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Illinois diocese creates Boy Scouts patch honoring Venerable Father Augustine Tolton

Father Augustus Tolton’s life was explored in an October 2022 episode of EWTN’s “They Might Be Saints.” / Credit: EWTN News Nightly

CNA Staff, Mar 26, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A priest on his way to sainthood has inspired the creation of a new Scouts patch in Illinois. 

The Catholic Committee on Scouting in the Diocese of Springfield announced the Venerable Father Augustine Tolton Activity Patch, which honors the first recognized Black priest in the United States.

Depending on the grade of the child, there are several requirements and activities that need to be completed in order to receive the patch. Some of these requirements and activities include learning about Tolton’s life, visiting a seminary or religious community, visiting Tolton’s grave in Quincy, Illinois, and composing a prayer.

Kyle Holtgrave, director of catechesis for the Diocese of Springfield, told CNA that he has “always been looking for ways to bring more attention to him [Tolton] and his ministry.”

“I work with the Catholic Committee on Scouting, serving as the chair of our local diocesan efforts, and we are always promoting various religious activities as part of a Scout’s duty to God,” he explained. 

The Diocese of Springfield will host a stop in the Junipero Serra leg of the Eucharistic pilgrimage leading up to the National Eucharistic Congress taking place in Indianapolis from July 17–21. Pilgrims will stop in Quincy, Illinois, at Tolton’s gravesite. 

“I saw these areas — Catholic Scouting and the Eucharistic Congress — as an opportunity to bring more attention to Father Tolton with this event,” Holtgrave said.

Originally, Holtgrave thought of planning a pilgrimage for Scouts on the evening that the Eucharistic Pilgrimage will be at Tolton’s grave and have a patch awarding participation. However, he realized that “learning about the life and ministry of Father Tolton should not be limited to a one-time event.” 

“Since the Catholic Committee on Scouting has a variety of other patch award programs, I looked for ways to model the Father Tolton patch award based on these other programs,” he shared. “The result is an ongoing opportunity for Scouts to learn about Father Tolton and receive a religious award for doing so.”

He hopes that Scouts will “learn that the Holy Spirit calls people in all kinds of ways” while working to receive this patch and “when the Holy Spirit is prompting you, you can overcome obstacles to follow that call.” 

Holtgrave added that “Scouts will also learn about the sin of racism and will hopefully be more aware of injustices like the racism that Father Tolton faced.” 

“Additionally, Scouts will learn that we don’t have to take on the world by ourselves,” he said. “Father Tolton found support from people who helped him on this journey not only to the priesthood, but also during his ordained ministry.”

Tolton was born into slavery in Missouri on April 1, 1854, to Catholic parents. He escaped to Quincy, Illinois, with his family during the Civil War. He studied for the priesthood in Rome because no American seminary would accept him on account of his race. He was the first African American to be ordained a priest in 1889. He served for three years at a parish in Quincy before moving to Chicago to start a parish for Black Catholics, St. Monica Parish, where he remained until his death in 1897.

Pennsylvania diocese puts retired police officers in Catholic schools to protect, ‘mentor’

Greensburg officers are sworn in to serve the Diocese of Greensburg, Pennsylvania. / Credit: Courtesy of the Diocese of Greensburg

CNA Staff, Mar 26, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A diocese in Pennsylvania is working to keep students safe by hiring retired police officers who become not only security detail but also mentors at each Catholic school. 

Days after his retirement from the Greensburg police station in July 2023 with 25 years of law enforcement experience, Lt. Ryan Maher began a new job as the director of security for the Diocese of Greensburg.

“I was tasked with forming a department and placing an officer in each of the 12 schools as the primary focus of my mission, with a longer-range mission of evaluating safety and security throughout the diocese in general,” Maher told CNA. 

Chief Ryan Maher is sworn in as the director of security for the Diocese of Greensburg. Credit: Courtesy of the Diocese of Greensburg
Chief Ryan Maher is sworn in as the director of security for the Diocese of Greensburg. Credit: Courtesy of the Diocese of Greensburg

Last summer the former police officer filed the diocese as a private police department under Pennsylvania law, giving police full authority on diocesan property, parishes, and the 12 Greensburg Catholic schools. 

Now well into the school year, Maher has hired 18 police officers, all with at least 20 years of law enforcement experience. Most work full time; all must have attended either the Pennsylvania State Police Academy or the Pennsylvania Municipal Police Officers Training Academy, also known as Act 120. 

“Our goal is to have a full-time officer assigned to each building because then they become a member of that school community,” Maher explained. “They get to know the kids, they get to know the parents. That level of trust and familiarity is built with the students.”

But hiring was a “laborious process,” Maher told CNA. 

“We don’t want a hard-nosed law enforcement officer in there with blouse pants that’s walking around like the Gestapo,” Maher explained. “We want that person that’s going to be a mentor to the kids and be a part of that community. So it took a while to find the right folks to fill the positions.”

Bishop Larry Kulick hired Maher with a “vision of having a trained police officer in every school,” the diocese said in a press release.

A police officer keeps guard during a Mass in the Diocese of Greensburg. The officers have authority not only in Catholic schools but also on any diocese property. Credit: Courtesy of the Diocese of Greensburg.
A police officer keeps guard during a Mass in the Diocese of Greensburg. The officers have authority not only in Catholic schools but also on any diocese property. Credit: Courtesy of the Diocese of Greensburg.

The project began after a 2022 advisory council that Kulick formed “to research the issues related to school violence,” Maher explained. 

Once the project was announced, parents wanted it in place as soon as possible, Maher said. 

“They wanted it done yesterday,” he said. “There was no pushback or anything along those lines.”

Now the community that Maher envisioned is coming to fruition. Each school “has an officer every day that the kiddos are in the building.” 

“We’ve gotten all positive feedback,” he said. “And as far as mentoring goes, I supervise the officers working in the 12 schools, so I’m out and about throughout the week at various locations. And I see the kids coming up and giving fist bumps to our guys, or I see our guys asking a fifth grader how that test went last week, how the basketball game went last evening, and those types of things.”

“They’ve really gotten to know the kids,” Maher said. “They know their families, if they have siblings or not, those types of things — those small, little details.” 

He says officers are quick to sign up to work at extra events such as graduation ceremonies.

“They feel that sense of pride in seeing these kids accomplish something and moving on to the next phase,” Maher noted. “They want to be there and be a part of that special moment for those kids as well.” 

“And that’s what it’s all about, is building those relationships, because once those kiddos feel that this is another trusted adult that has an interest in them, that’s when those kids will bring information to the officers,” he continued. “And that’s what could prevent a tragedy happening that very easily could be avoided.”

While other private police departments exist throughout Pennsylvania, the Greensburg Diocese is pioneering this particular model. 

“We’re not the first in the commonwealth, but we’re certainly the first diocese within the commonwealth to do this,” Maher noted. 

This isn’t the only initiative the diocese is taking on to help school safety. The diocese also implemented a joint venture with Catholic Charities to place counselors in the school at least one day a week, he said. 

“So that occurred at the same time that the police department was being formed because we view [school violence] as a multifaceted problem that we’re trying to tackle,” Maher said. “And we’re coming at it from a bunch of different ways.”

Chief Ryan Maher is the director of security for the Diocese of Greensburg. Maher has 25 years of law enforcement experience. Credit: Courtesy of the Diocese of Greensburg.
Chief Ryan Maher is the director of security for the Diocese of Greensburg. Maher has 25 years of law enforcement experience. Credit: Courtesy of the Diocese of Greensburg.

When asked if other areas could follow Greensburg’s model, he noted that “we’re certainly not the first to put police officers in schools by any stretch.”

“It’s just a sad commentary of society that that’s where we are, but I think it’s necessary,” he said. “I think it’s a model that could be followed in other organizations that are similar to us. But I think it can’t be the only step that is being taken to prevent some tragedy from occurring.”

Maher highlighted other improvements such as “mental health evaluations,” “resources being available to students,” and “physical security of buildings.” 

“There’s a lot of components that go into making a safe environment,” he said. “But this is one of them. This is one part of it that I think is certainly necessary.”

Maher, who is Catholic, said that while his police background informs his job performance, his faith is important as a moral foundation. 

“I think that having a strong faith in this position, as it is with any law enforcement position, is important,” he said. “Because that’s where your morals come from in the first place. So it influences it, but it doesn’t necessarily guide every aspect of what I do.”

“I think that it makes me sensitive to the organization,” he added, “and the specialness of what is going on in the schools, and why our parents have the kids in our schools.”

Maher said it’s been “a great experience” so far. 

“Building something from the ground up and seeing the fruits of the labor has been fantastic,” he said, adding that he appreciates “getting to work with a great group of people, not only within my department but throughout the diocese.”

Experts preview U.S. Supreme Court’s abortion pill case

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) senior counsel Kellie Fiedorek (center) and Elizabeth Gillette (right), who survived severe complications from a chemical abortion, spoke with EWTN News Nightly anchor Tracy Sabol about the case. / Credit: Screenshot/EWTN News Nightly

CNA Newsroom, Mar 25, 2024 / 19:40 pm (CNA).

The United States Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday regarding the Biden administration’s alleged deficient safeguards surrounding use of the chemical abortion drug mifepristone and the risk the drug poses to women.

Among the safeguards, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine case could see the restoration of the initial requirement of in-person doctor visits before prescription of the pill as well as the initial seven-week limit on use of the abortion pill. 

In the case, the FDA challenged an August 2023 federal court ruling that affirmed that the FDA did not follow proper testing and safety protocols when it approved the abortion drug in 2000. 

In 2021, the FDA eliminated the in-person doctor visit originally required to obtain the drug, allowing the abortion pill to be prescribed via telemedicine and distributed through the mail. Earlier this year, drug stores such as Walgreens began selling the abortion pill over the counter

Elizabeth Gillette, who survived severe complications from a chemical abortion, is set to testify about the lack of sufficient safeguards surrounding the drug and spoke with “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol about the case.

In the interview, Gillette shared her experience with a chemical abortion — severe bleeding, labor pains, and seeing her dead child — that inspired her to testify against the lack of safeguards. 

“I was not properly prepared for the powerful drug that is the abortion pill. I suffered devastating side effects,” Gillette explained.

Chemical abortions involve a two-pill regimen consisting of the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol. This type of abortion cuts off the nutrients necessary for an unborn child to develop and then expels him or her from the womb. 

“I found myself on the bathroom floor in a pool of blood until I ended up expelling the entire amniotic sac with my baby — a recognizable baby inside,” she continued. “The trauma from this horrific experience still follows me today in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder.”

“This is nothing like what they told me would happen,” Gillette said. “It was minimized and the care was subpar.”

Chemical abortions account for over half of all U.S. abortions, according to a recent study.

Senior Counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) Kellie Fiedorek also spoke about the case in an interview with Sabol.

“The FDA recklessly removed its original safeguards that provide women with in-person, ongoing care when taking abortion drugs,” she said. “Because they removed those, they put women’s lives in danger.”

“We sued the FDA on behalf of doctors to hold them accountable, and we’re asking the Supreme Court to reinstate those vital safeguards to protect the health and safety of women across this country,” Fiodorek indicated.

“The FDA’s own label says that roughly one in 25 women who take these drugs will end up in the emergency room,” Fiedorek continued. “So regardless of what people’s beliefs might be about abortion, we should all agree that women deserve the ongoing in-person care of a doctor when they’re taking high-risk drugs.”

The FDA first approved mifepristone for abortion in 2000 but included some restrictions on dispensation to prevent severe side effects. One restriction was that the drug had to be prescribed and dispensed in person.

That changed in 2021 when the FDA decided that the in-person requirement put a “burden on the health care delivery system.”

Over the years, other restrictions on the drug have also been removed. In 2016, the FDA determined that the drug can be used when a woman is pregnant with a child at 70 days’ gestation. Before 2016, the gestational limit was seven weeks. The FDA also decided in 2016 that non-physicians could prescribe the pill. 

In August 2023, the Fifth Circuit Court affirmed a lower court ruling that the FDA must reinstate the restrictions on the mifepristone pill that were in place before 2016. Those restrictions are currently on hold pending the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision. 

America’s Catholic bishops expressed concern about chemical abortions. In a February statement, the bishops noted that if the FDA policies are allowed to remain in place, “potentially harmful drugs [will] be mailed directly to girls and women who did not see a medical professional in person and may be injured or killed without public knowledge of the cause.”

“I would like everybody to remember that this is an extremely powerful drug, and women deserve ... to be treated with respect and with the safeguards in place,” Gillette said. “We’re worth it.”

PHOTOS: New York pro-lifers march with ‘joy on steroids’ despite heavy rain and taunting

Pro-lifers march through lower Manhattan amid a heavy downpour and pro-abortion protests necessitating a significant police presence on March 23, 2024. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 25, 2024 / 18:18 pm (CNA).

In what has become an annual confrontation, pro-life advocates faced taunts and intimidation from abortion activists as they made their way through the streets of New York City amid a heavy downpour for the annual International Gift of Life Walk on Saturday. 

As hundreds of pro-lifers walked the route, escorted by a contingent of “New York’s Finest” police officers, the protesters followed them, shouting “Shame on you!” and hurling expletives along the way.

The record-breaking deluge dropped 3.6 inches of rain on the group, but neither the animosity of the protesters nor the weather dampened their spirits.

“Man, did it rain. But the joy? It’s incredible,” Jeffrey Bruno, a Catholic photojournalist who documented the event, told CNA. He described the experience as “solidarity and joy on steroids.”

Hundreds of pro-lifers joined the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan, New York City, despite heavy rain and protestors on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Hundreds of pro-lifers joined the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan, New York City, despite heavy rain and protestors on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

Dawn Eskew, president of Personhood Education New York and one of the walk’s organizers, told CNA that between 350 and 400 pro-lifers of all ages joined the walk. Though most wore heavy jackets or plastic rain ponchos, all were still thoroughly soaked, one attendee said. 

The event began with a rally and several pro-life testimonies at downtown’s Foley Square after which participants traversed a mile through some of the city’s most iconic areas in lower Manhattan, including Broadway’s “Canyon of Heroes” and Wall Street.

Eskew said that since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the event, held this year for the eighth time, has been met with intense anger from abortion protestors. Last year, pro-abortion activists threw piles of trash in the path of the pro-life walkers, temporarily stopping them in their tracks.

Eskew said that she had feared the turnout for the walk might be light because of the violence of last year’s protest. But now she believes people must have been “energized by those protesters,” because this year’s walk was even more highly attended.

Hundreds of pro-lifers joined the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan, New York City, despite heavy rain and protestors on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Hundreds of pro-lifers joined the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan, New York City, despite heavy rain and protestors on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

Though she said that she was grateful for an increased police presence and barricades, she said that didn’t stop pro-abortion protesters from attempting to disrupt the walk again this year. 

As the pro-life advocates walked the route, they chanted prayers, sang hymns, and some played drums while protestors attempted to drown them out by clanging barriers and shouting expletives.

The New York Police Department arrested at least eight pro-abortion protestors during the event, one social media user who was at the event told CNA. 

New York City police had to make several arrests of pro-abortion protestors during the event because of attempts to disrupt the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
New York City police had to make several arrests of pro-abortion protestors during the event because of attempts to disrupt the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

Catherine Donohoe, president of the Pregnancy Service Network and one of the speakers at the rally, told CNA that she estimated there were about 120 pro-abortion protestors.

She said the walk was a good way to begin Holy Week and to join in Christ’s passion. 

“People screamed obscenities at him and cursed him and spit at him. And that’s what was happening; we were being spat at and cursed out,” Donohoe said. “But God always told us, and St. Paul reiterated, that being a witness to Christ is never going to be easy. We’re not asking you to have an easy life. We’re asking you to be obedient, and that’s what we were doing. We were being obedient to God’s call to protect the voiceless.”

Despite all the hardships, it was a “wonderful day,” Donohue said.

“We were soaked, I was drenched,” she said, “but this was nothing compared to what Christ endured.”

New York Police Department officers escort pro-lifers in the International Gift of Life Walk as pro-abortion protestors heckle and attempt to disrupt the event in lower Manhattan on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
New York Police Department officers escort pro-lifers in the International Gift of Life Walk as pro-abortion protestors heckle and attempt to disrupt the event in lower Manhattan on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

Abortion is legal through all nine months of pregnancy in New York.

Donohoe, whose pregnancy network helps 5,000 women and children per year, said that events such as the walk are important to let people know that there are other options and resources besides abortion. 

“The politicians are so against us,” she said, “but it’s important for people to know that there are people out there that can help you.”

Phil McManus, another pro-life New Yorker who took part in the walk, told CNA that it was an “amazing thing to see such dedication” among the pro-lifers.  

“There’s no doubt that there is a spiritual war, which turns into a physical war,” he said. “You could see the power of God and you could also see the power of Satan on the other side.”

Hundreds of pro-lifers joined the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan, New York City, despite heavy rain and protestors on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Hundreds of pro-lifers joined the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan, New York City, despite heavy rain and protestors on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

As pro-abortion as the laws already are in New York, McManus said he believes it will only continue getting worse unless pro-lifers and people of faith “step up.”

“I believe they’re expanding the death culture to sick people, elderly, people that are marginal and are not able to protect themselves. It’s spreading and we have to do everything we can to say ‘Enough is enough.’”

“We could preach to the choir but what we need to do is to preach to Main Street. We need to get out there,” he said. “That’s what this walk is all about.”

A Franciscan Friar of the Renewal marches alongside the pro-lifers at the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan, New York City, on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
A Franciscan Friar of the Renewal marches alongside the pro-lifers at the International Gift of Life Walk in lower Manhattan, New York City, on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

For many Catholic attendees, the event began with Mass celebrated by Father Lawrence Schroedel of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal at St. Peter’s Parish by One World Trade Center. 

Bishop Joseph Coffey, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, also joined this year’s walk and spoke at the rally.

In a statement obtained by CNA, Coffey said that “it is imperative that all New Yorkers of goodwill stand up and demand the recognition that, from the moment of conception, all preborn children are persons. As persons they are fully invested with all rights of the equal protection under the laws of this state and this great nation.” 

Father Lawrence Schroedel of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal celebrates Mass before the International Gift of Life Walk at St. Peter’s Parish in New York City, on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Father Lawrence Schroedel of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal celebrates Mass before the International Gift of Life Walk at St. Peter’s Parish in New York City, on March 23, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

Reflecting on his experience at the walk, Bruno shared a statement on X in which he said: “It’s easy to imagine what it’s like... But to be present, to hear the jeers and taunts directed at you, to be soaked to the skin from the torrents of rain as if they were the tears of heaven, to need police in riot gear walk beside you to ensure your safety, that’s quite a different thing.”

“But to be present,” he went on, “is to stand beside those who join in solidarity and faith, it’s to be the voice of the defenseless in the public square, and it’s to live the call to proclaim the truth without compromise. It’s the modern road to Calvary paved with selfless sacrifice and suffering, and while the road to Calvary is long and agonizing it ultimately leads to what we stand for, what we pray for, what we seek: life.”

U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference urges Holy Week prayers for end to Israel-Hamas war 

A Palestinian family walks past buildings destroyed in previous Israeli strikes in Gaza City on March 25, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. / Credit: AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 25, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is asking the American faithful to pray for an end to the Israel-Hamas war during Holy Week.

“Thousands of innocent people have died in this conflict, and thousands more have been displaced and face tremendous suffering. This must stop,” the bishops said in a statement on Saturday, March 23 — the day before Palm Sunday, which begins Holy Week.

“As the Church enters Holy Week and Christ’s suffering on the cross and his resurrection are made present to us so vividly, we are connected to the very source of hope,” they said. “It is that hope that spurs us to call on Catholics here in the United States and all those of goodwill to renew their prayers for an end to the raging Israel-Hamas war.”

The ongoing war has claimed more than 30,000 Palestinian lives, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, and more than 1,200 Israeli lives, according to Israeli officials. 

The conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants launched an attack across Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip killing more than 1,200 soldiers and civilians. The militants took more than 240 Israeli hostages, and 130 remain in captivity. After the attack, Israel declared war against Hamas, launching continuing air and artillery strikes. About 85% of the population in Gaza has been displaced and more than 1% of the population has reportedly been killed.

“To move forward, a cease-fire and a permanent cessation of war and violence is absolutely necessary,” the bishops said. “To move forward, those held hostage must be released and civilians must be protected. To move forward, humanitarian aid must reach those who are in such dire need.”

The bishops also quoted Pope Francis, who has been calling for a cease-fire for months: “One cannot move forward in war. We must make every effort to negotiate, to negotiate, to end the war.”

The joint statement was issued by Archbishop for the Military Services Timothy Broglio, who serves as the president of the USCCB, and Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, who chairs the USCCB’s Committee on International Justice and Peace.

“As Christians, we are rooted in the hope of the Resurrection, and so we pray for a just and lasting peace in the Holy Land,” the statement read. 

Why isn’t the Annunciation celebrated today?

The Annunciation by Fra Angelico (public domain) via Wikimedia Commons. / null

ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 25, 2024 / 13:30 pm (CNA).

Every March 25, the solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord is celebrated in the Catholic Church, but this year Holy Week supersedes that observance.

The Annunciation of the Lord commemorates the archangel Gabriel’s announcing to Mary that she would become the mother of the Savior. With her “yes,” or “fiat,” the Son of God became incarnated in the womb of the Virgin Mary (cf. Lk 1:26-38).

The Annunciation holds the rank of a solemnity, which means its celebration takes precedence over all the feast days and memorials for saints or blesseds. However, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops explained why it cannot be celebrated on March 25 this year.

“Since March 25 is Monday of Holy Week this year, the solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord is moved to Monday, April 8,” the liturgical calendar for American dioceses states.

Holy Week (this year March 24–30) commemorates the passion, death, and resurrection of the Lord as well as the institution of the Eucharist, events that infinitely surpass any other solemnity or feast day of any saint or blessed.

In addition, after Holy Week comes the Easter Octave, during which the Church continues to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Easter is “the ‘Feast of feasts,’ the ‘Solemnity of solemnities’” (No. 1169).

The Easter Octave, which begins on Easter Sunday and concludes with Divine Mercy Sunday, runs from March 31 to April 7 this year.

Thus for 2024, the solemnity of the Annunciation has been moved to April 8, two weeks after March 25, so it can be celebrated with the recognition it deserves, this great mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God, which prepares us for Christmas.

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

New film ‘Jesus Thirsts’ shows transformative power of the Eucharist

Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist will be shown in theaters June 4, 5, and 6, 2024. / Credit: Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist

CNA Staff, Mar 25, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A new film focusing on the transformative power of the Eucharist will be hitting the big screen this June.

Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist” will take viewers on a journey to rediscover and revive the importance of the Eucharist through dialogue with notable Catholic figures by exploring the biblical origins of the Eucharist and sharing personal stories from those whose lives have been impacted by the Blessed Sacrament. 

The film will be shown in theaters nationwide June 4, 5, and 6 through Fathom Events. Each date will consist of two showings, a 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. showing in each given time zone. 

Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist will be shown in theaters June 4-6. Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist
Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist will be shown in theaters June 4-6. Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist

Several well-known Catholics make an appearance in the film including Father Donald Calloway, Scott Hahn, Jim Wahlberg, Curtis Martin, Chris Stefanick, Father Robert Spitzer, Bishop Andrew Cozzens, and Tim Gray, among others. 

Deacon Steve Greco is the executive producer of the film. He spoke with CNA about the inspiration behind the film and what he hopes viewers will take away from it.

Greco explained that amid the ongoing Eucharistic Revival in the U.S., he felt it was “very critical that we have a movie focusing on the real presence of Jesus with top Catholic theologians and leaders across the country and across the world.”

“The movie is going to change people’s lives because the most important thing for us right now is to understand how much God loves us,” he said. “And what the movie talks about is that Jesus is the personification of love through the Mass and through the Eucharist.”

“I believe the Holy Spirit has guided us in making this movie.”

He added that the film has a special focus on young adults due so many leaving the Church and their lack of belief. 

“Hopefully, and we believe, they will realize that this is real. This isn’t just a symbol. This isn’t just a tradition. This is real. This is Jesus,” Greco emphasized. 

Another important demographic highlighted in the movie is the Hispanic population. Greco pointed out the fact that the Catholic Hispanic population is one of the fastest-growing populations in the Church and “is on fire in many places.”

Oscar Delgado, a former NBC journalist turned film producer, who is also bilingual, speaks in Spanish in the film about an adoration chapel he helped build in Chicago, which is home to the largest monstrance in the world.

Greco added that they partnered with the Knights of Columbus to add an 13-minute adjunctive film, produced by the Knights of Columbus, titled “Our Lady of Guadalupe: Woman of the Eucharist.” 

The short film will air after “Jesus Thirsts” and explores the centrality of the Eucharist in that famous Marian apparition.

Greco shared that he has three hopes for what people will take away from watching this movie: that people know how much they are loved by Jesus, that they go to Mass more frequently, and that more people will feel called to go to adoration and, because of this, that there will be an increase in religious vocations.

“To have Eucharistic adoration changes you,” Greco said. “We know for a fact that many vocations come from Eucharistic adoration.”

He added: “So we hope there’s an uptick, if not a dramatic uptick, in religious vocations that come out of this film. We hope that the attendance at church, the attendance at adoration, the prayer life is transformed and that people, again, are transformed by the love of Jesus.”

“We really believe that every priest, every deacon, every bishop, every Catholic needs to see this.”

Legislative update: The 5 states taking up private school choice bills in 2024

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey held a news conference to sign school choice legislation on March 7, 2024, in Montgomery, Alabama. / Credit: Governor’s Office /Hal Yeager

CNA Staff, Mar 25, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The school choice debate continues to resonate across the nation following a record year in 2023, when 20 states expanded school choice programs, with 11 states enacting “universal” school choice by allowing all students to use state tuition assistance to attend nonpublic schools.

More than 13.7% of Catholic school students nationwide use school choice program funding to help with tuition, according to the latest data from the National Catholic Education Association. In Ohio, Florida, Indiana, and Arizona, more than half of students attending Catholic schools receive tuition aid from school choice programs.

Popular programs include publicly funded “education savings accounts” (ESAs) as well as tax credit scholarships, which allow taxpayers to receive tax credits when they donate to private school scholarship programs. 

In addition, private school vouchers draw from public funding set aside for the particular child’s education. Charter schools and open-enrollment public schools also enable parents to pick the school they think is best for their child. 

For all families: Alabama

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on March 7 signed school choice legislation to create publicly funded ESAs for families.

“Alabama is only the 14th state in the nation to provide families with an education savings account option,” Ivey said in a statement

The Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students’ Education (CHOOSE) Act of 2024 sets aside up to $7,000 of funding per family per year for school tuition. Set to begin on Jan. 1, 2025, the program will use up to $100 million annually.  

Parents can put these funds toward school-related expenses including textbooks, educational software, and even tutoring. It can also go toward nonpublic online organizations and education services for students with disabilities. 

These ESAs will be available to “the parent of an eligible student whose family had an adjusted gross income not exceeding 300% of the federal poverty level for the preceding tax year,” the bill read.

Like many school choice programs, Alabama’s ESAs will gradually become available for all families in 2027. 

“Our plan will not only work for Alabama families — it will work for the state and will be effective and sustainable for generations to come,” Ivey said. 

A narrow vote: Idaho

The turbulent school choice debate in Idaho continues as another school choice bill was shot down earlier this month.

The school choice billHouse Bill 447, would have created a $50 million tax credit and grant program to subsidize private school tuition, but the House Revenue and Taxation Committee narrowly rejected it. 

The bill, which failed by a narrow 9-8 vote on March 12, follows several attempts to develop school choice in Idaho through bills including varied programs of tax credits, ESAs, or school vouchers.

HB 447 would have granted up to $5,000 per family to use for educational expenses, including private school tuition, while families with a child with a learning disability could claim an extra $2,500. The funds would have been on a first-come first-served basis, with a cap of $50 million total in government spending. 

A proposed amendment: Kentucky

Kentucky on March 15 approved a proposed constitutional amendment on school choice to appear on the ballot in November. This amendment would open up the possibility of school choice in Kentucky schools.

Because of the 1891 “Blaine Amendment” that prevents public education funds from going toward nonpublic schools, Kentucky is currently unable to institute public charter schools. 

But the amendment would remove “legal barriers to Kentucky families having the same kind of educational opportunities available in most other states,” a press release from school choice advocates stated. 

The school choice amendment would change the state constitution to allow Kentucky “to provide financial support for the education of students outside the system of common schools,” the proposed amendment reads.

According to Jim Waters, president of the Bluegrass Institute, the amendment “would not determine Kentucky’s specific school-choice policy; rather, it simply clarifies that nothing in the Constitution prevents lawmakers from creating and funding such policies.” 

Debating legislation: Wyoming 

Wyoming passed school choice legislation March 8 that would allow families to use state education savings account programs to fund tuition for a nonpublic school of their choosing.

The bill allows funding to go toward private, charter, and some home-based education. The ESAs can be used for tuition, fees, or even school supplies. 

The program depends on a sliding scale, offering between $600 to $6,000 per student per year depending on the families’ income, ranging from 150% of the federal poverty level to 500%. 

The Wyoming Education Association is currently suing the state, alleging that it is not providing K-12 with enough funding, and will go to trial in June.

The governor has 15 days to sign or veto the bill. 

Nearly there: Georgia 

A school choice bill in Georgia that would offer ESAs for private school tuition passed narrowly in the House. The bill still has to pass the Senate and be signed by Gov. Brian Kemp, who has expressed support for the program.

The bill would allow parents whose children are in the bottom quarter of public schools in terms of test scores to send their children to private schools or to teach them at home. The bill would grant them $6,500 in funding. 

Children who already attend nonpublic schools would have to spend a year in public school to qualify for the voucher, whereas new kindergarteners would qualify for it immediately. 

The bill also includes measures codifying teacher pay raises and increasing funding for pre-Ks as well as testing requirements for voucher students.

The proposed program would be capped at about $140 million, which would accommodate more than 21,000 students.

Five suggestions from Mother Angelica for Holy Week

Mother Angelica. / Credit: Eternal Word Television Network

ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 24, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

Mother Angelica, foundress of the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), CNA’s parent company, once offered helpful advice for Holy Week.

In a program broadcast in March 1994 before Easter, Mother Angelica offered five ways to be well prepared when the Easter Triduum begins. Her Holy Week recommendations continue to be wise and practical to this day:

1. Repent and change your life.

At the beginning of her reflections, Mother Angelica mentioned Marian apparitions and said that they all have in common the call to “repentance, a metanoia, a change of life.”

When the Virgin’s message is followed, the person must make you “a better Catholic, a better Christian, it must make you a better individual, make you more loving, more kind, more forgiving. It has to make you appreciate Jesus more and appreciate our Mother, your family more.”

“It has to make you more loving in your family and more compassionate. We are Christians!” she emphasized.

She then referred to the Bible and said: “This book is to be lived, not just read.”

Speaking about the mercy of God and the passage about the woman caught in adultery, the foundress of EWTN pointed out that Jesus told her: “Go and sin no more. There is a condition for her to be forgiven,” she explained.

2. Remember that hell exists.

“You say well, there’s a lot of theologians who say there’s no hell. When you’re down there with this theologian, you’re gonna look at him and say, ‘You got me in here.’ Is that going to do you any good? Don’t pay attention to that rot. Better to be in heaven and look down and say ‘I told you there was one, you wouldn’t listen,’” she added.

Mother Angelica then said that the Virgin Mary does not want her children to go to hell but rather that they be saved from it.

“Our Mother is trying to tell us: ‘You cannot defy God forever, you cannot murder children forever [through abortion], you cannot teach great apostasies and lies forever, you cannot ruin your children forever. God sees you going toward that precipice, which is eternal, and he’ll grab us.’”

3. Forgive your enemy.

Mother Angelica explained that people’s great wounds originate “when we can’t forgive.”

“Next week [Holy Week] is the week in which we must forgive. None of us went through what Jesus went through, yet he forgave. Can you imagine that? On Good Friday you go to church and imagine our dear Lord hanging like that for so long.”

This week, she said, “I would like you, before Good Friday, to call your favorite enemy, that is, the one you hate the most, the one you talk about the most and to whom you wish terrible things to happen. Call him and tell him: ‘I forgive you.’ And if the answer is ‘don’t bother me,’ which is something he might say, you don’t need to worry because you’ve already forgiven him.”

4. Pray the rosary every day.

Mother Angelica further emphasized the need to pray the rosary daily, since “there is nothing more powerful than prayer.”

Responding to a woman who called the program asking for prayers and advice to deal with a family problem, Mother Angelica recalled that “our dear Lord said ‘don’t let the sun go down on your anger’ ... What you need to know and what I want to tell you is this: You and your sister pray the rosary every day and be at peace.”

“All my life I have thought that when a person dies, there is that space of less than a second between the judgment and the moment when there are no more chances, when everything is established forever. I believe that that moment of time is the one in which through prayers a person can see Jesus for an instant. I think that vision might make them say, ‘Oh God, forgive me!’ It’s all they need to be saved.”

“So, don’t get discouraged by looking for results. Pray with confidence. I can tell you that if you trust in the Lord, he never, but never, fails. He is like that,” she explained. “God will answer your prayers as he answered [St.] Monica’s for [St.] Augustine,” she added.

5. Learn to listen to other people’s problems.

At one point in the program, Mother Angelica heard from a man who suffers from depression and who commented that he didn’t feel like doing anything.

“Many people suffer from depression. Sometimes it’s physical, I know, but sometimes it happens that we think too much about ourselves, about the future,” she said.

“Sometimes those who suffer from depression don’t pray, they say they can’t, but you have to make yourself do it by saying, ‘Jesus, I love you, help me. I don’t want to feel like that.’ And then do something, go to a nursing home. ‘How depressing!’ No, it’s not.”

Mother Angelica then proposed doing something concrete, not only for those who suffer from depression: “You need to feel the love and gratitude of other people and in this way we get out of ourselves, out of our heads.”

“Remember, someone needs you somewhere. Someone needs your prayer, your smile, your attention,” she said.

“There are people in nursing homes who have nine or 10 children and none of them visit them. Why don’t you go? Why don’t you look around and see your neighbor? Why don’t you look him up and listen to his problems for a while? Suddenly you end up saying: ‘And I thought I had a problem.’”

“You have to do something: You have to pray, you have to trust and then do something to get out of yourself and get out of depression that way. And ask others to pray for you,” Mother Angelica recommended.

To conclude, the foundress of EWTN as well as the Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Alabama wished everyone “a blessed, grace-filled, and prayerful Holy Week: Forgive your worst enemy, love your family, and have a very blessed Easter. God bless you.”

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

The most popular questions about Palm Sunday — and their answers

A priest holds palms on Palm Sunday. / Grant Whitty via Unsplash.

CNA Staff, Mar 24, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

When is Palm Sunday 2024? 

Palm Sunday is on March 24, 2024. 

What is the meaning of Palm Sunday? 

Palm Sunday is the day we remember and honor Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem before his crucifixion. As Jesus entered the city on a donkey, people gathered and laid palm branches and their cloaks across Jesus’ path, shouting: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” It is also significant because it fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. For example, Jesus rode into the city on a donkey, fulfilling the prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9. 

When was Palm Sunday first celebrated? 

According to Brittanica, the earliest evidence of Palm Sunday being celebrated dates back to the eighth century.

Why do we use palm branches on Palm Sunday? 

The palm symbolized victory in the ancient world. All four Gospels tell us that people cut branches from palm trees and laid them across Jesus’ path and waved them in the air as he entered Jerusalem triumphantly a week before his death. As the Church enters Holy Week, the faithful use palms to commemorate his victory and Jesus’ passion liturgically. 

What kind of palms are used for Palm Sunday? Where do they come from?

Palm harvesters can be found around the world. However, a certain kind of palm tree grown in Florida called cabbage palmetto makes up a large majority of the palms used in U.S. parishes. 

Where is Palm Sunday found in the Bible? 

The account of Palm Sunday can be found in Matthew 21:1–11, Mark 11:1–11, Luke 19:28–44, and John 12:12–19.

Who celebrates Palm Sunday?

Catholic and Protestant communities celebrate Palm Sunday. 

Is Palm Sunday a holy day of obligation in the Catholic Church? 

Yes. Since every Sunday is a holy day of obligation, Palm Sunday is also a holy day of obligation.

How do you make a cross out of palms?

Watch this video with step-by-step instructions.

Can you eat meat on Palm Sunday? 

Yes, you can eat meat on Palm Sunday. Sundays during Lent are still celebrations of the Resurrection. Abstinence from meat, the traditional form of Lenten penance, occurs on Fridays during Lent. Fasting, which involves abstaining from meat and eating only one meal with two smaller snacks that do not equal the size of the main meal, occurs on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Are Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday the same? 

Yes. Palm Sunday can also be referred to as Passion Sunday. Palm Sunday comes from the fact that it honors Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, where the people carried palm branches. It also is called Passion Sunday because the Gospel narrative of Jesus’ passion is read on this Sunday. 

What is the link between Palm Sunday and Ash Wednesday? 

The ashes used on Ash Wednesday are the burned palms from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. That means the palms used this year will be burned into ashes to be used during Ash Wednesday next year.

What are the Palm Sunday colors? 

Red is worn on Palm Sunday in honor of the Lord’s passion.

How long is Palm Sunday Mass? 

This will vary but it will most likely be over an hour long. In many parishes, Mass begins with a procession. The procession symbolizes those who went to meet the Lord as he entered Jerusalem. The Gospel reading is also much longer than usual. The Passion narrative is read and the faithful participate throughout the reading.

Can you say ‘Happy Palm Sunday’? 

Yes, of course!

This story was first published April 9, 2022, and was updated March 20, 2024.