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What are the Good Friday Reproaches?

Pope Francis arrives at the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion in St. Peter's Basilica on Good Friday on April 7, 2023. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Mar 29, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The Good Friday liturgy commemorates the apex of Christ’s passion with a remembrance of his crucifixion and death at Calvary. 

The Good Friday Reproaches are a series of antiphons, known also as the “Improperia” or “Popule Meus” (“My people”), coming from the opening lines of the Latin text of the recitation. 

Dating back to the ninth century, though not gaining a permanent place in the Roman Orders until the 14th century, the Good Friday Reproaches have long been an essential part of the Roman liturgy. But they largely disappeared from many parishes following the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

The antiphons have, however, retained their prominence at the Vatican — and they will be chanted by the Sistine Chapel Choir during the Good Friday service presided over by Pope Francis on Friday in St. Peter’s Basilica.

In the moment leading up to the dramatic recitation, the priest chants three times, in an increasing pitch, “Ecce Lignum Crucis,” or “Behold the wood of the cross,” each time gradually unveiling the cross that hitherto has been covered in a purple veil. 

Once the crucifix is placed in a central location at the edge of the sanctuary, cast against a bare altar, the faithful are invited to kneel before — and kiss — it, a powerful remembrance of Christ’s passion but also a recognition of the cross as an instrument of salvation. 

During the adoration of the cross, the Good Friday Reproaches are chanted in an alternating manner between a cantor and choir. It opens: “Popule meus, quid feci tibi? Aut in quo contristavi te? Responde mihi” (“My people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me”).

This hauntingly sorrowful and beautiful text is followed by the first reproach: “Quia eduxi te de terra Aegypti: parasti Crucem Salvatori tuo” (“Because I led thee out of the land of Egypt: thou hast prepared a cross for thy Savior”), showcasing the world’s fatal rejection of Christ despite his love and saving acts.

The following is the full text of the reproaches:

Popule meus, quid feci tibi?
Aut in quo contristavi te?
Responde mihi.

(O my people, what have I done to thee?
Or how have I offended you?
Answer me.)

Quia eduxi te de terra Aegypti:
parasti Crucem Salvatori tuo.

(Because I led thee out of the land of Egypt:
thou hast prepared a cross for thy Savior.)

Hagios o Theos.
Sanctus Deus.
Hagios Ischyros.
Sanctus fortis.
Hagios Athanatos, eleison himas.
Sanctus immortalis, miserere nobis.

(O holy God!
O holy God!
O holy strong One!
O holy strong One!
O holy and immortal, have mercy upon us.
O holy and immortal, have mercy upon us.)

Quia eduxi te per desertum quadraginta annis:
et manna cibavi te, et introduxi te in terram satis bonam:
parasti Crucem Salvatori tuo.
Hagios . . .

(Because I led thee through the desert for forty years:
and fed thee with manna, and brought thee into a land exceeding good:
thou hast prepared a cross for thy Savior.
O holy God! . . .)

Quid ultra debui facere tibi, et non feci?
Ego quidem plantavi te vineam meam speciosissimam:
et tu facta es mihi nimis amara:
aceto namque sitim meam potasti:
et lancea perforasti latus Salvatori tuo.
Hagios . . .

(What more ought I to have done for thee, that I have not done?
I planted thee, indeed, my most beautiful vineyard:
and thou hast become exceeding bitter to me:
for in my thirst thou gavest me vinegar to drink:
and with a spear thou hast pierced the side of thy Savior.
O holy God! . . .)

Ego propter te flagellavi Aegyptum cum primogenitis suis:
et tu me flagellatum tradidisti.
Popule meus . . .

(For thy sake I scourged the firstborn of Egypt:
Thou hast given me up to be scourged.
O my people . . .)

Ego te eduxi de Aegypto, demerso Pharone in mare Rubrum:
et tu me tradidisti principibus sacerdotum.
Popule meus . . .

(I led thee out of Egypt, having drowned Pharaoh in the Red Sea:
and thou hast delivered me to the chief priests.
O my people . . .)

Ego ante te aperui mare:
et tu aperuisti lancea latus meum.
Popule meus . . .

(I opened the sea before thee:
and thou hast opened my side with a spear.
O my people . . .)

Ego ante te praeivi in columna nubis:
et tu me duxisti ad praetorium Pilati.
Popule meus . . .

(I went before thee in a pillar of cloud:
and thou hast led me to the judgment hall of Pilate.
O my people . . .)

Ego te pavi manna in desertum:
et tu me cedisti alapis et flagellis.
Popule meus . . .

(I fed thee with manna in the desert:
and thou hast assaulted me with blows and scourges.
O my people . . .)

Ego te potavi aqua salutis de petra:
et tu me potasti felle et aceto.
Popule meus . . .

(I gave thee the water of salvation from the rock:
and thou hast given me gall and vinegar to drink.
O my people . . .)

Ego propter te Chananeorum reges percussi:
et tu percussisti arundine caput meum.
Popule meus . . .

(For thy sake I struck the kings of the Canaanites:
and thou hast struck my head with a reed.
O my people . . .)

Ego dedi tibi sceptrum regale:
et tu dedisti capiti meo spineam coronam.
Popule meus . . .

(I gave thee a royal scepter:
and thou hast given a crown of thorns for my head.
O my people . . .)

Ego te exaltavi magna virtute:
et tu me suspendisti in patibulo crucis.
Popule meus . . .

(I exalted thee with great strength:
and thou hast hanged me on the gibbet of the cross.
O my people . . .)

Cardinal Grech’s controversial comments add to list of concerns on postsynodal study groups

Cardinal Mario Grech and Pope Francis at the conclusion of the Synod on Synodality on Oct. 28, 2023. / Credit: National Catholic Register / Vatican Media

National Catholic Register, Mar 29, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

If Cardinal Mario Grech held nearly any office other than the one he does, his recent comments in favor of the female diaconate and against the need for “uniformity of thought” in the universal Church might not be so significant.

After all, when prelates offer their theological opinions, it’s generally taken as just that — an individual Church leader’s theological opinion.

But Grech isn’t an ordinary prelate — he heads the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Synod. And just one week before his March 21 interview with an Italian-language Swiss publication, Pope Francis had tasked the Maltese cardinal with implementing 10 study groups to focus on themes raised at the 2023 Synod on Synodality assembly. Among them: the possibility of “women’s access to the diaconate” and “shared discernment of controversial doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues” in a way that pays “greater attention to the diversity of situations” in different parts of the world.

In other words, the cardinal’s comments can’t help but be read in the context of the study groups and how Grech might intend to lead them, contributing to an already sizable list of concerns about the approach.

In the interview, Grech said that a female diaconate (unspecified whether ordained or not) would not be a “revolution” but a “natural deepening of the Lord’s will.”

The Maltese cardinal also said that Church communion should take the form of a “unity of differences” rather than “uniformity of thought” and described his vision of the Church as a “rainbow,” with more flexibility in pastoral approaches and teaching in different places.

Grech’s apparent support for some form of female deacons is likely to reinforce suspicions that the study groups are being set up to achieve predetermined outcomes that the synod couldn’t deliver. And his views on Church unity, which seem rooted in a disputed understanding of Vatican II’s doctrine on the relation between particular Churches and the universal Church, and was emphasized at the 2023 synod assembly by the likes of the progressive German prelate Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck, will likely heighten concerns about the ecclesiological commitments animating the study groups and the selection of its members.

Credibility on the line

Grech’s comments are not the first time synodal leadership’s public freelancing has brought into question the project’s credibility. But they come at a particularly challenging time for the Synod on Synodality. Both the shift to study groups and also the Vatican’s recent promotion of nonliturgical same-sex blessings that “bypassed synodality” have raised questions about whether the final synod assembly, which will take place Oct. 2–27 in Rome, will have much significance at all.

Even before the Vatican official’s interview, one synod participant stressed that steps would need to be taken to ensure that the study groups are seen as a credible part of the synodal process.

“Much will depend on how transparent the findings of the groups are and how they will be seen to link into the first assembly and synthesis document,” the Australian philosopher Renee Köhler-Ryan, who was a vocal opponent of the push for attempted women’s ordination at the October 2023 assembly, told the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner.

In his interview, Grech described the decision to create study groups, which are expected to work through June 2025, as a “new thing” that emerged out of Pope Francis’ attentive “listening” to the October 2023 assembly.

Participants at that gathering did call for further study on relevant theological and canonical topics. But the plain reading of the synthesis document was that those study groups would be at the service of the synodal assembly, providing feedback at the October 2024 session that would be incorporated into the assembly’s deliberations and final recommendations to Pope Francis.

By giving the study groups a mandate that extends beyond the synod assembly itself — and by shifting a significant number of topics away from the purview of the upcoming October synodal gathering (which will focus more narrowly on “How to be a synodal Church on mission”) — the Vatican has arguably done the opposite: reduced the Synod on Synodality to an auxiliary of the study groups.

In other words, the potential for significant change has been shifted to the study groups and away from the synod — a somewhat shocking development considering that the synod has been billed by its organizers as the most important ecclesial event since the Second Vatican Council.

Other questions

The relation between the Synod on Synodality and the newly minted study groups isn’t the only question hanging over the new approach.

A crucial one is who will actually be in the groups. In addition to members of the relevant Vatican dicasteries, the guiding document calls for “experts from all continents” in order to ensure that the 10 groups proceed in an “authentically synodal manner,” but names have yet to be released.

The topic is a major concern, because the Synod on Synodality has arguably been animated by a bias toward the views and concerns of those from the secular West. 

For instance, while the term “LGBTQ+” was rejected by the 2023 assembly and not included in its synthesis document, it had been repeatedly used in the preparatory documents produced by the Secretariat of the Synod. Relatedly, Pope Francis’ personal nominees for the Synod on Synodality were disproportionately European and North American, as were the selected theological experts. 

Some study group members are already known, as the Vatican indicates the respective dicasteries (none of which are currently led by an African, a notable break from precedent) that will collaborate on a given theme. 

For instance, Cardinal Victor Fernández, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and Pope Francis’ close confidant, is tapped to play a key role in the study groups dealing with the women diaconate question (Group 5) and reassessing the Church’s understanding of the human person, theology of salvation, and ethics (Group 9).

Additionally, Pope Francis recently named six new consultors to the Secretariat of the Synod, possibly in anticipation of the robust role that the office will play in the various synodal study groups. Father Ormond Rush, an Australian theologian who is a leading advocate of “inverting the pyramid” of the Church’s structure to place a controversial understanding of “sense of the faithful” in the determination of doctrine, was among those added.

The study groups’ mandate well beyond the end of the synod itself has raised eyebrows, but it isn’t the only question of timing being raised.

Some wonder if setting a deadline 14 months from now for the groups to deliver answers on such varied and complex questions is a constructive approach.

“It seems to me that doing a thorough job on the questions before June 2025 may be expecting too much,” Dominican Father Anthony Akinwale, the theological adviser of the Nigerian bishops’ delegation to the Synod on Synodality, told the Register.

Foundational issues

Some have argued that implementing the study groups has effectively lowered the temperature of the synod, giving no room either in the study groups nor at the October assembly for controversial topics like pastoral care for people who identify as LGBTQ+ or the attempted ordination of women to the priesthood.

But this isn’t the full story. While these items aren’t explicitly mentioned in themes being explored by the study groups, the new bodies will take up foundational considerations that could end up shaping the Church’s response to those more particular issues.

For instance, the study group on “shared discernment of controversial doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues” is being tasked to “reinterpret the traditional categories of anthropology, soteriology, and theological ethics with a view to better clarifying the relationship between charity and truth.” Two criteria for this reinterpretation are the ways in which pastoral care should allegedly shape doctrine, and “attentive listening to the voice of the local Churches” and the diversity of situations they face.

The theme is highly significant, and the group’s findings could impact the Church’s teaching and pastoral care related to everything from contraception to gender identity. This was anticipated by German Bishop Georg Bätzing, the head of the German bishops’ conference who said after the October 2023 assembly that the synthesis document’s call to revisit the Church’s anthropological formulations was a “huge step forward,” and presumably a vindication of the controversial Synodal Way.

Synod participants like Köhler-Ryan, however, stress that who is asked to participate in that study group will determine the direction it goes in.

“It will be very important that the group on human anthropology retains its prophetic vision, reading what it means to be human in the light of the new Adam and new Eve, Christ and Mary, rather than through prevalent secular ideologies,” she told the Register.

In addition to the 10 study groups, the Vatican’s March 14 announcement also called for the activation of a “permanent forum,” which would essentially promote “synodality” in all areas of the Church. Given the ambiguities still surrounding the term, and the fact that this permanent forum itself would have a role in defining it, its potential impact also deserves continued scrutiny.

Whatever the permanent forum and the study groups come up with, Akinwale emphasizes the need to clarify the content and purpose of the Church’s mission as presented in the Gospel. He shared that he’s been talking to a university student in Nigeria who doesn’t believe in the passion narrative but thinks “it’s a folk story.”

“Are we ready to preach a crucified Christ?” he said to the Register. “That question needs to be part of our synodal missionary equation.”

This article was first published in the National Catholic Register, CNA's sister news partner, and has been adapted for CNA.

The Holy Land may turn into a museum or an architectural remembrance, archbishop warns

The custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton, walks through empty Bethlehem streets during the solemn entrance to the Basilica of the Nativity on Jan. 6, 2024. / Credit: Marinella Bandini

ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 29, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The archbishop of Toledo and primate of Spain, Francisco Cerro Chávez, stressed in a recent letter the need to support the Christians in the Holy Land, even more so during this time of war, given the danger that “it may become a museum, just an archaeological remembrance.”

In his letter, titled “The Holy Land Urgently Needs Us in Time of War,” the prelate made a strong appeal for support for the Christian witness in the region.

Specifically referencing the Pontifical Good Friday Collection to support the work of the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land, Cerro said that “at this time it would be a sin of omission not to do it.” 

The archbishop recounted his recent phone calls to Franciscans in charge of the holy places, who have informed him of the difficulties they and the people they serve are facing.

In his letter and as part of the effort, Cerro also called for the renewal of pilgrimages to the Holy Land and greater participation by the faithful in these pilgrimages.

What is the Pontifical Good Friday Collection?

Through the Pontifical Good Friday Collection for the Holy Land, held in parishes throughout the world for centuries, “Christians around the world have been doing their utmost for the presence of their brothers and sisters in the land of Jesus.”

The collection is “a day of universal solidarity with the Church in Jerusalem,” states the website of the Custody of the Holy Land, which is run by the Franciscans.

Fifty years ago, in his 1974 apostolic exhortation Nobis in Animo, Pope Paul VI explained that the Catholic community in the Holy Land “throughout history has undergone countless trials and has been subject to painful vicissitudes: internal divisions, persecutions from outside and, for some time, emigration has made it weak, no longer self-sufficient, and therefore in need of our understanding and our moral and material help.”

If the presence of Christians “were to disappear, the fervor of a living testimony would be extinguished in the shrines, and the Christian holy places of Jerusalem and the Holy Land would become similar to museums,” the pontiff first noted at that time.

Therefore the pope exhorted that “in all churches and in all oratories, belonging to both the diocesan and religious clergy, once a year — on Good Friday or on another day designated by the local ordinary — together with the particular prayers for our brothers of the Church of the Holy Land, let a collection be taken up, equally intended for them.” 

Custos of the Holy Land: ‘Help us’

In his message for the Good Friday collection for the Holy Land, the custos of the holy places, Friar Francesco Patton, emphasized that the outbreak of war in October 2023 “once again blocked the flow of pilgrims, prevented our children from attending school for long periods, and left many of our Christians in the Holy Land unemployed, especially in Bethlehem and Palestine, but also in the Old City of Jerusalem and in Israel.” 

For the maintenance of the places in the land where Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again and for the different educational, charitable, and human development works carried out by the Catholic Church, “the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land become beggars, and we turn to you so that Good Friday may be a day of universal solidarity, a day on which Christians from all over the world take concrete care of the Mother Church of Jerusalem, which at this moment is in dire need of it,” the custos appealed. 

“Please open your hearts and help us according to your possibilities,” he concluded.

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

Divine Mercy novena begins on Good Friday

Crucifixion. / Credit: Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 29, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has called God’s mercy “an abyss beyond our comprehension.”

“God’s mercy can make even the driest land become a garden, can restore life to dry bones (Ez 37:1-14),” he said in his very first Easter “urbi et orbi” message in 2013.

“Let us be renewed by God’s mercy, let us be loved by Jesus, let us enable the power of his love to transform our lives, too,” he continued, “and let us become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation, and make justice and peace flourish.”

One special way to bring about this transformation in our lives is to undertake the Divine Mercy novena, which begins each year on Good Friday.

This popular, nine-day devotion was shared with the world by St. Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938), a simple, uneducated nun from Poland chosen by Our Lord to be an apostle and secretary of his mercy.

Our Lord told St. Faustina: “I desire that during these nine days, you bring souls to the fountain of my mercy, that they may draw ... strength and refreshment and whatever grace they need in the hardships of life, and especially at the hour of death.”

The tomb of St. Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938) in Łagiewniki, Poland.  Credit: Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk
The tomb of St. Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938) in Łagiewniki, Poland. Credit: Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

The Lord asked St. Faustina to begin the novena on Good Friday. “Each day you will lead a different group of souls and immerse them in the sea of my mercy,” he instructed. “Each day you will beseech the Father through my bitter passion for graces for these souls.”

This novena can be prayed at any time, but the faithful are encouraged to begin it on Good Friday in preparation for the feast of Divine Mercy, which is celebrated on the Sunday after Easter.

How to pray the Divine Mercy novena

The novena consists of praying a daily Chaplet of Divine Mercy along with specific prayer intentions for each day. The chaplet is prayed on rosary beads as follows:

  • The Lord’s Prayer

  • Hail Mary

  • Apostles’ Creed

  • On each of the large rosary beads say:

    Eternal Father, I offer to you the body and blood, soul and divinity of your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

  • On each of the small rosary beads say:

    For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

  • Conclude by saying three times:

    Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

First day

Jesus’ words: “Today bring to me all mankind, especially all sinners, and immerse them in the ocean of my mercy. In this way you will console me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges me.”

Prayer: Most merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us to forgive us, do not look upon our sins, but upon our trust, which we place in your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of your most compassionate heart, and never let us escape from it. We beg this of you by your love, which unites you to the Father and the Holy Spirit. Eternal Father, turn your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the most compassionate heart of Jesus. For the sake of his sorrowful passion show us your mercy, that we may praise the infinite power of your mercy, forever and forever. Amen.

Second day

Jesus’ words: “Today bring to me the souls of priests and religious and immerse them in my unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave me strength to endure my bitter passion. Through them, as though channels, my mercy flows out upon mankind.”

Prayer: Most merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase your grace in men and women consecrated to your service that they perform worthy works of mercy and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven. Eternal Father, turn your merciful gaze upon the company of chosen ones in your vineyard — upon the souls of priests and religious — and endow them with the strength of your blessing. For the love of the heart of your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation, and with one voice sing praise to your boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen.

Third day

Jesus’ words: “Today bring to me all devout and faithful souls and immerse them in the ocean of my mercy. These souls brought me consolation on the Way of the Cross. They were that drop of consolation in the midst of an ocean of bitterness.”

Prayer: Most merciful Jesus, from the treasury of your mercy, you impart your graces in great abundance to each and all. Receive us into the abode of your most compassionate heart and never let us escape from it. We beg this grace of you by that most wondrous love for the heavenly Father with which your heart burns so fiercely. Eternal Father, turn your merciful gaze upon faithful souls, as upon the inheritance of your Son. For the sake of his sorrowful passion grant them your blessing and surround them with your constant protection. Thus may they never fail in love or lose the treasure of the holy faith, but rather, with all the hosts of angels and saints, may they glorify your boundless mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Fourth day

Jesus’ words: “Today bring to me those who do not believe in God and those who do not yet know me. I was thinking also of them during my bitter passion, and their future zeal comforted my heart. Immerse them in the ocean of my mercy.”

Prayer: Most compassionate Jesus, you are the light of the whole world. Receive into the abode of your most compassionate heart the souls of those who as yet do not believe in you or do not know you. Let the rays of your grace enlighten them that they, too, together with us, may extol your wonderful mercy, and do not let them escape from the abode that is your compassionate heart.

Eternal Father, turn your merciful gaze upon the souls who do not believe in your Son, and of those who as yet do not know you, but who are enclosed in the most compassionate heart of Jesus. Draw them to the light of the Gospel. These souls do not know what great happiness it is to love you. Grant that they, too, may extol the generosity of your mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Pope Francis says Mass at the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 11, 2021. Vatican Media.
Pope Francis says Mass at the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 11, 2021. Vatican Media.

Fifth day

Jesus’ words: “Today bring to me the souls who have separated from my Church and immerse them in the ocean of my mercy. During my bitter passion they tore at my body and heart, that is, my Church. As they return to unity with the Church, my wounds heal, and in this way they alleviate my passion.”

Prayer: Most merciful Jesus, goodness itself, you do not refuse light to those who seek it of you. Receive into the abode of your most compassionate heart the souls of those who have separated from your Church. Draw them by your light into the unity of the Church, and do not let them escape from the abode of your most compassionate heart; but bring it about that they, too, come to glorify the generosity of your mercy.

Eternal Father, turn your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who are separated from your Son’s Church, especially those who have squandered your blessings and misused your graces by obstinately persisting in their errors. Do not look upon their errors but upon the love of your own Son and upon his bitter passion, which he underwent for their sake, since they, too, are enclosed in his most compassionate heart. Bring it about that they may glorify your great mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Sixth day

Jesus’ words: “Today bring to me the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children and immerse them in my mercy. These souls most closely resemble my heart. They strengthened me during my bitter agony. I saw them as earthly angels, who will keep vigil at my altars. I pour out upon them whole torrents of grace. Only the humble soul is capable of receiving my grace. I favor humble souls with my confidence.”

Prayer: Most merciful Jesus, you yourself have said, “Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart.” Receive into the abode of your most compassionate heart all meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all heaven into ecstasy, and they are the Heavenly Father’s favorites. They are a sweet-smelling bouquet before the throne of God; God himself takes delight in their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in your most compassionate heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy.

Eternal Father, turn your merciful gaze upon meek and humble souls and upon the souls of little children, who are enfolded in the abode that is the most compassionate heart of Jesus. These souls bear the closest resemblance to your Son. Their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches your very throne. Father of Mercy and of all goodness, I beg you by the love you bear these souls and by the delight you take in them. Bless the whole world, that all souls together may sing out the praises of your mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Seventh day

Jesus’ words: “Today bring to me the souls who especially venerate and glorify my mercy and immerse them in my mercy. These souls sorrowed most over my passion and entered most deeply into my spirit. They are living images of my compassionate heart. These souls will shine with a special brightness in the next life. Not one of them will go into the fire of hell. I shall particularly defend each one of them at the hour of death.”

Prayer: Most merciful Jesus, whose heart is love itself, receive into the abode of your most compassionate heart the souls of those who particularly extol and venerate the greatness of your mercy. These souls are mighty with the very power of God himself. In the midst of all afflictions and adversities they go forward confident of your mercy. These souls are united to Jesus and carry all mankind on their shoulders. These souls will not be judged severely, but your mercy will embrace them as they depart from this life.

Eternal Father, turn your merciful gaze upon the souls who glorify and venerate your greatest attribute, that of your fathomless mercy, and who are enclosed in the most compassionate heart of Jesus. These souls are a living Gospel; their hands are full of deeds of mercy and their spirits, overflowing with joy, sing a canticle of mercy to you, O Most High! I beg you O God: Show them your mercy according to the hope and trust they have placed in you. Let there be accomplished in them the promise of Jesus, who said to them that during their life, but especially at the hour of death, the souls who will venerate this fathomless mercy of his, he, himself, will defend as his glory. Amen.

Eighth day

Jesus’ words: “Today bring to me the souls who are detained in purgatory and immerse them in the abyss of my mercy. Let the torrents of my blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are really loved by me. They are making retribution to my justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all indulgences from the treasury of my Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt for my justice.”

Prayer: Most merciful Jesus, you yourself have said that you desire mercy; so I bring into the abode of your most compassionate heart the souls in purgatory, souls who are very dear to you, and yet, who must make retribution to your justice. May the streams of blood and water that gushed forth from your heart put out the flames of purgatory, that there, too, the power of your mercy may be celebrated.

Eternal Father, turn your merciful gaze upon the souls suffering in purgatory, who are enfolded in the most compassionate heart of Jesus. I beg you, by the sorrowful passion of Jesus, your Son, and by all the bitterness with which his most sacred soul was flooded: Manifest your mercy to the souls who are under your just scrutiny. Look upon them in no other way but only through the wounds of Jesus, your dearly beloved Son; for we firmly believe that there is no limit to your goodness and compassion. Amen.

Ninth day

Jesus’ words: “Today bring to me souls who have become lukewarm and immerse them in the abyss of my mercy. These souls wound my heart most painfully. My souls suffered the most dreadful loathing in the Garden of Olives because of lukewarm souls. They were the reason I cried out: ‘Father, take this cup away from me, if it be your will.’ For them the last hope of salvation is to run to my mercy.“

Prayer: Most compassionate Jesus, you are compassion itself. I bring lukewarm souls into the abode of your most compassionate heart. In this fire of your pure love let these tepid souls, who, like corpses, filled you with such deep loathing, be once again set aflame. O most compassionate Jesus, exercise the omnipotence of your Mercy and draw them into the very ardor of your love; and bestow upon them the gift of holy love, for nothing is beyond your power.

Eternal Father, turn your merciful gaze upon lukewarm souls who are nonetheless enfolded in the most compassionate heart of Jesus. Father of Mercy, I beg you by the bitter passion of your Son and by his three-hour agony on the cross, let them, too, glorify the abyss of your mercy. Amen.

This story was first published on CNA on April 15, 2022, and has been updated.

PHOTOS: Friars and faithful gather in Upper Room in Jerusalem to mark the Last Supper

The Catholic faithful gathered in the Cenacle in Jerusalem for the Mass of the Lord's Supper that the Franciscan friars celebrated on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. The Cenacle is at the center of strong tensions and disputes regarding ownership and rights of access and celebration. An ancient tradition places King David’s tomb here and over the centuries Jews and Muslims have leveraged this to first expel the Franciscans and then to prevent Christian worship, which they deemed sacrilegious. / Credit: Marinella Bandini

Jerusalem, Mar 28, 2024 / 17:15 pm (CNA).

On Holy Thursday, the doors of the Cenacle in Jerusalem were opened to welcome the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land. In this “Upper Room,” called the Cenacle in the Holy Land, Jesus had his Last Supper, washed his apostles’ feet, and instituted the Eucharist. 

It was here that the Franciscans celebrated the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, reenacting those same gestures. (At the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, however, the celebration is held on Thursday morning due to the Status Quo. Here is Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa’s homily from that Mass.)

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, kisses the feet of a Franciscan friar during the "Washing of the Feet" ritual at the Mass of the Lord's Supper celebrated at the Holy Sepulchre on Holy Thursday. The celebration is held on Thursday morning due to the Status Quo. March 28, 2024. Courtesy of the Custody of the Holy Land
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, kisses the feet of a Franciscan friar during the "Washing of the Feet" ritual at the Mass of the Lord's Supper celebrated at the Holy Sepulchre on Holy Thursday. The celebration is held on Thursday morning due to the Status Quo. March 28, 2024. Courtesy of the Custody of the Holy Land

The custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton, presided over the Eucharistic celebration at the Cenacle. In his homily, before washing the feet of six teachers and six students from the Terra Sancta School in Jerusalem, he emphasized the value of the “new commandment” that Jesus gave to his apostles here: “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (Jn 13:34).

“To love means to give oneself and to serve,” he said. “In this celebration, we want to nourish ourselves with Jesus because if he is alive within us, then we too will become capable of loving one another as he loved us. And we also want to learn from Jesus not to be served but to serve.”

Some students from the Terra Sancta School in Jerusalem who took part in the "Washing of the Feet" ritual during the Mass of the Lord's Supper celebrated at the Cenacle in Jerusalem on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Addressing them specifically in his homily, the Custos of the Holy Land emphasized the value of the “new commandment” that Jesus gave to his apostles here: “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (John 13:34). Credit: Marinella Bandini
Some students from the Terra Sancta School in Jerusalem who took part in the "Washing of the Feet" ritual during the Mass of the Lord's Supper celebrated at the Cenacle in Jerusalem on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Addressing them specifically in his homily, the Custos of the Holy Land emphasized the value of the “new commandment” that Jesus gave to his apostles here: “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (John 13:34). Credit: Marinella Bandini

Holy Thursday is the only day, along with Pentecost Sunday, when the Franciscans have the right to gather in the Upper Room to pray. Usually, it is a liturgy of the word, but since 2021 they have celebrated Mass. Outside, Israeli Army personnel ensure security.

The Cenacle is at the center of strong tensions and disputes regarding ownership and rights of access and celebration. An ancient tradition places King David’s tomb here, and over the centuries, Jews and Muslims have leveraged this place to first expel the Franciscans and then to prevent Christian worship, which they deem sacrilegious.

Father Narciso Klimas, historian and archivist of the Custody of the Holy Land, explained to CNA: “The Custody has all the documents confirming our ownership of Mount Zion.” Even today, traces of Christian presence are visible, both in the architecture of the place and in some symbols.

“The presence of the Franciscans at the Cenacle,” Klimas explained, “dates back to 1342, but as early as 1333, the rulers of Naples, Robert of Anjou and Sancha of Majorca, acquired the land and donated it to the friars. This was the first headquarters of the Custody of the Holy Land.” To this day, the official title of the Custos of the Holy Land is “Guardian of Mount Zion and the Holy Sepulchre.”

Father Francesco Patton, custos of the Holy Land, incenses the altar at the beginning of the Mass of the Lord's Supper that the Franciscan friars celebrated inside the Cenacle in Jerusalem on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. This is the only day, along with Pentecost Sunday, that the Franciscans have the right to gather here to pray. Usually, it is a liturgy of the word, but since 2021 they have celebrated Mass. Credit: Marinella Bandini
Father Francesco Patton, custos of the Holy Land, incenses the altar at the beginning of the Mass of the Lord's Supper that the Franciscan friars celebrated inside the Cenacle in Jerusalem on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. This is the only day, along with Pentecost Sunday, that the Franciscans have the right to gather here to pray. Usually, it is a liturgy of the word, but since 2021 they have celebrated Mass. Credit: Marinella Bandini

In 1421, a rabbi submitted a petition to the local emirs, claiming the right for Muslims and Jews to this place due to the presence of King David’s tomb. One hundred years later, Klimas continued, “the Ottomans used this argument to gradually expel the Franciscans, until in 1551 the sultan decreed the total expulsion of the Franciscans from Mount Zion.” The Cenacle first became a mosque and later, in the lower part, also a synagogue.

“Since then,” Klimas recounted, “the Franciscans have never stopped attempting to regain possession of the Cenacle. The friars have always tried to ensure a presence, at least on Holy Thursday and Pentecost, sometimes even with methods that are not exactly orthodox (such as bribing the local guardian).”

Something began to change in the 19th century, during the time of the Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid. Since then, the Franciscans have had the right to pray at the Cenacle on Holy Thursday and Pentecost. After a failed attempt in the 1930s to regain control of it, the friars managed to purchase adjacent land where they built the convent of San Francesco “ad Coenaculum” (next to the Cenacle).

In 1948, with the founding of the State of Israel, the entire Mount Zion came under Israeli control, and until today, the Israeli state owns the entire complex of the Cenacle. The neighborhood has a strong Jewish religious character and is characterized by the presence of synagogues and rabbinical schools.

The Franciscan friars and the faithful in the Armenian Cathedral of St. James in Jerusalem after the Mass of the Lord's Supper celebrated at the Cenacle. Here, the friars commemorate the hospitality they received here in the 16th century. After being expelled from the Cenacle, the Franciscans were welcomed by the Armenians for seven years while the convent of St. Saviour was purchased, to this day the headquarters of the Custody of the Holy Land. March 28, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini
The Franciscan friars and the faithful in the Armenian Cathedral of St. James in Jerusalem after the Mass of the Lord's Supper celebrated at the Cenacle. Here, the friars commemorate the hospitality they received here in the 16th century. After being expelled from the Cenacle, the Franciscans were welcomed by the Armenians for seven years while the convent of St. Saviour was purchased, to this day the headquarters of the Custody of the Holy Land. March 28, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

“Even if the Cenacle cannot return to our hands,” Klimas explained, “we ask at least to celebrate regularly, even with pilgrims, without the need for special permits.”

Negotiations on these matters (taxation and property) have been ongoing for over 25 years between the Holy See and the State of Israel, following the signing of the Fundamental Agreement in 1993 and the agreement recognizing the legal personality of the Catholic Church in Israel in 1997.

Despite the slow pace of diplomatic negotiations, some practical progress can be observed informally. The ability to celebrate Mass on Holy Thursday at the Cenacle is among these developments. Permissions to access the site on other special occasions are usually granted without significant issues as well.

After the Mass at the Cenacle, as tradition dictates, the Franciscans proceeded in a procession to three churches in two other symbolic places: the Armenian churches of St. James and of the Holy Archangels (of the Armenian Apostolic Church), and the Syro-Orthodox Church of St. Mark.

The Franciscan friars and the faithful in the Armenian Church of the Holy Archangels in Jerusalem after the Mass of the Lord's Supper celebrated at the Cenacle on March 28, 2024. Friars and faithful pray together and receive the blessing from the representative of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Credit: Marinella Bandini
The Franciscan friars and the faithful in the Armenian Church of the Holy Archangels in Jerusalem after the Mass of the Lord's Supper celebrated at the Cenacle on March 28, 2024. Friars and faithful pray together and receive the blessing from the representative of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Credit: Marinella Bandini

This yearly visit commemorates the hospitality the friars received in the 16th century. After being expelled from the Cenacle, the Franciscans were welcomed by the Armenians for seven years while the convent of St. Saviour was purchased, to this day the headquarters of the Custody of the Holy Land. Friars and faithful prayed together and received the blessing from the representative of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

The Syriac Orthodox Church of St. Mark is said to be built on the house of Mary, the mother of the evangelist Mark. According to Syriac tradition, this is the place where Jesus had the Last Supper. Here as well, those present prayed together and were able to listen to the Lord’s Prayer sung in Aramaic by one of the monks, who then gave a blessing.

The Franciscan friars and the faithful in the Syro-Orthodox church of St. Mark in Jerusalem after the Mass of the Lord's Supper celebrated at the Cenacle on March 28, 2024. According to Syriac tradition, this is the upper room where Jesus had the Last Supper. Here as well, those present pray together and listen to the Lord’s Prayer sung in Aramaic by one of the monks, who then gives the blessing. Credit: Marinella Bandini
The Franciscan friars and the faithful in the Syro-Orthodox church of St. Mark in Jerusalem after the Mass of the Lord's Supper celebrated at the Cenacle on March 28, 2024. According to Syriac tradition, this is the upper room where Jesus had the Last Supper. Here as well, those present pray together and listen to the Lord’s Prayer sung in Aramaic by one of the monks, who then gives the blessing. Credit: Marinella Bandini

More Holy Week processions prohibited in Cuba

A Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish procession honoring the patroness of Cuba on Sept. 7, 2023. / Credit: Sacred Heart of Jesus parish in Havana, Cuba

ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 28, 2024 / 16:00 pm (CNA).

The regime of President Miguel Díaz-Canel in Cuba has prohibited several Holy Week processions in different cities of the country, including the El Vedado area of Havana as well as in Bayamo, a town that was the scene of major protests earlier this month.

Last week, ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, reported on the prohibition of processions in the Diocese of the Most Holy Savior located in the Bayamo-Manzanillo area in the province of Granma, due to the regime’s fear that new protests would break out. The prohibition has been extended to the capital, Havana, according to a Catholic priest.

In a March 25 Facebook post, Father Lester Zayas, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in the El Vedado business district of Havana, reported that the day before he had been notified by the government that “the Holy Burial procession would not be approved.”

The Dominican friar stressed that the interruption of this Good Friday tradition will have significant repercussions on the community.

“The refusal seems to be related to my person. Apparently my homilies make some people uncomfortable or nervous,” he commented.

The priest also believes that this decision is a “punishment” for his homilies, which he denied are political in nature but rather shed the light of the Gospel on reality. He called the ban on the procession a “violation of religious freedom” since the parish’s request for permission for the procession was made “in the name of the people” and not in his name.

“Never in my years of priesthood have I made use of public space, say during processions, to call for anything other than piety,” he explained. Given the situation, the priest said that the procession would take place inside the church.

In addition to Zayas’ announcement, according to sources from the Catholic Church cited by the Cuban media outlet 14ymedio, the suspension of outdoor processions has been confirmed in at least two other parishes in the province of Villa Clara, located in the central region of the island.

Father Wilfredo Leiter, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in the town of Sagua la Grande in Villa Clara, said on social media that the authorities have also prevented him from carrying out the Holy Burial procession on Good Friday.

“A lot of people are asking me why we carried out this large crucifix during the Palm Sunday procession. Answer: This figure of Christ crucified was supposed to be brought out on Good Friday but the authorities who claim to respect religious freedom didn’t give permission for that day, so we took it out today. As it was taken down from the altar and weighs 300 pounds we weren’t going to not let it be taken out on the streets,” the priest stated.

Osvaldo Gallardo, a writer and religious freedom activist who lived for more than 40 years in Cuba, told ACI Prensa that the “government fears these processions because they can get out of control.”

“We will find out on Good Friday itself or later if more public religious expressions are prohibited,” he added.

Almost 1,000 violations of religious freedom

Amid the restrictions imposed on Holy Week processions, the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights (OCDH) reported March 27 that in 2023 that there were at least 936 incidents violating religious freedom in Cuba.

The most common repressive measures, according to the OCDH report, included arbitrary arrests and harassing families at their homes to prevent them from attending Sunday Mass.

The report also noted that several members of Ladies in White, a citizen opposition movement that brings together wives and other relatives of Cuban prisoners, have had their freedom to worship restricted.

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

Oregon reports significant uptick in assisted suicides

The Oregon State Capitol in Salem. / Credit: Zack Frank/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 28, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is reporting a significant rise in assisted suicide prescriptions and deaths in the state, a move that comes after authorities in 2022 began allowing out-of-state residents to access the lethal services.

Since the state’s passage of the “Death with Dignity Act” in 1997, assisted suicide numbers have been generally rising there, with a markedly sharp uptick since 2013. OHA on March 20 released its 2023 assisted suicide data summary that reported a considerable increase in suicide prescriptions in 2023. 

The study found that assisted suicide prescriptions in the state rose from 433 in 2022 to 560 last year.

Of those 560 prescriptions, 367 people are known to have died from ingesting the suicide “medications.” This is up from the 304 who died from assisted suicide drugs in Oregon in 2022.

Over half, or 56%, of the assisted suicide deaths were of males, while the vast majority, 82%, were 65 years old and above, although one patient was 29. Sixty-six percent of those given a suicide prescription had cancer.

Nearly all — 92% — said their reason for obtaining the drugs included concern over “loss of autonomy.” Additionally, 82% also reported they were concerned about their “decreasing ability to participate in activities that made life enjoyable” and 64% cited concerns over “loss of dignity.”  

According to the OHA report, only three patients were referred for psychological or psychiatric evaluation, and 154 patients were granted exemptions from the statutory 15-day waiting period.

Just sixty patients, 16%, had a health care provider present when they consumed the suicide drugs.

In all, 2023 saw a nearly 30% increase in assisted suicide prescriptions and a 20% rise in deaths.

This uptick comes after the state passed a law in 2022 dropping its residency requirement for assisted suicide, which made it legal for Oregon doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to people who do not reside in the state. 

The 2023 report said 23 non-Oregon residents utilized the state’s suicide services. However, it noted that this number “may not represent all DWDA deaths from out-of-state residents,” because information on a patient’s state of residence is not collected during the prescription process and OHA does not receive death certificates from other states. 

The state’s relaxation of residency rules was condemned at the time by Oregon Right to Life, which expressed worry that it would mark the start of “death tourism” in Oregon. 

Oregon Right to Life President Lois Anderson said this month, meanwhile, that the state’s assisted suicide laws represent an “appalling lack of care and respect for the lives of Oregonians and those who travel from out of state to receive these death-inducing drugs.”

“Physician-assisted suicide targets vulnerable people who are made to feel that their lives are no longer valuable or worth living,” she said in a March 20 statement. “Instead of continuing to prescribe toxic cocktails of life-ending drugs, we should provide truly compassionate measures, ensuring that people facing end-of-life decisions have access to high-quality palliative care.” 

Anderson told CNA that she is especially concerned for the state’s most vulnerable residents, who she said are under special threat in the assisted suicide laws.

“After 26 years, the law has had a corrosive effect on medical professionals and caregivers who see assisted death as a legitimate response to illness and disability,” she explained. 

Now, Anderson said, there “are no real protections against coercion.”  

She urged people to give special care whom she believes are most targeted by the state’s assisted suicide laws. 

“Our elderly, disabled, medically fragile, and chronically ill neighbors need us to seek them out, actively communicate that each one is a person with infinite value, and find practical ways to help them in their daily lives,” she said. 

Since assisted suicide was legalized in Oregon there have been 4,274 lethal prescriptions and 2,847 reported deaths in the state, per OHA.

PHOTOS: Pope Francis washes the feet of inmates at women’s prison in Rome

Pope Francis kisses the foot of one of the 12 women whose feet he washed at the Rebibbia Women’s Prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Mar 28, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Thursday washed the feet of 12 prisoners at a prison facility in Rome, with the pontiff continuing a regular tradition of holding the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at local penitentiaries.

The Holy Father told female inmates at the Rebibbia correctional facility, located about six miles from Vatican City, that Jesus “never tires of forgiving” but rather “we are the ones who get tired of asking for forgiveness.”

Pope Francis speaks during a Mass at the Rebibbia Women’s Prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Francis speaks during a Mass at the Rebibbia Women’s Prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media

“We all have our small or big failures — everyone has their own story. But the Lord always awaits us, with his arms open, and never tires of forgiving,” the Holy Father said, according to Vatican News.

Pope Francis presides over a Mass at the Rebibbia Women’s Prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Francis presides over a Mass at the Rebibbia Women’s Prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media

The pope during the Mass washed the feet of 12 of the female prisoners present. The dozen inmates were of “different nationalities,” the Vatican said.

Pope Francis washes the feet of 12 women at the Rebibbia Women’s Prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Francis washes the feet of 12 women at the Rebibbia Women’s Prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media

The pope subsequently “met with the inmates and staff of the penitentiary” and received several gifts including products from the prison complex’s farm.

Pope Francis meets with the inmates and staff of the penitentiary Rebibbia Women’s Prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Francis meets with the inmates and staff of the penitentiary Rebibbia Women’s Prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media

In years past, Francis has traveled to prisons and other facilities in and around Rome to wash the feet of marginalized individuals.

In 2023 he washed the feet of 12 young men and women at the Casal del Marmo juvenile detention center on Rome’s outskirts.

Pope Francis meets with the inmates and staff of the penitentiary Rebibbia Women’s Prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Francis meets with the inmates and staff of the penitentiary Rebibbia Women’s Prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media

Francis instituted the custom shortly after the start of his papacy. After visiting the Casal del Marmo youth detention center in 2013, he presided at Holy Thursday Masses at a center for the disabled in 2014, the Rebibbia New Complex Prison in 2015, a center for asylum seekers in 2016, Paliano prison in 2017, Rome’s historic Regina Coeli prison in 2018, and Velletri men’s prison in 2019.

The Holy Father skipped the tradition in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pope Francis meets with the inmates and staff of the penitentiary Rebibbia Women’s Prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Francis meets with the inmates and staff of the penitentiary Rebibbia Women’s Prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media

Governors in West Virginia, Utah, Idaho sign religious freedom bills

null / Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 28, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

Governors Jim Justice of West Virginia, Spencer Cox of Utah, and Brad Little of Idaho — all Republicans — signed legislation in their states to enhance religious freedom protections. 

The new West Virginia law establishes stronger religious freedom protections for student organizations at public universities. The Utah law allows residents to bring civil action against government entities if those entities violate their religious freedom. And the new Idaho legislation protects religious rights for faith-based adoption centers and foster care homes.

West Virginia

The West Virginia legislation amends a 1931 West Virginia law that guarantees “free expression on campus.” The amendment ensures that public universities cannot discriminate against student organizations, including faith-based organizations, if those groups require that members adhere to certain values. 

Under the new protections, a public university cannot deny a religious, political, or ideological organization any benefit or privilege generally made to other organizations based on a requirement that its leaders or members “affirm or adhere to the organization’s sincerely held beliefs, comply with the organization’s standards of conduct, and further the organization’s mission or purpose.”

Matt Sharp, a senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement that the new protection safeguards “the ability of belief-based student organizations to associate with those who align with the organization’s mission and purpose.”

“Religious clubs must remain free to require their leaders and members to adhere to their religious beliefs and values,” Sharp said. “This critical legislation specifically ensures that student groups at public universities can freely choose their leaders and members, and further their mission, absent of discrimination.”

Utah

The new Utah law recognizes religious freedom as “a fundamental right” and sets statewide standards for bringing civil action against a local or state government entity when a person believes that entity has violated his or her religious freedom.

Under the new law, which mirrors some of the federal protections in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, people can bring civil cases against public entities if they substantially burden their religious freedom by withholding a government benefit; assessing civil, criminal, or administrative penalties or damages; or exclude a person from a government program or from access to a government facility or service.

Greg Chafuen, a legal counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement that “citizens shouldn’t be left defenseless when their government attempts to burden their ability to live and worship according to their faith.”

“This law provides a sensible balancing test for courts to use when reviewing government policies that infringe upon the religious freedom rights of Utahans,” Chafuen said. “The law doesn’t determine who will win every disagreement, but it does ensure that every Utahan — regardless of their religious creed or political power — receives a fair hearing when government action forces a person to violate his or her religious beliefs.”

Idaho

The new Idaho law prevents state and local government entities from discriminating against adoption centers or foster care providers for adhering to their religious beliefs.

Under the law, entities cannot deny contracts, grants, or agreements based on the organization’s adherence to policies and procedures that align with “a sincerely held religious belief.” This also applies if the adoption center or foster care provider’s sincerely held religious beliefs contribute to decisions about where to place a child. 

Chafuen said in a statement that faith-based providers “have served children looking for loving homes for centuries while living out their sincerely held religious beliefs.” 

“We applaud Idaho for prioritizing the well-being of kids by prohibiting state and local government officials from discriminating against adoption and foster care providers and parents simply because of their religious beliefs and moral convictions,” Chafuen said. “This law helps children benefit from as many adoption and foster care agencies as possible, faith- and non-faith-based alike.”

Canadian judge grants 27-year-old autistic woman’s request for assisted suicide

null / Video_Creative / Shutterstock.

CNA Staff, Mar 28, 2024 / 13:30 pm (CNA).

A judge in Canada has ruled that a woman with autism can be granted her request to die by assisted suicide, overruling efforts by the woman’s father to halt the deadly procedure. 

In a decision this week, Justice Colin Feasby of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta said the 27-year-old woman, identified in documents as “MV,” would be allowed to access the country’s medical assistance in dying (MAID) even as her father argued that she was “vulnerable” and “not competent to make the decision to take her own life.” Feasby’s decision set aside an earlier injunction against the woman’s request for assisted suicide.

Canadian law stipulates that anyone seeking assisted suicide be suffering from “a serious illness, disease, or disability,” be experiencing “unbearable physical or mental suffering,” and be unable to reverse either the disease or the attendant suffering.

MV’s father argued that his daughter “is generally healthy” and that “her physical symptoms, to the extent that she has any, result from undiagnosed psychological conditions.” 

Feasby himself noted that the woman “has not provided any evidence” to contest those assertions, “nor has she identified her medical condition or provided information concerning her symptoms and how they cause her to suffer.” 

In his decision, the judge frankly admitted to MV: “I do not know you and I do not know why you seek MAID.” Her reasons for doing so, he wrote, “remain your own because I have respected your autonomy and your privacy.”

While Feasby acknowledged that the parents of the woman will suffer “substantial” harm if she kills herself, the harm she herself will experience “goes to the core of her being,” he argued. 

“An injunction would deny MV the right to choose between living or dying with dignity,” he claimed. 

“Further, an injunction would put MV in a position where she would be forced to choose between living a life she has decided is intolerable and ending her life without medical assistance,” the judge claimed. “This is a terrible choice that should not be forced on MV as attempting to end her life without medical assistance would put her at increased risk of pain, suffering, and lasting injury.”

Though the ruling set aside the earlier injunction, Feasby said the decision would be stayed for 30 days in order to allow the father to appeal.

The judge pointed out that “nothing that I have written should be taken to minimize or diminish [the father’s] potential loss.”

The woman’s father “can perhaps take some solace in the fact that he did his best to persuade [her] of the value of her life and her parents’ commitment to loving and supporting her,” he wrote. 

Assisted suicide has been legal in Canada since 2016. The Canadian government earlier this year postponed plans to expand its assisted suicide program to include those suffering from mental illness after a parliamentary report said the country’s health system is “not ready.”

The Canadian government’s website says that “eligibility for MAID for persons suffering solely from a mental illness has been delayed” until March 2027.