St. Joseph Catholic Church Palm Bay

Browsing News Entries

Browsing News Entries

Singing this song on Holy Thursday can purify your soul

Adoration. / Thoom / Shutterstock.

CNA Staff, Mar 28, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Did you know that it is possible to sing a special song of adoration on Holy Thursday and have your soul purified?

It’s true, and the song is “Tantum Ergo.”

First, some background...

A plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ to remove all temporal punishment due to sin.

What does this mean?

“An indulgence does not confer grace. An indulgence is not a remission of the guilt due to sin. The guilt due to sin is ordinarily taken away by the sacraments of baptism and penance (confession), in which we receive forgiveness for sins through Jesus Christ,” the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) explains in this helpful Q&A.

“Although guilt is taken away, and with it the eternal penalty that is due to sin, namely, damnation, the eternal loss of the presence of God, there remain consequences for sins that those who have committed them must bear. There is what is traditionally called the temporal punishment for sin.”

What is temporal punishment?

As the USCCB explains: “Every sinful act creates a disorder within the soul of the human person; it distorts our desires and affections, leaving us with ‘an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth or after death in the state called purgatory.’”

For this reason, the USCCB continues: “Those who have received forgiveness for their sins still have an obligation to undergo a difficult and painful process (the temporal penalty for sin) to be purified of the consequences of their sins and to restore the disrupted relationships.”

Through a plenary indulgence, we can be spared this purification process. As the USCCB explains it: “By God’s grace, participation in a prayer or action that has an indulgence attached to it brings about the necessary restoration and reparation without the suffering that would normally accompany it.”

On Holy Thursday, you can receive this special gift, resulting in the purification of your soul, by singing the “Tantum Ergo.” If you aren’t familiar with this beautiful hymn, watch this short video.

The “Tantum Ergo” is the last two verses of “Pange Lingua,” a Latin hymn written by St. Thomas Aquinas. “Tantum Ergo” is short for the first words of the hymn’s second-to-last verse, “Tantum ergo Sacramentum,” which in Latin simply means “Therefore, so greatly the Sacrament.”

These magnificent verses are an expression of adoration of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. For this reason, it is usually sung before the benediction when the priest blesses those gathered with the monstrance. 

After Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, the faithful are invited to participate in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament throughout the night. This represents the disciples who were invited to stay up throughout the night with the Lord during his agony in the garden before his betrayal by Judas. Singing the “Tantum Ergo” at this time is how you obtain the plenary indulgence.

As always the case with plenary indulgences, certain conditions must be satisfied to receive the grace. According to the USCCB, these conditions are: sacramental confession, reception of holy Communion; prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father; and complete detachment from all sin, even venial sin.

The first three conditions (confession, Communion, and prayers for the pope’s intentions) can be fulfilled a few days before or after performing the works to gain the indulgence (in this case, singing the “Tantum Ergo” during adoration), but it is appropriate that Communion and the prayer take place on the same day that the work is completed.

Here are words to the “Tantum Ergo”:

Tantum ergo Sacramentum

Veneremur cernui:

Et antiquum documentum

Novo cedat ritui:

Praestet fides supplementum

Sensuum defectui.

Genitori, Genitoque

Laus et iubilatio,

Salus, honor, virtus quoque

Sit et benedictio

Procedenti ab utroque

Compar sit laudatio.

Amen.

And here’s the English version:

Down in adoration falling,
Lo! the sacred Host we hail,
Lo! oe’r ancient forms departing
Newer rites of grace prevail;
Faith for all defects supplying,
Where the feeble senses fail.

To the everlasting Father,
And the Son Who reigns on high
With the Holy Spirit proceeding
Forth from each eternally,
Be salvation, honor, blessing,
Might and endless majesty.
Amen.

This story was originally posted on CNA on April 13, 2022, and has been updated.

What is the ‘sacred triduum’? A CNA explainer

A stripped altar on Holy Thursday 2015 at Mater Dei Parish in Irving, Texas. / Credit: Mater Dei Latin Mass parish via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Denver, Colo., Mar 28, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

At the end of the season of Lent — and right before Easter — the Catholic Church observes the “sacred triduum.” Many Catholics have questions about what happens during the Triduum and how they should observe this time.

What is the triduum?

The triduum is a period that begins on Holy Thursday and ends at the conclusion of Easter Sunday.

It encompasses the evening of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday.

The term “triduum” means “three days” and refers to any three-day observance. Technically, the triduum during Holy Week is known as the “paschal triduum” or “Easter triduum.”

The word “paschal,” which is used to refer to Easter, comes from the Greek word “pascha,” which comes from the Hebrew word “pesach,” which means Passover. Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection, which is connected theologically to the Passover feast, is referred to as the paschal mystery.

What happens on Holy Thursday?

On the evening of Holy Thursday, the Church celebrates the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, which commemorates Christ’s Passover meal with his apostles the night before he died. The Mass of the Lord’s Supper most especially remembers the institution of the Eucharist — the sacramental gift to the Church of Christ’s body and blood, given in the transformation of bread and wine.

Often, at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the priest washes the feet of some members of the congregation, recalling Christ’s washing of feet at the Last Supper. “If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do,” Christ told his apostles.

Why is it called ‘Maundy Thursday?’

Holy Thursday is sometimes called “Maundy Thursday.” The word “maundy” comes from the Latin word “mandatum,” which means mandate.

On Maundy Thursday, Christ gave us a mandate: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.”

Is Holy Thursday a holy day of obligation?

No. And people may not be able to attend the Mass of the Lord’s Supper for a variety of reasons: their family needs, work schedule, or health. But it’s a beautiful Mass. You should go if you can!

Is there Mass on Good Friday?

No, there’s no Mass on Good Friday.

In fact, after Mass on Holy Thursday, the altar is stripped of its cloth. Crosses are removed from the Church or covered. No candles burn in the church.

The Blessed Sacrament is not reposed in the church’s tabernacle but in another small chapel.

On Good Friday, the church is empty of many of its symbols. It is adorned like a church in mourning. And, at 3 p.m., the Church offers the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion.

At this celebration, Scripture is read that recounts the prophetic anticipation of Christ’s passion and recounts the passion narrative itself. Communion is distributed. Believers are invited to venerate the cross — to come forward and kiss or reverence a cross.

“Behold the wood of the cross,” the priest proclaims.

I know that Good Friday is a solemn day, but what should we do all day?

Good Friday is a day of fasting and abstaining from meat. You can read more about that here.

On Good Friday, families should try to observe a quiet day of simplicity in addition to attending the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion.

This might mean praying the rosary together or reading Scripture together. It might mean keeping the TV off or going for a family hike. The idea is that it should be a day of reflection and should be noticeably different from other days of the year.

If you haven’t yet gone to confession during Lent, Good Friday is also an excellent day to go to confession — and take your family.

What does one do on Holy Saturday?

The culmination of Holy Saturday is the Easter Vigil. But it’s a long day, and people often ask what they should do with the rest of it.

Many families use Holy Saturday as a day for spring cleaning or garden planting. Some spend the day outdoors, and some spend the day preparing for an Easter feast. All the better if Holy Saturday is a day of prayer.

And some people dye Easter eggs!

And the Easter Vigil?

The Easter Vigil is one of the most beautiful liturgies in the Church’s calendar. It is spectacular and full of beautiful Catholic symbolism.

The vigil begins at night. It starts with a fire, which is blessed, and from which is lit the paschal candle. The whole of salvation history is proclaimed during the readings.

A beautiful Easter proclamation, called the Exsultet, is sung, usually by a deacon. (Done well, this is, in my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful things the Church does in a liturgy.) Men and women are welcomed into the Church: Some will be baptized and confirmed, and others, already baptized, will receive confirmation.

The Easter Vigil is awesome. Fair warning: It’s also long. And a lot of readings take place with the lights off. Some parents decide it is too much for children, while others bring their kids in pajamas and let them sleep in the pews. At the Easter Vigil, that’s perfectly understandable. A scan of your local parish church suggests that kids aren’t the only ones who sometimes fall asleep during the readings. It’s all part of the experience.

So, after that ends, is it Easter?

It sure is. If you go to the Easter Vigil, you may want to stay up and celebrate. The Lord’s resurrection is what Easter is all about. Some people will, of course, go to Easter Sunday Mass and then spend the day feasting with family and friends.

One piece of advice for celebrating Easter: Remember the poor, the lonely, the outcasts. If you really want to celebrate Easter, invite someone to your table who might have nowhere else to go. You’ll be glad you did.

And then Easter is over?

The triduum ends on the evening of Easter Sunday. But the “octave” of Easter lasts for eight days. And the liturgical season of Easter lasts for 50 days, all the way to Pentecost.

What does this mean? It means it’ll soon be time to celebrate Christ’s resurrection. Get ready for it!

This article was first published in April 2016 and has been updated.

Archdiocese of Baltimore ministers to victims’ families, stranded crew of bridge collapse

Workers continue to investigate and search for victims after the cargo ship Dali collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing it to collapse yesterday, on March 27, 2024, in Baltimore. / Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 27, 2024 / 17:50 pm (CNA).

In the wake of the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s collapse on Tuesday, the Archdiocese of Baltimore has been at the forefront of efforts to help the victims.

Archbishop William Lori called for prayer and held a special Mass for the victims Tuesday evening at Baltimore’s Cathedral of Mary, Our Queen. Among the victims are two injured and six missing construction workers, who are presumed dead, and 22 who were stranded aboard the Singaporean ship that crashed into the bridge.

Father Ako Walker, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Highlandtown, Maryland, has been visiting with the missing victims’ families, offering spiritual and emotional comfort. He told CNA that the six missing men have families who are now heartbroken and in shock over the loss of their loved ones.

“They were fathers, they were breadwinners, they were sons,” he said.

As authorities have yet to recover six of the victims, Walker said he has been ministering to their families by simply giving them his “accompaniment and presence.”

“It’s very, very difficult to receive the news of the possibility that you may not see your loved one alive again,” Walker said. “They have been struggling to come to terms. They have been asking questions and of course, it being very early on, it’s difficult to give very definite responses to the questions that they have.”  

“For many of them, it’s been a waiting game. My role is to wait with them, to journey with them until they get some definitive news as regards to their loved ones,” he explained.

Andrew Middleton, who leads the archdiocese’s Apostleship of the Sea ministry, was one of the first people to communicate with the crew of the ship, called the “Dali,” just hours after its catastrophic electrical failure and collision with the Key Bridge.

After losing power on Tuesday morning, the Dali hit one of the bridge’s beams, causing much of the 1.6-mile-long bridge to collapse into the Patapsco River by downtown Baltimore.  

Middleton had been with the ship’s captain and some of the crew members days before to help them shop for supplies. After hearing the news, he quickly messaged a crew member who responded confirming that everyone onboard had survived and was safe.

For now, the 22 crew members of the ship, who are from India, remain stranded aboard the Dali amid the wreckage in the Patapsco.

Middleton explained that as foreign nationals, the crew may face legal complications if they try to return to land, as U.S. Customs and Border Patrol would have to grant them special permission. Middleton said the crew is currently communicating with crew members via WhatsApp. He said he has offered to help them with supplies and assured them of his ministry’s prayer.

“Throughout the day yesterday I would just periodically check in, make sure everybody was still doing okay, remind them that we were available for them and that we were praying for them and to not hesitate to reach out to me if they needed anything,” he explained.

Middleton said that when the Dali is eventually allowed to dock, Apostleship of Sea will be ready with food and basic necessities for the crew.

As part of the archdiocese’s ministry to seafarers, Middleton explained that he and other ministry members focus their efforts on the corporal works of mercy: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and the poor.

Middleton said he wants to ensure “we’re reminding seafarers of their God-given human dignity.”

According to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, crew members were able to send a distress signal after losing power so that police officers were able to close the bridge in time to prevent further casualties.

However, eight construction workers, immigrants from Latin America, were unable to escape and were on the impacted portion of the bridge. They had been working to fill potholes on the bridge when the Dali collided with it, sending the men into the icy river below. 

Two were rescued and survived but after searching much of Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard ended its active rescue efforts and the six remaining victims are now presumed dead, according to local news station WBAL-TV

Watch “EWTN News Nightly’”s coverage of the Key Bridge collapse. 

One missing victim has been identified by the migrant aid group CASA as Miguel Luna, an El Salvadoran immigrant, husband, and father of three. According to CASA, Luna had been a resident of Maryland for the last 19 years.

Another missing victim has been identified as Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, a Honduran national, husband, and father of two who had been in the U.S. for 18 years, according to CNN.

The governments of Mexico and Guatemala have also confirmed some of their nationals were victims of the bridge’s collapse, per CNN.

Father Walker told CNA that the families of the missing, among them some who have small children, are in “immediate need.”

The Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Esperanza Center is working to coordinate aid for the victims’ families in the wake of their loss, he said.

Besides considering financial contributions to help the victims’ families, Walker also asked for the faithful across the country to pray.

“While this is an earthly thing and it’s physical, it’s also spiritual,” he said. “Some of them are having a difficult time and they are outwardly expressing their grief, tears, and so on, and others are just quiet, so I don’t know if the quietness is acceptance or just numbness.”

“My suggestion,” he went on, “is that we entrust all of this to Mary, Our Mother of Perpetual Help, she who accompanied Jesus on the journey and she who observed that her son was maligned, was not treated properly, that suffered.”

“As the victims themselves go through their own suffering and as all of us look on, because all of us are suffering, too, whether indirectly or directly, we [should] remember that we have our Mother Mary who knows very well how to journey with us and who knows how to comfort us in this very, very difficult situation,” he said.

“I commend and entrust all this entire situation to our Mother Mary, who knows fully well that with God, all things are possible.”

Trump touts ‘God Bless the USA’ King James Bible ahead of Easter

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at 40 Wall Street on March 25, 2024, in New York City. / Credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

CNA Staff, Mar 27, 2024 / 11:30 am (CNA).

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump this week is advertising United States-themed Bibles ahead of Easter, urging supporters to purchase a copy of the holy book and help “make America pray again.”

Trump announced the commemorative Bible offering on social media this week, saying he partnered with country singer Lee Greenwood on the initiative. Greenwood’s 1984 song “God Bless the USA” is traditionally played before Trump's campaign rally and event speeches.  

“This Bible is the King James Version and also includes our Founding Father documents,” Trump said. 

The book contains the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Pledge of Allegiance, the former president noted.

“It’s just very important and very important to me,” Trump said in the announcement. “I want to have a lot of people have it. You have to have it for your heart, for your soul.”

The former president, who is Joe Biden’s presumed challenger in the 2024 election, said the United States is “going haywire” because “we’ve lost religion in our country.”

“All Americans need a Bible in their home, and I have many. It’s my favorite book. It’s a lot of people’s favorite book,” Trump said, urging supporters to “stand up, speak out, and pray that God will bless America again.”

The website offering the Bibles for sale notes that it also comes transcribed with a “handwritten chorus to ‘God Bless the USA’ by Lee Greenwood.” It is touted as “the only Bible endorsed by President Trump.”

The book, which is retailing for $59.99, “is not political and has nothing to do with any political campaign,” the website says. 

The King James Bible has traditionally been used by Anglicans and other Protestant denominations. It is distinct from the version of the Bible approved by the Catholic Church, which in the U.S. includes the New American Bible among other approved translations.

Here’s what the Holy Thursday Seven Churches Visitation devotion is all about

null / Credit: licesio/www.shutterstock.com

CNA Staff, Mar 27, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The Visitation to Seven Churches is a Holy Thursday devotion primarily practiced in Latin America, Italy, Poland, and the Philippines — though it is also practiced in many other places.

The devotion involves traveling to seven local churches after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on the evening of Holy Thursday. These visits recall the final seven places Jesus went from his arrest on Holy Thursday to his death on Good Friday.

In each church, the pilgrim kneels before the altar of repose, meditates on the appropriate Scripture, and offers prayers and adoration. In this way, pilgrims seek to spiritually accompany Christ as he enters his passion.

The first church recalls Jesus going from the Cenacle, where he celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples, to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he earnestly prayed and sweat blood in his agony over what was about to take place (see Luke 22:39-46).

In the second church, the pilgrim meditates on Jesus being taken from the Garden of Gethsemane by the armed crowd to the house of Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas the high priest, where he was interrogated and slapped in the face (see John 18:19-22).

In the third church, the prayer focuses on Jesus being brought to the house of Caiaphas, where he was beaten, spat upon, insulted, and endured a painful night in captivity (see Matthew 26:63-68).

The focus of the reflection for the fourth church is the first time Jesus was brought before Pilate, the Roman governor of the region. There Jesus was accused by the Jewish religious authorities of being a rival king to Caesar (see John 18:35-37).

In the fifth church, the pilgrim follows the Lord as he is taken to King Herod, who along with his guards mock him (see Luke 23:8-9; 11).

The sixth church recalls Jesus being taken from Herod and brought before Pilate for the second time and then scourged, crowned with thorns, mocked, and condemned to death (see Matthew 27:22-26).

The last church commemorates Christ carrying the cross on his shoulders from the Praetorium, where Pilate yielded to the crowd’s demand for his crucifixion, to Mount Calvary where he suffered excruciating pain, died, and was laid to rest in a nearby tomb until his resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday (see Matthew 27:27-31).

This article was originally published on April 1, 2021, and has been updated.

Why is today called Spy Wednesday?

Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss, 14th-century fresco in the Collegiata of San Gimignano, Italy. / Credit: jorisvo/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Mar 27, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

You might hear today referred to as “Spy Wednesday.” What does that mean and why do some people call it that?

The name actually derives from the Gospel reading for today — also called Holy Wednesday, as it is the Wednesday of Holy Week — in which Judas Iscariot betrays Jesus for 30 pieces of silver:

“One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?’ They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over” (Mt 26:14-16).

At that point, Judas “spies” on Jesus, secretly plotting the most opportune time to turn him in to the Sanhedrin, the council of Jewish elders at the time who sought to condemn Jesus.

Today’s reading follows yesterday’s account of the incident from the Gospel of John, in which Jesus says: “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me” (Jn 13:21). Simon Peter asks John — “the one whom Jesus loved” — to ask Jesus what he means. Jesus replies:

“‘It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.’ So he dipped the morsel and [took it and] handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. After he took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, ‘What you are going to do, do quickly’” (Jn 13:26-27).

Now the stage is set, so to speak, for the events of the night of the Last Supper through the Lord’s passion and death on Good Friday.

Use of the term “Spy Wednesday” for this day appears to have originated in England and Ireland in the 1800s, according to WordHistories.net. The website noted mentions of the term in Irish newspapers on several occasions throughout the century, with a clear definition given in 1881.

Pope Francis referred to the day as Spy Wednesday in his homily at a Mass on April 8, 2020.

Many use this day to discuss Judas’ betrayal, asking how and why someone who was so close to Jesus could do what he did.

“Judas gave up everything to follow Jesus for three years … Why would he betray him?” asked Dr. Edward Sri in a March 2021 podcast. “Perhaps a more important question we should all ponder is: Could something like that ever happen to me? Is it possible that I could turn away from Jesus?”

Bishop Robert Barron observed in an April 4, 2023, reflection: “Those of us who regularly gather around the table of intimacy with Christ and yet engage consistently in the works of darkness are meant to see ourselves in the betrayer.”

In his general audience catechesis on the Twelve Apostles in 2006, Pope Benedict XVI said God used Judas’ betrayal as part of his plan for salvation.

“The word ‘to betray’ is the version of a Greek word that means ‘to consign.’ Sometimes the subject is even God in person: It was he who for love ‘consigned’ Jesus for all of us (Rm 8: 32). In his mysterious salvific plan, God assumes Judas’ inexcusable gesture as the occasion for the total gift of the Son for the redemption of the world,” the pope said.

“We draw from this a final lesson,” Benedict concluded. “While there is no lack of unworthy and traitorous Christians in the Church, it is up to each of us to counterbalance the evil done by them with our clear witness to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.”

This article was originally published on April 5, 2023.

PHOTOS: Pro-life and pro-abortion activists hold dueling rallies outside Supreme Court

Hundreds of pro-life and pro-abortion demonstrators hold rallies alongside each other as the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the high-stakes abortion pill case Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. Food and Drug Administration, March 26, 2024. / Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

Washington D.C., Mar 26, 2024 / 18:15 pm (CNA).

Several hundred pro-life and pro-abortion activists held dueling rallies outside the Supreme Court building on Tuesday as the justices heard oral arguments in the high-stakes abortion pill case, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. Food and Drug Administration (AHM v. FDA).

At issue in the case is whether the FDA should restore certain restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone that were in place prior to 2016, most notably those removed by the Biden administration such as prohibiting administering the pills through the mail or via telemedicine. 

At the pro-life rally, abortion demonstrators blasted loud music in an attempt to drown out the pro-life speakers.

Many pro-abortion demonstrators wore pink and held homemade signs such as one that read: “Leave my mifepristone alone.” Other signs held by abortion activists had vulgar messages on them, with some mocking conservative Supreme Court justices.

Pro-lifers, meanwhile, held signs reading: “Chemical abortion hurts women” and “Women’s health matters,” while some prayed. 

During a few tense moments, Capitol Police officers, who lined the street, had to intervene to separate the two groups as demonstrators got into each other’s faces and shouted slogans over megaphones.

CNA spoke with some of the demonstrators to learn why they came. Here is what they said:

‘My daughter has rights’ 

Savanna Deretich (left) with Students for Life and Savannah Evans (right) with Live Action stand in front of the Supreme Court building as pro-life demonstrators, March 26, 2024. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA
Savanna Deretich (left) with Students for Life and Savannah Evans (right) with Live Action stand in front of the Supreme Court building as pro-life demonstrators, March 26, 2024. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

Savannah Evans, a pro-life activist with Live Action, traveled from Florida to stand for life in front of the Supreme Court. Evans, who is 34 weeks pregnant, lifted her sweater to reveal her baby bump on which she had written the words “Human Too.”

“Human life begins with fertilization, and anything after that is the killing of a human being,” Evans said.

“I’m out here because I’m 34 weeks pregnant, and I believe that my daughter has rights.”

‘Force the FDA to do their job’

Ken Meekins, a student from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, said he came because he believes that “the abortion pill does hurt women.”

“I’m here to stand for women’s health,” he said. “I think that it’s awful because the majority of abortions are chemical abortions. And not only that, they’re even more dangerous than surgical abortions because they’re done at home. And so, I’m out here today to ask the Supreme Court to force the FDA to do their job.”

 ‘The pope should not dictate what medications we’re allowed to take’

Ashley Wilson (left) and Kate Hoeting (right) with Catholics for Choice stand in front of the Supreme Court on March 26, 2024. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA
Ashley Wilson (left) and Kate Hoeting (right) with Catholics for Choice stand in front of the Supreme Court on March 26, 2024. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

Ashley Wilson and Kate Hoeting, members of a group that calls itself “Catholics for Choice,” were in front of the Supreme Court building advocating for abortion. They claimed to represent what they said was the majority of Catholics who “disagree with the bishops on abortion.” Wilson called the attempt to regulate abortion pills an example of “religious overreach.”

“One in four abortion patients in this country is Catholic,” Wilson said. “So, we trust a woman’s conscience-informed decision to have an abortion if she needs one.”

Pro-abortion demonstrators cheer as Catholics for Choice President Jamie Manson gives a speech in front of the Supreme Court building, March 26, 2024. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA
Pro-abortion demonstrators cheer as Catholics for Choice President Jamie Manson gives a speech in front of the Supreme Court building, March 26, 2024. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

 Jamie Manson, president of Catholics for Choice, was one of the speakers at the pro-abortion rally. She called the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the movement to place more restrictions on abortion “part of a coordinated long game to undermine democracy and establish a theocracy.”

“The pope should not dictate what medications we’re allowed to take in the United States,” she went on. “We want doctors, not doctrine, to shape our health care.”

‘I came to D.C. today to stand up for my patients’

There were a large number of pro-life doctors, many from the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), who rallied in front of the Supreme Court, March 26, 2024. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA
There were a large number of pro-life doctors, many from the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), who rallied in front of the Supreme Court, March 26, 2024. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

Dr. Susan Bane, an OB-GYN from North Carolina and member of the American Association of Pro-Life OB-GYNs (AAPLOG), spoke at the pro-life rally. 

She told CNA that she is advocating for restrictions on mifepristone because of the life-threatening dangers the drug poses to women. She said it is especially dangerous to administer mifepristone without medical supervision. 

“I came to D.C. today to stand up for my patients as well as the thousands of pro-life members of AAPLOG to care for women,” she said.

“The FDA’s own labeling says 1 in 25 women who use abortion drugs will go to the emergency department and they show up with potentially life-threatening complications, retained tissue infections requiring antibiotics, bleeding that’s so severe that they need transfusions or emergency surgery.”

“So, women should have the ongoing care of a doctor when taking high-risk drugs. And that’s why we want to see these safeguards put back in place,” she went on. “We want the FDA to do their job, and their job is to protect our patients.”

‘Science tells us that there is a life in the womb’ 

Hayden Laye, a member of the Democrats for Life of America, traveled to D.C. from South Carolina. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA
Hayden Laye, a member of the Democrats for Life of America, traveled to D.C. from South Carolina. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

Hayden Laye, a member of Democrats for Life of America, traveled to D.C. from South Carolina. He said that his belief in science tells him that “there is life in the womb.”

“As a Democrat, I’m against killing human beings, and that includes human beings in the womb,” he said.

He added that he felt “compelled” to come to express his support for restoring safeguards on the abortion pill out of concern for his community.

“I just want to make sure that both women and children in my state, in my community, are safe, are protected. I hope and pray that the Supreme Court upholds the safety laws for women regarding the abortion bill.”

‘We look to protect the women and children of Texas’ 

Jade and Casey Casias from Amarillo, Texas, traveled over 1,500 miles to show support for the pro-life side. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA
Jade and Casey Casias from Amarillo, Texas, traveled over 1,500 miles to show support for the pro-life side. Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

 Jade Casias and her husband, Casey Casias, came to demonstrate for life. They flew over 1,500 miles from Amarillo, Texas, where AHM v. FDA originated.

“In Texas, we’re really big on our pro-life issue,” Jade said. “We don’t come up to Washington, D.C., regularly to protest or anything. I haven’t been here in years, and this is my husband’s first time. But because that case originated in Amarillo, we felt like it was necessary to really represent our culture.”

Despite abortion being illegal through all nine months of pregnancy in Texas, Jade said that mifepristone, which can be obtained via mail and administered without any doctor’s supervision, still threatens Texan women’s lives.

“We’re seeing that abortion pills are being mailed to our women,” she said. “We’re here to say, mifepristone, we don’t want that across state lines, but more than that, we want to have a call to say everyone needs to have some action in this.”

‘Pray, pray, pray. I think that’s the answer’ 

Joan McKee, a Catholic pro-lifer from D.C., said what we need is to "pray, pray, pray." Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA
Joan McKee, a Catholic pro-lifer from D.C., said what we need is to "pray, pray, pray." Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

Joan McKee, a Catholic pro-lifer from D.C., said she came to “help these people stop murdering their children.”

While tensions were high between the two crowds, with people trying to out-scream one another, McKee was holding a rosary in her hand. She said she was praying for not only an end to abortion but also the conversion of those advocating for abortion.

“Pray the rosary, pray to St. Joseph, the Holy Family,” she said. “Pray, pray, pray. I think that’s the answer.”

Abortion pill opponents face Supreme Court skepticism

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on March 26, 2024, for a lawsuit brought by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM), which seeks to impose more restrictions on the prescription of mifepristone. / Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 26, 2024 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

United States Supreme Court justices on Tuesday pressed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone but appeared skeptical that a pro-life doctor’s group challenging the agency had any legal standing to sue. 

The justices heard oral arguments on March 26 for a lawsuit brought by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM), which seeks to impose more restrictions on the prescription of mifepristone. The drug is approved to chemically abort a child up to 10 weeks into the mother’s pregnancy. 

AHM, which represents pro-life medical groups, sued the FDA in November 2022 to challenge the agency’s approval of mifepristone. The lawsuit further challenged the FDA’s subsequent deregulation of the drug, particularly its permission to prescribe the medicine without an in-person doctor’s visit and to dispense the drug through the mail. 

FDA questioned on abortion pill’s safety

During oral arguments, the court’s more conservative justices questioned the FDA’s lawyer, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar, on whether the FDA followed proper protocol when deregulating mifepristone.

This Supreme Court case is the most-watched abortion-related decision since the court overturned Roe v. Wade, which allowed states to impose restrictions on abortion. Six justices voted to overturn the precedent: Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch. 

Barrett, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, expressed concern that ending the in-person requirement could “lead to mistakes in gestational aging” because doctors would not be able to perform an ultrasound. She asked whether this “could increase the need for a [dilatation and curettage procedure or increase] the amount of bleeding.”

Alito questioned why the agency only studied the effects of the deregulatory actions individually rather than studying how they could pose a safety risk when taken together as a whole. 

In defending the FDA’s decisions, Prelogar told the justices that the FDA “demonstrated that these changes … were safe” through its analysis of studies and that the deregulation being safe was not reliant on “other different safeguards in place.” She also noted that ultrasounds had never been required by the FDA. 

“I don’t think you can fault the agency for not giving even more explicit attention to this issue,” she said. 

Prelogar said the FDA found that some studies suggested the deregulation would increase emergency room visits but found no evidence that it would increase adverse effects. She said the “FDA’s actions were lawful” and that AHM “just disagree[s] with the agency’s analysis of the data before it.”

“That’s a question that Congress has entrusted to the FDA,” Prelogar said.

Jessica Ellsworth, a lawyer representing mifepristone provider Danco Laboratories, similarly expressed concern about courts assuming the authority to determine how the FDA handles its protocol related to studying the safety of drugs and deregulation. 

“Courts are just not in a position to parse through [the studies] and second guess [the FDA’s conclusion],” Ellsworth said.

Erin Hawley, a lawyer for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which is representing AHM, later countered the arguments from the FDA and Danco, saying that in-person visits would increase the likelihood of the woman receiving an ultrasound before being prescribed the drugs, rather than “to be able to order these online with a couple of screening questions.”

Does AHM have legal standing to sue? 

When Hawley was questioned about the lawsuit, the justices focused heavily on whether AHM had any legal standing to sue the FDA. 

Hawley argued that her clients, some of whom are emergency room doctors, have standing to sue because they are forced to care for women suffering from complications with the abortion pill, even if the doctors object to abortion.

“[They are] forced to manage abortion drugs’ harm,” she said.

Although federal law allows doctors to refrain from providing services that violate the doctor’s conscience, Hawley claimed that objections in these situations are not practical because of the “emergency nature of these procedures.” 

Hawley said the lack of in-person care leads to inadequate follow-ups for the women who use the drug, which leads them to seek care in emergency rooms. 

“[The FDA’s deregulations] turn emergency rooms into that follow-up visit,” Hawley said.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, said that federal law already protects their right to object and questioned why the court would need to impose “an order preventing anyone from having access to these drugs at all” to remedy these concerns. 

During the conversation, Trump-appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch similarly expressed concern about a district court’s ability to restrict access to a drug nationwide based on the legal objections from a handful of doctors.

Both Alito and Thomas pressed the FDA’s lawyer on who would be allowed to sue the FDA in this situation if not AHM. Prelogar said it would be hard to identify any person or group who would have the legal standing to file a lawsuit.

The Supreme Court is expected to decide the case by June. 

Christendom College names George Harne as next president

Christendom’s president-elect, George Harne, is currently a professor at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. Before then, he served as president of Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts for nine years. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College

CNA Staff, Mar 26, 2024 / 15:15 pm (CNA).

Christendom College, a Virginia-based Catholic liberal arts college, announced on Monday that George Harne will serve as the college’s fourth president.

Currently a professor at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, Harne is a music history and liberal arts scholar who formerly served as president of Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts in Warner, New Hampshire, for nine years until 2020.

Harne will succeed Timothy O’Donnell, who has served as Christendom College president for more than 30 years, or two-thirds of the college’s lifetime. 

“On behalf of the entire college, I want to congratulate and welcome Dr. George Harne as our new president,” O’Donnell said in a March 25 press release

Christendom College’s current president, Timothy O’Donnell, will retire after 30 years. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College
Christendom College’s current president, Timothy O’Donnell, will retire after 30 years. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College

“Christendom will be in good hands, and we are blessed to have him as our incoming president.”

Harne earned a master’s of liberal studies in 1998 from St. John’s College and completed his graduate work in musicology at Princeton, where he earned an M.F.A. in 2000 and his Ph.D. in 2008. 

“For many years, I’ve admired Christendom College and President O’Donnell’s leadership from afar,” Harne said in a video statement. “Christendom has always been a model of what is possible for truly faithful Catholic liberal education.”

A convert to Catholicism, Harne grew up in Florida as a southern Pentecostalist. He and his wife were married in a Presbyterian church, but he became Episocopalian in graduate school. As his interest in Church history and the Catholic intellectual tradition grew, he and his family decided to become Catholic and joined the Church in 2005.

“I truly believe that Christendom will play a leading role in the renewal of the Church and Catholic higher education in the next 50 years,” Harne said in the press release.

“As the college soon moves into its fifth decade, it will stand courageously as the model of Catholic higher education in this country, providing young men and women with the education they need to become wise, serve as salt and light in our world, and renew the very foundations of our society,” he continued. 

Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington welcomed the announcement in a statement and assured Harne of his “continued prayers.”

“I look forward to working with Dr. Harne, as Christendom College is a treasure in this diocese and to the universal Church,” he stated. “Dr. Harne will be privileged to lead a faculty, staff, and student body who are committed to serving Christ and illuminating the fundamental truths of the Catholic faith for the world.”

“Dr. Harne follows a line of leaders at Christendom who have laid a strong foundation that positions it for further development and opportunity,” Burbidge added.

Harne will begin transitioning into the role in June, with his official term beginning in July.

Christendom College’s campus is in Front Royal, Virginia, which is just about an hour west of Washington, D.C. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College
Christendom College’s campus is in Front Royal, Virginia, which is just about an hour west of Washington, D.C. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College

“I am blessed to have known Dr. Harne for years,” O’Donnell said in the announcement. “Dr. Harne and his lovely and talented wife, Debbie, together will make an outstanding team for Christendom. He will lead this college with wisdom and courage, building upon the past and leading it into a bright future.”

O’Donnell leaves behind a legacy of campus growth at Christendom, from the new Christ the King Chapel — a Gothic-inspired chapel that seats more than 500 — to the college endowment, which grew from $200,000 to more than $28 million under his tenure.

The cornerstone of Christ the King Chapel was blessed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008. 

Drone shot of Christendom College’s Christ the King Chapel in Front Royal, Virginia. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College
Drone shot of Christendom College’s Christ the King Chapel in Front Royal, Virginia. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College

“I want to give thanks to Christ the King for the opportunity to have served the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and board of this college, which holds such an important place in Catholic higher education and in the work of the Church at large,” O’Donnell continued.

“Christendom College has stood as a beacon for what Catholic higher education can be in America since its founding,” Harne said. “I am honored to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Timothy O’Donnell and the other previous presidents of this institution. There is much work ahead, and I am humbled to play a part in the history of this extraordinary college.” 

“Dr. Harne will bring experience, leadership, vision, and humility to his role as president of Christendom College, thanks to his extensive background in higher education administration, fundraising, and teaching,” said chairman of the college’s board of directors, Stephen O’Keefe, in the announcement. 

“The college has never been in a stronger position, and Dr. Harne will help guide our institution into its exciting next chapter.”

O’Keefe co-chaired the special committee that led the presidential search.

“To all those who love Christendom, I pledge that I accept this role as a sacred trust. I pledge continuity and organic development, animated by fidelity to the founding,” Harne said in the video announcement. “I will seek to build wisely on the foundation that has been faithfully laid. Our Church and society, now more than ever, need Christendom graduates serving as salt and light in the world.”

This story was updated March 27, 2024, with the statement from Bishop Michael Burbidge.

Baltimore archbishop calls for prayers after catastrophic bridge collapse

In an aerial view, cargo ship Dali is seen after running into and collapsing the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024, in Baltimore. / Credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

CNA Staff, Mar 26, 2024 / 13:40 pm (CNA).

Baltimore Archbishop William Lori on Tuesday called for prayers after a container strip struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in that city, leading to a catastrophic collapse early Tuesday morning. 

The 984-foot cargo ship struck one of the bridge’s support columns just before 1:30 a.m. Footage on social media showed the 1.6-mile-long, multilane bridge quickly collapsing after being struck. 

In a statement posted to X hours later, Lori said he was “saddened, as you are, to learn of the tragic incident overnight that led to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Baltimore harbor.”

“Pray with me for all involved, especially the victims traveling over the span at the time of impact, the construction crews on site, and all of the first responders acting with urgency to rescue survivors,” Lori wrote. 

“Let us join in prayer asking the Lord to grant consolation and strength as we cope with this terrible tragedy,” the archbishop said. 

Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, likewise issued a call for prayers on Tuesday morning. The Arlington Diocese is located about 40 miles from the Key Bridge.

“At this time of uncertainty, in which rescuers are heroically working to find survivors of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, I call on all people of goodwill to pray that additional survivors will be recovered and for first responders, the victims, and their families,” Burbidge wrote on X. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, at least six individuals who were reportedly on the bridge at the time of the collapse were unaccounted for.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Tuesday said a mayday call from the ship prior to the accident allowed authorities to close the bridge just before the collapse, stopping traffic from crossing as the bridge fell apart.

“'I’m thankful for the folks, once the warning came up and once notification came up that there was a mayday, who literally by being able to stop cars from coming over the bridge — these people are heroes,” he told media. “They saved lives last night.”

President Joe Biden, meanwhile, said that he had “directed my administration to ensure every federal resource is available to assist search and rescue efforts and response to this terrible incident.”

Approximately 35,000 people traveled the Francis Scott Key Bridge every day. The Port of Baltimore ranks among the 10 biggest U.S. ports for international cargo.