Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, who spearheaded the U.S. bishops’ initiative of Eucharistic Revival, adores Christ in the Eucharist with tens of thousands of people in Lucas Oil Stadium. / Credit: Casey Johnson in partnership with the National Eucharistic Congress

CNA Staff, Jul 26, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

More than 50,000 Catholics filled the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium July 17–21 for the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. Clergy, religious sisters and brothers, young people, the elderly, and families came together for an incredible opportunity to grow closer to Jesus in the Eucharist.

The week was filled with heartfelt moments, laughter, joy, and inspiration as the faithful in attendance experienced the fruits of years of preparation for the congress, which was a major event in the United States Bishops’ Eucharistic Revival.

Here are some of the best photos from the National Eucharistic Congress:

Bishop Andrew Cozzens holds the Eucharist over the faithful for benediction while standing on the Indiana War Memorial. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

CNA Staff, Jul 26, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The 10th National Eucharistic Congress drew tens of thousands of people to Indianapolis last week seeking a rekindling of their faith in the Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ. Among the highlights of the five-day gathering were several massive sessions of Eucharistic adoration in Lucas Oil Stadium, a Eucharistic procession through downtown Indianapolis that attracted 60,000 people, and Mass with papal delegate Cardinal Luis Tagle, also held in the huge stadium. 

The bishop who led the National Eucharistic Revival — Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota — said the experience reminded him of Ephesians 3:20-21 in which St. Paul says God has the power to do more than “all that we ask or think.”

“God is able to do immeasurably more than you ask or imagine. And that was my experience,” Cozzens, who has spearheaded the revival since it was unveiled in 2021, told CNA. 

“God showed us at this congress how good he is and how much he loves us, and that he’s not done yet.”

Excluding an International Eucharistic Congress that took place in Philadelphia in 1976, last week’s congress was the first such national event to be held on U.S. soil since 1941 — before World War II. The National Eucharistic Revival, of which the congress was a major part, is not finished — a special Year of Mission has now begun, which calls Catholics to share their rekindled love of the Eucharist with other people.

Cozzens said he has reflected on what makes a Catholic “congress” different from a “conference,” of which there are many each year. Although the congress featured some of the hallmarks of a conference like speakers, workshops, vendors, and exhibits, he said the main difference is that the congress had as its focus Jesus himself.

“The focus was on Jesus and the Eucharist and surrendering our hearts more to him and drawing close to him, and then also asking him to strengthen us for a mission,” he said.

Despite being well-prepared for the congress after years of planning, Cozzens said several things about the experience that surprised him — one of which was the impact the experience had on his fellow bishops, many of whom experienced great joy from seeing so many people turn out to worship and celebrate Christ. And on a personal level, Cozzens said he was surprised to see just how enormous a crowd of 50,000 people — 60,000 in the case of the Eucharistic procession — truly looked.

Standing high on the Indiana War Memorial at the endpoint of the procession, Cozzens blessed the multitudes who had come to follow Jesus.

“I was surprised by how powerful that was … I was sensing the Lord’s great desire to bless his Church and to bless the country,” Cozzens said of that moment.

“That’s what I was praying for during that benediction, for the Lord’s blessing to come down upon his Church and in our country in order to bless us and to draw us to himself. So I certainly was sensing that in those moments of prayer and the great privilege it is for us to be there.”

Several times throughout the congress, speakers and observers noted with excitement that there could well be “future saints” at the event. The 1976 International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia was attended by thousands of people as well as two future canonized saints — St. John Paul II and St. Teresa of Calcutta — and two other Catholics who are on the path to sainthood: Dorothy Day and Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

Observers also have compared last week’s congress to Denver’s 1993 World Youth Day, which directly led to a flourishing of Catholic apostolates in Denver and many vocations to the priesthood and religious life among attendees.

For his part, Cozzens said he hopes to see many vocations fostered by peoples’ experience at the congress. He told CNA that he witnessed a group of high school students from his own Crookston Diocese benefit from seeing so many priests and religious sisters.

Cozzens said he also heard about a seminarian who attended the congress who was considering leaving the seminary. The seminarian, after conversations at the congress about “the beauty of the priesthood and the joy of the priesthood,” decided to stay the course.

The congress included a night of prayer for healing during which Father Boniface Hicks, OSB, prayed a litany of healing prayers while the entire stadium kneeled before the Eucharist. Cozzens said he has heard from three victims of clerical sexual abuse — two of whom weren’t actually present at the congress but watched on television — who say they experienced profound spiritual healing in Jesus’ presence.

“Two of them said the same thing. They said, ‘For the first time in a long time, I can say I love being Catholic.’ So for someone who has been abused by a priest to be able to say that is really profound,” Cozzens said. 

The next National Eucharistic Congress will take place in 2033, the “Year of Redemption” marking 2,000 years since Jesus’ crucifixion. Cozzens said he’s already been talking with other organizers about where the next host city should be — though there’s nothing official to share yet. Indianapolis received at least $60 million in tax revenue from the event, Cozzens said, so he hopes that whatever city the next congress lands in will be happy to welcome it. 

Since prior to last week the most recent national congress was over 80 years ago, the Church in the U.S. had to rewrite the playbook for hosting an event like this, Cozzens noted. Though mostly smooth, organizers learned from the logistical challenges that emerged at the congress in an effort to make the next one better, such as how to mitigate hourslong lines for the Eucharistic Miracles exhibit and the Shroud of Turin exhibit. 

“We’re going to continue to spend the next year really learning and praying and discerning about both what the Lord did and how we can assist that more,” he said.

A painting of St. Joachim, the little Virgin Mary, and St. Anne in the Church of San Francesco in Reggio Emilia, Italy. / Credit: Renata Sedmakova/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jul 26, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Many couples today face childlessness and infertility, but they are far from the first. Sts. Anne and Joachim, whose feast day is July 26, are known as the grandparents of Jesus and the parents of Mary. They, too, struggled with childlessness for decades, according to Christian legend.

As the story goes, Anne and Joachim faced childlessness at a time when there were few resources for infertility, and a lack of children was considered shameful. Their story can inspire reflection for modern couples and their intercession can be a source of comfort and assistance.  

Sts. Anne and Joachim struggled with infertility for decades. 

Anne and Joachin are believed to have struggled with infertility for two decades before conceiving Mary. 

While their story isn’t told in the New Testament, documents outside the biblical canon, such as the “Protoevangelium of James,” a second-century infancy gospel, offer some details about their lives. While these writings aren’t considered authoritative, they helped shape some of the stories and legends that have been handed down over the centuries about Joachim, Anne, and their daughter, Mary, including the couple’s decades-long struggle with infertility. 

Joachim and Anne spent time alone in prayer.

The “Protoevangelium of James” gives a detailed account of the couple’s prayers for a child. Joachim went out into the desert to pray and fast, while Anne remained at home. 

Joachim “did not come into the presence of his wife, but he retired to the desert,” the story says. There, he fasted and prayed for 40 days and nights. While he was away, Anne mourned their childlessness and lamented the absence of Joachim as if he were dead. Then, she went into the garden and prayed.  

Anne mourned her infertility, then turned to prayer.

While Anne was mourning, her maidservant Judith told her she should not mourn because a “great day of the Lord was at hand.” Anne changed out of her mourning clothes into her wedding garments. She began to pray, wandering the garden and gazing at a sparrow’s nest, the sky, and all that surrounded her.

“Alas! To what have I been likened? I am not like this earth, because even the earth brings forth its fruits in season, and blesses you, O Lord,” she prayed as she walked about the garden. 

An angel appeared to her then, saying she would conceive and her child would “be spoken of in all the world,” and Anne promised to dedicate her child to the Lord. 

Two more angels appeared to tell her Joachim was on his way home, for the Lord had heard his prayer: An angel had appeared to Joachim, telling him to return home and promising that his wife would conceive.

Because the angels had told her Joachim was returning, Anne went to meet him at the gate. The story includes the detail that she ran to him and “hung upon his neck,” embracing him upon his return.

Their struggle bore great fruit.

Though the couple initially viewed their infertility as a great sorrow and shame, God ultimately worked in and through their suffering. Joachim returned from the desert; Anne changed out of mourning clothes and into her wedding garments. Their story was transformed through the grace of God. 

The couple’s faith and perseverance also, eventually, resulted in the joy of conceiving and raising the immaculate and sinless woman, Mary, who would give birth to the savior of the world.

St. Anne is now known as the patron saint of mothers and those struggling with infertility, and she and her husband are the patron saints of grandparents and married couples.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, speaks to victims and their family members as he testifies during the US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing "Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis" in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 31, 2024. / Credit: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 25, 2024 / 18:10 pm (CNA).

The Senate voted overwhelmingly to advance extensive regulations that its supporters say will protect the safety and privacy of children on the internet.

In a rare show of bipartisanship, the Senate voted 86-1 on a procedural vote that paved the way for two child online protection bills to pass the Senate within the coming weeks. Sen. Rand Paul, a libertarian-leaning Republican, was the only senator to vote against advancing the bills.

The current versions of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) emerged from months of dialogue with families and child safety advocates, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office.

Under KOSA, the government would impose a “duty of care” on social media platforms. This means the companies could be held legally liable if they are negligent in their efforts to prevent children from accessing harmful material.

Bullying and harassment, as well as sexual and violent material, are listed as harmful material covered by the legislation. The bill would also require platforms to work to prevent children from accessing material that could contribute to anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and various other harm.

The bill would require social media platforms to allow children to opt out of algorithmic recommendations and give parents control over how platforms can use their children’s information. It would also require independent audits of the platforms.

COPPA 2.0 would prohibit companies from collecting any data on users 16 years old or younger, unless first receiving consent. It would also ban targeted advertising for children and create a “Digital Marketing Bill of Rights for Teens” to restrict data collected on teenagers.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy said on the Senate floor that updating the regulations for the internet is long overdue.

“Rules from 25 years ago can not effectively govern social media sites that did not exist 25 years ago [and] were not conceived of 25 years ago,” Cassidy said. “We’ve waited too long to update these rules.”

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, one of the co-sponsors of KOSA, said on the Senate floor that the bill “empowers young people and parents.” 

“It gives them choices,” Blumenthal continued. “It enables them to take back control over their own lives. It enables the strongest settings of safety by default, it requires companies to disable destructive product features. It gives young people and parents tools to opt out, to choose not to be a part of algorithm recommendations … [and to] shield themselves against online predators and options to protect their own information.”

Melissa Henson, the vice president of the Parents Television and Media Council, which endorsed both bills, told CNA that children have been subjected to bullying and sextortion schemes on social media platforms. She said many platforms have caused body image problems for girls and are linked to other mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression.

“A lot of these social media platforms are not designed with children’s mental health and well-being in mind,” Henson said, but added that social media platforms are “aware of these problems.”

“These media companies aren’t doing enough to protect kids,” Henson said.

Adam Candeub, the director of the Intellectual Property, Information, and Communications Law Program at Michigan State University, told CNA that it is “amazing” that the legislation will likely get a vote “after years of effort and tremendous opposition.” Candeub has long advocated for legislation to protect children online. 

“KOSA’s duty of care will expose online platforms to liability if they fail to implement design features that ‘prevent and mitigate harm to minors,’” Candeub said. “However, the devil is in the details. The question will be how the enforcers, whether the courts or federal agencies or in some cases the state attorney generals who may bring suit, will understand this vague legal duty.”

Sen. Paul, who was the lone “no” vote on advancing the legislation, called the bills “a Trojan horse” and warned of a “stifling of First Amendment protected speech” when speaking on the Senate floor.

Paul said that “everyone will have a different belief as to what causes harm … [and as to] how platforms should go about protecting minors from that harm.” He added that the “fear of liability [and the] fear of lawsuits … is going to cause people to censor themselves.”

Some social media platforms, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have also opposed the bills based on concerns that they will lead to online censorship. 

The bills could receive a final vote in the Senate next week. If they pass, they will be sent to the House of Representatives for consideration.

A Manhattan federal court sentenced Bevelyn Beatty Williams, a 33-year-old pro-life activist, to three years and five months in prison July 24, 2024, for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act by preaching outside an abortion clinic. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Bevelyn Williams

CNA Staff, Jul 25, 2024 / 17:50 pm (CNA).

A Manhattan federal court sentenced Bevelyn Beatty Williams, a 33-year-old pro-life activist, to three years and five months in prison July 24 for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.

Williams was convicted of “interference, including by threats and force, with individuals seeking to obtain and provide” abortions, according to the Department of Justice. The wife and mother was sentenced after preaching the Gospel outside an abortion clinic and allegedly injuring a clinic worker’s hand and blocking the entrance.  

“I was persecuted as a Christian standing for my beliefs when it comes to life,” read a statement from Williams on her fundraising page. “This is devastating news. Not only is this bond extensive for the accused crime, but she made it very clear in the courtroom that she was going to make an example out of me.” 

A Department of Justice July 24 press release detailed that Williams leaned against the clinic door, blocking a clinic worker from entering, and trapping another worker’s hand inside the door.

The release noted that according to a livestream on social media posted by Williams, she “stood within inches of the Health Center’s chief administrative officer and threatened to ‘terrorize this place’ and warned that ‘we’re gonna terrorize you so good, your business is gonna be over mama.’”

Williams, who has a 2-year-old daughter, intends to appeal the decision.

“The concern of being a young mother, and a stay-at-home mother, was completely disregarded,” Williams continued.

“She told me before sentencing me that I was young and that I would not be defined by my sentence, before making a conscious decision to take me away from my 2-year-old daughter for three years,” Williams said of the judge. “I have 60 days to appeal my case and fight for my freedom and I need as much help as I can get!”

Williams, born in Staten Island, New York, had her first abortion at the age of 15 after she dropped out of high school, according to her ministry website At Well Ministries. She later went on to have two more abortions and went down a “self-destructive” path of drugs and drinking. 

After she was arrested for money laundering, she had a conversion experience and “upon her release moved forward with the determination to choose a new path.” She co-founded At Well Ministries, which specializes in street ministry and ministry to the homeless, and she later made a shift toward pro-life activism. 

Williams is one of many pro-life activists who have been sentenced under the FACE Act in recent years, including several elderly people and a Catholic priest.

Lisbon cityscape with typical houses and Lisbon Cathedral (Sé de Lisboa). / Credit: rfranca/Shutterstock

ACI Digital, Jul 25, 2024 / 16:00 pm (CNA).

Requests for financial compensation for victims of sexual abuse committed in the Church in Portugal will be analyzed by two commissions.

FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on July 24, 2024, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 25, 2024 / 14:50 pm (CNA).

FBI Director Christopher Wray denied in his testimony to Congress on Wednesday that the bureau under the Biden administration has been targeting pro-life activists.

Wray claimed while testifying to the House Judiciary Committee that the bureau has primarily focused its attention on investigating pro-abortion extremists rather than pro-life activists since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

This comes just months after several pro-life advocates, including several elderly individuals, were sentenced to years in prison for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act during a “rescue” attempt at a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic in 2020.

The FACE Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994, imposes criminal penalties on individuals convicted of “violent, threatening, damaging, and obstructive conduct” that interferes with access to abortion clinics, places of worship, and pregnancy centers.

Several House and Senate Republicans, including Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, have been calling for the FACE Act to be repealed because they say it is being unequally applied to target pro-life advocates.

Wray’s claim was in response to a question raised by Roy about whether the FBI was justified in its use of the FACE Act to sentence Paulette Harlow, a 75-year-old grandmother with a serious medical condition.

Harlow was sentenced to two years in prison for her involvement in the 2020 rescue.

“Do you think it is appropriate for a 75-year-old woman who was praying at a clinic in D.C. to be put in prison for two years for that activity?” Roy asked.

The FBI director claimed that he was “not familiar with this specific case” and said he didn’t want to weigh in without knowing all the facts.

“What I can tell you,” Wray said, “is that when it comes to FACE Act enforcement and abortion-related violent extremism, I think one of the things that gets lost, and I appreciate the opportunity to clarify it, is that really since the Dobbs decision actually more of our abortion-related violent extremism investigations have focused on violence against pro-life facilities as opposed to the other way around.”

Roy responded that the data shared with his office contradicts Wray’s claim and that the FBI has yet to respond to his request for additional data.

Roy’s office shared data obtained from the Department of Justice with CNA on Thursday. The data shows a significant increase in FACE Act indictments against pro-life activists starting in 2022. According to the data shared with CNA, 26 pro-life advocates were sentenced under the FACE Act in 2022 compared with just two in the previous year.

In comparison, only four pro-abortion activists have been charged with violating the FACE Act since 2022, despite numerous attacks against pro-life groups and pregnancy centers after Roe’s overturn.

In an interview with Fox News after the Wednesday hearing, Roy decried the FBI for not being able to stop the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump, saying: “Meanwhile they put a 75-year-old woman in prison for two years because she was praying at an abortion clinic. Their priorities are all out of whack.”

Roy asked: “What on earth does the FBI actually do besides putting a 75-year-old grandmother in prison?”

The Department of Justice did not reply to CNA’s request for comment.

Altar servers. / Credit: Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

CNA Newsroom, Jul 25, 2024 / 10:51 am (CNA).

The decision, supported by the Archdiocese of Paderborn, has sparked controversy and will likely lead to legal challenges.

After traveling to Istanbul on July 25, 1967, for a celebration at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, the pope visited the Orthodox patriarchal Church of St. George with the ecumenical patriarch, Athenagoras I, Orthodox archbishop of Constantinople, three years after exchanging a kiss of peace together during a pilgrimage and peace tour of the Holy Land. / Credit: Marius Pelletier

ACI MENA, Jul 25, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

On July 25, 1967, Pope Paul VI set foot on Turkish soil — the first papal visit to Istanbul since it was called Constantinople. 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The elderly must not be accused of saddling younger generations with their medical expenses and pensions -- a notion which foments intergenerational conflict and drives older people into isolation, Pope Francis said.

"The accusation that the elderly 'rob the young of their future' is nowadays present everywhere," the pope wrote in his message for World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, a church celebration that will take place July 28. 

Even in the most advanced and modern societies "there is now a widespread conviction that the elderly are burdening the young with the high cost of the social services that they require, and in this way are diverting resources from the development of the community and thus from the young," he wrote in the message released May 14.

Such a mentality "assumes that the survival of the elderly puts that of the young at risk, that to favor the young it is necessary to neglect or even suppress the elderly," he wrote.

Yet the pope stressed that "intergenerational conflict is a fallacy and the poisoned fruit of conflict."

"To set the young against the old is an unacceptable form of manipulation," he wrote.

The pope's message expanded on the theme chosen for this year's world day which was taken from the Book of Psalms: "Do not cast me off in my old age."

The 2024 celebration marks the fourth edition of World Day for Grandparents and the elderly. In 2021, Pope Francis instituted the world day to be observed each year on the fourth Sunday of July, close to the liturgical memorial of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus.

In his message for this year's celebration, the pope emphasized that "God never abandons his children," even as they grow weak and "can risk appearing useless." But today, a "conspiracy surrounding the life of the elderly" often results in their abandonment by those close to them.

"The loneliness and abandonment of the elderly is not by chance or inevitable, but the fruit of decisions -- political, economic, social and personal decisions -- that fail to acknowledge the infinite dignity of each person," he wrote.

The pope explained that such a phenomenon occurs "once we lose sight of the value of each individual and people are then judged in terms of their cost, which is in some cases considered too high to pay." 

Unfortunately, he said, the elderly themselves can succumb to this cost-benefit mindset; "they are made to consider themselves a burden and to feel that they should be the first to step aside."

Pope Francis identified the decline of communal structures in society and the widespread celebration of individualism as other factors behind the isolation of the elderly, "yet once we grow old and our powers begin to decline, the illusion of individualism, that we need no one and can live without social bonds, is revealed for what it is."

The pope then recounted the Bible story in which the elderly Naomi encourages her two daughters-in-law to return to their hometowns after the death of her husband and children since she sees herself as a burden to them. "Her words reflect the rigid social and religious conventions of her day, which apparently seal her own fate," the pope wrote.

While Orpah returns home, grateful for the encouragement, Ruth "is not afraid to challenge customs and inbred patterns of thought" and "courageously remains at her side," he wrote.

The pope encouraged all people to "express our gratitude to all those people who, often at great sacrifice, follow in practice the example of Ruth, as they care for an older person or simply demonstrate daily closeness to relatives or acquaintances who no longer have anyone else."

Pope Francis also pointed out how in poorer countries elderly people are often left alone because their children are forced to emigrate, and in regions ravaged by conflict young men are called into conflict while women and children flee for safety, leaving elderly people alone in areas "where abandonment and death seem to reign supreme."

In a statement released with the pope's message, Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, which organizes the world day, lamented the "bitter companion" that is loneliness in the lives of elderly people.

"Attending to our grandparents and the elderly," he said, "is not only a sign of gratitude and affection, but a necessity in the construction of a more human and fraternal society."

The cardinal's message was also accompanied by pastoral guidelines and liturgical resources for parishes and dioceses. The guidelines suggest that Catholics visit the elderly people within their own community, share with them the pope's message and pray together.

The document said that to involve the elderly in the day, "older people can be asked to offer special prayers for young people and for peace."

"The ministry of intercession is a real vocation of the elderly," it said.