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Videos are new component to bishops’ ‘Faithful Citizenship’ guide

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Catholic News Service

A series of long-planned videos that supplement the U.S. bishops’ quadrennial “Faithful Citizenship” document that provides guidance to voters during a presidential election year have been finalized for viewing.

Posted on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website at faithfulcitizenship.org and the USCCB’s YouTube channel at bit.ly/31DHDGN, five videos in four languages explore various aspects of Catholic social teaching while reflecting the teaching of Pope Francis.

The videos are part of the bishops’ effort to broaden their outreach through the document, titled “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility,” Jill Rauh, director of education and outreach in the USCCB’s Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, said.

“The videos intend to help Catholics engage in participation in political life, first and foremost, guided by their faith as opposed to any affiliation with any political party that they have,” Rauh explained to Catholic News Service Feb. 5.

“In addition, the videos invite Catholics to engage with civility and to learn about and advocate on behalf of all of who are vulnerable, from the unborn to immigrants to people who are in poverty, to our common home, to families,” she said.

Four English-language videos of about two minutes in length examine participation in public life, protecting human life and dignity, promoting the common good and loving others. The fifth video is a six-minute compilation of the highlights of the four shorter pieces.

Videos in Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese are slightly longer.

Each video, funded by was produced with young people in mind, Rauh added.

“The (bishops) had a particular interest in creating videos for sharing on social media and engaging with young people,” she said.

Along with images and voices of young people, each piece features one bishop narrating an aspect of Catholic social teaching. Each production closes with a different prayer specifically written for the series.

A letter introducing the document is one of the resources. Approved by the bishops during their fall general assembly in November, the letter reminds Catholics that “we bring the richness of our faith to the public square” and that “faith and reason inform our efforts to affirm both the dignity of the human person and the common good of all.”

Other wide-ranging resources are being made available to parishes, schools, prayer groups and other interested parties through the faithful citizenship web page.

The bishops who appear in the English-language videos include Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, USCCB president, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, Auxiliary Robert E. Barron of Los Angeles and Bishop Shelton J. Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana.

The Spanish-language videos feature Archbishop Gomez, Archbishop Nelson J. Perez of Cleveland, who will soon move on to Philadelphia; Bishop Joe S. Vasquez of Austin, Texas; and Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas.

The videos in Tagalog feature Bishop Oscar A. Solis of Salt Lake City, while the videos in Vietnamese feature Auxiliary Bishop Thanh Thai Nguyen of Orange, California.

Scenes showing people feeding the hungry, protecting God’s creation, comforting the elderly, caring for children, migrant people and families, and engaging in civil discussions are prominent in the productions.

“The videos are meant to reflect the teaching of the bishops in ‘Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,'” Rauh explained. “The videos are really trying to make that teaching more accessible.”

In the video about Catholic participation in public life that introduces the series, Archbishop Gomez said, “The church’s participation in shaping the moral character of society is a requirement of our faith. It is a basic part of the mission we have received from Jesus Christ.”

Later in the piece he noted, “We are not aligned with any party, but we shine the light of faith to influence parties to which we may belong as well as to elected officials and thus in our communities.”

The productions, funded by a grant from the Catholic Communication Campaign, also are meant to guide people in public life beyond voting, Rauh said, as they present “a call for ongoing engagement in the public sphere.”

Rauh also is coordinating her department’s outreach for upcoming elections through the Civilize It campaign. Introduced by the USCCB Nov. 3, one year before the 2020 vote, the campaign stresses that respectful dialogue — rather than name-calling and nasty barbs — can occur among people with differing political views.

The idea for Civilize It originated in the Social Action Office of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 2016. Its success in southwest Ohio caught the attention of the USCCB, which decided that the model, with a few tweaks, would be introduced in parishes nationwide.

— Dennis Sadowski

Video series: Called to Holiness

Posted on May 16, 2018 by Cori Urban

Some Catholic families from the Diocese of Burlington are making their contribution to The Year of the Family by creating videos on the call to holiness.

“Each video features a Catholic family in Vermont living out their call to holiness through the family,” commented Michael J. Hagan, coordinator of religious education and catechesis for the Diocese of Burlington.

The January video featured the Steve and Ann Gonyaw family of Mater Dei Parish in Newport. They explained how to do a family home blessing.

“Participating in the home blessing video was an enriching and humbling experience for our family,” said Mrs. Gonyaw, director of her parish’s Family Formation program. “The process of filming the video was a bit nerve wracking as we were all a bit self conscious on camera, but the diocesan videographer, Steve Giroux, was extremely patient with us and guided us through the process.”

Future videos will focus on topics such as the importance of confession as a family, planning free time together as a couple and praying the rosary as a family.

Each month’s topic comes from Pope Francis’ document, “The Joy of Love,” and seeks to encourage and lead families to answer the call to holiness through the family.

There will be at least 12 videos for this Year of the Family project.

“A major focus of the Second Vatican Council was the ‘universal call to holiness’ — the idea that all people, including laypeople, are called to a life of holiness,” Hagan said.

Mrs. Gonyaw said the experience was a blessing for her family because their prayer time together is a special gift from God, and they were honored to share a bit of it with other families “in the hope that they can experience connection that praying together as a family has brought us.”

The video series seeks to remind family members of the opportunities they are given to grow closer to the Lord through family.

The videos will be hosted on vimeo and shared on social media. View the entire gallery on the Marriage & Family webpage.

— Originally published in the Spring 2018 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.

Video ratings

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Catholic News Service

Here is a list of home video releases of theatrical movies that Catholic News Service has rated on the basis of moral suitability.

These classifications refer only to the theatrical version of the films below, and do not take into account home video releases’ extra content.

The first symbol after each title is the CNS classification. The second symbol is the rating of the Motion Picture Association.

CNS classifications: A-I — general patronage; A-II — adults and adolescents; A-III — adults; L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling; O — morally offensive.

MPA ratings: G — general audiences. All ages admitted; PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children; PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13; R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian; NC-17 — no one 17 and under admitted.

Abominable, A-I (PG)

Ad Astra, A-III (PG-13)

The Addams Family, A-II (PG)

Angel Has Fallen, A-III (R)

The Angry Birds Movie 2, A-II (PG)

Arctic Dogs, A-II (PG)

The Art of Racing in the Rain, A-III (PG)

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, A-II (PG)

Bennett’s War, A-III (PG-13)

Birds of Prey, O (R)

Black and Blue, A-III (R)

Black Christmas, A-III (PG-13)

Blinded by the Light, A-III (PG-13)

Bloodshot, A-III (PG-13)

Bombshell, L (R)

Brahms: The Boy II, A-III (PG-13)

Brian Banks, A-III (PG-13)

Burden, A-III (R)

By the Grace of God, L (no rating)

The Call of the Wild, A-II (PG)

Cats, A-II (PG)

Charlie’s Angels, A-III (PG-13)

Corpus Christi, L (no rating)

Countdown, A-III (PG-13)

The Current War: Director’s Cut, A-III (PG-13)

Dark Waters, A-III (PG-13)

Doctor Sleep, L (R)

Dolittle, A-II (PG)

Don’t Let Go, A-III (R)

Dora and the Lost City of Gold, A-II (PG)

Downhill, L (R)

Downton Abbey, A-III (PG)

Emanuel, A-II (no rating)

Emma, A-III (PG)

Fantasy Island, A-III (PG-13)

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, A-III (PG-13)

Ford v Ferrari, A-III (PG-13)

47 Meters Down: Uncaged, A-III (PG-13)

Frozen II, A-II (PG)

Gemini Man, L (PG-13)

The Gentlemen, O (R)

Good Boys, O (R)

The Good Liar, A-III (R)

Gretel and Hansel, A-III (PG-13)

The Grudge, O (R)

Harriet, A-III (PG-13)

A Hidden Life, A-II (PG-13)

The Hunt, O (R)

Hustlers, O (R)

I Still Believe, A-II (PG)

Impractical Jokers: The Movie, A-III (PG-13)

The Invisible Man, L (R)

It: Chapter Two, O (R)

Jexi, O (R)

Jojo Rabbit, A-III (PG-13)

Joker, L (R)

Jumanji: The Next Level, A-III (PG-13)

Just Mercy, A-III (PG-13)

The Kitchen, O (R)

Knives Out, A-III (PG-13)

Last Christmas, L (PG-13)

Like a Boss, O (R)

Little Women, A-II (PG)

Love and Mercy: Faustina, A-II (no rating)

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, A-II (PG)

Midway, A-III (PG-13)

Motherless Brooklyn, A-III (R)

Never Rarely Sometimes Always, O (PG-13)

1917, A-III (R)

Onward, A-III (PG)

Overcomer, A-II (PG)

Parasite, L (R)

The Peanut Butter Falcon, A-III (PG-13)

The Photograph, A-III (PG-13)

Playing With Fire, A-II (PG)

Playmobil: The Movie, A-II (PG)

Queen & Slim, O (R)

Rambo: Last Blood, O (R)

Ready or Not, O (R)

The Rhythm Section, A-III (R)

Richard Jewell, A-III (R)

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, A-III (PG-13)

Sicario: Day of the Soldado, O (R)

Sonic the Hedgehog, A-II (PG)

Spies in Disguise, A-II (PG)

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, A-III (PG-13)

Teen Spirit, A-III (PG-13)

Terminator: Dark Fate, A-III (R)

The Turning, A-III (PG-13)

21 Bridges, L (R)

Uncut Gems, O (R)

Underwater, A-III (PG-13)

The Way Back, A-III (R)

We Summon the Darkness, O (R)

Where’d You Go, Bernadette, A-III (PG-13)

Zombieland: Double Tap, O (R)

Victory is not raising a flag on pile of rubble, pope says on Palm Sunday

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Catholic News Service

Jesus obeyed the most challenging of commandments: to love one’s enemies; and He invites humanity to do the same by breaking a vicious cycle of evil, sorrow and hatred with love and forgiveness, Pope Francis said on Palm Sunday.

“As disciples of Jesus, do we follow the master, or do we follow our own desire to strike back?” he asked in his homily April 10.

Pope Francis began Holy Week with Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square with an estimated 50,000 people — the first time large numbers of people could participate since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic two years ago.

He also made a heartfelt appeal for a cease-fire by warring parties and the start of a “real negotiation,” even if it requires “some sacrifice for the good of the people.”

“What kind of victory will it be to plant a flag on a pile of rubble?” he said after the Mass and before leading the Angelus prayer. “Put down the weapons. Let an Easter truce begin.”

Clearly referring to the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces, the pope did not specifically name which conflict he was talking about, saying Christ died to be victorious over sin and death, “not over someone and against someone else.”

However, he denounced this “endless” war, which “daily places before our eyes heinous massacres and atrocious cruelty committed against defenseless civilians. Let us pray about this.”

A war aiming for victory according to the logic of the world, the pope said, “is only the way to lose.” It is better to let the victor be Jesus, who carried the cross and died to free people from evil and so life, love and peace might reign.

Palm Sunday, which marks the start of Holy Week, commemorates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the beginning of his passion.

Because of ongoing difficulty walking and his doctor’s advice to rest, Pope Francis did not take part in the traditional procession to the obelisk in the center of the square but was driven by car to the altar before the start of the ceremony.

Dozens of young people carried palm branches, and bishops, cardinals and the pope held “palmurelli,” large woven palms. All the pilgrims in the square were given olive branches donated by Italian olive oil producers and several people also held large rainbow “peace” flags or smaller flags of Ukraine and other countries.

After blessing the palms and listening to the Gospel reading of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, the young people, bishops, cardinals and deacons processed to the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica for the main part of the Mass, which included the reading of the Passion.

In his homily, Pope Francis highlighted how Jesus “obeyed the most demanding of his commandments: that we love our enemies.”

“How often we spend time looking back on those who have wronged us! How often we think back and lick the wounds that other people, life itself and history have inflicted on us,” he said.

Instead, Jesus teaches humanity “to break the vicious circle of evil and sorrow. To react to the nails in our lives with love, to the buffets of hatred with the embrace of forgiveness,” he said.

When people resort to violence, he said, they forget about God, their father, and “about others, who are our brothers and sisters. We lose sight of why we are in the world and even end up committing senseless acts of cruelty.”

“We see this in the folly of war, where Christ is crucified yet another time,” the pope said. “Christ is once more nailed to the cross in mothers who mourn the unjust death of husbands and sons. He is crucified in refugees who flee from bombs with children in their arms. He is crucified in the elderly left alone to die; in young people deprived of a future; in soldiers sent to kill their brothers and sisters.”

If people want to see if they truly belong to Christ, “let us look at how we behave toward those who have hurt us,” the pope said.

The Lord asks people respond the way he does: by showing “compassion and mercy to everyone, for God sees a son or a daughter in each person. He does not separate us into good and bad, friends and enemies. We are the ones who do this, and we make God suffer,” the pope said.

“Brothers and sisters, in the course of this week, let us cling to the certainty that God can forgive every sin, bridge every distance and turn all mourning into dancing,” the pope said.

With Jesus, things are never over, and it is never too late, he said.

“With God, we can always come back to life. Take courage! Let us journey toward Easter with his forgiveness,” he said.

“Gazing upon our violent and tormented world, he never tires of repeating: Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

At the end of the Mass, the pope rode in the open popemobile to wave to and greet the crowd in the square and along the long boulevard leading to the main square, again the first time since before the pandemic began.

— Carol Glatz

Victims of Christian persecution remembered at ‘Night of Witness’ service

Posted on November 26, 2019 by Catholic News Service

A chalice from a Catholic parish in Qaraqosh, in the Nineveh Plains of Iraq, scarred by bullets from Islamic State militants was a mute witness at a vespers service for Christian martyrs.

The Nov. 23 observance at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington gave a voice to those who have died from religious persecution during the past two years, mostly in the Middle East, South Asia and African nations where Christians are in the minority. Candles were lit as their names were read.

“Many of these victims suffer and perish anonymously,” said George Marlin, chairman of Aid to the Church in Need-USA, the charity sponsoring the service.

The exterior of the basilica was bathed in red light to symbolize the color of martyrdom, and Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, presided. The vespers marked the end of the charity’s Courage in Red campaign.

Testimonies focused on the heartbreak of survivors of violence.

Oblate Father Romeo Saniel of the Philippines recalled his spiritual struggle as he consoled survivors after a pair of suicide bombers attacked the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Jan. 27. They killed 22 at Sunday Mass and injured more than 100 others; an IS-affiliated group claimed responsibility.

Rose, 6, asked the priest, “Father, where was Jesus?”

“I did not know what to say at the time,” he said. “I just embraced and cried with her.”

He finally composed himself enough to tell her, “Rose, Jesus will never abandon us.”

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, “I was paralyzed by fear,” he said, but later “I realized the Lord saved me for a reason.”

“The blood of martyrs inspires us to live for the Lord and His Kingdom,” he concluded.

A testimony from Sister Ghazia Akbar, a Daughter of St. Paul, who has fought religious oppression in Pakistan, was read by Valencia Camp, who works for the basilica and is a lieutenant of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

Christians there, facing persecution, often are given only “demeaning, back-breaking menial jobs,” the testimony said. Those who speak up against the status quo face a high price,” including running afoul of blasphemy laws, which can lead to long prison terms or even death.

Franciscan Father Neville Fernando of Sri Lanka survived the Easter bombing that killed more than 100 Mass attendees at St. Sebastian Church in the fishing village of Negombo. Even while stunned by the blast, he did his best to administer last rites and comfort survivors.

The question on everyone’s lips, he recalled, was, “How could God allow this to happen?”

But he eventually found encouragement in the aftermath: “The people who have suffered the most have shown the most faith and courage.”

Aid to the Church in Need’s new biennial report on Christian persecution, which assessed conditions in 12 countries throughout Africa and Asia, credits only Iraq for improving conditions for Christian refugees returning to their homes after they fled the Islamic State group.

But significant challenges remain there, the report states. “The process of return has been complicated by security problems, with accusations of aggression, including land grabs by militias allegedly protecting Christian settlements.”

In Sri Lanka, where that country’s civil war ended in 2009, new threats against Christians have originated with Sinhalese Buddhist nationalists as well as Hindu extremist groups.

In the Philippines, the report cites President Rodrigo Duterte’s antagonism to the Catholic Church during his time in office, and mentions that a number of priests have been shot by unknown assailants.

— Kurt Jensen

Vicki Thorn dies; founded post-abortion healing ministry Project Rachel

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Catholic News Service

Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki said the life and work of Project Rachel founder Vicki Thorn, who died unexpectedly April 20, stand “as a living testimony to an unwavering and unconditional defense of life at all stages, and to the mercy of God’s love.”

Thorn was 72. The Catholic Herald, Milwaukee’s archdiocesan newspaper, reported that she died of a massive heart attack. Funeral arrangements were pending.

As the founder of the post-abortion healing ministry Project Rachel, she single-handedly created a post-abortion healing ministry at a time when none existed. She maintained an office at the Milwaukee archdiocesan pastoral center for 37 years.

During that time, her ministry expanded across the U.S. and around the world. Now overseen by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Project Rachel is a diocesan-based network of specially trained priest confessors, mental health professionals, spiritual directors and others who provide ongoing, one-on-one confidential post-abortion care.

In an April 20 statement, Archbishop Listecki said he and the pastoral center staff offered “our deepest condolences” to Thorn’s husband of 50 years, William, and the couple’s six children.

William Thorn is associate professor emeritus of journalism and media studies/Institute for Catholic Media at Jesuit-run Marquette University’s Marquette University’s Diederich College of Communication.

“Our hearts are breaking as we mourn Vicki Thorn, founder of the post-abortion healing ministry Project Rachel, & recipient of the 2021 @NotreDame Evangelium Vitae Medal. May she rest in peace,” tweeted the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame.

Thorn, who also was executive director of the National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation and Healing, received the Evangelium Vitae Medal at a Mass and banquet in April 2021.

Covid-19 caused the presentation to be delayed a year; she was to receive the honor in April 2020, but in March of that year, the World Health Organization declared coronavirus a worldwide pandemic.

When he announced the honor for Thorn in October 2019, O. Carter Snead, the William P. and Hazel B. White director of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, said that she had dedicated her life “to caring for women and men who have been wounded by abortion.”

He called her work “a living witness to the unconditional love and mercy that lies at the heart of the culture of life.”

The annual honor is always announced on Respect Life Sunday, the first Sunday of October, and usually presented the following spring. The award consists of a specially commissioned medal and $10,000 prize.

Thorn, a certified trauma counselor and spiritual director, started Project Rachel in 1984 while working in the Respect Life Office of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. The first training workshop for a small group of attendees was held Sept. 19, 1984.

She was the author of “Progetto Rachele, il volto della compassione” (“Project Rachel, The Face of Compassion”), published in 2009 by Libreria Editrice Vaticana. She wrote numerous article and spoke internationally about Project Rachel and the effects of the aftermath of abortion on women, men and family members and about the post-abortion healing process.

With her husband, she was inducted in 2008 into the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. In 2009, she received the People of Life Award from the USCCB for her pro-life service to the Catholic Church, and in 2017, Pope Francis reappointed her as a corresponding member of the Pontifical Academy for Life. She was first named to the academy in 2011.

In a statement on her Notre Dame honor, Richard Doerflinger, retired associate director of the USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, said at the time that Thorn “not only championed the cause of post-abortion reconciliation and healing” but saw it become “an essential aspect of the Catholic Church’s pro-life ministry in the United States and around the world.”

He called Thorn “a leader in showing how the church’s vision of human sexuality is supported by the findings of medical science, helping young people to turn away from behaviors that lead to the tragedy of abortion,” added Doerflinger, who received the inaugural Evangelium Vitae Medal in 2011.

Thorn had a degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota. She was a bereavement facilitator trained by the American Academy of Bereavement and a perinatal loss facilitator certified by Resolve Through Sharing.

She earned her certification in trauma counseling at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and was a longtime member of the Association of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health.

Additionally, she wrote and spoke about the sociological changes in society since 1960 and “the spiritual and psychological wounds” carried by Gen X and Gen Y as a result of those changes. She also wrote about the role of stress in making abortion decisions and ways to help women in crisis pregnancies.

Lately, she had been giving presentations to high school groups, college students and adult groups on her recent research on the topic of the “Biology of the Theology of the Body.”

Thorn was a member of St. Catherine Parish in Milwaukee. Besides her husband and children, she is survived by 19 grandchildren.