St. Columba Catholic Church

Letters to the editor: NCR readers respond to articles about psychological health in religious life, the 2024 U.S. presidential election, and the National Eucharistic Congress.

CNA Staff, Jul 26, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Many couples today face childlessness and infertility, but they are far from the first. Sts. Anne and Joachim, whose feast day is July 26, are known as the grandparents of Jesus and the parents of Mary. They, too, struggled with childlessness for decades, according to Christian legend.

As the story goes, Anne and Joachim faced childlessness at a time when there were few resources for infertility, and a lack of children was considered shameful. Their story can inspire reflection for modern couples and their intercession can be a source of comfort and assistance.  

Sts. Anne and Joachim struggled with infertility for decades. 

Anne and Joachin are believed to have struggled with infertility for two decades before conceiving Mary. 

While their story isn’t told in the New Testament, documents outside the biblical canon, such as the “Protoevangelium of James,” a second-century infancy gospel, offer some details about their lives. While these writings aren’t considered authoritative, they helped shape some of the stories and legends that have been handed down over the centuries about Joachim, Anne, and their daughter, Mary, including the couple’s decades-long struggle with infertility. 

Joachim and Anne spent time alone in prayer.

The “Protoevangelium of James” gives a detailed account of the couple’s prayers for a child. Joachim went out into the desert to pray and fast, while Anne remained at home. 

Joachim “did not come into the presence of his wife, but he retired to the desert,” the story says. There, he fasted and prayed for 40 days and nights. While he was away, Anne mourned their childlessness and lamented the absence of Joachim as if he were dead. Then, she went into the garden and prayed.  

Anne mourned her infertility, then turned to prayer.

While Anne was mourning, her maidservant Judith told her she should not mourn because a “great day of the Lord was at hand.” Anne changed out of her mourning clothes into her wedding garments. She began to pray, wandering the garden and gazing at a sparrow’s nest, the sky, and all that surrounded her.

“Alas! To what have I been likened? I am not like this earth, because even the earth brings forth its fruits in season, and blesses you, O Lord,” she prayed as she walked about the garden. 

An angel appeared to her then, saying she would conceive and her child would “be spoken of in all the world,” and Anne promised to dedicate her child to the Lord. 

Two more angels appeared to tell her Joachim was on his way home, for the Lord had heard his prayer: An angel had appeared to Joachim, telling him to return home and promising that his wife would conceive.

Because the angels had told her Joachim was returning, Anne went to meet him at the gate. The story includes the detail that she ran to him and “hung upon his neck,” embracing him upon his return.

Their struggle bore great fruit.

Though the couple initially viewed their infertility as a great sorrow and shame, God ultimately worked in and through their suffering. Joachim returned from the desert; Anne changed out of mourning clothes and into her wedding garments. Their story was transformed through the grace of God. 

The couple’s faith and perseverance also, eventually, resulted in the joy of conceiving and raising the immaculate and sinless woman, Mary, who would give birth to the savior of the world.

St. Anne is now known as the patron saint of mothers and those struggling with infertility, and she and her husband are the patron saints of grandparents and married couples.

If Jesuit schools are to avoid corporatization and make mission- and science-based greenhouse gas reduction commitments, they should require substantive formation in Catholic social teaching for senior administrators and trustees.

As he explained his decision to end his reelection campaign, President Joe Biden did not mention his Catholic faith. But his Catholicism informs this man's understanding of the moment, of himself, and of our nation.

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 25, 2024 / 18:30 pm (CNA).

On July 25, 1968, St. Paul VI published Humanae Vitae, an encyclical on the regulation of birth and the dangers involved in the use of artificial contraceptive methods and their imposition as state policy. At the time the encyclical was rejected by many even within the Catholic Church.

The document, published at the beginning of the sexual revolution, continues to draw mixed reactions, which is why it's necessary to take a closer look at five key points that allow us to better understand the encyclical, the context in which it was written, its prophetic message, and its validity even today. 

1. It is ordinary, definitive, and irreformable magisterial teaching.

Various priests, theologians, and laypeople frequently claim the encyclical only belongs to the ordinary magisterium of a pope and that as such, its content could change with another pope who comes later. However, Humane Vitae has been reaffirmed by the pontiffs who succeeded Paul VI.

St. John Paul II went so far as to affirm that “what is taught by the Church on contraception does not belong to a matter freely disputable between theologians. Teaching the opposite is equivalent to misleading the moral conscience of the spouses.”

Furthermore, the Polish pope maintained that the Catholic doctrine on contraception belongs to the moral doctrine of the Church and that this has been proposed “with uninterrupted continuity” because it is “a truth that cannot be disputed.”

Therefore, the doctrine of an encyclical belongs to the ordinary magisterium, however, if it is exercised continuously and definitively, it is irreformable, even if it is not infallible.

2. Humanae Vitae is a prophetic encyclical.

Various notable Catholics have characterized the encyclical as “prophetic and still pertinent.”

In 1968, the discussion about the negative impact of artificial contraceptives was just in its infancy; however, the document not only meant a concrete response to the debate surrounding sexual ethics, “but it meant at the time, and still means, a refusal of the Church, clear and explicit, to bow to the proposals and demands of the sexual revolution,” as explained by the Spanish Bishops’ Conference.

In 2018, the late archbishop of Warsaw, Henryk Hoser, noted that the voice of St. Paul VI in Humanae Vitae has been shown to be prophetic about contraceptives, as he “predicted that their application would open the easy way to marital infidelity and the general decrease in births.”

Furthermore, the archbishop stressed that the encyclical is always relevant because conjugal love, “physical or spiritual, must combine these two dimensions” and that it must always be a love “free of selfishness.”

Similarly, Spanish priest Javier “Patxi” Bronchalo stated in 2022 that the document warned at the time about the increase in marital infidelity, moral degradation, the general loss of dignity of women, and ideological colonization through government policies.

3. The encyclical underwent significant changes before being published.

According to research by an Italian scholar at the Vatican Apostolic Archive, Humanae Vitae should have been originally published on May 23, 1968, but then St. Paul VI decided to publish it on July 25.

This measure was taken by the pope, despite the fact that the document was already printed in Latin under the title De Nascendae Prolis (Of Children to Be Born), because he considered that it was very dense in doctrine and that it was not pastorally adequate.

After some changes to the original document, Paul VI “took the entire pastoral section and added a series of very sensitive points that still reveal his imprint today.”

4. St. Paul VI consulted the bishops before publishing the encyclical.

Some accuse St. Paul VI of having published the encyclical Humanae Vitae without consulting the bishops. However, the Italian scholar’s research reveals the opposite. During the 1967 Synod of Bishops, the pope asked all prelates to share with him their position on the issue.

Of the almost 200 bishops participating in the synod, only 26 responded in the period from Oct. 9, 1967, to May 31, 1968. Of this group, 19 expressed themselves in favor of contraceptives and only seven against them.

Of these seven, the best known and most important were the venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen and the then-archbishop of Krakow, Poland, Karol Wojtyla, who would become St. John Paul II, who always wanted to be remembered as “the pope of the family,” as Pope Francis stated during the canonization of the Polish pope in 2014.

The then-secretary of state, Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, said that “on the morning of July 25, 1968, Paul VI celebrated the Mass of the Holy Spirit, asked for light from on high and signed: He signed his most difficult signature, one of his most glorious signatures. He signed his own passion.”

5. Humanae Vitae promotes rational thinking about sexuality.

According to the Jesuit Bertrand de Margerie, being rational about sex does not evoke an indiscriminate and complete autonomy of the intimate life of the couple nor the use of artificial means to control births but rather the exercise of the virtue of chastity.

“The acquired virtue of chastity penetrates with reasonableness the exercise of sexual life when the latter is legitimate,” the Jesuit priest wrote, citing St. Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologica.

“By encouraging periodic continence and the regulation of births without artificial control, Paul VI rightly exalts a humble and complete rationalization of the sexual sphere subjected to the knowledge of human reason and to the control of freedom helped by grace,” the priest pointed out.

“He does not appeal to instincts,” the Jesuit explained, “which are common to men and to other animals and which are deprived of reason, but he appeals to man’s freedom, through which man resembles pure spirits such as angels are.”

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

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

The Senate voted overwhelmingly to advance extensive regulations that its supporters say will protect the safety and privacy of children on the internet.

In a rare show of bipartisanship, the Senate voted 86-1 on a procedural vote that paved the way for two child online protection bills to pass the Senate within the coming weeks. Sen. Rand Paul, a libertarian-leaning Republican, was the only senator to vote against advancing the bills.

The current versions of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) emerged from months of dialogue with families and child safety advocates, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office.

Under KOSA, the government would impose a “duty of care” on social media platforms. This means the companies could be held legally liable if they are negligent in their efforts to prevent children from accessing harmful material.

Bullying and harassment, as well as sexual and violent material, are listed as harmful material covered by the legislation. The bill would also require platforms to work to prevent children from accessing material that could contribute to anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and various other harm.

The bill would require social media platforms to allow children to opt out of algorithmic recommendations and give parents control over how platforms can use their children’s information. It would also require independent audits of the platforms.

COPPA 2.0 would prohibit companies from collecting any data on users 16 years old or younger, unless first receiving consent. It would also ban targeted advertising for children and create a “Digital Marketing Bill of Rights for Teens” to restrict data collected on teenagers.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy said on the Senate floor that updating the regulations for the internet is long overdue.

“Rules from 25 years ago can not effectively govern social media sites that did not exist 25 years ago [and] were not conceived of 25 years ago,” Cassidy said. “We’ve waited too long to update these rules.”

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, one of the co-sponsors of KOSA, said on the Senate floor that the bill “empowers young people and parents.” 

“It gives them choices,” Blumenthal continued. “It enables them to take back control over their own lives. It enables the strongest settings of safety by default, it requires companies to disable destructive product features. It gives young people and parents tools to opt out, to choose not to be a part of algorithm recommendations … [and to] shield themselves against online predators and options to protect their own information.”

Melissa Henson, the vice president of the Parents Television and Media Council, which endorsed both bills, told CNA that children have been subjected to bullying and sextortion schemes on social media platforms. She said many platforms have caused body image problems for girls and are linked to other mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression.

“A lot of these social media platforms are not designed with children’s mental health and well-being in mind,” Henson said, but added that social media platforms are “aware of these problems.”

“These media companies aren’t doing enough to protect kids,” Henson said.

Adam Candeub, the director of the Intellectual Property, Information, and Communications Law Program at Michigan State University, told CNA that it is “amazing” that the legislation will likely get a vote “after years of effort and tremendous opposition.” Candeub has long advocated for legislation to protect children online. 

“KOSA’s duty of care will expose online platforms to liability if they fail to implement design features that ‘prevent and mitigate harm to minors,’” Candeub said. “However, the devil is in the details. The question will be how the enforcers, whether the courts or federal agencies or in some cases the state attorney generals who may bring suit, will understand this vague legal duty.”

Sen. Paul, who was the lone “no” vote on advancing the legislation, called the bills “a Trojan horse” and warned of a “stifling of First Amendment protected speech” when speaking on the Senate floor.

Paul said that “everyone will have a different belief as to what causes harm … [and as to] how platforms should go about protecting minors from that harm.” He added that the “fear of liability [and the] fear of lawsuits … is going to cause people to censor themselves.”

Some social media platforms, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have also opposed the bills based on concerns that they will lead to online censorship. 

The bills could receive a final vote in the Senate next week. If they pass, they will be sent to the House of Representatives for consideration.

CNA Staff, Jul 25, 2024 / 17:50 pm (CNA).

A Manhattan federal court sentenced Bevelyn Beatty Williams, a 33-year-old pro-life activist, to three years and five months in prison July 24 for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.

Williams was convicted of “interference, including by threats and force, with individuals seeking to obtain and provide” abortions, according to the Department of Justice. The wife and mother was sentenced after preaching the Gospel outside an abortion clinic and allegedly injuring a clinic worker’s hand and blocking the entrance.  

“I was persecuted as a Christian standing for my beliefs when it comes to life,” read a statement from Williams on her fundraising page. “This is devastating news. Not only is this bond extensive for the accused crime, but she made it very clear in the courtroom that she was going to make an example out of me.” 

A Department of Justice July 24 press release detailed that Williams leaned against the clinic door, blocking a clinic worker from entering, and trapping another worker’s hand inside the door.

The release noted that according to a livestream on social media posted by Williams, she “stood within inches of the Health Center’s chief administrative officer and threatened to ‘terrorize this place’ and warned that ‘we’re gonna terrorize you so good, your business is gonna be over mama.’”

Williams, who has a 2-year-old daughter, intends to appeal the decision.

“The concern of being a young mother, and a stay-at-home mother, was completely disregarded,” Williams continued.

“She told me before sentencing me that I was young and that I would not be defined by my sentence, before making a conscious decision to take me away from my 2-year-old daughter for three years,” Williams said of the judge. “I have 60 days to appeal my case and fight for my freedom and I need as much help as I can get!”

Williams, born in Staten Island, New York, had her first abortion at the age of 15 after she dropped out of high school, according to her ministry website At Well Ministries. She later went on to have two more abortions and went down a “self-destructive” path of drugs and drinking. 

After she was arrested for money laundering, she had a conversion experience and “upon her release moved forward with the determination to choose a new path.” She co-founded At Well Ministries, which specializes in street ministry and ministry to the homeless, and she later made a shift toward pro-life activism. 

Williams is one of many pro-life activists who have been sentenced under the FACE Act in recent years, including several elderly people and a Catholic priest.

Baghdad, Iraq, Jul 25, 2024 / 16:30 pm (CNA).

The bishops of the Chaldean Synod on July 16 issued a statement declaring their position on the blessing of same-sex unions as well as the necessity of protecting children from sexual abuse.

The synod emphasized “the necessity of protecting children from sexual harassment and raising awareness among priests about its dangers,” stressing the importance of priests participating in child protection programs and obtaining certification from the local ecclesiastical authority.

The statement also clarified the position of the Chaldean Church — both in Iraq and worldwide — “regarding the union of two people of the same sex.” The synod asserted that the Chaldean Church does not recognize same-sex unions as marriage, as the legitimate and correct form of marriage for them is one that unites one man and one woman to form a family.

The statement concluded by firmly rejecting the blessing of same-sex unions in order “to preserve the sanctity of marriage” as one of the seven sacraments of the Church.

The Vatican previously issued directives allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples. These directives were framed as an expression of pastoral closeness without condoning sexual relations between people of the same sex.

These directives sparked controversy, prompting the Vatican to issue a subsequent clarification, especially after the misunderstanding led the Coptic Church to suspend dialogue with the Latin Church.

The clarification stated that the nonliturgical form of the blessing is not a marriage, nor is it an endorsement or approval of same-sex relationships, but “merely a response from the pastor to two people seeking God’s help.”

This article was first published by ACI Mena, CNA's Arabic-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

ACI Digital, Jul 25, 2024 / 16:00 pm (CNA).

Requests for financial compensation for victims of sexual abuse committed in the Church in Portugal will be analyzed by two commissions, one to analyze the cases and the other to determine the amounts of compensation, the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference (CEP) said in regulations published Thursday.

“Financial compensation should represent a significant benefit and be proportional to the seriousness of the damage assessed, without the pretension of paying what is unpayable or annulling what, unfortunately, cannot be annulled,” the CEP regulations say.

In February 2023, the final report of the Independent Commission for the Study of the Sexual Abuse of Children in the Catholic Church in Portugal was released. According to the document, from 1950 to 2022 there were at least 4,815 victims in the country. Following this report, the VITA Group was created to monitor situations of sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults in the context of the Catholic Church in Portugal.

In April of this year, the CEP approved at its 209th Plenary Assembly the awarding of financial compensation to victims of sexual abuse against children and vulnerable people in the Church in Portugal. The same decision was taken by the Conference of Religious Institutes of Portugal at its general assembly that same month.

Analysis of requests for financial compensation

According to the regulations published July 25, applications for compensation, which began to be submitted June 1, can be made until Dec. 31. They can be made “by the victims, or their legal representative, to the VITA Group, to the diocesan Commissions for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults, or to the services of religious institutes and societies of apostolic life.”

“An investigation commission will be set up for each request for compensation,” the regulations say. This commission “is responsible for examining requests for financial compensation, ascertaining the facts committed, the nature and extent of the damage suffered, as well as the causal link between the fact and the damage.” After the analysis, it must draw up an opinion on the “merits or unfoundedness of the request for financial compensation.”

This commission will be made up of two people, one appointed by the VITA Group and the other by the coordinator of the respective diocesan commission or, in the case of religious institutes and societies of apostolic life, by the competent authority of the institute. It will also include “at least one professional from the field of forensic psychology and, if necessary, from the field of forensic psychiatry (with experience in medical-legal evaluations in this specific context), and if possible a jurist.”

The case then goes to the compensation committee, whose “function will no longer be to determine the facts but to determine the amount of compensation to be awarded.”

It will be made up of seven people, mostly lawyers with experience in the area. Two will be appointed by CEP, two by the national coordination team of the diocesan Commissions for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults, one by the Conference of Religious Institutes of Portugal, and two by the VITA Group.

“The opinions issued by either the instruction committee or the compensation committee must be presented, duly substantiated and under seal, to the Portuguese Episcopal Conference or to the competent major superior, who will decide on them in definitive terms, respectively,” the regulations say.

The final decision, “duly justified, will be notified to the author of the request, to the commission for the determination of compensation, and to the commission for the investigation of the case.”

The financial compensation payments will be made through a fund created by the CEP, which will count on the solidarity contribution of all Portuguese dioceses as well as religious institutes and societies of apostolic life.

The CEP regulations state that “regardless of the request for financial compensation,” “medical, psychological, and/or psychotherapeutic support for victims of sexual abuse practiced within the Church” will continue to be provided.

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

Vatican City, Jul 25, 2024 / 15:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Thursday appointed Father Kevin Kenney as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. 

The bishop-elect, born and raised in Minneapolis, currently serves as parish priest of St. Olaf Parish as well as administrator of Sts. Cyril and Methodius Parish within the archdiocese. 

In an interview with The Catholic Spirit, the official news service of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Kenney said he was only informed of the Holy Father’s desire to appoint him bishop late last month and is grateful to continue his work as a “missionary” of Jesus Christ.

“Every time I now pass a picture of Pope Francis, I thank him for the new and blessed adventure that is ahead,” the 64-year-old bishop-elect said.

“I thought to myself, ‘I began as a missionary and now I will end as a missionary, going into the world in a new way, to proclaim and live the good news of Jesus Christ.”

Kenney’s missionary spirit was forged when he moved to Chicago to join the Claretian Missionaries, a religious community of priests and brothers founded by St. Anthony Marie Claret. He served as a lay volunteer and volunteer director with the community in the 1980s.

It was during his years of service and spiritual formation with the Claretian Missionaries in Chicago that Kenney discerned his call to be a missionary in his home diocese. According to The Catholic Spirit he entered formation with the Claretians and studied at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

After five years in formation, he discerned that he was called to diocesan priesthood, entered the St. Paul Seminary, and was ordained a priest of the archdiocese in 1994. 

Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis said Pope Francis has chosen “such a fine pastor” and looks forward to working more closely with Kenney.

“I am grateful that the Holy Father has recognized in Bishop-elect Kenney the same exceptionally compassionate priestly heart that I have come to know in the nine years that I have been serving here [in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis],” Hebda said in a statement.

The archbishop added that Kenney, also known as “RevKev” in St. Olaf’s Parish, has vast experience and is popular with the Latino community. According to The Catholic Spirit, Kenney served as vicar for Latino Ministry in St. Paul and Minneapolis from 2010 to 2018.

This morning, Hebda introduced the new bishop-elect to the local faithful at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center in St. Paul. Kenney emphasized the importance of welcoming everyone at church, even the homeless.

He said that when he first arrived at St. Olaf, there were security guards at the church doors.

“I realized, as I was taken back by it, everyone is, especially the homeless, especially those who are suffering in one way or another in their life,” he said.

Kenney said that the homeless population had been “riled up,” but when the security guards were no longer there, he said, the tension immediately dropped.

“People need to be respected for who they are. A simple hello, a simple good morning, a simple smile,” he said. “As they came through the door, they left then everything outside to have a place where they could come to feel safe, to use the restroom, to get a drink of water, to get some clothes, food, whatever it is that we could offer, and to appreciate them and acknowledge them, and not just to brush them off and to pretend they weren’t there, but to be able to keep our doors open to welcome them.”