Posted on 09/22/2023 20:45 PM (CNA Daily News)
Priests celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving for two new Canadian Saints in St. Peter's Basilica on Oct. 12, 2014. / Lauren Cater/CNA.
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 22, 2023 / 16:45 pm (CNA).
Catholic bishops in Canada will gather next week, the final week of September, to discuss a series of issues including the growth of euthanasia, the Church’s work in overseas development, and the protection of minors.
The 2023 Plenary Assembly of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), which is held annually, will begin on Monday, Sept. 25, and conclude on Thursday, Sept. 28. The meeting will take place in King City, Ontario, just outside of Toronto, and 79 Latin and Eastern-rite bishops are expected to participate.
One of the main topics to be discussed is the growth of euthanasia throughout Canada, which is known legally as Medical Assistance in Dying, or MAiD. Although voluntary euthanasia has been legal in Canada since 2016, a revision of that law going into effect in March 2024 will vastly expand eligibility.
More than 30,000 Canadians died from euthanasia between 2016 and 2021, and it has seen a growth in use annually. The revision, which will go into effect in less than six months, will make mental illness an eligible condition to receive approval for MAiD, opening the procedure up to significantly more people.
The Standing Committee for Family and Life, chaired by Archbishop Christian Lépine, will hold a panel discussion on this topic, which is meant to help the Church “engage with the urgency of promoting palliative care” rather than euthanasia.
Another aspect of the meeting will focus on Development and Peace — Caritas Canada, known as DPCC. This project encompasses charity and development work overseas. Clergy on the DPCC National Council will update the bishops on the activities since last year and will be joined by DPCC President Brenda Arakaza and Executive Director Carl Hétu.
The bishops will also discuss “safeguarding persons in vulnerable situations,” which includes minors. The Standing Committee for Responsible Ministry has been studying this issue over the past year and intends to discuss how to define vulnerability, how to reduce risks, and what behaviors to encourage on the part of the ministry.
Part of the meeting will also focus on the upcoming Synod on Synodality. According to the CCCB, there will be four Canadian bishops taking part in the synod and four non-bishop Catholics chosen by the Vatican.
“In order to help prepare the episcopal delegates, bishops present at the Plenary Assembly meeting will reflect on one of the three dimensions of synodality (communion, participation, and mission), guided by the questions in the Instrumentum Laboris and the results of the ‘national’ and ‘continental’ stages of the synod process,” a statement from the CCCB read.
The bishops will also review various reports from subcommittees, which will include topics such as liturgy, catechesis, and evangelization. Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle from the Philippines will address the bishops virtually and the apostolic nuncio to Canada, Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič, will also give an address.
“A meeting of the Plenary Assembly is a solemn and momentous event in the life of the Church in Canada because it gathers together all the members of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), who total 79 bishops of the Latin and Eastern Churches across Canada,” a statement from the CCCB read. “Decisions taken by the Plenary Assembly are the highest instance of authority within the CCCB and represent the unity of action of all the bishops on a national level.”
Posted on 09/22/2023 19:30 PM (CNA Daily News)
“This isn’t 1984, but 2023 —I should never have been arrested or investigated simply for the thoughts I held in my own mind,” Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, who was arrested for praying outside of an abortion clinic, said Sept. 22, 2023. / Credit: ADF UK
CNA Staff, Sep 22, 2023 / 15:30 pm (CNA).
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, the woman twice arrested for silent prayer outside U.K. abortion clinics, has received a police apology and confirmation that she will not face charges for violating a local “buffer zone” protection order.
Though Vaughan-Spruce said she would return to the clinic to pray, she warned that her treatment has implications for the future of basic freedoms in the U.K.
“This isn’t 1984, but 2023 — I should never have been arrested or investigated simply for the thoughts I held in my own mind,” Vaughan-Spruce said, alluding to George Orwell’s dystopian novel. “Silent prayer is never criminal,” she said in a Sept. 22 statement.
On March 6, Vaughan-Spruce was arrested for praying in a “buffer zone” outside an abortion clinic on Station Road, Birmingham. Local authorities had declared a Public Space Protection Order near the clinic, using a legal mechanism intended to prevent antisocial behavior.
Prohibited activities in this zone include approval or disapproval of abortion through protest, which “includes but is not limited to graphic, verbal, or written means, prayer, or counseling.” The order also bars interference, intimidation, or harassment, recording or photographic clinic staff or clients, and the display of any text or imagery related to abortion.
Vaughan-Spruce was previously arrested Dec. 6, 2022, for silent prayer outside the same abortion facility, which was closed at the time. In February, the Birmingham Magistrates’ Court acquitted her of all charges related to the first case.
West Midlands police apologized to Vaughan-Spruce for taking so long to close her second case. They said there would be no further investigation and no further action taken.
Vaughan-Spruce welcomed the end of the investigation and the police apology but said her case highlights “the extremely harmful implications” of what happened to her.
“What happened to me signals to others that they too could face arrest, interrogation, investigation, and potential prosecution if caught exercising their basic freedom of thought,” she said.
Police initially told Vaughan-Spruce the delay was due to her case being referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for charges, though CPS has denied this claim, according to ADF UK. CPS had no information about her second case and said police should not refer such cases to the CPS when they have the power to decide on charges themselves.
Vaughan-Spruce is the director of March for Life UK and helps support women in crisis pregnancies. She has regularly prayed near abortion clinics for 20 years.
“Now that authorities have twice settled on the conclusion that silent prayer is not a crime — a conclusion also reached by the Home Secretary last week — I am thankful to resume my practice of praying silently for women in crisis pregnancies,” she said.
Posted on 09/22/2023 18:53 PM (CNA Daily News)
Pope Francis speaks during a meeting with local religious leaders at a memorial dedicated to sailors and migrants lost at sea on the first of a two-day visit to Marseille, France, Sept. 22, 2023. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Rome Newsroom, Sep 22, 2023 / 14:53 pm (CNA).
In Marseille on Friday, before a memorial to people lost at sea, Pope Francis said humanity is at a crossroads between fraternity and indifference regarding the migrant crisis.
“We can no longer watch the drama of shipwrecks, caused by the cruel trafficking and the fanaticism of indifference,” he said Sept. 22. “People who are at risk of drowning when abandoned on the waves must be rescued. It is a duty of humanity; it is a duty of civilization.”
“On the one hand, there is fraternity, which makes the human community flourish with goodness; on the other, indifference, which bloodies the Mediterranean. We find ourselves at a crossroads of civilization.”
The pope spoke during a meeting with local religious leaders at a memorial dedicated to sailors and migrants lost at sea on the first of a two-day visit to Marseille.
“Before us,” he said, “is the sea, a source of life, yet this place evokes the tragedy of shipwrecks, which cause death.”
“We are gathered in memory of those who did not make it, who were not saved. Let us not get used to considering shipwrecks as news stories, and deaths at sea as numbers: No, they are names and surnames, they are faces and stories, they are broken lives and shattered dreams,” he continued.
Francis is in Marseille to participate in the Mediterranean Encounter, the “Rencontres Mediterraneennes” — a gathering of some 120 young people of various creeds with bishops from 30 countries.
The day after the pope’s visit — and the concluding day of the encounter, Sunday, Sept. 24 — is the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.
The first quarter of 2023 was the deadliest since 2017 in the Central Mediterranean, with at least 441 people dying, though that’s considered an undercount. The U.N.’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) calls it a “persisting humanitarian crisis” that is “intolerable.” More than 20,000 people have died on Central Mediterranean migration routes since 2014.
Earlier this year, Pope Francis marked the 10-year anniversary of his first trip as pope: to Lampedusa, an island between Sicily and Tunisia and Libya, and the center of many migrant disasters.
In personal comments with journalists aboard the papal plane from Rome earlier in the day, Pope Francis lamented the “cruelty, a lack of humanity,” on Lampedusa, where hundreds of migrants have arrived almost every day in recent weeks.
The Italian island, which is smaller than eight square miles and has a population of about 6,400, has declared a state of emergency as it struggles to respond to the situation.
“I hope I have the courage to say everything I want to say,” the pope told Spanish journalist Eva Fernández of COPE Radio.
“After the Libyan concentration camps they throw them into the sea,” he said upon seeing a photo of a migrant child who arrived on Lampedusa.
At the memorial, Pope Francis asked for a moment of silence.
“We need to show some humanity: silence, weeping, compassion, and prayer. I now invite you to spend a moment of silence in memory of these brothers and sisters of ours: Let us be moved by their tragedies,” he said.
“God will bless us,” the pope added, “if on land and at sea we know how to take care of the weakest, if we can overcome the paralysis of fear and the disinterest that, with velvet gloves, condemns others to death.”
The memorial to those lost at sea is a Camargue cross, which comes from the Camargue area of France. The design of the cross represents the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. The three tridents represent faith, the anchor represents hope, and the heart represents charity.
Posted on 09/22/2023 18:33 PM (CNA Daily News)
Pope Francis entrusted a meeting of Mediterranean bishops and youth to the Virgin Mary during the first appointment of a two-day trip to Marseille, France, Sept. 22, 2023. The model ships hanging in Marseille's Basilica de Notre-Dame de la Garde are a testament to the faith of the sailors who have relied on the intercession of Our Lady over the centuries. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
CNA Staff, Sep 22, 2023 / 14:33 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis on Friday entrusted a meeting of Mediterranean bishops and youth to the Virgin Mary during the first appointment of a two-day trip to Marseille, France.
After landing in the historic port city Sept. 22, the pope made his way to the Basilica of Notre Dame de la Garde, or the Basilica of Our Lady of the Guard, to ask for the intercession of Mary together with local priests, deacons, and religious.
The 19th-century basilica sits on the foundations of an ancient fort on a 489-foot limestone outcropping, the highest point of the city in southern France. Before the basilica, there was a medieval chapel on the same site.
Pope Francis is in Marseille to participate in the Mediterranean Encounter, the “Rencontres Méditerranéennes” — a gathering of some 120 young people of various creeds with bishops from 30 countries. The encounter is a “cultural festival” drawing together associations and groups committed to dialogue and ecological issues.
“We place under [Mary’s] mantle the fruit of the Rencontres Méditerranéennes, together with the expectations and hopes of your hearts,” the pope told clergy at the basilica Sept. 22.
The pope will join in the Mediterranean Encounter on the morning of Sept. 23.
Francis’ 27-hour trip will include an address to religious leaders, a private encounter with the poor, and the celebration of Mass. He will also meet with France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne.
The last pope to visit Marseille was Clement VII in 1533.
Father Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, also visited the city and the Basilica of Notre Dame de La Garde when he was a young priest studying in Rome.
Pope Francis said he is “in the company of great pilgrims” who have visited the basilica, such as Pope John Paul II, St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, and St. Charles de Foucauld.
“In the biblical reading, the prophet Zephaniah exhorted us to joy and confidence, reminding us that the Lord our God is not far away, he is here, near to us, in order to save us,” the pope said.
“In a way, this message reminds us of the history of this basilica and what it represents,” he continued. “In fact, it was not founded in memory of a miracle or a particular apparition, but simply because, since the 13th century, the holy people of God have sought and found here, on the hill of La Garde, the presence of the Lord through the eyes of his holy Mother.”
“That is why, for centuries, the people of Marseille — especially those who navigate the waves of the Mediterranean — have been coming up here to pray,” he said.
Francis encouraged the 119 priests of the Archdiocese of Marseille, which serves approximately 742,000 Catholics, to take Mary and her gaze as an example for their priesthood.
“Even with all the many daily concerns, I beg you, do not detract from the warmth of God’s paternal and maternal gaze,” he said. “It is marvelous to generously dispense his forgiveness, that is, to always, always, loosen the chains of sin through grace and free people from those obstacles, regrets, grudges, and fears against which they cannot prevail alone.”
He reminded the priests of the beauty and joy of making the sacraments available to people in both happy and sad moments, “and of transmitting, in the name of God, unexpected hopes for his consoling presence, healing compassion, and moving tenderness.”
“Be close to all, especially the frail and less fortunate, and never let those who suffer lack your attentive and discreet closeness,” he said. “In this way, there will grow in them and also in you the faith that animates the present, the hope that opens to the future, and the charity that lasts forever.”
“Like Mary, let us bring the blessing and peace of Jesus everywhere, in every family and heart,” Pope Francis said.
Posted on 09/22/2023 17:42 PM (CNA Daily News)
Pope Francis led the opening procession of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region from St. Peter's Basilica to the Synod Hall where he led the opening prayer, Oct. 7, 2019. / Credit: Vatican Media
CNA Newsroom, Sep 22, 2023 / 13:42 pm (CNA).
The Vatican on Sept. 21 released the final list of names of those participating in the upcoming Synod on Synodality assembly in October, including laypeople who will be full voting delegates at a Catholic Church synod for the first time.
The delegates are made up of representatives selected by bishops’ conferences and Eastern Catholic Churches, leaders in the Roman Curia, and 120 delegates personally selected by Pope Francis.
In total, 363 people will be able to vote in the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, according to statistics released by the Holy See Press Office on July 7. Among them, 54 of the voting delegates are women.
In addition to the voting members, 75 other participants have been invited to the synod assembly to act as facilitators, experts, or spiritual assistants.
Here is full list of participants:
Pope Francis
Cardinal Mario Grech of Malta
His Beatitude Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak, Patriarch of Alexandria, head of the Synod of The Coptic Catholic Church, Egypt
Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, archbishop of Mexico City, Mexico
Archbishop Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, OFM, of Guayaquil, Ecuador
Archbishop Timothy John Costelloe, SDB, of Perth, Australia
Bishop Daniel Ernest Flores of Brownsville, Texas, USA
Bishop Lúcio Andrice Muandula of Xai-Xai, Mozambique
Father Giuseppe Bonfrate, Italy
Sister Maria De Los Dolores Palencia, CSJ, Mexico
Momoko Nishimura, SEMD, Japan
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, archbishop of Luxembourg
Father Giacomo Costa, SJ, Italy, president of Fondazione Culturale San Fedele of Milan, national spiritual companion of the Italian Christian Workers Associations
Father Riccardo Battocchio, Italy, rector of the Almo Collegio Capranica, president of the Italian Theological Association
President: Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, Vatican City
Secretary: Sheila Leocádia Pires, communications officer, Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), Mozambique
His Beatitude Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak, Coptic Church Patriarch of Alexandria, head of the Synod of the Coptic Catholic Church
His Beatitude Youssef Absi, patriarch of Antioch of the Greek-Melkites, head of the Synod of the Greek Melkite Catholic Church
His Beatitude Ignace Youssef Iii Younan, patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians, head of the Synod of the Syrian Catholic Church
Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï, OMM, patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, head of the Synod of the Maronite Church
Bishop Mounir Khairallah of Batrun of the Maronites
Cardinal Louis Raphaël I Sako, patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, head of the Synod of the Chaldean Church
His Beatitude Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, ICPB, patriarch of Cilicia of Armenians, head of the Synod of the Armenian Catholic Church
His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyc, Kyiv, head of the Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
Bishop Teodor Martynyuk, MSU, Titular Bishop of Mopta, auxiliary bishop of Ternopil-Zboriv
Monsignor Bohdan Dzyurakh, CSSR, Apostolic Exarch of Germany and Scandinavia, titular bishop of Vagada
Cardinal George Alencherry, major archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, head of the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church
Metropolitan Archbishop Andrews Thazhath of Trichur, president of the Catholic bishops’ conference of India
Archbishop Joseph Pamplany of Tellicherry, India
His Beatitude Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, head of the Synod of the Syro-Malankara Church
Bishop Cristian Dumitru Crişan, titular bishop of Abula, auxiliary bishop of Fagaras Si Alba Iulia Dei Romanians
Cardinal Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, metropolitan archbishop of Addis Abeba, president of the Ethiopian and Eritrean bishops’ conference, president of the Council of the Ethiopian Church
Metropolitan Archbishop William Charles Skurla of the Byzantine Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, president of the Council of the Ruthenian Church
Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, auxiliary bishop of Bratislava, Slovakia
Metropolitan Archbishop Menghesteab Tesfamariam of Asmara, president of the Council of the Eritrean Church
Metropolitan Archbishop Fülöp Kocsis of Hajdúdorog for the Byzantine Catholics, president of the Council of the Hungarian Church
Northern Africa (CERNA)
Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, SDB, archbishop of Rabat, Morocco
Angola and Sao Tome
Bishop Joaquim Nhanganga Tyombe of of Uíje, Angola
Benin
Archbishop Coffi Roger Anoumou, bishop of Lokossa
Botswana, South Africa, and Eswatini
Archbishop Anton Dabula Mpako, archbishop of Pretoria, military ordinary of South Africa
Burkina Faso and Niger
Archbishop Gabriel Sayaogo of Koupéla, Burkina Faso
Burundi
Archbishop Georges Bizimana, bishop of Ngozi
Cameroon
Archbishop Emmanuel Dassi Youfang of Bafia
Bishop Philippe Alain Mbarga of Ebolowa
Chad
Bishop Nicolas Nadji Bab of Laï
Republic of Congo
Bishop Ildevert Mathurin Mouanga of Kinkala
Democratic Republic of Congo
Archbishop Marcel Utembi Tapa of Kisangani
Bishop Pierre-Célestin Tshitoko Mamba of Luebo
Côte D’ivoire (Ivory Coast)
Archbishop Marcellin Kouadio Yao of Daloa
Ethiopia
Archbishop Markos Ghebremedhin, CM, apostolic vicar of Jimma-Bonga, titular bishop of Gummi of Proconsulari
Gabon
Archbishop Jean-Patrick Iba-Ba of Libreville
Gambia and Sierra Leone
Archbishop Edward Tamba Charles of Freetown, Sierra Leone
Ghana
Bishop Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, SVD, of Ho
Archbishop Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle of Cape Coast
Guinea
Archbishop Vincent Coulibaly of Conarkry
Equatorial Guinea
Bishop Juan Domingo-Beka Esono Ayang, CMF, of Mongomo, president of the Episcopal Conference
Kenya
Archbishop Martin Kivuva Musonde of Mombasa, president of the Episcopal Conference
Archbishop Anthony Muheria of Nyeri
Lesotho
Bishop John Joale Tlhomola, SCP, of Mohale’s Hoek
Liberia
Bishop Anthony Fallah Borwah of Gbarnga
Madagascar
Auxiliary Bishop Jean Pascal Andriantsoavina of Antananavarivo, titular bishop of Zallata
Malawi
Archbishop George Desmond Tambala, OCD, of Lilongwe, apostolic administrator of Zomba
Mali
Bishop Hassa Florent Koné of San
Mozambique
Archbishop Inácio Saure, IMC, of Nampula
Namibia
Archbishop Liborius Ndumbukuti Nashenda, OMI, of Windhoek
Nigeria
Bishop Donatus Aihmiosion Ogun, OSA, of Uromi
Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of Abuja
Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji of Owerri
Indian Ocean (CEDOI)
Bishop Alain Harel of Port Victoria
Central African Republic
Bishop Nestor-Désiré Nongo-Aziagbia, SMA, of Bossangoa
Rwanda
Bishop Edouard Sinayobye of Cyangugu
Senegal, Mauritania, Cape Verde, and Guinea-Bissau
Bishop Ildo Augusto Dos Santos Lopes Fortes of Mindelo, Cape Verde
Sudan
Archbishop Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla of Juba, South Sudan
Tanzania
Archbishop Jude Thaddaeus Ruwa'ichi, OFM Cap, of Dar-Es-Salaam
Bishop Flavian Kassala of Geita
Togo
Bishop Dominique Banlène Guigbile of Dapaong
Uganda
Bishop Sanctus Lino Wanok of Lira
Zambia
Archbishop Ignatius Chama of Kasama
Zimbabwe
Bishop Raphael Macebo Mabuza Ncube of Hwange
Antilles
Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon of Porto of Spain
Argentina
Bishop Óscar Vicente Ojea of San Isidro
Archbishop Marcelo Daniel Colombo of Mendoza
Archbishop Carlos Alfonso Azpiroz Costa, OP, of Bahía Blanca
Bolivia
Bishop Pedro Luis Fuentes Valencia, CP, of La Paz, Titular Bishop of Temuniana
Brazil
Bishop Joel Portella Amado of São Sebastião do Rio De Janeiro, titular bishop of Carmeiano
Bishop Pedro Carlos Cipollini of Santo André
Cardinal Paulo Cezar Costa of Brasília
Archbishop Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, OFM, of Manaus
Bishop Dirceu De Oliveira Medeiros of Camaçari
Canada
Bishop Marc Pelchat of Québec, titular bishop of Lambesi
Bishop Raymond Poisson of Saint-Jérôme-Mont-Laurier
Archbishop John Michael Miller, CSB, of Vancouver
Bishop William Terrence Mcgrattan of Calgary
Chile
Archbishop Luis Fernando Ramos Pérez of Puerto Montt
Bishop Carlos Alberto Godoy Labraña of Santiago de Chile, titular bishop of Pudenziana
Colombia
Archbishop Luis José Rueda Aparicio of Bogotá
Archbishop Ricardo Antonio Tobón Restrepo of Medellín
Archbishop José Miguel Gómez Rodríguez of Manizales
Costa Rica
Bishop Javier Gerardo Román Arias of Limón
Cuba
Bishop Marcos Pirán of Holguín, titular bishop of Boseta
Ecuador
Archbishop Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, OFM, of Guayaquil
Bishop David Israel De La Torre Altamirano, SsCc, of Quito, titular bishop of Bagai
El Salvador
Bishop William Ernesto Iraheta Rivera of Santiago De María
Guatemala
Bishop Juan Manuel Cuá Ajacúm of Los Altos, titular bishop of Rosella
Haiti
Archbishop Launay Saturné of Cap-Haïtie, president of the episcopal conference
Honduras
Archbishop José Vicente Nácher Tatay, CM, of Tegucigalpa
Mexico
Bishop Gerardo Díaz Vázquez of Tacámbaro
Bishop Oscar Efraín Tamez Villarreal of Ciudad Victoria
Archbishop Faustino Armendáriz Jiménez of Durango
Bishop Adolfo Miguel Castaño Fonseca of Azcapotzalco
Nicaragua
Bishop Sócrates René Sándigo Jirón of León
Panama
Bishop Edgardo Cedeño Muñoz, SVD, of Penonomé
Paraguay
Bishop Miguel Ángel Cabello Almada of Concepción En Paraguay
Peru
Archbishop Héctor Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte, OFM, of Trujillo
Bishop Edinson Edgardo Farfán Córdova, OSA, Bishop Prelate of Chuquibambilla
Cardinal Archbishop Pedro Ricardo Barreto Jimeno, SJ, of Huancayo
Puerto Rico
Bishop Rubén Antonio González Medina, CMF, of Ponce
Dominican Republic
Bishop Ramón Alfredo De La Cruz Baldera of San Francisco De Macorís
United States of America
Bishop Timothy Broglio, military ordinary of the United States of America
Bishop Daniel Ernest Flores of Brownsville, Texas
Bishop Robert Emmet Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota
Bishop Kevin Carl Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana
Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan, archbishop of New York
Uruguay
Bishop Milton Luis Tróccoli Cebedio of Maldonado-Punta Del Este-Minas
Venezuela
Bishop Juan Carlos Bravo Salazar of Petare
Archbishop José Luis Azuaje Ayala of Maracaibo
Central Asia
Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, IMC, Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Bangladesh
Archbishop Bejoy Nicephorus D’cruze, OMI, of Dhaka
China (Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference)
Bishop Norbert Pu of Kiayi, Taiwan
Korea
Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-Taick, OCD, of Seoul
Philippines
Bishop Pablo Virgilio S. David of Kalookan
Cardinal Archbishop Jose F. Advincula of Manila
Bishop Mylo Hubert C. Vergara of Pasig
Japan
Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, SVD, of Tokyo
India (CCBI)
Cardinal Filipe Neri António Sebastião Do Rosário Ferrão, archbishop of Goa and Damão
Archbishop George Antonysamy of Madras and Mylapore
Bishop Alex Joseph Vadakumthala of Kannur
Cardinal Anthony Poola, Archbishop of Hyderabad
Indonesia
Bishop Antonius Subianto Bunjamin, OSC, of Bandung
Bishop Adrianus Sunarko, OFM, of Pangkalpinang
Iran
Archbishop Dominique Mathieu, OFM Conv, of Tehran-Ispahan of the Latins
Laos and Cambodia
Father Enrique Figaredo Alvargonzalez, SJ, Apostolic Prefect of Battambang, Cambodia
Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei
Cardinal William Seng Chye Goh, archbishop of Singapore
Myanmar
Bishop John Saw Yaw Han of Kengtung
Arab countries
Monsignor Paolo Martinelli, OFM Cap, apostolic vicar of South Arabia
Pakistan
Monsignor Khalid Rehmat, OFM Cap, apostolic vicar of Quetta
Sri Lanka
Bishop Raymond Kingsley Wickramasinghe of Galle
Thailand
Cardinal Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij, archbishop of Bangkok
East Timor
Cardinal Virgilio Do Carmo Da Silva, SDB, archbishop of Díli
Vietnam
Bishop Joseph Đo Manh Hùng of Phan Thiêt
Bishop Louis Nguyên Anh Tuán of Hà Tinh
Albania
Archbishop Arjan Dodaj, FDC, of Tiranë-Durrës
Austria
Archbishop Franz Lackner, OFM, of Salzburg
Belgium
Bishop Koenraad Vanhoutte of Mechelen-Brussels, titular bishop of Tagora
Belarus
Bishop Aliaksandr Yasheuski, SDB, of Minsk-Mohilev, titular bishop of Fornos Major
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bishop Marko Semren, OFM, of Banja Luka, titular bishop of Abaradira
Bulgaria
Bishop Strahil Veselinov Kavalenov of Nicopolis
The Czech Republic
Bishop Zdenek Wasserbauer of Praha, titular bishop of Butrint
International Episcopal Conference of Sts. Cyril and Methodius
Archbishop Ladislav Nemet, SVD, of Beograd, Serbia, president of the episcopal conference
Croatia
Bishop Ivan Ćurić, Auxiliary of Ðakovo-Osijek, titular bishop of Tela
Russian Federation
Archbishop Paolo Pezzi, FSCB, of Mother of God in Moscow
France
Bishop Alexandre Joly of Troyes
Bishop Jean-Marc Eychenne of Grenoble-Vienne
Bishop Matthieu Rougé of Nanterre
Bishop Benoît Bertrand of Mende
Germany
Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg
Bishop Bertram Johannes Meier of Augsburg
Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen, military ordinary for the Federal Republic of Germany
Great Britain (England and Wales)
Archbishop John Wilson of Southwark
Bishop Marcus Stock of Leeds
Great Britain (Scotland)
Bishop Brian Mcgee of Argyll and the Isles
Greece
Archbishop Georgios Altouvas of Corfu, Zakynthos, and Kefalonia
Ireland
Bishop Brendan Leahy of Limerick
Bishop Alexander Aloysius McGuckian, SJ, of Raphoe
Italy
Archbishop Roberto Repole of Turin, bishop of Susa
Bishop Franco Giulio Brambilla of Novara
Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto
Archbishop Domenico Battaglia of Naples
Archbishop Mario Enrico Delpini of Milan
Latvia
Archbishop Zbigņev Stankevičs of Riga
Lithuania
Bishop Algirdas Jurevičius of Telšiai
Malta
Archbishop Charles Jude Scicluna of Malta
Netherlands
Bishop Theodorus Cornelis Maria Hoogenboom of Utrecht, titular bishop of Bistue
Poland
Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki of Poznań
Archbishop Adrian Józef Galbas, SAC, coadjutor archbishop of Katowice
Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski of Kraków
Portugal
Bishop Virgílio do Nascimento Antunes of Coimbra
Bishop José Ornelas Carvalho, SCI, of Leiria-Fátima
Romania
Archbishop Gergely Kovács of Alba Iulia, apostolic administrator, Ad Nutum Sanctæ Sedis of the Ordinariate for Catholics of the Armenian Rite residing in Romania
Scandinavia
Bishop Czeslaw Kozon of København, Denmark
Slovakia
Bishop Marek Forgáč of Košice, Titular Bishop of Seleuciana
Slovenia
Bishop Maksimilijan Matjaž of Celje
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Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, SDB, archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar
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Cardinal Joseph Coutts, archbishop of Karachi, Pakistan
Archbishop Anthony Colin Fisher, OP, of Sydney, Australia
Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda, Cameroon
Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay, India
Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, ISPX, archbishop of Québec, Canada
Archbishop Gabriel Mbilingi, CSSp, of Lubango, Angola
Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, CSSp, archbishop of Bangui, Central African Republic
Cardinal Juan José Omella Omella, archbishop of Barcelona, Spain
Cardinal Sérgio Da Rocha, metropolitan archbishop of São Salvador Da Bahia, Brazil
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, OP, archbishop of Wien, Austria, president of the Episcopal Conference of Austria
Cardinal Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, SDB, Archbishop of Montevideo, Uruguay
Cardinal Joseph William Tobin, CSsR, archbishop of Newark, USA
His Beatitude Ignace Youssef Iii Younan, Syrian Patriarch of Antioch, head of the Synod of the Syrian Catholic Church, Lebanon
Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna, Italy
Father Alois, prior of the Taizé Community, France
Luca Casarini, Mediterranea Saving Humans, Italy
Sister Nadia Coppa, ASC, former president of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG)
Monsignor Severino Dianich, theologian, Italy
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Margaret Karram, Work of Mary-Focolare Movement
Father Hervé Legrand, OP, theologian, France
Monsignor Armando Matteo, secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Vatican City
Father Thomas Schwartz, Germany
Father Timothy Peter Joseph Radcliffe, OP, Oxford Monastery, Great Britain
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Father Matteo Ferrari, OSB Cam, Della Comunità Di Camaldoli
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Professor Eamon Conway, Ireland
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Father Carlos Maria Galli, Argentina
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Father David Mc Callum, SJ, USA
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Sister Paola Nelemta Ngarndiguimal, SPC, Chad
Susan Pascoe, Australia
Father Asaeli Raass, SVD, Fiji Islands
Sister Yvonne Reungoat, FMA, France
Father Gilles Routhier, Canada
Anna Rowlands, Great Britain
Father Ormond Rush, Australia
Father José San Jose Prisco, Spain
Monsignor Pierangelo Sequeri, Italy
Thomas Söding, Germany
Andrew Spiteri from Australia
Sister Nicoletta Vittoria Spezzati, ASC, Italy
Péter Szabó from Hungary
Father Christoph Theobald, SI, France
Erica Tossani, Italy
Monsignor Juan Fernando Usma Gómez, Colombia
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Father Justo Ariel Beramendi Orellana
Thierry Bonaventura, Communication Manager
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Posted on 09/22/2023 16:30 PM (CNA Daily News)
Father Paul Sanogo (left) and seminarian Melchior Maharini, who were kidnapped from their community of Missionaries of Africa in Nigeria’s Diocese of Minna on Aug. 3, 2023, said the terrifying experience helped their faith grow stronger. / Credit: Vatican Media
ACI Africa, Sep 22, 2023 / 12:30 pm (CNA).
Father Paul Sanogo and seminarian Melchior Maharini, who were kidnapped from their Missionaries of Africa community in Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Minna, came back to the community on Aug. 23 weary, traumatized, and sick.
The two had spent three weeks in captivity, where they were flogged almost daily, made to sleep on rocks out in the open, and forced to walk for miles barefoot as their kidnappers moved from spot to spot in the forest they were taken to following their Aug. 3 abduction.
When they spoke to ACI Africa on Sept. 1, about a week after their release, the two said the trauma they experienced during their captivity was a blessing, as it had strengthened their faith.
“When the men took us, I had so much fear in my heart, thinking of the worst that could happen to us. I couldn’t stop praying. And as time went by, I felt my faith grow stronger. I accepted my situation and surrendered everything to God,” Maharini, a native of Tanzania, said.
He added: “I thought about the suffering that our fathers, the early Missionaries of Africa, endured at the start of our congregation in Africa. Many died, but those who survived didn’t give up on the mission. While I was taken captive, I made a firm decision never to give up on my mission. For me, it is forward ever, backward never!”
Sanogo, a native of Mali, reiterated Maharini’s sentiments, adding: “What we have is faith built on persecution. Everything I experienced while in captivity is what priesthood entails. Jesus himself tells us that he is sending us out like sheep among wolves. We leave our homes not knowing what will happen to our lives.”
“What we went through is nothing compared to the passion of Jesus. I found great joy uniting my pain with the passion of Jesus,” the priest said.
Sanogo and Maharini remember being taken away at about 11 p.m. on the day of captivity by a gang of 12 men who broke into their community in Gyadna village in Nigeria’s Niger State.
“There were five of us in the house and we were just going to bed. The incident happened very fast. First, we heard gunshots and in a matter of minutes, the men had already broken into the house. Three of our brothers managed to escape and the two of us were taken,” Maharini recalled. “We were taken away barefoot and in our sleepwear. We didn’t have any other clothes for the whole time we stayed in captivity.”
The two remember walking for more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) and finding themselves in the middle of a thick forest the following day at 6 a.m.
In the forest were seven other people who had been taken captive, Sanogo said. “We never interacted with the other captives as they were released much sooner.”
“The men wanted money from us. We kept saying that we didn’t have any money. That infuriated them and they constantly beat us. We were in a very big forest and there were no villages nearby. They would give us something to eat and we slept on rocks and on the grass in the open,” said Sanogo, who has been in Nigeria for only a year and a half.
“We were their slaves,” Maharini added, “and having no freedom, not having the slightest idea of what they would do to us was troubling at first. We were very happy when one day they told us, ‘You are free. You may go back home.’”
Back at the community, the two found a festive mood. News had been spread across the congregation and to their families that their sons were alive and had regained freedom.
When Sanogo and Maharini spoke to ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, on Sept. 1, they were preparing to travel to their respective countries to spend some days with their families.
The two expressed gratitude to their congregation for working tirelessly to secure their release and the people of God who prayed for them while in captivity.
They said that they had forgiven their abductors and were praying for their conversion.
“I started praying for the men who abducted us on the day they took us. I kept praying for their conversion so that they may one day realize that what they are doing is not right. I also forgave them a long time ago,” Maharini said.
This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.
Posted on 09/22/2023 16:25 PM (CNA Daily News)
Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas. / null
CNA Staff, Sep 22, 2023 / 12:25 pm (CNA).
Following a report that Pope Francis and Vatican officials held a meeting earlier this month to discuss requesting the resignation of Tyler, Texas, Bishop Joseph Strickland, the prelate said on Wednesday he has not been contacted by the Vatican about such matters.
In addition, Strickland said if Pope Francis were to remove him from office he would respect the Holy Father’s authority but would not resign if asked.
“Last week an article was published on a website called ‘The Pillar,’ and the article alleged that a meeting was held with Pope Francis where some of the members of the Congregation for Bishops recommended that I be encouraged to resign as bishop of Tyler,” Strickland said in a Sept. 20 letter to his diocese.
“Let me be clear that I have received no communication from Rome regarding this. At this point it is simply an article discussing supposed leaked information from the Vatican,” he added.
“I have said publicly that I cannot resign as bishop of Tyler because that would be me abandoning the flock that I was given charge of by Pope Benedict XVI,” he said.
“I have also said that I will respect the authority of Pope Francis if he removes me from office as bishop of Tyler,” he added.
The reported meeting follows a Vatican-directed investigation into Strickland in June called an apostolic visitation, which, according to a source, addressed the firebrand bishop’s social media use but also questions related to diocesan management.
Strickland, 64, who has served as bishop of the Diocese of Tyler since 2012, has been outspoken on certain Catholic social issues such as abortion and gender ideology.
He has also been critical of Pope Francis, saying in a May Tweet that he rejects “his program of undermining the Deposit of Faith.”
Strickland’s statement on Wednesday marks his first public response following a Sept. 11 article by The Pillar, which, citing anonymous sources, reported that Pope Francis was to be presented with the findings of the apostolic visitation and would be encouraged to request the Tyler bishop’s resignation.
Strickland said he has not been contacted by any Church official since the apostolic visitation. He added that he wasn’t given a reason for why the visitation occurred and hasn’t received a report from the investigation.
Strickland said he is grateful for the support and prayers that many have expressed.
“I continue to love serving as your shepherd and thankfully during all of this I have been able to visit many of your parishes and celebrate our Catholic faith with you,” he said.
Strickland said he is “blessed” in his prayer life and feels “very close” to Christ, and supported by the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints.
“I am at peace with whatever the Lord’s call for me is; let us continue to pray for Pope Francis, the Church, and the Diocese of Tyler that we call home,” he said.
In a July podcast, Strickland said that the apostolic visitation was “not fun” and added that the Vatican’s delegates were “looking at everything.”
The bishop compared it to “being called to the principal’s office.”
“It’s not something that I would volunteer for, to go through an apostolic visitation,” he said. “It kind of puts a shadow over the diocese.”
“There have been some administrative issues, and I’m sure people are concerned,” he said. “I’m sure there are people saying that there must be something really bad, and something’s really gone wrong for this apostolic visitation [to happen].”
“I’ve got nothing to hide,” he said in an excerpt of the podcast posted to YouTube.
Crediting God and the Catholic faithful, Strickland said the diocese is in good financial condition.
He said he thinks he was subject to the visitation “because I’ve been bold enough and loved the Lord enough and his Church, simply preaching the truth.”
Posted on 09/22/2023 14:30 PM (CNA Daily News)
The United Nations General Assembly in New York. / Credit: Drop of Light/Shutterstock
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 22, 2023 / 10:30 am (CNA).
Global leaders adopted a United Nations resolution this week that urged member states to take certain actions when preparing for and responding to a pandemic — one of those actions appears to ask governments to secure access to abortion.
The resolution’s language states that the focus is “pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response” and asks states to commit to actions that are “driven by equity and the respect for human rights.” The section focused on equality includes a commitment by states to protecting “reproductive rights.”
“[We] call upon member states to take all measures necessary to ensure the right of women and girls to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, including sexual and reproductive health, and reproductive rights,” operative paragraph 10 of the global “call to action” reads in part.
United Nations General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding and member states have wide discretion in how they interpret the text. However, some pro-life lawmakers are concerned about the language.
“I think we are in a moment where people have to draw a line in the sand of what they will and will not tolerate,” Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Florida, told “EWTN News Nightly.”
“And, for the pro-life community, they are now seeing that the work isn’t just here at home, it’s not just in our state capitols, it’s not just here on Capitol Hill,” Cammack said. “It’s a global fight that we have to undertake as well.”
The reproductive rights language was supported and endorsed by President Joe Biden’s administration earlier this year. In February, United States U.N. Ambassador Pamela K. Hamamoto specifically requested that the language be included.
“Our work must be inclusive and applicable for the improved health and well-being of all people,” Hamamoto said in her statement to the U.N. regarding the pandemic resolution.
“A commitment to ‘equity’ must address inequities not only between countries but also within them,” Hamamoto continued. “Not just protecting populations from pandemics — but also from illness, death, and disrupted access to essential health care services during pandemics, including sexual and reproductive health services.”
Stefano Gennarini, the vice president for legal studies at the Center for Family and Human Rights, told “EWTN News Nightly” that pressure from the Biden administration indicates that this section of the resolution is about global abortion access.
“We know, given the Biden administration’s support for abortion, we know this to mean an attempt essentially to create an international right to abortion,” Gennarini said.
World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued a statement praising the resolution. His statement referenced the WHO’s support for equity in health care but did not reference the statement on reproductive rights.
“I welcome this commitment by world leaders to provide the political support and direction needed so that WHO, governments, and all involved can protect people’s health and take concrete steps towards investing in local capacities, ensuring equity and supporting the global emergency health architecture that the world needs,” Ghebreyesus said.
The WHO is working with U.N. member states to amend international health regulations that focus on issues that arose during the pandemic.
Posted on 09/22/2023 08:25 AM (CNA Daily News)
Aerial view of Saint-Maurice Abbey in the Valais region of Switzerland, Sept. 20, 2023. / Credit: Cyril Néri
Paris, France, Sep 22, 2023 / 04:25 am (CNA).
With over 1,500 years of history, the Abbey of Saint-Maurice in the Valais region of Switzerland is the oldest monastery in the West to have remained in continuous operation since its foundation in 515. The building stands on the site of St. Maurice’s martyrdom, celebrated on Sept. 22.
Chronicles tell us little about St. Maurice and his companions, who were killed around 300 A.D. “We know that they died here, that according to tradition they were members of the Legion of Thebes, i.e. from Africa, and that they were martyred for their refusal to obey the emperor’s impious orders,” archivist and librarian Canon Olivier Roduit explained to CNA.
A text dated back to year 430, La Passion des Martyrs d’Agaune (The Passion of the Martyrs of Agaune), written by Bishop Eucher of Lyon, had a major influence, helping to spread the cult of these martyrs throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Numerous villages in Switzerland, France, and Italy bear the name of St. Maurice, and there are more than 1,000 places dedicated to the saint worldwide.
Around the year 380, Theodule, the first known bishop of the Valais region, found the relics of the martyrs under the cliff and built the first church in their honor, as stated on the website. King Sigismund then founded the abbey in 515, instituting perpetual prayer on the site.
“Saint-Maurice is above all a place of passage,” Roduit explained. “It is located on an important international route, the Via Francigena, which runs from Canterbury to Rome.” The abbey’s influence was particularly strong in the 12th and 13th centuries. Kings and princes offered gifts, which today constitute a precious “treasure” jealously guarded by the canons.
In 1262, King St. Louis IX presented the abbey with a thorn from the crown of Christ. “The king wanted to spread the ideal of the military saint in his kingdom,” Roduit said. “The abbey gave him relics of St. Maurice and in exchange, the king offered a small thorn from the crown of Christ.”
Despite the French Revolution, fires, and falling rocks, the abbey was rebuilt but never interrupted. Since 1128, the abbey has been run by canons who follow the Rule of St. Augustine. “Our main mission is to worship the Lord at the tomb of the martyrs, faithfully since the beginning of time,” the archivist insisted.
One kilometer from the abbey is the Martyrdom Chapel. Built in the 18th century and renovated in the 20th, it stands on the exact site of the martyrdom. Its blood-red altar bears an inscription taken from the Passion of the Agaune Martyrs by Eucher: “We are your soldiers, O Emperor, but above all servants of God. We owe you military obedience, we owe him innocence.” According to the story, Maurice added: “We’d rather die innocent than live guilty.”
Today, there are 27 canons in the entire congregation, 22 of whom live at Saint-Maurice, hailing from several places: Valais, German-speaking Swiss, France, and Bavaria. The young people in formation are of Sicilian, Beninese, Togolese, Burkinabe, and Kazak origin.
The canons have three main ministries, beginning with education. They teach at the Lycée-Collège de l’Abbaye de Saint-Maurice, an institution of 1,200 students founded in 1806 under an agreement with the State of Valais.
They also minister in neighboring parishes, and — especially in the last century, given the dwindling resources nowadays — carry out missionary work, notably in India, Peru, Kazakhstan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Until the end of the 20th century, they carried out the famous Sikkim mission, in the Darjeeling Diocese in northeast India between Nepal and Bhutan.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, some 100,000 people visited the abbey every year. And approximately 15,000 visitors came to see the Treasure Museum. The abbey’s international reputation continues to grow, as the audio guides are now being translated into Ukrainian and Russian.
The Saint-Maurice Archives house an extensive medieval collection, with the first document dating back to 984. Their holdings have been fully digitized and made available to researchers on the Internet.
The canons also run a project to develop an organ culture in French-speaking Switzerland, with an organ school, a music season, and an international organ competition. Saint-Maurice is also home to Switzerland’s largest carillon (a bronze set of bells played with a keyboard), which will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2024.
The canons run a brewery — the Abbey of Saint-Maurice Beer — and maintain a 6-hectare vineyard, with which they will soon inaugurate Cuvée de Noé, a sweet dessert wine.
Every Sept. 22, the feast of St. Maurice is a highlight in the region. The canons organize a procession with the saint’s relics through the streets of the town and a three-day Monastic Market, attended by some 30 religious communities from France, Switzerland, and Italy.
The abbey is currently under the authority of Prior Roland Jacquenoud, since the Father Abbot of Saint-Maurice, Monsignor Jean Scarcella, elected in 2015, has stepped down pending the completion of an investigation requested by Rome following allegations of sexual abuse and cover-up aimed at various members of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference.
Posted on 09/21/2023 22:50 PM (CNA Daily News)
null / Credit: Pexels
ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 21, 2023 / 18:50 pm (CNA).
In a Sept. 20 post on X, the National Justice and Peace Commission of the Argentine Bishops’ Conference requested that the agreement made between a government agency and an association of “sex workers” be rescinded, warning that it “fails to comply with the abolitionist legal framework of the Argentine state.”
The term “abolitionist” here means the state is committed to abolishing prostitution. Argentina has passed laws against prostitution and human trafficking in 1913, 1936, 2008, and 2012.
The agreement for technical assistance was made between the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) — which operates under the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation — and the Network of Sex Workers of Latin America (RedTraSex).
The commission recalled the words of Pope Francis in the prologue to the book “Crucified Women: The shame of trafficking told from the street” by Father Aldo Buonaiuto: “Any form of prostitution is a reduction to slavery, a criminal act, a repugnant vice that confuses making love with venting one’s instincts by torturing a defenseless woman.”
The commission stressed that “all organizations and entities of the Argentine state must respect the abolitionist principle of prostitution to which our country adheres” and pointed out that the law states that “any form of prostitution is a reduction to slavery.”
This legal framework, explained the bishops’ commission, is mandatory for all agencies of the Argentine state.
This framework includes Law 26.842, the U.N. Convention for the Suppression of Human Trafficking and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, and Article 6 of the U.N. Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
According to Art. 75 Sec. 22 of the Argentine Constitution, international treaties signed by the state have the force of constitutional law.
Furthermore, the commission noted that according to the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation “the Argentine state has assumed the national and international commitment to take all appropriate measures to suppress all forms of trafficking in women and exploitation of prostitution of women.”
Consequently, the Justice and Peace Commission called on CONICET to “rescind said agreement.”
The signing of the agreement took place Wednesday morning at the Workers’ Innovation Center (CITRA). Researcher Cora Arias explained that this agreement is the formalization of a process that began in 2021.
At that time, CONICET linked up with RedTraSex to provide research experience and study methodologies, and thus develop studies to respond to the worries and concerns that the association had about the working conditions of “sex workers.”
As a result of this process, Wednesday morning a regional report carried out this year on working conditions and human rights violations of sex workers in Latin America and the Caribbean was presented.
A technical assistance agreement is a connection that, through a research group, CONICET carries out with a company or public agency. The purpose is to provide technical collaboration in some area it specializes in.
Technical assistance consists of the provision of knowledge, which is generally in the public domain, but highly specialized.
In this case, the agreement with RedTraSex is made through CITRA, an entity under CONICET and the Metropolitan University for Education and Work (UMET).
According to CITRA’s website, this consists of a research, innovation, and development center associated with trade unions to produce scientific and technical capabilities, with the perspective and participation of workers.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
