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More than 2 million Argentinians make pilgrimage to Our Lady of Lujan Shrine

Pilgrims began to arrive to the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján in Argentina on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, after walking more than 37 miles and continued to pour in on Sunday, Oct. 6. / Credit: "EWTN Noticias"/Screenshot

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Oct 8, 2024 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

“Mother, Under Your Gaze We Seek Unity” was the theme that brought together more than 2.3 million of the faithful this past weekend to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lujan in Argentina as part of the 50th Youth Pilgrimage.

Coming from the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, which organized the pilgrimage through the Popular Piety Commission, the pilgrims began to arrive in Luján during the day on Saturday under a radiant sun after walking more than 37 miles to the shrine and continued to pour in on Sunday.

On their way, they received the blessing of priests, support from volunteers, and inspiration from music groups from the different dioceses of western Buenos Aires.

Upon arriving at the basilica in Luján, they were able to attend different Masses. The main Mass of the day for the huge crowd of pilgrims was held at 7 a.m. and celebrated by the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge García Cuerva, who arrived on foot from St. Cajetan Shrine located in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Liniers.

In his homily, the prelate addressed a few words to the Virgin of Luján: “To say to you ‘mother’ unites us; there is the foundation to begin to build the national unity so longed for,” he said.

“Saying to you ‘mother,’ ‘mom,’ makes us children and brothers and sisters. That is how we came on pilgrimage. As a people, all so different, all so equal. We have traveled many kilometers, we have brought our intentions to Mary” in an experience “with others” and with “solidarity and joy.”

Citing the “youth of 1975,” protagonists of the first Youth Pilgrimage to Luján, he said: “In each step we have taken up to this point we have experienced what it is to be a people who walk together toward their ideal of freedom and justice. And that is why we came. It is because we young people are increasingly understanding that we are part of a people, the people of God in Latin America, whose heart is the humble and the workers.”

‘Mother, look at your weary people’

At the feet of the Virgin, the archbishop referred to the situation in Argentina, with so many children “trapped by drugs,” others sick, young people “distressed by not being able to realize their life projects,” and those who “cannot make ends meet to feed their families.”

“Mother, look at your weary people, look at your people who are making a great effort to hold on to hope, to shoulder the country and overcome the crisis that we have been going through for years,” he prayed. “Look at your pilgrim people, who come with all their intentions, with their wounds and hopes.”

A call to humility ‘to build bridges’

The archbishop then referred to the poverty index for the first half of 2024 in Argentina: “In the face of crises, the wise seek solutions, the mediocre seek those to blame. There are many mediocre people who, faced with the appalling and painful 52.9% index of poverty, began to look for those to blame,” he said.

“From the house of Mary, we ask you: Please unite behind two or three important issues for all Argentines. Let us ask for the humility to work with others, to create consensus and agreements, and to build bridges, because the bravest thing we can do is ask for help,” he urged.

“Let us not give up on being brothers and sisters, on seeking solutions together, on building a more just and fraternal homeland, on freeing ourselves from prejudices, hatred, and sterile confrontations, on continuing to entrust our lives to the Virgin of Luján,” he urged, assuring that she “encourages us to continue walking in life, weary, but not dejected, beaten, but with hope and without giving up.”

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

Los Angeles Catholic church repeatedly vandalized in possible ‘hate crime’

The statue of the patron saint of St. Francis de Sales Parish in Sherman Oaks has been vandalized three times total in September and August. The vandalism in the photograph is being investigated as a “hate crime” by local police, according to the church's pastor. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Michael Wakefield

CNA Staff, Oct 8, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

A Los Angeles Catholic church has been vandalized four times in the past two months.  

St. Francis de Sales in Sherman Oaks was damaged from graffiti and arson attacks on four occasions, beginning in August and continuing through September, said Father Michael Wakefield, the parish’s pastor. 

On Aug. 7, the parish’s beloved statue of St. Francis de Sales — the patron saint of the parish — was vandalized with yellow paint. The statue stands in front of the main doors of the church in the San Fernando Valley. 

Just over a week later, on Aug. 16, a window at the rectory where Wakefield lives was set on fire. The bottom-right corner of the window was set on fire, and the fire burned through the inside, scorching the interior venetian blinds, Wakefield recounted. 

“Fortunately, the fire burned out before any additional damage was caused,” he told CNA. 

Just over a month later, on Sept. 20, the St. Francis de Sales statue was vandalized a second time. “The ... letters ‘chomo’ are slang for ‘child molester,’” Wakefield explained. This vandalism is being treated as a “hate crime” by local police, he said.

A week later, on Sept. 8, the statue was vandalized a third time with black spray paint, though nothing was written on it. 

“Our maintenance person has cleaned the statue twice and is in the process of cleaning it a third time,” Wakefield said.

Wakefield notified the LAPD Van Nuys Division each time and said the parish plans to install additional security cameras this week. 

“Officers arrived and took my statement and completed a report leaving us the incident number,” he said. “The fire of the rectory window triggered a visit from the police officers as well as arson investigators.”  

“It is dispiriting and unnerving,” Wakefield said when asked for his reaction to the events. “Our churches are places of peace where God’s love is proclaimed.”

“I feel sad for the person or persons who are in such torment to do such acts,” he continued. “Our religious images, whether in marble or plaster or wood, point to the holy person each represents. Therefore an attack on a religious image is an act of desecration.” 

“But, we go forward confident of the intercession of the all-holy Mother of God and of St. Francis de Sales,” he noted. “God’s love is always more powerful than anything the human can produce.”  

A local report noted that there have been many cases of vandalism in the area in recent months, including arson, window-smashing, and break-ins at local businesses, according to KTLA 5.

The City of Los Angeles Public Record Reports did not respond to a request for police reports by the time of publication. 

New cardinals say Europe is becoming the Catholic Church’s new ‘peripheries’

Cardinals-elect Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, SVD; Archbishop Jaime Spengler, OFM; and Archbishop Ignace Bessi Dogbohe discuss the contributions of the Church outside Europe during a Synod on Synodality press briefing on Oct. 8, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Oct 8, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

Cardinals-designate from three continents said Tuesday the Church in the global south has a lot of nonmaterial gifts to share with the West, including the richness of priestly vocations and a joy-filled faith.

“When the Holy Father is talking about peripheries, I think the peripheries are moving. ... Maybe the peripheries are moving towards Europe,” Tokyo’s Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, SVD, said in response to a question from CNA during a press briefing on the Synod on Synodality on Oct. 8.

The Japanese bishop’s comments on the contributions of the Church outside Europe were echoed by Archbishop Ignace Bessi Dogbo of Korhogo, Ivory Coast, and Archbishop Jaime Spengler, OFM, of Porto Alegre, Brazil, who also participated in the press briefing. 

All three men are participants in the synod and will be made cardinals at a consistory on Dec. 8, as announced by Pope Francis on Sunday.

The cardinal-designate from the Ivory Coast, Dogbo, said the Synod on Synodality discussed the theme of the exchange of gifts on Tuesday morning.

“We who come from African dioceses, we can say that they seem to be poor from a material standpoint, but spiritually these dioceses are so rich. And faith is lived with joy,” he said. “And this is something we must share with the universal Church.”

He also mentioned the great grace of many priestly vocations in the Church in Africa.

Kikuchi of Tokyo also pointed out the large number of vocations to the priesthood coming from countries in Asia, though he remarked that Japan is unfortunately not included in this.

“There is a point in [the synodal assembly] in which we discussed the exchange of gifts from one Church to the other — those who have and those who don’t have. Formerly it was understood as rich Churches, those who have money and resources, who support the poor countries like in Asia and Africa,” Kikuchi said. 

With more priestly vocations coming from Asian and African countries, however, “the exchange of gifts is changing ... from the developing countries to the developed countries,” he said.

Spengler, president of the Brazilian bishops’ conference and president of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) since 2023, said Brazil and other Latin American countries are celebrating the anniversary of the arrival of immigrants from Germany, Italy, and other countries to the continent.

“Somehow [these immigrants] promoted a process of evangelization in Latin America in a historical context other than our own, and they did this so well,” he said. “Today, if we have a Christian tradition that is strong and lively [in Latin America] we owe it to immigrants.”

The archbishop said the immigrants were brave to leave their own countries and cross the ocean, in some cases more than 200 years ago, to a continent where there was little at the time. But most importantly, he added, they brought the Catholic faith with them.

He said today’s challenge for the Church in traditionally Christian countries is understanding how to present the faith to the next generation.

Catholic bishops from mainland China and Taiwan in dialogue at Synod on Synodality

Bishop Yao Shun of Jining and Bishop Yang Yongqiang of Zhouchun (right) of the People’s Republic of China at the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican in October 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Oct 8, 2024 / 13:30 pm (CNA).

The Synod on Synodality, meant to be a moment of encounter and dialogue for the global Church, has provided a venue for Catholic bishops from mainland China and Taiwan to meet together.

Bishop Norbert Pu is Taiwan’s first Indigenous bishop. He is a member of the Tsou community and has translated liturgical texts into the Tsou language. The 66-year-old bishop of Chiayi is a delegate in the nearly monthlong synod assembly as a representative of the Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference of Taiwan.

In an interview with CNA, Pu said he is most looking forward to getting to know the different bishops, cardinals, and synod delegates from other parts of the world gathered at the Vatican for the second session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of Bishops.

Pu noted that he had already met with the two bishops from mainland China taking part in the synod and plans to meet with them again.

“It’s very important to dialogue with them, to respect each other. I think it’s good … not only for the Chinese, for the whole Church,” the Taiwanese bishop said.

Bishop Antonio Yao Shun of Jining, the first bishop consecrated in China under the terms of the Sino-Vatican agreement, represented the Church in China at the synod assembly in October 2023 along with Chinese Archbishop Joseph Yang Yongqiang before the two suddenly departed early without explanation. 

Yao has said that many of the participants in last year’s synod assembly “showed interest in the development of the Church in China, eager to know more and to pray for us.”

The synod also provided an opportunity for the bishops from the People’s Republic of China to spend time with the bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Stephen Chow. 

During last year’s synod assembly, the cardinal and the two bishops even took a brief trip together to Naples where they offered Mass at the Chiesa della Sacra Famiglia dei Cinesi (Church of the Holy Family of the Chinese), a church built in 1732 as part of an institute founded by Pope Clement XII to train Chinese seminarians and teach missionaries the Chinese language to help with the evangelization of China.

A new synod delegate from China

For this year’s assembly, Yao has been replaced by Chinese Bishop Vincent Zhan Silu of Mindong diocese in China’s southern Fujian province.

Zhan Silu, 63, was formerly excommunicated for having been ordained a bishop without a papal mandate in Beijing in 2000. His excommunication was lifted in 2018 when the Vatican signed a historic provisional agreement with the Chinese government on the appointment of bishops.

When Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich was asked why Yao had been replaced by Zhan Silu, the relator general of the synod replied: “The Secretariat of State communicated the names to us, but we have no other information on the matter,” according to Asia News.

Without Yao, Archbishop Yang, 54, is the synod veteran among the two Chinese bishops. Since participating in last year’s synod assembly, Yang has been transferred to the Archdiocese of Hangzhou, a move that took place “within the framework of dialogue” of the provisional agreement with China, according to the Vatican. The change elevated him to the rank of archbishop.

Yang was ordained a bishop with Vatican approval in 2010 and served as the bishop of Zhoucun in mainland China’s Shandong Province from 2013 to June 2024. 

He participated in the 2023 National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory body that is part of the Chinese Communist Party’s united front system, where it was decided that the Catholic Church should integrate its thought with the party and unite more closely to Xi Jinping, according to the official website of the Catholic Patriotic Association.

Zhan Silu and Yang are among the 368 voting delegates taking part in the second synod assembly at the Vatican Oct. 2–27.

The synod is taking place amid the ongoing dialogue between Beijing and Rome on the appointment of bishops. The Vatican has yet to announce if it renewed its provisional agreement with China, which is expected to have been renewed this fall for the third time since it was first signed in 2018.

Vatican-Taiwan relations

During the first week of the assembly, some synod delegates took a break from the day’s meetings to join in the celebration of Taiwan’s 113th National Day at a reception organized by the Embassy of the Republic of China to the Holy See just down the street from St. Peter’s Basilica.

Vatican City State is the only remaining country in Europe that recognizes Taiwan as a country.

The Holy See has had formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, formally called the Republic of China (ROC), since 1922, while the Church has not had an official diplomatic presence on the mainland People’s Republic of China (PRC) since it was officially expelled by Beijing in 1951.

The island of Taiwan, fewer than 110 miles off the coast of China and home to a population of more than 23 million people, has maintained a vibrant democracy with robust civil liberties despite increased pressure from Beijing regarding the island’s status.

Unlike mainland China — where images of Christ and the Virgin Mary have been replaced with images of President Xi Jinping, according to a report released last week — Catholics in Taiwan enjoy religious freedom, which is enshrined in its constitution.

More than 10,000 people attended the National Eucharistic Congress in Taiwan last weekend, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Pope Francis sent a message to the congress, writing that he hoped it would “arouse in the hearts of the Christian faithful a true worship and love of the Eucharist.” The congress in the Diocese of Kaohsiung was the fifth Eucharistic congress held in Taiwan since 2011.

Bishop Pu told CNA that the congress presented an opportunity to let more people in Taiwan know about the Eucharist and its central importance to the Catholic faith.

“We hope we can always maintain this formal and good relationship with the Vatican. Because for Taiwan, this is very important. We hope that the world will see this because Taiwan is a democratic and free country, respected by other nations,” Pu said.

Live updates: The Synod on Synodality debates the Catholic Church’s future

Pope Francis listens as part of a roundtable discussion at the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican on Oct. 8, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Newsroom, Oct 8, 2024 / 12:15 pm (CNA).

The Catholic Church’s final session of the multiyear Synod on Synodality has entered its second week. Pope Francis has urged participants to listen to the Holy Spirit rather than pursue personal agendas.

Here’s what you should know 

• Decoding the Synod on Synodality: CNA’s essential terminology guide

• Here’s what is new at the Synod on Synodality Part 2

The story so far 

Oct. 8: Synod participants donate for Gaza parish

In a video played for journalists at the Holy See Press Office on Oct. 8, Gaza parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli thanks synod participants for both prayers and financial help, because in Gaza, “everyone is in need of everything.”

The pope’s charity office announces that synod participants donated 32,000 euros (about $35,000) for the Catholic parish in Gaza from synod participants on Oct. 7, the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.

The synod donations were combined with another 30,000 euros (about $33,000) from Pope Francis’ charity coffers and sent to Holy Family Parish, the only Roman Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip, which is sheltering hundreds of Palestinian Catholics.

Oct. 7: Pope invites prayer for the Middle East as participants from that region begin week 2 of the synod

Since the beginning of the Synod on Synodality, synod delegates and participants have echoed Pope Francis’ pleas for prayers and solidarity with communities across the war-ravaged region. As the second week of the synod gets underway, on the World Day of Prayer and Fasting held on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, Pope Francis addressed Catholics in the Middle East on the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel. Kristina Millare has more.

Oct. 7: Women deacons off the table? Synod delegate claims ‘some women sense a call to priesthood’

While the topic of “women deacons” is not formally up for discussion at the Synod on Synodality assembly this month, the official Vatican press conference for the synod showcases a female delegate who spoke about women experiencing “a call to priesthood,” Courtney Mares reports.

Oct. 6: Pope Francis and synod participants pray rosary for peace

Invoking the intercession of the Virgin Mary for peace in the world amid an escalating conflict in the Middle East and the ongoing war in Ukraine, Pope Francis presides over a rosary prayer in Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major on Sunday evening, Courtney Mares reports.

Oct. 5: A call for peace and an announcement of dialogue

A Lebanese bishop makes an impassioned plea for peace and forgiveness at the Synod on Synodality’s daily press briefing on Saturday as the assembly’s first week draws to a close.

Bishop Mounir Khairallah of Batroun shares his personal experience of violence and forgiveness, recounting how his parents were murdered when he was just 5 years old.

Meanwhile, a dialogue with study groups is announced for Oct. 18 after synod delegates vote for more interaction with the groups established by Pope Francis.

Oct. 4: What’s behind the viral photo of Pope Francis venerating a chair?

Pope Francis sits before the historic relic of St. Peter’s chair in the Ottoboni sacristy of St. Peter’s Basilica after celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Square ahead of the second session of the Synod on Synodality. What is behind this viral image? Madalaine Elhabbal explains.

Oct. 4: Participants put spotlight on world’s poor

Closing the first week of meetings, participants from different continents put a spotlight on the plight of the world’s poor and vulnerable on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, Kristina Millare reports. 

The first week at the Synod on Synodality — revolution or much ado about nothing? 

Vaticanist Andrea Gagliarducci analyzes the first days of the gathering in Rome. He writes: “It seems clear that while the delegates may discuss many things over the next three weeks, nothing will be decided. There will be no doctrinal changes. No diminution of the role of the bishop. No rush to resolve the question of opening the diaconate to women.” 

Oct. 3: Many voices to be heard 

Cardinal Mario Grech, general secretary of the synod, says at a press conference that “every believer, man or woman, and every group, association, movement, or community will be able to participate with their own contribution” via the synod’s 10 study groups.

Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, tells journalists the work of participants in the second session of the Synod on Synodality is to find the “cohesive voice” that expresses the life of the Church.

Oct. 3: Cardinal Fernández rules out women deacons

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, on Oct. 3 shuts down speculation regarding further theological study into the possibility of women being ordained as deacons. Father Giacomo Costa, special secretary of the synod, says this month’s discussions held in the Vatican should serve as “laboratories of synodal life,” Kristina Millare reports.

Oct. 3: Solving sexuality questions with ‘contextual fidelity’?

A study group appointed by Pope Francis to explore a synodal approach to the Church’s most debated issues — including sexual morality and life matters — proposes “contextual fidelity” and a “new paradigm” that downplays long-standing Church teaching, Jonathan Liedl notes. 

Oct. 2: Pope Francis calls for new ways for bishops to be ‘synodal’

At the first meeting of the full assembly of the Synod on Synodality on Wednesday, Pope Francis says a bishop’s ministry should include cooperation with laypeople and that the synod will need to identify “differing forms” of the exercise of this ministry.

Oct. 2: Pope Francis opens synod, warns against personal ‘agendas’

Pope Francis opens the second and final session of the Synod on Synodality, which is meant to deepen the missionary perspective of the Church, explains EWTN Vatican Bureau Chief Andreas Thonhauser.

“Let us be careful not to see our contributions as points to defend at all costs or agendas to be imposed,” the pope says at the synod’s opening Mass on Oct. 2, Courtney Mares reports. The pontiff warns: “Ours is not a parliamentary assembly but rather a place of listening in communion.”

Oct. 2: Looming questions about role of German ‘synodality’ 

“More candor about the motivations of the German Synodal Path and its vision of the Catholic future would be helpful in determining what, if anything, it has to offer the world Church at Synod 2024,” comments George Weigel in the National Catholic Register.

Oct. 1: Penitential liturgy is held in St. Peter’s Basilica; more than 500 people attend

On the eve of the second session of the Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis says the Catholic Church must first acknowledge its sins and ask for forgiveness before it can be credible in carrying out the mission Jesus Christ entrusted to his Church, Kristina Millare reports. 

Nine years ago, this papal speech set the ‘synodality’ machine in motion

Since Pope Francis’ 2015 speech, synodality has grown from a theological concept into a guiding principle of Church governance. Analysis from Jonathan Liedl in the National Catholic Register.

‘Duty to accompany migrants’: Indian bishops launch portal to support nation’s immigrants

Cardinal Philip Neri Ferrão, the president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), launches the migrant portal on Sept. 27, 2024, in Bangalore, India. / Credit: CCBI Migrant Commission

Bangalore, India, Oct 8, 2024 / 10:50 am (CNA).

India’s bishops recently launched a digital tool to help support the country’s hundreds of millions of migrants, hoping to address what one bishop calls the “serious concern” of migrant well-being. 

The digital portal was launched on Sept. 27 in Bangalore by the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) ahead of the Vatican’s 110th World Day of Migrants and Refugees on Sept. 29.

The digital portal, CCBI said in a press release, has been linked to the CatholicConnectIn platform of the Indian Church “to assist migrants moving for work, education, or other reasons of displacement. This initiative aligns with the vision of Pope Francis, who advocates for welcoming, protecting, promoting, and integrating migrants and refugees.”

Archbishop Victor Henry Thakur, who heads the CCBI Commission for Migrants as well as the  Archdiocese of Raipur, told CNA: “Migration is a reality and the Church has the duty to accompany migrants.”

“Dismissing migration as a problem, some argue that migration should be stopped,” the prelate said. “When people struggle for survival and jobs, they move to greener places for better opportunities. The constitution also gives them the right to move.”

Immigrants are estimated to be nearly one-third of India’s 1.44 billion people.

Migrant care “became a serious concern for the Church [in India] from early 2000,” Thakur said. “It is a challenging task for us to connect our social service wings at the diocesan level to reach out to as many migrants as possible.”

“India, home to one of the world’s largest diasporas, has over 450 million internal migrants,” the CCBI said in announcing the portal. “They often face challenges related to displacement, exploitation, and access to basic services.” 

“In response, the Catholic Church is stepping up efforts to assist migrants, refugees, internally displaced persons, unaccompanied minors, and victims of human trafficking.”

“The portal will serve as a vital resource, allowing migrants to register and access Church services regardless of their location,” the bishops said. “Dioceses and parishes across India will support the initiative by helping migrants register, while trained volunteers from migrant communities will extend aid to those in distress.”

Father Jaison Vadassery, the secretary of the bishops’ Commission for Migrants, told CNA that “the service is open to all, regardless of caste, creed, or religion. The portal will enable the Church to accompany migrants in a more meaningful way. The platform will help migrants enroll in government schemes and provide assistance during emergencies, such as securing health care or education for their children.”

Vadassery said the commission has a lot of technical work to do to link the digital portal to a multilingual website that will connect all the country’s dioceses so that migrants can seek support from anywhere. 

“Our goal is to provide migrants a window to register and access Church services regardless of their location by helping them integrate into their host communities while remaining connected to their cultural and religious roots,” the priest said.

“A team of computer experts are setting up faultless networking while our regional coordinators are supervising surveys at the diocesan level,”  he added. 

“We have already conducted surveys among migrants in the Agra, Meerut, and Delhi Dioceses. In Delhi alone, we interviewed 400 migrants. Getting information is difficult as they are suspicious about fraudsters,” Sister Rani Punnasseril, a nun with the Sisters of the Holy Cross and the coordinator of  the migrant commission for the northern region, told CNA.

“Several teams are now engaged in conducting surveys among the migrants,” she said.

Who are the Christians in Lebanon?

St. Elie and St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Catholic Cathedral in Beirut. / Credit: Jari Kurittu, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Oct 8, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).

The Middle East edged closer to large-scale crisis this week as Iran launched a volley of missile attacks on Israel and Israel continued its bombardment of southern Lebanon. 

For a Middle Eastern nation, Lebanon has a large and influential Christian population. The latest figures show that Lebanon remains about 70% Muslim and about 30% Christian, according to a 2022 international religious freedom report by the U.S. Department of State — a far higher percentage of Christians than its neighbors. 

Christianity in Lebanon traces its roots to the dawn of Christianity itself — in fact, Christ himself visited Lebanon. The Bible mentions the ancient pagan trading towns of Tyre and Sidon, both of which still exist today as major cities in southern Lebanon, dozens of times.  

Just a couple of years ago, Lebanon was one of the most peaceful nations in the Middle East and — despite some serious domestic problems that can’t be overlooked — a model for other countries in the region for how Christians and Muslims can coexist in the same country in relative peace. 

Of the Muslims in Lebanon, they are split about evenly between Sunni and Shiites. Hezbollah, the political party and militant group that has been in the news, is Shia and deeply aligned with Iran, which is also majority-Shia.

Who are Lebanon’s Christians? 

The majority — over half — of Lebanon’s Christians belong to the Maronite Church, an Eastern Catholic rite in full communion with the pope. There are about 3.5 million Maronites worldwide. 

St. Maron, the Church’s namesake, was a Syriac-speaking hermit who is believed to have died in the early fifth century. Later on in the mid-fifth century, Maron’s disciples established a monastery named after him that thrived for many years until the Muslim conquest of the region, which led the Maronites to move their monastery from present-day Syria to the mountains of Lebanon.

Enduring persecution by various groups over the centuries, the Maronites retained a strong relationship with the popes. The Maronite College in Rome was founded by Gregory XIII in 1584. 

Gaining influence within Lebanon and abroad, Maronite emigrants began leaving the country in the mid-19th century, bringing their religion with them. 

Other Christian groups present in Lebanon, according to the U.S. State Department, include Greek Catholics (Melkites), Armenian Orthodox, Armenian Catholics, Syriac Orthodox, Syriac Catholics, Assyrians, Chaldean Catholics, Copts, Protestants (including Presbyterians, Baptists, and Seventh-day Adventists), and Roman Catholics.

After a long civil war from 1975 to 1990, Lebanon gained a reputation for being one of the most peaceful and prosperous nations in the Middle East. In later years, however, Lebanon’s people began suffering from a nationwide financial crisis. 

Then came the August 2020 Beirut port explosion, one of the largest nonnuclear, man-made explosions in human history, which took place at Beirut’s vital port caused by a stockpile of dangerous chemicals that had sat at the port for years amid negligence and corruption. 

Most of the neighborhoods of Beirut destroyed in the explosion were majority-Christian, which exacerbated an exodus of Christians from the country.

In addition, the country’s Muslim population has been massively bolstered since 2011 by an influx of mostly-Muslim refugees from neighboring Syria, fleeing that country’s brutal civil war. According to the U.N. refugee agency, Lebanon has taken in at least 1.5 million Syrian refugees — a massive number for such a small country and one of the highest proportions of any country in the world. 

St. Charbel Maklouf

St. Charbel is perhaps the best-known Maronite saint, other than St. Maron himself, lending his name to Maronite churches across the world. 

He was born Yussef Antoun Makhlouf to a humble Lebanese family in 1828, the youngest of five children. As a boy, he spent a great deal of time outdoors in the fields and pastures near his village, contemplating God amid the inspiring views of Lebanon’s valleys and mountains.

His family wanted him to get married, but the young man had other ideas. He trekked on foot to the Monastery of St. Maron, where he took his monastic vows in 1853. After studying for the priesthood, he was ordained and returned to the monastery where he would humbly serve for the next 19 years. He showed great devotion to the life of prayer, manual work, and contemplative silence.

In 1875, he was granted permission to live in solitude at a nearby hermitage. He spent the next 23 years there, until his death.

St. Charbel was deeply devoted to God’s presence in the Eucharist. On Dec. 16, 1898, Charbel suffered a stroke while celebrating the Maronite Divine Liturgy (the Maronite equivalent of the Mass).

He died on Christmas Eve of that year, and Pope Paul VI canonized him in 1977.

The former monastery and nearby hermitage where St. Charbel lived out his last days is located in Annaya, an hour north of Beirut and in the hills nine miles inland from the coast. It remains a place of pilgrimage for Christians and Muslims alike, who come seeking miraculous healings. 

Since 1950, when St. Charbel’s tomb was first opened, the shrine has archived some 29,000 medically-verified healings.

What’s the latest in Lebanon?

ACI Mena, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner in the Middle East, has been reporting on the plight of Christians in Lebanon. In late September, it reported that the Keserwan district of Mount Lebanon, known as the heart of the Christian community due to its large Maronite population and the presence of important religious sites like the Maronite Patriarchate and the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon, has been subject to Israeli airstrikes targeting a Hezbollah official.

Aid to the Church in Need reported in December that about 90% of those living in southern Lebanon’s Christian villages have fled their homes amid the rocket strikes between Israel and Hezbollah. 

The situation in Lebanon is evolving and changing every day. A Sept. 26 report from the agency noted that amid the Israeli attacks, “Christian towns remain far from direct bombardment, even if they have their share of shrapnel.”

However, Christian cities and towns across Lebanon are now crowded with people displaced from the southern villages. Beirut and its suburbs are seeing some Christian families move to their summer homes in rural areas. 

A Maronite priest, Father Marwan Ghanem, personally witnessed the recent Israeli pager attack that killed and wounded hundreds of Hezbollah operatives and told ACI Mena about the experience. 

Ghanem said after the coordinated explosions happened he stopped to help three wounded people. He said he did not consider whether they were Muslim or Christian but rather recognized “the face of the wounded Christ on the road.” In such dire circumstances, he said, there is no distinction between a Christian and a Muslim but rather everyone is human, created in the image of God.

U.S. bishops praise Biden administration’s expansion of refugee resettlement program

Bishop Mark Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso, Texas, speaks at the “Responding to Changing Realities at the U.S. Border and Beyond” conference, hosted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and The Catholic University of America. / Credit: Photo courtesy of The Catholic University of America

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 8, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The U.S. bishops issued a statement praising the Biden administration’s decision last week to expand the U.S. refugee resettlement program and commended the role of Catholic organizations in partnering with the government to resettle refugees.

President Joe Biden signed the Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2025 on Sept. 30, setting the refugee admissions target at 125,000. This comes after the administration has made several changes and expansions to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and resettled over 100,000 refugees into the U.S. in 2023, the highest number since 1994.

A “refugee” is defined under U.S. law as a person who is “unable or unwilling” to return to his or her country because of “persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is one of 10 “national resettlement agencies” that partner with USRAP to take in and assist these refugees.

The bishops said that dioceses and local Catholic Charities agencies “play an essential role in helping refugees to integrate successfully into their new communities.”

Bishop Mark Seitz, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Migration Committee, applauded Catholic organizations’ contributions to the refugee resettlement program, saying that “from lifesaving protection for refugee families to the economic renewal they offer receiving communities, this is part of what it means to ‘love thy neighbor.’”

“My brother bishops and I could not be more grateful for the witness of faithful Catholics across our country who have, for many decades now, committed themselves to accompanying refugees as a visible sign of Christ’s love in the world.”

Seitz thanked the Biden administration for its efforts to “reassert and grow our nation’s proud tradition of welcoming refugees” as well as the “bipartisan support of Congress,” which he said “has played a vital role in the success of the resettlement program since its inception.”

“Resettling 100,000 refugees is a significant achievement, given the all-time low number seen in 2021 and some of the challenges facing American communities at this time, including a nationwide shortage of affordable housing,” Seitz said. “Guided by the Gospel and faithful to our national values, the U.S. Catholic community will continue doing its part to carry this endeavor forward.”

After being established through the bipartisan Refugee Act of 1980, USRAP has generally enjoyed wide support across the political spectrum.

While he has been sharply critical of many of the Biden administration’s immigration policies, Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and policy expert at the Center for Immigration Studies, told CNA that “of all the things that the Biden-Harris administration is doing to facilitate the entry of people who don’t have visas to come to the United States, this is far and away the least objectionable.”

He said that though 125,000 is “high compared to prior years” it is still “well within” the limits set by the law.

Arthur emphasized that the refugee resettlement program differs greatly from the U.S. asylum system.

“We know from past experience that individuals who make asylum claims generally never follow through on them,” he said. “But when you’re talking about refugees, those are individuals who have already been adjudicated. They’ve already been determined to be refugees before they’re brought here. They’ve already been vetted abroad before they come here. So, the danger that they pose to national security is lower; it’s not zero, but it is lower.”

Another 4,000 20th-century martyrs in Spain will be beatified in coming years, expert says

A painting depicts 10 members of the Order of the Immaculate Conception who were martyred in Spain in 1936. / Credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Madrid, Spain, Oct 8, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Spain has 3,500 beatified martyrs from the religious persecution of the 20th century and another 4,000 could also be beatified in the coming years, according to Father José Carlos Martín de la Hoz, a priest who is an expert in these processes.

“A few months ago, at the request of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, a survey was taken, speaking with all the delegates of the Causes of Saints of all the dioceses, and a list of another 4,000 possible blesseds was made,” he said.

“When this work is finished, which we will finish in four years, there will be 7,500 martyrs, blesseds on our altars,” explained Martín de la Hoz, director of the Office of the Causes of Saints for Opus Dei.

The priest made the prediction during the presentation in Madrid of the book “Hogares de amor y perdón II” (“Homes of Love and Forgiveness II”), published by the Enraizados en Cristo Association (“Rooted in Christ”), which contains the testimony of 23 families who were noted for the dedication and fidelity of their members to the point of giving their lives.

Martín de la Hoz emphasized that “what is most impressive is that those 7,500 martyrs, blesseds, their martyrdom is documented, that is, they died out of hatred for the faith and it is documented that they died forgiving.”

In his talk, the expert also explained that “the first dicastery to be opened in Christianity, in the Church, is the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints,” as can be seen in the Acts of the Apostles, where it is stated that “the first decision taken by the Church is to preserve the memory of the martyrs.” Not without reason, during the time of the first Christians, “Mass was celebrated on the tombs of the martyrs,” he added.

Origin of the 20th-century religious persecution in Spain

Martín de la Hoz explained how studying the causes of the martyrs of the 20th century leads to considering that “it all began in the Cortes of Cadiz” in 1812, whose constitution begins by saying “‘in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,’ but then what is established and delineated is what was called liberalism.”

During the 19th century, “the progressive liberals and the conservative liberals alternated being in power, but in the end what unites them is a very violent persecution against the Church. It’s as if all the Enlightenment and the French Revolution that had happened in central Europe suddenly appeared in Spain.”

“This hatred that is present, that is spreading, that is constant and continuous, is penetrating” the strata of intellectuals, of workers, in the countryside, all the way up to the times of the Second Republic (1931–1936), he said.

The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War was, in the expert’s opinion, “the emergence of something that was already in motion, because it had been unfolding for a century. That is why it is very important to return to the memory of the martyrs, because they are the ones who are going to help us rebuild a united society.”

An example of forgiveness

Among the testimonies of forgiveness compiled in “Hogares de amor y perdón II,” there is one offered by Luis García Chillón, who remembers his uncle, Hermenegildo Chillón Cabrera, martyred in the town of Talavera de la Reina in Toledo province, Spain.

Mere, as he was known in the area, was a town watchman and at the age of 29 he was dismissed by the mayor, Francisco Cancho, a member of the Popular Front. One night in February 1936, 20 men beat him up and left him half dead.

He spent 12 days in the hospital and when he was released, he tried to recover in Tarancón in Cuenca province. After the start of the war in July 1936, they went looking for him to imprison him in the convent of the nuns known as “Ildefonsas.” It was Aug. 22.

After a summary trial by the so-called “people’s committee,” he was taken out of the place in handcuffs and a cowbell was hung around his neck while they deliberated whether to burn him or shoot him. Finally, they took him to the place of his martyrdom. Before dying, he asked his executioners to give his wallet to his mother with these words: “Give her a hug and another one for yourself, so that you [the executioner] may forgive me if I failed you in any way.”

His nephew Luis believes that “at the moment of truth, when these words are said, they are felt deeply and imply a tremendous greatness of spirit.” From these words he deduces, despite not knowing his uncle, “that this man forgave those who were martyring him.”

For him, “this shows a unique greatness of heart” and makes it clear that, regardless of the religious practice that his uncle had, “the blood of the martyrs cleanses everything, heals everything.”

He also noted that “in my Uncle Hermenegildo’s family there was never any talk of hatred or resentment” and that today the relatives of the martyrs “have no desire to settle any score or any desire for revenge or anything like that. But we cannot allow them to be forgotten either.”

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

Christians face arbitrary arrests, grave religious freedom violations in India

Nuns from the Missionaries of Charity hold candles in recognition of the May 3 annivesary of ethnic violence in Manipur, India. / Credit: Anto Akkara

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 8, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

More than 160 violent attacks against Christians were reported in India this past year as laws passed by the country’s reigning Hindu nationalist government added to the threat to religious freedom in the nation.

According to a recent report from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Christians in India are facing increasingly hostile threats of violence and religious discrimination.

USCIRF is now calling for India to be added to the U.S. government’s list of international religious freedom violators as a country of particular concern (CPC) — a move that has provoked outrage from the country’s government.

A spokesperson for India’s foreign ministry spoke out against USCIRF on Thursday, describing the U.S. agency as “a biased organization with a political agenda,” according to news reports. 

“We reject this malicious report,” the spokesperson said, “which only serves to discredit the USCIRF further.”

The spokesperson called on USCIRF to “desist from such agenda-driven efforts” and to instead focus its attention on human rights issues within its own country.

Incidents of religious freedom violations listed in the USCIRF report include physical attacks on individuals, places of worship, and schools; restrictions on public prayer; and false accusations of “forced conversion” for which the punishment ranges from hefty fines in some states to life in prison in others.

Violent attacks and discrimination

According to the USCIRF report, “from January to March, 161 incidents of violence against Christians in India were reported — 47 of which occurred in the state of Chhattisgarh.” 

“Such incidents ranged from violent attacks on churches and prayer meetings to physical assaults, harassment, and false allegations of forced conversion,” the report said.

In the northeast Indian state of Assam, government authorities have repeatedly targeted Christians throughout the past year, passing laws such as the Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Bill, banning prayer over the sick. According to USCIRF, Assam’s chief minister stated his intention to “restrict Christian evangelism and conversion in the state with the bill.”

A Catholic school in the state was targeted by several Hindu organizations that entered the school and “demanded instructors cease using Christian images and symbols.”

In the eastern state of Chhattisgarh, Christians have been denied access to community water sources and, in some cases, according to sources cited by USCIRF, deceased Christians have been denied burial by local Hindu villagers.

Arbitrary arrests over ‘anti-conversion’ laws

Authorities have arrested dozens of Christians on accusations of “conducting or participating in forced conversion” since 2021. Under “anti-conversion” laws currently present in 12 of India’s 28 states, authorities can prosecute religious minorities for alleged attempts at forced conversions. Many of these laws, according to the USCIRF, “far exceed cases of coercion.”

For example, the report cites an incident that took place in Uttar Pradesh where 13 Christians, including four pastors, were arrested after participating in a house prayer meeting after local villagers had reported them to the police on suspicion of “conversion activities.”

In Uttar Pradesh, a recently passed law allows anyone, not just a victim or blood relative, to file a First Instance Report (FIR) against any purported suspect of “forced conversion.” Those arrested and charged with the crime in the north Indian state face life in prison without the possibility of applying for bail.

Political climate

Ahead of the country’s most recent elections in June, politicians including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and members of the Bharatiya Janata Party adopted Hindu-nationalist slogans for their campaigns. These politicians promoted “increasingly wielded hate speech and discriminatory rhetoric” against minority religious communities such as Christians and Muslims, according to the report.

USCIRF noted the prime minister in particular accused his opposition of intending to “wipe out [the] Hindu faith from the country” and make Hindus “second-class citizens in their own country.” Modi specifically directed many of his comments against Muslims, whom he referred to as “infiltrators.”