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CATHOLIC NEWS HEADLINES

Pope speaks on Confession, Act of Contrition
Editor's Note: Pope Francis gave an address on March 8 to seminarians
participating in a course on the “internal forum,” and encouraged them “to live
each Confession as a unique and unrepeatable moment of grace.”

In his address the Pontiff examined the traditional formula for the Act of
Contrition, noting that it stresses repentance, trust, and a resolve not to
relapse into sin. Regarding repentance in particular, he said that “the sense of
sin is proportional precisely to the perception of God’s infinite love.”

The Pope handed out a copy of his address to the seminarians, rather than
delivering his talk orally.

Vatican Press Office - 23 hours ago
Papal gratitude for peace concert in Spain
Editor's Note: In a brief video message, Pope Francis expressed gratitude for
Cadena 100 por la paz, a concert for peace organized by the Spanish bishops’
radio network.

The concert will assist in providing humanitarian aid to families in Jerusalem
and the West Bank.

“In the face of so many victims, destruction, tears in so many peoples
devastated by war—I think of the martyred Ukraine, but also of Palestine, of
Israel, and I thank you for the initiative,” the Pope said. “Thank you for not
looking the other way, thank you for committing yourselves to those who are
directly suffering the effects of wars.”

Vatican Press Office - March 8
Pope hails ‘feminine genius’ at Vatican conference
Editor's Note: Speaking on March 7 to participants in a conference on the role
of women in the Church, Pope Francis emphasized that “the feminine genius can
uniquely reflect God’s holiness in our world.”

(Several of the participants in the Vatican conference lodged objections to the
notion that the feminine role is unique, in their own presentations to the
conference. See today’s separate CWN headline.)

The Pope called attention to two specific aspects of the feminine mission: style
and education. Regarding style, he said that “women know how to bring people
together with tenderness.” As for education, he focused on “pastoral care within
university communities,” encouraging “testimonies of holiness, especially of
feminine sanctity.”

Curiously, in his discussion of women’s role in education, the Pontiff did not
mention the work of women as educators in the home.

Vatican Press Office - March 7
Euthanasia deaths in Belgium reach record high
Editor's Note: Doctors in Belgium killed a record 3,423 patients by lethal
injection in 2023—up from 1,807 in 2013.

“In almost a quarter of recorded cases, the reason given for euthanasia was
poly-pathologies, rather than terminal illness, in which patients suffer from a
range of complaints such as a loss of vision or hearing, arthritis and
incontinence,” according to the report. “In half of these cases, the patients
were not dying from their illnesses ... A total of 89 people were given lethal
injections solely because of their psychiatric conditions or cognitive disorders
such as dementia.”

The Western European nation of 11.9 million (map) is 61% Christian (58%
Catholic), 26% agnostic, 9% Muslim, and 2% atheist.

Catholic Herald - March 7
Retired judge to lead abuse probe on Canadian cardinal
Editor's Note: A retired judge of Quebec’s Superior Court, André Denis, will
investigate abuse charges against Cardinal Gerald Lacroix of Quebec.

The Quebec archdiocese announced that Denis has been appointed by Pope Francis
to head a Vos Estis investigation of the cardinal’s case. Cardinal Lacroix, who
has “categorically” denied the charges against him, has temporarily withdrawn
from the management of the archdiocese while the investigation takes place. He
remains a member of the Pope’s Council of Cardinals.

CNA - March 7
Assisted suicide proposal successfully rebuffed again in Maryland legislature
Editor's Note: A Maryland senate committee has rejected a bill that would have
legalized physician-assisted suicide in the state.

“What’s really important is that people understand that their voice and their
phone calls and their emails do make a difference,” said Jenny Kraska, executive
director of the Maryland Catholic Conference.

CNA - March 7
Canadian Anglican theologian sees Fiducia Supplicans as the ‘fall of Rome’
Editor's Note: Referring the day on which Fiducia Supplicans, the Dicastery for
the Doctrine of the Faith’s declaration on the pastoral meaning of blessings,
was issued, Hans Boersma writes that “December 18, 2023, will go down in history
as the date on which the die was cast: the date on which the Church renounced
the Gospel’s right to call us to repentance; the date that, more than any other,
signals the Church’s implosion in the West.”

The document, Hans Boersma writes in an article entitled “The Fall of Rome,” is
“absolutely earth-shattering. It is hard to imagine anyone doing more damage
more effectively to the Catholic Church and to Christianity as a whole than Pope
Francis has done with this declaration. Unless radically critiqued and reversed,
its guidelines will signal the demise of Western Christianity.”

Touchstone - March 7
Pope Francis calls for recovery of St. Thomas Aquinas’ philosophical,
theological perspective
Editor's Note: In a message to the participants in a workshop organized by the
Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, Pope Francis wrote that “a recovery of
the philosophical and theological perspective that informed [St. Thomas
Aquinas’] work could prove quite promising for our disciplined reflection on the
pressing social issues of our own time.”

“My Predecessors and I have consistently reaffirmed the relevance of natural law
in discussions regarding the ethical and political challenges of our time,” the
Pope continued. “Thomas’ confidence in a natural law written within the human
heart can thus offer fresh and valid insights to our globalized world, dominated
by legal positivism and casuistry, even as it continues to seek solid
foundations for a just and humane social order.”

The theme of the pontifical academy’s two-day workshop, which began on the 750th
anniversary of the saint’s death, is “Aquinas’ social ontology and natural law
in perspective.”

Vatican Press Office - March 8
Catalonian Socialist leader meets with Pontiff
Editor's Note: On March 7, Pope Francis received Salvador Illa and his wife. As
First Secretary of the Socialists’ Party of Catalonia, Illa is the opposition
leader in the Parliament of Catalonia; he is also Spain’s former health minister
(2020-21).

“The Pontiff is a reference for millions of persons for his reflections in favor
of peace, on the defense of human rights and the struggle against inequalities,”
Illa tweeted after the meeting.

Illa added that he gave Pope Francis two books on Catalonian churches: one on
the famed Basilica of Sagrada Família, the other on Girona Cathedral.

@salvadorilla - March 8
At Vatican conference, women question ‘feminine’ role
Editor's Note: At a Vatican conference on women in the Church, several speakers
questioned the notion that women should play a special complementary role.

Christiane Murray, the deputy director of the Vatican press office, questioned
why “qualities such as graciousness, delicacy, care, empathy” are “always
associated with femininity.” To applause from the other conference participants,
she said:

> However, it’s important to note that these characteristics are not
> intrinsically tied to gender, but they are social constructs that can be
> experienced and expressed also by individuals of the masculine sex.”

Maeve Heaney of Australian Catholic University challenged the work of the
theologian Hans Urs von Balthazar, who saw “Petrine” and “Marian” principles at
work in the Church. That approach, Heaney said, “is incomplete as it
overemphasizes the maleness of Jesus and the femaleness of the Church.” She
called for a new examination of the Church’s teaching on ordination. Sister
Nathalie Becquart, the secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, told the
conference that the frequent calls for greater inclusion of women in Church
leadership reflects a healthy growing awardness that “the Church has to be
attentive to the voices of women who seek greater equality.”
Crux - March 7
New Zealand cardinal accused of abuse, police will not press charges; high court
permits news report
Editor's Note: Cardinal John Dew, who retired as Archbishop of Wellington in
May, was accused shortly after his retirement of an incident of child sexual
abuse in 1977, according to New Zealand media.

The prelate strenuously denied the allegation. Police have closed their
investigation and will not press charges.

Cardinal Dew sought an injunction to prevent the news service Newshub from
reporting on the accusation, but New Zealand’s Supreme Court dismissed his
application for an injunction.

Archbishop Paul Martin, Cardinal Dew’s successor, said that “now that the police
investigation has concluded, Cardinal John continues to stand aside while Church
inquiries proceed.”

Newshub - March 7
Today’s world needs perspective of St. Thomas Aquinas, Pope says
Editor's Note: Pope Francis sent a message of encouragement to a Roman
conference on St. Thomas Aquinas and natural law, organized by the Pontifical
Academy for Social Sciences to mark the 750th anniversary of the saint’s death.

In his message the Pope observed that “the Angelic Doctor was profoundly
convinced that since God is the truth and the light that illumines all
understanding, there can be no ultimate contradiction between revealed truth and
the truths discovered by reason.” That understanding is badly needed today, he
remarked:

> While his influence in shaping the moral and legal thinking of modernity is
> beyond doubt, a recovery of the philosophical and theological perspective that
> informed his work could prove quite promising for our disciplined reflection
> on the pressing social issues of our own time.

Vatican Press Office - March 7
Court upholds Maryland’s Child Victims Act; Archdiocese of Washington announces
appeal
Editor's Note: A Maryland court has upheld the constitutionality of state’s
Child Victims Act, which lifts the statue of limitations for child sexual abuse
claims.

The Archdiocese of Washington, led by Cardinal Wilton Gregory, will appeal the
decision. The archdiocese’s territory includes five counties in Maryland, in
addition to the District of Columbia.

Maryland Daily Record - March 7
France makes abortion a constitutional right
Editor's Note: French lawmakers, in a joint session of the National Assembly and
the Senate, have given overwhelming approval to a constitutional amendment that
will guarantee a right to abortion.

Before the vote, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal encouraged the legislators to make
France the first country to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution. “We
have a chance to make history,” he said.

After voting 780—72 in favor of the measure, the lawmakers rose to applaud their
vote. No major political party had opposed the amendment.

AP - March 5
Veteran Vatican diplomat cites obligation to disarm
Editor's Note: In an interview with Vatican News, Cardinal Silvio Tomasi backed
the insistence of Pope Francis that disarmament is a moral obligation.

“The consequences of not disarming are so dangerous, that it becomes a
responsibility to be informed about them,” said that cardinal—who served for
years as the Vatican’s representative at UN offices in Geneva.

Cardinal Tomasi emphasized the unknown and unpredictable human costs of warfare,
and asked: “If, in an effort to defend, all is lost, what remains to be
defended?”

Vatican News - 23 hours ago
Pope encourages abuse commission, avoiding Rupnik issue
Editor's Note: Pope Francis met on March 7 with members of the Pontifical
Commission for the Protection of Minors, which was meeting in a plenary
assembly.

Steering clear of the heated controversy over the case of Father Marko Rupnik,
the Pope encouraged the group to “continue in this service with a team spirit,
building bridges and networks that can make your care for others more
effective.” He said that “closeness to victims of abuse is not abstract concept,
but a very concrete reality, comprised of listening, intervening, preventing,
and assisting.”

Following the pattern that he has established during the past week, the Pope did
not deliver his address personally, but asked an aide to read his prepared
remarks. The Pope, who has been battling respiratory problems, held several
audiences on Thursday, maintaining a full schedule, but consistently having his
remarks read by an aide.

Vatican News - March 7
Ecumenical group chaired by Cardinal Tobin calls for Catholic recognition of
some Orthodox divorces, remarriages
The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation—co-chaired by
Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark and Metropolitan Methodios of Boston—has
announced the publication of a new statement, “The Pastoral Care of Mixed
Marriages: Neither Yours nor Mine—but Ours,”...
CWN - March 6
Parents, Yukon education department take aim at ‘homophobic’ lessons at Catholic
school
Editor's Note: Some parents at a Yukon Catholic school have taken aim at a
12th-grade teacher for having students read from a textbook that asserts that
homosexual acts are immoral.

The teacher assigned his students a reading from Called to Happiness: Guiding
Ethical Principles, by Sister Terese Auer, Ph.D., a Nashville Dominican sister.
The textbook notes—in a passage that offended parents—that “we come to
understand by means of natural law that masturbation, contraception and
homosexual acts are disordered and that we ought not to do them if we want to
act in accord with the will of God.”

The parents have complained that the lesson, and other assignments from the
teacher, “go against the [Yukon] Department of Education’s Sexual Orientation
and Gender Identity policy that is supposed to protect students of all genders
... Not only is this teacher using a homophobic textbook, but he’s focusing his
teaching on some of the most hateful ideas in that text.”

The Yukon Education Department issued a statement in support of the parents.

“While Catholic schools have the right to provide religious education programs
and lessons that teach Catholic values to their students, they do not have the
right to provide teachings about sexual orientation or gender identity that are
inconsistent with the Yukon’s laws and Department of Education policies,” the
department said.

“There is no place for homophobic or transphobic teachings in our public school
system,” the department added. “Catholic schools in Yukon are public schools,
and Catholic educators are Yukon public servants. These schools and teachers
must adhere to all Government of Yukon laws and policies.”

Yukon News - March 7
Florida senator demands President Biden denounce attacks on Catholic churches
Editor's Note: “I demand you condemn the growing number of attacks on Catholic
churches and make combatting these incidents an urgent priority for your
administration by prosecuting each and every offender to the fullest extent of
the law,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) wrote in a March 5 letter to President Joe
Biden.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has documented over 300 acts of
vandalism, arson, and other destruction at parishes and other Catholic sites in
the United States since 2020. A tracker from CatholicVote.org lists additional
attacks.

Sen. Marco Rubio - March 7
Montenegro president meets with Pontiff
Editor's Note: Pope Francis met on March 7 with President Jakov Milatovic of
Montenegro.

A brief statement released by the Vatican after the meeting indicated that the
conversation had focused on Church-state relations and on the integration of
Montenegro “and other Western Balkan countries” into the European Union. The
talk also touched on the warfare in Ukraine and the Holy Land.

Vatican Press Office - March 7
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