St. Luke Roman Catholic Church

A woman prays the rosary at the Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, on Sept. 28, 2024. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 7, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

October is designated by the Catholic Church as the Month of the Rosary and Oct. 7 is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Here are seven common myths and facts about this devotion to Our Lady.

1. Only Catholics can pray the rosary. 

False. While rosaries are typically associated with Catholics, non-Catholics can certainly pray the rosary — and in fact, many credit it to their conversion. Even some Protestants recognize the rosary as a valid form of prayer.

2. Praying the rosary is idolatry. 

False. Some have objections to the rosary, claiming it idolizes Mary and is overly repetitive. 

Just like any practice, the rosary can be abused — just as someone might idolize a particular pastor or priest, a form of worship, or fasting. But the rosary itself is not a form of idolatry. 

The rosary is not a prayer to Mary — it is a meditation on the life of Christ revealed in five mysteries “with the purposes of drawing the person praying deeper into reflecting on Christ’s joys, sacrifices, sufferings, and the glorious miracles of his life.” 

When we pray the Hail Mary, we are not adoring Mary, we are asking for her intercession — just as we might ask a friend or family member to pray for us. 

Second, any prayer can lose its meaning if we do not intentionally meditate on it. Focusing on the mysteries with purpose and intention is key to the rosary’s transforming power. As one author encourages: “The rosary itself stays the same, but we do not.”

3. You can wear a rosary as a necklace.

It depends. It is typically considered disrespectful and irreverent to wear a rosary around one’s neck as jewelry, even though the Church does not have an explicit declaration against doing so. 

However, Canon 1171 of the Code of Canon Law says that “sacred objects, set aside for divine worship by dedication or blessing, are to be treated with reverence. They are not to be made over to secular or inappropriate use, even though they may belong to private persons.”

It is important to treat the rosary with respect and intention. If you intend to wear the rosary as a piece of jewelry, this would not be respectful and should be avoided. It goes without saying that wearing the rosary as a mockery or gang symbol would be a sin.

But if it is your intention to use the rosary and be mindful of prayer, then it could be permissible. It is not uncommon in some cultures, like in Honduras and El Salvador, to see the rosary respectfully worn around the neck as a sign of devotion.

Rosary rings or bracelets might be a better option if you want to keep your rosary close at hand as a reminder to pray, as they are kept more out of sight and would not be as easily misconstrued to be a piece of jewelry. 

4. The rosary is an extremist symbol.

False. A widely-shared 2022 Atlantic article went viral for accusing the rosary of being an “extremist symbol.” 

“Just as the AR-15 rifle has become a sacred object for Christian nationalists in general, the rosary has acquired a militaristic meaning for radical-traditional (or “rad trad”) Catholics,” the article read.

The author also cited the Church’s stance on traditional marriage and the sanctity of life as evidence of “extremism” and claimed that Catholics’ tendency to call the rosary a “weapon in the fight against evil” as dangerous.

As CNA reported in 2022, popes have urged Catholics to pray the rosary since 1571 — often referring to the rosary as a prayer “weapon” and most powerful spiritual tool.

5. The rosary is not biblical.

Untrue! Most of its words come directly from Scripture.

First, the Our Father is prayed. The words of the Our Father are those Christ taught his disciples to pray in Matthew 6:9–13.

The Hail Mary also comes straight from the Bible. The first part, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,” comes from Luke 1:28, and the second, “Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,” is found in Luke 1:42.

Finally, each of the decades prayed on the rosary symbolizes an event in the lives of Jesus and Mary. The decades are divided into four sets of mysteries: joyful, luminous, sorrowful, and glorious, the majority of which are found in Scripture. 

6. A rosary bead, or pea, can kill you.

Somewhat true. A rosary pea, or abrus seed, is a vine plant native to India and parts of Asia. The seeds of the vine, which are red with black spots, are often used to make beaded jewelry — including rosaries. Rosary pea seeds contain a toxic substance called “abrin,” which is a naturally-occurring poison that can be fatal if ingested. However, it’s unlikely for someone to get abrin poisoning just from holding a rosary made from abrus seeds, as one would have to swallow them.

Today, most rosaries are made from other nontoxic materials, such as olive wood or glass — eliminating this concern.

7. Carrying a rosary can protect you.

True. The rosary has proven to be a miraculous force for protecting those of faith and bestowing upon them extra graces, such as the victory of the Christian forces at the Battle of Lepanto after St. Pius V implored Western Christians to pray the rosary.

Many great saints across history, including Pope John Paul II, Padre Pio, and Lucia of Fatima, have also recognized the rosary as the most powerful weapon in fighting the real spiritual battles we face in the world. 

We know that spiritual warfare is a real and present danger: “For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens” (Eph 6:11–12). 

“The rosary is a powerful weapon to put the demons to flight and to keep oneself from sin … If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your country, assemble each evening to recite the rosary. Let not even one day pass without saying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many cares and labors,” Pope Pius XI said. 

This article was first published on Oct. 1, 2022, and has been updated.

null / Credit: Studio4dich/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Oct 6, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The U.S. bishops announced the second annual novena for mental health as part of a national campaign to promote mental health.

Launched in 2023, the National Catholic Mental Health Campaign aimed to address mental illness around the message that “everyone who needs help should receive help.”

Beginning on World Mental Health Day, Oct. 10, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) “will begin nine days of focused prayer, teaching, and actionable steps to engage more intentionally on mental health issues,” according to the USCCB Sept. 23 press release. The novena will conclude on Oct. 18, the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, the patron saint of health care.

The novena will be a tradition for future years to come, said Paul Jarzembowski, the USCCB associate director for the laity for the Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth.

Jarzembowski told CNA that the Church is seeking “to follow the example of Jesus in responding to the needs of the people of God in real time.”

“Today mental health is impacting the lives of so many people, which was amplified and raised to our consciousness by the global pandemic,” he explained. “The U.S. bishops also took note of the growing epidemic of loneliness across the country, in particular among young people, the elderly, and marginalized populations.”

“People are hurting all around us at this very moment, even if we cannot visibly see it,” Jarzembowski said. “Through this nationwide campaign, the U.S. bishops are asking everyone to join them to respond with greater awareness and action as the mental health crisis unfolds before us every day.”

Each day of the novena has a different theme and focuses on a different saint. For instance, Day 1 of the novena begins with St. Dymphna, the patron saint of those suffering from mental illness and of mental health professionals, and focuses on praying for removing stigmas around mental health.

The goal of the novena is to build up “a lasting way for all Catholics to prayerfully remember those who are most impacted by this crisis and to answer the call of Jesus to respond to those who struggle with tender care and pastoral action,” Jarzembowski noted.

The hope is that the campaign and novena “will be integrated into our homes, our churches, and our work within society,” according to Jarzembowski.

When asked what steps Catholics can take to better support people who struggle with mental health, Jarzembowski suggested becoming “more aware of potential mental health issues” and recognizing “that they can be hidden in plain sight.” 

“Developing habits of being more compassionate and patient with one another, especially online, can go a long way to creating a culture of spiritual and mental wellness,” he continued. “Be mindful of the signs of depression, suicidal ideation, loneliness, and anxiety, and accompany those people who struggle to seek out the help and support they may need.” 

Each day of the novena includes actions that Catholics can take to help address the mental health crisis.

“In our Catholic parishes and dioceses, we can advocate for more mental health ministry,” Jarzembowski added. “From developing mental health support groups to researching health care options in our local community to infusing a spirit of mental wellness into our existing pastoral ministries, especially for young people, families, and the elderly, there are many things Catholics can do to create a culture of responsiveness.”

Resources for the mental health campaign, including the novena, can be found here.

Mark Houck and other pro-life activists share the severe suffering they have experienced due to the pro-abortion policies of the Biden-Harris administration at the Pray Vote Stand Summit in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. / Credit: Madalaine Elhabbal/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 5, 2024 / 09:20 am (CNA).

Pennsylvania pro-life advocate Mark Houck joined panelists at the annual Pray Vote Stand Summit in Washington, D.C., on Friday to call attention to the Biden-Harris administration’s attacks against the pro-life movement.

The founder of The King’s Men, a Catholic men’s apostolate, was featured alongside Janet Durig and Catherine Herring as part of a panel titled “Kamala Harris’ Attacks on Life and the Family” during the annual gathering of mostly evangelical Christian conservatives.

Durig is the executive director of Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center, a Washington, D.C-based pro-life resource center that has recently faced repeated attacks of harassment and vandalism. 

The panel pointed out that Harris is known for making inflammatory statements against pro-life pregnancy centers, including offering words of encouragement to Democrat attorneys general nationwide for “taking on, rightly, the crisis pregnancy centers.”

“We don’t force anything on [pregnant women],” Durig said. “Of course, as a Christian pregnancy center, we would want them to choose life, but we don’t force anything on them.

Houck spoke about his own arrest in which over 25 heavily armed federal agents, including two SWAT team members, raided his home during the early morning hours of Sept. 23, 2022.

Houck described the arrest — which he said took place without a warrant and was witnessed by his wife and children — as “a tyrannical overreach of government” and symbolic of “dictatorship.” 

Looking ahead to the elections in November, Houck told those gathered at the summit that respect for the Constitution must be renewed among elected leaders in order for corrupt targeting of pro-life and pro-family advocates to cease.

“My Fourth Amendment rights [‘the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures’] were violated the day [the FBI] came to my home,” Houck said. “With any new administration, if there’s going to be a change, we need to get rid of the current FBI director, and we need to get rid of the attorney general.” 

Federal prosecutors charged Houck with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act after he was involved in an altercation with an abortion clinic escort who had been harassing his 12-year-old son. After just an hour of deliberation, a jury unanimously found him innocent of the alleged crime, for which he would have been sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Following his arrest, Houck noted that he spent six hours handcuffed to a chair before anyone spoke to him. In total, he was detained for 10 hours before being released on his own recognizance, thereby signaling that he was never considered a true threat. 

“So why the heavy raid?” he asked. “Because they want to humiliate you, intimidate you, and instill fear in you, and make an example of you.”

For her part, Herring shared the story of how she was able to save her daughter’s life thanks to an abortion pill reversal after her husband poisoned her by dissolving chemical abortion pills in her drink.

Had the Biden-Harris administration kept in place previous distribution restrictions on chemical abortion drugs, she said, the incident would not have happened.

Devout Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie, known for his role as Jesus Christ in "The Chosen," is an executive producer and narrator of the new film "Heart of a Servant: The Father Flanagan Story." / Credit: EWTN Screenshot/Francesca Pollio/CNA

CNA Staff, Oct 5, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

In 1917, Father Edward J. Flanagan, a Catholic priest and immigrant from Ballymoe, Ireland, bought a home for boys on Dodge Street in Omaha, Nebraska.

Four years later, after quickly outgrowing the space and being pressured to leave, he moved the boys to Overlook Farm, a 160-acre piece of land that became what is known as Boys Town — the town Flanagan created for orphaned and abandoned youth in need regardless of race or religion.

The priest’s story has now been documented in a new film, “Heart of a Servant: The Father Flanagan Story.” 

The documentary, narrated by Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie, who is also the executive producer of the film, includes expert commentary from Steve Wolf, vice postulator for the cause of Flanagan’s beatification and canonization, as well as Deacon Omar F.A. Gutierrez, Father Ryan Lewis, and Ed Flanagan, the great-nephew of Flanagan.

The film had its premiere on Sept. 13 in Boys Town and will be released for one night only in theaters across the country on Oct. 8. 

CNA had the opportunity to visit Boys Town and attend the premiere where we spoke to Roumie as well as the filmmakers and some of the experts who appear in the film. 

Roumie shared that he felt as though Flanagan personally called him to take part in this project.

“When I watched his story, I just felt compelled to get involved and to see how I could lend my help and my voice, literally, to the project,” he told CNA. “It was just so moving and so well done and I want people to know about this story that was so culturally shifting in his time and just as relevant today as it was when all of these things actually happened.”

Roumie added that while taking part in the film, it became clear that Flanagan’s “mission is timeless.”

“There will always be children in need that for whatever reason, often through no fault of their own, they’re burdened with circumstances in their lives that they didn’t contribute to but they’re on the receiving end [of], and it turns out to be a pretty tough break for them,” he said.

Roumie also pointed out that especially in today’s society, “kids are bombarded with all kinds of imagery that is … not healthy for them, that is damaging to them, and that has an effect on their physical, mental, [and spiritual] well-being.”

A majority of the boys Flanagan served were orphans and abandoned children during the Great Depression who took to the streets and committed crimes. To Flanagan though, there were no bad boys, only bad circumstances, and he worked to improve these circumstances. 

Roumie emphasized this point, speaking to the importance of caring for children because “kids are the next generation.” 

“They are the next generation of adults, of humans, of society, and so how a child develops fundamentally affects societies, is crucial to a functioning society, a healthy society. So if you treat children with love and mercy and compassion and show them the value of their lives, they will grow up to be adults [who] value those things and can change the world much in the same way that Father Flanagan did.”

Roumie added: “Children will always need to be shaped and guided and completely flooded with God’s love in their lives through the people that they are most connected to.”

During his time at Boys Town for the premiere, Roumie was given a tour of the historic town and met many of the individuals working for Boys Town who themselves were boys in the system. He saw how Flanagan’s work changed children’s lives and gave them a “chance to be not just a productive or a functioning member of society but a flourishing member of society in ways that they can give back and affect so much change, because that’s what we’re called to do — we’re called to be beacons of light and hope and change to the most needy in our world — widows and orphans.”

Roumie called Flanagan’s work of pouring “love and compassion and mercy and faith and Jesus” into the lives of these children the “antidote” to their bad circumstances.

“He didn’t pick just Catholic kids because he was a Catholic priest. He welcomed everyone,” he explained. “He integrated children from different faiths and races at a time where it was scandalous to do so.”

“I think of him as this warrior revolutionary [who] went against the system, but he did it in a way that abided by the laws of the country in which he was now an immigrant. He did it in a way that I think only God could have accomplished.”

The actor said he hopes that viewers will take away that “they can have as much of an impact as Father Flanagan did through discernment and through listening to the voice of Christ within them.”

Roumie added that he hopes people will see that they “can affect the lives of children around them, within their own community, by simply just loving on kids that might seem like troubled kids or kids that might seem unruly,” he said. 

“I think if we’re approaching them with the love of God and seeing them as Jesus would see them, I think you have the opportunity to change your child and the next generation of children’s lives for the better.”

Young people were among the crowds gathered in downtown Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 4, 2024, for the Ohio March for Life, the first such gathering to be held in the state since Ohio voters approved a sweeping constitutional amendment to expand abortion. / Credit: Rachel del Guidice

CNA Staff, Oct 4, 2024 / 17:55 pm (CNA).

Crowds of people gathered in downtown Columbus, Ohio, today for the Ohio March for Life, the first such gathering to be held in the state since Ohio voters approved a sweeping constitutional amendment to expand abortion. 

Photos and videos posted on social media show marchers holding handmade signs on the theme “With Every Woman, for Every Child,” which mirrors the theme for the annual national March for Life that took place in January in Washington, D.C. The organizers of the national march — which bills itself as the world’s largest annual human rights demonstration — have also been focusing on developing state-level pro-life marches in recent years. 

Speakers at this year’s Ohio march included Bishop Robert Pipta of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma and Aaron Baer, president of the Center for Christian Virtue. 

Kevin Jorrey, director of the Diocese of Toledo’s Office for Life and Justice, told local news outlet The Blade that local communities, including churches, must be there for the most vulnerable, including young mothers.

“No matter what happens legislatively, politically, we’re out here to stand up and stand for life,” he told The Blade. “We get to be the voice for the voiceless, no matter what the political landscape is.”

Attendance figures for this year’s march have not yet been released; at last year’s march in Columbus, 5,000 people were expected. 

The new constitutional amendment in Ohio, passed late last year, added a new section to the Ohio Bill of Rights in the state constitution that guarantees that “every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decision,” including, but not limited to “abortion.” Although the amendment’s language allows the state to impose some restrictions “after fetal viability,” the amendment does not establish a clear cutoff for when viability occurs.

The measure was approved by voters in Ohio by a margin of about 13 points on Nov. 7, 2023. 

The Ohio Catholic Conference, which represents the state’s bishops, had strongly opposed the amendment. The “no” campaign also received financial backing from both the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization, and the Catholic Diocese of Columbus, Ohio.

Ohio has been a battleground state for abortion for the past several years. Notably, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine in 2019 signed a “heartbeat” abortion law that was later blocked in court. The state also briefly had a six-week abortion ban on the books after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which was blocked by a federal judge in October 2022. 

Abortions ticked up in Ohio in 2023 compared with 2022, according to a new report from the Ohio Health Department. According to the report, the total number of abortions in Ohio in 2023 was 22,000, an increase from the 2022 number but relatively on par with abortion numbers in the state over the last 10 years. The majority — 63% — of those abortions were performed on women who were fewer than nine weeks pregnant.

Former first lady Melania Trump joins Republican presidential nominee former president Donald Trump on stage at the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee. / Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 4, 2024 / 17:15 pm (CNA).

Former first lady Melania Trump has stirred criticism from the pro-life movement after sharing her pro-abortion views in her upcoming memoir and in a video message on X.

In her self-titled memoir “Melania,” set to be released Oct. 8, one month before Election Day, the former first lady writes about her life, her family, her time in the White House, and briefly about her support for legal abortion. Some excerpts from the book were published by The Guardian on Wednesday evening.

“It is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children, based on their own convictions, free from any intervention or pressure from the government,” Melania Trump, the second Catholic first lady in American history, wrote in the autobiographical book.

“Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body?” Melania Trump added. “A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes.”

“Restricting a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body,” she wrote. “I have carried this belief with me throughout my entire adult life.”

On Thursday, Melania Trump doubled down on this position in a video posted on X, which advertised the memoir.

“Without a doubt, there is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women possess from birth: individual freedom,” she said. “What does ‘my body, my choice’ really mean?”

Former president Donald Trump, who faces Vice President Kamala Harris in his bid for a second nonconsecutive term in the White House, responded to his wife’s comments without endorsing them or disavowing them.

“We spoke about it and I said, ‘You have to write what you believe — I’m not going to tell you what to do,’” Donald Trump told Fox News reporter Bill Melugin.

“I said, ‘You have to stick with your heart,’” Donald Trump added. “I’ve said that to everybody: ‘You have to go with your heart.’ There are some people that are very, very far-right on the issue, meaning without exceptions. And then there are other people that view it a little bit differently than that.”

Pro-life movement responds to Melania Trump

Many leaders in the pro-life movement have expressed frustration over Melania Trump’s abortion comments. Some pro-life advocates are still focused on securing a Donald Trump victory over Harris, while others are expressing dismay over the campaign’s movement away from pro-life values.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America president Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement provided to CNA that the organization’s top priority “is to defeat Kamala Harris and the Democrats’ push to nationally mandate no-limits abortion on demand funded by every taxpayer.”

However, Dannenfelser still took issue with Melania Trump’s comments, saying: “Women with unplanned pregnancies are crying out for more resources, not more abortions.” 

“We must have compassion for them and for babies in the womb who suffer from brutal abortions,” she added. “Tens of thousands of abortions a year are performed on children after the point when they can feel excruciating pain.”

Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life Action, told CNA that “the bottom line is that it’s not just her body in that moment” when a woman is pregnant, adding: “Two people or maybe more are there.”

“Melania Trump had a chance to inspire in her book but, instead, chose to push broken feminism that puts women at war with their own bodies,” Hawkins continued. “I won’t be buying a copy of the book.”

Some pro-life activists have offered harsher criticism of Donald Trump’s campaign after Melania Trump’s comments. 

Live Action President Lila Rose asserted in a post on X that Melania Trump and Harris have “functionally the same exact position on abortion.” In late August, Rose indicated she might not vote for Donald Trump because his campaign has not been pro-life enough.

Robert P. George, a legal scholar at Princeton University and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said in a Facebook post that he shared with CNA that he believes Melania Trump’s abortion comments were prompted by Donald Trump’s campaign.

“The campaign sent her out to signal to pro-abortion voters that the ‘right to abortion’ would be fully protected in a second Trump administration,” George said. “Her message is that Donald, having thrown pro-life Americans under the bus, will keep us under the bus.”

“Her record has been one of saying little or nothing on political issues,” he continued. “Now, suddenly, she is releasing videos passionately claiming that the protection of abortion, even late-term abortion, must be given the highest priority. Things like that don’t just happen.”

George told CNA that he believes Harris is “even worse on abortion” and “appallingly awful” on the issue.

Where the candidates stand on abortion

Donald Trump appointed three of the six Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, which allowed states to restrict abortion and pass pro-life laws. In his 2024 campaign, the former president has sought to moderate the Republican Party’s approach to abortion and has attempted the difficult task of maintaining support from the pro-life voting bloc without alienating independents and moderates.

Earlier this week, he said in a post on X he would veto any legislation that would prohibit abortion “because it is up to the states to decide, based on the will of their voters.” He asserted that Democrats support the “radical position of late-term abortion … in the seventh, eighth, or ninth month [of pregnancy].”

Harris supports a federal law that would legalize abortion nationwide — at least until the point of viability, which occurs around the 23rd or 24th week of pregnancy. She has not said whether she supports restrictions on late-term abortion.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, signed a bill that further solidifies the state’s abortion laws, which permit abortion throughout the entirety of pregnancy, including in the ninth month, for any reason. He signed another bill that scaled back legal protections in the case of an infant who is born alive after a failed abortion attempt.

From left to right: Actor Mason Thames (Noah), Noah Cottrell (Ben), Julian Lerner (Eugene), and Abby James Witherspoon (Sammy) in the new movie "Monster Summer." / Credit: Pastime Pictures

CNA Staff, Oct 4, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

The creators of “Monster Summer,” a new movie directed by Catholic actor David Henrie and starring Mel Gibson that opens in theaters today, sought to make a adventure-thriller movie parents will want to take their kids to see.

“Faith-based movies are working,” Henrie, known for his role as Justin Russo in Disney’s “Wizards of Waverly Place,” said. “We specifically are releasing Oct. 4 because we want a Halloween event, family movie, which is counter-programming to a lot of the hard R horror stuff that is coming out. So, we want a clean alternative that’s still fun, still spooky.”

The spooky family-friendly film tells the story of a young group of friends who confront a mysterious force in Martha’s Vineyard. After one of the young boys faces a near-death experience, he and his friends seek the help of an aging detective, played by Gibson, director of “The Passion of the Christ,” to track down the monsters.

Henrie, in an interview with Deacon Charlie Echeverry at the Napa Institute’s annual conference this summer, cited the quote “Evil only triumphs when good men do nothing” to describe the feeling the group of teenagers in the movie are experiencing.

“They seem to see something that they see as objectively wrong, but everyone else says it’s not wrong,” he explained, adding that he believes this dilemma is “very relevant” in life.

Like the movies “The Goonies” and “The Sandlot,” which it has been compared to, “Monster Summer” aims to appeal not only to children but also to parents.

Producer John Blanford told Echeverry that the movie was made with the intention of “co-viewing,” meaning that the whole family can watch it together.

He explained that currently in Hollywood, filmmakers feel the need to make it very clear who their target audience is — it’s either “slapsticky kid humor for kids or it’s super mature adult.” 

This, he said, is where “the white space is. We think that’s where the opportunity is.”

“I think the adolescents are being left behind and that’s where this coming-of-age-story really plays — is with that 9- to 16-year-old. I feel like there’s not stories being told for them, but what’s amazing about telling stories for them is it does give you the opportunity to have even younger kids kind of rise to the occasion a little bit and kind of think, ‘Oh, I want to be like my older brother or sister,’” he shared.

“And there’s mature enough themes that the kids are dealing with, and in the relationship in our film, particularly with Mel Gibson, that parents can actually really resonate with what’s going on in the story,” he said.

“To us, that’s the magic of this film, is that it really is something that a family can go enjoy together.”

Blanford emphasized the need for more movies that families can watch together and that portray “wholesome, traditional values.” The filmmakers are hoping “Monster Summer” will “prove the demand for that.”

Blanford also spoke of the “duty for Christian filmmakers” to not only make movies that promote traditional values but also to “create a more dignified, prosperous work environment” for all those involved. 

“I think as a community, as we’re doing this work, that we have an eye on content and the stories we’re telling and the impact of those stories, but how we’re making them is also super important.”

A team of nuns measures photographic plates for the Carte du Ciel project, circa early 1900s. / Credit: On Being, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, via Flickr

CNA Staff, Oct 4, 2024 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

Scientists recently named four asteroids after four Catholic religious sisters who helped catalog about 500,000 stars in the Vatican portion of the Carte du Ciel “Celestial Map” star atlas of the early 1900s.

Sisters Emilia Ponzoni, Regina Colombo, Concetta Finardi, and Luigia Panceri expected to be working as nurses when they joined the Suore di Maria Bambina community in Milan. Instead, they spent up to 11 years researching 481,215 celestial bodies for the Vatican Observatory. Their discoveries were then published in a 10-volume catalog.  

In June and September of this year, scientists announced their decision to name four asteroids after the four Catholic religious sisters, the last of whom passed away in 1982.

The four asteroids named for the religious were discovered at the Mount Graham Observatory in Arizona, where the Vatican Observatory operates the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope about 200 miles southeast of Phoenix.

Asteroid naming is a long process. A celestial body must be observed, registered, reported, and given an identification number; the data is reviewed for any duplicate unidentified celestial bodies. 

Once an exact orbit is determined, the researcher who calculated the orbit — not the asteroid’s discoverer — has the right to propose a name. The name is then reviewed by the Working Group: Small Bodies Nomenclature (WGSBN), which is run by the International Astronomical Union. 

Vatican helped lead star-mapping effort in early 20th century

Jesuit Father John Hagen undertook the star mapping project for the Vatican Observatory in the early 1900s and approached the Suore di Maria Bambini order for help. The order specialized in nursing and education, but at the request of Hagen, the order sent a pair of sisters — Sister Emilia and Sister Regina — to the observatory to join the project in 1910. 

Years later, in 1917, another pair followed: Sister Concetta and Sister Luigia. By 1921 the sisters had jointly cataloged nearly 500,000 stars.

The Vatican’s mapping project was part of a worldwide endeavor to create a celestial map. The Vatican had a select part of the night sky to map through photography and analyses, while nearly 20 other observatories worked on their respective sections. The project involved recording the brightness and position of 5 million stars.  

Popes Benedict XV and Pius XI later honored the sisters for their services. Vatican Observatory archivist Father Sabino Maffeo, SJ, at the age of 94, rediscovered the identity of the sisters almost a decade ago.

Jesuit Father Gabriele Gionti, who works at the Vatican observatory, also had an asteroid named after him this year, becoming the 41st Jesuit to have a celestial body named for him.

One of the oldest observatories in the world, the Vatican Observatory’s earliest roots date back to the 16th century and the reform of the Gregorian calendar. The observatory is located outside of Rome in the town of Castel Gandolfo and continues to make scientific breakthroughs.

Volunteers smile while distributing relief supplies at Immaculata Catholic School in Hendersonville, North Carolina, October 2024. / Credit: Immaculata Catholic School

CNA Staff, Oct 4, 2024 / 13:45 pm (CNA).

A Catholic school in North Carolina has become a major distribution point for critical relief after Hurricane Helene devastated the region last week with deadly flooding and massive power outages.

Immaculata Catholic School in Hendersonville, North Carolina — about half an hour south of Asheville — shared on Facebook this week that it had become a “distribution center” for aid supplies after Helene tore through the state, killing dozens and knocking out power to millions.

The school “converted Sunday into a drive-thru pickup area, with volunteers handing out everything from hot meals to diapers to bottled water,” Immaculata posted on its Facebook page.

Catholic agencies in western North Carolina have been mobilizing to help with relief efforts amid devastating flooding caused by the remnants of the hurricane, which dumped torrential rain on mountain communities there leaving serious damage and dozens dead.

Even Immaculata itself was not spared. Flooding and leaks from the roof and windows at the school inundated multiple classrooms, the gym, and its new STEM lab. 

“Even in the face of mass tragedy, we see hope and God’s grace each day,” Immaculata Principal Margaret Beale said in the post. “Each day when we’ve run out of water, somebody comes by with a truck to resupply.”

The school said that “more than 1,500 families have been helped,” nearly all of them requesting water.

“This distribution will continue as long as needed,” said Father David O’Connor, parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville.

Beale, meanwhile, said local restaurants have contributed hot food to distribute to victims of the storm.

“You don’t really know what a luxury hot food is until it’s not available,” she said.

Knoxville Bishop Mark Beckman speaks to “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. / Credit: EWTN News

CNA Staff, Oct 4, 2024 / 09:30 am (CNA).

Bishop Mark Beckman of the Diocese of Knoxville in eastern Tennessee — an area heavily impacted by the recent Hurricane Helene — said in an interview with “EWTN News Nightly” this week that the storm’s “devastation” has led to mounting physical, financial, and emotional needs. 

Hurricane Helene made landfall last week, passing through multiple southeastern states during its trek through the U.S. and leaving destruction in its wake. The storm killed more than 200 people, with hundreds more reported missing. The hurricane was the deadliest storm to reach the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The Category 4 storm further left millions of people stranded without electricity and hundreds of thousands in flooded areas.

Flooding is affecting eastern Tennessee in particular. Tennessee authorities have issued a water contact advisory, warning the public to avoid contact with bodies of water affected by the flooding, as they could be contaminated. 

“I would say the most affected areas are the northeastern portion of our diocese, closest to the mountains, where most of the rain fell,” Beckman told “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol on Thursday.

“We had the opportunity yesterday to visit a few of the most affected communities — Erwin, Tennessee, was one of the more strongly affected areas — and to witness firsthand some of the damage that took place up there, but also to meet some of the people who’ve been affected and also many of the people who are helping as volunteers right now to reach out to those folks,” the bishop said. 

Beckman said the response of people in the diocese “has been absolutely incredible.”

“Our Catholic Charities here, on the ground, has really reached out and helped with the physical needs of those communities in an incredible way,” Beckman said. “I’ve seen the volunteers at work and all of the supplies that gathered and staged up in that area.”

When asked about how people are processing the tragedy, the bishop said it’s had a heavy emotional impact. 

“The spiritual and emotional needs are significant,” Beckman said. “And I will tell you, the first group of people that I met was a circle of people who were caught up in the flooding that took place in the factory in Erwin, Tennessee,” he said.

“And there’s a lot of grief there, a lot of sadness. Those who survived, I think, probably are feeling some of that survivor’s guilt. And there are still people missing.”

An investigation is ongoing after 11 factory workers at Impact Plastics in Erwin, Tennessee, were swept away by cataclysmic flooding. At least two people died and five others are still missing. Several employees have said they weren’t permitted to leave in time to escape the flooding. 

Beckman noted that authorities in Erwin are looking for numerous missing persons in that area.

“The family members who are left are very distraught,” he said. “So I think the most important spiritual and emotional support we could give was simply being present with them. And we did pray with them. We listened to them, [we] had the opportunity just to spend some time helping them to express some of the things that they are feeling right now.”

When asked what the biggest needs are for the community, Beckman said there are a variety of basic necessities right now, but the financial impact will grow in the coming weeks. 

“The first need that came up right away was water, clean drinking water, and that has certainly been met in a huge, abundant way. We saw a lot of bottled water up there,” he said. “A lot of people still do not have electricity or good communication. Many have lost homes. Some people will need assistance with burials of family members.” 

“The needs would be across the board for things that we often take for granted, especially if people’s homes were flooded,” Beckman continued. “And it will be a while before some of those folks will be able to go back to work. So the financial needs, as we progress in the next several weeks, I’m sure, are going to mount.”

When asked how people can help, Beckman said that awareness, support, and prayer are key. 

“The most important thing is the awareness of what’s taking place so that the people know that they’re not forgotten,” he said.

The storm has caused devastation in large parts of the U.S., especially Tennessee’s neighbor, North Carolina, Beckman noted. Amid the “devastation,” Beckman said he is grateful to see people’s generosity. 

“There are national organizations that are helping, like Catholic Charities, to support the rebuilding efforts,” he said. “All of those things matter. And, of course, the prayerful support, you know, that people know that they’re not alone, that people are praying for them.”

“Sometimes we forget that each of these people have their own individual stories, and each one of them were caught unexpectedly in the remnants of the storm,” the bishop added. “And so it’s learning to accompany persons where they are right now at this particular moment.”