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Father Paul Sullins, PhD, is a senior research associate at the Ruth Institute and a retired professor of sociology at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. / Credit: The Ruth InstituteCNA Staff, Dec 19, 2023 / 08:00 am (CNA).A widely-cited study purporting to show a link between the controversial practice of "conversion therapy" and increased suicidal ideation is seriously flawed from a scientific perspective, according to an analysis from a Catholic priest and researcher. Father Paul Sullins, a married priest who holds a doctorate in sociology and who previously taught at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., highlighted his findings in a press conference organized by the Ruth Institute, a Catholic organization that advocates for the freedom of counselors to engage in "client-chosen, client-directed talk therapy." At issue is a 2020 study often referred to as "Blosnich et al" (after the name of its lead researcher), which purports ...
John Kirby, coordinator of the National Security Council for Strategic Communications at the White House. / Credit: "EWTN News Nightly"Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 19, 2023 / 09:41 am (CNA).White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday that though the administration "raised specific concerns" about the reported killing of two Christian civilian women at Gaza's only Catholic church, the White House is confident that the Israelis "are not making the slaughter, torture, and rape of civilians in Gaza a war aim." The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said on Saturday that "around noon" on Dec. 16, a sniper of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) "murdered two Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, where the majority of Christian families has taken refuge since the start of the war." Kirby said that the White House "raised that specific incident" with Israeli authorities and urged them to "be as careful, deliberate, surgical,...
Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu. / Credit: Alan Holdren/CNAACI Prensa Staff, Dec 19, 2023 / 10:15 am (CNA).The trial of Cardinal Angelo Becciu ended Dec. 16 with the prelate being convicted of embezzlement and sentenced by the Vatican court to more than five years in prison.The sentence states that he has also been permanently barred from holding public office and must pay a fine of 8,000 euros.Becciu, 75, who for more than seven years held the third-highest position in the Holy See, is the first cardinal to be sentenced by a Vatican court since its creation as a city-state in 1929.Here are six key facts about the cardinal and his trial:Veteran diplomatBecciu was born June 2, 1948, in the province of Sassari on the Italian island of Sardinia. At the age of 24 he was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Ozieri, which later figured in the financial scandal trial.With a degree in canon law, Becciu entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on May 1, 1984, and served in pon...
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the media on the opening day of the winter session of the Parliament, at Parliament House, New Delhi, India, Dec. 4, 2023. / Credit: ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 19, 2023 / 10:45 am (CNA).A religious freedom watchdog is urging the Biden administration to add the government of India to a list of the world's worst violators of religious freedom.The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said this month in a press release that it was "alarmed by India's increased transnational targeting of religious minorities and those advocating on their behalf.""Recent efforts by the Indian government to silence activists, journalists, and lawyers abroad pose a serious threat to religious freedom," the group said. USCIRF was created by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). The commission "monitors the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad," makes "policy recommendation...
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops meets for its fall plenary assembly meeting Nov. 14, 2023, in Baltimore. / Credit: Joe Bukuras/CNAWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 18, 2023 / 18:20 pm (CNA).A Vatican-issued declaration on blessing "same-sex couples" and couples in other "irregular situations" does not change the Catholic Church's teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman, according to a statement issued by the United States bishops.The Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith issued a declaration on Monday titled Fiducia Supplicans, which opened the door for priests to pastorally bless same-sex couples. However, the declaration also makes clear that such blessings cannot be performed in a way to resemble marriage and conveyed a distinction between a pastoral blessing and a sacramental blessing."The [declaration] articulated a distinction between liturgical (sacramental) blessings and pastoral blessings, which may be given to persons who desire God's loving gr...
St. Januarius and the miracle of the liquefaction of his blood contained in a relic. / Credit: WikipediaACI Prensa Staff, Dec 18, 2023 / 18:40 pm (CNA).The Archdiocese of Naples, Italy, announced that the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius was repeated Saturday at the end of a Mass honoring him as the patron saint of the city.The Italian archdiocese reported on Facebook that at 10:35 a.m. on Dec. 16 "the announcement of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius was made" at the end of the Eucharist celebrated in the Royal Chapel of the Treasure of St. Januarius in the Naples cathedral.The Mass was celebrated by Monsignor Vincenzo De Gregorio, "on the occasion of the feast of the patronage of St. Januarius, which is traditionally accompanied by the hope of the prodigious liquefaction of the blood of the patron saint," the archdiocese said on its website.The miracle of liquefaction traditionally occurs three times a year: in commemoration of the transf...
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, speaks at the USCCB fall plenary assembly Nov. 14, 2023. / Credit: USCCB videoWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 18, 2023 / 12:58 pm (CNA).The U.S. bishops over the weekend renewed their call for peace in the Holy Land amid reports on Saturday that two Christian women were killed by sniper fire from Israeli forces at the Holy Family Parish in Gaza.The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said on Saturday morning that "around noon" on Dec. 16, a sniper of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) "murdered two Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, where the majority of Christian families has taken refuge since the start of the war." Several others were also shot, the statement said."No warning was given, no notification was provided," the patriarchate said.The IDF denied culpability for the deaths, telling CNA in an emailed statement that "representatives of the church contacted the IDF regarding exp...
null / Credit: Elliott Cowand Jr/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Dec 18, 2023 / 15:02 pm (CNA).A proposed bill in New York state would result in Chick-fil-A being forced to leave a major highway system unless it opened on Sundays, a rule that would run afoul of the chain's decades-old policy of closing on the Christian Sabbath.The bill, listed on the state Legislature's website last week, dictates that "any contracts entered into by the New York State Thruway Authority for the operation of food services at public transportation facilities" shall require that those services "be provided every day of the week."The Thruway is a hundreds-of-miles-long network of state highways that run from New York City to the Pennsylvania border. It has existed in New York since the mid-1950s. A memo accompanying the bill says that "while there is nothing objectionable about a fast food restaurant closing on a particular day of the week, service areas dedicated to travelers is an inappropriate locati...
St. Peter's Basilica. / Credit: vvo/ShutterstockRome Newsroom, Dec 18, 2023 / 15:22 pm (CNA).The Vatican has issued new guidance on the topic of blessings of same-sex attracted people, stating that Catholic priests can bless same-sex couples as an expression of pastoral closeness without condoning their sexual relations. The ruling, which also applies to Catholics civilly remarried without having received an annulment as well as to couples in other "irregular situations," underscored that such blessings cannot be offered in a way that would cause any confusion about the nature of marriage, which the document affirms is the only "context that sexual relations find their natural, proper, and fully human meaning." "The Church's doctrine on this point remains firm," the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) said in its Dec. 18 declaration.The declaration emphasizes that blessings may only be given "spontaneously" and not in the context of a formal liturgical rite...
Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza at Christmas 2021. / Credit: Anas-Mohammed/ShutterstockRome Newsroom, Dec 18, 2023 / 10:35 am (CNA).The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has denied culpability over the deaths of two Christian Palestinian women who were reportedly killed at the Holy Family Parish complex in Gaza on Saturday morning.The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said on Saturday morning that "around noon" on Dec. 16, a sniper of the IDF "murdered two Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, where the majority of Christian families has taken refuge since the start of the war." Several others were also shot, the statement said."No warning was given, no notification was provided," the patriarchate said. "They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the parish, where there are no belligerents."In an emailed statement to CNA, the IDF said that it had received the letter "describing a tragic incident that took place in the Holy Family Parish." On Saturday,...
