Saint Michael Parish

Both Chile’s Chamber of Deputies and Senate approved a rule in the national budget to prevent the financing of transgender-focused hormone and surgical treatments for minors in the public health network / Credit: Alessandro from Milan, Italy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 7, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Since mid-2024, Chile’s legislative branch has been reviewing various regulations on the use of medications and procedures designed to enable the “gender transition” of minors.

Last month, both the country’s Chamber of Deputies and Senate approved a rule in the national budget to prevent the financing of transgender-focused hormone and surgical treatments for minors in the government’s public health network. The measure, slated to take effect in January 2025, is being challenged in court by President Gabriel Boric and his allies.

“The Ministry of Health may not finance expenses related to the acquisition, prescription, or administration of medications for the purpose of using hormonal therapy, be it puberty blocking or cross-hormones, which are part of or are in themselves a form of treatment for gender dysphoria, whether clinically diagnosed or not, in minors,” the approved text states.

“Nor may expenses be incurred for personnel, goods, and consumer services for sex reassignment operations that are part of or are in themselves a form of treatment for gender dysphoria, whether clinically diagnosed or not, in minors,” the law adds. 

Tomás Henríquez, advocacy director for Latin America at ADF International, commented that the law “sets an important precedent for the protection of children, not only in Chile but in all Latin American countries. Chile deserves to be praised for having taken an important step to say no to the dangers of gender ideology.”

Proponents of gender ideology hold that both adults and minors can change genders according to their own whims and even against their biological sex.

Every child, Henríquez added, “has the absolute right to be protected from a radical ideology that promotes dangerous medications and surgeries with devastating consequences.” 

Roberto Astaburuaga of Chile’s Community and Justice platform — which closely follows the issue — said that on Dec. 2, the Boric government and a group of 42 deputies requested that the country’s Constitutional Court declare the rule unconstitutional.

“If that happens, the public health network would have funding to continue providing this type of treatment to children and young people,” he warned.

Gender ideology-infected government 

In mid-November and by 7 votes to 6, the special investigative commission of the Chamber of Deputies approved its report on the cases of minors receiving psychological, hormonal, and surgical treatment in the public health network. The text “strongly recommends the immediate suspension of all programs related to the so-called ‘gender transition’ of children,” Astaburuaga noted.

The legal expert also told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that the approved document reveals that “between April 2023 and August 2024, more than 2,500 minors entered the government’s Gender Identity Support Program (PAIG, by its Spanish acronym) “and about 50 are under 10 years old.” 

In addition, Astaburuaga pointed out that the Chilean government runs a gender ideology-infected Grow with Pride program for Chilean minors “between 3 and 17 years old who express confusion about gender identity.” These government programs, he warned, are “the gateway to hormone therapy and allow officials to report parents if they object to their children entering or being referred to it.”

Despite all this, on Nov. 22 the Senate approved continued public financing for the program, according to the newspaper La Tercera.

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

St. Pio of Pietrelcina, better known as Padre Pio. / Credit: After Elia Stelluto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Dec 7, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

A documentary drama about the beloved 20th-century friar St. Pio of Pietrelcina, affectionately known as Padre Pio, will be making its television debut on EWTN on Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. ET. 

Co-produced by EWTN and the Saint Pio Foundation, “Saint Pio of Pietrelcina: Man of Hope and Healing” is a compelling docudrama that shares the story of a man whose simple humility and profound faith impacted lives around the world. 

The documentary provides an insightful look into the Franciscan friar’s life, featuring testimonies from a variety of notable individuals, including actor Gary Sinise; Elia Stelluto, Padre Pio’s personal photographer; and Renzo Allegri, the journalist who was among the last to interview the saint before his death. 

The film also includes never-before-seen photos and letters that provide an intimate view of the saint’s life. 

Actor Joe Mantegna — known for his roles in “Criminal Minds,” “Boys Town,” and “The Godfather,” narrates the English version of the film and is one of its executive producers. According to a press release, taking part in this film strengthened the actor’s faith and prayer life. 

Luciano Lamonarca, founder and CEO of the Saint Pio Foundation, spoke to CNA about his own personal devotion to St. Pio and what he hopes people will take away from the film.

A native of Puglia, Italy, Lamonarca grew up in the same region as the saint. Despite being surrounded by the presence of Padre Pio from a young age, it wasn’t until Lamonarca and his wife experienced a terrible loss that his devotion grew.

“Fifteen years ago, I was a different man,” Lamonarca said. “Padre Pio did change the way I look at life.”

In 2010, Lamonarca and his wife, Valentina, were expecting their first child — a daughter whom they named Alma. Suddenly, their whole life changed when Alma was delivered stillborn and Valentina had to undergo additional surgeries due to complications from the delivery. Due to those surgeries, it was unlikely that Valentina would ever be able to give birth again.

“The moment where doctors told us that a pregnancy was not in our radar, it [would be] very difficult to happen, it was devastating for us as a young couple,” he shared. 

In their despair, the couple spent their first wedding anniversary in San Giovanni Rotondo, the hometown of Padre Pio. It was here that they were blessed with an opportunity to pray with a first-class relic — a handkerchief with blood stains from Padre Pio. The couple grew closer to the beloved saint and turned to him for his intercession.

Despite suffering multiple more miscarriages, they continued praying and on Dec. 25, 2014, Valentina discovered she was pregnant. Their son Sebastian was born in September 2015.

During their struggles with fertility, feeling inspired to spread the story of Padre Pio to the faithful in the United States and worldwide, Lamonarca founded the Saint Pio Foundation on April 4, 2014.

“The Saint Pio Foundation wishes to educate the public about the life of St. Pio and inspire the faithful about following the teachings and the holy life of St. Pio,” Lamonarca explained.

The foundation recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary and with it launched an initiative called The Real St. Pio. The initiative included the translation of 365 letters written by Padre Pio into five different languages, the release of 10 never-before-seen images of Padre Pio taken by his personal photographer, the release of “The Song of St. Pio,” and finally the release of the docudrama.

Additionally, the foundation is working to set up six chapels around the United States that will each permanently host a relic of Padre Pio.

Lamonarca called the release of the docudrama “the cherry on the cake” and the “most important” part of the initiative.

He hopes that those who watch the film will enjoy getting to know Padre Pio better from “those who knew him very well and those whose lives have been changed [by him].”

A firefighter in Rome pays tribute to the Blessed Virgin Mary by laying a wreath of fresh flowers at her statue atop a column near the Spanish Steps at dawn on Dec. 8, 2023. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

CNA Staff, Dec 7, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

This year, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, which is a holy day of obligation, falls on the Second Sunday of Advent. So, are Catholics obligated to go to Mass twice? The answer is yes.

The solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated each year on Dec. 8. Since this year the solemnity falls on the Second Sunday of Advent, its observance is “transferred” to Monday, Dec. 9, because a Sunday in Advent takes liturgical precedence.

In the past, the obligation to attend Mass on a transferred holy day of obligation was not transferred along with the feast day when it fell on a Monday. Yet the Vatican has directed that the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception will henceforth be observed as a holy day of obligation no matter what day it falls on or is transferred to.

This change comes after the Vatican responded to a query from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Earlier this year Bishop Thomas Paprocki, the chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance, wrote to the Vatican seeking clarification on whether an obligation transfers when the feast itself is transferred.

The Vatican’s Dicastery for Legislative Texts responded in a letter to the Springfield, Illinois, bishop stating that the feasts in question “are always days of obligation … even when the aforementioned transfer of the feast occurs.”

Archbishop Filippo Iannone, the prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, told Paprocki that “the feast must be observed as a day of obligation on the day to which it is transferred.”

This change does not impact a Catholic’s normal obligation to attend Mass every Sunday, meaning the faithful have the opportunity to attend Mass twice in the next few days — for the Second Sunday of Advent and for the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

Here are some different options to fulfill both obligations:

• A Mass on Saturday evening (after 4 p.m.) and a Mass on Monday

• A Mass on Saturday evening (after 4 p.m.) and a Mass on Sunday evening (after 4 p.m.)

• A Mass on Sunday morning/early afternoon (before 4 p.m.) and a Mass on Sunday evening (after 4 p.m.)

• A Mass on Sunday morning/early afternoon (before 4 p.m.) and a Mass on Monday

• A Mass on Sunday evening (after 4 p.m.) and a Mass on Monday

The solemnity of the Immaculate Conception was established by Pope Pius IX in 1854 with the papal encyclical Ineffabilis Deus. In this encyclical, Pius IX defined the long-held belief by the Catholic Church that Mary was conceived free from original sin.

Mary was granted this extraordinary privilege because of her unique role in history as the mother of God. That is, she was preserved free from all stain of original sin from the very moment of her conception.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that “to become the mother of the Savior, Mary ‘was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role.’ The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as ‘full of grace.’ In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God’s grace” (No. 490).

“Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, ‘full of grace’ through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception,” the catechism states. “That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854” (No. 491).

Ryan Clarke, Harrison Tinsley, and Adam Vena, who have each faced custody battles over their opposition to transgender ideology, rally on the steps of the United States Supreme Court with activist and detransitioner Chloe Cole on Dec. 4, 2024. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Harrison Tinsley

Washington D.C., Dec 7, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Three fathers, whose relationships with their children have been profoundly impacted by transgender ideology, joined a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday as the justices heard arguments in a case challenging a Tennessee law that bans transgender medical treatments for minors.

Demonstrating alongside activists, lawmakers, and medical professionals, the three men shared their stories with CNA, highlighting what is at stake for parents navigating legal battles over the threat of transgender medical interventions for minors as the justices heard oral arguments in United States v. Skrmetti. 

Adam Vena: They ‘stripped me of all my parental rights’

Adam Vena has not physically held his son, Aidan, 6, for nearly four years. “They stripped me of all my parental rights at the very beginning because I was not gender affirming,” the L.A. County resident told CNA. 

The court granted Aidan’s mother a five-year-long restraining order against Vena, which he said was issued based on text messages in a family group chat in which he protested against Aidan wearing dresses, being referred to as a girl, and undergoing treatment. 

Vena’s lawyers are currently working to have the restraining order lifted. “The fight hasn’t even started yet,” he said.

“I don’t want my son on medications,” he continued, citing Chloe Cole’s case: “We have so many detransitioners that talk about the irreversible damage that these medications do to the child, even at a time where the brain isn’t even fully developed yet.” 

According to Vena, “there was never an inkling” that his son had wanted to be a girl when he had custodial rights. In December 2023, Vena told Voz that the child’s mother opted to dress and refer to Aidan as a girl even after a court-ordered gender evaluation determined he was not gender dysphoric but rather “gender curious.” Vena also stated in the report that he was not permitted to attend the evaluation, though he said the child’s mother was.

Aidan now uses she/her pronouns and goes by the name “Luna,” after the protagonist of what Vena described as “a big transgender book” titled “Luna.” The young adult novel, marketed to readers aged 15 and up, follows the story of a teenage boy seeking acceptance from his family and friends as he undergoes his evolution from “Liam” to “Luna.”

Due to the restraining order, Vena told CNA he has no way of knowing firsthand how his child concluded that he identified as a girl.

But Vena does know three other fathers whose sons also go by “Luna” now, he told CNA.

“The crazy thing is that we’re at this point,” he said. “With a country like ours, we’re at a point where we’re having to go to the Supreme Court to protect children’s body parts, liberty, [and] mental [health].”

Ryan Clarke: ‘I feel so betrayed’

Ryan Clarke, a father from New York and a U.S. Army veteran of the Iraq war, has not seen his children for six months.

Clarke told CNA he lost custody of his two children 10 years ago when he was about  22 years old. “I was very young and didn’t know what I was doing,” he said. “I got screwed out of my time with my kids.” Despite this, Clarke said he “tried to take the right foot forward and do everything I could to spend time with them.” 

Clarke recalled that for a long time, things were “great”: He had visitation rights to see his children every weekend and was able to spend time with them. However, Clarke told CNA, he began to notice changes in his children that were troubling — his eldest had exhibited symptoms of depression, and his youngest child, who was 9 years old at the time, had begun to say she was trans.

“She had a teacher who was trans in elementary school — I think that maybe had a lot of influence on it,” he said, adding: “But I can’t really ultimately judge that.” 

In July, Clarke’s daughter, 11 at the time, now 12, received her first shot of Lupron, a synthetic hormone injection originally developed in 1985 to treat advanced prostate cancer. Clarke said he was not informed by the child’s mother or the hospital but by the court system. 

The injection, which is designed to suppress the production of sex hormones, was eventually adapted to use as a puberty-blocking treatment in the mid-1990s. There is no long-term research on the effects of the drug, which does not have FDA approval. The FDA issued a warning in July 2022 about the use of the drug among children after six children between the ages 5 and 12 who were using the drug as “gender-affirming care” contracted a rare condition known as pseudotumor cerebri, where pressure builds inside the skull in a way that mimics the symptoms of a brain tumor. 

“As we go through court, I’m studying Lupron,” he recalled. “I kept an open mind at first, but ultimately, what’s best for my child? It is not this cancer drug. I know that.” 

After finding out about the treatment, Clarke said he did everything he could to stop it in court. Though the child was slated to receive the drug for a second time in December, Clarke said “they moved it up” to November because of his opposition. Clarke said he begged his child not to go through with it, telling her “the hardest thing I could have ever said,” which was that he would disappear from her life completely if she would stop taking the shot.

“I filed for full custody, saying that she’s abusing my children. I’ve called CPS [Child Protective Services]. I’ve called dozens of law firms in my area. But New York is so pro for it, nobody will help me. Even CPS hung up on me. I’m at wits’ end. I don’t know what to do. That’s why I’m here today.” 

“The worst part about it all, is it’s all paid through Medicaid, right? Who pays for Medicaid? The citizens,” he said. “So literally everyone is paying for this child abuse to happen. And nobody really understands or realizes that fact, but that’s what’s happening.” 

“I served in Iraq, I went to war for my country — I come back and this is what’s happening to my kids? This is what they’re allowing to happen to my children?”

“I feel so betrayed,” he told CNA with tears in his eyes. 

For Clarke, the path forward is uncertain. Setting aside his current legal predicament, even if the U.S. eventually prohibits minors from having access to transgender medical interventions, he no longer has a relationship with his children. 

“I just hope that America ends it. I hope Trump ends this. At bare minimum, I could at least have that,” he said. “I don’t think any relationship with my children will happen for years, probably. But at least if this stops, I could have that peace of mind and try to fight for something. I feel like I’ve got nowhere.”

Harrison Tinsely: ‘He told me he didn’t want to wear princess shoes’ 

Harrison Tinsely, a young father from California, did not meet his son Sawyer for the first 15 months of his life.

Of the fathers who spoke to CNA, Tinsley is so far the only one to have successfully fought for and regained custody of his child after opposing the mother’s wish to seek gender transition “care.” 

“Basically, I was dating a girl, and we didn’t agree politically,” Tinsley told CNA. “When we found out she was pregnant and found out it was a boy, we were both stoked. But she posted on social media that she’d love him, whether he’s a boy or girl or neither. Then because of our political disagreements, she ended up keeping my son from me.” 

Though Tinsley eventually gained 50-50 custody of his son, he said it wasn’t long before Sawyer’s mom “started to pretend that he was nonbinary and put dresses on him. In one incident, the child’s mother forbade him from going on rides at Disneyland unless he wore the “princess shoes” she bought for him. 

“He told me he didn’t want to wear princess shoes — he wanted to wear boy shoes,” Tinsley said. 

Remarkably, Tinsley won full physical custody of Sawyer, who is now almost 5, in March of this year. The court’s decision was in large part due to grave concerns about the mother’s mental health and various incidents related to child endangerment in which CPS were involved. 

Tinsley described his eventual victory in the case to CNA as “a dream come true.” 

Speaking on the Tennessee Supreme Court case, the 32-year-old father called for an end to transgender surgeries and other drug-related medical interventions for children, whom he described as “the most wonderful [and] amazing amongst us.”  

“Being a parent is the most incredible, amazing thing you can do in life,” he told CNA. “We need to have more kids. We need to love kids, and we need to tell them the truth and not let people force them into believing in crazy ideologies and hurting them and sterilizing them. This is crazy.”

When asked what Christians can do outside the Holy Land, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa responded: “Pray and support. Support the Christian community as much as they can.” / Credit: EWTN News

Rome Newsroom, Dec 6, 2024 / 17:20 pm (CNA).

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, said on Friday that Pope Francis is known by the children of Holy Family Church in Gaza as “the grandfather.” 

During a Dec. 6 press conference organized by Aid to the Church in Need International, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem told journalists “the pope is calling every day at 7 p.m.”

“It became a kind of status quo,” Pizzaballa said with a laugh. “Maybe half a minute, 30 seconds, maybe more, maybe less. And now he became the grandfather of the children, the pope, because he’s talking. They now know that he is calling.”

“For the community of Gaza it is a very big support — psychological, emotional, and spiritual,” he added.

This Christmas, in spite of the war and poor conditions, Pizzaballa said Holy Family Church in Gaza is preparing something special.

“Christmas is the feast of the children,” he said. “What we will try and do, if we are able, is to introduce not just food but also some toys. Something that will make a difference to the everyday life for children.”

Hope is the ability to see ‘beyond the dark reality’

According to Pizzaballa, hope in the Holy Land at Christmas is a reality in spite of the multiple and complex challenges of the ongoing war in the Middle East.

Having lived in the Holy Land for more than 25 years, the Franciscan prelate is well aware of the complicated and devastating impact of war and political tensions on Christians and other religious communities in the region.

“Where there are these acts of love — gratuitous love — there is hope,” he told journalists at the press conference.

“We have to say very clearly that we do not confuse hope with solution,” he said. “If you identify hope for the future with the political [and] social solution for the Holy Land, there will be no hope because there is no solution — not in the short-term.”

Describing hope as the “daughter of faith,” Pizzaballa said it is only by faith in a transcendent God that one has the ability to see “beyond the dark reality we are living.”

“I know many people don’t believe me,” he said. “[But] it is a reality. It is real.” 

“I find everywhere from Gaza, to the West Bank, to Jerusalem, to Israel — everywhere —  I find wonderful people who are ready to commit themselves, to engaging [themselves] in doing something for the other,” he continued.

The power of prayer 

Emphasizing the primacy of prayer, Pizzaballa said: “First of all you have to pray. I believe in the power of prayer, not because the prayer will change the situation, but the prayer will change our heart.” 

“And once we are changed, we also become the protagonist of changes for the future,” the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem added.

A call for the return of pilgrims to the Holy Land

Pizzaballa expressed his sadness that people have not come on pilgrimage to the Holy Land due to the escalation of the Israel-Hamas war since Oct. 7, 2023.

“It’s about time to go back to the Holy Land,” Pizzaballa said on Friday. “In this last year, we didn’t see any pilgrims at all and this has ruined the life of the Holy Land.”

“The presence of Christians is part of our identity, the identity of the Church,” he added. “Have the courage to come because a pilgrimage is safe. Bethlehem is open. Nazareth, Jerusalem — our city is totally safe!”

“There is hope for the future,” he said. “We are not a dying Church, we are a living Church.”

Pope Francis meets with the College of Cardinals on July 1, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Dec 6, 2024 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

Out of the 21 cardinals who will be created Dec. 7 in Pope Francis’ 10th consistory at the Vatican, 10 new cardinals — almost half — are members of religious congregations or institutes.

Since the pope himself belongs to the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and has consistently considered the presence of men religious in the College of Cardinals during his consistories, it’s not surprising that he would choose new cardinals from among the Church’s many congregations and institutes for men religious. 

What is unusual, however, is the large number of cardinals from religious orders and institutes named in this latest consistory and the diversity of communities represented.

The 10 religious are divided as follows:

• Three are Franciscans (two are Friars Minor and one Conventual).

• Two are from the Society of the Divine Word (Verbiti).

• Two are Dominicans.

• There is one each from the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians), the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo (Scalabrinians), and the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists).

The new cardinals are:

• Archbishop Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, OFM, metropolitan archbishop of Guayaquil, Ecuador (Franciscan)

• Archbishop Jaime Spengler, OFM, metropolitan archbishop of Porto Alegre, Brazil; president of the Brazilian Episcopal Conference; and president of Latin American Episcopal Council, CELAM (Franciscan)

• Archbishop Dominique Joseph Mathieu, OFM Conv, archbishop of Tehran-Ispahan, Iran (Conventual Franciscan)

• Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi, SVD, metropolitan archbishop of Tokyo and president of Caritas Internationalis (Society of the Divine Word/Verbiti)

• Archbishop László Német, SVD, metropolitan archbishop of Belgrade, Serbia (Society of the Divine Word/Verbiti)

• Archbishop Jean-Paul Vesco, OP, metropolitan archbishop of Algiers, Algeria (Dominican)

• Archbishop Vicente Bokalic Iglic, CM, archbishop of Santiago del Estero, Argentina (Congregation of the Mission/Vincentians)

• Bishop Mykola Byčok, CSSR, eparch of St. Peter and Paul of Melbourne of the Ukrainians in Australia (Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer/Redemptorists)

• Father Timothy Radcliffe, OP, former master general of the Order of Preachers as well as current spiritual assistant of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (Dominican)

• Father Fabio Baggio, CS, undersecretary for the migrants and refugees section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo/Scalabrinians)

As noted, the new cardinals from religious communities make up almost half of the newest class and represent the largest group of men religious chosen in one consistory throughout Pope Francis’ nearly 12-year pontificate. The closest was in 2019, when eight of 13 new cardinals were men religious.

In all, out of the 163 cardinals created in the 10 consistories of his pontificate, Pope Francis has chosen 55 men religious from more than 20 religious communities. He has thus averaged between four and five men religious in each consistory.

Eight cardinals are Jesuits, including Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and two prominent figures of the pontificate: Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, who was also the relator general of the Synod on Synodality, and Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

Six are Salesians, including Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon, Myanmar, and Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero of Rabat, Morocco. The Capuchin Franciscans claim four members, including Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, who led the African bishops’ opposition to Fiducia Supplicans, which permitted blessings of same-sex couples; and Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, the longtime preacher of the Papal Household. 

Other notable cardinals on the list are: the Redemptorist Joseph William Tobin, metropolitan archbishop of Newark, New Jersey; the Discalced Carmelite Anders Arborelius, bishop of Stockholm, Sweden, and a convert to Catholicism; the late Comboni Missionary Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, one of the leading experts in interreligious dialogue, who died at the end of November; the Consolata Missionary Giorgio Marengo, apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, one of the youngest members of the College of Cardinals; and the American-born Augustinian Robert Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. 

After the latest consistory, among the living cardinals stretching back to the pontificate of St. John Paul II, there will be a total of 11 Salesians, nine Jesuits, five Capuchin Franciscans, five Friars Minor, four Dominicans, three Conventional Franciscan Friars, two Spiritans, two Claretians, two Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, two Missionaries of Africa (the White Fathers), two Redemptorists, two Society of the Divine Word (Verbites), and one from each of the following communities: Eudists, Schoenstatt Fathers, Cistercians, Augustinian Recollects, Congregation of Holy Cross, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,  Discalced Carmelites, Sulpicians, Mariamite Maronites, Scalabrinians, Legionaries of Christ, Consolata Missionaries, and the Augustinians. There are also two members of Opus Dei. 

A question that will be asked, of course, is whether cardinals who belong to religious communities are more heavily represented in the College of Cardinals under Pope Francis than his immediate predecessors. 

Among the 140 cardinal-electors after the conclusion of this latest consistory, there are now 35 cardinals who are religious, meaning they represent nearly 25% of the total body of voters. By comparison, in 2005, at the time of John Paul II’s death, there were 117 cardinal-electors who were eligible to participate in the subsequent conclave (two ultimately did not take part). Of these 20 were men religious, meaning they comprised 17% of the voters. 

In 2013, there were 115 cardinal-electors eligible to take part in the election of Pope Benedict XVI’s successor after his resignation. There were 18 men religious among the electors, comprising 15.5% of the voters. One of them, of course, was elected pope — the Jesuit Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who took the name Francis. 

This story was based on a story first published by ACI Stampa, CNA's Italian-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Left to right: Dominican Father Timothy Radcliffe, Archbishop Fernando Chomali, Archbishop Ignace Bessi Dogbo, Archbishop Rolandas Makrickas, and Bishop Mykola Bychok, CSsR, will be made cardinals in a consistory on Dec. 7, 2024. / Credit: EWTN News; Marco Mancini/ACI Stampa

Vatican City, Dec 6, 2024 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

Several cardinal-designates set to receive their red hats from Pope Francis this weekend emphasized the importance of serving the Church’s universal mission while addressing contemporary challenges facing their local Churches.

“I am with my heart, and I would say with my whole body, for a synodal vision, because already in my country in 2017, the vision of the Church was one of communion, serving everyone,” Archbishop Ignace Bessi Dogbo of Abidjan told EWTN News on Dec. 6.

The Ivorian archbishop emphasized that his elevation reflects a broader recognition of the Church in Côte d’Ivoire.

“I think so, because personally I don’t feel so intellectual to receive the purple. It is the whole country that has had good relations with the Holy See, and then John Paul II went to Côte d’Ivoire three times,” he said.

Ukrainian voice on being chosen

At 44, Bishop Mykola Bychok, CSsR, will be among the youngest members ever elevated to the College of Cardinals.

“First of all, this is not my fault. I was called, and I was appointed by the Holy Father Francis. Why I was chosen? I don’t know. Maybe in future God will open or show me what was the main reason that actually I was appointed at age 44.”

The Ukrainian bishop pledged to use his new position to continue raising awareness about the ongoing war in his homeland. “Right now, Ukraine is at war. We are fighting for our independence, for religious freedom — for three years since the official invasion of the Russian Federation,” he said.

“Every night, drones and missiles are flying to Ukraine. In the last few days, my native city Ternopil, which is 250 kilometers from the border with Poland, was under attack, especially power plants, as well as some civilian buildings. That is the reality of the war,” he added.

Vatican diplomat sees missionary focus

Archbishop Rolandas Makrickas shared insights from his years of diplomatic service across several continents, emphasizing the Church’s fundamental missionary character.

“In every country I saw that the Church is so different, but that we have same roots, and we have the same tasks to do, and the task is always to remain missionary, in one country or in another country, on one continent or on another,” the Lithuanian prelate told CNA.

Archbishop Fernando Chomali of Santiago, Chile, stressed the need for Church leadership to face contemporary challenges with spiritual strength.

“I was delighted, I sensed a very great awareness of the responsibility of being a cardinal and especially thinking about those people who need a strong voice,” Chomali said.

“I have to think above all about the poor, those who are very much in need of someone to support them. Also, I have to take care especially of the young people who don’t have much hope right now in a very cold society.”

The Chilean prelate also addressed his country’s recent challenges. “We have worked strongly to end all forms of abuse — at the level of the parishes, at the level of the schools, university level, at the level of the dioceses, at all levels,” he said.

Dominican friar reflects on fraternity

Dominican Father Timothy Radcliffe connected his new role to Pope Francis’ encyclical Fratelli Tutti.

“I look forward really to being of service to him [the Holy Father] in whatever way I can. Right at the beginning, I really don’t know what this will involve,” the English Dominican said. 

“I think for the Holy Father, his great encyclical Fratelli Tutti, all brothers and sisters, and I am a brother, so I hope as a brother of St. Dominic, I hope maybe I have some understanding, some little understanding of what it means to live fraternity today,” he said.

The consistory for the creation of new cardinals will take place Dec. 7 at 4 p.m. in St. Peter’s Basilica. The new cardinals will concelebrate Mass with Pope Francis the following day, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

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CNA Staff, Dec 6, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

The White House is backing off from enforcing in Texas a U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) rule that allows children to obtain contraceptives without their parents’ consent, state officials said this week. 

This past July, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden Department of Health and Human Services over the change to Title X that eliminated parental consent requirements for minors accessing birth control.

Title X is the federal funding program for family planning and contraceptive services. Under the Biden administration’s rule, projects funded by the program “may not require consent of parents or guardians for the provision of services to minors.” 

The rule also said Title X staff could not “notify a parent or guardian before or after a minor has requested and/or received Title X family planning services.”

In a press release Thursday, Paxton’s office said the Biden administration has now informed a U.S. district court in the state that it will not attempt to “enforce the challenged regulation” in Texas.

“This effectively vacates the unlawful rule in Texas, and Attorney General Paxton filed a notice of dismissal,” the office said. 

“This result ensures that Texas health entities will not be forced to violate state law under threat of losing Title X funding.”

It is unclear if the federal government is dropping the requirement for the rest of the country or if its decision only applies to Texas. HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. 

The attorney general’s office also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Earlier this year the U.S. Senate rejected the “Right to Contraception Act,” which would have created a federal right to contraception with ramifications on religious freedom and protections for minors. 

The bill defined contraceptives broadly to include sterilizing drugs, both those “specifically intended to prevent pregnancy or for other health needs.”

null / Credit: rarrarorro/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 6, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

Eight Republican senators this week signed a letter opposing a provision to automatically register young women for the military draft along with men — a proposal that is included in a bill introduced by Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, who chairs the Senate Committee on Armed Services.

Reed included language that would force women to be registered for the selective service in the proposed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2025, which is an annual piece of legislation that funds the Department of Defense (DOD). 

This is the third time over the past four years that Senate Democrats included this provision in their initial NDAA proposal. 

Per the legislation, both men and women between the ages of 18 and 26 would automatically be registered into the Selective Service System. 

Under current law, men must register for the draft within 30 days of their 18th birthday and are eligible to be drafted until they turn 26, but registration is not done automatically. In the United States, women have never been forced to register for the draft.

“For the third time in four years, Democrats are attempting to force women into the draft,” the Republican senators, led by Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, wrote in a Dec. 5 letter directed to Reed and Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, who chairs the House Armed Services committee.

“Let’s be clear: American women have a proud legacy of service in our armed forces, especially so because their service has always been voluntary,” the letter continued. 

“Never in our history have women been forced to register for the draft. Yet the Biden administration and Senate Democrats want to discard this long-standing tradition and force women to fight in wars against their own will,” the senators said.

The draft has not been used for more than 50 years. The last time someone was involuntarily drafted into the military was in 1973, near the end of the Vietnam War. For a president to authorize a draft, he would need the support of Congress.

“America’s daughters, sisters, wives, and mothers can decide to join the military themselves,” the senators wrote in their letter. 

“President Trump ran in part on a platform of avoiding World War III and ending the progressive policies infecting our military,” the letter added. “The American people gave him a resounding electoral mandate. The Senate should prioritize America’s national security instead of turning defense legislation into a tool of liberal social policy.”

The senators wrote that “we strongly urge you to remove the provision in the Senate version of the NDAA compelling women to register for [the draft],” adding that “Americans rejected social progressivism in 2024, and NDAA conferees should take this lesson to heart.” 

Seven Republican senators joined Hawley in signing the letter: Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, Steve Daines, James Lankford, Mike Lee, Roger Marshall, and Eric Schmitt.

An earthquake was recorded off the coast of northern California near the town of Eureka on Dec. 5, 2024. / Credit: Chiociolla/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Dec 6, 2024 / 11:25 am (CNA).

An earthquake and subsequent tsunami warning in northern California on Thursday led to widespread scurrying for higher ground, including the parish office of at least one Catholic church. 

The earthquake, which measured 7.0 on the magnitude scale, was felt at about 10:45 a.m. local time in Humboldt County, said Rex Atienza, office manager of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Arcata, which is about 1.5 miles north of Arcata Bay and about 6 miles east of the Pacific Ocean. 

“There was a big shake,” Atienza told CNA by telephone. “And after people started leaving the building and were outside, when I was in the doorway I could still feel the building moving from left to right.”

“It kept going. I would say maybe 20 to 30 seconds. Which seemed longer in real time,” he said. 

Several members of the parish staff left the parish grounds for high elevations. A nearby public school was also evacuated, he said.

Some people in the area went to a local high school, others to a supermarket, and two parish priests went to the Newman Center at nearby Cal Poly Humboldt, Atienza said. 

He said the parish building remained empty for about an hour and 45 minutes until he got an all-clear message from the Humboldt County regional government. 

Arcata is in the Diocese of Santa Rosa, where much of the early concern was centered. 

About 110 miles to the southeast, in Marin County, Father Gabriel Wankar felt the quake Thursday morning and rushed to the parish school of St. Anselm Catholic Church in Ross, where he is pastor. 

“I felt some strange movement but before I could know what was happening a tsunami alert went off on my phone and I realized what was happening. So, I immediately headed to the school to be with the kids,” Wankar told CNA by email. 

Kids and staff stayed in place, he said. No damage or injuries were reported. 

Ross is in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, where the Catholic schools’ central office sent principals a message saying that parents were welcome to pick up their children but that the Catholic schools would stay open unless public schools in the area closed. 

The earthquake and subsequent tsunami warning were national news for a portion of Thursday, as fears of a damaging series of long waves set off by the quake sent people near the coast scurrying for safer places. 

At 10:49 a.m. Pacific time Thursday the National Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for the coast of Northern California and southern Oregon, based on an earthquake that took place in the Pacific Ocean about 45 miles southwest of Eureka, California. The agency canceled the tsunami warning a little more than an hour later, at 11:54 a.m., according to the National Tsunami Warning Center’s website. 

The northern coast of California near Cape Mendocino “is one of the most seismically active areas in the United States” and had five earthquakes “close to magnitude 7.0” before Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.