Author: Catholic Radar JM

Bishops in Scotland react to new data showing majority of Scots have ‘no religion’

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

(Madeleine Teahan. CNA).

Catholic bishops in Scotland have said that new data indicating that the majority of Scots have no religion comes as no surprise.

Census results from the year 2022 on ethnicity, identity, and religion in Scotland were released on May 21, revealing that 51.1% of respondents to the census claimed they had “no religion” compared with 36.7% of respondents in 2011. 

The religiously unaffiliated — or “nones” as they are often referred to — now also make up the largest religious category in the U.S., according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.

Continue reading…

U.S. bishops should renew support for C.C.H.D, one of the church’s primary anti-poverty investments

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

(Richard L. Wood. America).

Catholic leaders face a critical decision next week at the semi-annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The bishops will discuss whether and how to continue their support of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, which for 50 years has served as one of the Catholic Church’s primary investments in fighting poverty in our country. Its work is urgently needed and reflects core Catholic principles.

For five decades, C.C.H.D. has supported the church’s love for the poor and respect for their dignity by adopting a strategic approach to funding empowerment and self-sufficiency in low-income, working-class and struggling middle-class communities. In my work as a researcher, I have seen the positive impact of C.C.H.D.-funded work at the community level.

Continue reading…

Monasterios españoles se unen por primera vez para “dar sentido” en la sociedad

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

(Jesús Lozano. RD).

Monasterios españoles se unen por primera vez para “dar sentido” en la sociedad

  • Se están diseñando los primeros “proyectos en red” en un proceso de cuidado mutuo, desde la comunicación hasta la sostenibilidad.
  • “Somos mujeres y hombres iguales que los que no viven en vida contemplativa. La paz de los monasterios es Dios y existe tanto dentro como fuera de ellos.”
  • Es un espacio libre y voluntario y parte de la propia vida monástica, que invita a todos a sumarse y hacerlo suyo abrazando la diversidad de carismas.
  • La iniciativa pone la suma de conocimientos al servicio de todas las instituciones, marca un camino de soluciones y refuerza sus identidades.
  • Casi una veintena de instituciones ya se han unido y más de 150 monjas y monjes están participando en las formaciones.
  • Se enmarca en el Proyecto Vida Contemplativa en Sinodalidad, respaldado por Fundación Porticus, Universidad de la Mística, San Juan de Dios y UMAS.

Continue reading…

Vatican arrests ex-employee for attempted extortion using allegedly stolen Bernini manuscript

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

(Hannah Brockhaus. CNA).

The Vatican arrested a former employee in late May for attempted extortion after he sold an allegedly stolen 17th-century manuscript to the Vatican for hundreds of thousands of euros.

According to the Italian newspaper Domani, which broke the news June 6, the art historian and former Vatican employee was questioned and arrested by Vatican gendarmes on May 27 after being handed a check by Vatican Cardinal Mauro Gambetti for 120,000 euros (about $130,000) for the sale of the manuscript.

Continue reading…

‘700,000 Prisoners To Be Reached With Gospel in 70 Nations’ (Worthy News Mission Watch)

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

(Stefan J. Bos. internacional Worthy News)

 Two major Christian organizations working in jails have agreed to “share the Gospel” of Christ with hundreds of thousands of prisoners and their families.

U.S.-based Prison Fellowship International (PFI) and Faith Comes By Hearing said they hope to reach at least 700,000 inmates and tens of thousands of families in 70 countries over the next five years.

The inmates and their loved ones will be invited to participate in PFI’s programs, The Listener’s Way (TLW) and PromisePath, which includes the distribution of 90,000 audio and video Bibles by 2029.

Continue reading…

Most Protestant pastors oppose gay marriage, mainline support stalling: survey

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

(Michael Gryboski. Christian Post).

Most Protestant pastors in the United States continue to oppose same-sex marriage, and the previously growing trend of support among mainline clergy is stalling, according to a recent report by Lifeway Research.

In a report released Tuesday, Lifeway found that, in 2023, 21% of surveyed Protestant pastors said they saw “nothing wrong” with same-sex marriage, which was a slight decrease compared to the 24% of pastors who said the same in 2019.

Even among pastors belonging to theologically progressive mainline denominations, Lifeway found that less than half (46%) support same-sex marriage, which was virtually the same (47%) in 2019, though still well above the 32% reported in 2010.

Continue reading…

Papa Francesco, quando il decimo concistoro del pontificato?

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

(Di Marco Mancini. Acistampa).

Se si eccettua il 2021, Papa Francesco ha presieduto un concistoro all’anno dall’inizio del suo pontificato, creando complessivamente 142 cardinali. Ed entro la fine del 2024 il Papa potrebbe procedere al concistoro numero 10 del pontificato.

Quando? Con Papa Francesco è impossibile fare previsioni, visto che il Pontefice ci ha abituati alle sorprese nei tempi e nelle scelte, soprattutto in tema di concistori. La data prescelta, comunque, potrebbe essere decisa intorno all’avvio della seconda sessione del Sinodo sulla sinodalità, che si aprirà il prossimo ottobre in Vaticano. 

Continue reading…

South African campaigner and academic wins 2024 Templeton Prize

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

(MADELEINE DAVIES. Church Times).

A SOUTH AFRICAN psychologist, Professor Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, who served on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), is this year’s winner of the £1.1-million Templeton Prize.

Professor Gobodo-Madikizela, who chaired the human-rights-violations committee in the Western Cape office of the TRC, has been a “guiding light within South Africa as it charts a course beyond apartheid, facilitating dialogue to help people overcome individual and collective trauma”, the Templeton Foundation’s president, Heather Templeton Dill, said on Tuesday. She had “a remarkable grasp of the personal and social dynamics that allow for healing in societies wounded by violence. . . Her work underscores the importance in contemporary life of cultivating the spiritual values of hope, compassion, and reconciliation.”

The prize, established by the late global investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton, honours those whose achievements include “harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest questions of the universe and humankind’s place and purpose within it”.

Continue reading…

La guerra infinita della Repubblica Democratica del Congo

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

(Di Simone Baroncia. Acistampa).

La Repubblica Democratica del Congo è uno degli Stati più grandi e più ricchi di risorse naturali del continente africano, ma i molteplici conflitti interni nel Paese hanno prodotto una forte instabilità che ha portato con sé una crisi umanitaria complessa, tantoché al termine dell’Angelus dell’ultima domenica dello scorso febbraio Papa Francesco aveva chiesto la pace: “Seguo con preoccupazione l’aumento delle violenze nella parte orientale della Repubblica Democratica del Congo. Mi unisco all’invito dei Vescovi a pregare per la pace, auspicando la cessazione degli scontri e la ricerca di un dialogo sincero e costruttivo”.

Infatti nell’ultimo giorno di febbraio è iniziato il ritiro ufficiale della Monusco dall’est della Repubblica Democratica del Congo, istituita nel 2005 con il mandato di proteggere i civili e mantenere la sicurezza nell’area, con il processo di smobilitazione che si concluderà entro il 31 dicembre 2024 e metterà fine alla presenza della missione nel paese, durata 25 anni. Attualmente sono circa 15.000 i peacekeeper Onu dispiegati nelle tre province più problematiche della regione, Sud Kivu, Nord Kivu e Ituri. 

Continue reading…

Netherlands permits euthanasia for physically healthy 29-year-old woman

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

(AC Wimmer. CNA).

A physically healthy 29-year-old woman was allowed to end her life through physician-assisted suicide in the Netherlands on the grounds of depression, sparking renewed debate about the sanctity of life and legislation.

Zoraya ter Beek died by euthanasia on May 22. Despite being physically healthy, the woman from Oldenzaal, a town near the German border, chose to end her life due to mental health issues.

Only days before her death, ter Beek told The Guardian: “People think that when you’re mentally ill, you can’t think straight, which is insulting.”

Diagnosed with depression, anxiety, trauma, and other issues, she was approved to die by assisted suicide for “unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement,” as per the official Dutch Euthanasia Code.

Continue reading…https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257887/netherlands-permits-euthanasia-for-physically-healthy-29-year-old-woman

Catholic bishop: Biden administration ‘subverted’ pro-family policy by mandating abortion leave

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

(Tyler Arnold. CNA).

A law meant to offer accommodations for pregnant workers has been “twisted” to “undermine human dignity” thanks to a new regulation mandating paid abortion leave, according to the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Archbishop Timothy Broglio.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which requires employers to accommodate women for workplace limitations that arise from pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, had the full support of the USCCB when lawmakers considered the bill in 2022. 

However, regulations issued by President Joe Biden’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) this year have interpreted the related medical conditions covered in the law to include abortion.

In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, Broglio denounced the EEOC for its new regulations. His op-ed comes less than one week after the USCCB filed a lawsuit that asks a court to strike down the abortion accommodation rule.

Continue reading…

Conferenza di Bonn sul clima: Save the Children, 72 milioni di persone vivono livelli di insicurezza alimentare acuta

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

(Sir Agenzia ).

Il numero di bambini che affrontano livelli critici di fame nei Paesi in cui gli eventi meteorologici estremi influiscono maggiormente sulle forniture alimentari è più che raddoppiato negli ultimi cinque anni, registrando un aumento del 20% solo nel 2023. È quanto emerge dalla nuova analisi di Save the Children.
L’analisi è stata pubblicata mentre i governi si incontrano per uno storico “dialogo con gli esperti” sugli impatti sproporzionati dei cambiamenti climatici sui bambini in occasione della Conferenza sul cambiamento climatico delle Nazioni Unite che si apre oggi a Bonn, in Germania, e che anticipa l’appuntamento con la Cop29 di fine anno. L’analisi di Save the Children ha mostrato che più di 33 milioni di bambini e 39 milioni di adulti vivono in condizioni tali da essere classificati nella fase 3 di “crisi” della fame, come stabilito dall’Ipc, e nei 18 Paesi in cui gli eventi meteorologici estremi come la siccità, i cicloni e le inondazioni sono stati le principali cause dell’insicurezza alimentare. Ciò significa che nei Paesi in cui gli eventi meteorologici estremi sono stati la causa principale della fame, il numero di persone che si trovano ad affrontare la fase 3 dell’Ipc e le successive è più che raddoppiato, passando da 29 milioni nel 2018 – inclusi 13 milioni di bambini – a 72 milioni nel 2023.

Continue reading…

Francisco, un pontificado de siembra, no de cosecha

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

( Roland Müller. RD).

(katholisch).- El papa Francisco no lo pone precisamente fácil: hace unos días se quejaba de que hubiera demasiado «mariconeo» en los seminarios; ahora se ha sabido que había escrito a un exseminarista que tuvo que renunciar a sus aspiraciones profesionales por su homosexualidad. “La Iglesia debe estar abierta a todos. Sigue adelante con tu vocación”, le decía Francisco en su carta al joven. ¿Eso encaja? Y el jefe de la Iglesia, ¿se refiere aquí a la vocación de un sacerdote?

Continue reading…

What’s behind the latest killing of a Christian in Pakistan?

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

(Luke Coppen. Pillar).

The death of Nazir Masih, a Christian in his 70s, was announced Monday, nine days after he was attacked by a mob in Sargodha, a city in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

The Catholics in Pakistan website published a photograph June 3 of Masih’s body being lowered into the earth in a black coffin bearing a cross.

The website reported that the burial took place in Sargodha’s Mujahid Colony, following a funeral service led by Protestant pastors and attended by Catholic representatives.

Why was Masih killed by a mob? Will anyone be brought to justice? And is life getting worse for Pakistan’s Christian minority?

Continue reading…

Obispos chilenos fijan posición ante anuncio presidencial de un nuevo proyecto de aborto libre y eutanasia

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

( Aníbal Pastor N. Corresponsal en Chile).RD.

A 24 horas de que el Presidente de la República, Gabriel Boric, anunciara en su cuenta pública que enviará al parlamento un proyecto sobre aborto libre y eutanasia, el Comité Permanente de la Conferencia Episcopal de Chile reaccionó con una declaración pública titulada “Promover y defender la vida para un futuro compartido como país”.

El gobierno de Gabriel Boric formuló este anuncio en un contexto de intensas discusiones legislativas sobre temas de mucha relevancia para la ciudadanía, como son las reformas de la previsión, la salud y la tributaria, entre otros proyectos. Ahora se añaden los temas del aborto y la eutanasia, siendo especialmente el primero (aborto) parte de la agenda valórica en Chile y en consecuencia, objeto de controversias durante décadas. Hoy vuelve el tema del aborto libre y se añade eutanasia ante lo cual la Conferencia Episcopal ha respondido con firmeza, reafirmando su postura tradicional y moral frente a estos temas, fijando la pauta de algún modo, especialmente para los sectores conservadores y opositores a Boric.

Continue reading…

In midst of brutal war, Sudanese Catholic community says ‘relationship with God has grown’

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

(Agnes Aineah. CNA).

Peace reigns inside Dar Mariam, the residence of the Salesian Sisters in Sudan, despite the fact that it has been surrounded by heavy gunfire and bombed multiple times as war rages on in the northeastern African country.

At the community, located in Shajara, about four and a half miles from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, people displaced by the war, which has been raging there for two years now, say their relationship with God has grown.

Continue reading…

Vatican official says 77% of cases sent to discipline office are about child abuse

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

(Michael Haynes. Life Site).

The Vatican official responsible for overseeing the Catholic Church’s response to abuse has said that 77 percent of cases he receives involve child abuse. 

Speaking on the sidelines of a safeguarding conference organized by the Italian Bishops Conference (CEI) in Rome on May 29, Monsignor John Joseph Kennedy provided comment about the work carried out by the Disciplinary office of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), which he leads

Continue reading…

Catholic doctors, ethicists criticize Pontifical Academy for Life

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

(AC Wimmer. CNA).

Representatives of the Australian Catholic Medical Association, with the support of several Catholic moral theologians and bioethicists, have criticized a book published by the Pontifical Academy for Life for its lack of understanding of “current science” and specific areas of medicine.

The experts argue that the book spreads “misleading and confusing” theological and medical information that contradicts established Church teachings on contraception and assisted reproductive technologies.

The book in question, “Etica Teologica Della Vita” (ETV), covers “Theological Ethics of Life: Scripture, Tradition, and Practical Challenges.” The 528-page Italian publication is a synthesis of a seminar sponsored by the academy in 2021.

Continue reading…

¿Dignidad infinita? Sí, pero menos… (I)

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

( Jesús Martínez Gordo. RD).

Como no podía ser de otra manera, la Declaración “‘Dignitas Infinita’ sobre la dignidad humana” (08.04.2024) está siendo recibida, dejando aparte el enorme colectivo de los indiferentes, con dos tipos de generalizadas reacciones: la primera, de acogida -a veces entusiasta- tanto por parte de personas y colectivos abiertos como tradicionalistas y, la segunda, de crítica, sobre todo, por parte de algunos de los sectores más progresistas de la Iglesia católica y de la sociedad civil. 

Continue reading…

We Need to Take a Closer Look at the Suffering of Christians in North Korea 

Posted on by Catholic Radar JM

(Abigail Ferrara. The Whasinthon Stand).

“Life for Christians in North Korea [is] a constant cauldron of pressure; capture or death is only a mistake away.” As cited by the 2022 State Department report, this is the daily reality for Christians in North Korea.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was the latest to sound that alarm, documenting the testimonies of several North Korean defectors on the horrific experiences of Christians and other religious adherents in prison. One defector testified of a Christian prisoner who would pray daily and was then punished with extreme beatings with clubs or boots: “One time they beat [the Christian prisoner] to the brink of death, leaving the person bleeding on the ground. But this person got up and prayed just the same the next morning.” After being beaten, the man was cursed at by Ministry of State Security officials and told “he should just drop dead.” This torture lasted for 15 years in the political prisoner camp.

Continue reading…