Father El-Tabchi is pressing charges against a man who attacked him at the rectory in Philadelphia, across the street from the St. Maron Maronite Catholic Church, at which he is the pastor, telling parishioners in a letter about the incident that “God is both merciful and just,” adding that “mercy without justice is dead, and justice without mercy is ruthless.” / Credit: Fadi Saroufim

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 10, 2024 / 18:25 pm (CNA).

A Maronite Catholic priest is recovering from injuries he suffered after a man attacked him at the rectory in Philadelphia, across the street from the St. Maron Maronite Catholic Church, at which he is the pastor.

The alleged attacker, who has not yet been identified, banged and kicked on the front door of the rectory and caused enough damage to force entry into the building and assault the priest, Father Andrew El-Tabchi, on Oct. 2, according to a police report the Philadelphia Police Department provided to CNA.

According to the report, the attacker punched and slapped El-Tabchi but was eventually pushed out of the rectory. It states that the alleged assailant fled the property, going west on Ellsworth Street on the south side of the city.

“The attack only strengthened my resolve to protect the parish and to stand up for the safety of each and every one of my parishioners,” El-Tabchi said in a letter to parishioners following the attack. “This is my duty, and I will not waver in defending the sacred space that we all cherish.”

El-Tabchi declined an interview with CNA while he continues to recover from the attack. The police report noted that he suffered back pain after the incident. The Philadelphia ABC affiliate reported that he needed to walk with a cane following the attack.

“The morning the rectory was attacked was a turning point for me, one that forced me to reflect deeply on life, faith, and the forces of evil,” El-Tabchi said in the letter to parishioners. “The experience reminded me how short life is and how evil can be lurking just around the corner, ready to strike at any time. But rather than giving in to fear, I embraced the truth that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

Chorbishop Michael G. Thomas, the vicar general of the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, told CNA: “We thank God that Father El-Tabchi is doing well” after the attack but did not comment further. The eparchy has jurisdiction over the Maronite Catholic Church along the east coast of the United States.

El-Tabchi is pressing charges against the man and wrote in the letter that “God is both merciful and just,” adding that “mercy without justice is dead, and justice without mercy is ruthless.” He said “in God, we see the perfect balance of both, teaching us to live with compassion while upholding what is right and just.”

“We are invited, as Jesus teaches us, to be like our Heavenly Father — merciful and just — reflecting his love in both our actions and decisions,” the priest added. “Seeking justice doesn’t negate mercy; it allows us to act with integrity while trusting in God’s divine plan for both healing and accountability.”

El-Tabchi further wrote that “individuals who make inappropriate choices that affect others negatively … need God’s help [and] they need our help” and asked parishioners to pray for the attacker. He said Catholics must “reflect Christ’s love, even when faced with darkness.”

“Today, we are invited to pray for the lost soul who committed this act and to forgive him,” El-Tabchi concluded. “This is the heart of the Gospel message — to love and forgive, even in the face of injustice or harm. Just as Christ forgives us, we must extend that same mercy to others. Through prayer and forgiveness, we show the true strength of our faith.”

The South Detectives Division of the Philadelphia Police Department is handling the investigation. According to the police report, El-Tabchi said the suspected attacker is a Middle Eastern male with gray hair and a stocky build.

According to the police report, the attacker was wearing a gray hoodie, black pants and brown shoes at the time of the alleged attack.

St. Maron Maronite Catholic Church, named after the fourth-century Arab Catholic saint who is the patron of the Maronite Catholic Church, is the only Maronite Church in Philadelphia — and one of nine in Pennsylvania. The Maronite rite is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with Rome.

According to the parish website, the church serves men and women who emigrated from Lebanon to the United States as well as “faithful men and women who are not of Lebanese descent, but … [are] attracted to the spirituality and traditions of our Maronite rite.” The Maronite Patriarchate is located in Bkerke, Lebanon, north of Beirut.

The March for Life, one of the largest annual human rights demonstrations in the world, regularly gathers crowds of pro-life activists numbering from the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. The 2025 March for Life will take place on Jan. 24, 2025, and will have the theme “Every Life: Why We March.” / Credit: Photo courtesy of the March for Life

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 10, 2024 / 18:05 pm (CNA).

The March for Life unveiled its new theme for the 2025 march, “Every Life: Why We March,” which organizers say emphasizes the pro-life movement’s fundamental messages of encouragement, joy, and that every life matters.

The 52nd annual March for Life will be held on Jan. 24, 2025, at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Professional surfer and pro-life activist Bethany Hamilton will be the event’s keynote speaker, and Christian pop-alternative band Unspoken will perform at the pre-march rally.

 March for Life President Jeanne Mancini said during a press conference on Thursday that the “Every Life: Why We March” theme is meant to send a message of encouragement and joy in a time when many pro-life activists may be discouraged by a string of recent defeats at the ballot box.

“Two and a half years from the overturn of Roe v. Wade it’s going to come as no surprise that some marchers are a little discouraged right now. In my own travels around the country, I’ve even been asked questions along the lines of: ‘Was it worth it?’” Mancini said.

Amid a contentious election and with the pro-life movement facing ballot initiatives to significantly expand abortion in 10 states, Mancini said it is “easy to become disheartened in an anti-life culture embraced by many with loud voices and big platforms.”

“The biggest thing is this confusion over the lie that a right to abortion is good for women. There’s just so much cultural confusion,” Mancini said. “So, it’s onto that backdrop that we want to encourage our marchers, we really deeply want to do everything possible to encourage our marchers that we’re on the right side of history, that we’re in this for the long game, and that we need to lean in.”

Mancini also said March for Life on social media will be emphasizing biological facts about fetal development and the beauty and humanity of unborn life in the months leading up to the 2025 march.

The March for Life released a promotional video on Thursday announcing the new theme on social media. The video begins with a narrator saying that “being on the right side of history isn’t always popular or easy.”

“When culture is spreading lies about the dignity of life and it seems like we’re in a losing battle we might feel like giving up. But we won’t,” the narrator says.

As a newborn baby is shown the narrator says: “This is why we march.”

Speaking with EWTN News after the announcement, Jennie Bradley Lichter, who will take over as president of the March for Life next year, said that despite the pro-life movement’s recent losses “we will win the fight for life.”

“We know that truth wins, and I think we can take encouragement from that,” she said. “Our call to tell the truth and to witness to the dignity of human life doesn’t change no matter what’s going on with politics, no matter what the culture is telling us.”

This will be the third national March for Life since Roe v. Wade was overturned. The March for Life is one of the largest annual human rights demonstrations in the world and regularly gathers crowds of pro-life activists numbering from the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.

The Diocese of St. Petersburg Pastoral Center, pictured here before the storm, sustained damage and high winds shattered windows. / Credit: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Oct 10, 2024 / 17:35 pm (CNA).

Catholic parishes, pro-life pregnancy centers, and other ministries in Florida suffered damage in the wake of Hurricane Milton, according to the Diocese of St. Petersburg — which encompasses much of the Tampa area — and the more southerly Diocese of Venice, which bore the brunt of the storm.

Hurricane Milton, one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico, made landfall on Wednesday night about 70 miles south of Tampa, near Sarasota, as a Category 3. Authorities had ordered widespread evacuations on Florida’s west coast in recent days as Milton rapidly intensified.

Despite fears that Milton would devastate the densely populated Tampa Bay region — of which the Diocese of St. Petersburg is part — the area was largely spared from catastrophic storm surge but suffered wind damage, torrential rain, and flooding, even as residents struggled to recover from the recent effects of Hurricane Helene.

At least 12 people are confirmed dead in Florida, including six people on the Atlantic side of the state, which saw numerous tornadoes touch down. More than 3 million people, mostly on the west coast, remain without power as of Thursday afternoon.

Bishop Frank Dewane of the Diocese of Venice called for prayer and action as the region recovers from a direct hit by Milton.

According to Venice Diocese’s Florida Catholic newspaper, access to many parishes for damage assessment was not immediately possible due to blocked roads and power outages, meaning specific damage reports are not yet available as of Thursday. All parishes with power have resumed the celebration of Mass, however, the diocese said.

Catholic Charities Diocese of Venice (CCDV) is responding to the disaster and established points of distribution (POD) in areas of greatest need, the diocese continued. The preplanned POD locations will distribute water, ice, and food in coordination with county and state emergency management officials. Catholic Charities had to pause its response to help the victims of Hurricane Helene so as to prepare for the arrival of Milton, the diocese noted.

The diocese encouraged those interested in volunteering to assist, donating unused hurricane supplies, or offering financial support for the recovery effort to visit the CCDV website or www.dioceseofvenice.org/disasterrelief.

Meanwhile, the Diocese of St. Petersburg Pastoral Center offices will be closed “until it is safe to reopen,” the diocese said on Facebook. The building, which currently lacks power and utilities, sustained damage and high winds shattered windows. The surrounding areas around the pastoral center also suffered damage with homes and businesses flooded, trees down, and property damaged. Schools in the diocese will remain closed until at least Monday, Oct. 14, the St. Petersburg Diocese said.

The diocese also reported that a number of parishes and pregnancy aid centers suffered damage, including the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle, which suffered significant water intrusion. St. Joseph Vietnamese Catholic Church in Town and Country sustained flooding and “the property is not reachable at this time.” 

The St. James Chapel at the Bethany Retreat Center in Lutz suffered flooding when the surrounding lakes overflowed onto the grounds and parking lot. There are many trees down and one has landed on the youth center, the diocese said. 

St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Spring Hill sustained damage to the church and roof leaks; St. Anthony Catholic Church in San Antonio reported roof leaks and debris damage; St. Jerome Catholic Church in Largo saw considerable roof damage, lost shingles, and various roof leaks. 

Foundations of Life Pregnancy Center in Dade City also suffered roof leaks, while Pinellas Hope, a homeless shelter, reported “significant damage.”

The St. Petersburg Diocese encouraged people of goodwill to donate to its disaster relief fund. 
Catholic Charities USA, which assists with disaster recovery nationwide by coordinating with local Catholic Charities agencies, has also set up a special fund to help the victims of Hurricane Milton.

Procession at the Sanctuary of Torreciudad in Spain. / Credit: Torreciudad Sanctuary

Madrid, Spain, Oct 10, 2024 / 16:50 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis has appointed the dean of the Roman Rota Tribunal, Archbishop Alejandro Arellano Cedillo, as pontifical commissioner to address the conflict between Opus Dei and the Diocese of Barbastro-Monzón over the “Torreciudad complex” in Spain.

The Holy See Press Office announced the appointment on Oct. 9, after the bishop of Barbastro-Monzón, Ángel Pérez Pueyo, indicated last month that he had requested the Vatican’s intervention.

Upon learning the news, Opus Dei issued a brief statement in which it said that “the authorities of the prelature will be at the complete disposal of Archbishop Arellano, collaborating in whatever is necessary, with filial adherence to the Holy Father.”

The Holy See announced the appointment to both the prelature and the diocese, which also shared the news on its website. The Diocese of Barbastro-Monzón added that it “has full confidence in achieving with this intervention the resolution of this matter, which constitutes an opportunity to regularize the status of Torreciudad and erect it, canonically, as a shrine.”

In addition, in another statement, the diocese in Huesca province added that it “appreciates the prompt response to its request, reiterates its absolute confidence in the resolutions of the Holy See, and places itself at the disposal of the pontifical commissioner, with whom it will collaborate in everything that is necessary.”

Who is Archbishop Alejandro Arellano?

Alejandro Arellano Cedillo is originally from the town of Olías del Rey in the Archdiocese of Toledo, Spain. Born in 1962, he studied at the San Ildefonso Theological Institute in Toledo and was ordained a priest in 1987.

A member of the Confraternity of Workers of the Kingdom of Christ, Arellano holds a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, a degree in ecclesiastical studies from the Burgos School of Theology, and is an auditor of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

On March 30, 2021, Arellano was appointed dean of the apostolic tribunal of the Roman Rota, where he had served as a consultant since 2007. He is the first Spaniard to be given this responsibility in one of the main judicial bodies of the Holy See, established in the 14th century and whose functions are defined in the Code of Canon Law (Canons 1443 and 1444).

The pontifical commissioner for resolving the conflict over Torreciudad has served as auditor of the rota of the apostolic nunciature in Spain, professor at the San Pablo CEU University and the San Dámaso Ecclesiastical University, both in Madrid, as well as at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. In addition, he teaches jurisprudence at the Rota’s school of the apostolic tribunal of the Roman Rota.

Last March, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, presided over the celebration of the episcopal consecration of Arellano in the primate cathedral of Toledo, after Pope Francis named him titular bishop of Bisuldino, granting him the personal title of archbishop.

What is the dispute over Torreciudad all about?

The so-called Torreciudad Shrine was erected in 1975 in accordance with the canonical legislation of its time as a “semi-public oratory” and with the impetus of the Prelature of Opus Dei, whose founder, St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, was closely connected to the Marian devotion at the place.

In terms of the law, the Diocese of Barbastro-Monzón agreed in 1962 to an emphyteutic lease (in perpetuity) on the original chapel and annexes, as well as on the image of Our Lady of the Angels, venerated since the 11th century. The agreement was signed with a business in the name of a full member of Opus Dei.

In December 2018, the canonical foundation Our Lady of the Angels of Torreciudad was established, and two years later, the Opus Dei prelature proposed to Pérez to put in the place of the original contract by mutual agreement a new one to achieve, among other things, the canonical constitution of the place as a diocesan shrine.

Four years later, after numerous conversations between the parties, the Diocese of Barbastro-Monzón informed the prelature that it had terminated the original contract as it was completely null and void, “as well as, subsidiarily, for noncompliance with the conditions stipulated in the aforementioned contract,” giving six months for the image of the Virgin to be returned to the original chapel and the transfer of “the chapel, guest house, and annexes” to be reversed, i.e. returned to the diocese. 

Tensions between the two institutions have been growing since then. An example of this was the appointment for the first time in July 2023 of a new rector of Torreciudad who was not a member of Opus Dei. In addition, the diocese threatened to take the matter to civil courts.

In September 2023, the bishop of Barbastro-Monzón announced his willingness to elevate the controversy to higher authorities: “We are open to the competent ecclesiastical authority settling the situation if they are really not satisfied with the arguments presented,” he said in a letter.

Pérez followed up on his intention declared a year ago and now the Holy See has responded with the appointment of Arellano.

In 2025, the Torreciudad complex will celebrate 50 years since its inauguration. In that time, it has become an important center of Marian devotion and pilgrimage, especially for families.

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

Cardinal Kurt Koch speaks to journalists at the Synod on Synodality press briefing held at the Vatican’s Holy See Press Office on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Oct 10, 2024 / 15:50 pm (CNA).

Three fraternal delegates — non-Catholic representatives of Christian churches participating in this year’s session of the Synod on Synodality — took center stage at Thursday’s Synod on Synodality press briefing held at the Vatican’s Holy See Press Office.

According to Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, the imperative for all Christian churches to journey, pray, and cooperate is Jesus’ own priestly prayer recorded in Chapter 17 of St. John’s Gospel: “So that they may all be one.” 

“Jesus doesn’t command unity but he prays for it,” Koch told journalists on Thursday. “So if Jesus has prayed for unity, what can we do? We must do what Jesus did.”

In June, the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity released “The Bishop of Rome,” a book that examines the fruits of various ecumenical dialogues between the Catholic Church and other churches regarding the “Petrine ministry” — the role and ministry of the pope — over the last 30 years.

During the press conference, Metropolitan Job of Pisidia, the Eastern Orthodox co-president of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, highlighted the significance of the “convergence” found in the Roman Catholic Church’s various bilateral dialogues with the Orthodox and other Christian churches surveyed in “The Bishop of Rome.”

“What strikes me in this book — and I advise you to read it — is to see the convergence among all these bilateral dialogues,” he shared with journalists. “This means that we are not just looking for an agreement or just some compromise with another church.”

The metropolitan also stated that ecumenical dialogue is not solely aimed at reconciliation and fraternity among churches but has the potential to “also bear fruit in the internal [and] domestic life of every church.”

Speaking about “the great importance of relationality” among Christian churches, Anglican Bishop Martin Warner of Chichester, co-chair of the English-Welsh Anglican-Roman Catholic Committee, spoke about the “sense of family” that has developed between the Catholic Church and the Church of England, particularly during the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

“She, I think, lived throughout the duration of five popes,” he said. “These [meetings] create a sense of a family which has a history and a past.”

Warner also commented that both Anglicans and Catholics view authority as a “gift.” He said the primacy of love and service — underscored in Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Ut Unum Sint — are the “solid foundations” on which both churches are built upon. 

Anne-Cathy Graber, secretary for ecumenical relations of the Mennonite World Conference, told journalists that the Synod on Synodality has given the ecumenical movement a new “dynamism” but that more “visible signs” of Christian unity are needed.

“It’s true that sometimes there are no symbolic signs that the world can understand. What we are lacking is symbolic gestures of reconciliation,” she said.

Synod on Synodality delegates and participants will attend an ecumenical prayer service at the Vatican on Friday, Oct. 11.

“One day they will stand before God and have to answer why they passed a law intended to destroy innocent lives, which is what abortion is,” said the archbishop of Guadalajara, Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega. / Credit: Courtesy of Archdiocese of Guadalajara

Puebla, Mexico, Oct 10, 2024 / 14:50 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega, archbishop of Guadalajara, the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, spoke out strongly against the recent decision of that state’s Legislature to decriminalize abortion up to 12 weeks of gestation, calling it the “murder of innocents.”

Following debate and a vote, the penal code of the state of Jalisco was amended Oct. 4 to make it the 11th Mexican state that decriminalizes abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Sinaloa state decriminalized abortion up to 13 weeks of pregnancy. In Coahuila, where the law related to how abortion is to be punished has been invalidated, clear limits have not yet been established.

The push for decriminalizing abortion in Mexico accelerated during the recently concluded six-year term of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. His party, the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA, by its Spanish acronym), took advantage of its large majority in many states to push for pro-abortion legislation.

‘It should be called what it is: murdering the innocent’

On social media, Robles charged Oct. 6 that both the governor and the legislators want to make people believe that if abortion is performed in the first 12 weeks, “nothing happens to the new being” and that it’s possible to “eliminate the fetus,” which they seek to normalize as a “legal right to terminate a pregnancy.”

However, the cardinal insisted that “it should be called what it is: murdering the innocent,” and emphasized that the work of legislators “should be focused on protecting life, not ending it.”

“One day they will stand before God and have to answer why they passed a law intended to destroy innocent lives, which is what abortion is,” the cardinal warned.

Governor asked to ‘stop this calamity’

The governor of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro, is expected to publish the reform in the state’s official newspaper in the next few days to make official the changes to the penal code, as he will not veto the law, according to declarations he made to the media.

ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, consulted the Archdiocese of Jalisco’s Life Ministry on the subject, which in a written response urged the governor to reconsider his decision, stating that “there is still time to stop this calamity, with the courage to not go down in history as the governor who supported a legislature [approving] of death.”

In a text sent to ACI Prensa, the ministry also emphasized the need for “the reasons that support the arguments of those of us who are in favor of life to be heard.”

The ministry also criticized that the state Legislature’s vote “does not reflect the opinion of the majority of people in the state of Jalisco.” However, the Life Ministry recognized and lamented that “the anti-culture of death has been gaining ground and has come to dominate the mentality of a representative portion of the population.”

The ministry also expressed its “disappointment and indignation” with the legislators who voted in favor of decriminalizing abortion, arguing that “they have betrayed the will of the majority of the people of Jalisco and have opened the door of the law to a genocide of unprecedented proportions.”

“This is a cowardly act that obeys vested interests and does nothing to contribute to the common good, as we have expressed on previous occasions,” the ministry said.

In addition, the archdiocesan Life Ministry has committed to combating the “evils destructive of humanity and of our youth” through evangelization and education.

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

Ethel Kennedy attends the ceremonial installation for U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder at George Washington University March 27, 2009, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 10, 2024 / 14:20 pm (CNA).

Ethel Kennedy, the wife of the late U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and a mainstay in American politics for decades, died on Thursday at age 96, her family said on Thursday. 

Kennedy passed away in her sleep on Thursday morning due to “complications related to a stroke [she] suffered last week,” according to a statement on behalf of the Kennedy family posted on X by her grandson Joe Kennedy III.

“She was a devout Catholic and a daily communicant,” the statement reads, adding: “We are comforted in knowing she is reunited with the love of her life, our father, Robert F. Kennedy; her children David and Michael; her daughter-in-law Mary; her grandchildren Maeve and Saoirse; and her great-grandchildren Gideon and Josie.”

Born Ethel Skakel on April 11, 1928, Kennedy was the daughter of wealthy Protestant coal magnate George Skakel and his wife, a faithful Catholic, Ann Brannack Skakel. Both of her parents died tragically in a plane accident in 1955, according to the John F. Kennedy Library. 

Kennedy met her future husband, Robert F. Kennedy, at a ski resort in Canada in 1945 when she was 17 years old. The two eventually married in June 1950 at St. Mary Catholic Church in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Deeply interested in politics, Kennedy was a staunch supporter of her husband’s career and also campaigned on behalf of her brother-in-law, John F. Kennedy, during his presidential campaigns. 

Kennedy’s husband, Robert, successfully campaigned for and won a seat in the U.S. Senate representing New York in 1964. He was assassinated on June 6, 1968, less than 24 hours after announcing that he had won two presidential primaries in California and South Dakota.

Ethel Kennedy, who was by Robert’s side as he died, gave birth to their 11th and last child six months later.

Immediately after her husband’s death in 1968, Kennedy founded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights center, dedicated to continuing his work in the human rights and journalistic spheres. 

She never remarried but instead dedicated the rest of her life to public service, both through the RFK Human Rights center and the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Project, a community development organization in Brooklyn, New York. She was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

The center issued a statement after she passed, highlighting her extensive record as a human rights activist as well as her perseverance and strength, which she maintained despite suffering loss throughout her life.

“Few would have blamed her for giving up,” the center wrote. “Yet, she steadfastly raised 11 children alone, instilling in them all a firm sense of faith, empathy, ebullience, and above all, courage.”

Kennedy is survived by nine of her 11 children — including 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — 34 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. 

null / Credit: Ronnie Chua/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 10, 2024 / 13:50 pm (CNA).

A first-of-its-kind study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that 3.3% of all U.S. high schoolers identify as transgender.

The study, taken in 2023 and published by the CDC this month, also suggests that an additional 2.2% of high schoolers are “questioning” their gender identity, meaning that 5.5% of all U.S. high schoolers consider themselves transgender or are questioning their sex.  

If accurate, the study means that of the nearly 17 million estimated high schoolers in the U.S., more than 550,000 identify as the opposite sex that they were born as, while over 370,000 are questioning their sex.

While the CDC claims the study indicates a need for “gender-affirming care” and greater social acceptance of transgenderism, an expert told CNA that the promotion of gender ideology in schools has already contributed to what has become a “social contagion.” 

‘Social contagion’ and gender ideology

Mary Rice Hasson, an attorney and policy expert who directs the Catholic Person and Identity Project, which is devoted to promoting Catholic teaching on sex and gender, told CNA that the dramatic rise in transgender-identifying youth is “unprecedented.”

Hasson believes the study may undercount the true number of trans-identifying youth in the U.S. She said that “social contagion,” correlated with the widespread use of smartphones and social media, plays a major factor in the rise of transgenderism among youth.

In addition to this, she said public schools in the U.S. are already aggressively promoting gender ideology to children, “telling them that they have the power to self-define their own identity, regardless of sex (male or female) and that if they don’t feel comfortable in their bodies that it’s a ‘sign’ that they are ‘transgender’ and should change their bodies.”

Suicide rates soaring among trans-identifying youth

The study draws on data gathered by the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), which collected information from a nationally representative group of 20,103 high school students in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. YRBS has been gathering data since 1991.

The 2023 YRBS study presents the first nationally representative estimate of transgender identity among high school students.

According to the study, high school students who identify as transgender also suffer from the highest level of feelings of isolation and poor mental health. The study said that nearly 3 out of 4 — 72% — of those identifying as transgender suffer from persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.

Meanwhile, 1 out of 4 — 26% — of transgender-identifying and questioning high schoolers have attempted suicide within the past year. This is significantly higher than the 5% of boys and 11% of girls who have attempted suicide within the past year.

According to the study, over half — 52.9% — of transgender-identifying students have seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year; this is over double the level of suicidal ideation among girls — 24% — and over four times higher than that of boys — 12.1%.

The study also said that 40% of transgender-identifying students have been bullied at school and 26.4% have skipped school due to feeling unsafe.

Based on this data the CDC concluded that “when schools implement LGBTQ+ supportive policies and practices, all students experience better mental health.”

The researchers behind the study claimed that their findings demonstrate “the need for interventions to create safe and supportive environments for transgender and questioning students.”

“Having supportive families and peers, feeling connected to family and school, having affirmed name and pronouns used consistently by others, and having a sense of pride of identity are protective factors for transgender students that buffer the effects of minority stressors and promote better mental health,” the researchers said.

Skepticism about CDC’s conclusions

Hasson pointed out several problems with the CDC’s conclusion that affirming transgender identity is the solution to the high suicide rate among transgender students.

She said the researchers left out several important questions about youth’s mental health background, ignoring many factors that are important to understanding the true causes of depression and suicide among transgender-identifying youth.

“The YRBS did not cross-reference transgender identification with other important questions, such as the new questions on ‘adverse childhood experiences’ or experiences of forced sex or early sex,” she said. “Other research demonstrates that trans-identified youth suffer high rates of mental health issues that explain their suicidality.”

Instead, Hasson said the study “showed its ideological bias” and “obscured likely reasons why trans-identified students reported greater suicidality and more depression than other students.”

“Although the YRBS is a snapshot in time — it does not show causality — the YRBS report speculated that trans-identified students reported poor mental health because of stigma and feeling ‘unsafe’ at school — and suggested this requires greater efforts by schools to be inclusive,” she said.

What is the Catholic response?

The Catholic Church teaches that there are innate physical, moral, and spiritual differences and complementarity between the sexes male and female.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the “harmony of the couple and of society depends in part on the way in which the complementarity, needs, and mutual support between the sexes are lived out” (No. 1603).

“By creating the human being man and woman,” the catechism teaches, “God gives personal dignity equally to the one and the other. Each of them, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity” (No. 2393).

Hasson said the study showing the widespread prevalence of transgenderism among the nation’s youth is “a reminder that transgender ideology is a dangerous, evil lie — and too many children have begun to believe it, reinforced by activist teachers, ideologically-driven clinicians, and confused parents.”

In response, she said, “Catholics need to be bold and share the truth about the human person — we are created male or female. And that’s God’s gift to us, something to receive and celebrate, not reject.”

null / Credit: ShutterstockProfessional/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Oct 10, 2024 / 13:20 pm (CNA).

A Louisiana Catholic diocese is preparing to file for bankruptcy as it moves to settle numerous claims brought against it by victims of sexual abuse.

The Diocese of Alexandria will conduct a “mediated resolution” with abuse victims before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, diocesan lawyers said in a letter last month. 

In 2019 then-Alexandria Bishop David Talley released a list of 27 priests who had served in the diocese and who had been credibly accused of sexual abuse. The majority of those claims stemmed from allegations of abuse before 1970. 

Additions to the list have ultimately brought the number of credibly accused priests to 32. Talley in 2019 said there had been “no standard response on the part of our past bishops and clergy to the allegations made.” 

It is not clear exactly how many abuse claims have been filed against the diocese. The Sept. 24 letter from the law firm Gold Weems Bruser Sues & Rundell, a copy of which was obtained by CNA, said the diocese has retained Louisiana-based mediator John Perry to oversee mediation “in order to address the claims in a global way and to attempt to provide as much parity as possible among the claimants.”

“The diocese’s goal is to negotiate a global resolution with all claimants which would then be filed as a prearranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy,” the letter said. 

The attorneys wrote that “no detailed agenda has been set,” but “the discussion will include the mediation process, potential insurance coverage, and available diocesan assets,” after which future meetings would be scheduled. 

Adam Horowitz, an attorney representing several claimants against the diocese, told CNA on Thursday that “if this pre-bankruptcy settlement approach is to be successful, the diocese must provide a comprehensive disclosure of its financials and insurance information — just as it would be required to do if the diocese were in bankruptcy court.”  

“Anything short of full transparency will result in an unsuccessful negotiation,” he said.

The letter, meanwhile, expressed hope that “the mediation will resolve all claims without the lengthy delays and huge professional fees incurred as has happened in the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ bankruptcy.” 

The New Orleans Archdiocese has been embroiled in a yearslong bankruptcy process over abuse claims; the archdiocese recently made a $62 million settlement offer to victims, though abuse survivors there are asking for approximately $1 billion in compensation. 

The archdiocese said in September of last year that it would ask “parishes, schools, and ministries” for monetary contributions in order to protect their assets during the archdiocese’s bankruptcy proceedings.

In 2021 Louisiana passed a “lookback” law allowing victims of abuse a three-year window to file lawsuits addressing abuse that may otherwise have been outside the statute of limitations.

The state Supreme Court upheld that law in June, reversing a decision earlier in the year that struck the law down as unconstitutional.

Matthew Lee, Taiwan's ambassador to the Holy See, speaks at a celebration of Taiwan’s 113th National Day at a reception organized by the Embassy of the Republic of China to the Holy See in Vatican City, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. / Credit: Fabio Gonnella/EWTN

Vatican City, Oct 10, 2024 / 12:50 pm (CNA).

Taiwan’s ambassador to the Holy See, Matthew Lee, emphasized the importance of the Vatican-Taiwan partnership, particularly in promoting peace and religious freedom, in a recent interview with CNA.

“Taiwan has enjoyed diplomatic relations with the Holy See for 82 years. That’s very important because it means the Holy See recognizes Taiwan as a country that values religious freedom and its communion with the universal Church,” Lee told CNA at a reception ahead of Taiwan’s National Day, which is celebrated each year on Oct. 10.

The Oct. 2 event held near St. Peter’s Basilica drew cardinals, bishops, and diplomats accredited to the Holy See, underscoring the democratic island’s ties with the Vatican, one of only 12 remaining nations in the world that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

“In Taiwan, the Catholic people [number] about 3%, but it’s very powerful,” the ambassador said. Taiwan’s National Eucharistic Congress on Oct. 5 drew more than 10,000 people, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was the fifth Eucharistic congress held in Taiwan since 2011.

In his remarks at the event, Lee highlighted how Taiwan and the Vatican have worked “hand in hand” to provide humanitarian aid and contribute to the international community.

“In the future, Taiwan will continue to cooperate with the Holy See and like-minded democracies to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability, protect religious freedom, and create a society of greater justice and peace for humanity,” Lee said.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Cardinal Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga, Cardinal Silvano Tomasi, Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, and other Vatican officials attended the celebration. Re offered a blessing for the food at the event held on the feast of the Guardian Angels, praying that angels may always protect Taiwan so that it may “always live in peace.”

Amid Taiwan’s National Day celebrations, the Chinese military put pressure on the democratic island by sending 15 planes across the median line of the Taiwan Strait, according to the Associated Press.

The ambassador emphasized Taiwan’s commitment to Pope Francis’ call to promote peace in the world, especially in the Taiwan Strait. 

After taking office on May 20, Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, echoed that call for peace, urging China to “stop intimidating Taiwan politically and militarily,” Lee said.

“President Lai also constantly called for dialogue over confrontation, exchange over containment, and peaceful engagement with the legal government chosen by Taiwanese people,” he added.

Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China, has maintained formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See since 1942. The Vatican does not have diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. 

The ambassador noted that the embassy organized a “novena for peace” in response to Pope Francis’ call for peace.

Bishop Norbert Pu of Taiwan spoke to CNA at the event about the significance of the Vatican’s recognition for Taiwanese Catholics. 

“We hope we can always maintain this formal and good relationship with the Vatican. Because for Taiwan, this is very important. We hope that the world will see this because Taiwan is a democratic and free country, respected by other nations,” Pu said.

Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, the archbishop of Bangui in the Central African Republic, also spoke at the event, giving thanks for Taiwan’s donation of a computer classroom at the Major Seminary of St. Mark.

Lee highlighted how Taiwan has “provided humanitarian assistance and carried out concrete projects to help many countries.”

“The Taiwan Embassy has joined forces with several religious congregations this year to deliver humanitarian assistance to those in need,” he said.