Spanish archbishop encourages Christians to read Rule of St. Benedict
St. Benedict. / Credit: Pietro Perugino via Wikimedia (Public domain)
ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 11, 2025 / 05:00 am (CNA).
Archbishop Enrique Benavent Vidal of Valencia in Spain encouraged the faithful to take advantage of summer vacation to read and delve deeper into the Rule of St. Benedict, as it contains “insights that are useful” for the daily life of all Christians.
In his July 5 weekly letter, the prelate observed that on Friday, July 11, the Catholic Church will celebrate the feast of St. Benedict, the patron saint of Europe who lived between the fifth and sixth centuries.
“The goal that completely guided his life,” Benavent explained, “is reflected in the prologue to the rule he wrote for the monasteries he founded: ‘Who is the man who desires life and wishes to see happy days?’”
St. Benedict “always lived with the desire to achieve an authentic life, ‘true and perpetual life,’ which can only be achieved in the tent of God on his holy mountain. His entire gaze is fixed on this goal. He lives and teaches monks to live this life with their gaze fixed on true life, on God,” he said.
However, the Spanish archbishop pointed out that while St. Benedict originally wrote this rule “to serve as a spiritual path for monks and to organize the life of monasteries, we find insights that are useful for all Christians.”
In his letter, Benavent uses as an example the rule that calls for “not putting anything before the love of Christ.”
“Nothing should come between the Lord and the disciple. The authentic Christian,” the prelate explained, “is one who, in everyday life, values friendship with the Lord above all else and lives all aspects of his life (work, possessions, family life) in such a way that nothing and no one can cause him to lose that friendship.”
He then quoted part of the rule’s prologue, which states that “(they will rest on your holy mountain) those who, fearing the Lord, are not proud of the uprightness of their conduct.”
The archbishop of Valencia noted that “with this advice, St. Benedict enters the depths of the heart and warns us against a temptation that is very common in those who consider themselves ‘good’: Those who strive to live holy lives easily come to attribute good works to their own strength and to praise themselves, forgetting that ‘by the grace of God I am what I am’ and that ‘let he who glories, glory in the Lord.’”
Finally, he mentioned St. Benedict’s exhortation “not to desire to be called a saint before being one, but first to be one.”
Benavent pointed out that this is “a warning to those who live thinking more about appearances than about the reality of their lives,” because “those who live by appearances are more concerned with what others might think or say about them than with the actual reality of their lives. Christians seek above all to live in the truth.”
The archbishop of Valencia ended his letter by stating that “these counsels are not only for those who have embraced monastic life but are criteria that, if we make them a rule of life, correctly guide the spiritual life of every Christian.”
“This rule that St. Benedict wrote for his monks could be good reading for meditation during the summer,” he noted.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
San Bernardino diocese grants Sunday Mass dispensation to those fearing deportation
Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral in San Bernardino, Calif. / Farragutful via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 10, 2025 / 17:55 pm (CNA).
Bishop Alberto Rojas of the diocese of San Bernardino, California has granted a dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass for those within the diocese who fear deportation.
The bishop said all of the faithful within the diocese who possess “genuine fear” of arrest while attending Mass are dispensed from the obligation until further notice, and are "encouraged to maintain their spiritual communion with Christ and His Church through acts of personal prayer.”
In a July 8 statement, Rojas said the decision to grant the dispensation came after he recognized that “fear of immigration enforcement raids by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may deter some members of our diocese from fulfilling the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation.”
According to John Andrews, the director of communications for the diocese, attendance for Spanish language Masses across the diocese has been “down about 50 percent,” since around the time raids began in Southern California last month.
Andrews told CNA the diocese is aware of two recent instances of ICE enforcement actions on church properties, with both taking place on June 20.
One of the instances, he said, occurred at St. Adelaide Church in Highland and “involved several men who had been working in the neighborhood where the church is located.” The men were chased into the church parking lot and detained, according to Andrews, who said “we do not know whether these men were actually arrested.”
The second instance occurred at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Montclair, and "involved the apprehension and arrest of one man who was on parish property to do landscaping work,” Andrews told CNA, adding: “He and his family are longtime parishioners there and we know that he was arrested and ultimately sent to a detention facility in Texas.”
“There is real fear gripping many in our parish communities,” said Rojas in a separate statement to CNA. “I want our immigrant communities to know that their Church stands with them and walks with them through this trying time.”
A bishop is enabled under the Code of Canon Law to provide dispensations for the faithful under his care “whenever he judges that it contributes to their spiritual good.”
“I know that they would be in church if not for this threat to their safety and their family unity,” the bishop added. “With all the worry and anxiety that they are feeling, I wanted to take away, for a time, the burden they may be feeling from not being able to fulfill this commitment to which our Catholic faithful are called.”
In the July 8 announcement, which was also signed by Vicar General Msgr. Gerard López, Rojas stipulated that priests within the diocese must seek ways to provide support to those affected, and that parishes must also "explore alternative means of catechesis and sacramental preparation for those unable to attend regularly.”
“In issuing this decree, I am guided by the Church’s mission to care for the spiritual welfare of all entrusted to my care, particularly those who face fear or hardship,” the bishop declared.
This past May, the Diocese of Nashville also granted a Sunday Mass dispensation to “those in our diocese [who] are concerned about the possibility of being confronted or detained while attending Mass or other parish events.”
ICE: agency 'does not indiscriminately take enforcement actions’ at churches
An ICE spokesperson told CNA, “While ICE is not subject to previous restrictions on immigration operations at sensitive locations, to include schools, churches and courthouses, ICE does not indiscriminately take enforcement actions at these locations.”
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests aliens who commit crimes and other individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws,” the spokesperson noted, adding: “All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removed from the United States.”
In January 2025, the Department of Homeland Security removed places of worship from its sensitive locations list, allowing ICE agents to carry out immigration enforcement procedures.
Following a lawsuit from a group of 27 religious organizations, ICE was temporarily blocked in March from carrying out deportations in places of worship. However, a federal judge in April found the organizations did not have legal standing, thereby allowing operations to continue.
In an interview with CNA last week, Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and current fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, expressed doubt that ICE would carry out extensive raids in Catholic churches.
He noted that while it’s possible a dangerous criminal could be targeted for enforcement at a church, “it’s not like they’re going to sweep through Sunday Mass looking for people.”
Pope Leo XIV urges hope and care for elderly on World Day for Grandparents
Pope Leo XIV (pictured at St. Peter's on June 1, 2025) issued a message of hope on July 10 in anticipation of the upcoming World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
Rome Newsroom, Jul 10, 2025 / 17:29 pm (CNA).
For the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly established by Pope Francis and celebrated this year on July 27, Pope Leo XIV has issued a message of hope to the elderly.
At the beginning of his message, the Holy Father evoked the Jubilee Year to remind the faithful that "hope is a constant source of joy, whatever our age."
He cited some elderly biblical figures, such as Abraham and Sarah, Moses, and Zechariah, whom the Lord surprised in "an act of saving power": "God repeatedly demonstrates his providential care by turning to people in their later years," he explained.
The pontiff noted that by making these choices, "God thus teaches us that, in his eyes, old age is a time of blessing and grace, and that the elderly are, for him, the first witnesses of hope."
Life is more than the present moment
He then emphasized that the increasing number of elderly people "is a sign of the times that we are called to discern, in order to properly interpret this moment of history."
The Holy Father noted that "embracing the elderly helps us to understand that life is more than just the present moment, and should not be wasted in superficial encounters and fleeting relationships. Instead, life is constantly pointing us toward the future."
He also emphasized that "if it is true that the weakness of the elderly needs the strength of the young, it is equally true that the inexperience of the young needs the witness of the elderly in order to build the future with wisdom.”
“How often our grandparents have been for us examples of faith and devotion, civic virtue and social commitment, memory and perseverance amid trials! The precious legacy that they have handed down to us with hope and love will always be a source of gratitude and a summons to perseverance,” he said.
In the context of the Jubilee Year, he invited the faithful to “to break through the barriers of indifference …” and to give of themselves to prevent feelings of loneliness and abandonment among the elderly.
“Our societies, everywhere in the world, are growing all too accustomed to letting this significant and enriching part of their life be marginalized and forgotten,” he lamented.
Protagonists of the “revolution” of gratitude and care
The pope emphasized that every parish, association, or church group is called to be “protagonists in a ‘revolution’ of gratitude and care,” and that this must be done “by regular visits to the elderly, the creation of networks of support and prayer for them and with them, and the forging of relationships that can restore hope and dignity to those who feel forgotten.”
“Christian hope always urges us to be more daring, to think big, to be dissatisfied with things the way they are … [and] to work for a change that can restore esteem and affection,” he explained.
The Holy Father recalled that Pope Francis wanted the faithful, and especially young people, to reach out to those who are alone. He noted that those who cannot make the pilgrimage to Rome this year will be able to obtain the Jubilee indulgence if they visit the elderly alone for an appropriate amount of time.
The freedom to love and to pray
Addressing grandparents and the elderly, Pope Leo XIV encouraged them not to lose hope, even in those moments when they are tempted “to look not to the future but to the past.”
"We possess a freedom that no difficulty can rob us of: it is the freedom to love and to pray. Everyone, always, can love and pray," he emphasized
The pope also recalled Pope Francis's words during his last hospitalization: "our bodies are weak, but even so, nothing can prevent us from loving, praying, giving ourselves, being there for one another, in faith, as shining signs of hope."
Pope Leo XIV also indicated that "affection for our loved ones – for the wife or husband with whom we have spent so much of our lives, for our children, for our grandchildren who brighten our days – does not fade when our strength wanes."
“Indeed, their own affection often revives our energy and brings us hope and comfort,” he added.
Therefore, the pontiff continued, “especially as we grow older, let us press forward with confidence in the Lord. May we be renewed each day by our encounter with him in prayer and in Holy Mass.”
“Let us lovingly pass on the faith we have lived for so many years, in our families and in our daily encounter with others. May we always praise God for his goodness, cultivate unity with our loved ones, open our hearts to those who are far away and, in particular, to all those in need. In this way, we will be signs of hope, whatever our age,” the pope concluded.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Studies dispute pro-abortion claims about maternal health and 'OB-GYN exodus'
null / Syda Productions via www.shutterstock.com.
CNA Newsroom, Jul 10, 2025 / 17:10 pm (CNA).
Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.
Studies debunk pro-abortion maternal health, 'OB-GYNs exodus' claims
Recently released peer-reviewed research is disputing what pro-life researchers call “fear-mongering narratives” about maternal health and OB-GYNs.
A peer reviewed study published last week found that the maternal morbidity — health problems following pregnancy or giving birth — remained unchanged in states with pro-life protections for unborn children.
But in pro-abortion states, maternal morbidity rates increased significantly, according to the study published by BMC Public Health. Additionally, the infant mortality rate remained the same in states with pro-life protections.
The so-called “OB-GYN exodus,” the claim that OB-GYNs were fleeing pro-life states, is also untrue, according to a recent JAMA article. The article found that OB-GYNs aren’t fleeing states with pro-life protections.
About 94% of OB-GYNs stayed in the same practice location when their state implemented pro-life protections, which is nearly the same as the 95.8% in pro-abortion states, according to a Charlotte Lozier Institute spokeswoman.
Ingrid Skop, the vice president and director of medical affairs at the Lozier Institute and a board-certified OB-GYN, said that following the Dobbs decision, abortion activists “tried to convince the public that legal protections for the unborn would force OB-GYNs to leave pro-life states, and that pregnancy-related complications for women and infant mortality would increase.”
But this recent data, Skop said, “shows the fearmongering didn’t match the facts.”
"It turns out that providing better quality, life-affirming medical care protects the lives of both mothers and babies,” Skop told CNA. “The fearmongering narratives alleging otherwise have been disproven.”
Nearly three in 10 unborn babies aborted in England and Wales
Nearly three in 10 pregnancies ended in abortion in 2022 in England and Wales, according to government statistics.
Abortions are at the highest levels since recording began in England and Wales, according to recent data from the Office for National Statistics.
Abortions are up from about two in 10 a decade earlier. The percent of pregnancies ending in abortions went from 20.8% in 2012 to 26.5% in 2021, and has now reached 29.7% in 2022.
The numbers came out soon after the British Parliament voted to decriminalize illegal abortions in June.
Abortions drop in South Carolina by 63%
Two years after South Carolina’s six-week heartbeat protection law went into effect in May of 2023, the state health department is reporting that legal abortions have plummeted.
From 2023 to 2024, the state saw a 63% drop in abortion, per the annual abortion report. This was the first full year that the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act was in effect. In 2023, there were a reported 8,187 abortions, but the number dropped by more than half a year later, to 3,025 abortions statewide in 2024.
Lisa Van Riper, the president of South Carolina Citizens for Life, said the state pro-life organization “rejoices in these numbers,” citing the “the preservation of the precious little lives,” according to a statement by the National Right to Life.
The National Right to Life group also condemned the disproportionate amount of abortions of black babies. While 26% of South Carolina is black, 41% of aborted babies were black children, the group noted.
Priest shares how he battled depression, emerged from ‘dark pit’ of temptation to suicide
Father Salvador Aguado Miguel. / Credit: Courtesy of Father Salvador Aguado Miguel
Vatican City, Jul 10, 2025 / 16:30 pm (CNA).
“I was on the edge of a precipice, dead inside, at the very bottom of a dark pit.”
With these stark words, Spanish priest Salvador Aguado Miguel shared his testimony following the suicide last week of young Father Matteo Balzano, an event that has shaken the Catholic Church, especially in Italy.
In the wake of this tragedy, Aguado shared on social media something he had not said publicly until now: “Five years ago, I was in the same place, on the edge of that precipice, at the bottom of that dark pit. Thank goodness Manuel, my psychologist, came into my life; he was like an angel who rescued me, sent by God.
"It's very, very hard to be in that situation,” the priest wrote on Instagram.
The pastor of Holy Faith parish in Valencia, Spain, revealed that he went through an extremely difficult period of anxiety, during which he felt “dead inside.” He confessed that the pressure was so intense that he even considered “getting out of the way.”
The importance of mental health
Speaking with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Aguado said he “really identified” with Balzano, because often “we are not aware of those demands we make on ourselves or all the pressures we subject ourselves to.”
“We’re not superheroes…we also go through emotional lows,” the priest explained, emphasizing that seeking professional help, especially a psychologist, “is not a bad thing, but quite the opposite.”
For Aguado, it is urgent to raise greater awareness about mental health and the importance of psychological help “at all levels.”
The ‘idealization’ of the priesthood
The priest lamented the criticism or stigmatization of those who have experienced depression or publicly shared their suffering, and expressed his sorrow for the judgment passed on Balzano following his suicide.
“We have to put ourselves in the shoes of these people. Recognizing something like that is not easy; I know this from experience. In those moments, no matter how much faith or commitment you may have, managing such profound suffering is extremely difficult,” he pointed out.
Aguado added that one of the reasons that leads to the demands and pressure on priests is the “idealization” of the priesthood: “We forget that human side, that fragile side.”
The self-imposed need to always give his best and the false belief that he must be available 24/7 pushed the priest to the limit, to the point of even considering leaving the priesthood. “We too need our space: going to the movies, taking a walk, having coffee with another priest or a parishioner,” he explained.
A deeply Catholic psychologist
Regarding his experience with the psychologist, whom he described as “an angel” and a true gift from the Lord, he emphasized the great difference it made that he was a “deeply Catholic” person.
“During the sessions, we also worked with the Bible. He often encouraged me to read what Jesus did in this or that passage,” reflecting on the “more psychological” side of Jesus, the priest recounted.
Addressing priests who may be going through a similar situation, Aguado encouraged them to “allow themselves to be touched by the fragility of the Lord and understand that, in the end, we are not made of iron, but rather flesh and blood.”
He advised them to remove the “mask” that “everything is fine” and learn to “combine human and priestly reality at the same time.” Above all, he recommended “allowing themselves to be accompanied by professionals” and to draw from resources within the parish or pastoral ministry, “which is always very helpful.”
In addition to self-imposed demands, he noted that criticism, from both clergy and laity, also caused him a lot of pain. “I learned to deal with all those critical and angry attacks with the Bible,” he explained.
The Lord always draws a lesson from evil
The Spanish priest, who last winter experienced firsthand the tragedy of the catastrophic flooding in Valencia, which caused more than 200 deaths and extensive property damage, emphasized that “the Lord always draws a lesson from every evil.”
In his case, he says, he found his passion for digital evangelization, something that has helped him "discover that unique gift that the Lord has placed in my life." Now, he enthusiastically evangelizes through social media, where he has more than 50,000 followers.
Improving formation in seminaries
To anticipate these situations, Aguado suggested more mental health formation in seminaries: "We receive a lot of formation in spirituality and theology, but we don't have any formation in mental health," he said.
According to the priest, they also lack a place to turn when they are in a bad way such as a team of psychologists in the diocese who can help them through the most difficult moments. "I believe it is essential, in addition to the seminary, which is the place of formation par excellence, to have follow-up support."
Aguado concluded with hope, emphasizing that the important thing is to recognize the problem, "realize that there is something to change in your life," and take the steps to get help.
Help is available
If you or someone you know is experiencing an emotional crisis or having suicidal thoughts, remember that the Catholic Church offers spiritual guidance, prayer, and listening spaces, and encourages seeking professional help. You can contact helplines, such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for your country, or go to your parish, where you will find pastoral support and resources. The Catholic Church teaches that life is a gift from God and compassionately accompanies those who suffer, without judging, and offers hope, prayer, and comfort to affected families.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Court blocks $5 million West Virginia grant to Catholic trade college amid lawsuit
null / Credit: Brian A Jackson / Shutterstock
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 10, 2025 / 16:05 pm (CNA).
A circuit court blocked a West Virginia agency from awarding a $5 million grant to St. Joseph the Worker, an Ohio-based Catholic trade college that planned to expand into the state.
In a bench ruling, Judge Richard Lindsay found that the planned grant would violate Article III of the West Virginia Constitution, which forbids the government from using tax funds “for the erection or repair of any house for public worship or for the support of any church or ministry.”
The grant had been approved by the West Virginia Water Development Authority for the purpose of economic development. The American Humanist Association filed a lawsuit against the agency for awarding the grant and had legal representation from the West Virginia American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
“We’re proud to have taken a stand on behalf of our members and are encouraged that the court held the line on this unconstitutional appropriation of funds,” American Humanist Association Legal Director Amitai Heller said in a statement.
“The separation of church and state is a non-negotiable, and the [water authority] had no business granting public infrastructure dollars to fund religious education and advocacy,” Heller said.
“Our members saw this blatant violation of church-state separation happening in their community and in concert with the ACLU of West Virginia, we acted,” he said.
The ruling was announced in a news release from the humanist group. Because the judge delivered an oral ruling from the bench, a written order was not available as of Thursday afternoon. A spokesman for the group told CNA a written order is expected within the next 30 days.
According to the humanist organization, the court gave the water authority 30 days to submit a filing to the court that shows compliance with the order.
St. Joseph the Worker, which is based in Steubenville, Ohio, teaches construction-related trades such as carpentry, HVAC, electrical, and plumbing. It also offers a bachelor’s degree in Catholic studies along with the trade lessons.
The grant money would have supported job training and education programs based in West Virginia. It would have also supported the creation of a non-profit construction company that would have employed students to work on community revitalization projects that would not be profitable enough to receive private investment.
A spokesperson for St. Joseph the Worker was not available to provide a comment by press time.
When reached for comment, West Virginia Water Development Authority Executive Director Marie Prezioso declined to comment on the ruling directly.
“[A]ny comments … will be made in public court filings or other public disclosures,” Prezioso said. She did not respond to a followup email asking whether the water authority plans to appeal the ruling.
The decision to block the grant comes about two weeks after the court rejected the authority’s request for the lawsuit to be dismissed.
Pope Leo XIV: AI developers, users share responsibility to promote good of humanity
null / Credit: LookerStudio/Shutterstock
Vatican City, Jul 10, 2025 / 15:15 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV on Thursday said developers and users of artificial intelligence (AI) are jointly responsible for ensuring innovations uphold human dignity and the common good in his message to participants of the 2025 AI for Good Summit taking place in Geneva, Switzerland.
"Although responsibility for the ethical use of AI systems begins with those who develop, manage and oversee them, those who use them also share in this responsibility,” the Holy Father said in a message to participants at the July 8-11 global meeting.
The letter, signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, expressed the pope’s call for “regulatory frameworks centered on the human person” and “proper ethical management” of AI technologies on local and global levels.
“Humanity is at a crossroads, facing the immense potential generated by the digital revolution driven by artificial intelligence,” the pope said. “The impact of this revolution is far-reaching, transforming areas such as education, work, art, healthcare, governance, the military, and communication.”
In spite of these global advancements, Leo commented that approximately 2.6 billion persons living in rural and low-income areas do not even have access to basic communication technologies.
“This epochal transformation requires responsibility and discernment to ensure that AI is developed and utilized for the common good, building bridges of dialogue and fostering fraternity, and ensuring it serves the interests of humanity as a whole,” he said.
While AI can perform specific tasks, “simulate” human reasoning, or technically enhance global cooperation with speed and efficiency, Leo said it “cannot replicate moral discernment or the ability to form genuine relationships.
“Ultimately, we must never lose sight of the common goal of contributing to that ‘tranquillitas ordinis — the tranquility of order,’ as St. Augustine called it,” he said, “and fostering a more humane order of social relations, and peaceful and just societies in the service of integral human development and the good of the human family.”
Just days into his pontificate, at his first meeting with the College of Cardinals on May 10, Pope Leo identified AI as “another industrial revolution” that can “pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labor.”
Leo XIV withdraws papal delegate after agreement avoids schism in Syro-Malabar Church
Built in 1578, Mar Hormizd Cathedral is the Syro-Malabar cathedral church in Angamaly, India. / Credit: St. Hormizd's Cathedral, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Vatican City, Jul 10, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).
The specter of schism has hovered in recent years over the Metropolitan Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabar Church in India—one of the 24 Eastern Churches in full communion with the Catholic Church.
Part of the clergy and faithful of Ernakulam-Angamaly, the largest Indian episcopal see in terms of the number of priests as well as the see presided over by the bishop in charge of the entire Syro-Malabar Church, did not accept the 1999 reform of the liturgical rite, which was later confirmed at the 2021 Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church.
Pope Leo XIV appears to have resolved the controversy by terminating the 2023 appointment of Archbishop Cyril Vasil' as papal delegate to the Syro-Malabar Church to mediate the dispute.
According to Vatican News, the official Vatican website, this decision by the pope "concludes the Holy See's mediation work among the Syro-Malabars."
Martin Bräuer, an expert at the Ecumenical Research Institute in Bensheim, Germany, told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that "Rome now considers the conflict over and therefore no longer needs a papal representative. Secondly, the agreement reached within the [Syro-Malabar] Church without the direct mediation of Archbishop Vasil' is recognized."
Indeed, the news comes after new measures to implement the liturgical reform approved by the 2021 Synod came into effect on July 3, the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle—patron saint of the Syro-Malabar Church.
The compromise now reached allows the parishes of Ernakulam-Angamaly to celebrate the liturgy with the priest facing the faithful (versus populum), adhering to the practice of the Roman Rite, provided that at least one Sunday or feast day Mass is celebrated according to the traditional form, that is, with the priest facing the altar (ad orientem) during the consecration.
According to the 2021 reform of the rite, during Mass the priest was required to address the people during the first part of the celebration, but the liturgy of the Eucharist was celebrated facing the altar.
Prior to the reform that sparked the dispute, all solemnities had to be celebrated in line with the directives issued by the Syro-Malabar Synod four years ago. Now, however, the Syro-Malabar Church accepts as sufficient that all churches celebrate just one of their Masses on Sundays and feast days according to those directives.
“This rule also applies to parishes with ongoing civil proceedings, provided they do not contravene the decisions of state courts,” the academic explained.
Furthermore, he said, it is made explicit that the synod will only address future liturgical changes “if they are discussed in a spirit of synodality with the canonical bodies of the archeparchy.”
Other points include “the use of the sanctuary in accordance with liturgical norms, the possibility of outside bishops celebrating the unified form in all churches, and that any internal conflicts be resolved in an atmosphere of respect and friendship,” Bräuer emphasized.
What was the liturgical dispute about?
While the 2021 synod promoted a return to the liturgy facing the altar as the traditional form of the Syro-Oriental rite, many priests and faithful in Ernakulam-Angamaly defended the practice of facing the people that had become widespread after the Second Vatican Council.
The Vatican then asked the 35 dioceses of the Syro-Malabar Church to eliminate elements of the Roman rite and return to their original traditions, in this case the pure Chaldean rite, present today especially in Iraq.
For Bräuer, what is remarkable is that "this agreement was reached by means of synodality, that is, through dialogue and mutual listening," which gives legitimacy and hope to its practical application.
This case has been, according to the expert, an acid test of the delicate balance between papal authority and the autonomy of the Eastern Churches. It was St. John Paul II who, in 1998, gave the Syro-Malabar bishops authority to resolve liturgical conflicts.
According to Bräuer, “the Syro-Malabar Church first attempted to resolve the conflict internally. When that failed, Rome intervened, but that too was unsuccessful.”
The papal delegate, Archbishop Vasil’, who belongs to the Byzantine rite and had worked in the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, was widely criticized for his authoritarian style. “He didn’t know how to find the right tone with the parties in conflict,” Bräuer commented.
However, it was not an easy task. When Archbishop Vasil' traveled to India on Aug. 4, 2023, at the beginning of his mission, some priests publicly burned photos of him and he was greeted with a shower of eggs.
In this regard, it was the metropolitan vicar, Archbishop Joseph Pamplany, successor to the apostolic administrator Bishop Bosco Puthur, who managed to move toward a solution thanks to a strategy of open communication and active listening.
Finally, the consensus—which relaxed the norms that the communities of this rite in the Metropolitan Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly were required to adopt a year ago, following an ultimatum from Pope Francis—was forged in a meeting between Archbishop Pamplany and the Major Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Archdiocese, Raphael Thattil.
Another new rule that has softened positions is that deacons may be ordained without having to commit in writing not to celebrate according to the previous form of the rite.
Is the ghost of schism laid to rest forever?
Although the threat of schism has been dispelled for now, there is still work to be done. According to Bräuer, even priests who opposed the unified liturgy have accepted the agreement, although not without reservations.
Their spokesman, Father Kuriakose Mundadan, expressed in a letter his willingness to support the agreement, although he harshly criticized both the way in which the liturgical reform was adopted and the repressive attitude of some of those previously in authority.
“In addition to criticizing the way the synod imposed the liturgical reform, he also criticized the treatment of those opposed to the reform. He also felt that the papal delegate exacerbated the situation,” Bräuer noted.
“Pope Francis constantly called for unity, but ultimately did not succeed in resolving the conflict. It became clear that the problem could not be resolved solely by means of authority and discipline. Now a synodal solution has been found, which we hope will be lasting,” the expert added.
Bräuer emphasized that how the agreement is implemented in the coming months will be decisive: “Only then will we see if the agreement is stable and lasting.”
For priests currently facing disciplinary proceedings, amicable solutions will be sought, and the Metropolitan Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly will also undertake to resolve disputes in civil courts.
Those who prefer the Roman Rite practice of facing the people to the traditional one are a minority: they represent only about 450,000 people, or 10% of Syro-Malabar believers, who total about five million. However, they are quite vocal. Videos of attacks on bishops and clashes between groups of Catholics circulate online.
The special tribunal created to resolve these types of liturgical disputes will not be dissolved, at least for now.
Lessons for the entire Catholic Church
Asked about the value of this experience for other liturgical conflicts in the Church, Bräuer said that the liturgy is “prayed dogma,” that is, an “expression of the Church’s faith” that can take many forms, as seen in the Catholic Church: for example, “in the West, with the ancient Mozarabic rite, and also with inculturated forms of the Mass in the Congo, Australia, or Mexico.”
“Liturgical diversity enriches the Church, but fidelity to tradition does not mean stubbornly clinging to the past, but rather accepting change with discernment,” he stated.
This story was first publishedby ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Pope Leo XIV appoints Iowa priest to lead mission diocese of Baker, Oregon
Father Thomas Hennen, vicar general of the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, has been appointed by Pope Leo XIV to be the next bishop of Baker, a mission diocese in eastern Oregon. / Courtesy of Diocese of Davenport
Rome Newsroom, Jul 10, 2025 / 12:30 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV has tapped Father Thomas Hennen, vicar general of the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, to be the next bishop of Baker, a mission diocese in eastern Oregon.
The bishop-elect, who celebrates 21 years as a priest on July 10, is a former vocations director. He has also been rector of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport since 2021.
A moral theologian, Hennen has over 10 years of experience in pastoral outreach to people with same-sex attraction, as diocesan coordinator and chaplain for the local chapter of the Catholic organization Courage International, which offers support to men and women who experience same-sex attraction and have chosen to live a chaste life.
The 47-year-old priest, who goes by “Fr. Thom,” also has experience as a parochial vicar, university and high school chaplain, campus minister, and theology teacher.
For the last almost four years, he has also been the Davenport diocese’s leader for the Synod on Synodality, which he described in a 2021 homily as “about how we go about listening to each other, how we go about our mission as the Church, the Body of Christ, in our present age, to better communicate and better embody the Kingdom of God on earth.”
Born on July 4, 1978, in Ottumwa, a town in southeast Iowa, Hennen’s hobbies include strategy board games, reading, and playing the tin whistle and the violin, according to a 2009 interview. He has also said he first felt a call to the priesthood in the fourth grade.
He completed his studies for the priesthood at Saint Ambrose University in Davenport and the Pontifical North American College in Rome, earning a bachelor’s in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. A year after his 2004 ordination to the priesthood, he also earned a licentiate in sacred theology from the Pontifical Alphonsian Academy in Rome.
The bishop-elect speaks Spanish and Italian in addition to his native English.
The Diocese of Baker covers 66,800 square miles in eastern Oregon. Considered a mission territory, the diocese’s landscape includes mountains, hills, valleys, rivers, lakes, and plains, and has a population of approximately 12,500 Catholic households across 57 parishes and missions.
In 1987, the Baker diocesan offices were moved to Bend, in central Oregon, while the Cathedral Church of St. Francis de Sales is over 200 miles east in Baker City.
Hennen succeeds Bishop Liam Cary, who has led the Baker diocese since 2012. Cary will turn 78 in August, making him nearly three years past the usual age of retirement for Catholic bishops.
‘Never again second-class people:’ German bishops defend life amid high court controversy
Bishops Rudolf Voderholzer and Stefan Oster / Credit: Diocese of Regensburg / Diocese of Passau
CNA Newsroom, Jul 10, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).
Amid a heated debate over appointments to Germany’s constitutional court, two Bavarian bishops have issued an urgent call to uphold human life and dignity, warning “there must never again be second-class people” in Germany as the country faces a contentious parliamentary vote.
Bishop Stefan Oster of Passau and Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg declared that anyone who relativizes human dignity protections should be disqualified from Germany’s highest judicial body, according to CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.
The bishops’ intervention comes as the German parliament prepares to vote Friday on three candidates for the court that serves as the nation’s supreme judicial authority and final arbiter on fundamental rights questions.
The debate over nominations has focused on views publicly expressed by Social Democratic Party nominee Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf. The constitutional law professor served as deputy coordinator of the government commission on abortion law reform. She argued that legalizing abortion within the first twelve weeks of pregnancy would be constitutionally permissible.
Most contentious was her widely criticized assertion that “whether the embryo and later fetus is entitled to the protection of the Basic Law’s guarantee of human dignity is indeed very controversial in constitutional law scholarship. In my view, there are good reasons why the guarantee of human dignity only applies from birth.”
Without naming names, the two bishops characterized such constitutional interpretation this week as fundamentally disqualifying, emphasizing the state’s duty to guarantee human dignity protections without exception.
The Bavarian bishops — who have also risen to prominence for their resistance to the controversial Synodal Way — are not the only ones raising concerns.
Some Christian Democratic Union (CDU) parliamentarians took to social media to call Brosius-Gersdorf “unelectable.”
The bishops’ statement establishes what they describe as non-negotiable criteria for constitutional judges as the country grapples with fundamental questions about the protection of human life, particularly regarding abortion law.
Bishops establish disqualification criteria
The bishops’ statement, titled “Our Basic Law is maximally inclusive,” asserts that every human being is granted human dignity and the right to life regardless of their life situation.
Oster and Voderholzer pointed to Germany’s Basic Law (Grundgesetz), the country’s constitution established in 1949, which enshrines the inviolability of human dignity in Article 1 as the foundation of all constitutional rights.
The Bavarian bishops warned that “anyone who holds the view that the embryo or fetus in the womb does not yet have dignity and only has a lesser right to life than the human being after the birth is carrying out a radical attack on the foundations of our constitution.
“He or she must not be entrusted with the binding interpretation of the Basic Law,” they said.
Oster and Voderholzer added that there “must never again be second-class people in Germany.”
Catholic chancellor causes outrage
The bishops’ principled position comes as Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz — a Catholic and leader of the CDU — appeared to defend Brosius-Gersdorf despite her controversial constitutional views.
In a dramatic moment during Wednesday’s Bundestag debate, when asked by Alternative for Germany parliamentarian Beatrix von Storch whether he could reconcile with his conscience voting for a candidate “for whom human dignity does not apply if [the person] is not yet born,” Merz responded: “My straightforward answer to your question is: Yes!”
The chancellor’s words created significant tension within his own parliamentary faction, according to media reports.
The CDU's pro-life organization, Christian Democrats for Life, urged party leadership to reject the nominee based on her stance on the right to life.
Pro-life organizations have announced a demonstration outside the Reichstag building on Friday morning, CNA Deutsch reported.
Germany records more than 100,000 abortions annually, with approximately 1.8 million procedures performed between 1996 and 2023.
Currently, women in Germany can obtain an abortion from a doctor during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, following a compulsory counseling session.