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PHOTOS: As Catholics enter Holy Week, Orthodox churches begin Great Lent in Holy Land

Some Greek Orthodox monks at the entrance of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher wait for the solemn entrance of the patriarch on Saturday, March 23, 2024, for the First Vesper of the first Sunday of Lent, called the "Sunday of Orthodoxy." / Credit: Courtesy of Gianfranco Pinto Ostuni

Jerusalem, Mar 26, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).

As the Catholic Church in the Holy Land entered Holy Week by literally retracing the steps of Jesus’ passion in Jerusalem, the Orthodox churches took their first steps into Lent.

The Eastern churches follow the Julian calendar, which means Easter Sunday 2024 falls on May 5. Next year, however, the Catholic and Orthodox Easter will fall on the same day. 

Unlike the Catholic Church, which marks the beginning of Lent with a strong call to penance symbolized by Ash Wednesday, Orthodox churches do not have specific celebrations that open this penitential period.

His Eminence Anba Antonios (right), Coptic Orthodox archbishop of Jerusalem, incenses the edicule of the Holy Sepulcher (containing Christ's tomb) during the Sunday Mass on March 17, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini
His Eminence Anba Antonios (right), Coptic Orthodox archbishop of Jerusalem, incenses the edicule of the Holy Sepulcher (containing Christ's tomb) during the Sunday Mass on March 17, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

The most distinctive celebration is that of the Armenians, which celebrated its “Yeregoyan” service (the vespers, literally “hour of the evening”), on Saturday, March 16, in the Armenian Cathedral of St. James in Jerusalem. All the altars and some icons were covered with purple drapes, the color of Lent. The Catholic Church used to observe this tradition as well, but now it is often limited to the paschal triduum.

The Armenian period of Great Lent is similar to the other Christian churches.

The Armenian monks in front of the main altar of St. James Cathedral in Jerusalem, covered by a purple cloth. “During the Great Lent, we observe 40 days of fasting, meaning that meat and dairy are forbidden,” the chancellor of the Armenian Patriarchate, Father Aghan Gogchyan, told CNA. “The most extreme period of fasting is held the week before Easter Sunday, where many monks, according to historical tradition, live on only bread, salt, and water, eating once per day.” Credit: Marinella Bandini
The Armenian monks in front of the main altar of St. James Cathedral in Jerusalem, covered by a purple cloth. “During the Great Lent, we observe 40 days of fasting, meaning that meat and dairy are forbidden,” the chancellor of the Armenian Patriarchate, Father Aghan Gogchyan, told CNA. “The most extreme period of fasting is held the week before Easter Sunday, where many monks, according to historical tradition, live on only bread, salt, and water, eating once per day.” Credit: Marinella Bandini

“During the Great Lent, we observe 40 days of fasting, meaning that meat and dairy are forbidden, according to ancient Church tradition,” the chancellor of the Armenian patriarchate, Father Aghan Gogchyan, told CNA. “The most extreme period of fasting is held the week before Easter Sunday, where many monks, according to historical tradition, live on only bread, salt, and water, eating once per day.” During the 40 days of Lent, it is not even permitted to receive the Eucharist.

“For us,” Gogchyan highlighted, “it is a period where we reflect with, rather than on, the period of fasting held by Our Lord Jesus Christ in the desert. All of Christ’s encounters, according to the Gospels, are remembered and reflected on during the Lenten liturgies. It is a period of self-cleansing, where we prepare ourselves for the unworthy gift of Christ’s resurrection and the subsequent hope of eternal life that comes with it.”

An Armenian monk draws the purple curtain in front of one of the icons of the Virgin Mary located on the columns that border the sanctuary in the Armenian Cathedral of St. James in Jerusalem. On Saturday, March 16, 2024, in the Armenian Cathedral of Saint James in Jerusalem, during the “Yeregoyan” service (the Vespers, literally meaning “Hour of the evening”), all the altars and some icons were covered with purple drapes. Credit: Marinella Bandini
An Armenian monk draws the purple curtain in front of one of the icons of the Virgin Mary located on the columns that border the sanctuary in the Armenian Cathedral of St. James in Jerusalem. On Saturday, March 16, 2024, in the Armenian Cathedral of Saint James in Jerusalem, during the “Yeregoyan” service (the Vespers, literally meaning “Hour of the evening”), all the altars and some icons were covered with purple drapes. Credit: Marinella Bandini

If the entire Christian tradition emphasizes the aspect of purification, the Orthodox churches particularly emphasize fasting as the primary tool of purification. Almost all Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year are dedicated to fasting.

In the Coptic Orthodox Church, for example, they observe more than 200 fasting days per year. It is also the only church where Lent lasts for 55 days (it began on Monday, March 11, and includes the Holy Week). 

Father Antonious Al Orshalemy, the Coptic archimandrite (archbishop) of Jerusalem, explained to CNA: “During Lent we observe total fasting from midnight to 3 p.m. We cannot eat meat and animal products; fish is only allowed on certain days. The aim is to return to the state of humanity before the original sin, when they only ate fruits from the Garden. The ability to control food intake helps in managing passions and becoming more spiritual individuals,” he said. Fasting is interrupted only on Saturdays and Sundays, the memorial of the Resurrection.

A moment of prayer of the Syriac Orthodox monks at the convent of St. Mark in Jerusalem. On Sunday, March 17, the eve of Lent, “during the evening prayer, there is a moment when those present exchange forgiveness with each other. It is a moment of purification before starting Lent,” Dayroyo (Father) Boulus Khano explained to CNA. He is in the picture holding the book. Credit: Marinella Bandini
A moment of prayer of the Syriac Orthodox monks at the convent of St. Mark in Jerusalem. On Sunday, March 17, the eve of Lent, “during the evening prayer, there is a moment when those present exchange forgiveness with each other. It is a moment of purification before starting Lent,” Dayroyo (Father) Boulus Khano explained to CNA. He is in the picture holding the book. Credit: Marinella Bandini

On Sunday, March 17, the eve of Lent, the Syriac Orthodox Church celebrated a special rite dedicated to forgiveness (a similar ceremony takes place in the Greek Orthodox tradition on the same day, called “Forgiveness Sunday”). 

“During the evening prayer, there is a moment when those present exchange forgiveness with each other. It is a moment of purification before starting Lent,” Dayroyo (Father) Boulus Khano, a monk and priest of the Syriac Orthodox Monastery of St. Mark in Jerusalem, explained to CNA. Syriac Orthodox believers observe total fasting from midnight to noon and follow a mostly vegan diet (although fish is allowed).

In all Christian traditions, Lent follows a specific prayer itinerary, emphasizing certain episodes or figures from the Gospels and intensively praying the Psalms. In the Syriac Catholic tradition, Lent is particularly guided by the words of the prophets and those of the Church Fathers. Every day at noon — the moment when the absolute fast is broken — a special prayer is held in the church during which the participants bow down 40 times.

His Eminence Anba Antonios (on the right), Coptic archbishop of Jerusalem, and Father Antonius Al Orshalemy, general secretary of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, during the Mass of the first Sunday of Lent on March 17, 2024. In the Coptic Orthodox Church, Lent lasts 55 days and begins one week before the other churches. Credit: Marinella Bandini
His Eminence Anba Antonios (on the right), Coptic archbishop of Jerusalem, and Father Antonius Al Orshalemy, general secretary of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, during the Mass of the first Sunday of Lent on March 17, 2024. In the Coptic Orthodox Church, Lent lasts 55 days and begins one week before the other churches. Credit: Marinella Bandini

On Sunday, March 24, in Jerusalem, the Latin Church celebrated Palm Sunday at the Holy Sepulcher. This year, after the palm procession, the Eucharistic celebration took place at a side altar dedicated to Mary Magdalene instead of in front of the edicule containing Christ’s tomb. This was done to make room for the celebration of the first Sunday of Lent in the Orthodox churches, creating a mosaic of chants, languages, fragrances, and liturgies.

The Greek Orthodox, in particular, celebrated the “Sunday (of the triumph) of Orthodoxy.” The theme of the day is victory of the true faith and, in particular, the victory over iconoclasm by the decision of the Seventh Ecumenical Council. The service commemorates the restoration of icons for use in services and private devotional life of Christians.

Also for the Greek Orthodox tradition, observance of Great Lent is characterized by abstaining from many foods — especially meat and dairy products, fish, wine, and oil, intensified private and public prayer, and almsgiving. Strict fasting is forbidden on Saturday and Sunday. Fasting is closely linked to prayer, so much so that the fathers of the Orthodox church have referred to fasting without prayer as “the fast of the demons” since they do not eat, but neither do they pray.

The entrance of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, which is also the location of the convent of St. Mark. Here, the Syriac Orthodox faithful oversee several revered sites, including the house of St. Mark and the Cenacle, where Jesus is believed to have had the Last Supper with his apostles. Credit: Marinella Bandini
The entrance of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, which is also the location of the convent of St. Mark. Here, the Syriac Orthodox faithful oversee several revered sites, including the house of St. Mark and the Cenacle, where Jesus is believed to have had the Last Supper with his apostles. Credit: Marinella Bandini

The Great Lent and the Holy Week culminate in the ceremony of the Holy Light (also known as the Holy Fire), which is celebrated in the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The Holy Fire is a ceremony usually attended by all Christians in Jerusalem, regardless of denomination, and is one of the most characteristic and famous events in the Holy City.

According to the Greek Orthodox tradition, the Holy Fire is a miracle that occurs every year, the day preceding Pascha, dating back to the fourth century. Every year, at noon, the patriarch of Jerusalem stands alone and in the darkness inside the tomb of Christ, reciting a specific prayer, until the Holy Fire descends and spontaneously lights a lamp of olive oil held by the patriarch. Before entering, he is inspected by Israeli authorities to prove that he does not carry the technical means to light the fire. 

In a moment the light spreads throughout the basilica, with the faithful passing the fire over their faces because they say the Holy Fire does not burn hair or faces in the first 33 minutes after it is ignited.

Abortion pill opponents face Supreme Court skepticism

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on March 26, 2024, for a lawsuit brought by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM), which seeks to impose more restrictions on the prescription of mifepristone. / Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 26, 2024 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

United States Supreme Court justices on Tuesday pressed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone but appeared skeptical that a pro-life doctor’s group challenging the agency had any legal standing to sue. 

The justices heard oral arguments on March 26 for a lawsuit brought by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM), which seeks to impose more restrictions on the prescription of mifepristone. The drug is approved to chemically abort a child up to 10 weeks into the mother’s pregnancy. 

AHM, which represents pro-life medical groups, sued the FDA in November 2022 to challenge the agency’s approval of mifepristone. The lawsuit further challenged the FDA’s subsequent deregulation of the drug, particularly its permission to prescribe the medicine without an in-person doctor’s visit and to dispense the drug through the mail. 

FDA questioned on abortion pill’s safety

During oral arguments, the court’s more conservative justices questioned the FDA’s lawyer, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar, on whether the FDA followed proper protocol when deregulating mifepristone.

This Supreme Court case is the most-watched abortion-related decision since the court overturned Roe v. Wade, which allowed states to impose restrictions on abortion. Six justices voted to overturn the precedent: Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch. 

Barrett, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, expressed concern that ending the in-person requirement could “lead to mistakes in gestational aging” because doctors would not be able to perform an ultrasound. She asked whether this “could increase the need for a [dilatation and curettage procedure or increase] the amount of bleeding.”

Alito questioned why the agency only studied the effects of the deregulatory actions individually rather than studying how they could pose a safety risk when taken together as a whole. 

In defending the FDA’s decisions, Prelogar told the justices that the FDA “demonstrated that these changes … were safe” through its analysis of studies and that the deregulation being safe was not reliant on “other different safeguards in place.” She also noted that ultrasounds had never been required by the FDA. 

“I don’t think you can fault the agency for not giving even more explicit attention to this issue,” she said. 

Prelogar said the FDA found that some studies suggested the deregulation would increase emergency room visits but found no evidence that it would increase adverse effects. She said the “FDA’s actions were lawful” and that AHM “just disagree[s] with the agency’s analysis of the data before it.”

“That’s a question that Congress has entrusted to the FDA,” Prelogar said.

Jessica Ellsworth, a lawyer representing mifepristone provider Danco Laboratories, similarly expressed concern about courts assuming the authority to determine how the FDA handles its protocol related to studying the safety of drugs and deregulation. 

“Courts are just not in a position to parse through [the studies] and second guess [the FDA’s conclusion],” Ellsworth said.

Erin Hawley, a lawyer for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which is representing AHM, later countered the arguments from the FDA and Danco, saying that in-person visits would increase the likelihood of the woman receiving an ultrasound before being prescribed the drugs, rather than “to be able to order these online with a couple of screening questions.”

Does AHM have legal standing to sue? 

When Hawley was questioned about the lawsuit, the justices focused heavily on whether AHM had any legal standing to sue the FDA. 

Hawley argued that her clients, some of whom are emergency room doctors, have standing to sue because they are forced to care for women suffering from complications with the abortion pill, even if the doctors object to abortion.

“[They are] forced to manage abortion drugs’ harm,” she said.

Although federal law allows doctors to refrain from providing services that violate the doctor’s conscience, Hawley claimed that objections in these situations are not practical because of the “emergency nature of these procedures.” 

Hawley said the lack of in-person care leads to inadequate follow-ups for the women who use the drug, which leads them to seek care in emergency rooms. 

“[The FDA’s deregulations] turn emergency rooms into that follow-up visit,” Hawley said.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, said that federal law already protects their right to object and questioned why the court would need to impose “an order preventing anyone from having access to these drugs at all” to remedy these concerns. 

During the conversation, Trump-appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch similarly expressed concern about a district court’s ability to restrict access to a drug nationwide based on the legal objections from a handful of doctors.

Both Alito and Thomas pressed the FDA’s lawyer on who would be allowed to sue the FDA in this situation if not AHM. Prelogar said it would be hard to identify any person or group who would have the legal standing to file a lawsuit.

The Supreme Court is expected to decide the case by June. 

Christendom College names George Harne as next president

Christendom’s president-elect, George Harne, is currently a professor at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. Before then, he served as president of Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts for nine years. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College

CNA Staff, Mar 26, 2024 / 15:15 pm (CNA).

Christendom College, a Virginia-based Catholic liberal arts college, announced on Monday that George Harne will serve as the college’s fourth president.

Currently a professor at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, Harne is a music history and liberal arts scholar who formerly served as president of Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts in Warner, New Hampshire, for nine years until 2020.

Harne will succeed Timothy O’Donnell, who has served as Christendom College president for more than 30 years, or two-thirds of the college’s lifetime. 

“On behalf of the entire college, I want to congratulate and welcome Dr. George Harne as our new president,” O’Donnell said in a March 25 press release

Christendom College’s current president, Timothy O’Donnell, will retire after 30 years. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College
Christendom College’s current president, Timothy O’Donnell, will retire after 30 years. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College

“Christendom will be in good hands, and we are blessed to have him as our incoming president.”

Harne earned a master’s of liberal studies in 1998 from St. John’s College and completed his graduate work in musicology at Princeton, where he earned an M.F.A. in 2000 and his Ph.D. in 2008. 

“For many years, I’ve admired Christendom College and President O’Donnell’s leadership from afar,” Harne said in a video statement. “Christendom has always been a model of what is possible for truly faithful Catholic liberal education.”

A convert to Catholicism, Harne grew up in Florida as a southern Pentecostalist. He and his wife were married in a Presbyterian church, but he became Episocopalian in graduate school. As his interest in Church history and the Catholic intellectual tradition grew, he and his family decided to become Catholic and joined the Church in 2005.

“I truly believe that Christendom will play a leading role in the renewal of the Church and Catholic higher education in the next 50 years,” Harne said in the press release.

“As the college soon moves into its fifth decade, it will stand courageously as the model of Catholic higher education in this country, providing young men and women with the education they need to become wise, serve as salt and light in our world, and renew the very foundations of our society,” he continued. 

Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington welcomed the announcement in a statement and assured Harne of his “continued prayers.”

“I look forward to working with Dr. Harne, as Christendom College is a treasure in this diocese and to the universal Church,” he stated. “Dr. Harne will be privileged to lead a faculty, staff, and student body who are committed to serving Christ and illuminating the fundamental truths of the Catholic faith for the world.”

“Dr. Harne follows a line of leaders at Christendom who have laid a strong foundation that positions it for further development and opportunity,” Burbidge added.

Harne will begin transitioning into the role in June, with his official term beginning in July.

Christendom College’s campus is in Front Royal, Virginia, which is just about an hour west of Washington, D.C. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College
Christendom College’s campus is in Front Royal, Virginia, which is just about an hour west of Washington, D.C. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College

“I am blessed to have known Dr. Harne for years,” O’Donnell said in the announcement. “Dr. Harne and his lovely and talented wife, Debbie, together will make an outstanding team for Christendom. He will lead this college with wisdom and courage, building upon the past and leading it into a bright future.”

O’Donnell leaves behind a legacy of campus growth at Christendom, from the new Christ the King Chapel — a Gothic-inspired chapel that seats more than 500 — to the college endowment, which grew from $200,000 to more than $28 million under his tenure.

The cornerstone of Christ the King Chapel was blessed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008. 

Drone shot of Christendom College’s Christ the King Chapel in Front Royal, Virginia. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College
Drone shot of Christendom College’s Christ the King Chapel in Front Royal, Virginia. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College

“I want to give thanks to Christ the King for the opportunity to have served the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and board of this college, which holds such an important place in Catholic higher education and in the work of the Church at large,” O’Donnell continued.

“Christendom College has stood as a beacon for what Catholic higher education can be in America since its founding,” Harne said. “I am honored to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Timothy O’Donnell and the other previous presidents of this institution. There is much work ahead, and I am humbled to play a part in the history of this extraordinary college.” 

“Dr. Harne will bring experience, leadership, vision, and humility to his role as president of Christendom College, thanks to his extensive background in higher education administration, fundraising, and teaching,” said chairman of the college’s board of directors, Stephen O’Keefe, in the announcement. 

“The college has never been in a stronger position, and Dr. Harne will help guide our institution into its exciting next chapter.”

O’Keefe co-chaired the special committee that led the presidential search.

“To all those who love Christendom, I pledge that I accept this role as a sacred trust. I pledge continuity and organic development, animated by fidelity to the founding,” Harne said in the video announcement. “I will seek to build wisely on the foundation that has been faithfully laid. Our Church and society, now more than ever, need Christendom graduates serving as salt and light in the world.”

This story was updated March 27, 2024, with the statement from Bishop Michael Burbidge.

Pope Francis to write meditations for Good Friday Way of the Cross for the first time

The Stations of the Cross at Rome’s Colosseum, April 15, 2022. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Mar 26, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis for the first time in his 11-year pontificate will pen his own spiritual meditations for Friday’s Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) against the dramatic backdrop of Rome’s historic Colosseum.

The reflection will be based on the theme “In Prayer with Jesus on the Way of the Cross.” The pope will write a unique treatment for each station, “centered on what Jesus experiences in that moment,” the Holy See Press Office announced.

Vatican News observed that the pope’s decision to write his own mediations this year dovetails with the spiritual dimension of the Year of Prayer, a period of reflection the pope has called in anticipation of the 2025 Jubilee Year.

In 1985 Pope John Paul II started the tradition of delegating the writing of the Good Friday Way of the Cross reflections to different individuals and groups. But he interrupted this custom when he authored his own reflections for the “Great Jubilee,” or Holy Year of 2000. Pope Benedict XVI continued with the tradition throughout his pontificate. 

The setting for the papal Way of the Cross is rich with history and holds a special meaning for Rome’s Christians. 

The Colosseum, which also bears the name of the Flavian Amphitheater, was constructed during the first century A.D. during the reign of the Flavian dynasty. The massive elliptical structure sits in the heart of ancient Rome and was known as a site for gladiatorial battles, military reenactments, and dramatic productions. 

Tradition holds that early Christians were martyred in large numbers at the Colosseum. Though the archaeological evidence of the Colosseum as a site for martyrdom is scarce, the world’s largest ancient amphitheater still holds a central place in the Christian imagination, serving as a symbol of the persecution of the early Church. 

In 1750 Pope Benedict XIV erected a large cross and the 14 stations of the cross there; in 1756 he dedicated the edifice to the memory of the passion of Christ and the martyrs. The tradition lasted for a century until the unification of Italy in 1861, when the Church lost its sovereign temporal authority over the city of Rome. 

Pope John XXIII presided over the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum once in 1959. But it was not until 1964 with Pope Paul VI that the celebration became a permanent fixture of the pope’s Holy Week itinerary. 

In past years Pope Francis has entrusted the meditations to different groups and individuals reflecting a wide range of themes such as war and peace, migration, and the experience of the incarcerated.

Last year’s Way of the Cross was centered on the theme “Voices of Peace in a World at War,” incorporating the testimonies of victims of violence whom Pope Francis encountered during his international apostolic journeys over the past 10 years.

The full text of the meditations will be made available on Friday morning ahead of the service, which will begin at 9:15 p.m. Rome time.

Pope Francis to write meditations for Good Friday Way of the Cross for the first time

The Stations of the Cross at Rome’s Colosseum, April 15, 2022. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Mar 26, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis for the first time in his 11-year pontificate will pen his own spiritual meditations for Friday’s Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) against the dramatic backdrop of Rome’s historic Colosseum.

The reflection will be based on the theme “In Prayer with Jesus on the Way of the Cross.” The pope will write a unique treatment for each station, “centered on what Jesus experiences in that moment,” the Holy See Press Office announced.

Vatican News observed that the pope’s decision to write his own mediations this year dovetails with the spiritual dimension of the Year of Prayer, a period of reflection the pope has called in anticipation of the 2025 Jubilee Year.

In 1985 Pope John Paul II started the tradition of delegating the writing of the Good Friday Way of the Cross reflections to different individuals and groups. But he interrupted this custom when he authored his own reflections for the “Great Jubilee,” or Holy Year of 2000. Pope Benedict XVI continued with the tradition throughout his pontificate. 

The setting for the papal Way of the Cross is rich with history and holds a special meaning for Rome’s Christians. 

The Colosseum, which also bears the name of the Flavian Amphitheater, was constructed during the first century A.D. during the reign of the Flavian dynasty. The massive elliptical structure sits in the heart of ancient Rome and was known as a site for gladiatorial battles, military reenactments, and dramatic productions. 

Tradition holds that early Christians were martyred in large numbers at the Colosseum. Though the archaeological evidence of the Colosseum as a site for martyrdom is scarce, the world’s largest ancient amphitheater still holds a central place in the Christian imagination, serving as a symbol of the persecution of the early Church. 

In 1750 Pope Benedict XIV erected a large cross and the 14 stations of the cross there; in 1756 he dedicated the edifice to the memory of the passion of Christ and the martyrs. The tradition lasted for a century until the unification of Italy in 1861, when the Church lost its sovereign temporal authority over the city of Rome. 

Pope John XXIII presided over the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum once in 1959. But it was not until 1964 with Pope Paul VI that the celebration became a permanent fixture of the pope’s Holy Week itinerary. 

In past years Pope Francis has entrusted the meditations to different groups and individuals reflecting a wide range of themes such as war and peace, migration, and the experience of the incarcerated.

Last year’s Way of the Cross was centered on the theme “Voices of Peace in a World at War,” incorporating the testimonies of victims of violence whom Pope Francis encountered during his international apostolic journeys over the past 10 years.

The full text of the meditations will be made available on Friday morning ahead of the service, which will begin at 9:15 p.m. Rome time.

Baltimore archbishop calls for prayers after catastrophic bridge collapse

In an aerial view, cargo ship Dali is seen after running into and collapsing the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024, in Baltimore. / Credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

CNA Staff, Mar 26, 2024 / 13:40 pm (CNA).

Baltimore Archbishop William Lori on Tuesday called for prayers after a container strip struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in that city, leading to a catastrophic collapse early Tuesday morning. 

The 984-foot cargo ship struck one of the bridge’s support columns just before 1:30 a.m. Footage on social media showed the 1.6-mile-long, multilane bridge quickly collapsing after being struck. 

In a statement posted to X hours later, Lori said he was “saddened, as you are, to learn of the tragic incident overnight that led to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Baltimore harbor.”

“Pray with me for all involved, especially the victims traveling over the span at the time of impact, the construction crews on site, and all of the first responders acting with urgency to rescue survivors,” Lori wrote. 

“Let us join in prayer asking the Lord to grant consolation and strength as we cope with this terrible tragedy,” the archbishop said. 

Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, likewise issued a call for prayers on Tuesday morning. The Arlington Diocese is located about 40 miles from the Key Bridge.

“At this time of uncertainty, in which rescuers are heroically working to find survivors of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, I call on all people of goodwill to pray that additional survivors will be recovered and for first responders, the victims, and their families,” Burbidge wrote on X. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, at least six individuals who were reportedly on the bridge at the time of the collapse were unaccounted for.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Tuesday said a mayday call from the ship prior to the accident allowed authorities to close the bridge just before the collapse, stopping traffic from crossing as the bridge fell apart.

“'I’m thankful for the folks, once the warning came up and once notification came up that there was a mayday, who literally by being able to stop cars from coming over the bridge — these people are heroes,” he told media. “They saved lives last night.”

President Joe Biden, meanwhile, said that he had “directed my administration to ensure every federal resource is available to assist search and rescue efforts and response to this terrible incident.”

Approximately 35,000 people traveled the Francis Scott Key Bridge every day. The Port of Baltimore ranks among the 10 biggest U.S. ports for international cargo.

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.”