St. Andrew Catholic Church

Pope Francis and King Philippe listen to a speech by Belgium Prime Minister Alexander De Croo during the pope's trip to Belgium in late September 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Deutsch, Oct 4, 2024 / 11:50 am (CNA).

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo criticized Pope Francis for comments the pope made on abortion last week when he was returning to Rome from Belgium. The apostolic nuncio in Belgium and Luxembourg, Archbishop Franco Coppola, is being officially summoned to discuss the matter.

“It is absolutely unacceptable for a foreign head of state to make such statements about democratic decision-making in our country,” De Croo said on Thursday.

During the in-flight press conference on the way back from Belgium on Sunday, Pope Francis emphasized: “Women have a right to life, to their lives, and to the lives of their children. Let us not forget to say that.” He then added: “Abortion is a homicide. ... It kills a human being. The doctors who carry it out are contract killers. ... And there is no debate about that.”

The pontiff emphasized that he was specifically talking “about abortion, and you can’t discuss that. I’m sorry, but that’s the truth.”

In contrast, De Croo said that Belgium “does not need lessons on how our parliamentarians pass laws democratically … Fortunately, the time when the Church dictated the laws in our country is long gone.”

Belgium has a population of less than 12 million people and at least 16,000 children are killed in the womb every year, according to official figures. A peak was reached in 2011 with almost 20,000 deaths by abortion.

The Belgian Parliament is currently debating whether abortion should also be legal after the 12th week of pregnancy. Specifically, it is about extending the limit to 18 weeks, which means that even unborn children older than 4 months could be killed.

During his visit, Pope Francis on Sept. 28 described laws legalizing abortion as “murderous” and “criminal” when he visited the tomb of Belgian King Baudouin in the royal crypt of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Brussels.

King Baudouin refused to sign a law allowing abortions in Belgium in 1990. He was therefore — with his consent — declared unfit to govern for a day by the government, which then enacted the law. He was then reinstated as king.

Against this backdrop, Pope Francis said that Baudouin decided to “leave his office as king in order not to sign a murderous law.”

As prime minister of Belgium, De Croo is a member of the Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten (Open VLD) party. In the elections in June, the party only won 5.5% of the vote. Open VLD also won just 8.5% of the vote in 2019. After more than a year of negotiations, a coalition government consisting of seven parties was finally formed, with De Croo at the helm.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Knoxville Bishop Mark Beckman speaks to “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. / Credit: EWTN News

CNA Staff, Oct 4, 2024 / 09:30 am (CNA).

Bishop Mark Beckman of the Diocese of Knoxville in eastern Tennessee — an area heavily impacted by the recent Hurricane Helene — said in an interview with “EWTN News Nightly” this week that the storm’s “devastation” has led to mounting physical, financial, and emotional needs. 

Hurricane Helene made landfall last week, passing through multiple southeastern states during its trek through the U.S. and leaving destruction in its wake. The storm killed more than 200 people, with hundreds more reported missing. The hurricane was the deadliest storm to reach the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The Category 4 storm further left millions of people stranded without electricity and hundreds of thousands in flooded areas.

Flooding is affecting eastern Tennessee in particular. Tennessee authorities have issued a water contact advisory, warning the public to avoid contact with bodies of water affected by the flooding, as they could be contaminated. 

“I would say the most affected areas are the northeastern portion of our diocese, closest to the mountains, where most of the rain fell,” Beckman told “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol on Thursday.

“We had the opportunity yesterday to visit a few of the most affected communities — Erwin, Tennessee, was one of the more strongly affected areas — and to witness firsthand some of the damage that took place up there, but also to meet some of the people who’ve been affected and also many of the people who are helping as volunteers right now to reach out to those folks,” the bishop said. 

Beckman said the response of people in the diocese “has been absolutely incredible.”

“Our Catholic Charities here, on the ground, has really reached out and helped with the physical needs of those communities in an incredible way,” Beckman said. “I’ve seen the volunteers at work and all of the supplies that gathered and staged up in that area.”

When asked about how people are processing the tragedy, the bishop said it’s had a heavy emotional impact. 

“The spiritual and emotional needs are significant,” Beckman said. “And I will tell you, the first group of people that I met was a circle of people who were caught up in the flooding that took place in the factory in Erwin, Tennessee,” he said.

“And there’s a lot of grief there, a lot of sadness. Those who survived, I think, probably are feeling some of that survivor’s guilt. And there are still people missing.”

An investigation is ongoing after 11 factory workers at Impact Plastics in Erwin, Tennessee, were swept away by cataclysmic flooding. At least two people died and five others are still missing. Several employees have said they weren’t permitted to leave in time to escape the flooding. 

Beckman noted that authorities in Erwin are looking for numerous missing persons in that area.

“The family members who are left are very distraught,” he said. “So I think the most important spiritual and emotional support we could give was simply being present with them. And we did pray with them. We listened to them, [we] had the opportunity just to spend some time helping them to express some of the things that they are feeling right now.”

When asked what the biggest needs are for the community, Beckman said there are a variety of basic necessities right now, but the financial impact will grow in the coming weeks. 

“The first need that came up right away was water, clean drinking water, and that has certainly been met in a huge, abundant way. We saw a lot of bottled water up there,” he said. “A lot of people still do not have electricity or good communication. Many have lost homes. Some people will need assistance with burials of family members.” 

“The needs would be across the board for things that we often take for granted, especially if people’s homes were flooded,” Beckman continued. “And it will be a while before some of those folks will be able to go back to work. So the financial needs, as we progress in the next several weeks, I’m sure, are going to mount.”

When asked how people can help, Beckman said that awareness, support, and prayer are key. 

“The most important thing is the awareness of what’s taking place so that the people know that they’re not forgotten,” he said.

The storm has caused devastation in large parts of the U.S., especially Tennessee’s neighbor, North Carolina, Beckman noted. Amid the “devastation,” Beckman said he is grateful to see people’s generosity. 

“There are national organizations that are helping, like Catholic Charities, to support the rebuilding efforts,” he said. “All of those things matter. And, of course, the prayerful support, you know, that people know that they’re not alone, that people are praying for them.”

“Sometimes we forget that each of these people have their own individual stories, and each one of them were caught unexpectedly in the remnants of the storm,” the bishop added. “And so it’s learning to accompany persons where they are right now at this particular moment.”

Photos of King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola. When abortion was first legalized in Belgium in 1990, King Baudouin chose to abdicate from his duties as king of the Belgians from April 3 to 5 in order not to sign the bill into law. When Baudouin died at the age of 63 in 1993, he had reigned continuously for 42 years except for those three days. / Credit: Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 4, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Capping off a very busy month of international travels, Pope Francis made a surprise announcement last Sunday to the thousands of attendees at the papal Mass at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels.

“On my return to Rome, I will open the process for the beatification of King Baudouin,” the pope said as the crowd erupted into cheers and applause.

Francis went on to call Baudouin a man of faith who serves as an example for leaders today. He also asked the Belgian bishops to “commit themselves” to advancing Baudouin’s canonization cause.

So, who is this Belgian king who, if the pope has his way, may become the next Catholic king to be declared a saint? Meet King Baudouin, the monarch who gave up his earthly crown rather than make himself complicit in the killing of the unborn.

Man, monarch… saint?

Baudouin was born in 1930 in Belgium’s Chateau of Stuyvenberg.

From a young age, his life was marked by hardship. His mother, Queen Astrid, died in a car crash when he was just 4 years old. At 14 he and his family were taken captive by invading Nazis. After the war, revolutionary forces in the country compelled his father, Leopold III, to abdicate in favor of his son, throwing Baudouin into a life of service to his country.

His over 40-year reign, 1951–1993, marked a time of intense social, political, and religious upheaval in Belgium and the world. Despite all this change, Baudouin carried out his duties with complete devotion to his country and his Catholic faith, serving as one of the few unifying factors in the country for which he was beloved by his people.

In 1960, he married another devout Catholic, Princess Fabiola de Mora y Aragon. Though Baudouin greatly desired to be a father, the royal couple never bore children; Queen Fabiola suffered five miscarriages during their marriage.

Despite this, both Baudouin and Fabiola maintained a deep faith in God. The couple found strength in the Eucharist and according to the testament of the chaplain of the Belgian Court, the couple attended daily Mass together.

Baudouin and Fabiola were great promoters of the faith, especially the Catholic charismatic movement. Their witness stood in sharp contrast to the general movement of Belgium, Europe, and the West away from Christianity toward secularism.

Baudouin gives up his crown

In 1990 Baudouin and Fabiola made a pilgrimage to the Holy House of Loreto, Italy. While there they asked the Blessed Virgin Mary for the courage to fight against a new Belgian law legalizing abortion that was then under discussion.

Just months later, the Belgian Parliament passed the law legalizing abortion until 12 weeks of pregnancy.

As king, Baudouin had the duty of signing all new legislation into law, a duty he had carried out faithfully for decades. However, Baudouin refused to sign this law. Citing his Catholic beliefs and his own inability to have children, Baudouin informed the government that he could not and would not sign the law.

In a message to Belgian Prime Minister Wilfried Martens, Baudouin explained his decision, saying: “I fear that this law will contribute to a palpable diminution of respect for the lives of the weakest among us.”

This decision caused significant political pushback and threw the country into a constitutional crisis.

In response to criticism, Baudouin wrote: “I know by acting in this way I have not chosen an easy path and that I risk not being understood by many of my fellow citizens. To those who may be shocked by my decision, I ask them: Is it right that I am the only Belgian citizen to be forced to act against his conscience in such a crucial area? Is the freedom of conscience sacred for everyone except for the king?”

Ultimately, Martens concocted a compromise in which Baudouin agreed to declare himself unfit to rule so that the government could carry out the democratic process needed to enact the law.  

On April 3, 1990, Baudouin was removed with his consent from the Belgian throne for his refusal to sign the abortion bill. Due to his massive popularity, however, Parliament restored his crown just 36 hours later on April 5.

A leader to illuminate today’s leaders

On July 31, 1993, at the age of 63, Baudouin died from a sudden heart attack. Once again, he brought the country together as citizens across Belgium mourned his passing. He had reigned continuously for 42 years except for those 36 hours in 1990.

Pope John Paul II praised Baudouin in a 1995 general audience in which he said that “he was a great guardian of the rights of the human conscience, ready to defend the divine commandments, and especially the Fifth Commandment: ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ especially with regard to the protection of the life of unborn children.”

This past weekend, Pope Francis, accompanied by the current Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, visited the royal crypt at Our Lady of Laeken in Brussels. While there, Francis spent a few moments praying in front of Baudouin’s tomb.

According to the Vatican, Francis praised Baudouin’s courage for choosing to “leave his place as king in order not to sign a murderous law.”

Referencing a bill currently being considered in Belgium to further expand abortion, the Holy See Press Office said that “the pope urged Belgians to look to him [Baudouin] at this time when criminal laws are still being made.”

Considering this and other laws, conflicts, and struggles throughout the world, Francis voiced his hope that Baudouin’s “example as a man of faith enlightens those who govern.”

Archbishop of Barcelona and the president of the Episcopal Conference of Spain, Cardinal Juan José Omella y Omella, arrives at St. Peter’s Basilica for a penitential service for the Synod of Bishops presided by Pope Francis on Oct. 1, 2024, in Vatican City. / Credit: Franco Origlia/Getty Images

Vatican City, Oct 3, 2024 / 17:45 pm (CNA).

Perhaps it is in the very nature of the Synod on Synodality to take steps back after having taken several steps forward. But the tone of the opening days of the synod’s final general assembly makes it apparent that, for the moment, there is no talk of revolution within the Church. 

That tone was set days before the gathering got underway this week at the Vatican, when in his speech in Belgium on Sept. 27, Pope Francis said that the synod wasn’t meant to advance what he called “trendy reforms.” 

Now it seems clear that while the delegates may discuss many things over the next three weeks, nothing will be decided. There will be no doctrinal changes. No diminution of the role of the bishop. No rush to resolve the question of opening the diaconate to women. 

Instead, this month’s real challenge may well be how to manage the expectations of those hoping and pushing for sweeping changes. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the synod’s general rapporteur, alluded to that danger at the end of last year’s assembly when he noted that many would be disappointed if women were not given a greater role in the Church. 

But is a major change in Church governance in the offing? That seems unlikely. Pope Francis himself, in his remarks at the opening of this year’s assembly Oct. 1, emphasized that “the presence at the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of members who are not bishops does not diminish the episcopal dimension of the assembly,” a reference to the dozens of laypeople and women religious participating as voting delegates. 

He added, with evident annoyance, that suggestions to the contrary were due to “some storm of gossip that went from one side to the other.” Indeed, there is not even “some limit or derogation to the authority of the individual bishop or the episcopal college,” he said. 

Rather, the pope tried to clarify, the assembly “indicates the form that the exercise of episcopal authority is called to take in a Church aware of being constitutively relational and therefore synodal.” In short, it is a “modus gubernandi,” a way of governing. Yet it remains a government rather than an open forum. 

There have been plenty of other signals that no revolution is imminent. 

For example, there was Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, who in his report on new ministries said that Pope Francis does not consider the moment for the female diaconate to be “ripe.” The reflection continues, in other words. The Church will endeavor to give more space to women in decision-making roles, but further discussion is needed as to any kind of ordained ministry — something the pope had already indicated in his in-flight press conference Sept. 29 on his way back from Belgium. 

Also, in their intermediate reports to the synod, the study groups commissioned by the pope to examine questions of a female diaconate and other controversial issues showed a certain prudence on the part of the bishops in addressing doctrinal questions. The bishops may concede to giving the laity a greater say in decision-making, perhaps, but not when it comes to doctrinal matters.

The study group tasked with examining the role of the “bishop-judge” is a clear example. Pope Francis has placed the bishops at the center of the marriage annulment process, asking — indeed almost imposing — that they are the final judges. But the bishops called to speak on the issue have instead reaffirmed that the bishop, in some cases, ought to have the option of delegating that responsibility to regional and national courts that “could guarantee great impartiality in decisions.” Is this a step back from what Pope Francis already has requested? 

And when it comes to making the process of selecting bishops more transparent, much depends on how the apostolic nuncio in each country exercises the selection process. There is a call for “more attention to the local Church” and “more involvement of the local Church,” but this is a question of approach, not revolutionary change.

Similarly, while the news is that the Dicastery for Bishops has launched an investigation to evaluate the practice of ad limina visits, we know already that Pope Francis has long included interdepartmental meetings in his ad limina visits when the local situation requires it. 

The study groups also have emphasized that there is no need to change the Ratio Fundamentalis, the Vatican document, already revised by Pope Francis in 2016, that serves as the basis for the formation of priests and deacons. At most, the study group text states, one could write “a preamble on the one hand clearly describing the relational identity of ordained ministers in a synodal and missionary Church and indicating on the other hand principles and criteria for the implementation of the Ratio Fundamentalis and the Ratio Nationales in harmony with this ecclesiological and missiological framework.” 

Perhaps the most interesting part concerns the question of the relationship between the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Church because, the study group text states, it aims to have a “document of the Holy See, edited by the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, addressed by the Holy Father to the Latin bishops and containing some guidelines on these aspects.” 

The synod’s canonical commission focuses on making diocesan/eparchial and parish pastoral councils mandatory. But this theme already is highlighted in the International Theological Commission’s document on synodality, released in 2018. 

So far, in short, there is much ado about nothing. Perhaps there is a greater emphasis on the “cry of the poor” and on the need not to focus on doctrinal issues. And yet, when it comes to making a concrete proposal, the bishops appear content with their ordinary discipline.

Bombs strike southern Lebanon. / Credit: Aid to the Church in Need

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 3, 2024 / 17:15 pm (CNA).

Some 9,000 Christians in three villages in southern Lebanon are in constant danger because of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, warned Sister Maya El Beaino, a nun of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. 

In a statement to the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the nun indicated that “the situation is horrible. We are in constant danger.”

She explained that “there is no hospital nearby and we only have three hours of electricity a day. We have no water or internet connection to call for help.”

This week, the Israeli government ordered the bombing of several parts of Lebanon and the entry of its soldiers into the southern zone, with the aim of finishing off Hezbollah, an ally of Iran.

The bishop of Sidon, Maroun Ammar, told ACN that “many people have left their homes in southern Lebanon and have taken refuge in our diocese. We will have to help the displaced and distribute food packages to them.”

The ACN project coordinator in Lebanon, Marielle Boutros, said that “people are now living in church halls” and need material help, especially in anticipation of the arrival of winter, although they remain hopeful that the conflict will not last so long.

Sister Maya, who decided to stay in Ain Ebel, a village about three miles from the border with Israel, said: “Everyone talks about the people who have fled, but no one talks about the many Christians who have chosen to stay because they fear losing their home and their land forever.”

She added that “although many left the region at the beginning of the Gaza war, many families have returned home because life in Beirut is very expensive and because they could not bear to be separated from their parents, who were left alone in the south.”

Currently, ACN has 200 projects in Lebanon, most of them focused on emergency aid, especially for the dioceses and religious congregations in Beirut and the country’s south.

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

Nicolas Maduro, President of Venezuela. / Credit: Eneas de Troya, Flickr

Caracas, Venezuela, Oct 3, 2024 / 16:25 pm (CNA).

The leader of the Chavista (socialist) dictatorship in Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, announced this week the beginning of the Christmas season in the country “as decreed” by his regime and despite strenuous objections from the Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference.

Maduro, in the middle of a program broadcast nationwide on the government’s television channel, referred contemptuously to the bishops as “some guys in cassocks” who dared to state “that there would be no Christmas if they didn’t decree it.”

“No, mister in a cassock, you’re not decreeing anything here. Jesus Christ belongs to the people. Christmas belongs to the people and the people celebrate it whenever they want to celebrate their Christmas,” shouted Maduro, who is under numerous accusations of drug trafficking, corruption, crimes against humanity, and election fraud, which allegedly took place during the July 28 presidential election.

“Oct. 1 until Jan. 15 is the start of the Christmas season, New Year’s Eve, and welcoming in the year 2025,” he declared. Maduro closed his program with “aguinaldos,” which are traditional Venezuelan Christmas-themed songs.

Since Tuesday in Caracas, the country’s capital, Christmas trees and other decorations have appeared in several of the city’s most emblematic monuments and government buildings.

In a statement posted on Sept. 3, the Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference (CEV, by its Spanish acronym) reacted to Maduro’s decree to move up the start of the Christmas season by stating that this Christian holy season “should not be used for propaganda or particular political purposes.”

“Christmas is a celebration of a universal nature that commemorates the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The manner and time of its celebration are the responsibility of the ecclesiastical authority, which ensures that the true spirit and meaning of this event of spiritual and historical richness is maintained, as it marks the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ,” the CEV emphasized.

The bishops also pointed out that Christmas is a time “of reflection, peace, and love, and must be respected as such” and recalled that Christmas time begins on Dec. 25 and ends on the day of the Epiphany of the Lord, every Jan. 6.

“To prepare for Christmas, the liturgy offers us the time of Advent, which this year begins on Dec. 1. These celebrations are accompanied by traditional Christmas parties and Christmas Masses,” the Venezuelan bishops concluded.

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

On the first working day of the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican on Oct. 2, 2024, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, shut down speculation regarding further theological study into the possibility of women being ordained as deacons. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Oct 3, 2024 / 15:55 pm (CNA).

On the first working day of the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican on Oct. 2, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, shut down speculation regarding further theological study into the possibility of women being ordained as deacons.

“We would like to share from the outset that, based on the analysis conducted so far — which also takes into account the work done by the two commissions established by Pope Francis on the female diaconate — the dicastery judges that there is still no room for a positive decision by the magisterium regarding the access of women to the diaconate, understood as a degree of the sacrament of holy orders,” Fernández stated on Wednesday.

The Synod on Synodality — a multiyear, worldwide process of listening, dialogue, and discernment within the Catholic Church — commenced its second day on Thursday in which 356 participants convened at the Vatican to deep dive into the foundations and proposed mechanisms needed to realize Pope Francis’ vision for a more participative and missionary Catholic Church.

During an Oct. 3 press briefing, Father Giacomo Costa, special secretary of the synod, said this month’s discussions held in the Vatican should serve as “laboratories of synodal life.”

“We must learn. Many things may not be quite perfect but these [synod groups] will concede precisely to organize the [Vatican] dicasteries that play an effective role, then pass on decisions to other experts, bishops, men and women religious, lay persons,” Costa told journalists at the Holy See Press Office on Thursday.

“I invite you not to think that these groups are separated from the life of the Church but they are true labs of synodal life,” he continued.

“I really hope that they become opportunities that allow us to learn together as a Church in a different way; in a participative manner with different perspectives, ministries, roles — all different — but all within this journey so that the Church may proclaim the Gospel, listen, and be a sign of unity and hope in a world which is so fragmented.”

This year, 10 small study groups — “established at the will of the Holy Father” — were formed to facilitate deeper study into various theological, ecclesial, and pastoral issues outlined in Instrumentum Laboris, the Vatican’s working document for this month’s synod session published in July.

Although the synod’s general rapporteur, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, stated on Thursday that “nothing new” specifically emerges in Module 1 of the Instrumentum Laboris, titled “Foundations,” it is nevertheless key for synod participants to know and study it in order to “deepen our understanding of the mystery of the Church.”

“Without having the ambition of being a treatise on synodal ecclesiology, ‘[Instrumentum Laboris] seeks to outline the foundations of the vision of a missionary synodal Church,’” Hollerich told synod participants inside the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. 

Shedding some light into the evolving operations of the 10 study groups, Cardinal Mario Grech, general secretary of the synod, stated that these groups have an additional function to promote “broader participation” beyond the October meetings held at the Vatican. 

“During the entire time in which the 10 groups will remain operational — and with them also the canonical commission — that is until the month of June 2025, it will be possible for everyone to send contributions, observations, proposals,” Grech communicated in a statement.

“Pastors and ecclesial leaders, but also and above all every believer, man or woman, and every group, association, movement, or community will be able to participate with their own contribution,” the statement reads.

Toward the conclusion of the press conference, Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, said the work of participants in the second session of the Synod on Synodality is to find the “cohesive voice” that expresses the life of the Church.

“There’s a ‘we’ involved essentially in the work of the synod, even more important than the many ‘I’s that are there,” Flores said. “We are searching for the ‘we’ and it’s the work that goes on in these smaller groups and it’s a work in progress.” 

Archbishop Timothy Broglio is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and also leads the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. / Credit: "EWTN News In Depth"/Screenshot

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 3, 2024 / 15:25 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is asking the U.S. bishops to invite the faithful throughout the country to join in prayer on the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel.

In an open letter to the bishops published Wednesday, Broglio lamented the “horrific attack” by Hamas on Israeli citizens on Oct. 7, 2023. He also expressed his sadness over the continued captivity of Israeli hostages, the deaths of the Gazan civilians killed in the ensuing war against Hamas, and the “dramatic rise” in antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes throughout the U.S. and the world.

“The terrible loss of life in Israel and in Gaza, as well as the spike in crimes of hate here in the U.S. and elsewhere, is a source of great sorrow to us as Catholics,” Broglio said.

He went on to say that “compassion is not a zero-sum game.”

“We hear the cries of lament of all our brothers and sisters — Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Muslims and Christians — all of whom have been traumatized by these events. We join in mourning all whose lives have been cut short. We share the earnest desire for lasting peace,” he emphasized.

Broglio also shared his dismay over the recent escalation of the conflict at the Israeli-Lebanese border. In recent weeks both Iran and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah have launched hundreds of missiles into Israel. In response, Israel has launched a series of missile barrages and attacks into Lebanon.

Calling to mind the invitation for the faithful to participate in a day of prayer and fasting on Oct. 7 from the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Broglio asked his brother bishops to extend the commemoration to the faithful throughout the United States.

“Our Catholic faith teaches us to hope even amidst the darkest of circumstances, for Christ is risen from the dead. Out of death God brings forth a new creation,” he said.

“As this anniversary approaches, in a time of anguish and trauma,” he went on, “let us seek ways to express our solidarity with our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters. Let us also commit ourselves to combat all forms of hatred directed towards Jews and Muslims, and to work for a lasting peace in the land of the Lord Jesus’ birth.”

Broglio asked that his letter be distributed to the clergy and lay faithful throughout the Catholic Church in the United States “to invite them to join the Christians of the Holy Land, together with the Holy Father, Pope Francis, in fervent prayer for an end to the violence in the Holy Land, for the safe and prompt return of all hostages, and for the conversion of hearts so that hatred may be overcome, opening a pathway to reconciliation and peace.”

Autistic Catholics is an online resource and support system that offers weekly meetings for Catholics on the autism spectrum. / Credit: Autistic Catholics

CNA Staff, Oct 3, 2024 / 14:55 pm (CNA).

Several Catholics have banded together to create a support system for Catholics on the autism spectrum. Autistic Catholics, an online resource and support group, kicked off this week with the group’s first online meeting.

Allen Obie John Smith, a Catholic convert who lives in Ridgway, Colorado, with his wife, is the founding executive director of Autistic Catholics. Inspired by his own experience with autism, Smith — who goes by his middle name, John — founded the group this past summer to help build fellowship among autistic Catholics while giving them a voice. 

“I think my own experience of feeling alone as a diagnosed autistic person really contributed the most to the founding, and I knew I wasn’t alone in my feeling of isolation,” Smith told CNA. 

The new president of Autistic Catholics, Father Matthew Schneider, an openly autistic priest, told CNA the project is a response to Pope Francis’ call to go to the peripheries, “as autistic people are often on the periphery in our society.”

Schneider, who was ordained in 2013, is a priest with the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi and teaches at St. Patrick’s Seminary near San Francisco.

Filling a niche

Schneider noted that people with autism are disproportionately more likely to be atheists. 

“If we don’t fill that niche to help autistics live a full Catholic life, non-Catholic and non-Christian groups will do that and lead autistics away from Christ and his Church,” Schneider said. “We already know we autistics are about almost twice as likely (1.84 times) to never attend church and significantly more likely to be atheists and agnostics or to make their own religious system.” 

Schneider compared this to Catholic inculturation: evangelization “where you adapt how you explain the Gospel to reach people while maintaining the whole Gospel.”

“The differences in autistic brains create differences in communication that are analogous to differences between cultures,” Schneider explained. “The Church has evangelized each culture first from outside, but the biggest evangelization happened once one from inside this culture is able to explain the Gospel in a way appropriate to that culture.”

Facing challenges: sensory overload

People with autism face a variety of challenges, some of which can directly impact their faith life. Being involved in the parish community or even attending Mass can be a challenge for a Catholic who has autism.

Schneider and Smith, when asked how Catholics can better support the autistic community, both suggested “sensory-friendly Masses.”

Sensory overload, a common experience for someone with autism, is when a person experiences hypersensitivity in one of their senses: sound, sight, taste, touch, or smell, triggering a fight-or-flight response. People with other conditions such as anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may experience this as well. 

Mass offers “various sensory challenges” and may overstimulate olfactory (sense of smell), auditory, or visual senses, Smith told CNA. The lights might be too bright, the music too loud, or the scent of incense too strong. 

As a resource for neurodivergent Catholics, Schneider developed a sensory-friendly Mass directory, which often features not only Masses designed for autistic Catholics but also low forms of the Traditional Latin Mass that are often less stimulating. Some parishes, such as St. Pius X in Rochester, New York, even offer sensory-friendly rooms for neurodivergent Catholics attending Mass.

Schneider, who was diagnosed with autism early on in his ministry, has been working to build more resources for Catholics with autism in recent years.

“I had always felt different, but having a diagnosis alerted me to how I was different,” Schneider said, recalling his diagnosis of autism in 2016.

Following his diagnosis, Schneider searched for support but found there were few resources from a Catholic or Christian perspective.

“Given autistics are about 2% of the population, I realized this is a group the Church needs to reach out to,” he said. “As an autistic priest and religious, I realized some of that fell on me.” 

Schneider has since written a book on autistic prayer as well as published shorter pieces on sensory-friendly Masses in addition to the sensory-friendly Mass directory. 

Not everyone who is autistic struggles with sensory overload at Mass, Schneider noted. 

“The first thing I would suggest for non-autistic people to do to help is to ask autistic people where you are,” Schneider said. “Autism is a spectrum and different individuals struggle most with different things.”

Finding community

Finding community is another challenge autistic Catholics may face, whether it’s due to social differences or a lack of fellow autistic Catholics.

Smith wanted to form the group to “reach out to fellow autistic Catholics who may also be experiencing any type of loneliness, isolation, and lack of fellowship,” he said. 

“We often struggle with social clues so we can feel excluded even if that is not people’s intention,” Schneider said. 

While Autistic Catholics connects people online, Schneider suggested that parishes help initiate in-person communities.

Parishes could “help create autistic small groups where people can discuss both autistic struggles and the faith from an autistic perspective,” Schneider suggested.

People with autism may thrive among people with similar neurodivergence, but Schneider noted that there is “what is called the double-empathy problem.”

“Autistics and non-autistics seem to be able to communicate well with each other but there is often miscommunication in both directions between the two groups,” Schneider explained.

Having a voice 

In a world that offers many challenges for people on the autism spectrum, Smith believes that Catholics with autism should have a voice.

“We needed a way to communicate collectively; we needed representation from our point of view, as autistic Catholics, a special gift in and to the body of Christ,” Smith said. “I think that’s what this is: a voice of lamentation but also of joy in the gift of being autistic.”  

Smith explained that it’s important “to frame our perception from the viewpoint of those who are disabled.” 

“We may sometimes have support with sensory-friendly Masses, but our collective experience is still not yet fully apparent with regard to our family lives, work, and apostolate,” Smith said.

He hopes to make a difference by helping fellow autistic Catholics in “forming a collective voice while joining together in friendship while being encouraged to grow in the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity.” 

Part of this voice is sharing that autism is a gift. 

Kaitey Sheldon, a board member for Autistic Catholics and a Catholic bioethicist, noted that autistic Catholics have much to offer within the body of Christ.

“Autistics and those who are neurodivergent not only belong to the body of Christ but offer beautiful, unique gifts to the Church and to the world,” Sheldon told CNA. 

The neurodiversity movement began in the 1990s with the work of Judy Singer, a sociologist on the autism spectrum who advocated for autism and other neurological differences to be viewed as variances, not deficits.  

“It’s a beautiful flourishing of the gift of autism in and for the body of Christ, once seen as a set of ‘deficits’ now, rather, as a neurotype itself with a sense of what it means to be gifted or twice exceptional,” Smith explained.

Smith also noted that the autistic community is moving away from categorizing people as high or low functioning. Instead, the group is “simply acknowledging the variety of support needs, needs we all share, to underscore the interdependence of human flourishing rather than this ugly view of ‘self-sufficiency’ as the goal of human life,” Smith said.

“We belong with one another sharing our various support needs and growing in mutual love and appreciation of one another as gifts,” he said.

Sheldon said the apostolate is all about “uplifting every member of the body of Christ.”

“I think of this apostolate as the friends who climbed the roof with a stretcher or the father begging Jesus to come to his home to heal his daughter — we are reaching out to him, seeking his love and mercy for autistics, who too often feel they are on the outside,” Sheldon said.

Hopes for the future 

Though the project is still in its early stages, Smith said dioceses across the U.S. that he has reached out to have had “an overwhelmingly positive response.” 

“People [were] saying things like, ‘We need this.’ and ‘This is a direct response to prayer,’” he said.

“The real fellowship, however, is just beginning to form,” Smith said. “I anticipate hundreds and hundreds will find a place of acceptance, belonging, encouragement, and support while growing in faith, hope, and charity as a community of friends.”  

The board of Autistic Catholics currently includes eight members, all of whom “either are autistic and have had direct experience feeling these challenges or identify strongly with the autistic community,” Smith noted. The group is awaiting approval for 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.

Sheldon said she hopes the ministry will be “a comfortable, affirming home” for people with autism and other neurodivergent people as well as those who love them. 

“I hope it is a place where the weekly meetings bring warmth and familiarity, a sense of importance and integral belonging in the Church,” she said. “And I do hope we are able to advocate and educate in dioceses so that the next generations of Catholic autistics are raised in an inclusive Church that recognizes their goodness, belovedness, and giftedness.”

null / Credit: Kryvosheia Yurii/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Oct 3, 2024 / 12:10 pm (CNA).

A school board in Virginia will pay a teacher more than half a million dollars after he was fired for refusing to use a student’s transgender pronouns. 

The legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), representing Peter Vlaming in the dispute, said in an announcement this week that the West Point School Board “has agreed to pay $575,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees” to the teacher. 

Vlaming was dismissed by the West Point School District, about one hour east of the state capital of Richmond, in 2018 after he refused to use male pronouns to refer to a female student who believed she was a boy.

Vlaming had ”tried to accommodate the student by consistently using the student’s new preferred name and by avoiding the use of pronouns altogether” before his dismissal, ADF said. He sued the district in September 2019 over the firing, which he said violated his religious rights as an Anglican Christian. A lower court dismissed the suit, but in 2021 Vlaming appealed his case to the Virginia Supreme Court, which subsequently reinstated the case. 

“Peter wasn’t fired for something he said; he was fired for something he couldn’t say,” ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer said in the announcement. 

“The school board violated his First Amendment rights under the Virginia Constitution and commonwealth law,” Langhofer said.

Vlaming “was passionate about the subject he taught, was well-liked by his students, and did his best to accommodate their needs and requests.” But “he couldn’t in good conscience speak messages that he knew were untrue, and no school board or government official can punish someone for that reason.”

Vlaming in the announcement said his religious beliefs “put me on a collision course with school administrators who mandated that teachers ascribe to only one perspective on gender identity — their preferred view.”

“I loved teaching French and gracefully tried to accommodate every student in my class, but I couldn’t say something that directly violated my conscience,” he said, adding that he hopes the ruling “helps protect every other teacher and professor’s fundamental First Amendment rights.”

In addition to the payout, the school district will also change its policies to conform to new Virginia education rules the state put in place last summer. 

Those rules affirmed that parents in the state enjoy broad oversight of their children while enrolled in public school. They stipulate that parents exercise broad discretion over whether or not a child is permitted to present as a member of the opposite sex, including whether or not the child adopts new pronouns at school.

Parents also have control over whether or not their children are permitted to undergo “social transition” to a different “gender” at schools and whether or not the child “expresses a [different] gender” while in school.