Feast date: Oct 05

On October 5, the church celebrates the Memorial of St. Mary Faustina Kowalska, virgin.

St. Faustina was born Helena Kowalska on August 25, 1905 to a poor but devout Polish family in 1905. At the age of 20, with very little education, and having been rejected from several other convents because of her poverty and lack of education, Helen entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. There, she took the name Sr. Faustina and spent time in convents in both Poland and Lithuania.

Throughout her life, Jesus appeared to Sr. Faustina. He asked her to become an apostle and secretary of his mercy, by writing down his messages of Divine Mercy for the world in her diary. Jesus also asked Sr. Faustina to have an image painted of his Divine Mercy, with red and white rays issuing from his heart, and to spread devotion to the Divine Mercy novena.

Even before her death on October 5, 1938, devotion to Divine Mercy began to spread throughout Poland.This little nun and Jesus’ message of Divine Mercy impacted Karol Wojtyla greatly, which became obvious to the world when he was elected Pope.

“It is truly marvelous how her devotion to the merciful Jesus is spreading in our contemporary world and gaining so many human hearts! This is doubtlessly a sign of the times — a sign of our twentieth century. The balance of this century, which is now ending, in addition to the advances which have often surpassed those of preceding eras, presents a deep restlessness and fear of the future. Where, if not in the Divine Mercy, can the world find refuge and the light of hope? Believers understand that perfectly,” Pope St. John Paul II wrote.

On April 30, 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized St. Faustina in what he was widely reported as saying was “the happiest day of my life.”

“Today my joy is truly great in presenting the life and witness of Sr. Faustina Kowalska to the whole Church as a gift of God for our time. By divine Providence, the life of this humble daughter of Poland was completely linked with the history of the 20th century, the century we have just left behind. In fact, it was between the First and Second World Wars that Christ entrusted his message of mercy to her. Those who remember, who were witnesses and participants in the events of those years and the horrible sufferings they caused for millions of people, know well how necessary was the message of mercy,” the Pope said in his homily that day.

It was also on this day, the Sunday after Easter, that Pope John Paul II instituted the Feast of Divine Mercy, which Jesus had asked for in his messages to Sr. Faustina.

CNA Newsroom, Oct 5, 2024 / 10:35 am (CNA).

A Lebanese bishop made an impassioned plea for peace and forgiveness at the Synod on Synodality’s daily press briefing on Saturday, as the assembly’s first week drew to a close.

Bishop Mounir Khairallah of Batroun shared his personal experience of violence and forgiveness, recounting how his parents were murdered when he was just five years old.

“A Lebanese Maronite nun came to our house, took us four children to her monastery, and in church invited us to kneel and pray,” Bishop Khairallah recalled. “She said, ‘Let us pray not so much for your parents, but rather for those who killed them, and seek to forgive.’”

The prelate emphasized that despite ongoing conflicts, the Lebanese people consistently reject hatred and vengeance. “We Lebanese have always condemned hatred, vengeance, violence. We want to build peace. We are capable of doing it,” he said.

Bishop Khairallah insisted that the majority of people desire peace. He called for an end to cycles of retaliation: “Enough with this vengeance, with this hatred, with this war. Enough. Let us build peace at least for the children, for future generations who have the right to live in peace.”

The bishop’s plea resonated with the broader sentiments expressed during the synod. Participants on Saturday issued “an urgent appeal for peace in the name of the synod,” coupled with a call for “all religions to condemn fundamentalism with one voice.”

Interaction with study groups

Earlier in the press briefing, Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, provided an update on the synod’s proceedings.

Ruffini reported that Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the synod, had proposed interaction between synod members and the study groups established by Pope Francis.

“This proposal was put to a vote and approved by a show of hands,” Ruffini said. “On Friday, Oct. 18, the coordinators and other members of the groups will meet with assembly members who wish to speak with them on the subject of their group.”

Ruffini also noted that the language groups had completed their work on the first module of the Instrumentum Laboris, submitting documents containing propositions they consider fundamental for drafting the final document.

The Synod on Synodality will start its second week of discussions on Monday, Oct. 7, the day Pope Francis has called for a day of prayer and fasting for peace to mark the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel as violence continues to escalate throughout the region.

CNA Newsroom, Oct 5, 2024 / 10:30 am (CNA).

The Catholic Church’s Synod on Synodality has entered its final phase. Bishops, lay experts, and even non-Catholic observers from around the world have gathered in Rome this October for a monthlong assembly that could reshape the Church, its governance, and itsteaching. Pope Francis, opening the session, urged participants to listen to the Holy Spirit rather than pursue personal agendas.

Here’s what you should know

The October 2024 session’s focus is on “How to Be a Missionary Synodal Church” as the synod’s 368 voting members consider proposals related to the roles of women, decentralizing Church teaching authority, and enhancing the laity’s input in decision-making. 

• Decoding the Synod on Synodality: CNA’s essential terminology guide

• Here’s what is new at the Synod on Synodality Part 2

Key developments

Synod rules out women deacons

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, shuts down speculation regarding further theological study into the possibility of women being ordained as deacons on Oct 3. Father Giacomo Costa, special secretary of the synod, says this month’s discussions held in the Vatican should serve as “laboratories of synodal life,” Kristina Millare reports.

The story so far 

Oct. 5: A call for peace, and an announcement of dialogue

A Lebanese bishop makes an impassioned plea for peace and forgiveness at the Synod on Synodality’s daily press briefing on Saturday, as the assembly’s first week drew to a close.

Bishop Mounir Khairallah of Batroun shares his personal experience of violence and forgiveness, recounting how his parents were murdered when he was just five years old.

Meanwhile, a dialogue with study groups is announced for Oct. 18, after synod delegates vote for more interaction with the groups established by Pope Francis.

Oct. 4: What’s behind the viral photo of Pope Francis venerating a chair?

Pope Francis sits before the historic relic of St. Peter’s chair in the Ottoboni sacristy of St. Peter’s Basilica after celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Square ahead of the second session of the Synod on Synodality. What is behind this viral image? Madalaine Elhabbal explains.

Oct. 4: Participants put spotlight on world’s poor

Closing the first week of meetings, participants from different continents put a spotlight on the plight of the world’s poor and vulnerable on 4 feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, reports Kristina Millare. 

The first week at the Synod on Synodality — revolution or much ado about nothing? 

Vaticanist Andrea Gagliarducci analyzes the first days of the gathering in Rome. He writes: “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.” 

Oct. 3: Many voices to be heard 

Cardinal Mario Grech, general secretary of the synod, says at a press conference that “every believer, man or woman, and every group, association, movement, or community will be able to participate with their own contribution” via the synod’s 10 study groups.

Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, tells journalists 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.

Oct. 3: Solving sexuality questions with ‘contextual fidelity’?

A study group appointed by Pope Francis to explore a synodal approach to the Church’s most debated issues — including sexual morality and life matters — proposes “contextual fidelity” and a “new paradigm” that downplays long-standing Church teaching, Jonathan Liedl notes. 

Oct. 2: Pope Francis calls for new ways for bishops to be ‘synodal’

At the first meeting of the full assembly of the Synod on Synodality on Wednesday, Pope Francis says a bishop’s ministry should include cooperation with laypeople and that the synod will need to identify “differing forms” of the exercise of this ministry.

Oct. 2: Pope Francis opens synod, warns against personal ‘agendas’

Pope Francis opens the second and final session of the Synod on Synodality, which is meant to deepen the missionary perspective of the Church, explains EWTN Vatican Bureau Chief Andreas Thonhauser.

“Let us be careful not to see our contributions as points to defend at all costs or agendas to be imposed,” the pope says at the synod’s opening Mass on Oct. 2, Courtney Mares reports. The pontiff warns: “Ours is not a parliamentary assembly but rather a place of listening in communion.”

Oct. 2: Looming questions about role of German ‘synodality’ 

“More candor about the motivations of the German Synodal Path and its vision of the Catholic future would be helpful in determining what, if anything, it has to offer the world Church at Synod 2024,” comments George Weigel in the National Catholic Register.

Oct. 1: Penitential liturgy is held in St. Peter’s Basilica; more than 500 people attend

On the eve of the second session of the Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis says the Catholic Church must first acknowledge its sins and ask for forgiveness before it can be credible in carrying out the mission Jesus Christ entrusted to his Church, Kristina Millare reports. 

9 years ago, this papal speech set the ‘synodality’ machine in motion

Since Pope Francis’ 2015 speech, synodality has grown from a theological concept into a guiding principle of Church governance. Analysis from Jonathan Liedl in the National Catholic Register.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 5, 2024 / 09:20 am (CNA).

Pennsylvania pro-life advocate Mark Houck joined panelists at the annual Pray Vote Stand Summit in Washington, D.C., on Friday to call attention to the Biden-Harris administration’s attacks against the pro-life movement.

The founder of The King’s Men, a Catholic men’s apostolate, was featured alongside Janet Durig and Catherine Herring as part of a panel titled “Kamala Harris’ Attacks on Life and the Family” during the annual gathering of mostly evangelical Christian conservatives.

Durig is the executive director of Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center, a Washington, D.C-based pro-life resource center that has recently faced repeated attacks of harassment and vandalism. 

The panel pointed out that Harris is known for making inflammatory statements against pro-life pregnancy centers, including offering words of encouragement to Democrat attorneys general nationwide for “taking on, rightly, the crisis pregnancy centers.”

“We don’t force anything on [pregnant women],” Durig said. “Of course, as a Christian pregnancy center, we would want them to choose life, but we don’t force anything on them.

Houck spoke about his own horrifying arrest in which over 25 heavily armed federal agents, including two SWAT team members, raided his home during the early morning hours of Sept. 23, 2022.

Houck described the arrest — which he said took place without a warrant and was witnessed by his wife and children — as “a tyrannical overreach of government” and symbolic of “dictatorship.” 

Looking ahead to the elections in November, Houck told those gathered at the summit that respect for the Constitution must be renewed among elected leaders in order for corrupt targeting of pro-life and pro-family advocates to cease.

“My Fourth Amendment rights [‘the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures’] were violated the day [the FBI] came to my home,” Houck said. “With any new administration, if there’s going to be a change, we need to get rid of the current FBI director, and we need to get rid of the attorney general.” 

Federal prosecutors charged Houck with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act after he was involved in an altercation with an abortion clinic escort who had been harassing his 12-year-old son. After just an hour of deliberation, a jury unanimously found him innocent of the alleged crime, for which he would have been sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Following his arrest, Houck noted that he spent six hours handcuffed to a chair before anyone spoke to him. In total, he was detained for 10 hours before being released on his own recognizance, thereby signaling that he was never considered a true threat. 

“So why the heavy raid?” he asked. “Because they want to humiliate you, intimidate you, and instill fear in you, and make an example of you.”

For her part, Herring shared the story of how she was able to save her daughter’s life thanks to an abortion pill reversal after her husband poisoned her by dissolving chemical abortion pills in her drink.

Had the Biden-Harris administration kept in place previous distribution restrictions on chemical abortion drugs, she said, the incident would not have happened.

Lima Newsroom, Oct 5, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A Mexican cardinal and three priests, two of them exorcists, have differing takes on the “cleansing” ritual that was performed during the inauguration of the country’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum.

Sheinbaum, a candidate of the coalition Let’s Keep Making History — which consists of the political parties National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), Labor Party (PT), and Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM) — was the winner of the June 2 presidential elections. She assumed office on Oct. 1.

Sheinbaum succeeds President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, founder of MORENA who in December 2018 participated in a similar ceremony at the beginning of his term, as head of the Mexican government.

Among the various ceremonies at the inauguration of the first female Mexican president in the capital city’s Constitution Plaza — commonly known as Zócalo — a group of Indigenous women performed a “sacred ceremony” with incense, plants, fruits, and flowers, among other things, all with “their hands raised toward the east, where the sun rises,” according to one of the participants as reported by the Mexican news channel N+.

“We invoke the nahuales, the deities and the other beings and divine spirits that inhabit this place. We ask for life, enlightenment, and wisdom for the constitutional president, Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo,” said one of the women at the beginning of the ceremony.

According to an article on the Mexican government website, nahuales are mythical beings and “are considered spirits or supernatural beings that have the ability to transform into animals. They are considered a protective spirit and spiritual guide that accompanies the person from birth to death, coexisting with each other.” 

“We entrust her to our African ancestors. We ask you, Father Sun, to dwell in her heart, just as you dwell in the hearts of the girls and women of Mexico,” the woman added during the ritual that lasted about half an hour.

‘A symbolic act of an outstanding debt’

Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi, bishop emeritus of the Mexican Diocese of San Cristóbal de Las Casas in Chiapas state, told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that he has “no reason to qualify this act as a show or populism; on the contrary, I consider it a symbolic act of an outstanding debt with the Indigenous peoples and a decision to revalue and recognize their rights in our laws as well.”

After recalling the similar event held for López Obrador, the cardinal stressed that, with this event, Sheibaum “wants to make these peoples more visible, particularly Indigenous women, the most marginalized. We hope that this is reflected in a daily commitment to these communities and that this permeates society, in which persistent racism still remains.”

Regarding religious freedom, the cardinal said he hopes the president will guarantee it and “has an open mind and heart to listen and take into account the contribution that the Christian religion makes to the construction of social peace.”

Arizmendi promotes an Indigenous rite of the Mass in order to “advance the progress of inculturation of the Church in the native peoples.” 

‘Our people are deeply Christian, Catholic’

Father Alberto Medel, exorcist and coordinator of the Theological Committee of the College of Exorcists of the Archdiocese of Mexico, explained to ACI Prensa regarding the ritual that “in reality, the Indigenous peoples are not what is represented there.”

“I don’t doubt that there are still small groups that worship or venerate the ancient Indigenous deities, but the truth is that our people are deeply Christian, Catholic,” he emphasized, and therefore “their traditions cannot be understood without the Christian faith.”

After rejecting the assertion of some that Indigenous peoples are “syncretic,” the Mexican exorcist said: “Frankly, I don’t believe it.”

Therefore, “what we saw there, to me, gave the impression that it was a script that some of the Indigenous women read, that was written by someone. An Indigenous person doesn’t speak like that, they use terms that ordinary people don’t use, rather it was written by someone, and well, after having been read by such a person, it winds up closing out a performance, but it is not authentically Indigenous.”

“This is just a performance, it is a way of ingratiating oneself, not even with the Indigenous people, but rather ingratiating oneself with a crowd that applauds this Indigenous sentimentality, because ultimately they end up using the supposed beliefs of the people,” the priest lamented.

After noting that a ritual like the one performed at the inauguration does not vindicate the Indigenous people but “makes them seem like believers of nonsense that nobody believes today,” Medel warned that “presenting people who believe that the sun is a divinity or that the moon is a divinity is ridiculing them.”

“So, I believe that those who do all these things, simply and plainly, have no scruples about denigrating people,” he emphasized.

‘A witchcraft ritual’

Father Eduardo Hayen, exorcist of the Mexican Diocese of Ciudad Juárez, published an article titled “Catholics and Pagan Rituals” in which he said the ceremony was in fact “a witchcraft ritual.”

Hayen then recalled that Sheinbaum is of Jewish origin and that “if she allowed herself to be cleansed of ‘bad vibes’ it is, rather, for ideological and populist reasons than religious ones. Sheinbaum follows the same book of indigenism as her predecessor.”

The priest then warned that Catholics should not participate in ceremonies of this type. “Claudia Sheinbaum did not participate in explicit and direct satanic worship. However, the worship of Satan can be carried out by believing, through ignorance, that idols, death, or unknown forces are being worshiped.”

“There are groups that present themselves as non-satanic because they do not directly invoke demons but rather present themselves as cultural groups. But in reality they are satanic in the broad sense because they practice neopagan rites such as the worship of Mother Earth, the Mother Goddess, Mother Nature, or Pachamama,” the priest warned.

Hayen also recalled that Catholics “should not believe that it’s harmless to participate in certain pre-Hispanic rituals, such as those in which some Latin American presidents participate.”

“The objects used in pagan rituals can become — according to exorcism — binding objects that facilitate the extraordinary action of the devil on the person who uses them,” he warned.

Superstition that opens ‘doors to the devil’

Father Hugo Valdemar, who was director of communications for the Archdiocese of Mexico when Cardinal Norberto Rivera was bishop, told ACI Prensa that these types of rituals “that are superstition open doors to the devil, and if you open the door to the devil, he’ll even get into the kitchen, with serious spiritual and material consequences.”

“They’re not harmless rituals, they are an invitation for the evil one to enter, and he doesn’t think twice about entering and taking possession of the house,” he added.

Although it could be considered “a politically correct act,” the priest warned that at its core “these are superstitious, sinful, idolatrous acts, which bring harmful consequences, because they are religious rituals that have Satan as their center, even though they are disguised as something harmless.”

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

David Ramos and Diego López Colín contributed to this story.

CNA Staff, Oct 5, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

In 1917, Father Edward J. Flanagan, a Catholic priest and immigrant from Ballymoe, Ireland, bought a home for boys on Dodge Street in Omaha, Nebraska.

Four years later, after quickly outgrowing the space and being pressured to leave, he moved the boys to Overlook Farm, a 160-acre piece of land that became what is known as Boys Town — the town Flanagan created for orphaned and abandoned youth in need regardless of race or religion.

The priest’s story has now been documented in a new film, “Heart of a Servant: The Father Flanagan Story.” 

The documentary, narrated by Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie, who is also the executive producer of the film, includes expert commentary from Steve Wolf, vice postulator for the cause of Flanagan’s beatification and canonization, as well as Deacon Omar F.A. Gutierrez, Father Ryan Lewis, and Ed Flanagan, the great-nephew of Flanagan.

The film had its premiere on Sept. 13 in Boys Town and will be released for one night only in theaters across the country on Oct. 8. 

CNA had the opportunity to visit Boys Town and attend the premiere where we spoke to Roumie as well as the filmmakers and some of the experts who appear in the film. 

Roumie shared that he felt as though Flanagan personally called him to take part in this project.

“When I watched his story, I just felt compelled to get involved and to see how I could lend my help and my voice, literally, to the project,” he told CNA. “It was just so moving and so well done and I want people to know about this story that was so culturally shifting in his time and just as relevant today as it was when all of these things actually happened.”

Roumie added that while taking part in the film, it became clear that Flanagan’s “mission is timeless.”

“There will always be children in need that for whatever reason, often through no fault of their own, they’re burdened with circumstances in their lives that they didn’t contribute to but they’re on the receiving end [of], and it turns out to be a pretty tough break for them,” he said.

Roumie also pointed out that especially in today’s society, “kids are bombarded with all kinds of imagery that is … not healthy for them, that is damaging to them, and that has an effect on their physical, mental, [and spiritual] well-being.”

A majority of the boys Flanagan served were orphans and abandoned children during the Great Depression who took to the streets and committed crimes. To Flanagan though, there were no bad boys, only bad circumstances, and he worked to improve these circumstances. 

Roumie emphasized this point, speaking to the importance of caring for children because “kids are the next generation.” 

“They are the next generation of adults, of humans, of society, and so how a child develops fundamentally affects societies, is crucial to a functioning society, a healthy society. So if you treat children with love and mercy and compassion and show them the value of their lives, they will grow up to be adults [who] value those things and can change the world much in the same way that Father Flanagan did.”

Roumie added: “Children will always need to be shaped and guided and completely flooded with God’s love in their lives through the people that they are most connected to.”

During his time at Boys Town for the premiere, Roumie was given a tour of the historic town and met many of the individuals working for Boys Town who themselves were boys in the system. He saw how Flanagan’s work changed children’s lives and gave them a “chance to be not just a productive or a functioning member of society but a flourishing member of society in ways that they can give back and affect so much change, because that’s what we’re called to do — we’re called to be beacons of light and hope and change to the most needy in our world — widows and orphans.”

Roumie called Flanagan’s work of pouring “love and compassion and mercy and faith and Jesus” into the lives of these children the “antidote” to their bad circumstances.

“He didn’t pick just Catholic kids because he was a Catholic priest. He welcomed everyone,” he explained. “He integrated children from different faiths and races at a time where it was scandalous to do so.”

“I think of him as this warrior revolutionary [who] went against the system, but he did it in a way that abided by the laws of the country in which he was now an immigrant. He did it in a way that I think only God could have accomplished.”

The actor said he hopes that viewers will take away that “they can have as much of an impact as Father Flanagan did through discernment and through listening to the voice of Christ within them.”

Roumie added that he hopes people will see that they “can affect the lives of children around them, within their own community, by simply just loving on kids that might seem like troubled kids or kids that might seem unruly,” he said. 

“I think if we’re approaching them with the love of God and seeing them as Jesus would see them, I think you have the opportunity to change your child and the next generation of children’s lives for the better.”

CNA Staff, Oct 5, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On Oct. 5 Catholics around the world celebrate the feast of St. Faustina Kowalska, the polish nun who received the image of divine mercy during revelations from Jesus.

St. Faustina was born Helena Kowalska on Aug. 25, 1905, to a poor but devout Polish family. At the age of 20, with very little education and having been rejected from several other convents because of her poverty and lack of education, Helen entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. There, she took the name Faustina.

Jesus appeared to St. Faustina 14 times, and with each vision and conversation she had with him, she recorded it in her diary, called “Divine Mercy in My Soul.” In her diary, she wrote about the words she received from Jesus and his message of divine mercy for the world, her own suffering, and her spiritual life.

Here are 10 quotes about suffering and humility from St. Faustina’s diary:

1. “Suffering is a great grace; through suffering the soul becomes like the Savior; in suffering love becomes crystallized; the greater the suffering, the purer the love.”

2. “Jesus loves hidden souls. A hidden flower is the most fragrant. I must strive to make the interior of my soul a resting place for the heart of Jesus.”

3. “Some day, we will know the value of suffering, but then we will no longer be able to suffer.”

4. “In difficult moments, I will fix my gaze upon the silent heart of Jesus, stretched upon the cross, and from the exploding flames of his merciful heart will flow down upon me power and strength to keep fighting.”

5. “The Holy Spirit does not speak to a soul that is distracted and garrulous. He speaks by his quiet inspirations to a soul that is recollected, to a soul that knows how to keep silence.”

6. “A humble soul does not trust itself but places all its confidence in God. God defends the humble soul and lets himself into its secrets, and the soul abides in unsurpassable happiness which no one can comprehend.”

7. “Have great confidence; God is always our Father, even when he sends us trials.”

8. “He who knows how to forgive prepares for himself many graces from God. As often as I look upon the cross, so often will I forgive with all my heart.”  

9. “Suffering is the greatest treasure on earth; it purifies the soul. In suffering, we learn who our true friend is.”

10. “God, who is light itself, lives in a pure and humble heart, and all sufferings and adversities serve but to reveal the soul’s holiness.”

Puebla, Mexico, Oct 4, 2024 / 18:45 pm (CNA).

Six migrants traveling through southern Mexico in a pickup truck lost their lives and 10 more have been wounded after being fired upon by Mexican soldiers.

According to information shared by Mexico’s National Defense Secretariat (Sedena, by its Spanish acronym), the incident occurred Oct. 1 on a stretch of the Villa Comaltitlán-Huixtla highway in the Mexican state of Chiapas, which borders Guatemala.

Military personnel said they “heard explosions,” which led them to start firing to stop the vehicles. The army claims the vehicles — one of which they managed to stop — were transporting migrants of various nationalities, including Egyptians, Cubans, and Pakistanis. Four people lost their lives at the scene and two more died after being hospitalized.

Sedena reported that the two soldiers who started shooting “were relieved of their duties” while the corresponding investigations are carried out.

Catholic Church criticizes ‘disproportionate use of force’

Bishop José Guadalupe Torres Campos, head of the migrant ministry of the country’s Catholic bishops, denounced the “disproportionate use of lethal force by agents of the state” that led to the tragedy.

Torres, who is the bishop of Ciudad Juárez, a diocese located on the northern border between Mexico and the United States, also stated that this tragedy is a direct consequence of the constant “presence of armed forces on the southern border of the country.” The prelate called on the authorities to carry out a “serious, impartial, and effective investigation.”

The bishop added that the presence of the armed forces in the border region should be scaled back and that they should be reserved instead for “exceptional situations.”

On behalf of the bishops of Mexico, Torres expressed his solidarity with the victims and their families, and offered prayers “for the migrants who died in this Mexican Army operation, and for the prompt recovery of the wounded.”

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

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 4, 2024 / 18:15 pm (CNA).

On Wednesday, Oct. 2, the Holy Father had the opportunity to view the historic relic of St. Peter’s chair in the Ottoboni sacristy of St. Peter’s Basilica after celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Square ahead of the second session of the Synod on Synodality. The photo of him sitting before the chair went viral.

Francis is the first pope since 1974 to have viewed the relic believed to have belonged to St. Peter the Apostle. 

Ordinarily, the historic wooden chair is encased inside the large chair monument crafted by the 17th-century sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, which is installed directly above the altar in the apse of the Vatican basilica. 

However, the Fabric of Saint Peter, a Vatican institution entrusted with the restoration and maintenance of the basilica, recently removed the chair from the monument amid restoration work on Bernini’s Baldacchino, the canopy that hangs over the Altar of the Cathedra, according to Vatican News. 

What’s the story behind the ‘chair relic?’

Ancient tradition maintains that St. Peter himself sat on the chair during sermons to the early Christians in Rome.

However, according to Papal Artifacts, archeologists determined that only the acacia wood skeleton of the chair in its current form dates back to this time period. The rest of the chair is composed of oak, bound to the original skeleton by strips of iron, and is believed to be a reconstruction made during the Byzantine period. The ivory plaques featured in the bottom portion of the throne are also attributed to this time. They depict sketches of Hercules and various constellations.

Pope Alexander VII commissioned Bernini to construct the monument where the chair is ordinarily encased during his pontificate in the 17th century. Bernini completed the monument between 1647 and 1653, but it was not installed above the altar in St. Peter’s Basilica until 1666.

The bronze-gilded throne is set against a backdrop of golden clouds, directly above the main altar — which is composed of black and white marble from Aquitaine and red jasper from Sicily.

Above the chair, there is a pair of angels holding the tiara and keys symbolizing papal authority, while four large statues of St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Athanasius, and St. John Chrysostom surround the monument. On the chair itself, there are three gold bas-reliefs representing the Gospel episodes of the consignment of the keys (Matthew 16:19), “feed my sheep” (John 21:17), and the washing of the feet (John 13:1-17).

What does the Chair of St. Peter symbolize?

Every year on Feb. 22, the Church celebrates the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, which is also a symbolic title for the papacy itself. 

In 2006, during a speech delivered during his general audience on the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Pope Benedict XVI described the spiritual significance of this symbol as “a privileged sign of the love of God, the eternal Good Shepherd, who wanted to gather his whole Church and lead her on the path of salvation.” 

The Holy Father’s veneration of the chair — a symbol of the Church’s unity under the instruction of Christ — takes place amid the commencement of the second session of the Synod on Synodality.

CNA Staff, Oct 4, 2024 / 17:55 pm (CNA).

Crowds of people gathered in downtown Columbus, Ohio, today for the Ohio March for Life, the first such gathering to be held in the state since Ohio voters approved a sweeping constitutional amendment to expand abortion. 

Photos and videos posted on social media show marchers holding handmade signs on the theme “With Every Woman, for Every Child,” which mirrors the theme for the annual national March for Life that took place in January in Washington, D.C. The organizers of the national march — which bills itself as the world’s largest annual human rights demonstration — have also been focusing on developing state-level pro-life marches in recent years. 

Speakers at this year’s Ohio march included Bishop Robert Pipta of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma and Aaron Baer, president of the Center for Christian Virtue. 

Kevin Jorrey, director of the Diocese of Toledo’s Office for Life and Justice, told local news outlet The Blade that local communities, including churches, must be there for the most vulnerable, including young mothers.

“No matter what happens legislatively, politically, we’re out here to stand up and stand for life,” he told The Blade. “We get to be the voice for the voiceless, no matter what the political landscape is.”

Attendance figures for this year’s march have not yet been released; at last year’s march in Columbus, 5,000 people were expected. 

The new constitutional amendment in Ohio, passed late last year, added a new section to the Ohio Bill of Rights in the state constitution that guarantees that “every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decision,” including, but not limited to “abortion.” Although the amendment’s language allows the state to impose some restrictions “after fetal viability,” the amendment does not establish a clear cutoff for when viability occurs.

The measure was approved by voters in Ohio by a margin of about 13 points on Nov. 7, 2023. 

The Ohio Catholic Conference, which represents the state’s bishops, had strongly opposed the amendment. The “no” campaign also received financial backing from both the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization, and the Catholic Diocese of Columbus, Ohio.

Ohio has been a battleground state for abortion for the past several years. Notably, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine in 2019 signed a “heartbeat” abortion law that was later blocked in court. The state also briefly had a six-week abortion ban on the books after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which was blocked by a federal judge in October 2022. 

Abortions ticked up in Ohio in 2023 compared with 2022, according to a new report from the Ohio Health Department. According to the report, the total number of abortions in Ohio in 2023 was 22,000, an increase from the 2022 number but relatively on par with abortion numbers in the state over the last 10 years. The majority — 63% — of those abortions were performed on women who were fewer than nine weeks pregnant.