michael promised that whoever would practice this devotion in his honor would have, when approaching Holy Communion, an escort of nine angels chosen from each of the nine Choirs. In addition, for those who would recite the Chaplet daily, he promised his continual assistance and that of all the holy angels during life, and after death deliverance from purgatory for themselves and their relations.”

4. The Angelus. The Angelus is the traditional prayer used to sanctify 6:00 a.m., noon, and 6:00 p.m. by calling to mind the moment of the Incarnation when Jesus Christ took human flesh in the womb of His mother Mary. It is built upon the angel Gabriel’s appearance to Mary, includes three Angelic Salutations (the first half of the Hail Mary) and concludes with an invocation for the grace to follow Christ to His Passion and Resurrection. 

5. The Angelic Trisagion. This prayer was composed after the founding of the Order of Trinitarians in 1198 A.D. and has been recited by them ever since. The prayer borrows from the scriptural understanding of how the angels praise the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit before the throne of God in Heaven. Unlike the rosary, which has five decades, this prayer has three decades: one in honor of each person of the Blessed Trinity. This hymn of worship is a masterclass in how to give honor to God as the angels do.

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