St. Mary's Church

, 11 Ago. 22 (ACI Prensa).- La concejal de Juventud del Ayuntamiento de Vilassar de Mar, cerca de Barcelona (España), Montserrat Gual, ha presentado su dimisión tras la polémica generada por una yincana sexualmente explícita dirigida a niños menores celebrada el pasado mes de julio. 

, 11 Ago. 22 (ACI Prensa).- El Arzobispo de Valladolid (España), Mons. Luis Argüello, ha instado a pedir “por el don de la lluvia” y a acompañar la oración con “la reducción del consumo de agua y de energías básicas” como forma de ayuno.

VATICANO, 11 Ago. 22 (ACI Prensa).- Numerosos fieles acuden al Monasterio de Santa Clara en Roma para celebrar solemnemente la fiesta de Santa Clara de Asís.

REDACCIÓN CENTRAL, 11 Ago. 22 (ACI Prensa).- Cada 11 de agosto, la Iglesia Católica celebra a Santa Clara de Asís, fundadora, junto a San Francisco de Asís de la Orden de las Hermanas Pobres, conocidas posteriormente como “clarisas” en honor a ella. Santa Clara de Asís es considerada patrona de la televisión y las telecomunicaciones.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 10, 2022 / 18:00 pm (CNA).

Catholic school leaders need to be aware that their schools could be cut off from the federal government's free and subsidized lunch program if their policies don't comply with the Biden administration's revised rules against LGBTQ discrimination, experts warn.

Earlier this year the administration re-interpreted Title IX's federal ban on sex discrimination to include “sexual orientation or gender identity.” Religious freedom and free speech advocates warn that the proposed rule change could be used to enforce mandates on hiring, bathrooms, using preferred pronouns, and dress codes. 

The broadened definition now also applies to the National School Lunch Program, a federally funded meal assistance program administered by the Department of Agriculture that provides subsidized or free lunches to more than 30 million public and private school students from low-income households.

That change promises to put pressure on religious schools not aligned with the Biden administration’s LGBTQ agenda, especially those serving low-income populations that rely heavily on the federal funds.

Fifty-two percent of U.S. Catholic schools participate in the federal lunch program, said Sister Dale McDonald, vice president of public policy at the National Catholic Educational Association, which represents nearly 150,000 educators serving 1.6 million students in Catholic schools, universities, and religious education programs.

One private school, Grant Park Christian Academy in Tampa, Florida, managed to secure a religious exemption last week from the state's agriculture department — but the school had to file a lawsuit first to get it.

And Grant Park Christian’s religious exemption “was the only one approved by the federal and state government,” said Erica Steinmiller-Perdomo, legal counsel with the nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented the school in court.

“Other religious schools are not protected and will need to seek their own religious exemption in writing," she told CNA.

"There is no telling how long it will take for the government to respond to them without a pending lawsuit," she added, "and they have no idea if they need to comply with the unlawful mandates in the meantime.”

Until then, the lawyer stressed, “All schools will continue to be injured by the Biden administration’s overreach in redefining Title IX without going through the proper processes."

Catholic schools 'need to be ready'

The Tampa private school filed a lawsuit in July against Biden and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried after Fried threatened to cut off the school's lunch money. 

On Friday — just over a week after the lawsuit was filed — Fried informed the academy that the school’s application for a religious exemption would be approved, restoring the funds.

Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, a nonprofit organization that promotes and defends Catholic education, warned that although the lawsuit was a win for one school, religious schools that participate in the lunch program should be warned. 

“The fact remains that a religious school was forced to sue the government to protect its constitutional rights, and every Catholic school needs to be ready to do the same,” Reilly told CNA. 

“This was blatant bullying by the Biden administration to advance its radical agenda," he added.

"Moreover, they exploited the fact that many schools, including Catholic schools, felt compelled during the COVID pandemic to greatly expand their participation in the federal school lunch program," Reilly said. "You try to help needy families using federal money, and your religious freedom is endangered."

Several archdioceses contacted by CNA Wednesday did not respond for comment prior to publication time.

In a statement to CNA, the Archdiocese of New York said that it was "studying the applicability of the USDA’s Title IX regulations, and their potential impact on our Catholic schools.”

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 10, 2022 / 18:00 pm (CNA).

American pop star Britney Spears said that she asked to get married in a Catholic church in California, pushing back against claims that she never contacted the parish.

“There was a lot of backlash saying I never asked to get married at the church I pictured,” the 40-year-old wrote in an Instagram post Tuesday. “[I]t’s not a big deal, but I don’t like being called a liar when their church says I never asked !!!”

Her comments came after she reportedly said in a previous Instagram post that she wanted to celebrate her wedding at St. Monica Catholic Church in Santa Monica, near Los Angeles.

At the time, she wrote: “when I wanted to get married there they said I had to be catholic and go through TEST!!! Isn't church supposed to be open to all???”

Later that day, entertainment site TMZ reported that a church representative said there was no record of Spears requesting to be married there. 

Spears ended up celebrating her wedding with actor Sam Asghari at their home in the Los Angeles area in June. 

In her post Tuesday, she shared that she hired a high-profile wedding planner who has organized weddings for celebrities such as Madonna.

“[A]nd yes my first request was to get married in that church pictured,” she said of a photo she previously shared of St. Monica.

“I was told 6 weeks later … I could not get married there !!!” she added. “During the 2 years of Covid, I also wanted to go there … I was told no due to the pandemic.”

Along with her comments on Tuesday, she posted a photo of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

Father Matthew P. Schneider, L.C., who teaches theology at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina, previously outlined for CNA four main requirements for a wedding to take place in a Catholic church.

Either the bride or groom must be Catholic and free from any impediments, such as marriage to another person. Both the bride and groom must “intend what the Church does,” including recognizing marriage as something permanent, exclusive, and open to life. 

They must also plan to raise their children Catholic.

Schneider also told CNA is it unclear whether Spears is Catholic. He said that, to be married in a Catholic church, she would need annulments for her two previous marriages.

, 10 Ago. 22 (ACI Prensa).- Después de 18 años y bajo el lema “Acompañando a las familias en un mundo desafiante”, México volverá a ser la sede del Congreso Mundial de Familias, un evento que reunirá a líderes a favor de la vida y la defensa de la familia natural del 30 de septiembre al 2 de octubre.

REDACCIÓN CENTRAL, 10 Ago. 22 (ACI Prensa).- La Iglesia Católica celebra cada 11 de agosto la fiesta de Santa Clara de Asís, fundadora de las clarisas. En esta ocasión, compartimos 5 datos que debes conocer sobre la vida de esta ejemplar santa.

, 10 Ago. 22 (ACI Prensa).- Una adolescente de 17 años en el estado de Nebraska (Estados Unidos), habría abortado, quemado y sepultado a su bebé de 28 semanas, con la ayuda de su madre.

Redacción Central, 10 Ago. 22 (ACI Prensa).- Mientras la Segunda Guerra Mundial estallaba a su alrededor en Polonia, San Maximiliano Kolbe, cuya fiesta se celebra el 14 de agosto, luchó por las almas usando una imprenta y otra “arma”: la Medalla Milagrosa.