St. James the Apostle Roman Catholic Church

An aerial view of Washington Square in San Francisco on May 22, 2020. / Credit: JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images

CNA Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

San Francisco police arrested a homeless man last Sunday for allegedly stabbing a parent from a nearby Catholic school after an altercation involving the two outside a historic Catholic church in the city. 

Twenty-five-year-old Marko Asaulyuk of San Francisco was charged with attempted murder and eight counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

The Catholic school father, who was released from the hospital Sunday, only suffered a minor injury to his leg, Father Tho Bui, pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Church, told CNA Thursday in an email.

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone was conferring the sacrament of confirmation on the parish school’s students and students from a nearby parish during a noon Mass when a “disruptive man” entered the church, as Bui described him.

The man was walking up and down the main aisle of the church holding a bottle of wine, ABC7 reported. 

Bui said a group of parishioners and parents told the disruptive man to leave the church and escorted him out. ABC7 reported that the man was speaking with someone outside the church and said “Jesus is not real.”

A “scuffle” then occurred on the sidewalk and that’s when the man stabbed the parent in the leg, according to the priest.

The suspect, who was reported to be homeless, was arrested the same day, Bui said. Police said when they arrived at the scene, aid was given to the victim, who was brought to the hospital with “non-life-threatening injuries.”

Witnesses helped the police locate the suspect, police said. 

Bui called the incident “sad” and “extremely disturbing” but noted “the good news is that the criminal is behind bars, charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and is being held without bail.”

“Very likely, by getting him off the streets, our parishioners and dads prevented something even worse from happening,” he said. “But this is just the latest in an unending series of incidents caused by our city government’s tolerance of crime and mentally ill people on the streets.”

“It’s not specific to Sts. Peter and Paul. We saw in the news just this past week that the nurses at SF General [Hospital] and the librarians at our public libraries are demanding more protection from exactly the kind of incidents we had on Sunday,” he said. 

“Like SF General and the public libraries, we are open every single day. The mission of Jesus Christ requires it! While both our school and club can, and do, fulfill their missions while having gates and doors locked, the Church cannot,” Bui said.

CNA reached out to the archdiocese for comment but did not receive a response. 

Pope Francis prays during his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on April 24, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 16:10 pm (CNA).

Asked during a new interview if he has any message for Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who instigated the war in Ukraine, Pope Francis stated that “a negotiated peace is better than an endless war.”

CBS News broadcast some excerpts April 24 from a new interview conducted by journalist Norah O’Donnell with Pope Francis at St. Martha House, the pontiff’s residence in the Vatican.

During the exchange, the full version of which will be released on May 19, the Holy Father reflected on world conflicts and especially on the suffering of children during wars.

O’Donnell asked the Holy Father if he had any message for Vladimir Putin regarding Ukraine, to which the pontiff replied: “Please, countries at war, all of them... Stop the war. Seek to negotiate. Seek peace. A negotiated peace is better than an endless war,” he said.

Regarding the children who are suffering the consequences of the war in Gaza, Pope Francis said that “every afternoon at 7 p.m. I call the parish in Gaza. There are about 600 people there, and they tell me what’s happening. It’s very hard. Very, very hard. And food comes in, but they have to struggle to get it. It’s very hard,” he lamented. The pope also assured that he prays a lot for peace to be achieved.

The pontiff also asked people to think about the children of Ukraine, who due to the war “forget how to smile,” which he described as “very serious.”

In the interview, Pope Francis also talked about climate change and said that those who deny it do so “because they don’t understand it or for what benefits them,” and stressed that “climate change exists.”

Regarding those who don’t see a place for themselves in the Catholic Church anymore, the Holy Father responded that in the Church “there is always a place,” noting that “the Church is very big. It’s more than a church building … you shouldn’t flee from it.”

Pope Francis’ controversial ‘white flag’ statements

When referring to the conflict in Ukraine during an interview released in March by the Swiss radio station RSI, Pope Francis said: “I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people, and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates.”

The words sparked some controversy, as they were interpreted as a call for Ukraine’s surrender to Russia and had to be clarified by the spokesman for the Holy See’s Press Office, Matteo Bruni.

The Vatican spokesman clarified that the Holy Father supported “a cessation of hostilities and a truce achieved with the courage to negotiate,” rather than Ukraine’s outright surrender.

Bruni also pointed out that it was the journalist interviewing the pontiff who had used the term “white flag” when asking the question.

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

The pro-life flag from the Pro-Life Flag Project (www.prolifeflag.com). / Credit: Pro-Life Flag Project (www.prolifeflag.com)

Toronto, Canada, Apr 25, 2024 / 12:50 pm (CNA).

The International Pro-Life Flag will not fly over Toronto Catholic schools this May.

Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) trustees voted against an April 23 motion proposed by trustee Michael Del Grande that the pro-life flag fly outside all schools and the Catholic Education Centre during the month of May, just as the board voted to fly the Pride flag in June.

Del Grande’s motion was defeated at the April 23 board meeting when only Garry Tanuan supported Del Grande’s motion. The eight other board members in attendance and the two student trustees opposed his proposal.

Though Del Grande could not muster enough backing from his colleagues, his plan, which would have also directed all TCDSB schools to teach an exclusively pro-life curriculum on May 9, the day of the National March for Life, garnered boisterous audience support.

Defying repeated entreaties from chair Nancy Crawford to remain silent, spectators cheered when listening to Del Grande, Tanuan, and two guest delegates’ statements supporting the motion. And when Angela Kennedy signaled her intent to vote against the motion early into her prepared remarks, she was drowned out by protests. One male attendee continually uttered: “We answer to Jesus Christ.”

Crawford concurred that “we do answer to Jesus Christ,” but she told the man he must be quiet or he would be escorted from the building by security. Attendees ignored the warning and the objections continued, forcing Crawford to pause the meeting for 10 minutes to calm the situation.

Upon resuming the proceedings, Crawford appealed to the audience’s “sense of kindness, charity, and generosity” not to interrupt the meeting again, saying otherwise it would lead to the call for security to remove everyone from the gallery.

The crowd initially complied, remaining silent as Kennedy gave her speech and trustee Maria Rizzo delivered her dissent to the motion.

However, the tension in the room elevated when trustees voted against the motion. Those disappointed by the outcome admonished the board by repeatedly shouting “shame,” and Crawford ordered security to escort all the visitors from the building as “they are not prepared to remain silent.”

The speeches in favor or against flying the pro-life flag were overshadowed to an extent by the controversy surrounding the audience’s conduct. Nevertheless, both sides conveyed passionate arguments.

Del Grande shared what the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the recent Dignitas Infinita declaration released by the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith state about the sanctity of life and abortion. Dignitas Infinita warned that “today, in many people’s consciences, the perception of [abortion’s] gravity has become progressively obscured. The acceptance of abortion in the popular mind, in behavior, and even in law itself is a telling sign of an extremely dangerous crisis of the moral sense, which is becoming more and more incapable of distinguishing between good and evil, even when the fundamental right to life is at stake.”

Del Grande said he “could think of no legitimate reason why this motion shouldn’t pass unanimously. We’re a pro-life board, and I expect you will vote in favor of my motion so that TCDSB does its part to vigorously defend the most marginalized and victimized group in this country, namely children in the womb who are killed at a rate of 100,000 annually.”

Tanuan suggested pro-life Canadians would revere the International Pro-Life Flag as a symbol denoting “safety, truth, and hope” and would deliver the comparable empowering impact as would an Indigenous child or adult seeing the Every Child Matters flag.

Rizzo, in her response, said the motion shows how “the school board has become a kind of locus of controversy.” She contended that the critical difference between the decision to fly the Pride flag and the pro-life flag motion is the former was “student-driven.”

Kennedy said the motion amounts to “a kind of indoctrination” that is at odds with the Ministry of Education’s expectation “that each student will achieve academically, socially, spiritually, and will be the Ontario graduate who will be successful on the global stage.” 

She also argued that the TCDSB has “well-rounded Catholic graduate expectations, and this motion, if passed, would destroy the meaning behind these expectations and render them meaningless.”

This article was first published in Canadian Catholic News and is reprinted here with permission.

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CNA Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 11:30 am (CNA).

Louisiana State Police have obtained a new search warrant to collect documents from the Archdiocese of New Orleans as part of an ongoing investigation into Church abuse in that state.

State police spokesman Jacob Pucheu confirmed to CNA on Thursday that the bureau had obtained the warrant as part of its investigation into “numerous complaints of child sexual abuse” leveled at the archdiocese. The inquiry was first launched in 2022, he said.

“As part of the ongoing investigation, on Monday, April 22, 2024, SVU investigators obtained an additional search warrant to collect information and documents from the Archdiocese of New Orleans,” Pucheu told CNA.

“The archdiocese is cooperating with investigators to fulfill the terms of the search warrant,” he said. “This investigation remains ongoing with no further information available at this time.”

Pucheu declined to directly provide a copy of the warrant, saying that “since it is under investigation, it is not readily available.”

The archdiocese itself did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday morning.

The warrant comes as state police are investigating retired priest Lawrence Hecker, who was indicted in September on felony charges related to allegations that he raped an underage teenage boy in the 1970s.

A team of forensic experts this week said Hecker, who is 92, is presently unfit to stand trial due to short-term memory loss, though the experts said the accused priest could stand trial at a later date.

Prosecutors earlier this year had vowed to proceed with Hecker’s trial amid doubts of his competency. Orleans Parish First Assistant District Attorney Ned McGowan promised to “roll him in on a gurney” to try him.

The archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020, with Archbishop Gregory Aymond pointing to financial pressure from clergy sex abuse claims as the driving force behind the reorganization.

“The prospect of more abuse cases with associated prolonged and costly litigation, together with pressing ministerial needs and budget challenges, is simply not financially sustainable,” the prelate said at the time.

Last year the archdiocese said it would ask “parishes, schools, and ministries” for monetary contributions in order to protect diocesan assets during the bankruptcy proceedings.

The archbishop had previously said that “parishes, schools, and ministries” would not be affected by the filing.

But “this is no longer the case,” Aymond said last year, “because of many external factors now facing us, including the fact that the law governing the statute of limitations has changed to now permit the filing of past abuse claims in civil court.”

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CNA Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 10:52 am (CNA).

Following a recent Vatican declaration on human dignity, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales condemned medical and social transgenderism while encouraging a “sensitive” response in a pastoral reflection released on Wednesday.

The Vatican’s doctrinal office came down strongly against gender ideology, stating that “all attempts to obscure reference to the ineliminable sexual difference between man and woman are to be rejected.”

The Catholic bishops of England and Wales followed the Vatican’s lead in their April 24 statement, “Intricately Woven by the Lord,” which encouraged rooting pastoral care in “acceptance … of the body as created.” 

“We cannot encourage or give support to reconstructive or drug-based medical intervention that harms the body,” they wrote. “Nor can we legitimize or uphold a way of living that is not respectful of the truth and vocation of each man and each woman, called to live according to the divine plan.”

“Rather, when a family or person experiencing these challenges seeks to be accompanied on their Christian journey, our aim is to help them rediscover and cherish their humanity as it was conceived and created by God, body and soul,” the bishops continued.  

In the statement, the bishops specifically addressed “adult members in our Catholic communities who have chosen to transition socially and medically.”

“You are still our brothers and sisters,” the bishops stated. “We cannot be indifferent to your struggle and the path you may have chosen. The doors of the Church are open to you, and you should find, from all members of the Church, a welcome that is compassionate, sensitive, and respectful.”

According to a 2021 census released in 2023, 0.5% of English and Welsh residents (262,000) over the age of 16 identified as transgender. An estimated 300,000 youth in the U.S. identify as transgender, and nearly one in five people who identify as transgender are between 13 and 17 years old, according to a 2022 study by the Williams Institute. 

The bishops addressed the controversial issue of medical transition for minors. England ended puberty blockers for minors in March of this year because of safety concerns. Sex changes and puberty blockers were recently “paused” in Scotland.

“Medical intervention for children should not be supported,” the bishops continued. “Social ‘transition’ can have a formative effect on a child’s development, and this should be avoided with young children.”

According to a recent Mayo Clinic study, puberty blockers can cause “irreversible harm” to young boys in particular. In 2022, another study gained national attention after it found that putting children on puberty blockers causes irreversible harm to bone density. 

The bishops noted that “every person is something of a mystery — to themselves, and to others — but not to God, who fashioned each of us in secret.” 

“Pastoral accompaniment must flow from an acceptance and celebration of the body as created, respect for parents as primary educators, and uphold best practice in terms of safeguarding principles,” they continued. 

The bishops emphasized “discernment” and “safe relationships” in the accompaniment process. 

“Those who offer particular pastoral accompaniment to gender dysphoric persons need a clear understanding of the Catholic vision and understanding of the human person and a holistic view of human sexuality,” the bishops explained, adding: “Their work should help young people ‘to discern how God is calling them to find true happiness.’”

“This formation and competence is vital to ensure that the testimonies and lived experiences of those struggling with gender identity can be properly understood and responded to in a way which honors their perception of reality, particularly when painful,” the statement continued. “At the same time, we are encouraged by Pope Francis to accompany others to a complete appropriation of the mystery of our human nature.”

Pope Francis speaks to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, Sept. 25, 2015. / Credit: L’Osservatore Romano

Rome Newsroom, Apr 25, 2024 / 07:22 am (CNA).

Pope Francis is reportedly considering returning to the United States in September to speak before the United Nations General Assembly.

The news was initially reported by the French Catholic newspaper La Croix and has not yet been officially confirmed by the Vatican. A source from the Vatican Secretariat of State, meanwhile, told CNA this week that “a formal invitation has arrived from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and Pope Francis seems inclined to respond positively.”

If the New York trip occurs, the pope would visit the United Nations during its “Summit of the Future,” which the international body will convene from Sept. 22–23.

The possible trip to the United States could change the pope’s already-busy September travel schedule. The Holy See Press Office has announced that Pope Francis will be in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, and Singapore from Sept. 2–13.

Pope Francis is also expected at the end of September in Belgium, where he is scheduled to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the University of Louvain, which has been divided into two different linguistic entities since the 1960s. The Holy Father told Mexican television network Televisa last December that he intended to travel to Belgium in 2024.

According to a source familiar with the planning of papal trips, Pope Francis’ trip to Louvain could be postponed to 2025. The postponement of the journey would leave room at the end of September for the visit to the United Nations.

During his planned stay in Belgium, Pope Francis will also celebrate Mass at the national shrine of Koelkenberg. There are also rumors that the pontiff will stop in Luxembourg, one of the small nations favored by the pope for trips to Europe. Luxembourg officials have denied the visit, but the Vatican Secretariat of State has indicated the trip is possible.

The September summit’s objective is to strengthen the structures of the United Nations and global “governance” to face more fully the “new and old challenges” of the coming years, the U.N. has said. 

The meeting will lead a “pact for the future” to advance rapidly toward realizing the U.N.’s “sustainable development goals.”

In a meeting with students in April, Pope Francis described the summit as “an important event,” with the Holy Father urging students to help ensure the plan “becomes concrete and is implemented through processes and actions for change.”

Pope Francis, who is 87, has undergone two surgeries in the last four years and is under regular medical screening. A planned trip to Abu Dhabi to participate in the COP28 meeting was canceled last December due to health reasons. 

The pope was last in the United States in 2015, during which he also appeared before the United Nations.

One of the priests on “The Sacristy of the Vendée”show sparked a firestorm after quipping in February that he prayed that Pope Francis would “go to heaven as soon as possible.” / Credit: LSDLV

ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

“The Sacristy of the Vendée” is now back on YouTube.

Nearly two months ago, the priests featured on the Spanish-language talk show voluntarily suspended the program in the wake of a firestorm that was sparked when one of them quipped on their Feb. 22 show that he prayed that Pope Francis would “go to heaven as soon as possible.”

The YouTube program has had more than 70,000 followers and takes its name from the region in western France that resisted the subordination of the clergy to the government during that country’s bloody 1789–1799 revolution. 

The Archdiocese of Toledo in Spain, to which three of the six priests normally on the show belong, demanded in a Feb. 28 statement that they all apologize for the comments made “that harm the communion of the Church and scandalize the people of God.” 

In a Feb. 28 post on X “The Sacristy of the Vendée” apologized, stating that “it was a comment in bad taste and although it does not express a wish for the pope to die, as some media have maliciously portrayed, we understand that it can be understood that way.”

In addition, the priests expressed their “adherence to Pope Francis, in the same terms in which it was clearly expressed in the program of last Feb. 22. We reject attacks against the pope and the unity of the Church and those who deny the legitimacy of the pope’s ministry.”

In a March 6 special edition, the program announced it was being suspended “until further notice,” given the controversy that had broken out: “After much reflection and of our own volition, wanting to avoid putting our bishops in the position of having to make a difficult decision that would grant victory to our enemies, we have decided to make a strategic retreat.”

Now, as of April 20, “The Sacristy of the Vendée” is back on YouTube. At the beginning of the program, host Father Francisco José Delgado noted that it’s a medium that doesn’t take precedence over his pastoral duties and that if it served “to harm the Church,” then it was time to “let it go.”

Father Francisco Torres, another regular on the show, said with an allusion to the battlefield that “we return here to this trench of Christ the King to the joy of many and the disappointment of our dear enemies for whom we pray as Our Lord Jesus Christ commanded us.”

Father Ricardo Gómez of the Archdiocese of Madrid joined the show as a newcomer and Delgado thanked him for his presence because “the truth is that it’s not easy for someone to dare to join us today.”

Not present, however, was Father Gabriel Calvo, who made the following controversial remark on the Feb. 15 show: “I also pray a lot for the pope, so that he can go to heaven as soon as possible.”

The topic of the show was the Valley of the Fallen, a monumental complex located about 30 miles northwest of Madrid that was dedicated in 1959 in memory of both sides killed in the 1936–1939 Spanish Civil War. 

The purpose of the complex was to foster national reconciliation after the war that bitterly divided the country. Overlooking the complex rises the largest cross in the world. The current socialist government wants to secularize the memorial site, which includes a basilica and abbey, and reconfigure the area’s historical significance.

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

St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy. / Credit: Canva

CNA Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

This weekend, on Sunday, April 28, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass in St. Mark’s Square during a one-day trip to Venice, Italy. Afterward, he will privately venerate the relics of St. Mark the Evangelist inside the basilica. This papal visit to the iconic basilica puts a spotlight on the famous church dedicated to St. Mark and on its significance to the famous “floating city.” 

St. Mark’s Basilica, also known as the “Church of Gold,” is a Byzantine cathedral in St. Mark’s Square. Founded in 828 A.D. after the remains of St. Mark were transported from Alexandria, Egypt, the basilica has undergone several transformations.

After being built as a permanent church in 832, the basilica was burned down in a rebellion in 976. St. Mark’s was rebuilt in 978 but it was a construction project started in 1063 that formed the basis of the current form of the church.

On Oct. 8, 1094, St. Mark’s Basilica was consecrated and dedicated to the apostle and saint credited by many to be the writer of the Gospel of Mark. 

It wasn’t until 1807, on orders from Napoleon, that the city church became the residence of the patriarch of Venice and declared a city cathedral. 

The basilica’s architecture, which combines Byzantine, Gothic, and Romanesque styles, features a central dome, spandrels, and four pillars supporting the immense vaults. Inside, St. Mark’s is adorned with beautiful gold mosaics, marble flooring, and luxurious decor. The presbytery, which is reserved for clergy, houses the high altar, which holds the relics of St. Mark. 

The sacristy, which was crafted in 1486 by Giorgio Spavento, has impressive inlaid cabinets illustrating scenes from the life of St. Mark and a vault with mosaics depicting Old Testament prophets. 

There are also several side altars and chapels paying homage to various saints such as the Madonna del Mascoli and St. Isidore. The Chapel of St. Isidore also holds the saint’s relics, which were brought to Venice from the Island of Chios in 1125. 

St. Mark’s Museum was built during the 19th century. It hosts a diverse collection of artifacts and artwork, mostly acquired from Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. One of the most notable highlights are the Horses of St. Mark — four bronze horses that once were a part of the basilica’s facade — as well as Byzantine and Gothic manuscripts, artifacts, and liturgical objects. 

St. Mark’s Basilica welcomes more than 3 million visitors a year and is truly the center of public and religious life in Venice. 

The Holy See Press Office has released the Holy Father’s schedule for this trip to Venice, which includes meetings with inmates at the women’s prison, a tour of the Vatican art exhibit on display there, a meeting with the featured artists, and a speech to young people.

null / Credit: Photographee.eu via www.shutterstock.com

ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 24, 2024 / 17:45 pm (CNA).

Father Augusto Meloni Navarro, a priest, physician, and former vice president of the World Health Organization (WHO), urged prayers for the soul of Ana Estrada, the first person to undergo euthanasia in Peru. Meloni also emphasized the importance of protecting life and providing palliative care in these kinds of situations.

As a Church “we stand in solidarity, we sympathize with every human person in all their circumstances. And, of course, at the moment of transition to a new life, which in cases of desperation, as in the case of this person, our sister, and her family, probably calls for more prayer,” Meloni said in an interview with “EWTN Noticias,” the Spanish-language broadcast edition of EWTN News.

Estrada was a 47-year-old Peruvian psychologist and activist who suffered from polymyositis — an incurable disease that left her confined to a wheelchair — and who underwent euthanasia on Sunday, April 21. The procedure was carried out in accordance with a plan approved by Peru’s Social Health Insurance (EsSalud), but it was not specified whether she died by direct euthanasia or medically assisted suicide.

Euthanasia is not legal in Peru. However, in 2022 the judiciary ruled in favor of Estrada so that in her case Article 112 of the current Penal Code “would be unenforced.” The code punishes anyone who “out of pity, kills an incurably ill person” with a prison sentence of no more than three years.

Meloni said he has personally committed to praying for the family, and especially for Estrada’s soul, appealing “to the infinite mercy of God.”

“I pray that in those last mysterious seconds of slipping away and the passage from the present life to a new life” that this person could be saved “so that she could truly find life.”

“We are also going to pray that the Lord increase the faith, if they have it, of those people who in some way have been involved in this very painful outcome, as well as of all the people who may mistakenly think that some progress is being made here, some progress in freedom, for the good, and we know from experience that these issues can often be manipulated and [people] not even being treated with respect. And that is why we are going to pray,” he added.

In early April, the Vatican published the declaration Dignitatis Infinita, which warns of 13 grave violations of human dignity, one of which is euthanasia. 

The document, which encourages palliative care for patients, emphasizes that “suffering does not cause the sick to lose their dignity, which is intrinsically and inalienably their own” and points out that “helping the suicidal person to take his or her own life is an objective offense against the dignity of the person asking for it, even if one would be thereby fulfilling the person’s wish.”

Meloni noted that when we lose “sight of the dignity of the human person, [who is made in] the image of God and loved by Jesus Christ, we tend to treat people as things.”

“We also tend to view human pain and suffering superficially. Life goes beyond the biological. It’s a dimension that is revealed in Jesus Christ, who shows us the meaning of suffering and human dignity,” he explained.

He assured that, as a doctor and priest, he understands “that life goes beyond what is taught at the university.”

“Life is Jesus Christ, and he shows us that pain does not destroy our dignity but is part of the path to its fulfillment [in eternal life],” he said.

The importance of palliative care

The former vice president of the World Health Organization acknowledged that Estrada faced for decades a serious illness “not yet understood by science and without a cure.” However, he noted that there is palliative care available for this type of illness.

“Palliative care helps people cope with these difficult situations. Science, technology, and medicine have advanced a lot in this field,” he commented, while adding that it is also “insufficient.”

The reason, according to Meloni, is that palliative care must include a spiritual dimension: “spiritual assistance, everything that the Lord has left us through his Church so that we can have all the means precisely to face these extreme situations and recognize that love of God.”

This assistance, he said, should not only “be offered to the person who is directly facing pain but also to their family members so that they can understand and help effectively and not believe that eliminating the human person is the solution.”

“I would like to emphasize first of all the need for us as a society, as a community, as a country, as families, as the Church, that we attend to people’s faith. Let us take care of the gift of new life that we have received in Christ Jesus in baptism, so that those who are not baptized will be baptized and those who are already baptized find that treasure that is the new life that we have received in Christ,” he concluded.

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

Pro-life advocates demonstrate prior to an Arizona House of Representatives session at the Arizona State Capitol on April 17, 2024, in Phoenix. / Credit: Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 24, 2024 / 17:15 pm (CNA).

The Arizona House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to repeal a law protecting unborn babies from abortion throughout pregnancy.

The narrow 32-28 vote passed an “abortion ban repeal” bill designed to overturn the pro-life law. Republicans have a narrow majority in the Arizona House, but the bill was able to pass as three Republicans joined the Democrats against the pro-life measure.

The repeal bill will now be considered by the Arizona Senate where Republicans also hold a narrow 16-14 majority. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has already signaled she will sign the bill into law if it is passed by the Arizona Senate.

Even if the repeal bill is signed into law it will likely not go into effect until 90 days after the legislative session closes, meaning the pro-life law may be in effect for a short time. The pro-life measure is currently set to go into effect on June 8.

This comes after Democrats launched several unsuccessful attempts to repeal the pro-life law after a controversial Arizona Supreme Court decision ruled that the law — passed in 1864 — could go into effect.

Dormant since being invalidated by Roe v. Wade in 1973, the 1864 law protects all unborn life from conception and imposes prison time for those who “provide, supply, or administer” an abortion. The court ruled that since the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson decision, there were no legal reasons to keep the law from being enforced.

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden criticized the Arizona pro-life law as backward, blaming former President Donald Trump for the Supreme Court overturning Roe and “literally taking us back 160 years.” 

Abortion is currently legal in Arizona until the 15th week of pregnancy. If the 1864 law takes effect, however, all abortion will be illegal, except in cases in which the mother’s life is in danger.