(Vatican Radio) Marianne Servaas from Belgium is among the thousands of delegates from across the world attending the Church’s International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) taking place in the city of Cebu in the Philippines. A mother of four, Servaas was sexually abused as a young child but said she overcame this painful experience and her life is now full of joy and hope after she converted to Catholicism. She spoke to our correspondent, Sean Patrick Lovett, about her life and her faith.Listen to the interview with Marianne Servaas, a delegate at the IEC: Servaas recounted how she grew up in a Christian evangelical family but had a difficult childhood as she was sexually abused from the age of 4 to 14 and her mother was suffering from a terminal illness. She described how she wrestled for many years with the feeling that she didn’t fit into her evangelical background, especially after she came to live in the Philippines with her husband where she was confront...
(Vatican Radio) Marianne Servaas from Belgium is among the thousands of delegates from across the world attending the Church’s International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) taking place in the city of Cebu in the Philippines. A mother of four, Servaas was sexually abused as a young child but said she overcame this painful experience and her life is now full of joy and hope after she converted to Catholicism. She spoke to our correspondent, Sean Patrick Lovett, about her life and her faith.
Listen to the interview with Marianne Servaas, a delegate at the IEC:
Servaas recounted how she grew up in a Christian evangelical family but had a difficult childhood as she was sexually abused from the age of 4 to 14 and her mother was suffering from a terminal illness. She described how she wrestled for many years with the feeling that she didn’t fit into her evangelical background, especially after she came to live in the Philippines with her husband where she was confronted by “this incredible sense of joy” among the nation’s population.
On returning to Belgium, Servaas was invited to an Easter Vigil by some friends and that was when she “fell in love with the Eucharist” and therefore with the Catholic Church. She told us how being a Catholic has made her “more human” and how her faith has given her so much joy and hope.
Speaking about contemporary society, Servaas said she believes we are “loosing our trust” here in the Western world with so many people distrustful of each other and of other people’s ideas and having a tendency not to look at life or at reality in order to learn true wisdom.
null / Orhan Cam/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 26, 2024 / 12:30 pm (CNA).The addition of "gender identity" in the Biden administration's interpretation of anti-discrimination rules could jeopardize state laws that restrict women's sports and women's locker rooms to only women, according to legal scholars.Late last week, President Joe Biden's Department of Education redefined the prohibition on sex discrimination in education, enshrined in the 1972 Title IX provisions, to include discrimination based on a person's "gender identity." The new guidelines prohibit any policy and practice that "prevents a person from participating in an education program or activity consistent with their gender identity."Although the new guidelines do not clearly explain how the mandate would be enforced, experts at the legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and the conservative Heritage Foundation told CNA that it could force educational institutions to allow men who...
Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne attends a German Synodal Way assembly on March 9, 2023. / Credit: Synodaler Weg/Maximilian von LachnerCNA Newsroom, Apr 26, 2024 / 13:57 pm (CNA).Four German bishops on Wednesday distanced themselves from the controversial Synodal Way's plans for a permanent body to oversee the Church in Germany, instead appealing for unity with the universal Church. The four bishops are the same who have previously blocked funding for this body: Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne and three prelates from Bavaria: Gregor Maria Hanke, OSB, of Eichstätt; Stefan Oster, SDB, of Passau; and Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg.In a joint statement, the prelates confirmed on April 24 that they would not be parties to a committee charged with setting up a German "Synodal Council, as this would conflict with the sacramental constitution of the Church."The four bishops also rejected the view that the German Bishops' Conference could legally establish a "synod...
Families, donors, and others gather with Bishop Erik Pohlmeier for the dedication of the "Precious Ones Baby Mausoleum" at the San Lorenzo Cemetery in St. Augustine, Florida, on April 23, 2024. / Credit: Fran Ruchalski/courtesy of the Archdiocese of St. AugustineCNA Staff, Apr 26, 2024 / 09:51 am (CNA).Families gathered with St. Augustine Bishop Erik Pohlmeier on a sunny Tuesday this week for the dedication of the "Precious Ones Baby Mausoleum" at the city's San Lorenzo Cemetery.Six years in the making, the 44,000-pound granite mausoleum is designed for babies lost at a young age through miscarriage, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), or stillborn births. A brick walkway marked by a charcoal cross leads up to the brilliant white mausoleum, which is full of burial spaces that are ready to honor little ones. Miscarriages are common events, and women often suffer through them quietly, one 2018 study found. About 10% to 20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage, usually be...