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| Rachel Woolf for The New York Times |
The court sided with a Christian therapist in rejecting a law that prohibited therapists from seeking to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of clients under the age of 18. The decision could have implications for more than 20 other states.
Read more“Following the unfortunate incident that took place on March 29, Palm Sunday, involving His Eminence Em.mo Card. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Rev.do Fr. Francesco Ielpo, OFM, Custodian of the Holy Land, to whom the Israeli police denied access to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, His Eminence Card. Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, accompanied by His Excellency Msgr. Paul R. Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, met with H.E. Mr. Yaron Sideman, Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Holy See.
“During the conversation, regret was expressed for what occurred, regarding which clarifications were provided, and note was taken of the agreement reached between the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the local Authorities concerning participation in the liturgies of the Paschal Triduum at the Basilica of the Holy Sepolchre in Jerusalem.”
Source: @matteomatzuzzi
“In this afternoon of Palm Sunday we gather without a procession, without palms waving through the streets. This absence is not merely a matter of formalities. It is the war that has interrupted our festive journey, making even the simple joy of following our King difficult.”
“Today Jesus weeps once more over Jerusalem. He weeps over this city, which remains a sign of both hope and sorrow, of grace and suffering. He weeps over this Holy Land, still unable to recognize the gift of peace. He weeps for all the victims of a war that seems without end: for divided families, for shattered hopes. But the tears of Jesus are never fruitless. They open our eyes, challenge us, and reveal the truth.”
Video:
https://x.com/CatholicSat/status/2038272139107664054/video/1
Full text: https://lpj.org/en/news/meditation-for-palm-sunday-at-getsemani
For priests who mock penitents
Who attack the Faith
Who scandalize the weak
Who abandon themselves to emotional incontinence
Who preach heresy and express doubt of the Faith
Who are tempted
Who are unable to be alone
Who commit spiritual abuse of vulnerable souls
Who choose to not offer daily Mass
Who idolize psychology
Who cynically judge souls as incapable of healing and repentance
Who do not regularly confess their sins
Who do not pray the breviary daily
And also those who blog …
Cor Iesu sacratissimum, miserere nobis!
Dear friends —
Pete Hegseth’s pastor and mentor, Doug Wilson, wants to ban Catholic processions in America. He preached at the Pentagon last month — and the Department of Defense defended it.
This post is for paid subscribers of Letters from Leo. If you’d like to read the full investigation into Doug Wilson’s anti-Catholicism and the Protestant supremacist roots of the Christian nationalist movement, become a paid member today.
At Letters from Leo, we stand with the millions of American Catholics — service members, families, and communities of faith — who refuse to accept a vision of America where their processions are banned, and their Mass is called idolatry.
In an era when the Secretary of Defense openly embraces a pastor who would outlaw Catholic public worship, the work of defending religious liberty for all Christians has never been more urgent. This community exists because Catholics and people of goodwill across this country are hungry for a faith that stands against bigotry dressed in the vestments of piety.
More: https://x.com/christopherhale/status/2032282382884036852?s=46&t=IydJ-X8H6c0NM044nYKQ0w
NEW: Cardinal Pizzaballa on Palm Sunday after he was blocked from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre:
"This Palm Sunday afternoon, we gather without a procession, without palms, waving through the streets."
"This absence is not merely a matter of form or weather. It's the war that has interrupted our festive journey, making even the simple joy of following our King difficult..."
"We are certain that the Crucified and the Risen One does not cease to walk among us even when the road is blocked."
"He dwells in the heart of those who have not stopped following him yet, precisely in this imposed silence, the liturgy becomes more authentic."
"The cry of Hosanna does not need branches to rise to heaven, and faith does not falter when outward rites are stripped away..."
H/t @CatholicSat
Pizzaballa @TV2000it: "It is true that the police had said that the orders from the internal command prevented any kind of gathering in places where there is no shelter, but we had not asked for anything public, just a brief and small private ceremony to preserve the idea of the celebration in the Holy Sepulchre. There were no clashes; everything was done in a very polite manner. I do not want to force the issue; we want to use this situation to try to clarify better in the coming days what to do, in respect for everyone's safety but also in respect for the right to prayer."
Source: @matteomatzuzzi
“I just called the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, to express my great sorrow over this morning's unfortunate incident in the Old City of Jerusalem, in which Cardinal Pizzaballa and the Custos of the Holy Land, the Most Reverend Fr. Francesco Ielpo, were prevented from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for prayers amid the ongoing security situation.
“I clarified that the incident stemmed from security concerns due to the continuous threat of missile attacks from the Iranian terror regime against the civilian population in Israel, following previous incidents in which Iranian missiles fell in the area of the Old City of Jerusalem in recent days.
“I reaffirmed the State of Israel's unwavering commitment to freedom of religion for all faiths and to upholding the status quo at the holy sites of Jerusalem.”
@Isaac_Herzog
“In the old liturgy for Palm Sunday, the priest, arriving in front of the church, would knock loudly with the shaft of the processional cross on the door that was still closed; thereupon, it would be opened. This was a beautiful image of the mystery of Jesus Christ Himself Who, with the wood of His Cross, with the power of His love that is given, knocked from the side of the world at God's door; on the side of a world that was not able to find access to God. With His Cross, Jesus opened God's door, the door between God and men. Now it is open."
(Homily of Benedict XVI, Palm Sunday, 2007)
IRELAND 🇮🇪
A relatively well known writer stated last week that the Catholic Church was a 'state terrorist organisation' while another bizarre claimed that Ireland had been a theocracy with a 'Supreme Leader in all but name'
The Irish media class is in an existential crisis as reports flood in of a 143% increase in Mass attendance amongst young people as well as RECORD numbers of adult baptisms
Many older media talking heads are FURIOUS as decades of demoralisation and self loathing are being made to count for nothing as young people reject self loathing ideology.
By Nicolás de Cárdenas for EWTN NewsIn the case, several of the country’s bishops stated that “we are not dealing with a terminal illness but rather with deep wounds that cry out for attention, treatment, and hope.”
Bishops and other members of the Catholic Church in Spain called for prayers and offered reflections in light of the euthanasia of 25-year-old Noelia Castillo Ramos following a two-year legal battle by her family to try to obtain treatment for her psychiatric issues rather than having her death induced.
Since it became known that Castillo was scheduled to undergo euthanasia on March 26 at 6 p.m. local time, the Catholic Church in Spain expressed its views on the case in various ways. Prayer vigils were held outside the hospital where she was injected with a lethal cocktail of drugs.
In a statement, members of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference’s Subcommittee for the Family and Defense of Life expressed that they view “with deep sorrow the situation of Noelia — this 25-year-old young woman whose story reflects an accumulation of personal suffering and institutional failings that challenge the whole of society.”
Her situation, the prelates added, “cannot be interpreted solely through the lens of individual autonomy; rather, it demands a deeper perspective — one capable of recognizing the weight of psychological suffering, loneliness, and hopelessness.”
The Spanish bishops underscored that “euthanasia and assisted suicide are not medical acts but rather a deliberate rupture of the bond of care; furthermore, they constitute a societal defeat when presented as a response to human suffering.”
In Castillo’s specific case, “we are not dealing with a terminal illness but rather with deep wounds that cry out for attention, treatment, and hope,” they added.
