Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, issued this reflection in support of the Holy Father’s recent remarks to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, which included a specific mention of the harms of surrogacy.
“Pope Francis strongly condemned the practice of surrogacy calling it ‘a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child.’ He emphasized that a child is a gift and as such can ‘never (be) the basis of a commercial contract.’ Surrogacy represents the commodification and instrumentalization of a woman’s body, treating her as a ‘carrier’ rather than a human person. And just as troubling is the fact that the child is reduced to terms of buying and selling as an object of human trafficking.
“The commercialization of women and children in surrogacy is underlined by the belief that there is a right to have a child. The child becomes an object for the fulfillment of one’s desires instead of a person to be cherished. In this way, the genuine right of the child to be conceived through the love of his or her parents is overlooked in favor of ‘the right to have a child by any means necessary.’ We must avoid this way of thinking and answer the call to respect human life, beginning with the unborn child.
African bishops’ conferences unite against blessing same-sex couples
The episcopal conferences of Africa are united in the belief that “the extra-liturgical blessings proposed in the declaration Fiducia Supplicans cannot be carried out in Africa” without creating scandal.
Cardinal Fridolin Ambogo of Kinshasa, the president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) summarized the stands taken by the different bishops’ conferences of Africa in a January 11 statement. He reported:
The episcopal conferences generally prefer—each bishop remaining free in his diocese—not to offer blessing to same-sex couples.
The African bishops profess their “unwavering attachment to the Successor of Peter,” the cardinal said, but fear the “potential confusion and scandal” that could be caused by blessing couples in irregular unions. The Vatican’s declaration, he said, “has sown misconceptions and unrest in the minds of many lay faithful, consecrated persons and even pastors, and has aroused strong reactions.”
The rejection of blessings for irregular unions does not indicate a lack of pastoral care, the cardinal insisted. African bishops are committed to treating homosexual persons with “respect and dignity,” he said. “Clergy are encouraged to provide welcoming and supportive pastoral care, particular to couples in irregular situations.
The leaders of the French Catholic bishops’ conference have issued a statement encouraging priests to bless people “who humbly ask for God’s help,” but carefully avoided suggesting such blessings for couples.
The permanent council of the French episcopal conference issued its statement on January 10, evidently responding to the earlier statement from nine French bishops who announced that they would not authorize blessings for same-sex couples. The conference statement called for an “unconditional and merciful welcome” of those who seek blessings. But after mentioning the need to provide pastoral care for couples living in irregular unions, the statement refers to blessings for individuals.
Security denied, function to honor Kandhamal martyrs postponed
The Catholic Church has postponed a function to celebrate the Vatican recognition of the Kandhamal martyrs after the civil administration denied security.
More than 10,000 people were expected to attend the January 9 function at Raikia to honor 35 Servants of God who were martyred for their faith during the 2008 anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal, a district in the eastern Indian state of Odisha.
The Vatican on October 2, 2023, gave the archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar a go-ahead to start the beatification process for the martyrs.
A message from Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli to Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar said the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints has granted “no objection” to initiate the process of beatification for the Servant of God Kanteeswar Digal and companions, “martyrs of Kandhamal.”
The archdiocese shared the letter with the media on October 15.
It says the nuncio is pleased to forward the letter from the dicastery to the archbishop.
The dicastery was responding to Archbishop Barwa’s May 31 letter requesting the Vatican to consider beatification for the 35.
Manipur, Archbishop of Imphal: ‘At Christmas God unites us beyond any tribe, language or culture’
“We are approaching Christmas” and “traditionally we look forward to this great celebration”, but “this year several parishes in our archdiocese will not be able to carry out Christmas liturgies or gather families and loved ones as happened in the past due to ethnic violence.” For this reason the Church invites us to “refrain from grandiose festive celebrations”.
With these words the archbishop of Imphal, Msgr. Linus Neli, addresses the Christians of the north-eastern Indian state of Manipur in his Christmas letter. The clashes broke out in May and involved the main tribal groups in the region, the Kuki and the Meitei. Despite a decline in violence, the situation continues to remain tense.
“God adds joy to our hearts by gathering the human family around his Son regardless of race, tribe, language, culture, status, gender or community. We are all one in humanity”, underlined the archbishop.
But around the world there are different situations in which Christmas celebrations are interrupted due to violence: “The same difficulty prevails in many parts of the world due to wars and conflicts. Many suffer from stress and anxiety while staying in shelters for an extended period of time. It is even worse in the case of women and children. There are difficulties for people coming together, especially not being able to communicate with each other over long distances, helping to keep their bonds alive through digital media.”
Chandigarh: Mother Teresa charity home faces 54-million fine
The Chandigarh administration has issued a show-cause notice to Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity Home for allegedly violating building laws.
The administration of the federally-ruled territory has asked the institution in Sector 23 of the city to appear for a personal hearing on February 10, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported January 9.
The administration alleged that the Catholic home violated building laws by setting up plants in parking places on its premises.
The sub-divisional magistrate (Central), who issued the notice, has also calculated a fine of 53,000 rupees a day since October 9, 2020, which amounts to around 54 million rupees.
Established in 1980, the home takes care of 40 disabled people.
According to the notice, the parking adjoining the right-hand side of the main gate has been covered with landscaping, covering a 900 square feet area. Similarly, another parking adjoining the left-hand side, with 16,800 square feet area, has also been covered with landscaping.
For this violation, the home is liable to pay 3 rupees per day per square foot, which comes to around 53,000 rupees a day,
The notice further states if violations at the site or building are established, the charges for violations at the specified rate shall be payable within 15 days of the order.
For any delay in payment, interest shall be charged at 1.25 percent for each month. Failing to pay the fine will result in resumption, cancellation and sealing of the site.
Indian Christians disassociate from leaders over Modi’s Christmas party
Thousands of Indian Christians have distanced themselves from their leaders who attended a Christmas lunch hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, criticizing their silence over the ongoing anti-Christian violence in the country.
Over 3,000 Christians signed an online signature campaign, saying the Christian leaders, including Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai and several bishops from various Christian denominations, did not represent them at the gathering at Modi’s official residence.
The two-day virtual campaign, “Not in our name,” was started on Jan. 1 by Jesuit Fathers Cedric Prakash and Prakash Louis, and lay Catholic leader John Dayal.
Christian leaders say in 2023 India recorded some 650 cases of violence against Christians. Since Modi came to power in 2014, violence against Muslims and Christians has increased, they argue.
Sporadic violence continues in the northeastern state of Manipur, where more than 200 tribal Christians died and over 50,000 people were displaced in the sectarian flare-up after it started in May 2023.
Rights groups blame pro-Hindu groups that support Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the violence against Christian and Muslim religious minorities.
Modi, who seeks a third consecutive term in this year’s parliamentary polls, has never condemned the atrocities against minorities nor has he visited strife-torn Manipur, where a Christian woman was gang-raped and paraded naked in July last year.
Cardinal says Vatican doc on same-sex blessings a ‘natural’ for India
India’s most senior Catholic cardinal and a close advisor to Pope Francis has said the Fiducia Supplicans, a controversial new Vatican text approving non-liturgical blessings for same-sex unions, is a “natural” for his country, calling it “an affirmation of our spirituality and a gift.”
Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai told Crux that in Indian culture, asking for and giving blessings is a widely accepted custom.
“I once met the Prime Minister, and he asked for prayers. I assured him of our prayers and our blessings,” Gracias said.
“Our Indian mentality is so inclusive, understanding people of other religions and other faiths,” Gracias said. “All are searching for God, all are searching for the truth, all are searching for spirituality.”
To the extent there’s controversy over Fiducia Supplicans in India, Gracias said, it’s because it’s been misunderstood.
“There is no change at all in the Church doctrine of a marriage between a man and a woman. The tradition of the Church, the magisterium is very clear and there is no contradiction at all,” he said.
“The blessing is like when a person is going on a journey, when they have come on a pilgrimage, they want a blessing asking God to be with them,” Gracias said. “Everybody has a right to God’s love and God’s compassion, calling the teaching on blessings in the document a “natural consequence” of this principle.
Gracias also said that Fiducia Supplicans is consistent with his own pastoral practice with the LGBTQ+ community.
“In the past I have said this and I want to say it again, they are part of our family, they need our pastoral care. I have met them when they have come to me sometimes privately in my office.”
“Jesus never refused a blessing … that’s the idea,” he said.
As a concrete example, in October 2018 the late Indian fashion designer Wendell Rodricks met Gracias. Rodricks also headed a group called the “Global Network of Rainbow Catholics,” which worked on the pastoral care of LGBTQ+ Catholics. The purpose of the meeting was for Rodricks to ask Gracias’s blessing on a plan to open a hotline for the LGBTQ+ community, in part to being them closer to the Church.
In a social media post after the meeting, Rodricks described his deep emotion when Gracias responded positively.
Arrested dissident Chinese bishop remains untraced
The whereabouts of a Chinese Catholic bishop remain unknown six days after his alleged arrest by the Communist authorities, reports say.
Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin of Wenzhou was arrested on Jan. 2, for allegedly opposing the meddling of the state officials in the affairs of the diocese in Zhejiang province of eastern China, the Pillar reported referring to Asia News.
The 61-year-old bishop was ordained in 2011 with the Vatican mandate.
However, he has been arrested several times and detained for months, effectively barring him from performing the role of a bishop as he is not recognized by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and state-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), which controls the “official church.”
Despite the 2018 Vatican-China agreement on bishop appointments based on mutual consent, Shao remains unrecognized by the CCP due to his constant refusal to join the CCPA, reports say.
The prelate is routinely arrested during major Christian feasts such as Easter and Christmas, which bar him from celebrating Mass with large congregations.
Colombo: anti-drug operation leaves hundreds of children without parents
A recent anti-drug operation called “Yukthiya” (which means “justice”) is leaving hundreds of children without parents due to indiscriminate arrests.
According to Patali Champika Ranawaka, former Energy Minister and leader of the United Republican Front (URF), the police have arrested a large number of drug addicts, sometimes both parents, especially in Colombo and the suburbs. In many cases, children go hungry while their parents are in detention.
According to two Mattakkuliya residents, Kamalini Sinnarasa and Vadivel Pathmarajah, more than 100 children aged between 2 and 10 were fed for days by social service organizations and often very poor neighbours.
In some areas of Colombo, most children whose parents were taken away by the police were unable to get even one meal a day. Some children between the ages of 4 and 10 started begging along the road with their little brothers.
Furthermore, most of those arrested are unable to pay their legal fees. Although the operation has already entered its third week, no key figures involved in drug trafficking have yet been arrested. While the police justify the operation, for several critics it is a farce.
The police are accused of using excessively heavy-handed tactics, including mass arrests, and of showing “little respect for people’s privacy and dignity”. Questions also arose about the low quantity of drugs recovered during the operation.
So far, 26,476 suspects have been arrested and according to the latest data, 54,090 raids have been conducted across Sri Lanka as of January 5 with police hunting for a further 2,453 suspects. About 1,549 people were sent to rehabilitation centers.
South Korea passes bill banning dog meat trade
South Korea’s parliament on Jnuary 10 passed a bill banning breeding, slaughtering and selling dogs for their meat, a traditional practice that activists have called an embarrassment for the country.
Dog meat has long been a part of South Korean cuisine, and at one point up to a million dogs were killed for the trade every year, according to activists. But consumption has sharply declined recently as Koreans embrace pet ownership in droves.
Eating dog meat is a taboo among younger, urban South Koreans, and pressure on the government to outlaw the practice from animal rights activists has been mounting.
Official support for a ban has grown under President Yoon Suk Yeol, a self-professed animal lover who has adopted several stray dogs and cats with First Lady Kim Keon-hee — who is herself a vocal critic of dog meat consumption.
The bill, which was proposed by both the ruling and main opposition parties, was passed unopposed by a 208-0 vote, with two abstentions.