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Government restrictions on religion reach ‘peak levels’ in latest Pew global survey

This photo taken on Jan. 15, 2024, shows a Chinese flag fluttering below a cross on a Christian church in Pingtan, in China's southeast Fujian province. / Credit: GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images

CNA Staff, Mar 26, 2024 / 12:45 pm (CNA).

Government restrictions on religion reached their highest levels ever in a key global survey this month, one that has been monitoring those trends for nearly two decades.

Pew Research said this month that its religious restriction and hostilities survey showed that in 2021, government restrictions on religion reached “a new peak globally,” registering “the highest global median score” in the nearly 20 years that they have been analyzing the global data. 

Overall China, Russia, Afghanistan, Iran, and Algeria topped the report’s list of countries with “very high” government restrictions. Nigeria and India were the worst-ranked countries for social hostilities. 

Pew in its report noted several changes to both lists. Between 2020 and 2021, Pakistan and Turkmenistan moved from the list of countries with “high” government restrictions to those with “very high” restrictions. The Eastern African country of Eritrea and the Southeast Asian country of Brunei both moved from the “very high” category to “high.”

Roughly equal numbers of countries between 2020 and 2021 had increases and decreases in their government restriction scores, Pew said, while 55 countries had no changes at all. 

No countries moved up into the “very high” category of social hostilities, meanwhile, though several — including Iraq and Libya — moved from “very high” to “high.”

The survey showed religious groups facing government harassment in 183 countries, which Pew said was the highest on record; the governments of just over 160 countries, meanwhile — a near-record number — interfered with religious worship.

“Harassment” in Pew’s survey includes the “use of physical force targeting religious groups” and “derogatory comments by government officials” as well as “laws and policies that single out groups or make religious practice more difficult.”

“Interference” in religious worship, meanwhile, was defined as “laws, policies, and actions that disrupt religious activities, the withholding of permits for such activities, or denying access to places of worship” as well as rules that interfere with burial rights and other components of religious belief. 

The total number of countries with “high” or “very high” levels of government restrictions declined slightly from the prior year, though the “median index score for all countries” still rose overall. 

Just over one-fifth of countries had high levels of “social hostilities” involving “violence and harassment by private individuals, organizations, or groups,” a decline from its peak of about one-third of countries in 2012. 

Among the cited restrictions and hostilities in the report are Nicaragua’s persecution of the Catholic Church in that country and the kidnapping of multiple Catholic clergy in Haiti.

The survey also cited incidents such as what the U.S. State Department called a campaign for the “de-Islamization of the Netherlands,” led by politician Geert Wilders, as well as reports of antisemitism in Finland coupled with an insufficient police response to those incidents. 

Christians were targeted in 160 of the surveyed countries, while Muslims were harassed and restricted in just over 140 and Jews in 91.

The survey argued that the frequency of harassment “should not be interpreted” to indicate that those groups are the “most persecuted” in the world. Jews, for instance, were the third-most harassed religious group in the survey, though they make up just 0.2% of the world’s population. 

Globally, across regions, countries in Eastern Europe and Asia posted the highest rates of government restrictions on religion, while countries in Western Europe and much of Africa reported high to moderate levels of those restrictions. Restrictions in the United States were listed as “moderate.” 

Overall, the survey’s global government restriction index was the highest on record, reaching 3.0 on a 10-point scale and up from 1.8 in 2007.

The 10-point social hostilities index, meanwhile, stood at 1.6, up from 1.0 in 2007. 

‘NaPro technology’ offers a pro-life alternative to IVF for infertility treatment

null / Credit: ever/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 26, 2024 / 10:30 am (CNA).

In vitro fertilization (IVF) has dominated political discourse in the past month after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling in February recognized the personhood of embryonic human life.

The Catholic Church and many other pro-life advocates are opposed to IVF. The process involves fertilizing a woman’s eggs with sperm in a laboratory, which separates procreation from the marital act and results in the destruction of millions of human lives, the embryos of which are never implanted.

Some doctors who have ethical and medical objections to the treatment have been offering an alternative route to couples who struggle with infertility. The process, known as natural procreative technology (or NaPro for short), has been used for decades and is designed to treat underlying conditions that cause infertility and allow women to conceive naturally by monitoring their fertility cycles.

“We’ve gone the distance … in really trying to find an ethical approach in helping women with infertility,” Theresa Notare, who serves as the assistant director of the Natural Family Planning Program at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, told CNA.

How does it work?

NaPro approaches fertility treatment by two methods: identifying and treating the underlying causes of infertility and charting the woman’s fertility cycle to understand when she is most fertile. 

The process can sometimes require lifestyle changes to improve fertility, surgical intervention to treat conditions that cause infertility, and medicine to induce ovulation in the woman or improve the sperm count in the man. When the issues are addressed, and the couple has a better sense of when the woman is more fertile, the treatment helps the couple conceive a child through the marital act naturally.

“Infertility itself is not a disease,” Marguerite Duane, the executive director of FACTS About Fertility, told CNA. “It’s really a symptom of other underlying conditions.”

Duane, a family physician, said IVF clinics “may not do a detailed work up to diagnose and treat those underlying conditions” but instead chalk the problem up to “unexplained infertility.” 

The frequency of such diagnoses, she said, is “not acceptable” and a sign that “a doctor has not done their job [to] explore the underlying causes of infertility and treat those underlying causes.”

When women chart their cycle through models like the Creighton Model or Fertility Education and Medical Management (FEMM), Duane said a doctor can “identify abnormalities and then make a … diagnosis and then [prescribe an] effective treatment.”

“It is designed to work with the body and restore normal reproductive function,” Duane said.

Sometimes infertility problems are caused by the results of lifestyle choices, such as obesity, or drugs or alcohol usage in either the man or the woman. In other cases, there can be conditions — such as endometriosis, fallopian tube blockage, polycystic ovarian syndrome, cesarian-section scars, or inflammation inside the uterus — that would require medical and possible surgical treatment.

Gavin Puthoff, a gynecologist and the medical director of Veritas Fertility and Surgery, told CNA that a “comprehensive, in-depth diagnostic evaluation” can often determine the cause for infertility, because infertility is a “symptom as opposed to a disease.” He said “what women and couples really want” is the reason for the infertility. 

“They’ve been asking themselves the ‘why’ for months if not years,” Puthoff added.

When medication is used to assist in conception, he noted that the medication “cooperates with their cycle” rather than trying to supersede it: The treatment in this case is “supporting their own natural fertility.” 

Puthoff said the NaPro technology helps ensure “a pregnancy in a state of health.” He contrasts this with IVF, which he said is “ignoring the issue and going around it” and noted that preborn children conceived through IVF have higher rates of congenital abnormalities, preterm delivery, and miscarriage.

Additionally, Puthoff added that NaPro shows “respect for each embryo — each life — from the moment of conception” and supports “the dignity of marriage.” 

“This is a very pro-life and pro-woman, pro-marriage and pro-family type of treatment,” he said. 

What are the results?

Although the data on NaPro success rates is sparse, a 2012 study of 108 people using the treatment in Ireland found that 66% of couples who received the treatment were able to conceive and give birth to a child within 24 months.

Puthoff said the success rate for his patients ranges between 65% and 80%, depending on what the underlying condition of the infertility is. Although the process takes more time than IVF, he argued that it is “more effective.” 

The success rate for IVF treatments resulting in a live birth is about 50% for women under the age of 35, but significantly lower as women get older.

Virginia resident Katie Carter, a patient of Duane’s, told CNA that she conceived two children after receiving NaPro treatments to address her infertility. One is now 2.5 years old and the other is 3 months old.

Prior to receiving the treatments, Carter suffered three miscarriages. Her doctors referred her to IVF for treatment, but she worried she “would continue to miscarry” because the clinics were not “getting to the root problems.” 

She said the doctors “kept telling me I had unexplained infertility and they never really tried to figure out why.” 

When a friend referred her to Duane, Carter began charting, which she said “really hones in on how your body is responding and how your hormones are working,” allowing the doctor to diagnose the underlying conditions causing her issues. 

She ultimately required surgeries to address the conditions that were causing her infertility, which she credited with helping “heal [her] body” and successfully giving birth to two children. 

“I think every woman deserves this kind of care,” Carter said.

Illinois diocese creates Boy Scouts patch honoring Venerable Father Augustine Tolton

Father Augustus Tolton’s life was explored in an October 2022 episode of EWTN’s “They Might Be Saints.” / Credit: EWTN News Nightly

CNA Staff, Mar 26, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A priest on his way to sainthood has inspired the creation of a new Scouts patch in Illinois. 

The Catholic Committee on Scouting in the Diocese of Springfield announced the Venerable Father Augustine Tolton Activity Patch, which honors the first recognized Black priest in the United States.

Depending on the grade of the child, there are several requirements and activities that need to be completed in order to receive the patch. Some of these requirements and activities include learning about Tolton’s life, visiting a seminary or religious community, visiting Tolton’s grave in Quincy, Illinois, and composing a prayer.

Kyle Holtgrave, director of catechesis for the Diocese of Springfield, told CNA that he has “always been looking for ways to bring more attention to him [Tolton] and his ministry.”

“I work with the Catholic Committee on Scouting, serving as the chair of our local diocesan efforts, and we are always promoting various religious activities as part of a Scout’s duty to God,” he explained. 

The Diocese of Springfield will host a stop in the Junipero Serra leg of the Eucharistic pilgrimage leading up to the National Eucharistic Congress taking place in Indianapolis from July 17–21. Pilgrims will stop in Quincy, Illinois, at Tolton’s gravesite. 

“I saw these areas — Catholic Scouting and the Eucharistic Congress — as an opportunity to bring more attention to Father Tolton with this event,” Holtgrave said.

Originally, Holtgrave thought of planning a pilgrimage for Scouts on the evening that the Eucharistic Pilgrimage will be at Tolton’s grave and have a patch awarding participation. However, he realized that “learning about the life and ministry of Father Tolton should not be limited to a one-time event.” 

“Since the Catholic Committee on Scouting has a variety of other patch award programs, I looked for ways to model the Father Tolton patch award based on these other programs,” he shared. “The result is an ongoing opportunity for Scouts to learn about Father Tolton and receive a religious award for doing so.”

He hopes that Scouts will “learn that the Holy Spirit calls people in all kinds of ways” while working to receive this patch and “when the Holy Spirit is prompting you, you can overcome obstacles to follow that call.” 

Holtgrave added that “Scouts will also learn about the sin of racism and will hopefully be more aware of injustices like the racism that Father Tolton faced.” 

“Additionally, Scouts will learn that we don’t have to take on the world by ourselves,” he said. “Father Tolton found support from people who helped him on this journey not only to the priesthood, but also during his ordained ministry.”

Tolton was born into slavery in Missouri on April 1, 1854, to Catholic parents. He escaped to Quincy, Illinois, with his family during the Civil War. He studied for the priesthood in Rome because no American seminary would accept him on account of his race. He was the first African American to be ordained a priest in 1889. He served for three years at a parish in Quincy before moving to Chicago to start a parish for Black Catholics, St. Monica Parish, where he remained until his death in 1897.

Pennsylvania diocese puts retired police officers in Catholic schools to protect, ‘mentor’

Greensburg officers are sworn in to serve the Diocese of Greensburg, Pennsylvania. / Credit: Courtesy of the Diocese of Greensburg

CNA Staff, Mar 26, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A diocese in Pennsylvania is working to keep students safe by hiring retired police officers who become not only security detail but also mentors at each Catholic school. 

Days after his retirement from the Greensburg police station in July 2023 with 25 years of law enforcement experience, Lt. Ryan Maher began a new job as the director of security for the Diocese of Greensburg.

“I was tasked with forming a department and placing an officer in each of the 12 schools as the primary focus of my mission, with a longer-range mission of evaluating safety and security throughout the diocese in general,” Maher told CNA. 

Chief Ryan Maher is sworn in as the director of security for the Diocese of Greensburg. Credit: Courtesy of the Diocese of Greensburg
Chief Ryan Maher is sworn in as the director of security for the Diocese of Greensburg. Credit: Courtesy of the Diocese of Greensburg

Last summer the former police officer filed the diocese as a private police department under Pennsylvania law, giving police full authority on diocesan property, parishes, and the 12 Greensburg Catholic schools. 

Now well into the school year, Maher has hired 18 police officers, all with at least 20 years of law enforcement experience. Most work full time; all must have attended either the Pennsylvania State Police Academy or the Pennsylvania Municipal Police Officers Training Academy, also known as Act 120. 

“Our goal is to have a full-time officer assigned to each building because then they become a member of that school community,” Maher explained. “They get to know the kids, they get to know the parents. That level of trust and familiarity is built with the students.”

But hiring was a “laborious process,” Maher told CNA. 

“We don’t want a hard-nosed law enforcement officer in there with blouse pants that’s walking around like the Gestapo,” Maher explained. “We want that person that’s going to be a mentor to the kids and be a part of that community. So it took a while to find the right folks to fill the positions.”

Bishop Larry Kulick hired Maher with a “vision of having a trained police officer in every school,” the diocese said in a press release.

A police officer keeps guard during a Mass in the Diocese of Greensburg. The officers have authority not only in Catholic schools but also on any diocese property. Credit: Courtesy of the Diocese of Greensburg.
A police officer keeps guard during a Mass in the Diocese of Greensburg. The officers have authority not only in Catholic schools but also on any diocese property. Credit: Courtesy of the Diocese of Greensburg.

The project began after a 2022 advisory council that Kulick formed “to research the issues related to school violence,” Maher explained. 

Once the project was announced, parents wanted it in place as soon as possible, Maher said. 

“They wanted it done yesterday,” he said. “There was no pushback or anything along those lines.”

Now the community that Maher envisioned is coming to fruition. Each school “has an officer every day that the kiddos are in the building.” 

“We’ve gotten all positive feedback,” he said. “And as far as mentoring goes, I supervise the officers working in the 12 schools, so I’m out and about throughout the week at various locations. And I see the kids coming up and giving fist bumps to our guys, or I see our guys asking a fifth grader how that test went last week, how the basketball game went last evening, and those types of things.”

“They’ve really gotten to know the kids,” Maher said. “They know their families, if they have siblings or not, those types of things — those small, little details.” 

He says officers are quick to sign up to work at extra events such as graduation ceremonies.

“They feel that sense of pride in seeing these kids accomplish something and moving on to the next phase,” Maher noted. “They want to be there and be a part of that special moment for those kids as well.” 

“And that’s what it’s all about, is building those relationships, because once those kiddos feel that this is another trusted adult that has an interest in them, that’s when those kids will bring information to the officers,” he continued. “And that’s what could prevent a tragedy happening that very easily could be avoided.”

While other private police departments exist throughout Pennsylvania, the Greensburg Diocese is pioneering this particular model. 

“We’re not the first in the commonwealth, but we’re certainly the first diocese within the commonwealth to do this,” Maher noted. 

This isn’t the only initiative the diocese is taking on to help school safety. The diocese also implemented a joint venture with Catholic Charities to place counselors in the school at least one day a week, he said. 

“So that occurred at the same time that the police department was being formed because we view [school violence] as a multifaceted problem that we’re trying to tackle,” Maher said. “And we’re coming at it from a bunch of different ways.”

Chief Ryan Maher is the director of security for the Diocese of Greensburg. Maher has 25 years of law enforcement experience. Credit: Courtesy of the Diocese of Greensburg.
Chief Ryan Maher is the director of security for the Diocese of Greensburg. Maher has 25 years of law enforcement experience. Credit: Courtesy of the Diocese of Greensburg.

When asked if other areas could follow Greensburg’s model, he noted that “we’re certainly not the first to put police officers in schools by any stretch.”

“It’s just a sad commentary of society that that’s where we are, but I think it’s necessary,” he said. “I think it’s a model that could be followed in other organizations that are similar to us. But I think it can’t be the only step that is being taken to prevent some tragedy from occurring.”

Maher highlighted other improvements such as “mental health evaluations,” “resources being available to students,” and “physical security of buildings.” 

“There’s a lot of components that go into making a safe environment,” he said. “But this is one of them. This is one part of it that I think is certainly necessary.”

Maher, who is Catholic, said that while his police background informs his job performance, his faith is important as a moral foundation. 

“I think that having a strong faith in this position, as it is with any law enforcement position, is important,” he said. “Because that’s where your morals come from in the first place. So it influences it, but it doesn’t necessarily guide every aspect of what I do.”

“I think that it makes me sensitive to the organization,” he added, “and the specialness of what is going on in the schools, and why our parents have the kids in our schools.”

Maher said it’s been “a great experience” so far. 

“Building something from the ground up and seeing the fruits of the labor has been fantastic,” he said, adding that he appreciates “getting to work with a great group of people, not only within my department but throughout the diocese.”

Experts preview U.S. Supreme Court’s abortion pill case

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) senior counsel Kellie Fiedorek (center) and Elizabeth Gillette (right), who survived severe complications from a chemical abortion, spoke with EWTN News Nightly anchor Tracy Sabol about the case. / Credit: Screenshot/EWTN News Nightly

CNA Newsroom, Mar 25, 2024 / 19:40 pm (CNA).

The United States Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday regarding the Biden administration’s alleged deficient safeguards surrounding use of the chemical abortion drug mifepristone and the risk the drug poses to women.

Among the safeguards, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine case could see the restoration of the initial requirement of in-person doctor visits before prescription of the pill as well as the initial seven-week limit on use of the abortion pill. 

In the case, the FDA challenged an August 2023 federal court ruling that affirmed that the FDA did not follow proper testing and safety protocols when it approved the abortion drug in 2000. 

In 2021, the FDA eliminated the in-person doctor visit originally required to obtain the drug, allowing the abortion pill to be prescribed via telemedicine and distributed through the mail. Earlier this year, drug stores such as Walgreens began selling the abortion pill over the counter

Elizabeth Gillette, who survived severe complications from a chemical abortion, is set to testify about the lack of sufficient safeguards surrounding the drug and spoke with “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol about the case.

In the interview, Gillette shared her experience with a chemical abortion — severe bleeding, labor pains, and seeing her dead child — that inspired her to testify against the lack of safeguards. 

“I was not properly prepared for the powerful drug that is the abortion pill. I suffered devastating side effects,” Gillette explained.

Chemical abortions involve a two-pill regimen consisting of the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol. This type of abortion cuts off the nutrients necessary for an unborn child to develop and then expels him or her from the womb. 

“I found myself on the bathroom floor in a pool of blood until I ended up expelling the entire amniotic sac with my baby — a recognizable baby inside,” she continued. “The trauma from this horrific experience still follows me today in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder.”

“This is nothing like what they told me would happen,” Gillette said. “It was minimized and the care was subpar.”

Chemical abortions account for over half of all U.S. abortions, according to a recent study.

Senior Counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) Kellie Fiedorek also spoke about the case in an interview with Sabol.

“The FDA recklessly removed its original safeguards that provide women with in-person, ongoing care when taking abortion drugs,” she said. “Because they removed those, they put women’s lives in danger.”

“We sued the FDA on behalf of doctors to hold them accountable, and we’re asking the Supreme Court to reinstate those vital safeguards to protect the health and safety of women across this country,” Fiodorek indicated.

“The FDA’s own label says that roughly one in 25 women who take these drugs will end up in the emergency room,” Fiedorek continued. “So regardless of what people’s beliefs might be about abortion, we should all agree that women deserve the ongoing in-person care of a doctor when they’re taking high-risk drugs.”

The FDA first approved mifepristone for abortion in 2000 but included some restrictions on dispensation to prevent severe side effects. One restriction was that the drug had to be prescribed and dispensed in person.

That changed in 2021 when the FDA decided that the in-person requirement put a “burden on the health care delivery system.”

Over the years, other restrictions on the drug have also been removed. In 2016, the FDA determined that the drug can be used when a woman is pregnant with a child at 70 days’ gestation. Before 2016, the gestational limit was seven weeks. The FDA also decided in 2016 that non-physicians could prescribe the pill. 

In August 2023, the Fifth Circuit Court affirmed a lower court ruling that the FDA must reinstate the restrictions on the mifepristone pill that were in place before 2016. Those restrictions are currently on hold pending the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision. 

America’s Catholic bishops expressed concern about chemical abortions. In a February statement, the bishops noted that if the FDA policies are allowed to remain in place, “potentially harmful drugs [will] be mailed directly to girls and women who did not see a medical professional in person and may be injured or killed without public knowledge of the cause.”

“I would like everybody to remember that this is an extremely powerful drug, and women deserve ... to be treated with respect and with the safeguards in place,” Gillette said. “We’re worth it.”

PHOTOS: New York pro-lifers march with ‘joy on steroids’ despite heavy rain and taunting

Pro-lifers march through lower Manhattan amid a heavy downpour and pro-abortion protests necessitating a significant police presence on March 23, 2024. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 25, 2024 / 18:18 pm (CNA).

In what has become an annual confrontation, pro-life advocates faced taunts and intimidation from abortion activists as they made their way through the streets of New York City amid a heavy downpour for the annual International Gift of Life Walk on Saturday. 

As hundreds of pro-lifers walked the route, escorted by a contingent of “New York’s Finest” police officers, the protesters followed them, shouting “Shame on you!” and hurling expletives along the way.

The record-breaking deluge dropped 3.6 inches of rain on the group, but neither the animosity of the protesters nor the weather dampened their spirits.

“Man, did it rain. But the joy? It’s incredible,” Jeffrey Bruno, a Catholic photojournalist who documented the event, told CNA. He described the experience as “solidarity and joy on steroids.”

Hundreds of pro-lifers joined the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan, New York City, despite heavy rain and protestors on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Hundreds of pro-lifers joined the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan, New York City, despite heavy rain and protestors on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

Dawn Eskew, president of Personhood Education New York and one of the walk’s organizers, told CNA that between 350 and 400 pro-lifers of all ages joined the walk. Though most wore heavy jackets or plastic rain ponchos, all were still thoroughly soaked, one attendee said. 

The event began with a rally and several pro-life testimonies at downtown’s Foley Square after which participants traversed a mile through some of the city’s most iconic areas in lower Manhattan, including Broadway’s “Canyon of Heroes” and Wall Street.

Eskew said that since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the event, held this year for the eighth time, has been met with intense anger from abortion protestors. Last year, pro-abortion activists threw piles of trash in the path of the pro-life walkers, temporarily stopping them in their tracks.

Eskew said that she had feared the turnout for the walk might be light because of the violence of last year’s protest. But now she believes people must have been “energized by those protesters,” because this year’s walk was even more highly attended.

Hundreds of pro-lifers joined the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan, New York City, despite heavy rain and protestors on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Hundreds of pro-lifers joined the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan, New York City, despite heavy rain and protestors on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

Though she said that she was grateful for an increased police presence and barricades, she said that didn’t stop pro-abortion protesters from attempting to disrupt the walk again this year. 

As the pro-life advocates walked the route, they chanted prayers, sang hymns, and some played drums while protestors attempted to drown them out by clanging barriers and shouting expletives.

The New York Police Department arrested at least eight pro-abortion protestors during the event, one social media user who was at the event told CNA. 

New York City police had to make several arrests of pro-abortion protestors during the event because of attempts to disrupt the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
New York City police had to make several arrests of pro-abortion protestors during the event because of attempts to disrupt the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

Catherine Donohoe, president of the Pregnancy Service Network and one of the speakers at the rally, told CNA that she estimated there were about 120 pro-abortion protestors.

She said the walk was a good way to begin Holy Week and to join in Christ’s passion. 

“People screamed obscenities at him and cursed him and spit at him. And that’s what was happening; we were being spat at and cursed out,” Donohoe said. “But God always told us, and St. Paul reiterated, that being a witness to Christ is never going to be easy. We’re not asking you to have an easy life. We’re asking you to be obedient, and that’s what we were doing. We were being obedient to God’s call to protect the voiceless.”

Despite all the hardships, it was a “wonderful day,” Donohue said.

“We were soaked, I was drenched,” she said, “but this was nothing compared to what Christ endured.”

New York Police Department officers escort pro-lifers in the International Gift of Life Walk as pro-abortion protestors heckle and attempt to disrupt the event in lower Manhattan on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
New York Police Department officers escort pro-lifers in the International Gift of Life Walk as pro-abortion protestors heckle and attempt to disrupt the event in lower Manhattan on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

Abortion is legal through all nine months of pregnancy in New York.

Donohoe, whose pregnancy network helps 5,000 women and children per year, said that events such as the walk are important to let people know that there are other options and resources besides abortion. 

“The politicians are so against us,” she said, “but it’s important for people to know that there are people out there that can help you.”

Phil McManus, another pro-life New Yorker who took part in the walk, told CNA that it was an “amazing thing to see such dedication” among the pro-lifers.  

“There’s no doubt that there is a spiritual war, which turns into a physical war,” he said. “You could see the power of God and you could also see the power of Satan on the other side.”

Hundreds of pro-lifers joined the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan, New York City, despite heavy rain and protestors on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Hundreds of pro-lifers joined the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan, New York City, despite heavy rain and protestors on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

As pro-abortion as the laws already are in New York, McManus said he believes it will only continue getting worse unless pro-lifers and people of faith “step up.”

“I believe they’re expanding the death culture to sick people, elderly, people that are marginal and are not able to protect themselves. It’s spreading and we have to do everything we can to say ‘Enough is enough.’”

“We could preach to the choir but what we need to do is to preach to Main Street. We need to get out there,” he said. “That’s what this walk is all about.”

A Franciscan Friar of the Renewal marches alongside the pro-lifers at the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan, New York City, on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
A Franciscan Friar of the Renewal marches alongside the pro-lifers at the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan, New York City, on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

For many Catholic attendees, the event began with Mass celebrated by Father Lawrence Schroedel of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal at St. Peter’s Parish by One World Trade Center. 

Bishop Joseph Coffey, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, also joined this year’s walk and spoke at the rally.

In a statement obtained by CNA, Coffey said that “it is imperative that all New Yorkers of goodwill stand up and demand the recognition that, from the moment of conception, all preborn children are persons. As persons they are fully invested with all rights of the equal protection under the laws of this state and this great nation.” 

Father Lawrence Schroedel of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal celebrates Mass before the International Gift of Life Walk at St. Peter’s Parish in New York City, on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Father Lawrence Schroedel of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal celebrates Mass before the International Gift of Life Walk at St. Peter’s Parish in New York City, on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

Reflecting on his experience at the walk, Bruno shared a statement on X in which he said: “It’s easy to imagine what it’s like... But to be present, to hear the jeers and taunts directed at you, to be soaked to the skin from the torrents of rain as if they were the tears of heaven, to need police in riot gear walk beside you to ensure your safety, that’s quite a different thing.”

“But to be present,” he went on, “is to stand beside those who join in solidarity and faith, it’s to be the voice of the defenseless in the public square, and it’s to live the call to proclaim the truth without compromise. It’s the modern road to Calvary paved with selfless sacrifice and suffering, and while the road to Calvary is long and agonizing it ultimately leads to what we stand for, what we pray for, what we seek: life.”

Thousands of young people gather in Rome to delve deeper into meaning of Holy Week

Saint Josemaría Escrivá inspired and promoted UNIV, an international meeting of young university students seeking to deepen their faith. Since 1968, thousands of students travel to Rome every Holy Week for this purpose. / Crédit: Ágatha Depiné / Unsplash

ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 25, 2024 / 16:30 pm (CNA).

In 1968, St. Josemaría Escrivá inspired and promoted UNIV, an international meeting of young university students seeking to deepen their faith. Since then, thousands of students travel to Rome every Holy Week.

This year, approximately 3,000 young people will gather in the Eternal City from March 24–31 to participate in liturgical ceremonies with Pope Francis and in several meetings with the prelate of Opus Dei, Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz.

In addition, participants will have the possibility of attending university events for further study and debate on the topic “The Human Factor,” concerning artificial intelligence.

The purpose is to create a time for reflection so that young people, in dialogue with experts from different fields, can consider in depth how to contribute to the humanization of different social and professional environments.

The event is an opportunity to participate in Holy Week with a life of more intense prayer, get to know the city of Rome, go on guided tours of museums and art exhibits, and visit places related to the history of the first centuries of the Catholic Church. 

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

English bishop-elect whose installation was canceled returns to ministry

Plymouth Bishop-elect Christopher Whitehead's planned installation was cancelled in February. / Credit: © Mazur/cbcew.org.uk|Flickr|CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED

CNA Staff, Mar 25, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

A diocese in England has announced that it will undertake “no canonical action” against a priest whose installation as bishop of Plymouth was canceled without explanation earlier this year.

The Diocese of Plymouth had said in a statement in early February that the ordination of Plymouth Bishop-elect Christopher Whitehead, at the time a priest in the nearby Diocese of Clifton, would “not take place” on Feb. 22 as had been previously scheduled.

“A canonical process is currently underway, and no further comments will be made until this has been concluded,” the diocese said at the time, noting that Whitehead himself had “stepped back from active ministry whilst this process is ongoing.”

In the wake of the announcement, the Plymouth Diocese had quickly moved to scrub its website of nearly all references to the bishop-elect. An earlier interview with Whitehead, as well as a Christmas message from the bishop-elect, were both missing from the site after the cancellation was announced, as was the December announcement of Whitehead’s appointment by Pope Francis. 

On Friday, the Diocese of Clifton said in a statement that it had “undertaken a preliminary investigation into the allegations raised against Canon Christopher Whitehead” and that “at the conclusion of the aforementioned inquiry, it was determined that no canonical action was warranted.” 

“The diocese communicates that Canon Whitehead has resumed his duties as parish priest of St. John the Evangelist in Bath,” the statement said. 

Reached for comment on Monday morning, diocesan spokesman Phil Gibbons provided CNA with an identical statement.

It is not clear if Whitehead is still slated to be installed as bishop or if another priest will fill that role. James Abbott, a spokesman for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, told CNA on Monday that the statement from the Clifton Diocese was “all we have just now.”

“As soon as we can provide anything further about Plymouth, we will certainly do so,” Abbott said. 

In its bulletin for Palm Sunday, meanwhile, St. John the Evangelist Parish in Bath announced that Whitehead “has been given the chance to return to St. John’s and resume his ministry here as our parish priest.” 

“He will, most probably, say something at each Mass, but he has tremendous gratitude for the concern, the love, and the prayer that has accompanied him across the last eight or nine weeks, prayers that have truly sustained him along the painful journey of this process,” the bulletin said. “It is good to enter into Holy Week with a shepherd to lead us.”

It was unclear on Monday if Whitehead had spoken of the incident at the past weekend’s Masses. The parish did not immediately respond to a query from CNA, nor did Whitehead himself. 

A parishioner at St. John’s, meanwhile, told the Catholic Herald that there was “nothing more to know” about the controversy. 

The inquiry into the canon has been “completed,” the parishioner told the outlet, and “nothing more needs to be said.” 

PHOTOS: Palm Sunday procession in Holy Land celebrates ‘joy in being Christians’

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, gives the final blessing with the relic of the holy cross at the end of the Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage to Jerusalem on March 24, 2024. / Credit: Marinella Bandini

Jerusalem, Mar 25, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

On Palm Sunday in Jerusalem, Christians participated in the traditional procession marking the beginning of Holy Week with palm and olive branches — one of the most significant events for the Christian community in the Holy Land. The route follows the same path that Jesus took on the back of a donkey when he went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.

The procession departed from Bethphage on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives. The faithful then ascended the Mount of Olives, walked along the ridge — enjoying one of the most beautiful panoramas of Jerusalem — and then descended on the western side, passing by the sanctuaries of Dominus Flevit (where Jesus wept over Jerusalem) and Gethsemane, where Jesus experienced the most painful hours of his passion. From there, the procession entered the city through the Lion’s Gate and stopped at the Basilica of St. Anne.

A group of participants in the Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage to Jerusalem on March 24, 2024, walk along the ridge of the Mount of Olives. From here, you can enjoy one of the most beautiful panoramas of Jerusalem. Credit: Marinella Bandini
A group of participants in the Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage to Jerusalem on March 24, 2024, walk along the ridge of the Mount of Olives. From here, you can enjoy one of the most beautiful panoramas of Jerusalem. Credit: Marinella Bandini

About 3,000 people were present — a much smaller number than usual. Due to the ongoing war, there were few pilgrims. Christians from the Palestinian Territories obtained 2,000 permits for the day, but with such short notice many were unable to reach the Holy City. However, several faithful arrived from Tel Aviv and the Galilee.

Faced with such significant absences, those present not only responded with closeness in prayer but also with a message of joy, defying the rain-laden clouds looming over the Holy City. And so, as in past years, the various communities present enlivened the procession with music, songs, and dances along the route, expressing praise to God and the joy of being Christians.

Franciscan friars from the Custody of the Holy Land play music and sing during the Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage to Jerusalem on March 24, 2024. The various communities present enlivened the procession with music, songs, and dances along the route, expressing praise to God and the joy of being Christians. Credit: Marinella Bandini
Franciscan friars from the Custody of the Holy Land play music and sing during the Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage to Jerusalem on March 24, 2024. The various communities present enlivened the procession with music, songs, and dances along the route, expressing praise to God and the joy of being Christians. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Along the road and from the balconies, several families and children from the Muslim neighborhoods observed the event. A small group of children offered water to passersby from the top of one of the inclines. As he entered the Lion’s Gate, the patriarch was greeted with showers of rice and small treats such as chocolates and candies.

The Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage to Jerusalem, on March 24, 2024, enters Jerusalem through the Lion's Gate. Credit: Marinella Bandini
The Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage to Jerusalem, on March 24, 2024, enters Jerusalem through the Lion's Gate. Credit: Marinella Bandini

“Even though we are few, it is important that there has been this triumphant entry. We have many problems, but we are truly happy that Jesus is our Lord! He is our joy and our strength,” said the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who led the procession. 

Also present were the custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton, and Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana, the apostolic nuncio in Israel and apostolic delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine.

The patriarch wanted to particularly remember the small community in Gaza, “very dear to all of us,” for which he expressed words of great admiration. Also present at the procession was Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of Gaza who has had to remain in Jerusalem, who was visibly moved. 

“We will never abandon you,” said the patriarch to the Christians of Gaza, “and we will do everything we can to support you. I know that this night seems endless, but do not be afraid, even this night will end, and the dawn of the third day will come for you and for all.”

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Father Francesco Patton, custos of the Holy Land (on Pizzaballa's right), walk together in the Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage to Jerusalem on March 24, 2024. As per tradition, the religious authorities close the procession. Credit: Marinella Bandini
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Father Francesco Patton, custos of the Holy Land (on Pizzaballa's right), walk together in the Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage to Jerusalem on March 24, 2024. As per tradition, the religious authorities close the procession. Credit: Marinella Bandini

In bidding farewell to those present as Holy Week began, the cardinal said: “Let us renew our commitment to follow Jesus and let us not be afraid! Jesus on the cross is the victory over the world, not the victory of arms, but that of love.”

The procession from Bethphage to Jerusalem was preceded on Sunday morning by the solemn Palm Sunday liturgy at the Holy Sepulcher, presided over by Pizzaballa. The Mass commenced with the Palm procession, during which celebrants and faithful waved palm branches and chanted “Hosanna,” circling the edicule of the Holy Sepulcher (the small shrine that houses the tomb of Jesus Christ) three times to symbolize the three days Jesus spent in the tomb. The Eucharistic celebration took place at the altar of Mary Magdalene because the space in front of the edicule was reserved for the Greek Orthodox, who were observing the first Sunday of Lent, known as the “Sunday of Orthodoxy.”

On Sunday morning, March 24, 2024, the solemn Palm Sunday liturgy was held at the Holy Sepulchre, presided over by Cardinal Pizzaballa. The Eucharistic celebration took place at the altar of Mary Magdalene. Courtesy of Gianfranco Pinto Ostuni
On Sunday morning, March 24, 2024, the solemn Palm Sunday liturgy was held at the Holy Sepulchre, presided over by Cardinal Pizzaballa. The Eucharistic celebration took place at the altar of Mary Magdalene. Courtesy of Gianfranco Pinto Ostuni

U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference urges Holy Week prayers for end to Israel-Hamas war 

A Palestinian family walks past buildings destroyed in previous Israeli strikes in Gaza City on March 25, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. / Credit: AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 25, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is asking the American faithful to pray for an end to the Israel-Hamas war during Holy Week.

“Thousands of innocent people have died in this conflict, and thousands more have been displaced and face tremendous suffering. This must stop,” the bishops said in a statement on Saturday, March 23 — the day before Palm Sunday, which begins Holy Week.

“As the Church enters Holy Week and Christ’s suffering on the cross and his resurrection are made present to us so vividly, we are connected to the very source of hope,” they said. “It is that hope that spurs us to call on Catholics here in the United States and all those of goodwill to renew their prayers for an end to the raging Israel-Hamas war.”

The ongoing war has claimed more than 30,000 Palestinian lives, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, and more than 1,200 Israeli lives, according to Israeli officials. 

The conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants launched an attack across Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip killing more than 1,200 soldiers and civilians. The militants took more than 240 Israeli hostages, and 130 remain in captivity. After the attack, Israel declared war against Hamas, launching continuing air and artillery strikes. About 85% of the population in Gaza has been displaced and more than 1% of the population has reportedly been killed.

“To move forward, a cease-fire and a permanent cessation of war and violence is absolutely necessary,” the bishops said. “To move forward, those held hostage must be released and civilians must be protected. To move forward, humanitarian aid must reach those who are in such dire need.”

The bishops also quoted Pope Francis, who has been calling for a cease-fire for months: “One cannot move forward in war. We must make every effort to negotiate, to negotiate, to end the war.”

The joint statement was issued by Archbishop for the Military Services Timothy Broglio, who serves as the president of the USCCB, and Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, who chairs the USCCB’s Committee on International Justice and Peace.

“As Christians, we are rooted in the hope of the Resurrection, and so we pray for a just and lasting peace in the Holy Land,” the statement read.