St. Columba Catholic Church

CNA Staff, Sep 12, 2024 / 18:20 pm (CNA).

A state judge nixed North Dakota’s protections for unborn babies on Thursday, saying that the state constitution creates a right to abortion before the unborn baby is viable outside the womb, which is usually defined at 22 or 23 weeks of pregnancy. 

North Dakota District Judge Bruce Romanick’s 24-page order making abortion legal up to the point of fetal viability is set to go into effect in 14 days. 

The ruling overturned the law that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed in April 2023, which allowed abortion only in certain cases, such as pregnancies caused by rape or incest, within the first six weeks of pregnancy, and cases of serious health risk for the mother.

The Red River Women’s Clinic filed the original lawsuit in 2022 against a 2007 “trigger law” that went into effect after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. That law was later overturned by the state Supreme Court. The clinic has since relocated a few miles from Fargo, North Dakota, to Moorehead, Minnesota.

Romanick was ruling on the state’s request to dismiss the 2022 lawsuit. The state had argued that a trial wouldn’t make a difference as the clinic had since moved out of state.

Romanick ruled that the state’s abortion restrictions were unconstitutional because “pregnant women in North Dakota have a fundamental right to choose abortion before viability” under the state constitution, which protects “life, liberty, safety, and happiness” for individuals “including women.”

North Dakota Right to Life said in a statement Thursday that it is “deeply disappointed” by the ruling, arguing that the judge used “poor methodology” to go against “the standard legal process.”

“This ruling was made in response to the state’s request to dismiss the lawsuit, yet instead of either dismissing the case or setting a court hearing date, the judge unilaterally issued a ruling that dismantles critical protections for the unborn and vulnerable women across our state,” the statement read.

“The judge’s poor methodology and decision to bypass the standard legal process reflect a troubling disregard for the legal protections that were put in place to ensure informed consent and promote the safety of North Dakotans,” the statement continued. 

The judge also ruled that the restrictions were void because of their “vagueness.” He argued that the law violated due process because it was not clear enough to physicians which abortions they could perform legally and could have “a profound chilling effect on the willingness of physicians to perform abortions.”

“All North Dakota citizens, including women, have the right to make fundamental, appropriate, and informed medical decisions in consultation with a physician and to receive their chosen medical care … Such a choice is a fundamental one, central to personal autonomy and self-determination,” the court document reads.

“Unborn human life, pre-viability, is not a sufficient justification to interfere with a woman’s fundamental rights,” the judge continued. “Criminalizing pre-viability abortions is not necessary to promote the state’s interest in women’s health and protecting unborn human life.”

North Dakota Right to Life argued that the ruling was dangerous for both women and unborn children.

“We firmly believe that this ruling does a grave disservice to our state and will lead to harmful consequences for women, minors, and unborn children alike,” the statement read.

The group argued that the decision “opens North Dakota to unrestricted abortion access — eliminating necessary safeguards such as waiting periods, parental consent for minors, and critical health and safety standards.”

“In doing so, the judge’s decision directly undermines the well-being of women and young girls, putting their health at risk and disregarding the will of the people in North Dakota,” the statement continued.

CNA Staff, Sep 12, 2024 / 18:00 pm (CNA).

Hurricane Francine made landfall in southern Louisiana on Wednesday evening as a Category 2 storm, bringing 100 mph winds in some areas and copious rainfall. Many parts of the state, already drenched with previous rains, remained flooded Thursday even as Francine moved out of the region heading north.

Low-lying areas near and to the east of where Francine made landfall faced storm surge of five to 10 feet, the Washington Post reported. At the peak of the storm, 450,000 people in Louisiana were without electricity, a figure that has dropped to around 350,000, per the AP.

Kim Burgo, vice president of disaster operations at Catholic Charities USA, told CNA on Thursday afternoon that the aid organization is helping to fund and coordinate relief efforts through local Catholic Charities agencies in the region. The hardest-hit diocese in southern Louisiana has been Houma-Thibodaux, as well as parts of the Dioceses of Baton Rouge and Lafayette and the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Burgo said the local Catholic Charities organizations in these areas are undertaking assessments to determine the needs of the affected populations, especially the poor whom they already serve on a regular basis. She said their primary concern is ensuring that people have access to necessary supplies and services — such as generators and food — to help them get by as power is restored and cleanup begins.

Each individual Catholic Charities agency in the region is accepting donations, as is Catholic Charities USA, which will distribute 100% of the donations to the affected areas.

“Each agency or each diocese will have their own criteria and different ways to help. And certainly, there are locations where people can drop off goods and items,” Burgo said, noting that some parts of Louisiana were spared flooding and storm damage despite their proximity to damaged areas.

Catholic Charities of Acadiana (CCA), which serves the Diocese of Lafayette, is already soliciting volunteers to help with relief efforts. The group says it needs volunteers who can do damage assessments, roof tarping, muck out and cleanup, debris removal and chainsawing, and in-kind donations management. The group also encouraged people of goodwill to donate to its disaster relief fund.

Burgo said CCA has begun assembling and distributing supplies, assisting the National Guard by unloading trucks filled with essential items like tarps and anti-mold products.

Meanwhile, in Houma-Thibodaux, a big focus is on distributing meals to people in need, especially for those still without power. The lack of electricity is especially impactful for low-income households as it disrupts the functioning of medical equipment and impedes food preservation, among other issues. 

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New Orleans is also mobilized to help the community, but weather conditions were so bad that the agency said on social media that its offices would be closed until Friday, Sept. 13. Officially, 7.33 inches of rain fell at New Orleans International Airport on Wednesday, making it the second-wettest September day on record, the Washington Post reported. 

Burgo emphasized that Catholic Charities serve as a long-term presence in the community, providing support not just in times of disaster but also during peaceful periods. She encouraged people in need of assistance or those willing to offer help to reach out to their local Catholic Charities office or visit the national website.

“We’re not an organization that just goes in and does some work and then leaves. We’re there in both the times of sunshine and the times of disaster events,” she said.

Quito, Ecuador, Sep 12, 2024 / 17:10 pm (CNA).

“The Eucharist and the Transfiguration of the World” was the title of the presentation given by Bishop Andrew Cozzens at the International Eucharistic Congress being held in Quito, Ecuador.

“What is God’s answer to the wounds of the world?” asked the bishop of Crookston, Minnesota, in his remarks.

“His response is to send his Son into our broken world,” Cozzens continued. “The purpose of the Incarnation is for the Eucharist, so that he can offer his life for us, for the healing of our world.”

Cozzens, who also chaired this year’s U.S. National Eucharistic Congress, explained that Jesus Christ redeems the world through his paschal mystery.

“The paschal mystery is the greatest mystery we have because it transforms evil into good,” Cozzens noted. 

Reflecting on the power of this work of redemption, Cozzens underscored that “there is nothing so evil, nothing so bad, that it cannot be taken by God and turned into something good.”

The mystery of human suffering 

Regarding this aspect of man’s life, Cozzens posed the question: “Why is it that Our Lord did not take away human suffering? Why not? He could have. Why through his death and resurrection did he not end suffering? Well, the reason must be he knew that suffering would be the place where we could learn to express the most love.”

“And so Our Lord did not take away suffering. He entered into suffering, and he transformed suffering from within, and made it possible for suffering to become a force of love in the world. This is the power of redemption, and this is the mystery the Eucharist invites us to every day.” 

In that sense, Cozzens pointed out, “the Eucharist wants to teach us how to transform, or we might even say transfigure suffering, so that our sufferings can become a place of glory.”

Addressing the question of why God allows suffering, Cozzens continued: “It could only be so that greater love could come into the world, so that more glory could come. The more we begin to live a Eucharistic life, the more we understand the meaning and the value of our sufferings.”

Cozzens also warned of the temptation, in the face of suffering, to “turn in on oneself.” However, “what the Lord asks is in that moment that I would turn to him and I would see his suffering, and that I would turn to others and see their suffering. And then in my heart, I would make a simple prayer: ‘Lord, I accept this suffering for those people I know who are suffering, for love of you or others.’”

Suffering and the Mass

Cozzens then highlighted that Jesus “invites us to pour out our sufferings to him and ultimately, “he wants to show us how he can use this suffering for good.”

“What happens at the Mass is that I bring my suffering to the altar. And that suffering now is united to Christ’s offering to the Father, and then has the power to pour out love on the whole of the world.”

For this reason, Cozzens emphasized, ”the Eucharist is the heart of the world because through the Mass, all the sufferings of our world are able to be offered to the Father, united with Jesus.”

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

CNA Staff, Sep 12, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

A recently ordained priest in Chicago is denying accusations from Illinois state officials that he molested a child during a recent penance service that allegedly took place at a youth retreat.

A letter from Chicago archbishop Cardinal Blase Cupich to St. Josaphat Parish, posted this month to the Archdiocese of Chicago’s website, said the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) “has opened an investigation into allegations they termed child exploitation and child molestation” allegedly committed by Father Martin Nyberg.

The incident allegedly occurred during a “public penance service,” according to the archbishop. Nyberg has served as an associate pastor at St. Josaphat in the city’s Sheffield neighborhood since July of this year, the prelate said.

The 28-year-old priest “strenuously denies the allegations,” Cupich wrote, though the archdiocese “reported the allegations to civil authorities and offered assistance to the accusers” in accordance with archdiocesan policy.

“I asked Father Nyberg to step aside from ministry until civil authorities have completed their investigations and our Independent Review Board has presented its recommendations to me,” Cupich wrote. 

“Father Nyberg agreed to cooperate fully with this process, and we will provide him with pastoral assistance as he awaits its outcome.”

The archbishop sent a similar letter to members of St. Paul of the Cross Parish, where Nyberg served as a deacon from 2023 to 2024.

The Archdiocese of Chicago did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday regarding the timeline of the independent review board’s investigation as well as a query about the nature of the “public penance service.”

But CBS News Chicago reported that the alleged incident reportedly took place at an “eighth-grade confirmation retreat” in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, in late August.

Students allegedly “said they were asked inappropriate sexual questions at the aforementioned confession service during the two-day overnight retreat,” while some said they were “touched inappropriately by Nyberg.” 

DCFS spokeswoman Heather Tarczan, meanwhile, told CNA on Thursday that the department’s investigation “just started and we are working with local law enforcement.”

“At this time, we cannot say exactly how long it will take,” she said.

According to the Chicago Catholic, Nyberg was born in Chicago and attended The Catholic University of America and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary.

He was ordained on May 18 of this year and celebrated his first Mass at St. Edward Parish in Chicago.

CNA Staff, Sep 12, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

The March for Life announced Thursday that longtime president Jeanne Mancini will pass the torch early next year to Jennie Bradley Lichter, a leading pro-life lawyer and policy expert.

“Leading the March for Life has been the honor and opportunity of a lifetime, one for which I will be forever grateful. There have been countless highlights during my time as president of March for Life, including the momentous overturn of Roe v. Wade,” said Mancini, who has led the pro-life organization for the past 12 years.

“I’m convinced that building a culture of life through compassionate public witness to the inherent dignity of the unborn and their mothers is as critically important today as it was the tragic day abortion was first legalized in the United States — or at any time since,” she said.

“I am more than delighted to watch how the organization will continue to grow under Jennie Bradley Lichter’s leadership.”

Catholic pro-life activist Nellie Gray founded the March for Life in Washington, D.C., in 1974 following the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. 

The organization, which now bills its march as the world’s largest annual human rights demonstration, celebrated its 51st anniversary with this year’s gathering, which took place in late January and attracted tens of thousands.

Mancini was only the second person to serve as president of the March for Life, after Gray herself, who died in 2012. Mancini’s tenure of a dozen years was marked by “consistent and extraordinarily fruitful growth,” the group says, which includes the establishment of a “rapidly expanding” state march program, already present in 16 states. 

Other major milestones under Mancini’s leadership include hosting for the first time the sitting vice president and president of the United States at the national March in 2020 as well as the landmark 2022 Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which returned the power to legislate on abortion to the states. 

Mancini said the annual march remains a vital part of the pro-life movement for several reasons — as a participation in history, as a witness to the importance of caring for pregnant women through pro-life pregnancy centers and other means, and as a recognition that the pro-life movement still has work to do — especially in the 10 states with abortion on the ballot this year. 

“We have certainly had some tough [ballot box] losses in the past couple of years, but we are living in what I perceive to be the cultural earthquake of the overturn of Roe, which is a season and will pass,” Mancini noted.

“While this season shows the profound need to educate and change hearts and minds about the destructive nature of abortion to both mother and baby, it does not in any way mean that the overturn of Roe was a mistake,” she said.

“Consider that nearly half the states have enacted life protective laws prior to the time of viability — something that couldn’t happen under a Roe regime.”

‘The spirit of a longtime marcher’

Lichter, who most recently served as deputy general counsel at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., brings a broad range of legal and policy experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, including at “the highest levels of the federal government,” the March for Life says. She also has served as senior legal fellow at the Religious Freedom Institute. 

In addition to being a “longtime marcher,” Lichter is a married mother of three and founded an initiative at The Catholic University of America — the Guadalupe Project — to provide tangible resources and support to expectant mothers and their children. 

She said this week she is “looking forward to leading the March for Life’s engagement in conversations about legal strategy.”

“When I first began attending the National March as a college student over 20 years ago, I never could have dreamed that someday I would have the honor of leading it,” Lichter said. 

“I have long loved the positive spirit of the March, the youthfulness, the energy, the esprit de corps, the doggedness that is required of those who show up in late January whatever the weather,” she said.

“Although my vantage point at the National March will be changing, I will be bringing the spirit of a longtime marcher into my new role. And I’m looking forward to continuing to march alongside so many others who are committed to witnessing to the dignity of every human life.”

Lichter’s tenure as president will begin in February 2025. Mancini will continue to serve on the March for Life’s board of directors, the group says.

“Political and cultural winds can and do change, but no matter what happens on the ballot or in the courts or the national conversation this year or any other year, there will still be many, many thousands of Americans who will be looking to the March for Life for guidance. For leadership. For hope. For joyful witness,” Lichter continued.

“And most of all, for an opportunity to be together — in D.C. in January, every single year, or in state capitals across the country — and to show that pro-life Americans are still here, we are still motivated, we will never, ever tire of witnessing together to the beauty and dignity and utter preciousness of human life. In my mind, that’s the most powerful thing about this organization.  It is such an honor to have an opportunity to lead it. I can’t wait to get started.”

Quito, Ecuador, Sep 12, 2024 / 13:35 pm (CNA).

The Eucharist must be the heart of the priest’s life. This truth was driven home by the archbishop of Santo Domingo, Francisco Ozoria, during his homily Tuesday at the International Eucharistic Congress currently underway in Quito, Ecuador.

In his homily, Ozoria warned that, although social pastoral care is very important, when a priest prioritizes a social activity instead of celebrating the Mass, he fails to give the sacrament given by Christ its proper place.

“All these activities, without the Eucharist at the center, are empty, because in the Eucharist we have Jesus Christ, who is the center of our being,” Ozoria stated during a homily given before dozens of bishops, priests, and religious in attendance, along with the lay faithful.

Without this clarity, Ozoria continued, people are being taught “not with words but with actions that other things, other activities, are more important than the Eucharist,” he emphasized.

The archbishop of Santo Domingo went on to stress that the objective of Eucharistic congresses is “precisely to prioritize the sacrament of the Eucharist” and place it at “the center of Christian life, as the source and culmination of the life of the Church.”

And priests, he noted, “have to express this by all means. In our teachings, in our homilies, in all pastoral activities we must express this centrality of the Eucharist.”

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

CNA Staff, Sep 12, 2024 / 13:05 pm (CNA).

The bishops of North Dakota condemned a state ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana in a Tuesday statement, citing Church teaching on the harms of drug use as well as its negative physical and societal effects. 

Measure 5, if approved, would allow adults 21 and over to grow, sell, and use marijuana for recreational purposes. A similar ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana was rejected by North Dakota voters in 2018 and 2022.

“We believe individuals, families, and communities will be significantly harmed if recreational marijuana is legalized in our state,” the bishops wrote in the Sept. 10 statement. “We therefore strongly encourage Catholics and all other people of goodwill in North Dakota to vote ‘NO’ on Measure 5.”

Though cannabis is illegal on the federal level, recreational use of it is currently legal in 24 states and is on the ballot in three states: North Dakota, South Dakota, and Florida. 

The bishops noted that the substance can have harmful physical effects. 

“Marijuana is not the harmless drug that some imagine it to be,” they wrote. “Rather, there is ample evidence that regular marijuana use impairs brain functioning, stunts brain development, damages the lungs, and is linked to a lowered immune system.”

Marijuana can affect brain development in teenagers by impairing thinking, memory, and learning functions, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

“Regular marijuana use is also associated with mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and suicide,” the bishops continued. “Significant numbers of users become addicted to marijuana, and it often serves as a gateway to even harder drugs.”

Citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the bishops noted that as human life and health are gifts from God, the Church teaches that “the use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense” (CCC, 2291). 

“Thus, the political community has a duty to provide for ‘the protection of security and health [of the family], especially with respect to dangers like drugs’ (CCC, 2211),” the bishops continued. 

“Pope Francis recently spoke out against legalizing recreational drugs, calling such policies an ‘illusion’ that only leads to more drug use,” the bishops added.

The bishops also cited increased societal problems such as crime and hospitalizations due to cannabis use. 

“Other states that have gone down the road of legalizing recreational marijuana have seen spikes in drug use, mental health problems, crime, DUIs, emergency-room visits, hospitalizations, and workplace accidents, all associated with marijuana use. 

“Things have gotten so bad in Colorado that Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver issued a lengthy pastoral letter last December cataloging the extensive harms caused by recreational marijuana since its legalization in 2012, characterizing it as ‘disastrous to our society,’” the bishops noted. 

The legalization of marijuana “is destroying the health and social fabric of Colorado,” read a  2021 study on the impact of marijuana legalization in Colorado by Missouri Medicine. 

“Suicide, overdoses, ER visits, hospitalizations, and domestic and street violence due to cannabis are soaring while cannabis tax revenues are an anemic 0.98% of the 2021 state budget,” the study noted. 

“Likewise, just a few months ago, our brother bishops in Minnesota issued a pastoral letter warning of the serious risks of marijuana usage in the wake of its legalization last year,” the bishops added. “Why would we ever want to go down this same path?”

Rome Newsroom, Sep 12, 2024 / 12:35 pm (CNA).

At Mass with approximately 50,000 Catholics in Singapore on Thursday, Pope Francis recalled the example of the great missionary to Asia, St. Francis Xavier, who responded with enthusiasm to the call to spread God’s love.

The pontiff celebrated Mass in the Singapore National Stadium, a national landmark, on the last full day of his trip to four countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania Sept. 2–13.

The enthusiastic crowd ranged from young babies to the elderly. Among the mostly Singaporean attendees there were also migrant workers from Malaysia, Vietnamese Catholics, and a delegation from Hong Kong led by Cardinal Stephen Chow.

After visiting the majority-Muslim country of Indonesia, followed by the mostly Christian Papua New Guinea and the 98% Catholic East Timor, Pope Francis landed Wednesday in Singapore, a city-state with about 176,000 Catholics.

The Catholic Church in Singapore traces its roots to the first missionaries who, together with St. Francis Xavier, arrived in Malaysia in the 16th century. Singapore lies at the tip of Malaysia, an island separated only by a narrow strait.

In his homily, Pope Francis called St. Francis Xavier “a saint dear to this land, who found hospitality here many times during his missionary journeys,” including in July 1552, a few months before his death.

The pope quoted from a letter the saint wrote to St. Ignatius of Loyola and his first companions, saying he wanted to go to all the universities in order to cry out “like a madman … [to] those with more learning than charity” so that they might feel compelled to become missionaries for the love of their brothers and sisters, and to “cry out with all their heart: ‘Lord, I am here! What do you want me to do?’”

Recalling, as well, the day’s memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary, the pontiff said: “We too could make these words our own, following [St. Francis Xavier’s] and Mary’s example: ‘Lord, here I am; what do you want me to do?’ so that they may accompany us not only in these days but always, as a constant commitment to listening and responding readily to the invitations to love and live justly that continue to come to us today from the infinite love of God.”

Francis added that Mary “has given hope to so many people by her support and presence, which she continues to do!” 

“On how many lips has her name appeared, and continues to appear, in moments of joy and sorrow!” the pope said. “This is because in her we see the Father’s love manifested in one of the most beautiful and fulsome of ways, for in her we see the tenderness of a mother, who understands and forgives everything and who never abandons us. This is why we turn to her!”

The Singapore National Stadium has 55,000 seats and the largest free-span dome in the world at 1,017 feet. It was nearly at capacity for Thursday’s papal Mass in English, which included music by a large band and choir.

Chiarina Mapa, an Australian-Filipina living in Singapore, and her husband were thrilled to get to sing for Pope Francis in the choir.

“It was such a blessing to be able to sing for the pope,” Mapa, who is pregnant with her second son, told CNA. “The choir had been tirelessly practicing since July, fighting the heat during a 10-hour rehearsal yesterday, and up to the final hymn we really could feel all our voices just lifting up and glorifying the Lord.”

Edwin Lim Poh Hoi from St. Anne’s Church in Singapore told CNA he was baptized a Catholic 20 years ago at the age of 45. He decided to volunteer for Pope Francis’ Mass as an act of reparation for his past before he became a Christian.

Father Clarence Yue, who has a master’s degree in chemical engineering from MIT and was ordained a priest last month, was one of many priests to concelebrate Mass with Pope Francis. 

Traveling from Vietnam with his wife, Cong Lich Nguyen told CNA they hoped the pope would one day visit their country.

At Mass, Pope Francis reminded Catholics that “nothing lasting is born or grows without love.”

“Sometimes the greatness and grandeur of our projects can make us forget this and fool us into thinking that we can be the sole authors of our lives, of our wealth, our well-being, our happiness. Yet, ultimately, life brings us back to one reality: Without love we are nothing,” he added.

“Faith, then, confirms and enlightens us even more deeply regarding this conviction, because it tells us that at the root of our capacity to love and be loved is God himself.”

Singapore is considered a secular and pluralistic state and a multiethnic city. Approximately 43% of its more than 5 million inhabitants are Buddhist, about 20% are Christian, 14% are Muslim, and there is also a small percentage who practice Hinduism. But based on the most recent data from the Singapore Statistics Office, the Holy See reported that Christianity, and Catholicism in particular, is the only religion that is growing.

Pope Francis in his own homily quoted from the homily of St. John Paul II, who celebrated Mass in Singapore during a visit in November 1986.

“The love that God shows us, and that he invites us to share with others,” Francis said, “‘responds generously to the needs of the poor… is marked by compassion for those in sorrow… is quick to offer hospitality and is persevering in times of trial. It is always ready to forgive, to hope’ even to the point of returning ‘a blessing for a curse… love is the very center of the Gospel.’”

After meetings with authorities, clergy, and young people in Singapore, Pope Francis will return to Rome on Sept. 13.

Courtney Mares in Singapore and Kristina Millare in Rome contributed to this report.

Rome Newsroom, Sep 12, 2024 / 12:05 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Thursday praised Singapore for its “shining example” in building a united country based on harmony and cooperation but highlighted risks rapid progress could have on the family, human relationships, and the weakest members of society.      

A day after landing in the wealthy Southeast Asian city-state, also known as “Lion City,” the Holy Father met with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in separate meetings at Parliament House on Sept. 12.

The pope expressed his admiration for the dedication of the country’s past and present leaders to build unity amid a diversity of ethnicities, religions, and cultures.

“Like the star that guided the Magi, so let the light of wisdom always guide Singapore in building a united society capable of conveying hope,” the pope wrote in Singapore’s honor book in Parliament House.

Home to approximately 5.9 million people, Singapore was ranked by Global Finance as the world’s fourth-richest nation in 2024 with a GDP of $133,737. Since becoming a republic in 1965, led by the country’s first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, for 25 years, the country experienced rapid growth and transformation. 

In a speech addressed to civil leaders and the diplomatic corp at the National University of Singapore (NUS), the pope said the county is a clear testimony of human ingenuity and entrepreneurial dynamism. 

The Holy Father expressed hope that the nation with the motto “Majulah Singapura” (“Onward Singapore”) will not forget the poor, elderly, and migrant workers.

“I would like to highlight the risk entailed in focusing solely on pragmatism or placing merit above all things, namely the unintended consequence of justifying the exclusion of those on the margins from benefiting from progress,” the pope said to the country’s leaders.

“I recognize and commend the various policies and initiatives put in place to support the most vulnerable, and I hope that special attention will be paid to the poor and the elderly — whose labors have laid the foundations for the Singapore we see today — as well as to protecting the dignity of migrant workers,” the pope said. 

“These workers contribute a great deal to society and should be guaranteed a fair wage.”

In light of Singapore’s rapidly-aging population and low fertility rates, the pope emphasized his concern for family life and the need for genuine human relationships in a technologically advanced world.

“The sophisticated technologies of the digital age and rapid developments in the use of artificial intelligence must not lead us to forget about the essential need to cultivate real and concrete human relationships,” he said to those gathered in the university theater. 

“We see that the foundations on which families are built are being challenged by current social conditions and run the risk of being weakened,” he continued.

“Families must be allowed to transmit the values that give meaning and shape to life and to teach young people how to form solid and healthy relationships.” 

Last year, NUS published “Singapore Aging: Issues and Challenges Ahead,” a book written by the university’s academics and launched by Singapore’s former prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, highlighting the country’s need to adapt to the needs of a senior population. In 2020, 1 in 6 Singaporeans were age 65 or older.

On Friday, the final day of his longest, four-country apostolic journey to Asia and Oceania, Pope Francis will visit the elderly at the Catholic nursing home St. Theresa’s Home and attend a youth-led interreligious meeting at Catholic Junior College as well as celebrate Mass privately and have a private meeting with clergy and religious.

Polls show voters are concerned with other issues, such as inflation and immigration. But the environment continues to be a top concern for many voters, especially younger ones, and the issue crosses lines of faith and politics in ways that others don’t.