St. John's Catholic Church

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CNA Staff, Apr 24, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).

As euthanasia and assisted suicide are legalized in more jurisdictions throughout the U.S. and the rest of the world, one organization is promoting end-of-life resources that the group’s founder says will help Catholics finish their earthly journeys while remaining faithful.

Aging with Dignity, a nonprofit that for years has been promoting end-of-life support, announced this month the release of “Finishing Life Faithfully,” a booklet that “makes complex end-of-life decisions easier” for Catholics. The materials address “basic questions” on how to approach end-of-life topics such as pain management, feeding tubes, and other matters surrounding death.

The document “summarizes the Catholic Church’s guidance on end-of-life decision-making and the ethical considerations involved and helps patients and families better understand these teachings and follow them,” the group said this month.

Jim Towey, the founder and CEO of Aging with Dignity who previously served as legal counsel to Mother Teresa, told CNA this week that he launched the nonprofit in 1996 “to give people a hopeful vision for end of life that helps them practice their faith and that doesn’t treat dying like it’s just a medical moment.”

For years Aging With Dignity has distributed its “Five Wishes” legal document, which helps Catholics and others “express [their] wishes ahead of a serious illness.” A form of what’s known as an “advance directive,” Towey said it lets the faithful “address their personal, emotional, and spiritual needs” before the final weeks and days of their lives.

The Five Wishes program has been immensely popular; the group has distributed over 40 million copies of the guide in 33 languages. But, Towey said, “it needed a companion guide to help Catholics understand what the Church teaches on feeding tubes, anointing of the sick, hospice, and pain management.”

Towey said he spent all of last year working with various collaborators, including priests, to develop the guide. The group says the document offers “a positive vision of care at the end of life that contrasts with the euthanasia/assisted suicide movements.”

The guide provides information on the ethical questions that often surround end-of-life concerns. It notes, for instance, that Catholics “can take or increase pain medication to lessen suffering” even if such medication might hasten the onset of death, so long as “death is not willed as either an end or a means.”

Elsewhere it notes that Catholics are not “obliged to accept or continue every medical intervention available” and that waiving “disproportionate medical treatments” that promise “only a precarious or painful extension of life” is “not the equivalent of suicide or euthanasia.”

The organization distributes the materials through more than 5,000 distributing organizations, including health care providers, churches, and employers. Individuals often request the documents to distribute to family or friends.

Both euthanasia and assisted suicide have been legalized in more and more jurisdictions throughout the U.S. and Western Europe. Assisted suicide is legal in nine U.S. states and under consideration in several more. Numerous countries, meanwhile, allow euthanasia and/or assisted suicide, including Canada, Belgium, Spain, and several others. 

Towey said when he founded the organization nearly 30 years ago, there were already warning signs on the horizon regarding those deadly procedures.

“What I saw back in 1996 were the clouds gathering in favor of assisted suicide,” he said. “Now the storms have begun.” 

“We’re seeing more and more people, including Catholics, deceived by the arguments in favor of assisted suicide,” he said.

Both the advance directive and the end-of-life guide have been touted by U.S. Church leaders, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Cardinal Sean O’Malley of the Archdioceses of New York and Boston. O’Malley described the documents as “grounded in the primacy of protecting God’s gift of life.”

Of the group’s end-of-life advocacy, meanwhile, Towey told CNA: “We’re just getting started.”

“Assisted suicide isn’t the solution,” he said. “Good end-of-life care and healthy family discussions are.”

“The Church needs to make this easier for families. We don’t make it easy for them to access some of this information,” he said.

“The Church needs to help people in this critical transition in their life to eternity, to remain faithful and to be assured by the accompaniment of the Church.”

null / Credit: Brian A Jackson / Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Apr 24, 2024 / 13:35 pm (CNA).

Catholics Charities Corporation in Ohio was found partially negligent this week in the 2017 death of a 5-year-old boy who was being supervised by one of the organization’s caseworkers at the time he died.

A jury in Cuyahoga County ruled in the wrongful death suit that the Catholic charity group was 8% responsible for Jordan Rodriguez’s September 2017 death, local media reported. Rodriguez’s body was discovered buried in his mother’s backyard three months after he died.

The boy’s mother and her boyfriend earlier pleaded guilty to several charges stemming from his death, including involuntary manslaughter. Jordan was developmentally disabled and incapable of speaking.

In the civil wrongful death trial this week, Catholic Charities Corporation was ordered to pay $960,000 into Jordan Rodriguez’s estate. Several other defendants, including the boy’s mother and the county’s Department of Child and Family Services, were also found responsible. 

A caseworker contracted by the organization, Nancy Caraballo, had been assigned to Rodriguez’s case and was supposed to be checking on the boy, but she falsified reports and took bribes in connection with a food stamp scheme instead.

Caraballo had previously pleaded guilty to those charges and was sentenced to three years in prison, though she ultimately served only eight months. She was ordered to pay $240,000 in the civil case this week. 

The lawsuit had argued in part that the Catholic charity organization had failed to properly train and supervise Caraballo and thus failed to detect the false reports she had filed. 

Richard Blake, an attorney representing Catholic Charities Corporation in the case, told CNA on Wednesday that there is “an active gag order prohibiting us from going into any detail or making any comments about the matter.”

“There’s still another portion of the law that permits punitive damages,” he said. A court date is set for next week, he added. 

Catholic Charities did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. 

Chuck Robbins, the chief executive of the multinational digital communications conglomerate Cisco, signs the Rome Call for AI Ethics, a document by the Pontifical Academy for Life, on April 24, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Apr 24, 2024 / 11:06 am (CNA).

The CEO of Cisco Systems signed the Vatican’s artificial intelligence ethics pledge on Wednesday, becoming the latest technology giant to join the Church’s call for ethical and responsible use of AI.

Chuck Robbins, the chief executive of the multinational digital communications conglomerate, met privately with Pope Francis on April 24 before signing the Rome Call for AI Ethics, a document by the Pontifical Academy for Life. 

The document, first published by the pontifical academy in February 2020, has previously been signed by Microsoft President Brad Smith and IBM Executive John Kelly III.

The Rome Call underlines the need for “algor-ethics,” which, according to the text, is the ethical use of artificial intelligence according to the principles of transparency, inclusion, accountability, impartiality, reliability, security, and privacy.

The text quotes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in pointing to the equal dignity and rights of all humans, which AI must protect and guarantee, it says, while calling equally for the “benefit of humanity and the environment.”

It states there are three requirements for “technological advancement to align with true progress for the human race and respect for the planet” — it must be inclusive, have the good of humankind at its core, and care for the planet with a highly sustainable approach.

Robbins said that “the Rome Call principles align with Cisco’s core belief that technology must be built on a foundation of trust at the highest levels in order to power an inclusive future for all.” 

Years before the widely popular release of the GPT-4 chatbot system, developed by the San Francisco start-up OpenAI, the Vatican was already heavily involved in the conversation of artificial intelligence ethics, hosting high-level discussions with scientists and tech executives on the ethics of artificial intelligence in 2016 and 2020.

The pope established the RenAIssance Foundation in April 2021 as a Vatican nonprofit foundation to support anthropological and ethical reflection of new technologies on human life.

Pope Francis also chose artificial intelligence as the theme of his 2024 peace message, which recommended that global leaders adopt an international treaty to regulate the development and use of AI.

Chuck Robbins, the chief executive of the multinational digital communications conglomerate Cisco, signs the Rome Call for AI Ethics, a document by the Pontifical Academy for Life, on April 24, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Apr 24, 2024 / 11:06 am (CNA).

The CEO of Cisco Systems signed the Vatican’s artificial intelligence ethics pledge on Wednesday, becoming the latest technology giant to join the Church’s call for ethical and responsible use of AI.

Chuck Robbins, the chief executive of the multinational digital communications conglomerate, met privately with Pope Francis on April 24 before signing the Rome Call for AI Ethics, a document by the Pontifical Academy for Life. 

The document, first published by the pontifical academy in February 2020, has previously been signed by Microsoft President Brad Smith and IBM Executive John Kelly III.

The Rome Call underlines the need for “algor-ethics,” which, according to the text, is the ethical use of artificial intelligence according to the principles of transparency, inclusion, accountability, impartiality, reliability, security, and privacy.

The text quotes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in pointing to the equal dignity and rights of all humans, which AI must protect and guarantee, it says, while calling equally for the “benefit of humanity and the environment.”

It states there are three requirements for “technological advancement to align with true progress for the human race and respect for the planet” — it must be inclusive, have the good of humankind at its core, and care for the planet with a highly sustainable approach.

Robbins said that “the Rome Call principles align with Cisco’s core belief that technology must be built on a foundation of trust at the highest levels in order to power an inclusive future for all.” 

Years before the widely popular release of the GPT-4 chatbot system, developed by the San Francisco start-up OpenAI, the Vatican was already heavily involved in the conversation of artificial intelligence ethics, hosting high-level discussions with scientists and tech executives on the ethics of artificial intelligence in 2016 and 2020.

The pope established the RenAIssance Foundation in April 2021 as a Vatican nonprofit foundation to support anthropological and ethical reflection of new technologies on human life.

Pope Francis also chose artificial intelligence as the theme of his 2024 peace message, which recommended that global leaders adopt an international treaty to regulate the development and use of AI.

Pope Francis addresses pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for his Wednesday general audience on April 24, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Apr 24, 2024 / 09:09 am (CNA).

Pope Francis on Wednesday opened a new chapter in his ongoing catechetical series on virtues by pivoting to a reflection on the three theological virtues — faith, hope, and charity — which he noted form the key pillars of Christian life.

The Holy Father bolstered his analysis by looking to the legacy of St. John Paul II.

“Looking at his life, we can see what man can achieve by accepting and developing within himself the gifts of God: faith, hope, and charity,” the pope said to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square. 

Saturday will mark the 10th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s canonization.

“Remain faithful to his legacy. Promote life and do not be deceived by the culture of death. Through his intercession, we ask God for the gift of peace for which he, as pope, has worked so hard.”

The pope framed his predecessor’s legacy within the context of the three theological virtues, which he characterized as the “fundamental attributes” of a Christian life and “the great antidote to self-sufficiency.”

“The Christian is never alone,” the pope said. “He does good not because of a titanic effort of personal commitment but because, as a humble disciple, he walks behind the master, Jesus.” 

Harkening back to his previous reflections on the four cardinal virtues — prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance — Pope Francis noted while they “constitute the ‘hinge’ of a good life,” it is the three theological virtues that lead Christians “toward the fullness of life,” as they are “received and lived out in relationship with God.” 

But the pope stressed that the four cardinal virtues were not “replaced” by Christianity but instead “enhanced, purified, and integrated.”

The pope stressed that living a life predicated upon the theological virtues forms a firewall against the vices, namely pride, which can “spoil a whole life marked by goodness.” 

The pope asked: “A person may have performed a mountain of good deeds, may have reaped accolades and praise, but if he has done all this only for himself, to exalt himself, can he still call himself a virtuous person?” 

But the Holy Father reminded the faithful: “If we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, he revives the theological virtues in us. If we have lost confidence, God reopens us to faith; if we are discouraged, God awakens hope in us; if our heart is hardened, God softens it with his love.” 

At the end of the audience, Pope Francis renewed his appeal for peace for the “tormented” Ukraine, as well as in Myanmar, and in Israel and Palestine, repeating his regular refrain: “War is always a defeat.” 

Pope Francis addresses pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for his Wednesday general audience on April 24, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Apr 24, 2024 / 09:09 am (CNA).

Pope Francis on Wednesday opened a new chapter in his ongoing catechetical series on virtues by pivoting to a reflection on the three theological virtues — faith, hope, and charity — which he noted form the key pillars of Christian life.

The Holy Father bolstered his analysis by looking to the legacy of St. John Paul II.

“Looking at his life, we can see what man can achieve by accepting and developing within himself the gifts of God: faith, hope, and charity,” the pope said to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square. 

Saturday will mark the 10th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s canonization.

“Remain faithful to his legacy. Promote life and do not be deceived by the culture of death. Through his intercession, we ask God for the gift of peace for which he, as pope, has worked so hard.”

The pope framed his predecessor’s legacy within the context of the three theological virtues, which he characterized as the “fundamental attributes” of a Christian life and “the great antidote to self-sufficiency.”

“The Christian is never alone,” the pope said. “He does good not because of a titanic effort of personal commitment but because, as a humble disciple, he walks behind the master, Jesus.” 

Harkening back to his previous reflections on the four cardinal virtues — prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance — Pope Francis noted while they “constitute the ‘hinge’ of a good life,” it is the three theological virtues that lead Christians “toward the fullness of life,” as they are “received and lived out in relationship with God.” 

But the pope stressed that the four cardinal virtues were not “replaced” by Christianity but instead “enhanced, purified, and integrated.”

The pope stressed that living a life predicated upon the theological virtues forms a firewall against the vices, namely pride, which can “spoil a whole life marked by goodness.” 

The pope asked: “A person may have performed a mountain of good deeds, may have reaped accolades and praise, but if he has done all this only for himself, to exalt himself, can he still call himself a virtuous person?” 

But the Holy Father reminded the faithful: “If we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, he revives the theological virtues in us. If we have lost confidence, God reopens us to faith; if we are discouraged, God awakens hope in us; if our heart is hardened, God softens it with his love.” 

At the end of the audience, Pope Francis renewed his appeal for peace for the “tormented” Ukraine, as well as in Myanmar, and in Israel and Palestine, repeating his regular refrain: “War is always a defeat.” 

U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise says he is “very blessed” that doctors caught his cancer early enough and that the treatments worked. / Credit: EWTN News Nightly/Screenshot

CNA Staff, Apr 24, 2024 / 07:15 am (CNA).

In an exclusive update on his health this week, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise discussed with “EWTN News Nightly” the role prayer and his Catholic faith played in his recovery from blood cancer. 

“For so many people that are watching, that said prayers and offered just true, genuine support, I can’t thank everybody enough — because you feel that when you’re going through things,” Scalise said during an interview with EWTN News Capitol Hill correspondent Erik Rosales. 

“And thank God, God performed a lot of miracles and answered a lot of prayers,” he added. 

Scalise, a 16-year veteran of Capitol Hill and the No. 2 Republican in the U.S. House, started chemotherapy the day after he was diagnosed with blood cancer. After four months, he was isolated for six weeks for a stem-cell transplant.  

“I have a pretty intense job, and I missed being away. But I knew I had to focus on my health, and we did. We zoned in really tightly,” Scalise said.

Scalise said he was “very blessed” that the doctors caught the cancer early enough and that the treatments worked. 

When asked what he would say to someone battling a similar illness, Scalise said that “God gives you the strength to get through it.” 

“He puts people around you — and recognize that it’s not just God himself in the flesh, it’s doctors and friends and other people that are in your life that can help you get through those tough times,” he explained. 

In 2017, Scalise almost died after being shot by a progressive activist, but he said the experience “strengthened” his faith. 

“His intent was to kill all of us on that ball field,” Scalise said of the shooter. “Again, God performed miracles that day — [there’s] no other way to explain some of the things that happened. In the hospital, my doctor said I didn’t even have another minute to spare.”

“It also puts a different focus on what is really important in life,” he added in reference to his injury. “I said, ‘I’ve got to put this in God’s hands.’ I said some really direct prayers to God, asked him for some heady things. I started thinking about my young kids, my daughter, and wanted to make sure I could go to her wedding.”

A young woman is baptized at the 2024 Easter Vigil at St. Mary’s Catholic Center at Texas A&M. / Credit: Courtesy of St. Mary’s Catholic Center, Texas A&M

National Catholic Register, Apr 24, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Zack Short was kneeling during adoration last fall, silently struggling with whether the host in the monstrance was actually Jesus or merely a piece of bread.

To his left was his girlfriend, Katie, a Catholic who had invited him to join the campus ministry’s catechism program for converts.

“I was like, ‘Lord, if this is really you, please speak to me. Lord, help my unbelief,’” Short recalled. “I kid you not: I saw light coming out of the Eucharist. It just clicked for me: This is really God.”

Later, he asked Katie if she saw the light. She didn’t. 

Short, 19, a sophomore majoring in mechanical manufacturing engineering technology who grew up going to a nondenominational church in Colorado, entered the Catholic Church during last month’s Easter Vigil Mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Center at Texas A&M.

He is one of thousands of new Catholics in the United States, part of what appears to have been a bountiful harvest for the Church this past Easter.

Nationwide numbers aren’t available yet. But certain dioceses are reporting increases of 30%, 40%, 50%, and even more than 70%.

A non-Catholic can become a Catholic any day of the year. But the Easter Vigil is the traditional time to enter the Church, whose adult conversion program is built around preparing converts for that moment.

The National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, contacted every diocese in the United States in early April asking about numbers of converts at Easter, which this year was the last weekend in March. 

Catechesis for converts

The Church’s conversion program for adults is widely known as Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, or RCIA, although the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voted in November 2021 to begin a process to change the name to Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, with slight revisions of other terms as well.

The Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, jumps out: The number of converts there rose from 896 at Easter 2023 to 1,544 at Easter 2024, an increase of 72%.

Part of that eye-popping figure can be attributed to the area’s skyrocketing population, said Jason Whitehead, the director of evangelization and catechesis for the diocese. He also credits young priests in the diocese, who he says are “faithful,” “energetic,” and “willing to do anything,” including helping out at catechetical sessions.

But the diocese has also changed the way it prepares catechists to teach the faith. In 2021, the diocese began a three-year catechetical program that begins with an introduction to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and moves to an intermediate level of theological instruction. It finishes with an area of concentration, such as catechesis for converts.

“The heart and soul of all three levels is the ability to talk to anyone about the Catholic faith,” Whitehead said. 

The program offers not just information about what the Church teaches but how to organize it, beginning with the old Baltimore Catechism question: Why did God make you? (“… to know him, to love him, and to serve him in this world, and to be happy with him forever in heaven.”)

It’s crucial, he said, to present Catholic doctrine in its fullness. 

Whitehead, a former Baptist, came into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil in 2012. While he was happy to become a Catholic, he wasn’t happy with his parish’s RCIA sessions. 

“I saw one person after another leave the RCIA program because they were not being given the truth of the Gospel and the teachings of the Catholic Church,” Whitehead said. 

“If I have any influence over RCIA,” he said, “I’ll be doggone if anybody goes through an RCIA program like the one I went through. It is my personal mission that that never happens to another soul, until the Lord comes again.”

Hillsdale and the Diocese of Lansing

One perennial powerhouse of conversions is Hillsdale College, a nondenominational Christian school in Hillsdale, Michigan, that has a large population of Catholics. (One recent survey done by students in an applied math class at the school found that 43% of the students are Catholics.) 

The Easter Vigil Mass at St. Anthony’s Church in Hillsdale this year began at 9 p.m. and ended at midnight, followed by a Greek feast for more than 500 people that lasted until 4 in the morning, said Deacon John Crowley, who heads the parish’s conversion program.

Along the way, 28 people joined the Catholic Church, 22 of them current students at Hillsdale College, plus one who is a recent graduate of the school. 

The total number of converts in the parish is up from 20 in 2023 for a 40% increase.

As for Hillsdale students: 1.4% of the college’s 1,563 undergraduates joined the Catholic Church on Saturday, March 30. 

St. Anthony’s contributed to an approximately 30% increase in converts in the Diocese of Lansing from 2023 — about 620 this year, the highest number in more than a decade. 

“To each of those new Catholics I say, ‘Welcome to the body of Christ. This is just the beginning of great things,’” said Bishop Earl Boyea in a video produced by the diocese. 

The video highlights the Campbell family — dad Cody, mom Kirsten, daughters Ryleigh, Khloe, and Cadyn, and son Elijah — who all joined the Catholic Church at St. Mary’s in Charlotte, Michigan.

Though raised Baptists, Cody and Kirsten were without a church when Cody on his own started studying the Protestant Reformation and then the Church Fathers, which made him interested in Catholicism. 

“You could say there was a raging storm taking place inside of me — like, I had to know. There was something that was pushing me to know where the truth actually comes from,” Cody said. 

Kirsten listened. Then a communion service at a Protestant church came up short for her. 

“I just sat there and I realized, ‘This, it’s not it,’” Kirsten said.

They talked afterward and found they were thinking the same thing. They called the local parish, and the OCIA director let them join the program, “a little late,” Kirsten said. 

“After we talked, after that day, it’s been nothing but peace. Like, I feel at home,” said Cody, who took the confirmation name Robert Bellarmine after the Counter-Reformation Italian Jesuit cardinal and doctor of the Church. 

Conversions Way, Way Up

As of mid-April, about two-fifths of the dioceses in the United States had responded to the Register’s queries. Some don’t have data for this year yet. A handful reported numbers similar to last year’s or small decreases. 

As for increases, some observers caution that this-worldly factors may be at play. Some cite a backup from the coronavirus shutdowns of a few years ago. One diocese reported that the diocese’s marriage tribunal issued a large number of declarations of nullity recently, which allowed would-be converts in what the Church considers irregular marriage situations to have their marriages blessed by the Church, therefore also facilitating their entrance into the Church this past Easter.

Even so, the increases are widespread. 

A small diocese in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the Diocese of Marquette, saw a 70% jump (from 40 to 68 converts) from 2023 to 2024. Others seeing large increases include Grand Island, Nebraska (35%); Portland, Maine (35%); and Grand Rapids, Michigan (33%). 

Topping the charts so far is the Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa, which went from 181 to 339, an increase of 87%. The Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey, saw an increase in converts of 53%: from 227 in 2023 to 347 in 2024. 

Among larger sees, in Texas, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston saw an increase of 30%, from 1,820 in 2023 to 2,364 in 2024; and the Archdiocese of San Antonio went up 39% (from 1,285 to 1,789). 

In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the total number of converts increased by about 4% (from 3,462 in 2023 to 3,596 in 2024). But the number of previously unbaptized catechumens receiving baptism in the Catholic Church increased 19%, from 1,743 to 2,075, the highest number in the archdiocese since 2016. 

The number of converts in the Archdiocese of New Orleans jumped 48% — from 294 in 2023 to 436 in 2024.

In the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee, where the number of converts went from 278 at Easter 2023 to 388 at Easter 2024, a jump of almost 40%, the director of Christian formation, Deacon Jim Bello, credits a more flexible catechesis schedule, a spokesman said. 

“Formation is year-round, not just an RCIA ‘season,’ if you will,” said Jim Wogan, the diocese’s director of communications, by email. “It seems to have been successful.” 

That’s also a point of emphasis in the Diocese of St. Augustine in northeast Florida, which saw an increase from 625 converts in 2023 to 838 in 2024, up 34%. 

Spanish-speaking families make up a big portion, said Erin McGeever, the diocese’s director of Christian formation. San Jose Parish in Jacksonville, for instance, brought 64 people to the Rite of Election during Lent 2024, a 36% increase from 47 in 2023. 

The Cathedral-Basilica of St. Augustine has seen steady growth, from 12 in 2022 to 18 in 2023 to 24 in 2024, she said. 

While she’s not sure why, exactly, she noted that the diocese has been emphasizing making the conversion program year-round.

The typical schedule mimics the school year, beginning around September and finishing in June, with the high point being the Easter Vigil. Sticking to that schedule can leave out people who show interest at some other point during the year.

She said that the cathedral parish has begun engaging with would-be converts right away. 

“So whenever people call, they put them into some programming, until they can get into the formal formation,” McGeever said. “Maybe that’s the key: taking people where they’re at… and filling in the blanks with them.” 

In the Diocese of Little Rock, Arkansas, which saw an increase of 33% (from 515 in 2023 to 685 in 2024), the director of faith formation, Jeff Hines, said he’s not sure what to attribute it to, but he said it suggests a spiritual hunger in a society sharply divided. 

“You look at the state of the world, there’s a lot of reasons not to have hope today, particularly for young adults; so people are really looking for meaning and hope, which is exactly what the Church offers,” Hines said. 

“So it makes sense for this to happen,” he added. “We should not be surprised. We should be faithful to being open to people who are searching.” 

Deep in the soul of Texas

St. Mary’s Catholic Center at Texas A&M is so busy it offers its conversion program year-round and brings people into the Church twice a year: a September-to-Easter track and a January-to-November track. 

The group that entered the program in January 2024 is among the biggest that program director Kevin Pesek has seen.

This past Easter, St. Mary’s had 51 students enter the Church (18 baptized, 33 who made a profession of faith). That followed a group of 34 converts in November 2023 (14 baptisms, 20 professions of faith).

“I’m seeing more and more people coming in with nothing — no religious background,” Pesek said. “It’s very interesting.” 

Non-Catholic students join the program because Catholic students invite them, Pesek said, along the lines of Jesus’ words in John 1:39: “Come and see.”

“I’m not the one bringing them in. It’s all through our students. They’re the ones bringing them to Mass, doing the evangelization, bringing them in the door,” Pesek said. “I provide pizza the first night. That’s about as creative as I get.” 

In recent times, he has conducted an anonymous survey of new converts asking what drew them to the faith. He shared 57 of the responses, and they’re hard to characterize. Some cite the Eucharist, others the teaching authority of the Church, the papacy, unity, clarity, liturgy, community, the communion of saints, and strength to live a better life.

“The students who aren’t Catholic are hungry and are looking for something,” said Father Will Straten, the pastor of St. Mary’s. “People are just looking for something that’s authentic and real. They’re looking for something that’s grounded and seems to make sense.”

One of the Easter 2024 converts is Kirsten Ruby, 23, who is finishing a master’s degree in accounting at Texas A&M after spending four years there as an undergraduate. She began seriously considering the Catholic faith during the summer of 2023 through the intervention of a friend. 

As a kid, she went to Protestant churches (mostly Baptist) sporadically, but was never baptized. The main draw of RCIA for her was a chance to learn more about Jesus: “I saw it as a way of making up for never going to Sunday school as a kid,” she said. 

Once in the program, she engaged with the Church’s history and theology, aided by apologetics books by Catholic authors, including Richard Gaillardetz’s “By What Authority?”

She said she found the catechesis program at St. Mary’s helpful and particularly her sponsor, a current senior. 

Asking questions helped bring Ruby to the faith, and that continues now that she has joined the Church. 

“A big thing that keeps me close to God is questions, forever getting to know him,” Ruby said. “He’s an eternal spouse. You wouldn’t just marry your husband and run away with the ring. You’d want to stay and get to know him better.”

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and is reprinted here on CNA with permission.

Katie Chihoski, a student at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, eats with her baby, Lucia, on her lap in the company of fellow students. Chihoski is among the first students to benefit from a new initiative at the Catholic college called the Saint Teresa of Calcutta Community for Mothers, which provides free babysitting and other material support for young mothers on campus. / Credit: Fabrizio Alberdi, EWTN News in Depth

CNA Staff, Apr 24, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A young mother will be the first to graduate from a Catholic school in North Dakota with the support of the school’s program that provides young student-mothers with child care, housing, and community. Katie Chihoski plans to walk across the stage to obtain her diploma with her 18-month-old daughter, Lucia, by her side. 

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade, supporting women with unplanned pregnancies has become an even greater priority for many groups and organizations. Planned Parenthood’s latest report reveals that the abortion giant performed its highest-ever number of abortions the year Roe v. Wade was overturned, numbering almost 400,000 abortions between Oct. 1, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2022. 

With the help of concerned donors, University of Mary, a Catholic liberal arts college in Bismarck, North Dakota, launched the Saint Teresa of Calcutta Community for Mothers in 2023. Known as “St. Teresa’s,” the program pledges to help single mothers by providing room, board, and child care — as well semesterly retreats and frequent “community nights.” 

The whole campus has stepped in to help, with students volunteering to help with child care and professors welcoming kids in class, while residence directors who live on campus — and are often recently married with young children — offer community and support to the St. Teresa’s moms. 

A gift to campus: St. Teresa’s Community for Mothers 

“Katie and Lucia are beloved on campus,” said Vice President for Student Development Reed Ruggles, who oversees University of Mary’s program for mothers. 

Because of the program, Ruggles said that he, staff, and students on campus have been able to “see some of these children grow up.”

“Lucia, for example, was very little when she moved in with her mother, Katie,” he said. “To see her take her first steps, say her first words, and grow from carrier to highchair in our Crow’s Nest Restaurant on campus has been a gift to all of us.” 

Ruggles observed that Chihoski’s friends treat Lucia and Katie as “one of their own” and said they are “integral members of our campus.”

“Faculty and staff who know Katie are so supportive of her,” he continued. “From volunteering to babysit Lucia to holding Lucia during a meeting or Mass, we consider it a great joy to have Lucia and Katie on campus.”

Noting that the program is only in its third semester, Ruggles said that he is “excited” to celebrate “our first graduate.”

Chihoski hopes to walk across the stage with Lucia, who will be wearing a toddler-sized cap and gown on graduation day. 

“I think she will walk across the stage with me, if I can figure out the logistics,” she said. “I would love to make that a tradition for future graduating mothers.”

Chihoski said that although she had some worries about attending school with a young daughter, Lucia has made things “twice as fun.”

“Coming to school, I expected to be seen as different, and somewhat outcast from the typical college life,” she explained. “I think it was difficult to get used to my tag-along when going to events on campus, but Lucia makes the world twice as much fun.” 

“Attending school with my daughter, Lucia, has been the most amazing thing to witness,” she said. “Children bring out the joy in people and offer a fuller sense of purpose.”

“Our students hear all the time about how they can give their life away in love,” Ruggles added. “This community shows students what that can look like from a practical perspective and gives students an opportunity to practice that by giving their time and love to these mothers and their children.”

“It has been wonderful having the community of mothers on campus,” Ruggles said. “We have students from as far away as Texas and Colorado and from right here in North Dakota. Supporting these mothers is truly a gift to us.”

Chihoski’s happily ever after

Chihoski was a sophomore studying abroad in Rome when she discovered she was pregnant. 

St. Teresa’s hadn’t begun at the time, but Chihoski said that her UMary classmates were supportive of her: checking in on her, encouraging her to stay at UMary, and helping her move back in. 

“It was the best day of the whole semester!” she said, recalling the day she announced her pregnancy to “the whole cohort” of study abroad students. 

While pregnant with Lucia, Chihoski took online classes for a semester from her home in Golden, Colorado. She moved back to UMary junior year and stayed with a residence director until St. Teresa’s opened the next semester.

At St. Teresa’s, each mom has two rooms, one for her child and one for her, Chihoski explained. Mothers in the community are assigned a semester chore to focus on and babysit at least once a week. The moms go to fun events or eat dinner together, Chihoski said. Students volunteer to babysit so the moms can go to class and other campus events.

“I have seen [the student babysitters] make time for the kids and even bring them to classes if we are short on babysitters one week,” Chihoski said. “They come into our community willing to help in whatever way they can, and they do it so cheerfully!”

“One thing that has made the biggest difference for me returning to college was the mothers in the Bismarck community and residence directors [RDs] on campus,” she said. “Some of the RDs are mothers, and they are beautiful witnesses to living the role of a Catholic wife and mother well.”

Because of this, Lucia has several playmates her age. She’s also very popular on campus.

“Since Lucia was 4 months old, she was going to sports games, campus events, and meeting people,” Chihoski explained. “Because of that, she is the most social baby you will ever meet!”

Chihoski is now engaged and will marry her fiance, Josh, in October. They will move to his home state of Minnesota after graduation. Chihoski hopes to work in a school using her social work degree.

She and Josh began dating later on in her time at UMary. 

“I always say that Josh fell in love with Lucia before he fell in love with me, which I had always desired for my future since having Lucia,” she said. 

When asked what she would say to someone who found themselves unexpectedly pregnant, Chihoski encouraged moms to “not isolate yourself from your community.”

“Whether you’re living by yourself, with family, or are going to school, there is a community out there waiting to help,” she said. “You just have to ask.”

Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth, Texas, and Rev. Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach of the Most Holy Trinity Monastery in Arlington, Texas. / Credit: Diocese of Fort Worth; Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity Discalced Carmelite Nuns

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 23, 2024 / 18:15 pm (CNA).

In direct defiance of a Vatican decree, a Texas monastery of cloistered nuns is asking a judge to grant a restraining order against the parties the Vatican has tasked with overseeing the monastery — an association of Carmelite monasteries and Diocese of Fort Worth Bishop Michael Olson.

The request, filed by the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Arlington on Monday, came just days after the Vatican issued a decree concerning the governance of the monastery. That decree entrusted the monastery to the Association of Christ the King in the United States — an association of Carmelite monasteries — and named its president, Mother Marie, as the lawful superior of the monastery. 

The decree also ordered the monastery to regularize its relationship with the bishop, with whom the nuns have feuded over the past year.

If the District Court of Tarrant County grants the monastery’s request, it would prevent Olson, Mother Marie, and any representatives of the diocese or the association from entering the premises. 

Before filing for the restraining order, the nuns indicated their intent to defy the Vatican’s decree, labeling it “a hostile takeover that we cannot in conscience accept” and warned Mother Marie and the association that they are not welcome there.

The dispute between the diocese and the monastery began in April of last year when Olson launched an investigation into the former prioress, the Reverend Mother Superior Teresa Agnes Gerlach, over alleged sexual misconduct with a priest. The prioress, who was dismissed from the religious state by the bishop, admitted to sexual conduct occurring through the phone and through video chats, but later recanted her confession and claimed she was medically unfit and recovering from an operation when it was given.

The situation escalated when the monastery filed a lawsuit against the bishop, accusing him of illegally seizing property from the nuns during his investigation. The claim was later dismissed by a judge. The Vatican originally granted the bishop the role of pontifical commissary over the monastery, which gave him temporary governing authority over the nuns, but the monastery never recognized that authority.

Michael Anderson, a lawyer representing the diocese, said in a statement provided to CNA that the monastery’s argument in its request for a restraining order “is basically a rehash of the lawsuit filed last year,” which was dismissed by a judge. He said the only new part of this filing is the addition of the Carmelite association.

“The Arlington nuns’ decision to file suit on this basis is squarely at odds with an affidavit filed in the first lawsuit, wherein Ms. Gerlach testified that the [monastery] only answers ‘directly to the pope,’” Anderson said. “Apparently this no longer applies since the catalyst for this new lawsuit was a decision by the Holy See.”

What the monastery is arguing

The restraining order makes legal arguments against the bishop and the association and includes an affidavit signed by Gerlach — whom the Vatican no longer recognizes as the monastery’s legitimate superior.

In its request for a restraining order, the monastery states that Olson attempted to take over “full governing powers” and “full governing responsibility” of the monastery. It said that now the Association of Christ the King in the United States is seeking to take over management of the monastery “under the guise of some religious backdoor.”

Although the bishop’s authority was recognized by the Vatican and the association’s authority was decreed by the Vatican, the monastery states that it is a legal nonprofit corporation that is protected under “laws of the State of Texas.” It states that neither the bishop nor the association has any legal authority to govern the monastery, according to state law. 

The monastery asserts that both the bishop and the association are “trying to utilize a religious back door to usurp the laws of the State of Texas to take over the management and assets of the [monastery].”

In an affidavit, Gerlach states that if the nuns lose their ability to govern the monastery, “it would allow the defendants to remove us from our home, as they already have threatened to do.” 

“The level of emotional trauma and infliction of psychological distress this whole episode has caused me personally and the sisters is incomprehensible,” she said. “We have never faced such moral violence and adversity. These actions are affecting my emotional and physical well-being as well as that of our sisters. I pray they be stopped.”

A spokesperson for the diocese told CNA that the monastery “is not owned by the diocese and the diocese has no interest in owning the property.”

The Vatican has not yet issued any orders in response to the monastery’s most recent defiance of its decrees.