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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 2, 2024 / 18:20 pm (CNA).

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) released a pair of emergency rules that it said are aimed at combating "misinformation" and a "deeply dishonest scare campaign" by the Biden administration about the state's new six-week pro-life law. 

The rules, published on May 1, establish guidance for lifesaving measures and clarify that certain procedures, including treatment for ectopic pregnancies, are not considered abortion and remain legal under the Florida Heartbeat Protection Act, which went into effect on Wednesday.  

This comes amid significant criticism over the state's pro-life law that prohibits abortions on women after six weeks of pregnancy except for in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger. The new AHCA rules further clarify those exceptions. 

"The agency finds there is an immediate danger to the health, safety, and welfare of pregnant women and babies due to a deeply dishonest scare campaign and disinformation being perpetuated by the media, the Biden administration, and advocacy groups to misrepresent the Heartbeat Protection Act and the state's efforts to protect life, moms, and families," the AHCA wrote in both rules. "The agency is initiating rulemaking to safeguard against any immediate harm that could come to pregnant women due to disinformation." 

"This rulemaking," the AHCA goes on, "will ensure health care providers establish medical records procedures that will adequately protect the care and safety of both mothers and their unborn babies during medical emergencies."

The rules state that "regardless of gestational age," treatment for ectopic pregnancies, premature rupture of membranes, trophoblastic tumors, and "other life-threatening conditions" is "not to be considered an abortion and shall not be reported [as such]" even if those procedures inadvertently result in the death of the unborn child. 

In a "Myth vs. Fact" sheet published the same day, the AHCA also clarified that "Florida law does not prohibit the removal of the pregnancy for women who experience a miscarriage in any circumstance." 

The Biden administration has been outspoken about its opposition to Florida's six-week law. Vice President Kamala Harris gave a speech in Jacksonville, Florida, on Wednesday in which she condemned the Florida pro-life law as "extreme" and dangerous for the health and safety of women. 

President Joe Biden also attacked Florida's six-week law in a campaign speech in Tampa on April 23. He blamed former President Donald Trump and Republicans for unleashing a "nightmare" on American women. 

Florida state Sen. Lauren Book said that "women and girls will die" because of the law.  

AHCA Secretary Jason Weida issued a statement the same as the rule in which he said: "The pro-abortion left is lying for political gain. The attempts to demonize standard health care for women make a physician's job more difficult and can put a pregnant woman's life at risk. The Heartbeat Protection Act protects women from life-threatening complications while protecting the life of the unborn." 

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ACI Prensa Staff, May 2, 2024 / 18:50 pm (CNA).

"They have done it again. It is a kind of obsessive mantra every time they need a smokescreen to distract from the real problems we have and to which they so clumsily and insidiously apply their tortuous governance."

That is how the archbishop of Oviedo, Jesús Sanz Montes, began a letter released this week titled "The Accusing Rattle" in which he responds to the socialist government's announcement of an exclusive plan to address sexual and power abuses committed within the Catholic Church.

In the opinion of the prelate, the country's executive "has tried to focus in a biased and manipulative way on the problem of pedophilia as something attributable only to the Catholic Church, which represents an exclusive and improper singling out and leaves unprotected the majority of those who have suffered this terrible scourge."

The Franciscan archbishop encouraged people to denounce "the deceitful, biased, or false information and to humbly say how much good we do as a Christian community," while at the same time acknowledging errors, asking for forgiveness, and accompanying victims.

The archbishop said Christians are called to defend abuse victims, "assuming our responsibility in what concerns us, but urging that the entire society also adopt appropriate measures, starting with government leaders," he added.

Sanz criticized the executive for falsifying "the identity of the human person" and destroying "anthropology in its masculine and feminine identity." 

He added that the government propagates a version of feminism that not only fails to eradicate unjust sexist violence against women but "actually exacerbates it" along with "a perverse pornographic and obscene manipulation that confuses and harms children and young people based on gender ideology."

If such policies are maintained, the archbishop predicts, "the society thus poisoned and confused will be more manipulable by those who, from their narcissistic and fallacious amorality, seek to perpetuate themselves in power."

The prelate has described as "clear" the statement from the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE, by its Spanish acronym) in which it rejected the government's plan and denounced that the plan "parts from a condemnatory judgment of the entire Church, carried out without any type of legal guarantee, a public and discriminatory accusation by the state."

Sanz emphasized that "we must not allow ourselves to be identified with this false story that disfigures the true work of the Church" and, turning the tables on the subject, asked: "Which institution of those affected by this crime has taken the matter seriously? Which ones have created offices of shelter and support, have preventively educated their members, and have actively collaborated with the prosecutor's office?"

'The arbitrary imputation is unacceptable'

The prelate reminded the faithful that the problem of the sexual abuse of minors in Spain is one in which Catholic clergy and religious account for a miniscule 0.2% part. That figure comes from a study by the Anar Foundation, specialized in the protection of children, which details that between 2008 and 2009, 0.2% of the more than 6,000 reported cases of abuse can be attributed to priests and religious.

According to the cited foundation that works on the prevention of child abuse, parents represented the largest number of aggressors, totaling 23.3%. Companions occupied second place among perpetrators against minors, with 8.7%, while friends represent 5.7% and partners, boyfriends, or girlfriends represent 5.6%.

The archbishop of Oviedo concluded by rejecting as unacceptable "the arbitrary accusation that only focuses on us, with such a low criminal percentage, to a whole series of legal, fiscal, economic, and social measures," adding: "What do those who continue in this foul play want to cover up or distract from? 'Cui prodest?' said Seneca ['Who benefits?']."

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

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Rome Newsroom, May 2, 2024 / 12:41 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis published a letter on Thursday addressed to all parish priests in the world with his advice for building a missionary Church in which all the baptized share in the mission of proclaiming the Gospel.

"Parish communities increasingly need to become places from which the baptized set out as missionary disciples and to which they return, full of joy, in order to share the wonders worked by the Lord through their witness," Pope Francis wrote in the letter published on May 2.

The pope presented the letter to 300 priests participating in the Synod on Synodality's "World Meeting of Parish Priests" during an audience at the Vatican, saying that their meeting is "an opportunity to remember in my prayers all of the parish priests in the world to whom I address these words with great affection."

"Before all else, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation for the generous work that you do each day, sowing seeds of the Gospel in every kind of soil," Pope Francis wrote.

"It is so obvious as to sound almost banal, but that does not make it less true: the Church could  not go on without your dedication and your pastoral service," he added.

In the letter, Pope Francis offered three suggestions to parish priests for building "a synodal and missionary Church."

The first is for priests to live out their "specific ministerial charism in ever greater service to the varied gifts that the Spirit sows in the people of God." 

He said that by nurturing the many and varied charismatic gifts of the laity, priests will "feel less alone in the demanding task of evangelization" and "will experience the joy of being true fathers, who do not dominate others but rather bring out in them, men and women alike, great and precious possibilities."

The second suggestion is to "learn to practice the art of communal discernment" by using the "conversation in the Spirit" practiced during last October's Synod on Synodality assembly.

Lastly, Pope Francis encouraged priests to base everything they do "in a spirit of sharing and fraternity" both among themselves and with their bishops.

"We cannot be authentic fathers unless we are first sons and brothers. And we cannot foster communion and participation in the communities entrusted to our care unless, before all else,  we live out those realities among ourselves," the pope explained.

The audience with the pope concluded the four-day World Meeting of Parish Priests, which took place from April 29 to May 2 at the Fraterna Domus retreat house in Sacrofano, Italy, just north of Rome.

The gathering of 300 priests was jointly organized by the Dicastery for the Clergy and by the General Secretariat of the Synod in response to the first synod assembly's synthesis report, which identified a need to "develop ways for a more active involvement of deacons, priests, and bishops in the synodal process during the coming year."

Father Clinton Ressler, a priest from the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, was one of five American priests who traveled to Rome for the meeting.

Ressler told EWTN that a highlight from the meeting was "the experience of being together with brother priests from around the world."

He said that he has learned that despite the diverse realities in which priests in different parts of the world find themselves, "the experience of being a priest on the front lines and in the trenches is kind of a universal experience — the joy, the sorrow, the hope."

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Rome Newsroom, May 2, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).

The Vatican announced on Thursday that Pope Francis will speak at an event on Italy's demographic crisis as the country's birth rate sits at a historic low.

Pope Francis will address "The General State of the Birth Rate" conference on May 10 at the Conciliazione Auditorium close to the Vatican.

The two-day event organized by the Forum of Family Associations and the Foundation for Births seeks to address the 50 years of steady decline in births across Europe, and especially in Italy, and what can be done to reverse it. 

Births in Italy dropped to a historic low in 2023. Italy's national statistics bureau recorded 379,000 births last year, a 3.6% decline from 2022 and a 34.2% drop from 2008.

Italy's overall population has been falling since 2014 with 282,000 more deaths than births in Italy in 2023. The country has one of the lowest birth rates in Europe: 1.2 births per woman.

Pope Francis has described the low number of births as "a figure that reveals a great concern for tomorrow." He lamented last year the "social climate in which starting a family has turned into a titanic effort, instead of being a shared value that everyone recognizes and supports."

"The General State of the Birth Rate" will feature Italian government ministers, business leaders, and media personalities who will give talks on the family, including Eugenia Roccella, Italy's family minister.

It will be the third time that Pope Francis has participated in the conference, which is supported by the Italian Ministry for Family, Birth, and Equal Opportunity. 

Last year, Pope Francis shared the stage with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

"The birth of children, in fact, is the main indicator for measuring the hope of a people," Pope Francis said at the conference in 2023.

"If few are born it means there is little hope. And this not only has repercussions from an economic and social point of view but also undermines confidence in the future."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported last week that the U.S. birth rate also hit a record low in 2023 and that the total number of births was the lowest it's been in decades. 

According to the report, slightly fewer than 3.6 million babies were born in 2023, or 54.4 births per 1,000 women aged 15 through 44. This was a 2% decline in total births and a 3% decline in births per 1,000 women when compared with the previous year.

"The birth rate challenge is a matter of hope," Pope Francis said.

Hope, the pope said, "is not an illusion or an emotion that you feel, no; it is a concrete virtue, a life attitude. And it has to do with concrete choices. Hope is nourished by each person's commitment to the good, it grows when we feel we are participating and involved in making meaning of our own and others' lives."

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ACI Africa, May 2, 2024 / 11:00 am (CNA).

Father Paul Tatu Mothobi, a member the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata (CSS/Stigmatines) and former media and communications officer of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC), was reportedly murdered last weekend in South Africa.

According to a notice from the congregation's South Africa-based provincial secretary, Father Jeremia Thami Mkhwanazi, Tatu died on Saturday, April 27, "after sustaining a gunshot."

Tatu, a native of Lesotho's Archdiocese of Maseru, was ministering in South Africa's Archdiocese of Pretoria. According to reports, his lifeless body was found with gunshot wounds in his car on a national road in South Africa, which runs from Cape Town through Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Polokwane to Beit Bridge, a border town with Zimbabwe.

In a Monday, April 29, statement, SACBC members expressed condolences, describing his killing as "not an isolated incident," recalling the March 13 murder of Father William Banda, the Zambian-born member of St. Patrick's Missionary Society (Kiltegan Fathers), who was shot in the sacristy of the Holy Trinity Cathedral of South Africa's Tzaneen Diocese.

"Father Tatu worked for several years as the SACBC media and communications officer with dedication; we are saddened by his tragic death. We extend our condolences to the Stigmatine congregation, to which he belonged, and to his family," bishops from Botswana, Eswatini, and South Africa said in the one-page statement signed by SACBC president Bishop Sithembele Sipuka.

"It must be noted that the death of Father Paul Tatu is not an isolated incident but rather a distressing example of the deteriorating state of security and morality in South Africa," the Church leaders added.

The murder of Tatu and that of Banda, SACBC members lamented, "occurs amid growing concerns about the increasing disregard for the value of life, where people are wantonly killed." 

Born in 1979 in Teyateyaneng, a town in Lesotho's district of Berea, Tatu joined the Stigmatines in 1998. He studied philosophy at St. Francis House of Studies in Pretoria from 1999 to 2000 and moved to Botswana for his novitiate.

Before theological studies, the late priest took a year off from priestly formation to live with and teach miners in South Africa's Free State. He later resumed his studies, joining Pretoria-based St. John Vianney Seminary, under the Stigmatines, for theology. He was ordained a priest in 2008.

The Stigmatines later sent him to Tanzania as a missionary, where he pursued media and communication studies at Mwanza-based St. Augustine University of Tanzania of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference. 

Tatu was also a collaborator of ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, more recently assisting with an April 9 story about an initiative to address drug addiction in youth.

In the April 29 statement, the bishops underscored the need for authorities in South Africa to protect human life.

"On behalf of the bishops, I appeal to all people responsible for these murders to refrain from thinking that they can do what they like with people's lives. Life belongs to God, and no one has a right to take it as one pleases," the statement said. 

The bishops decried lawlessness in South Africa, addressing President Cyril Ramaphosa's government: "Mr. President and Police Minister, there is a growing impression among South Africans that criminals are freely murdering the citizens with no fear of consequences."

"A deliberate termination of the life of one person affects not only the person killed but a whole network of relationships of that person," the SACBC statement continued. "… Killing one person brings about pain and misery to many people."

The statement called on the government to put in place "immediate and effective measures to ensure the security of law-abiding citizens who work hard to support their families and for our Catholic priests who spend their lives serving the people of this country."

"We appeal to you to make the well-being and safety of our people a top priority," the bishops said. "As a Church, we are at your disposal for discussion and strategies to stop the murder of innocent people, which is now becoming a pandemic in this country."

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

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ACI Prensa Staff, May 2, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Colombian Bishops' Conference  (CEC by its Spanish acronym) has called on all Catholics to join on May 3, Day of the Holy Cross, in a day of prayer for peace and reconciliation in the country.

"The call is made directly by the bishops and is based on recognizing the serious humanitarian crisis that multiple territories face amid armed conflict and other types of violence, as well as the complex sociopolitical panorama that the nation is experiencing today, permeated by division and polarization," the CEC announced on its website.

Since Pope Francis' visit to Colombia in September 2017 and his meeting with victims of the armed conflict, the Church in that country has established a National Day of Prayer for Reconciliation and Peace to be celebrated every May 3.

Inspired by a saying of Jesus Christ from Matthew 23:8, the motto for this year's day of prayer is "All Brothers." 

In a video message, the president of the CEC and archbishop of Bogotá, Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio, invites people to recognize that "beyond our differences, we are all children of God and, therefore, brothers."

God "is our peace" and "prayer leads us to meet him," the cardinal said, expressing his conviction that "reconciliation is the path we need to travel to experience true hope for change in the country."

"Let us pray for our country, that the Lord shows us with his Holy Spirit the paths of reconciliation," the cardinal continued. "Reconciliation requires the ability to see the other as a brother. Jesus has told us: We are all children of the same Father."

Rueda went on to cite Pope Francis, who "in a graphic way" has reminded us that "we are all in the same boat. The Colombian boat requires that you open your heart to reconciliation, to forgiveness. To look at the other, not as an enemy to be eliminated but as a friend, as a member of the same Colombian family."

"That is what we want on May 3, for there to be a full day of prayer in parish churches, in the oratories of schools, universities, and women's and men's religious houses," Rueda concluded. 

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

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CNA Staff, May 2, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Thousands of pilgrims come together each year to take part in the annual Walk to Mary, which takes place on the first Saturday of May in Wisconsin. The 21-mile pilgrimage starts at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere, Wisconsin, and ends at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wisconsin.

The Walk to Mary will take place on May 4 this year and includes several "join in" points along the route that offer participants unable to walk the entire distance to participate. These locations shorten the pilgrimage length, allowing pilgrims of all ages to take part in what is a spiritual and physical test in perseverance.

This year's pilgrimage is particularly special as the participants will be walking similar stretches that the perpetual pilgrims and Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament on the Marian Route will be walking during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage this June.

The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will be making a stop at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion on June 16, where there will be a Mass celebrated and a large Eucharistic rosary procession.

Father Joseph Aytona, CPM, rector of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, told CNA in an interview that the Marian Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage was actually named in honor of Our Lady of Champion.

"It is an honor to pray over this path during the Walk to Mary and, in a real way, 'prepare the way of the Lord and make straight his paths' for when he arrives in June through the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage," he said.

Since 2023, a segment of the Walk to Mary has been designed to accommodate children, families, and anyone who wants to participate in the pilgrimage but is challenged by the longer distances. This 1.7-mile route, called "The Walk With the Children," merges into the last half a mile of the longer route.

Aytona shared that they are expecting more than 6,000 pilgrims from around the world to attend this year's Walk to Mary. 

"Participants walk down everyday streets and trails through the Green Bay area, led by a carried statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary," he explained. "They pray the rosary, sing hymns, and silently reflect on the intentions they are walking for. It's always a beautiful display of faith for the world to see."

Aytona compared the walk to a "mini-version of the Camino de Santiago in Europe," adding that "the Walk to Mary draws people to the heart of pilgrimage — the opportunity for one to draw closer to the Lord and for him to draw closer to you — but all through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph."

The final destination of the walk is also particularly special as the Shrine of Our Lady of Champion is the first and only approved Marian apparition in the United States. 

On Oct. 9, 1859, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a young Belgian woman named Adele Brise in the woods near present-day Champion, Wisconsin. Seeing the beautiful lady dressed in dazzling white with a crown of stars around her head, Brise asked the woman who she was.

The lady replied: "I am the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same."

The Blessed Mother then told the young girl to "gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation. Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the cross, and how to approach the sacraments; that is what I wish you to do."

The apparition was approved by Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay in 2010. 

Karmen Lemke, executive director of Catholic Charities at the Diocese of Green Bay, called the 21-mile pilgrimage "absolutely life-changing."

This year marks Lemke's third time participating in the Walk to Mary; however, her first two experiences hold a special place in her heart. 

"My first walk, the full 21 miles, was in 2022, and my inspiration for participating was to join my friend Doris Lamers, who was diagnosed with glioblastoma brain cancer," Lemke shared with CNA in an interview. 

"The Blessed Mother has been an important person in her life and the Walk to Mary was something she really wanted to do. A few days before I asked again if she wanted to walk, even if we did the short version, and she quickly replied: 'I want to walk and I want to do the whole thing,'" she recalled.

Lemke said that will be a day she will "forever treasure."

"The weather was perfect, but our conversations along the walk were priceless," she said. "We prayed the rosary and talked about life in general. We met so many wonderful people along the way, sharing stories of why they walk."

In 2023, Lemke and Lamers participated in the walk again, along with Lamers' sister and niece; however, due to the progression of the cancer, Lemke pushed Lamers in a wheelchair for the last seven miles of the walk.

"Upon our arrival at the shrine, Doris received a special blessing from Father Joseph [Aytona]. It was wonderful. I know that Doris knew exactly what was going on and was grateful for the day."

Lamers passed away on Sept. 20, 2023.

"This year will hold a different meaning for us," Lemke said. "We know that Doris will be with us and she'll be saying, 'Come on girls, you can do the whole route!'"

As for what Lemke has taken away from participating in the Walk to Mary, she said she has come to see "that anyone can do it with a little encouragement and not a lot of necessary training. I was moved by the number of people and their love for Mary and the love for their faith. It was a true sense of community."

Aytona said he hopes that participants "are led to a deeper devotion to Our Lord Jesus."

"True devotion to Mary always brings us to Jesus, and when people step foot on the grounds where Mary appeared, I hope they have an encounter with her that ultimately leads them to profound encounters with the merciful and divine love of Christ," he added.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2024 / 17:05 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a new report on Wednesday highlighting the countries with the worst religious persecution in the world.

From this report, which is released annually, USCIRF makes recommendations to the State Department on how to best advocate for religious freedom. The suggestions typically translate into sanctions from the U.S. against violating countries to pressure them to improve their religious tolerance. 

This year, the countries topping USCIRF's list of the world's most egregious religious freedom violators were Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Iran, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.

USCIRF recommends these nations be designated as "countries of particular concern," or "CPCs," a label that has been called America's "most powerful tool" to advocate for religious freedom.

Here are some of the countries with the most concerning religious freedom trends in the last year.

Afghanistan 

Religious freedom and free expression have continued to deteriorate in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, according to the report. The country is violently enforcing an apostasy law that bans conversions from Islam. The report also said that in the last year, the Taliban implemented a series of measures to seriously restrict women's dress, movement, access to education, and employment. Despite USCIRF's recommendation, Afghanistan is not currently a CPC, although the Taliban is designated as an "entity of particular concern" (EPC).

Azerbaijan

A majority Muslim country, Azerbaijan was included in USCIRF's CPC list this year for the first time. The country has been increasingly encroaching on the religious rights of both Azerbaijani Muslims as well as of ethnic minorities, such as the Armenian Christians. According to the report, Azerbaijani citizens are "routinely" harassed, fined, and imprisoned based on their religious activities. The report said that 183 "peaceful believers" were unjustly imprisoned in Azerbaijan in 2023 because of their religious beliefs or activities. 

After a violent Azerbaijani takeover of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and a subsequent mass exodus of Armenian Christians, USCIRF reported that several historic Christian sites have been damaged and there remain serious concerns about further threats to the region's ancient religious sites. Azerbaijan also evicted Armenian Apostolic priests from the historic Dadivank Monastery in the Kalbajar region along the Armenian border. 

China

The most populous country in the world, China is a mainstay of USCIRF's CPC list because of its continued "sinicization" program, which subjects all its citizens and all religions in the country to the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Under China's communist government, all religions are strictly controlled by the state and any unauthorized religious activity is dealt with severely. In 2023, the report said, Chinese authorities continued to "forcibly disappear" and convict underground Catholic priests, including two bishops. The government also continues to subject the Muslim Uyghurs to forced labor and indoctrination camps and to persecute and imprison thousands of members of the Falun Gong religious movement. 

India 

The second-most populous country in the world, India is increasingly emerging as a leader on the world stage. Despite this, India, run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu Nationalist government, has witnessed deteriorating religious freedom conditions. Though the country's constitution protects the right to practice one's faith, much of the country enforces anti-conversion laws. According to the report, thousands of Christians and Muslims were subjected to attacks and intimidation in 2023 while hundreds of churches and mosques were destroyed. 

Iran

Citizens in the Islamic Republic of Iran continue to suffer "extremely poor" religious freedom conditions, according to the report. In 2023, protesters against the government's mandatory hijab laws and other restrictions on religion were systematically harassed, arrested, raped, tortured, and, in some cases, executed. Religious minorities, including Sunni Muslims, were severely punished, sometimes executed, whenever caught violating the country's strict Islamic law. 

Nicaragua

Nicaraguan dictators Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo intensified their persecution of the Catholic Church and other religious groups in 2023. In the last year, the dictatorship seized the assets and properties of Catholic churches, monasteries, and schools and arbitrarily imprisoned and exiled hundreds of Catholics and political dissidents. Bishop Rolando Alvarez, a longtime critic of the Ortega-Murillo regime, was sentenced to 26 years in prison, where he spent all of 2023 with little to no contact with the outside world. This January he was exiled from Nicaragua to the Vatican.

Nigeria

More than 8,000 Christians were killed across Nigeria last year, according to the report. On Christmas weekend alone, a series of attacks resulted in the deaths of 190 Christians in Nigeria's Plateau state. 

Nigerian Christians, who make up 46% of the population, were the victims of widespread attacks, kidnappings, torture, and acts of intimidation by criminal elements that were largely ignored by the Nigerian government.

Despite continued persecution and consistent recommendations from USCIRF to designate Nigeria a CPC, the State Department under the Biden administration has excluded this country from the list since 2021.

Pakistan

Terrorist attacks against religious minorities and places of worship increased significantly in Pakistan in 2023, according to the report. The government moved to further strengthen prohibitions against "blasphemy," which observers say is a method of targeting religious minorities. In August a mob attacked a Christian community in Jaranwala over an accusation of blasphemy. The mob destroyed and looted many homes in the community and damaged at least 24 churches.

Other concerning trends

Transnational persecution on the rise: USCIRF reported that in addition to carrying out persecutions within their borders, several governments "engaged in transnational repression to silence religious minorities." Chief among these were the governments of China and India, both of whom increased their international efforts to target religious minorities who had fled their borders. Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan also engaged in transnational repression as well. 

Blasphemy laws: According to the report, blasphemy laws are one of the most significant challenges to religious freedom in the world. These laws work by punishing acts that are deemed offensive to the prevailing religion or ideology. There are 96 countries with active blasphemy laws, many of which are used to foment violence toward religious minorities, according to USCIRF. 

Europe: Some European countries were also mentioned in the report as exhibiting concerning trends regarding religious freedom. The report highlighted how U.K. citizen Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was arrested for silently praying outside an abortion clinic in Birmingham, England. Additionally, the report mentioned Finnish member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen, who has faced multiple human rights violation charges for expressing her religious views on sexuality and marriage. 

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2024 / 17:50 pm (CNA).

A criminal investigation into the Archdiocese of New Orleans is based on a suspicion that it may be linked to child sex trafficking, according to allegations presented in a search warrant granted to Louisiana State Police.

The affidavit requesting the search warrant, first obtained by the New Orleans-based WWL Radio, alleges that multiple sex abuse victims provided statements that claim they were transported to other parishes and outside of Louisiana, where they were sexually abused. It further alleges a scheme within the archdiocese in which abused children were instructed to provide "gifts" to certain priests, which were meant to signal that the children were targets for sexual abuse.

According to the allegations in the affidavit, multiple victims reported that they were brought to the New Orleans Seminary, where they were instructed to "swim naked in the pool and would be sexually assaulted or abused." It also alleges that investigators found that this was "a common occurrence" and that other members of the archdiocese were present. 

"Based on these findings, as well as the allegations of previous widespread child sexual abuse, it was determined that further investigation into the Archdiocese of New Orleans was necessary," investigator Scott Rodrigue wrote in the affidavit. 

Judge Juana Lombard granted police the search warrant last week, but the allegations in the warrant were not made public until Tuesday, April 30. It allows police to search personnel files, financial records, communications, and other documents related to allegations of sexual abuse.

The warrant acknowledges that the police have probable cause to suspect felony violations of the law that prohibits the "trafficking of children for a sexual purpose."

Although the allegations contained in the warrant do not indicate when the alleged trafficking occurred, the information that led to a suspicion of sex trafficking was obtained by police during an earlier investigation into a retired priest named Lawrence Hecker, who is accused of raping an underage teenage boy in the 1970s. Hecker was indicted for the alleged crime but has not yet been tried.

The affidavit alleges that documents obtained during the Hecker investigation show that "previous archbishops … not only knew of the [widespread] sexual abuse and failed to report all the claims to law enforcement, but [also] spent archdiocese funding to support the accused."

One document cited in the affidavit states that one specific archbishop "was aware of rampant sexual abuse throughout the archdiocese," but the affidavit leaves out the archbishop's name. 

The affidavit alleges, without stating the exact time frame, that the archdiocese "disregarded" or "covered up" claims of widespread sexual abuse. It alleges that in many cases, abuse claims "were not reported to law enforcement." In some instances, the archdiocese provided "monetary payments" to victims or their families "to dismiss the allegations," according to the affidavit.

Investigators conducted "a large number of interviews" of individuals who allege widespread sexual abuse against children in the archdiocese, according to the affidavit. Interviews are still being conducted. 

The Archdiocese of New Orleans filed for bankruptcy in May 2020 amid financial problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the costs of litigation and settlements related to alleged sexual abuse.

CNA reached out to the archdiocese for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. 

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Baltimore, Md., May 1, 2024 / 18:10 pm (CNA).

Hundreds of Catholic residents of Baltimore packed the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on Tuesday evening to give their often-impassioned reactions to a process that could lead to the closure of nearly two-thirds of the city's parishes.

Several parishes from the state's largest city organized large contingents to attend the April 30 meeting, which was the final of three listening sessions for the Archdiocese of Baltimore's "Seek the City" parish restructuring proposal. They made their presence known with custom-made T-shirts or ethnic attire, with some even carrying large banners that begged Archbishop William Lori to spare their churches.

Parishioners from the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in the Mount Washington neighborhood of the city printed a banner that proclaimed: "SOS! Save Our Shrine." The group from the largely-Filipino parish also participated vocally in the session, including an emotional plea from John Tagle, a high school student. Tagle worried that his parish would be gone when he returned home from college.

A non-Filipino member of the shrine, David Bender, bluntly stated: "The proposal does not make spiritual sense." 

Many of those wearing custom T-shirts came from Holy Rosary, a parish in the Fells Point neighborhood that has connections to two Polish canonized saints. Some of their group wore ethnic attire and waved the white and red flag of their Eastern European homeland. 

A young woman from Holy Rosary wondered why the archdiocese would shutter a place that was visited by St. John Paul II (when he was Cardinal Karol Wojytla in 1976). The parish is also directly tied to the canonization process of St. Faustina Kowalska, as it was the site of a documented miraculous healing attributed to the Polish sister.

Auxiliary Bishop Bruce Lewandowski gave a grim assessment as he spoke to local media before presiding over the listening session. "This is difficult. It's heart-wrenching," he emphasized. "But we're at a pivotal moment in the city Church. We need to do this."

Lewandowski led the attendees in prayer before starting the main presentation about the parish closure/consolidation proposal under "Seek the City." He, along with two lay consultants, began a slideshow that first gave an overview of the two-year process leading up to the current juncture.

The trio then unveiled several slides that outlined the proposal to shrink the city's parishes from 61 parishes to 26 parishes. The City of Baltimore, along with some immediate surrounding parts of neighboring Baltimore County, was divided into five regions (center, east, west, north, and south). While the first four regions would have three to five consolidated parishes, the south region would be reduced to only two. 

An additional two parishes have been designated "personal parishes": St. Ignatius, which is administered by the Jesuits, and St. Alphonsus, the home of the Traditional Latin Mass in Baltimore. During the listening session, the archdiocese disclosed that a final decision on the "Seek the City" proposal would be made by mid-June.

The slideshow spotlighted that four of the merged parishes would specifically minister to Hispanic communities. It also noted that the Filipino community — currently centered at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart — would move to the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen.

Other parishoners with deep roots in Baltimore City also bewailed the spiritual devastation the proposed restructuring would cause. A representative from St. Rita's in Dundalk (a community that was directly impacted by the recent collapse of the Key Bridge at the mouth of Baltimore Harbor) begged: "Don't let the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ leave Old Dundalk!"

Sue Jones, who has lived her entire life in the region, reflected on entering her eighth decade as a Catholic in the primatial see of the United States. Jones, who attends St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in the Hampden neighborhood, underlined that "killing [the parishes], or turning them into unrecognizable hubs, ... is the final nail in the coffin for the Church in Baltimore City." Her parish would be closed under the current proposal.

The lifelong Baltimore resident added that she remained hopeful.

"I'm so proud, because the remaining Catholics are here in spite of the archdiocese's leadership," she said after the listening session.

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