Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku of Sudan's El Obeid Diocese. / Credit: CRN

ACI Africa, Dec 6, 2024 / 10:55 am (CNA).

The bishop of the Diocese of El-Obeid in Sudan has shared his harrowing experience at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who tortured him and left him seriously injured.

Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku Andali, who was accompanied by a deacon, fell into the hands of the paramilitary force while he was traveling to the embattled country.

He shared his horrific experience with Bishop Edward Hiiboro Kussala of South Sudan’s Diocese of Tombura-Yambio, who shared the report with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, on Dec. 1. Neither bishop was available to provide more details of where the bishop and the deacon were travelling from when they met their assailants.

In the report, Tombe Trille, a former president of the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, wrote about how he and the deacon were first harassed by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), who are in conflict with the RSF in the country’s worst civil war, which is ongoing.

He wrote to Hiiboro, saying: “I just arrived in El Obeid together with Deacon Joseph. This time, I was badly treated.”

He reported: “From the side of the army, some little cash in USD was taken on pretext that I was carrying the forbidden hard currency.”

After the harassment by the SAF, the two ran into the RSF, who beat up the bishop and left him for dead. 

“On the side of Rapid Forces, I was given countless heavy blows on the neck, forehead, on my face and two sides of my head,” the bishop said.

When he wrote to his fellow bishop, Tombe Trille said he was so seriously injured that he could not move his jaws. “I can’t bite food,” he said. 

“Together with [Deacon Joseph], we narrowly missed martyrdom [before] one leader said, ‘That is enough,’” he said in his note to Hiiboro, in which he also expressed gratitude for the “prayers of many.” 

This is not the first time Tombe Trille has stared death in the face as war rages on in Sudan, where he has been serving since he was ordained a member of the clergy of El-Obeid 33 years ago.

On April 20, 2023, just five days after fighting between SAF and RSF erupted, the 60-year-old bishop and some other clergy narrowly escaped death when rockets hit the premises of his cathedral, destroying the main gate of Mary Queen of Africa Cathedral and the priests’ residence.

The incident is said to have occurred when the bishop of El-Obeid and the priests were praying. Thankfully no one was injured.

Tombe Trille has been vocal about the Sudanese war that has reportedly led to tens of thousands of deaths and massive displacements, questioning the willingness of the warring parties to lay down their weapons.

The war, now in its second year, has reportedly led to 61,202 deaths, according to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s Sudan Research Group, which also reported that 26,024 of those killed died from direct injuries owing to the conflict.

In an interview with ACI Africa last year, Tombe Trille lamented that dialogue between the two opposing forces had been given a wide berth, saying: “So far there is not even a clue to the light of peace dialogue that can bring hope for the Sudanese.”

“I believe that our leaders are not ready for peace. Fighting and conflict have the upper hand as we hear them say, ‘Unless we defeat the other group we won’t put down weapons,’” he said.

The bishop cautioned that “the more the fighting, the more people get scattered” and “the more hatred grows among various Sudanese ethnic groups.”

He appealed for prayers, noting that the humanitarian situation in the country was dire.

He further appealed to the people of neighboring South Sudan to share the little they have with the Sudanese who are fleeing the conflict and to make the refugees feel at home. 

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson on “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo” Dec. 5, 2024, said he originally wrote a book “three times” as long as his latest, “We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine,” and said that there’s “another book coming that includes the story of Job and the and the story of the Passion.” / Credit: EWTN News “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo”/Screenshot

CNA Staff, Dec 6, 2024 / 10:25 am (CNA).

Renowned Canadian psychology professor Jordan Peterson on Thursday described the Bible as a collection of “world-ordering,” “civilization-engendering” ideas — a source of profound wisdom, psychological insight, and moral guidance that he said ought to point readers to Jesus Christ. 

“There’s an idea that Christians know well: that the biblical stories, as they’re aggregated, edited, and sequenced, are pointing to something. And what they’re pointing to, of course, is the passion of Christ,” Peterson said during the Dec. 5 episode of EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo.” 

Peterson, a countercultural influencer and author who is promoting his new book “We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine,” has often focused in his work on what he sees as a human need for meaning-making, which he says is regularly expressed through religious belief.

He has in recent years expressed appreciation and respect for aspects of Christianity and Catholicism, such as the sacrament of confession and the Church’s tradition of moral and spiritual discipline, while stopping short of announcing a desire to convert to the faith.

In the past, Peterson has opined that Catholicism “is as sane as people can get” and hosts a popular series of online lectures on the Bible, a book he described to Arroyo as “a collection of stories, each of which provides a different characterization of God, or you could say a different definition.”

“While there’s many definitions of God in the biblical library, they do conclude that there’s an underlying unity which is finally expressed in the figure of Christ, which I also think … seems appropriate,” he told Arroyo.

There’s more to come

In his new book, Peterson examines several stories of the Old Testament, contending that these scriptural texts offer profound insights into the human condition, the nature of good and evil, and the relationship between humanity and God. Referring to the Bible as a “library,” Peterson said he originally wrote a book “three times” as long and said there’s “another book coming that includes the story of Job and the story of the Passion.”

Peterson said he has “spent most of [his] life trying to understand the origins of evil,” a search he said necessarily raises questions about the reality of God. 

“You see, once you admit to the reality of evil, you’re backed into a corner theologically. Because if evil exists, then its opposite exists, right? And then if good exists, well, then the question ‘What constitutes the highest form of good?’ is an obvious follow up,” he told Arroyo. 

Christianity proposes, as opposed to the pagan worship of nature, for example, a relationship with the divine that is “personal and much more psychological,” he said.

“[T]here’s a spirit at work at the beginning of time, now and forever, that contends with chaotic possibility and engenders the order that’s ‘good.’ And then the secondary proposition is that what it means to be man and woman alike is to bear the image of that process. And … I think both of those things are correct.”

Citing St. John Henry Newman’s view of conscience as a powerful argument for the existence of God, Peterson also noted that popular myths and stories, such as Pinocchio or Harry Potter, are compelling to people because they “fill a void … left by the partial demise of Christianity.” 

He also described God as a “tricky character” who appears in unexpected ways throughout human experience.

“God has died many times in human history and been reborn many, many times. And you see that in the Exodus story, when Moses disappears, the voice of the prophet and the people fall into hedonistic golden calf worship, it’s exactly the same thing. There’s no removing, there’s no eradicating the central unity that characterizes the human spirit without eradicating the human itself,” he asserted. 

‘A joy to behold’

Peterson’s wife, Tammy, converted to Catholicism earlier this year after a recovery from a rare form of kidney cancer that many considered miraculous. Tammy said she found solace and healing during her ordeal through prayer, particularly the rosary, aided by a friend’s daily guidance.

While Tammy’s journey affected Peterson deeply, and he has expressed openness to the idea that her healing was miraculous, Peterson demurred when asked if the experience had strengthened his own faith. He went on to say that his wife’s healing “hasn’t been so much something that transformed me as it has been something that’s been a joy to behold, let’s say.”

“One of the things that was remarkable about the way that she conducted herself while she was ill, and mortally ill as far as we were all concerned … she conducted herself in an exemplary manner. And that was the miracle,” Peterson told Arroyo. 

“I mean, she did survive her cancer, which is something very difficult to account for. But the miracle, I would say more precisely, was in the equanimity that was manifested.”

Tammy’s newfound Catholic faith has “been nothing but good for her. And it’s a wonderful thing to see. And so now, has that increased my faith in God? Well, like I said, it was already there to a large degree,” Peterson said. 

“Everything I do is an act of faith. Now, whether I’m doing it perfectly or not, that’s a whole different question,” he told Arroyo. 

Arroyo’s entire interview with Peterson can be seen below.

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament along route of Chartres pilgrimage June 9, 2019. / Credit: Benjamin Crockett/EWTN

Vatican City, Dec 6, 2024 / 09:55 am (CNA).

The Vatican Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is reportedly looking into enforcing restrictions on the Latin Mass at the annual Chartres pilgrimage, according to a French media outlet.

The three-day walking pilgrimage from Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris to the Chartres over Pentecost weekend culminates in a massive Latin Mass inside the Notre-Dame de Chartres Cathedral. The pilgrimage drew a record attendance of 18,000 people earlier this year.

Citing anonymous sources in Paris and Rome, La Croix reported that Vatican officials are examining whether the Latin Mass offered in the Chartres cathedral at the conclusion of the popular pilgrimage is in accordance with the restrictions laid out in Traditionis Custodes, the motu proprio Pope Francis issued in 2021 that sharply curtailed the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass worldwide.

In February 2023, Pope Francis issued a rescript that required bishops to seek specific approval from the Dicastery for Divine Worship before designating the use of additional parish churches for the Latin Mass.

Last year, the Vatican enforced restrictions on the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage, which was denied permission to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica.

The 2025 edition of the Chartres pilgrimage organized by the Notre-Dame de Chrétienne association is scheduled to take place from June 7–9, 2025.

The reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris this weekend would make it possible for the pilgrimage to begin inside of the Paris cathedral for the first time since the Notre Dame fire in 2019.

The U.S./Mexico border in El Paso, Texas. / Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA

CNA Staff, Dec 6, 2024 / 09:25 am (CNA).

The Catholic bishops of New Mexico this week articulated a strongly worded statement against a policy of mass deportation of unauthorized immigrants, a policy that President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to enact. 

“A mass deportation policy will not fix the broken immigration system but, rather, create chaos, family separation, and the traumatization of children,” wrote Archbishop John Wester of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, Bishop Peter Baldacchino of the Diocese of Las Cruces, and Bishop James Wall of the Diocese of Gallup in a statement reported on by the Santa Fe New Mexican. 

“While removing those who cause harm to us is necessary, deporting immigrants who have built equities in our communities and pose no threat is contrary to humanitarian principles and to our national interest,” the bishops continued. 

“We urge the new administration to rethink this proposed deportation policy and instead return to bipartisan negotiations to repair the U.S. immigration system.”

New Mexico shares a 180-mile border with Mexico and relies heavily on migrants to provide labor. There were an estimated 25,000-75,000 immigrants residing in New Mexico illegally in 2022, according to Pew Research Center estimates. 

The New Mexico bishops’ statement follows words last month by fellow borderlands Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, head of the U.S. bishops’ migration committee, who said that if the Trump administration advances immigration measures that violate basic human rights, the nation’s Catholic bishops are prepared to “raise our voice loudly.”

Seitz said the bishops were “concerned” about Trump’s immigration rhetoric on the campaign trail — including Trump’s estimate of “around a million people per year” deported — but that they “don’t want to get ahead” of the administration before it announces its concrete plans.

“We are waiting to see just what exactly takes shape,” Seitz said Nov. 12, speaking to the media at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) fall meeting in Baltimore. 

Seitz said the USCCB recognizes that some immigrants have not entered the country legally but stressed that the U.S. government should distinguish between those who have committed additional crimes from those who, “for the benefit of our country, should be able to remain.”

There are an estimated 11.7 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. as a whole, according to July 2023 statistics from the Center for Migration Studies. Trump has promised to deport all migrants illegally in the country and said that the plan, which has been criticized as financially unfeasible, “will have no price tag.” The proposal has proven highly controversial within Catholic circles. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that countries, especially wealthier ones, should try to welcome migrants “to the extent they are able” but that nations also have the right to regulate migration.

Experts cited by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, while noting that a policy of mass deportations would be economically disruptive, also warned that it risks creating a “police state” where human dignity and the right to seek asylum is undermined, harming family unity and the common good. 

Others, meanwhile, including Ken Cuccinelli, former acting deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Trump, contend that the scale of the prospective deportation program has no bearing on the underlying moral dimension.

“I don’t think the scale really has any effect on the moral question of it,” Cuccinelli, a Catholic, told the Register. 

“Richer nations have an obligation to welcome migrants, and migrants have an obligation to respect the laws and customs of the place to which they are migrating, and the people we are talking about haven’t done that,” said Cuccinelli, referencing the catechism.

Paul Hunker, a Catholic and an immigration attorney who previously served as chief counsel of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Dallas, told CNA this week that he believes it is “quite reasonable” for Catholics to oppose a program of “large-scale arrests by ICE targeting undocumented noncitizens.” 

“Many of these individuals have lived in the United States for years and have deep ties, including children and spouses who are U.S. citizens. Removing such individuals inflicts significant harm on them, their families, and society,” Hunker noted. 

He pointed to a notable dissent from a 19th-century U.S. Supreme Court case upholding the removal of long-term resident noncitizens in which Justice Stephen Field wrote that “a forcible deportation from a country of one’s residence and the breaking up of all the relations of friendship, family, and business there contracted” constitutes a “cruel and unusual” punishment. 

“While this may not fully apply to those who have only recently arrived in the United States, it resonates for most long-term resident noncitizens,” Hunker said. 

For his part, Pope Francis over the summer delivered some of the clearest words in his papacy yet in support of migrants and in rebuke of those who turn away from them. 

“It must be said clearly: There are those who work systematically and with every means possible to repel migrants,” the pope said during a weekly general audience. “And this, when done with awareness and responsibility, is a grave sin.”

The last ordinary public consistory to create new cardinals took place on Sept. 30, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Dec 6, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

On Saturday, Dec. 7, Pope Francis will create 21 new cardinals at a consistory in Rome, including the archbishops of Tehran, Iran; Tokyo; and Toronto.

Here’s everything you need to know:

What is a consistory?

Cardinals are the pope’s closest assistants and advisers from all around the world. A consistory is a formal meeting of the College of Cardinals. The pope can convene them for a number of reasons.

One of the most common reasons for a consistory, as is the case here, is to create new cardinals. The ceremony in which the pope makes cardinals is known as an ordinary public consistory. 

Another consistory the pope may convene is an ordinary consistory to vote on the causes of new saints, the last step before a formal canonization can take place.

There are also extraordinary consistories, in which every cardinal is expected to take part, barring a serious reason.

The last ordinary public consistory to create new cardinals took place on Sept. 30, 2023. The new cardinals included Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem; Cardinal Stephen Chow of Hong Kong; and Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Who is being made cardinal this weekend?

Twenty-one men from around the world will “receive the red hat” and become cardinals at the consistory this month.

Among them is Archbishop Frank Leo, metropolitan archbishop of Toronto in Canada; Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi, SVD, metropolitan archbishop of Tokyo in Japan; Archbishop Dominique Joseph Mathieu, OFM Conv, archbishop of Tehran-Ispahan, a Belgian missionary bishop in Iran; Father Fabio Baggio, CS, undersecretary for the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development (from Italy); Father Timothy Radcliffe, OP, a theologian from the United Kingdom; and Archbishop Domenico Battaglia of Naples, Italy.

A list along with an analysis of each cardinal-elect’s spiritual motto and coat of arms can be found here.

What will actually happen at this consistory?

In addition to giving each new cardinal their hat, or biretta, Pope Francis at the Dec. 7 liturgy at St. Peter’s Basilica will place a ring on the hand of each new cardinal while saying: “Receive this ring from the hand of Peter and know that, with the love of the prince of the apostles, your love for the Church is strengthened.” They will also each receive the formal decree (or papal bull) announcing their creation as a cardinal.

The scarlet biretta is, as the pope will recite, a “sign of the dignity of the cardinalate, signifying your readiness to act with courage, even to the shedding of your blood, for the increase of the Christian faith, for the peace and tranquility of the people of God, and for the freedom and growth of the holy Roman Church.”

Immediately before, the new cardinals will make a profession of faith by reciting the Creed. They then pronounce an oath of fidelity and obedience to the pope and his successors.

The pope will also assign each new cardinal a church in the Diocese of Rome, called a “titular church.” This further links the cardinal to Rome and to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome.

The other members of the College of Cardinals, clergy, Catholics, and members of the public may all attend a consistory to create cardinals.

So, how many cardinals will there be, and why does it matter?

St. Paul VI established in 1970 that cardinals aged 80 and over cannot participate in the process of electing a pope — thus, cardinals who are younger than 80 are known as “electors.” Paul VI also established a numerical limit for the number of electors, capping it at 120, but the number occasionally has risen above that number.   

The number of cardinal electors in the college — and indeed the number of cardinals in general — is always changing, since at any time cardinals may be celebrating their 80th birthday or may have died.

As of October of this year, 15 members of the College of Cardinals have turned 80 since the last consistory, thus losing their chance to participate in a future papal election, according to the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner.

After the December consistory, there will be 141 cardinal electors (barring the unexpected death of any of the cardinals) — 111 (79%) of whom have been appointed by Pope Francis.

Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has created 142 cardinals from 70 countries at nine consistories.

St. Nicholas, by Jaroslav Čermák (1831-1878). / Credit: Galerie Art Praha via Wikimedia (public domain)

Vatican City, Dec 6, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

St. Nicholas, whose feast day is celebrated on Dec. 6, is known to possibly be the real-life inspiration for the beloved Christmas character of Santa Claus.

Not a lot is known about the historical Nicholas, who was bishop of Myra, a Greek city in modern-day Turkey, during the fourth century A.D.

But there are many stories and legends that explain his reputation as a just and upright man, charitable gift-giver, and miracle-worker.

Here are five things to know and share about St. Nicholas:

1. There is a legend behind why St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children.

Many people know that St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children, but they may not know why he has that title.

There is a grisly legend that says that during a famine in Myra, three young boys were lured into a butcher’s shop, where they were killed and then brined in a wooden barrel with the intention of being sold as “ham.” The good bishop worked a miracle, bringing the pickled children back to life and saving them from a gruesome fate.

This story became the subject of many portrayals of Nicholas in art, especially during the Middle Ages. Some people believe depictions of Bishop Nicholas with the three boys led to his reputation as a protector of children.

The legend of the brining may explain how he also became, oddly, the patron saint of brewers and coopers (people who make wooden casks, barrels, vats, troughs, and similar containers from timber).

2. He is one of the foremost saints in the Russian Orthodox Church.

St. Nicholas is a unifying figure among Catholics and Orthodox Christians since both churches venerate him.

He is incredibly important in the Russian Orthodox Church, where he is known as St. Nicholas the Wonderworker for the many miracles attributed to him both during and after his life.

To the Orthodox, Nicholas is principally honored for his qualities as a holy bishop and a good shepherd of his people.

Also, in their weekly liturgical cycle, which dedicates different days of the week to Jesus Christ and other saints, only three are specifically named: Mary, the Mother of God, John the Forerunner (known to Catholics as St. John the Baptist), and St. Nicholas.

Nicholas did not leave behind any theological writings, but when he was made a bishop, he is credited with saying that “this dignity and this office demand different usage, in order that one should live no longer for oneself but for others.”

3. Was he really jolly ol’ St. Nicholas?

Because of his popularity among Orthodox Christians, St. Nicholas is a favorite subject in iconography.

But don’t be surprised if, among the hundreds of icons depicting him, you don’t see any merry dimples or a “round little belly.” He does have a white beard, though.

4. He is the patron saint of unmarried people, fishermen, pawnbrokers, and the falsely accused.

One of the most popular legends about Nicholas is that the saint, who is said to have come from a wealthy family, secretly helped a poor man with three daughters.

The father could not provide proper dowries for the girls to marry, and without husbands to support them, they might have been forced to turn to prostitution.

After learning about the situation, Nicholas secretly slipped a bag of gold coins through the family’s window while they were sleeping. He later left a second bag of coins, and likewise, another bag for the third daughter, at which point, the legend says, the father, who had waited up all night, “caught” Nicholas red-handed in his gift-giving. But Nicholas made him promise to keep the secret.

The story is likely the explanation for why the modern Christmas character of Santa Claus brings his gifts for children under the cover of night.

In artworks referencing this legend, the three bags of coins are often depicted as three golden balls. Images of gold balls were also used to mark the shops of pawnbrokers, which is probably how Nicholas came to be their patron saint, too.

One of many miracles attributed to St. Nicholas happened at sea as he traveled aboard a boat to the Holy Land. Nicholas is a patron saint of sailors and travelers because he calmed the stormy waters that threatened their lives.

His patronage of the falsely accused can be attributed to an early story about his rescue of three innocent men moments before their execution. It is said that St. Nicholas, then bishop of Myra, boldly pushed away the executioner’s sword, released the men from their chains, and angrily reprimanded a juror who had taken a bribe to find them guilty.

5. He has two feast days.

Most people know that Nicholas’ feast day is celebrated on Dec. 6, the day he died in the year 343, but for East Slavs, as well as the people of Bari, Italy, May 9 is also an important day to celebrate the saint.

That date is the anniversary of the day that St. Nicholas’ relics were moved from Myra, in present-day Turkey, to Bari, not long after the Great Schism of Catholics and Orthodox in 1054 A.D.

Accounts differ over whether the transmission of the relics was theft or an attempt by Christian sailors to preserve the saint’s remains from destruction by the Turks. But whatever the real reason, the relics can still be venerated today in the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Bari.

Pope Francis has visited Bari, in Italy’s southern region of Puglia, two times during his papacy. During both the 2018 and 2020 visits, he stopped in the basilica’s crypt to venerate St. Nicholas’ relics.

The pontifical basilica is an important place of ecumenism, since the Catholic Church welcomes many Eastern Catholics and Orthodox Christians to the pilgrimage site. In the crypt, where St. Nicholas is buried, there is also an altar for the celebration of Orthodox and Eastern Catholic liturgies.

For Christians who follow the Julian calendar, as the Eastern Orthodox do, St. Nicholas’ principal feast day falls on Dec. 19. An Orthodox Divine Liturgy is usually celebrated at the Basilica of St. Nicholas that morning.

On Dec. 6, Catholics in Bari celebrate the beloved saint with Mass, concerts, and a procession of the saint’s statue through the city’s streets.

This story was first published on Dec. 6, 2022, and has been updated.

Archbishop Domenico Battaglia of Naples, Italy. / Credit: Vincenzo Amoruso via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Rome Newsroom, Dec 5, 2024 / 17:35 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis will create 21 new cardinals at a consistory this Saturday, including Archbishop Domenico Battaglia of Naples, Italy, who said he sees the appointment not as a personal honor but as “a call to dream together of a Church that gets its hands dirty, that is not afraid of the peripheries and that allows itself to be guided by the transforming power of the Gospel.”

In an interview with ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news partner, Battaglia described his initial reaction to the news as “a deep inner silence, inhabited by awe but also by fear.”

“At that moment I felt all the weight and grace of a call that I had neither sought nor imagined,” said the 62-year-old archbishop, who is known in his diocese simply as “Don Mimmo.”

Appointed as archbishop of Naples in late 2020, Battaglia spent more than 20 years leading a center for drug rehabilitation in Catanzaro.

Speaking about what it means to become a cardinal in Naples today, Battaglia emphasized that “this is the meaning of the purple: service, not honor.”

“Becoming a cardinal in this time and in this city means embracing the cross of the weakest, making room for their dreams and struggles, sharing the hope of those who, despite a thousand difficulties, continue to believe in a different future,” he told ACI Stampa. “Naples when it loves, loves totally, and I believe that in this, my people, can help me in this totality of giving.”

Battaglia drew inspiration from Bishop Tonino Bello, a venerated Italian prelate known for his work with the poor, quoting his saying: “We do not have the right to sit on the side of the road and watch those who pass by; we must take up the path again with the Gospel in our hands and poverty in our hearts.”

The archbishop acknowledged that the challenges facing Naples are complex. “Naples is a city that changes you before you can even imagine changing it,” he said. “In these years I have seen the beating heart of this land emerge powerfully: the generosity of people, the creativity that flourishes even in the midst of decay, the deep faith of those who rely on God with all their fragility.”

However, he also pointed to ongoing struggles, particularly among young people. “I have also seen the pain that does not cease, the loneliness of so many, the young people struggling to find prospects, the bonds broken by malfeasance, and especially the difficulty of children living in a real educational emergency.”

To address these challenges, Battaglia has initiated an Educational Pact in Naples, bringing together various stakeholders involved in education and youth work. “Naples cannot be changed from above: We need to walk together, listen, get alongside people, build networks of hope,” he explained.

Looking toward his new role as cardinal, Battaglia said he sees it as “an invitation to go even deeper” rather than a culmination. “I will try to continue my journey together with my Church, starting again always and every day from the streets, the alleys, the faces that meet my life every day,” he said.

He emphasized that as a cardinal, he feels “even stronger the call to widen my heart to the entire universal Church, collaborating with Pope Francis and my brother bishops, to proclaim the Gospel and continue to give voice to the least, to denounce injustice, to build alliances for the common good.”

Battaglia, who participated in the recent Synod on Synodality, also reflected on the connection between synodality and hope, particularly in light of the upcoming Jubilee Year of Hope declared by Pope Francis.

“Synodality is walking together, while hope is the force that pushes us to take steps,” he said. 

“The pope invites us to be a Church not closed in on itself but open to dialogue, to listening to each other, to building common paths. This is not only a method but a way of life, a conversion of the heart.”

The consistory for the creation of new cardinals will take place on Saturday, Dec. 7, at St. Peter’s Basilica.

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

Pro-life activist Matthew Engelthaler places signs in front of Camelback Family Planning, an abortion clinic in Phoenix, on April 18, 2024. / Credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

CNA Staff, Dec 5, 2024 / 15:40 pm (CNA).

Here is a roundup of the latest pro-life and abortion-related policy developments in the United States. 

CDC: Abortions declined slightly following reversal of Roe v. Wade

Abortions decreased by 2% from 2021 to 2022 — the year Roe v. Wade was overturned — according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were a recorded 622,000 abortions in 2021 from 46 reporting states and Washington, D.C., dropping to 609,000 in 2022, according to the report.

The CDC compiles data that is voluntarily reported by states’ central health agencies. The 2022 report includes 46 states as well as Washington, D.C., and New York City. California, Maryland, New Hampshire, and New Jersey did not provide data for the 2022 report. 

According to the report, the abortion rate — the number of abortions per 1,000 women in a population — declined by 3%. The abortion ratio — the relative number of pregnancies that end in abortion compared with live birth — also declined slightly, by 2%.

The report found that almost 4 out of 5 abortions were performed at or before nine weeks’ gestation, while about 6% of abortions were between 14 and 20 weeks’ gestation. About 92% of abortions happened at or before 13 weeks of gestation.

The CDC found that more than 70% of abortions were chemical abortions. The high percentage of chemical abortions is similar to the CDC’s report from 2021, though chemical abortions have increased markedly in past decades. Missouri had a low rate of abortions, at 0.1 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44, while New Mexico had 28.8 abortions per 1,000 women. 

In 2022, women in their 20s accounted for more than half of abortions, according to reporting areas. Black women accounted for the highest percentage of abortions according to reported ethnicity data, at almost 40%, while white women accounted for the second-highest percentage, at almost 32%. Nearly 90% of women who had abortions were unmarried. 

Pro-life hero remembered 

Monsignor Philip Reilly (1934–2024), a major figure in shaping the modern pro-life movement, died on Nov. 30 at the age of 90. Reilly was one of the first organizers of the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C.

Testimonials in the wake of his death hailed Reilly as an “unsung hero,” a “spiritual father,” and a pro-life mentor. He mentored the founders of 40 Days for Life and the Pro-life Action League as well as the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and the Sisters of Life.

Reilly was initially involved in political advocacy against abortion — even blocking entrances to abortion clinics — but ultimately took another approach, founding in 1989 the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants. Based in New York, the worldwide apostolate organizes prayer vigils outside of abortion clinics, pledging peaceful prayer for the salvation of souls. The vigils usually begin with an early morning Mass followed by a procession from the church to the local abortion clinic.

Reilly’s funeral Mass will be held on Monday, Dec. 9, at 11 a.m., and he will be buried at St. John Cemetery in Queens, New York. A more detailed account of his life and influence can be found in the book “Pro-Life Champion: The Untold Story of Monsignor Philip J. Reilly and His Helpers of God’s Precious Infants” by Frederick W. Marks. 

For an archival EWTN interview with Reilly, see here.

Idaho’s abortion trafficking law partially revived 

On Dec. 2, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of Idaho’s law against trafficking minors out of state to obtain abortions. The abortion trafficking law makes it illegal to harbor or transport a minor to get an out-of-state abortion without parental consent. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals partially approved the law but blocked a part of the law that prevented “recruiting” minors.

Two abortion rights groups challenged the law shortly after it passed in 2023, saying it violated the right to free speech and could prevent them from counseling minors seeking abortion. Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown ruled that “harboring” and “transporting” weren’t considered speech, and the law was partially approved.

A part of the law banning “recruiting” of minors to get out-of-state abortions was ruled as a violation of free speech. Abortions in Idaho are allowed only when the mother’s life is at risk, her physical health is substantially threatened, or if the pregnancy was from rape or incest. Abortion trafficking is punishable by two to five years in prison.

Arizona’s abortion law paused as lawsuit ensues 

Arizona is temporarily pausing its 15-week abortion restriction pending an ongoing lawsuit that followed Arizona’s ballot measure that enshrined a right to abortion in the state constitution.

Arizona abortion providers filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in Maricopa County Superior Court. The abortion providers argued that the 15-week abortion law is unconstitutional. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes agreed that the state will not enforce the law as the lawsuit plays out, meaning that abortion providers will be able to perform abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.   

Arizona’s ballot measure provided constitutionally for a “fundamental right to abortion.” The measure says the state cannot restrict abortion until the point of “viability” at approximately 24 weeks of pregnancy, unless it has a compelling reason and does so in the least restrictive way possible.

null / Credit: Dzelat/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 5, 2024 / 15:10 pm (CNA).

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley this week warned the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to not destroy federal records including documents related to the investigation of traditionalist Catholics or the convictions of numerous pro-life activists.

In a Dec. 3 letter directed to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland, Hawley — a senator from Missouri who serves on the Judiciary Committee — claimed that he has received reports of employees “destroying records and other documents in an effort to conceal widespread misconduct that took place under the [Joe] Biden administration.”

The senator accused the federal agencies of engaging in “unprecedented abuses of the justice system” and specifically referenced “attempts to recruit undercover informants in Catholic parishes” and “bad-faith prosecutions of pro-life Americans for peacefully protesting abortion,” along with prosecutions of President-elect Donald Trump.

“You must immediately stop this attempt to evade accountability and should terminate any employees involved,” Hawley wrote. “Further, you must preserve all department and bureau documents in anticipation of congressional investigations to come.”

When asked where the senator had learned about the alleged destruction of records, a spokesperson for Hawley’s office referred CNA back to the original letter.

In January 2023, the Richmond office of the FBI issued a memo that detailed an investigation into what it called “radical traditionalist” Catholics and potential ties to “the far-right white nationalist movement.”

The memo referenced an opportunity for “trip wire or source development” within parishes that offer the Latin Mass and within online communities that the FBI considered to be “radical-traditionalist” Catholic.

The FBI immediately retracted the memo after it was leaked to the public and the DOJ issued a report in April 2024 that claimed there was no “malicious intent” behind the memo.

In August 2023, the House Judiciary Committee claimed it had evidence that multiple field offices were coordinating the investigation. The committee also found evidence that the FBI had approached a priest and a choir director to ask them to inform on parishioners.

During Garland’s leadership of the DOJ, meanwhile, the department has also overseen the prosecution of more than 30 pro-life activists for violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. More than a dozen are either in prison or awaiting sentencing, but Trump has vowed to get them “back to their families.”

In his letter, Hawley said: “This is a sordid track record, and the American people deserve the truth about how it happened and who was involved.”

“With sunlight now on the horizon, I’m not surprised by last-ditch efforts to stonewall the incoming administration,” Hawley wrote.

“But those efforts will fail. … I intend to investigate your respective agencies’ illicit actions over the past several years. If your staff are presently destroying relevant documents, then the American people will learn about that too and will learn who gave the orders to do so.”

Hawley wrote that the DOJ and FBI “must immediately take all necessary steps to preserve all documents, records, and other materials generated by your agencies during your respective tenures in office” and “must cease any bad-faith document destruction.”

“You should prepare for the real justice to come,” Hawley told Wray and Garland.

A spokesperson for the FBI declined to comment specifically on the letter but told CNA that FBI records “are retained in accordance with records retention schedules, which are approved by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).” 

“FBI records may not be destroyed without a NARA approved records schedule,” the statement said. “In instances of anticipated or pending litigation or other inquiry, normal disposition practices (to include destruction or transfer to NARA) are halted until resolution of the litigation or inquiry.”

The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment.

The Nicaraguan dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and his “co-president” and wife, Rosario Murillo, kidnapped and expelled from the country a priest of the Diocese of Bluefields. / Credit: Pixabay

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 5, 2024 / 14:40 pm (CNA).

The Nicaraguan dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and his “co-president” and wife, Rosario Murillo, this week kidnapped and expelled from the country Father Floriano Ceferino Vargas, a priest of the Diocese of Bluefields.

Medardo Mairena, a former peasant leader now in exile, stated on X that “Father Floriano Ceferino Vargas, parish priest of the Church of San Martín de Porres in Nueva Guinea, has been exiled by the Sandinista regime,” further specifying that the priest is now in Panama.

In an interview with EWTN Noticias, lawyer and researcher Martha Patricia Molina said it is not known exactly why Vargas was kidnapped and expelled from the country.

However, Molina said, “just because you are religious in Nicaragua, the dictatorship can kidnap you."

Molina, who has documented hundreds of attacks by the Nicaraguan government against the Catholic Church in recent years, also indicated that it is possible that the priest had made “some comment that they [the dictatorship] consider hostile to the supposed revolution, which at every moment they say must be defended.”

The researcher also commented that, in the midst of everything, it is good to know that the priest “is not going to be in the prisons of Nicaragua, where more than 40 mechanisms of torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment are practiced.”

The priest was arrested after celebrating Mass in his parish.

The kidnapping and expulsion of Vargas happened the same week Pope Francis sent a letter to the country’s Catholics in which he encouraged them and reminded them that faith and hope “work miracles.”

Growing concern for the well-being of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua was also expressed this week by the bishops of Central America, who convoked for Dec. 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a day of prayer for the persecuted Church in the neighboring country.

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