Democrats can continue their resistance to Trump and hold his feet to the fire, but that won’t be enough. What they need is heshbon hanefesh, “an accounting of the soul.”
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CNA Staff, Nov 18, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).
Police in Arizona are investigating an October parish fire as an act of arson, with authorities seeking help identifying a suspect in the blaze amid warnings from federal law enforcement over increased arson activity against houses of worship.
Fire officials at the time indicated that the incident was not initially considered an act of arson. But Casa Grande police said over the weekend that a suspect was being sought in connection with the fire.
The Casa Grande Police Department said in a Facebook post on Saturday that the fire at St. Anthony of Padua “was purposely set” and that investigators need “help identifying [the] suspect.”
The police have “been working closely with the Casa Grande Fire Department and the ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives] to complete this investigation,” the post said.
The police department did not immediately respond to a query about the status of the investigation.
The investigation comes after the ATF earlier this month urged houses of worship to exercise “increased vigilance” and adopt new security measures amid a series of recent arson incidents against churches in the Northeast.
The federal agency cited several fires at churches in New England in recent months, including a fire at a Catholic parish in Franklin, Massachusetts, which investigators have determined was an act of arson.
The ATF in its statement suggested churches should employ several methods of enhanced security, including video cameras, restricted facility access, and updated emergency plans.
The bureau also said houses of worship should “maintain open communication with local police and ATF, report any suspicious activity immediately, and explore options for regular patrols in the area.”
Last month Tucson, Arizona, Bishop Edward Weisenburger said he was “deeply grieved by the damage and destruction” to St. Anthony of Padua Parish.
“A characteristic true to Catholicism is that our houses of worship are not simply places where we pray,” the bishop said.
“Rather, they are imbued with holiness by the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, the waters of baptism, consecrated vessels for worship, and the grace that flows from the celebration of the sacraments,” he said.
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Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel, bishop emeritus of San Cristóbal de las Casas in the Mexican state of Chiapas, expressed his hope that the approval of series of liturgical adaptations for Indigenous communities in the Mexican state of Chiapas “will encourage the process to promote similar adaptations in other Indigenous groups." / Credit: Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas
Puebla, Mexico, Nov 18, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).
The Vatican has approved a series of liturgical adaptations for Indigenous communities in the Mexican state of Chiapas.
According to Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel, bishop emeritus of San Cristóbal de las Casas, this decision transforms certain Indigenous expressions into “liturgy of the Church,” eliminating the perception that they were simply “uses and customs that were viewed with suspicion.”
The Vatican Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments granted “confirmatio” on Nov. 8, endorsing the “adaptations to the Ordinary of the Mass in Spanish” for the Tseltal, Tsotsil, Ch’ol, Tojolabal, and Zoque ethnic groups. It also granted “recognitio” for the translation into Tseltal of key magisterial documents, such as the apostolic constitution Missale Romanum and the motu proprio Mysterii Paschalis.
Arizmendi, who led the efforts of the Mexican episcopate to promote these adaptations, said in a message shared with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that these practices are a form of “incarnation of faith in expressions specific to these cultures.” Their acceptance by the Holy See represents a sign that “if in some Indigenous customs there are deviations, we can help them reach their fullness in Christ and in his Church.”
The cardinal expressed his hope that this approval “will encourage the process to promote similar adaptations in other Indigenous groups.” To this end, he invited his brother bishops and pastoral workers to “have an interest in giving liturgical value to many Catholic expressions of our native groups and not see them as simple folklore.”
The cardinal explained that “ritual dances were approved for the offertory, the prayer of the faithful, or the thanksgiving after Communion,” pointing out that these “are not folklore but simple movements of the entire assembly, monotone, contemplative, accompanied by traditional music, which express the same thing as the Roman rite, but in a different cultural form.”
“The content of the Mass is not changed but the way of expressing it,” the cardinal said.
Another point approved is that women will be able to perform the ministry of thurifers during the Mass. Once the priest “places [on the coal] and blesses the incense,” the women will proceed to incense the altar, the images, the Gospel book, the ministers, and the assembly.
“They do it not with the common censer but with an incense that is proper to the culture,” the cardinal indicated.
The cardinal emphasized that this sign “is not a feminist demand” but one that responds to the customs of Indigenous communities, where “it is usually the woman who incense during traditional prayers.”
In another change, it was approved that a layperson of “recognized moral relevance” can lead “certain parts of the community prayer.”
This can be done “at the beginning of the Mass, to initiate the community into the celebration, to name intentions, and to ask forgiveness” as well as “in the prayer of the faithful, after the priest makes the initial invitation and closes with the concluding prayer.”
It can also occur “after Communion as a thanksgiving, which the priest concludes with the post-Communion prayer.”
“This is not about removing the priest from his role as president of the assembly,” the cardinal explained, “since he is the one who is in charge of the celebration and who authorizes these moments.” With this, he pointed out, the aim is to provide a way for the assembly to participate.
“The content of the Roman rite is not being changed, but rather its cultural expression,” he said.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Sister Francisca Ngozi Uti on Nov. 14, 2024, was named the 2024 Opus Prize laureate, which comes with a $1.2 million award recognizing transformative humanitarian work. / Credit: Santa Clara University
ACI Africa, Nov 18, 2024 / 11:40 am (CNA).
Sister Francisca Ngozi Uti, the founder and executive director of the Centre for Women Studies and Intervention (CWSI) in Abuja, Nigeria, has been named the laureate of the 2024 Opus Prize — a $1.2 million award recognizing transformative humanitarian work.
In her address during the Nov. 14 award ceremony at Santa Clara University, a Jesuit university in Silicon Valley, the Nigerian member of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus (HHCJ) said that words could not express her joy.
“Did I ever imagine being nominated as the laureate? Honestly, no. Words seem inadequate to capture the depth of my joy. My heart overflows with gratitude,” Ngozi said.
“I never dreamed that the work my team and I have been doing in these remote communities would gain recognition not only within our state but beyond our nation’s borders crossing the Atlantic and reaching as far as the United States of America.”
Ngozi thanked the Opus Prize jury, saying: “You believed and still believe in the work that my team and I do to alleviate the suffering and trauma of those marginalized through no fault of their own.”
By choosing CWSI as the 2024 Opus Prize winner, “you have placed a significant responsibility on us; to whom much is given, much is expected,” Ngozi said. “CWSI will not betray your trust. I accept this award on behalf of all the women, girls, and men who have partnered with us to bring about positive change in their lives and communities.”
“I remember especially the women and girls who have endured hardship and are now striving to rebuild their lives,” she added.
Reflecting on her ministry over the years, Ngozi credited her father for ensuring she received an education despite societal limitations.
“Thank you, Papa. Your sacrifice was not in vain,” she said.
She also paid homage to HHCJ foundress Mother Mary Charles Magdalene Walker. “From her life of courage, resilience, and faith, I learned to entrust myself to God, allowing him to lead while I follow,” she said.
Ngozi also thanked the staff of CWSI, HHCJ leadership, and all those who have contributed to her mission.
“To the past and present staff of CWSI who have made countless sacrifices out of love for God and humanity, I am deeply grateful,” she said.
Ngozi went on to congratulate her fellow Opus Prize finalists, including Jesuit Father Zachariah Presutti, founder and executive director of Thrive for Life Prison Project in New York, and Cătălin and Bianca Albu, the general manager and senior manager, respectively, for programs at Jesuit Refugee Service in Romania.
“This recognition is not just for me or CWSI. It is for every woman and girl whose resilience and courage inspire our mission. May God bless you abundantly for your generosity and support,” Ngozi said.
CWSI seeks to help women become politically aware, socially responsible, and economically independent for greater autonomy and parity with men.
The Abuja-based entity also advocates for the inclusion of women in government roles and for legal provisions to combat gender-based violence in five Nigerian states.
The late Bishop Paride Taban was the Opus Prize 2023 laureate. The bishop emeritus of South Sudan’s Diocese of Torit was honored posthumously for founding the Holy Trinity Peace Village Kuron, where people from warring South Sudanese tribes live in harmony.
“Bishop Taban’s Holy Trinity Peace Village Kuron will receive the $1 million prize that recognizes social entrepreneurship championing faith-filled change,” the Opus Prize Foundation and Villanova University announced last year in a press release.
This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.