Tag: Christianity

Debar, North Macedonia, February 8, 2024

Photo: slobodenpecat.mk     

The Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric’s stance on the Ukrainian ecclesiastical situation is the reason why the Patriarchate of Constantinople does not recognize it as autocephalous, says His Eminence Metropolitan Timotej of Debar and Kičevo.

Macedonian Church receives tomos of autocephaly from Serbian Church“Today, by the grace of God, we have the opportunity to ratify what already exists between us, this unity that was once disturbed,” Pat. Porfirije stressed.

“>In June 2022, the MOC received a tomos of autocephaly from its Mother Church, the Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate, which has since been formally recognized by several other Local Churches.

At the same time, there are those Local Churches, as well as some figures within the MOC itself, who are waiting for the Patriarchate of Constantinople to grant a second tomos of autocephaly. After learning of the negotiations between the Serbian Church and the previously schismatic Macedonian Church, Constantinople recognized the MOC as canonical (though not autocephalous) in Constantinople enters into communion with Macedonian ChurchAccording to the new statement, Constantinople accepts the hierarchy, clergy, and laity of the MOC into communion under the name of “Ohrid,” thus “healing the wound of schism.”

“>May 2022, stipulating that the further administrative situation between the Serbian and Macedonian Churches was a matter for the Serbian Church to decide.

Serbian Church accepts Macedonian Church as canonical body with broad autonomyThe interruption of liturgical and canonical communion caused by the Macedonian Church’s 1967 schism is ended, and “full liturgical and canonical communion is established.” The Macedonian Church has an estimated 2 million members.

“>Later that month, the Serbian Church made an independent decision to receive the Macedonian Church back into communion as an autonomous Church within the Patriarchate, and the next month it granted the aforementioned autocephaly.

Met. Timotej, who is also the spokesman for the MOC Holy Synod appeared on Macedonian television recently, reports Religija.mk. When asked why, in the two years since the Serbian Church granted autocephaly, Constantinople has not done the same, he noted that negotiations continue, but “There are some questions that from a canonical point of view at this moment we can’t accept, and they insist on something that is unacceptable in our opinion and according to the canons.”

He then clarified that the impasse is specifically due to the MOC’s stance towards the so-called “Orthodox Church of Ukraine.”

“The ‘Orthodox Church of Ukraine’ is a non-canonical church. They were ordained without grace,” Met. Timotej explained.

Macedonian Church rejects communion with Ukrainian schismaticsThe Holy Synod of the MOC decided to wait until the OCU’s status is finalized for the whole Church.

“>In March of last year, decided “not to concelebrate with the hierarchy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine until the full resolution of its status in the fullness of Orthodoxy.”

It’s also known that the Constantinople is so against the idea of the MOC using the title “Macedonian” that it insists it not even refer to itself as such for its own internal uses, as His Eminence Metropolitan Petar of Prespa and Pelagonia Constantinople doesn’t want Macedonian Church to use its own name even for internal use, says MOC hierarchHis Eminence Metropolitan Petar of Prespa and Pelagonia’s comments to TV Thelma come against the background of the question of the MOC’s precise status within the Orthodox world.

“>has explained.

However, Macedonian-Ohrid Church issues statement on its name and autocephalyThe hierarchs of the Synod gathered in a regular session yesterday, February 21. Among the topics discussed was the Church’s relations with other Local Churches.

“>the MOC Synod explicitly understands itself as the guardian of the Church’s statutory order and norms, including its full name of “Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric.”

***

Overall, the autocephaly of the Macedonian Church is recognized by the Churches of of Russian Church officially recognizes autocephaly of Macedonian ChurchAs a sign of this recognition, the name of the MOC primate His Eminence Archbishop Stephan of Ohrid will be inscribed in the sacred diptychs.

“>Russia, Polish Church officially recognizes Macedonian Orthodox ChurchThe Council of Bishops of the Polish Orthodox Church gathered in Warsaw on Tuesday under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland, with the participation of every bishop of the Polish Church.”>Poland, Primate of Macedonian Orthodox Church added to diptychs of Ukrainian Orthodox ChurchThe UOC thus recognizes the MOC as both canonical and autocephalous.”>Ukraine, Bulgarian Church recognizes autocephaly of Macedonian Church, but without title “Ohrid”Another Local Church has recognized not only the canonicity of the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric (MOC) but also its autocephalous status, as granted it by the Serbian Orthodox Church.”>Bulgaria, Romanian Church recognizes Macedonian-Ohrid autocephaly (updated)The autocephaly of the Macdonian CHurch is now recognized by the Churches of Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Romania, in addition to the Serbian Church.”>Romania, and the Czech-Slovak Church recognizes Macedonian-Ohrid autocephalyThe canonicity and autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric has been officially recognized by the Holy Synod of another Local Orthodox Church.”>Czech Lands and Slovakia, in addition to the Serbian Church that granted it.

Meanwhile, the Churches of Constantinople enters into communion with Macedonian ChurchAccording to the new statement, Constantinople accepts the hierarchy, clergy, and laity of the MOC into communion under the name of “Ohrid,” thus “healing the wound of schism.”

“>Constantinople, Greek Synod objects to name and territory of Macedonian Orthodox ChurchThe Permanent Holy Synod of the Church of Greece welcomes the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s decision to recognize the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric as canonical, but has “serious objections and reservations” about the Serbian Church’s decision to grant it autocephaly.”>Greece, Antiochian Synod officially recognizes Macedonian Orthodox ChurchThe Antiochian Orthodox Church is the latest Local Church to officially recognize and enter into communion with the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric.”>Antioch, Georgian Church enters into communion with Macedonian ChurchThe Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church resolved to enter into communion with the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric at its session on Tuesday.”>Georgia, and Albanian Church enters into communion with Macedonian-Ohrid ChurchFebruary has been a momentous month for the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric, as the Holy Synods of no less than four Local Churches have resolved to enter into communion with it.”>Albania recognize the Macedonian Church as canonical but not autocephalous.

MOC hierarchs and clergy have also concelebrated with hierarchs and clergy from the Macedonian concelebrations with Jerusalem, Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian, Greek, Ukrainian Churches in Holy Land (+VIDEO)The Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric continues its journey towards full acceptance in the Orthodox world after it recently received a tomos of autocephaly from the Serbian Orthodox Church.

“>Churches of Jerusalem and the Orthodox Church in America, though their Synods haven’t formally addressed the issue.

Thus far, there have no been Synodal decisions from or concelebrations with hierarchs or clergy of the Churches of Alexandria and Cyprus.

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Vilnius, February 8, 2024

Photo: ortodoksas.let     

The new Exarchate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Lithuania has been officially entered into the registry of legal entities, with approval from the Ministry of Justice.

“The Ministry has decided that the presence of the Exarchate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Lithuania is in accordance with the laws of the country,” said Ministry representative Paulus Žemis, reports TASS. “This religious association can be included in the state register of legal entities.”

According to the Lithuanian outlet lrt.lt, the Exarchate was formally registered on Wednesday, and now awaits a decision on state financial support, said Fr. Vitalijus Mockus.

Recall that the first Liturgy of the Exarchate’s clergy who left the Lithuanian Diocese of the Moscow Patriarchate and joined the Patriarchate of Constantinople was Lithuania: Constantinople’s defrocked priests serve first Liturgy, Patriarch Bartholomew to visitYesterday, the defrocked clerics of Lithuania who have gathered under the omophorion of the Patriarch of Constantinople held their first public Liturgy.

“>celebrated last March. The ecclesiastical establishment of the Exarchate was completed Constantinople formally establishes exarchate on territory of Lithuanian DioceseFor centuries, Lithuania has been acknowledged as the canonical jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. Headed by His Eminence Metropolitan Innokenty of Vilnius, the diocese does not recognize the existence of the new exarchate or the status of its clergy.”>in January of this year with the arrival of Fr. Justinus Kiviloo, the head of the Exarchate.

The Exarchate currently includes a number of clerics from Lithuania, including several who were defrocked by diocesan authorities, as well as clerics from Belarus. The former priests Metropolitan of Lithuania responds to reports about priests being dismissed for being anti-war“Everything was done in secret, but they started talking about it openly now, in connection with the tragic events in Ukraine,” His Eminence notes. While these priests present themselves as martyrs of the anti-war cause, “in reality we have ordinary schismatics before us,” the Metropolitan emphasizes.

“>maintain that they were defrocked for their anti-war stance, though, this is in fact the same stance taken by the entire diocese.

The Exarchate has tried to argue that the Lithuanian Diocese’s stance is general enough to be interpreted as in line with the stance of Patriarch Kirill. However, Metropolitan of Lithuania on Ukraine: the voice of the Christian conscience cries out to HeavenThe head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s diocese in Lithuania issued a statement yesterday expressing his strong feelings about the fratricidal war in Ukraine.

“>in March 2022, Met. Innokenty stated explicitly:

The position of the Orthodox Church in Lithuania is unchanged—we strongly condemn Russia’s war against Ukraine and pray to God for its speedy end. As you have probably already noticed, Patriarch Kirill and I have different political views and perceptions of current events. His political statements about the war in Ukraine are his personal opinion. We in Lithuania do not agree with this.

The Assembly of clerical, monastic, and lay representatives that met in December 2022 likewise stated that “the Lithuanian Orthodox Church immediately condemned the war against Ukraine at all levels—the hierarchy, clergy and laity, and expressed its full support for the anti-war position of its primate, Metropolitan Innokenty of Vilnius and Lithuania.”

Met. Innokenty also commented on the registration of the Exarchate, in an interview published today. He stated:

Whatever happens in society, in a particular country, in the world, one must strive to look at everything with spiritual vision, relying on the Holy Scriptures, the teachings of the Church and the Holy Fathers. It is impossible for the human mind to penetrate the secrets of the amazing, wise providence of God about our entire human civilization, which has its beginning and its end, after which the Last Judgment of the Lord will take place…

Yes, a new picture of religious life is emerging in Lithuania. This process must be accepted as the reality of our days. We have all received from God the gift of freedom of action, but how we use it depends on each of us, on our spiritual and moral state. This applies to all people, both ecclesiastical and secular. It depends on their beliefs, thoughts, followed by specific deeds.

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Lent comes early this year. In fact, Ash Wednesday falls on Feb. 14, and Lent begins.

The Church gives us this season of grace each year as a privileged moment to concentrate on our spiritual lives, and to really work on making progress in our ongoing conversion to Christ.

One of the saints said: “I have decided not to let this Lent go by like rain on stones, leaving no trace. I will let it soak into me, changing me. I will be converted, I will turn again to the Lord and love him as he wants to be loved.”

That is the attitude we need, as we enter into this holy season.

Let’s not miss this beautiful opportunity that we have to grow in our relationship with Jesus, to improve ourselves, to be converted more and more in the image of Jesus!

This is what our life is meant for. We are here to be changed, to be transformed, to be converted.

We are here to become, more and more, every day like Jesus — in the way we think and act, in the way we treat other people and in the priorities that we set for our lives.

This is why Jesus gave his life for us on the cross. So that we could be set free. Free to follow him, and free to live as he intends us to live, according to his teachings and his example.

We know that we are not there yet, that our hearts are still divided. We want to do good, we want to be good. But still we find that we are pulled in the opposite direction.

So Lent gives us a new opportunity to be more serious about our personal conversion to Christ, more serious about becoming the people that God wants us to be.

Our Christian life is a daily work of striving for self-mastery, striving to overcome our natural inclinations to selfishness and self-love, and to direct our love totally to God and to our neighbors.

The traditional practices of Lent — fasting, prayer, penance, and almsgiving — are all meant to strengthen us in our identity as children of God and followers of Jesus.

We should consider these practices to be the “pillars” of our daily lives as Catholics.

As Catholics, we should be praying every day; we should be making sacrifices, little offerings to God; and we should be living with generosity, compassion, and mercy toward others.

Lent also deepens our awareness that we are walking with Jesus. It is he who sets us on this path. He is the One who calls each of us by name to follow him, to be holy as he is holy.

During Lent, we are more conscious that we are following Jesus on his way to the cross, carrying our own crosses along with him.

St. Augustine famously said that if we think we have done enough already, we are lost. “Go further, keep going,” he said. “Don’t stay in the same place, don’t go back, don’t go off the road.”

This is what Lent is all about, staying on the path, the way of the cross. How will we grow in holiness during these 40 days, what practical measures will we take?

These are good questions for us as we enter into this holy season.

In addition to the pillars of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, maybe you can try to get to Mass more often during the week, or to make more time to pray and meditate in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.

Maybe you can make more time each day for a prayerful reading of a passage of the Gospels. And of course, we should make at least one good confession during this season.

The point is that, as Augustine said, we must keep moving forward.

St. Paul used to speak of pressing on toward the higher calling of the Lord, pressing on toward holiness, or as he described it: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”

This is the glorious promise that Jesus makes to each one of us, so let us make progress toward that goal this Lent!

As I often say, being a Catholic, a follower of Jesus, is the work of a lifetime, and it is always a work of beginning and beginning again.

So let us begin again, let us not let Lent go by, leaving no trace! Let us be converted, turning to the Lord again to love him as he wants us to love him.

Pray for me and I will pray for you.

Let us ask our Blessed Mother Mary to help us all to have a holy Lent and to go further and to deepen our conversion to her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Priest Kirill Zholtkevich was born in Caracas in 1952. He began serving with his grandfather who had once been a priest and a missionary in Shanghai under the Tsar. From that time on, the boy was always in church. He graduated from high school in Humboldt and later studied at university, receiving a degree in dentistry. He studied at seminary and graduated from the Department of Architecture of Simon Bolivar Institute. Ordained by Bishop Alexander (Mileant), today Fr. Kirill is a cleric of the Diocese of Caracas of ROCOR. He started as a priest pastoring the “provincial” part of Venezuela: Valencia, Maracaibo and Puerto la Cruz, while also working as a dentist for thirty years. Today he is the rector of the Dormition Church of Caracas.

Priest Kirill Zholtkevich —Fr. Kirill, tell us about your spiritual journey. You literally grew up in church; your grandfather was a priest, and it predetermined your future.

—My spiritual training began with my grandfather, a priest. He took me into the altar when I was four. Since then I have been in church and have always been surrounded by clergy. One day Bishop Alexander (Mileant)Alexander (Mileant), Bishop

“>Vladyka Alexander (Mileant) came to us. He served in Los Angeles and then came to us in Latin America. I helped him. Once he called me and asked, “Kirill, what is your opinion about ordaining Prince Alexander Amilakhvari priest?” I replied: “Vladyka, that is your decision, not mine. He has always wanted, tried, studied, prepared… If a person is drawn to God, we should help and attract him, not reject him.” Vladyka suddenly said: “Well, I’ll tell you when to come to Los Angeles; I’ll ordain Amilakhvari priest and you deacon—you will help him.” It shook me up a bit. I was used to obedience, so I went. We served together, and I helped him as much as I could. But I also had to work in a secular job. Fr. Alexander and I only received money from services of need (treby), but mostly made our livelihoods from our “secular” life. Fr. Alexander was a civil engineer for an oil company. I was a dentist and worked at a public clinic for about thirty years. When a new Government came to power, I was discharged at some point, but it became easier for me because I was able to devote more time to God; besides, I was able to earn extra money in private practice.

Then Fr. Alexander died. Archimandrite Nektary (Haji-Petropoulos): “For me, Vladyka Laurus was a living example of a holy man”Holding a lofty position of a First Hierarch of the Church, he lived the life of a simple monk immersed in prayer.

“>Vladyka Laurus invited me, ordained me priest and sent me to the St. Nicholas Church. But after some changes there I was sent to pastor the whole of Venezuela. Later the parish in which Fr. Alexander Amilakhvari had served, taken over by a priest’s son, separated from ROCOR. From that time on I always traveled to the provinces regularly, as often as possible. When the pandemic broke out, public transportation stopped working. But I had to travel around the country to serve. I have an antimension from Metropolitan Laurus, which does not mention a specific church, so I can serve wherever I see fit. Since then I have been using part of my house for prayer and serving here regularly, including on the feasts. We currently have a problem with gasoline in Venezuela. If it’s not one thing, it’s another! And I am not able to travel to the provinces—there is shortage of gasoline, and it is quite hard to fit my schedule in with bus times. The old ladies who once received me are now dead. And there are no young people…

Bishop Alexander (Mileant). Photo: Iglesiarusa.info     

—Tell us about the history of the foundation of the parish.

—We had many parishioners from among Russian emigres, and many came after World War II. There were three churches in Caracas, plus a so-called “Ukrainian” church, whose parishioners were Ukrainian-speaking emigrants. They tried to separate from us, Russians.

The churches were packed with people on the great feasts, and some stood and prayed outside. Russians settled right where Russian churches were built. In the evening only Russian speech, not Spanish, could be heard in the vicinity. And now only three or four families are left; the others have either died out or moved elsewhere.

And now we have the following situation: There are few parishioners in all the parishes. The Catholics took the “Ukrainian” church because no one went there. The church in Maracay was taken over. And the Serbs asked me to pastor them, because they had no priest. Unfortunately, every year old parishioners go, and young ones are very indifferent to church life. Meanwhile, there are economic problems in the country. Most young people are well educated, so they look for well-paid jobs or move away altogether. In my memory, for example, the son and daughter of a parishioner went to Bogota. I cannot judge them—people are looking for a better life. As for new emigrants, they are totally different from those of the 1940s and the 1950s.

Our first church was built in 1947. There was a certain boom until the 1960s, but after the change of Government some emigrants got scared and started leaving. Most of them were professionals, talented in their trades, and strong believers. Wherever they went, they united and, above all, built churches. The clergy went together with the emigrants. We had Vladyka Seraphim here.¹ He was very peaceful and set a good example to others. But towards the end of his life, the old “base” of emigres no longer here. Vladyka was disappointed and retired. So gradually we lost many clergy.

—Does the community today consist of Russians, or are there representatives of other nationalities too, including locals?

—In Venezuela newcomers are a different world. There are many Belarusians who are sincere believers, but they do not even know how to approach a priest or receive his blessing. You have to explain everything from scratch, but I am happy to do it—that’s my duty. I am glad when children come and receive Communion. This is spiritual joy for a priest.

After the pandemic we organized Christmas parties three years in a row, made pancakes on Maslenitsa (the Cheese-Fare Week), and we arrange some leisure activities and games for children. We’re doing what we can. Some Russians come, but I feel they are still far from spiritual life. They come on the day of the death of a loved one and ask me to serve a Pannikhida, for example. But I see that they know very little about church matters. I can’t demand much of them, because most of them are adults. It shocks me that I have to baptize adults: I bought a full-immersion pool for baptisms. One day a lady came to receive Communion, and when I asked her if she was baptized, she replied that she did not know! What should the rector do in this case? He should baptize her.

​The Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Caracas. Photo: Historiasquelaten.com     

—Can you recall the most striking story of a local converting to Orthodoxy? Or just an interesting story.

—One day I was called and asked to go to Puerto la Cruz. There was a sick Greek there and I was asked to give him Communion. It seemed strange to me, because there was a Greek priest in Venezuela. I went there, heard the Greek’s confession and gave him Communion at the hospital. He was very poorly and died soon after. Then I was asked to come and perform the funeral service for him. I went again. It coincided with the Catholic Christmas, December 25th, and there were problems with traffic. But I arrived there and explained to his family that they should pray on the third, the ninth and the fortieth days for his repose. Interestingly, the Greek’s wife was a local who had converted to Orthodoxy. Their grandchildren were baptized by Catholics. But their father asked me to receive them into Orthodoxy. So I received his two daughters into our Church.

On one of my next journeys my car broke down and I had to take a bus. I was sitting next to a lady there and we started talking. We also spoke about religion. She was in her twenties and unbaptized. I asked her, “What’s your name?” She replied, “Michelle.” And it turned out that her father was a fan of the Beatles and loved their song “Michelle”! “How odd it is!” I thought. The next time I went to the Greek I baptized both Michelle and her daughter.

—Tell us about the most striking events in the life of the parish in recent years (or in its history in general).

—There was an episode that brought me spiritual joy. I heard the confessions of, gave Communion and Unction to and performed the funeral of the wife and brother of a priest in Venezuela, Fr. Paul. He also had a relative named Catherine whom I had never seen in church. She once said to me: “Kirill, I have never confessed.” I explained everything to her. She confessed very thoroughly. I gave her Communion and Unction, and she died the next day. We buried her. Two or three months later a friend of mine passed away (he was like a brother to me). He appeared to me in a dream and started dragging me somewhere, “Kirill, let’s go there!” I told him, “Wait, where are you dragging me?” He was dragging me upwards. Suddenly we found ourselves somewhere where there was white light and white curtains… And I saw the same Catherine there! My friend disappeared and Catherine appeared young to me. Looking at her, I was stunned by her fluffy red hair and her beauty! In real life I had met her when she was in her sixties and I had never seen her red hair. I exclaimed, “How beautiful you are, Granny Katya [a diminutive form of the name Catherine.—Trans.]!” She laughed. I asked her husband, “Was Granny Katya’s hair red?” He looked at me in horror, because I had never seen her photo. So he wondered how I knew it, and I replied, “I saw her.” Such moments have been imprinted on my mind and they only confirm my faith in God.

—Do you manage (if it is needed) to interact with representatives of heterodox denominations and other faiths?

—We mainly communicate with Catholics. An acquaintance of mine knew a cardinal with whom he went to school. I told him that I did not allow people to have Communion without confession. Most Catholics were no longer giving confession before Communion by then. We argued. In the end he told me, “Yes, father, we must revive this tradition—I agree with you.” But it is one thing is to say it, and another to do it.

We had very good relations with the Serbs. Unfortunately, however, there is a lot of modernism amongst them. Ecumenism destroys everything.

Passers-by on a Caracas street. dk1974.tourister.ru     

—What serious spiritual questions from parishioners do you as a pastor come across in your ministry?

—It depends—from the simplest and easiest to the most complex. The latest example: A mother lost her son. So some Catholics ask me for help. It is hard to explain to them that there is no Purgatory. Our Church teaches that we must pray and do good deeds in memory of the departed, but the Catholics don’t have that. Local Protestants believe in various modern propaganda, that Christ was in India or in China.

I had a difficult case, as well: A man was struggling with drugs and alcohol. My future assistant, for whom I had great expectations, was ruined by alcoholism and committed suicide. There was a young man who was drawn to the Church. My grandfather hoped he would become a priest. But God took that man—he was with his friends at sea, and drowned.

—What is the main lesson you have learned over the years of your ministry?

—Salvation is in PatienceDo you hear? Patience makes us perfect, without any inadequacies.

“>Patience. More patience. Many things have to be “swallowed”. Never lose heart. I can also say that at every moment I repeat the Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, which is read throughout Lent. It means a lot to me, and lifts my spirits.

I am not fearful when there are few parishioners. In my grandfather’s time I saw the church packed. And by the end of his life, he often served with only me and maybe an old lady as his parishioners. My grandfather served, and I helped him, sang and read. Modern clergy sometimes get disappointed in such situations. But it doesn’t bother me. I saw it in childhood.

—If a pilgrim (or a traveler) from Russia comes to Venezuela, which places would you recommend him to visit?

—The nature of Venezuela is a paradise. There are lovely beaches; there is jungle, which is also nice; there are mountains and snow; there is a desert; it is summer all year around; and nature changes depending on your location. I remember my brother lived in the Andes for the last few years. According to my brother, it was warm there. But when I was there, I slept under two blankets at night.

The Venezuelan Andes. lacgeo.com     

There are waterfalls and rivers to all tastes here. There are even crocodiles, and snakes, both venomous and harmless. There are snakes that can eat a whole boar. Piranhas live in these parts. A school of them can attack a man and eat him in just a few minutes.

There is Teleferico in Caracas, a cable car system for viewing the city. The “gondola lift” rises up to a platform, where you can relax, have a snack, take a walk, and see beautiful views of the city and nature. On the way to the top you can admire the whole of Caracas.

—In conclusion, here is our traditional question: What words from the Holy Scriptures especially inspire and support you in difficult moments of your life?

—The words about the The Rich Man and Poor LazarusThis Gospel is highly instructive for all of us, for people of every condition and rank.

“>rich man and Lazarus. The rich man didn’t care about his soul: he had lavish feasts every day; and there was Lazarus who lay beside the fence, eating crumbs from the rich man’s table, with dogs licking his sores. Both of them died. The rich man found himself in hell, and Lazarus ended up in Paradise with Abraham and Isaac. The rich man had known about Lazarus’ suffering, but he had totally ignored it. Now he was asking Lazarus for help, but there was an abyss between them. This story clearly shows us that we end up either there or here after death. Wealth is nothing—it’s temporary. Satan showed Christ that all the riches of the world were his, but they are simply dust. The Bible clearly tells us that there are two paths you can walk: either “up”, or “down”.

During the years I have been writing this column, I have rarely mentioned the fact that I belong to a religious order, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. That omission is not an evasion, since being an Oblate of Mary Immaculate is something of which I am quite proud. However, I rarely flag the fact that I am a priest and a member of a religious order because I believe what I write here and elsewhere needs to ground itself on things beyond titles.

In this column, however, I want to speak about the founder of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, St. Eugéne de Mazenod, because what he had to say about Christian discipleship and spirituality is something of value and importance for everyone, like the legacies that have been left us by other great religious founders like Bernard, Francis, Dominic, Angela Merici, Ignatius of Loyola, Vincent de Paul, and others.

De Mazenod (1779-1861) was a French bishop of aristocratic origins who some popular myths identify as the bishop in “Les Miserables.” He was a man whose personality ran somewhat naturally in the direction of the stern, the introverted, the strongly inner-directed, the mystical, and the single-minded. He wasn’t the type of person most people would choose as their first choice for light dinner conversation, but he was the type of person who is often God’s first choice to found a religious order.

Soren Kierkegaard once stated that “to be a saint is to will the one thing.” De Mazenod clearly did that and, in his case, that one thing had a number of aspects which, taken together, form the basis of a very rich, balanced spirituality — one that emphasizes some salient aspects of Christian discipleship that are often neglected today.

What shaped the spirituality of de Mazenod and the charism he left behind?

First, he emphasized community. For him, a good life is not just one of individual achievement, fidelity, or even greatness; it is a life that links itself to the power inherent within community. He was a firm believer in the axiom: what we dream alone remains a dream, what we dream with others can become a reality.

In his view, compassion only becomes effective when it becomes collective, when it issues forth from a group rather than from just one individual. He believed that alone you can make a splash but not a difference. He founded a religious order because he deeply believed this.

In the face of all the issues confronting the world and the Church today, if someone were to ask him, “What’s the one single thing I might do to make a difference?” He would reply: Connect yourself with others of sincere will within community, around the person of Christ. Alone you cannot save the world. Together we can!

Second, he believed that a healthy spirituality makes a marriage between contemplation and justice. Judged in the light of our contemporary sensitivities, his exact expression of this is perhaps linguistically awkward today, but his key principle is perennially valid: only an action that issues forth from a life that is rooted in prayer and deep interiority will be truly prophetic and effective. Conversely, all true prayer and genuine interiority will burst forth in action, especially in action for justice and the poor.

Third, in his own life and in the spirituality he laid out for his religious community, he made a strong preferential option for the poor. He did this not because it was the politically correct thing to do, but because it was the correct thing to do; the Gospel demands this, and it is non-negotiable. His belief was simple and clear: as Christians, we are called to be with and work with those whom nobody else wants to be with and work with. For him, any teaching or action that is not good news for the poor cannot claim to be speaking for Jesus or for Scripture.

Fourth, he put all of this under the patronage of the mother of Jesus, Mary, whom he saw as an advocate for the poor. He recognized that the poor turn to her, for it is she who gives voice to the Magnificat.

Finally, in his own life and in the ideal he laid out, he brought together two seemingly contradictory tendencies: a deep love for the institutional Church and the capacity to prophetically challenge it at the same time. He loved the Church, believed that it was the noblest thing for which one might die; but at the same time, he wasn’t afraid to publicly point out the Church’s faults or to admit that the Church needs constant challenge and self-criticism … and he was willing to offer it!

His personality was very different from mine. I doubt that he and I would spontaneously like each other. But that’s incidental. I’m proud of his legacy, proud to be one of his sons, and convinced enough of his spirituality to give my life over for it.

This story, which is important and very personal, was shared with Pravoslavie.ru by Irina, a parishioner of one of the Moscow churches. It is about the final days of her mother Galina’s life, a miracle after reading the Psalter and God’s infinite love and mercy. We offer this story from Irina’s words.

A Woman on Her Deathbed. Artist: Ferdinand Hodler     

Death is a great mystery. It is the birth of someone from earthly, temporary life into eternity.

—St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

The story I am going to share with you began with my integration into church life. I became a church-goer while caring for my mother, who had been ill for about fifteen years by that time. She had rheumatoid polyarthritis, and the mobility of her joints kept decreasing over the years. When I started attending church, my mother was already bedridden—she could sit up on the bed a little, but she could no longer walk.

And my father-confessor began to show concern for my family and events related to it in conversation with me, and often inquired about my mother’s health. “How is your mother?” He would ask. “Would she like to confess?”

I had a condescending attitude to her then: “Mother had never been to a church, but I am an active church member!”

But the priest was persistent. He kept reminding me to ask my mother about confession. I finally obeyed him and asked her if she wanted to talk to a priest. And my mother suddenly agreed!

The priest came rather soon, a few days later. They spoke and then he came out and said that my mother was still not ready to confess. But she would let me know when she was ready, and then I should let him know right away.

And the day came when my mother told me that she wanted to have Preparing for ConfessionNow tell me: Is Confession profitable or needful? Certainly it is profitable and even essential; because, just as it is impossible to cleanse a vessel without ridding it of all uncleanness, so it is impossible to purge your soul of sins without confession.

“>confession. But I forgot to tell the priest about it; my chores and very important events in the church filled my mind. And finally, the priest himself asked me again if my mother was ready to confess. I told him that, yes, she was ready!

Soon the priest arrived. He heard my mother’s confession and gave her Communion. It turned out that although she had never been in a church in her life, she knew the prayer “Our Father” by heart. And when I talked to her rather arrogantly, she said: “True, I had never set foot in a church, but I knew, ‘Our Father’, and whenever you had ups and downs and bad things happened to you, I read this prayer.” These words greatly astonished me.

Here is my mother’s life story in brief: she was baptized “by accident”, if I may say so. She was born in 1940, and there lived a priest nearby who would visit the families where a baby had just been born and offer to baptize them. My grandmother was an absolutely unreligious person, but she agreed to have the baby baptized “just in case”, because she had been offered. Thus, my mother was baptized, but never when to church afterwards. She lived the life of a typical Soviet person.

And so the first confession and Communion took place in her life. By the look of the priest who came out of my mother’s room, I realized that the confession had been very thorough and left a mark on his soul. At first, I didn’t take what had happened seriously, but my father-confessor was very pensive. I wouldn’t use the word “staggered”, but he was close to it.

Three days after the confession and Communion, my mother suddenly began to feel unwell and experienced a sharp drop in her blood pressure. I very little medical knowledge, but there was a medical person close to us, albeit a vet by profession, and such extremely low pressure indicators immediately alerted her, as well as the sounds that could be heard when my mother was breathing. The woman said I needed to call an ambulance. I was hesitant to agree and skeptical that the ambulance would arrive. But this acquaintance of ours convinced me, and an ambulance did arrive.

Everything was very routine… The ambulance doctor washed her hands, measured my mother’s blood pressure, gave her an injection, then washed her hands again. She then calmly said to me, “Your mother is dying.” She explained that when someone’s blood pressure drops like that, it is irreversible.

I was not ready to hear that… I didn’t know what to do. In my confusion, I called my father-confessor who advised me to continue fighting for my mother. I called him with the question: “What ought I to do? Perhaps in such cases people read something in church? Are there any specific rules of the church? But the priest suggested fighting a bit more. Another ICU ambulance was called through his efforts and confirmed what had been said by the first crew. They provided a more detailed explanation of what was happening. It turned out that my mother had been taking a drug all these years, which relieved her pain, but it didn’t cure her. And that drug was toxic—all those years it had been killing her liver, so her liver had failed… My mother was dying of cirrhosis of the liver.

I was told that it was an irreversible process that couldn’t be stopped. They were unable to say how long my mother would survive. But there would be terrible pains, as her liver was not working and the blood was not being cleansed. Every organ through which blood passed would hurt in her body. And I had to get special medications that are usually prescribed to those with cancer and give her these injections myself to ease her pain, which I did.

We informed my mother about her condition. She took it very calmly, saying that she wanted to see and bid farewell to everyone who was close and who could get here. Our relatives came, including my older brother and my grandmother—her mother. My mother had quiet conversations with each of them and said goodbye.

And the pain spread.

Her suffering was visible. Injections were effective for a short period, and then even they stopped helping in her condition.

My mother was in agony. At the moment when she passed away, I was not sleeping. I was reading my evening rule. And it was impossible to sleep anyway; my mother kept asking me to turn her on her bed, looking for a position in which she would have at least some relief. I left the room and suddenly realized that I no longer heard her moans. When I came back, I found that my mother was dead.

Then there were certain procedures required in these cases, and the police and doctors were called. Her death was registered. My sisters and I washed her body. It happened at night and in the morning we started making arrangements regarding the documents and the place in the cemetery; in short, routine preparations before the funeral.

My mother’s body was lying in the room. In the afternoon my friend came to my place. She was a churchgoer who had once helped me integrate into church life. She said that the Psalter should be read for the newly reposed—the first three days incessantly, and then you take turns. And we decided that we would do this and agreed on a rotation. I said I would be the first to read.

I took the Psalter into my hands for the first time, opened it, and started reading. I sat down next to my mother’s body. As I read, I looked up at her face. It had a stamp of pain; the suffering she had gone through was imprinted on it. It was clear to everyone who had seen her that she had been dying in severe physical pain—it left its clear mark on her face.

Reading the Psalter and looking up periodically at my mother, I was suddenly surprised to see tears flowing down her eyes… I was very amazed by this. I kept staring at my mother without looking away. Tears were flowing from her eyes down her cheeks and temples… and at that moment her face began to smooth out. It slowly smoothed out, and a serene smile appeared on it. I called my sisters, other relatives, and my friend, who were at home at that moment, and they were astonished as well. We all watched the quiet joy imprinted on my mother’s face at that moment.

We continued reading the Psalter by turns nonstop. On the day of the funeral, our relatives came and sat down next to my mother. They looked and peered at her features and said in surprise, Galya [a diminutive form of the name Galina.—Trans.] is smiling! How strange! Really smiling!” Since most of our relatives were not religious, I did not tell them about the miracle. Only later did I tell some of them how it all had occurred—it had happened to a dead body!

I reflected a lot on everything myself, going back to this event in my mind. At the moment when it happened, I didn’t understand its significance. It was not until later that I realized it was a clear miracle and the mercy of God.

And then I came to understand the whole essence of the commandment: Judge not, that ye be not judged (Mt. 7:1). I realized that the Lord looks at something else—at the heart, and not at the outward appearance. Over the years God’s mercy had been manifested for my mother and all of us, who are sinful people.

While I was reading the Psalter for my mother, a miracle occurred to me too—the Lord touched my heart and I realized how little I had loved my mother, how much I missed her and wanted to talk about a lot more with her…

My mother’s life had nothing to do with the Church. The only contact with it was her confession and Communion just before her death. And such a death, which showed all the mercy of God! I am grateful to God that this miracle occurred to my mother, and I really believe and hope that the Lord accepted her repentance and had mercy on her.

May the Lord forgive all the sins of the servant of God Galina, and grant her eternal rest!

St. Josephine Bakhita was born in 1869 in Darfur, Sudan. As a child, she was kidnapped while working in the fields with her family and sold into slavery. When her kidnappers asked for her name, she was too scared to tell them, so they called her “Bakhita,” meaning “fortunate” in Arabic.

The early parts of Bakhita’s life were not so fortunate. She was tortured by many of her owners, branded, beaten, and cut. In her biography, she recalled one particular incident where her master cut her 114 times, pouring salt on the wounds to ensure they would scar.

Although she did not know about Christ or Christianity, Bakhita suffered valiantly. She wrote that even then, she marveled at the world and the being who created it. “Seeing the sun, the moon and the stars, I said to myself: Who could be the Master of these beautiful things? And I felt a great desire to see him, to know him and to pay him homage.”

Bakhita was sold five times before she was purchased by Callisto Legnani, the Italian consul in the capital of Sudan. After a few years, he sent her to Italy to work as a nanny for his college August Michieli. Michieli had Bakhita accompany his daughter to a school run by Canossian sisters in Venice.

There Bakhita learned more about the Church, and was baptized with the name Josephine Margaret. When Michieli tried to take Josephine and his daughter back to Sudan, Josephine refused. The courts eventually ruled that Josephine was a free woman and could stay in Italy, because slavery was not recognized in Italy, and had been illegal in Sudan since before Josephine was born.

In 1893, Josephine entered the Canossian order. After she made her profession, she went to northern Italy to live in a community and teach others about God’s love.

St. Josephine was known for her gentleness and her holiness. She once said that if she “were to meet the slave-traders who kidnapped me and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands, for if that did not happen, I would not be a Christian and Religious today.”

St. Josephine was beatified in 1992 and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000. She was the first Sudanese saint, and the patron saint of the country.

In the latest signs of what critics have long described as a deteriorating climate for religious minorities in India under a Hindu nationalist government, several Protestants, including two American nationals, and a Catholic priest have been arrested in separate incidents under the country’s controversial anti-conversion laws.

In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, Father Dominic Pinto of the Lucknow diocese was arrested Feb. 5 along with six Protestants on charges of trying to convert poor Dalits, or “untouchables,” from Hinduism to Christianity, while in Assam, in far northeastern India, two American Baptists were fined Feb. 2 for engaging in religious activities that violated the conditions of their tourist visas.

The Americans, named John Matthew Bone and Michael James Flinchum, were not arrested but were compelled to pay a fine of $500. Pinto, meanwhile, and his Protestant companions, remain in custody pending a bail application.

According to local media reports, Pinto is the director of the Navintha pastoral center of the Lucknow diocese, which he had agreed to make available to a group called Khrist Bhakts, or “followers of Christ,” composed of Hindus, Muslims and members of other religions who nevertheless find inspiration in Christ and pray to him.

Sources said that while the meeting of roughly 200 people was taking place, a group of Hindu activists attempted to disrupt the gathering and then staged a protest outside the local police station, accusing the meeting of targeting poor Hindus, especially women and children, for conversion.

Police officers arrived at the pastoral center and broke up the meeting, taking several people into custody.

The Hindu protestors demanded that Pinto’s name be included in the police complaint, on the grounds that he was responsible for permitting the meeting to occur, even though a diocesan spokesman later said he wasn’t even in attendance.

Eventually, Pinto and six other individuals, including five Protestant pastors who were attending the meeting, were arrested and detained. They face charges under Uttar Pradesh’s anti-conversion law and, if convicted, could be sentenced to ten years in prison.

According to Bishop Gerald Mathias of Lucknow, the Hindu protestors belonged to the right-wing nationalist group Vishva Hindu Parishad or its young wing, Bajrang Dal. He called charges that the meeting was engaging in conversion “totally false.”

“There was no conversion involved,” Mathias told Crux.

“This is a gross misuse of the draconian anti-conversion law in the state,” Mathias said. “Police have registered a complaint without any evidence or proof of conversion. They come under mob pressure or succumb to the dictates of higher-ups. This is a typical case of harassment and atrocities against Christians.”

“We are praying earnestly and working to get bail at the earliest,” Mathias said. “I hope and pray that justice and good sense will prevail.”

Meanwhile in Assam, the two American Baptists remain at liberty, having received a warning against engaging in other religious activities.

According to the police, Boone and Flinchum came to India on an e-tourist visa and traveled to the town of Tezpur in Assam state to witness the Jan. 31 blessing of a new extension at a Baptist hospital for which they had helped to raise funds.

Hindu activists accused the pair of engaging in religious preaching at the campus of the Baptist Christian Hospital, leading police to interrogate Boone and Flinchum the next day about their activities.

“They were on tourist visas, and as per the provisions, they cannot perform religious activities or propagate religious ideologies. Hence, we called them to the police station and imposed fines of $500 each,” a local police official told the media.

Although no formal case was registered, the Ministry of External Affairs was informed of the incident, and the two Americans were cautioned against further participation in religious functions.

“A Baptist association had held a building inauguration function in Tezpur, and Baptist leaders from different parts of Assam had gathered there. The two US nationals were also present there. The building itself is incomplete, it is half-done, so we have to say that they had come for conversion activities,” the police official said.

“Since they were in the country on tourist visas, they cannot participate in any religious meeting,” he said.

A spokesman for the Baptist group in Assam said that while Flinchum did speak at the dedication of the hospital extension, there was no proselytism involved.

“He expressed happiness to see the new building,” the spokesman said. “All the participants were Christians. There was no any religious content of preaching.”

The local Catholic prelate, Archbishop John Moolachira of Guwahati, expressed solidarity with the Baptist group.

“It is harassment of Christian institution, and looks like the government machinery wants to instill fear in the mind of Christians,” Moolachira told Crux.

Moolachira made the comments while out of the diocese attending a plenary assembly of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India.

“Though I am in Bangalore, I feel for the victims and our Baptist friends,” he said. “It is not the first instance of harassment of Christian tourists who visit Assam.”

Moolachira’s reference likely was to the fact that in October 2022, seven Germans and three Swedish citizens were detained on similar charges of allegedly flouting visa norms by indulging in missionary activities.

Open Doors International, a Protestant watchdog group that tracks anti-Christian persecution worldwide, currently ranks India as the 11^th most dangerous nation for Christians, charging that “Christians around the nation of India find themselves increasingly under threat.”

“This hostility is often driven by an ongoing belief among some Hindu extremists that Indians ought to be Hindu—and any faith outside of Hinduism is not welcome in India,” the group reported.

At or near the top of almost any Catholic parent’s list of things they want for their children is for them to continue practicing their Catholic faith into adulthood. But recent statistics paint a sobering picture: In the United States today, only about 15% of children raised in Catholic households grow up to be faithful Catholic adults.

But in the face of this diminutive percentage, one group of researchers sought to focus on the positive with a new study aiming to study the practices of parents who successfully raise children to be practicing Catholic adults.

The study titled “Raised Catholic: Who Stays and Who Goes?” was done by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University in conjunction with the Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life. The researchers used existing data from the General Social Survey (GSS) — a widely-used and respected resource — as well as more than two dozen original half-hour interviews with Catholics with adult children who remain active in the faith.

Dr. Gregory Popcak, a widely cited Catholic counselor and co-executive director of the Peyton Institute, told CNA that the overall conclusion of the study was that children who grow up in a warm and affectionate home — spending time with their family in fun, prayer, and service to others — are more likely to remain Catholic as adults.

“Families are effective in passing on the faith to the next generation to the degree that the children felt that the faith was a source of warmth in their homes,” Popcak told CNA.

Among households that were successful in fostering lasting faith, children understood their parents to be open to hearing and talking about the children’s doubts and struggles when it came to faith — an environment where kids “didn’t feel like they would be lectured or scolded for having questions or struggles or doubts.” If a question arose that the parents didn’t have the answer to, they would pursue the answer together — “authoritative without being authoritarian,” Popcak noted.

Popcak, who with his wife, Lisa, led the creation of an app called CatholicHOM, told CNA that the study shows that faith formation efforts such as Catholic schools, youth groups, and other ministries — while very important — are “secondary and supportive” to a strong faith life within families. The Church has long taught and emphasized that a parent’s role in fostering the faith of their children is “original and irreplaceable” (Familiaris Consortio), he noted.

Popcak said he hears often from parents on his EWTN radio show that their children have left the faith and they want to know what happened. He said he usually asks the parents what they did to live the faith inside the home, and many parents express confusion, saying they gave their children numerous faith-related opportunities outside the home.

“We’ve sent the message to parents that it’s everybody ELSE’s job to evangelize their kids,” he commented.

“I think this study reveals something that’s hidden in plain sight … it completely challenges our entire approach to evangelization as a Church, because we invest all our time and resources into adult evangelization and youth ministry. And they’re all good — I’m not knocking any of that. But unless families are [living the faith at home], the other stuff doesn’t stick,” he explained.

“Everything else the Church does to evangelize outside of the family is really secondary and remedial.”

‘Intentional and conscientious’

Data cited by the researchers show that the number of people who remain practicing Catholics after being raised Catholic in the United States has been steadily declining for decades.

In the 1970s, an average of 36% of those who were raised Catholic remained Catholic as adults and attended Mass weekly, peaking at 40% in 1977. By the 2010s, that figure was just 15%. (The researchers pointed out that this figure does not include those who were not raised Catholic and converted to Catholicism. In addition, Catholic immigration helps to maintain the overall Catholic population despite declining retention rates among native-born Catholics.)

Among those raised Catholic who leave the faith, about half become religiously unaffiliated and the other half adopts a new religious affiliation. The median age at which these former Catholics said they made the decision to leave the faith was 13, the researchers said.

Dr. Mark Gray, a senior researcher with CARA who worked on the study, told CNA that the research does not aim to provide parents a “checklist,” and parents shouldn’t treat it as such. He said that while every family is different, their study did find “patterns of association” that seem to be common to families that successfully raise Catholic children.

So what else did they find?

Some of the common threads the researchers found are perhaps unsurprising. Most often those who remain Catholic and weekly Mass attenders attended Mass every Sunday with their parents as children. Many were raised in Catholic schools or parish religious education. Their prayer life with their family was active before dinner, at bedtime, and with additional prayer time such as family rosaries when possible.

Another key through line in the data was the importance of families spending time together in charitable service to others. Some families, Popcak said, hosted immigrants in their homes, did community service projects together, and even had family discussions about their household budget to decide how they could sacrifice so that they could give to others in need.

Yet another common factor that came up again and again? Families that prioritized gathering daily for family dinners were more likely to raise Catholic children into adulthood.

“Family dinners are an opportunity to create communion through communication,” Popcak commented.

“That is where families create a space to reflect on the day together, to make plans together, to communicate values … all the research really points to the importance of strong rituals for family resilience and also in passing on values.”

Demographically, practicing Catholic adults were more likely to have parents who were still married. The data also suggested that children who grew up with one stay-at-home parent were more likely to practice their faith into adulthood, and that they themselves are subsequently more likely to believe that one parent should stay at home, rather than both parents working. While highlighting this data point, Popcak nevertheless pointed out that any household, regardless of their situation, can be “intentional and conscientious” about passing on the faith to the next generation.

He reiterated that every family is different, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to passing on the Catholic faith to children.

But he said he believes that through this study, “we’ve identified those practices that enable families everywhere, regardless of their socioeconomic status or their makeup or their culture, their nationality and ethnicity … they can develop their own mission and charism using this framework.”

“Whatever the shape of your home is, whether you’re a traditional family with a stay-at-home parent, or you’re a two-career family, or you’re a blended family or a single-parent family, all families have their own struggles. But the more each household can live out these practices in their home, the more likely it is they’ll be able to raise their children to a faithful adulthood,” he said.

Alberta’s proposed parental rights policy is another step in parents regaining control of their children’s education — in particular concerning a perceived overreach with gender ideology — from school bureaucrats, its supporters say.

The new policy, introduced by Premier Danielle Smith in a video posted to X on Jan. 31, will forbid gender reassignment surgery for minors under 18 years old and prohibit puberty blockers and hormone therapies for youth aged 15 and younger. Following the same path as neighboring Saskatchewan, the new rules also make parental notification and consent compulsory from a school seeking to comply with requests by a child under 16 to change his or her name or pronoun; schools will have to notify parents of 16- and 17-year-olds seeking to make such change.

Elementary and secondary schools will also be mandated to provide notification and an opt-in requirement for each occasion a teacher plans to instruct about gender identity, sexual orientation, or human sexuality in the classroom.

Jeff Gunnarson, national president of Campaign Life Coalition, called Smith’s announcement “groundbreaking.”

“A political miracle has just happened,” Gunnarson said. “With these new policies, a Canadian premier has essentially told the seemingly unstoppable transgender movement to stop in its tracks and leave Alberta kids alone. I commend Premier Smith for her proposed policies that will go a long way in protecting children and safeguarding the unreplaceable parent-child relationship.”

Teresa Pierre, executive director of Parents as First Educators (P.A.F.E.), said the Alberta policy is a sign of growing momentum in parents taking back their rights against bureaucrats pushing radical gender agendas.

“It started with [New Brunswick Premier] Blaine Higgs followed by Saskatchewan with the notwithstanding clause,” Pierre said. “Every time something new happens there is something building and getting stronger.”

Last June, Higgs’ government introduced similar legislation that aimed to give more parental control in the education system back to parents, particularly surrounding gender issues. Saskatchewan followed, as did a number of other provinces.

Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA) Canada, a lobbying organization that aims to equip and encourage Christians to political action, also applauded Smith’s policy announcement.

“Alberta is right to restrict these surgeries as well as puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors, all of which have severe long-term health risks,” said John Sikkema, ARPA’s director of law and policy. He urged Smith “to follow through with implementing these policy changes, despite the predictable backlash by activist groups and media.”

Smith, in her video, touched upon how teenaged years are “a very complicated time” of constant change, development, and new thoughts and feelings. She spoke about the responsibility shared by parents, teachers, and community leaders “to preserve for our children the right to grow and develop into mature adults so that they are better prepared to make the most impactful decisions affecting their lives.” Deciding whether or not to alter one’s biological sex is a serious decision that should be made in adulthood, she said.

“Making permanent and irreversible decisions regarding one’s biological sex while still a youth can severely limit that child’s choices in the future,” Smith said. “Prematurely encouraging or enabling children to alter their very biology or natural growth, no matter how well-intentioned and sincere, poses a risk to that child’s future that I, as premier, am not comfortable with permitting in our province.”

The Catholic Register reached out for comment to both the Calgary Catholic School District and the Edmonton Catholic School Division. Both boards replied that more time is required to thoroughly review the new policies.

The blowback against the new policy began even before it was made public. The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) criticized the provincial government for not seeking its input when shaping the new guidelines. Jason Schilling, ATA president, warned that “pieces of the policies announced are concerning.”

“We are concerned about the chilling effect placed on classrooms and schools, impacting our ability to provide safe, caring, and inclusive spaces for all students,” Schilling wrote. “We are concerned about how students may feel forced to suppress their identities and to be afraid of reaching out to teachers as an avenue of support.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decried Smith for unveiling “the most anti-LGBT policies of anywhere in the country.” He called on the Alberta premier to “fight with us to defend the rights of vulnerable Canadians, don’t fight against vulnerable LGBT youth.” The prime minister’s comment echoed his statement against New Brunswick in June when he categorized Higgs’ government as “far-right political actors” who were exposing vulnerable children to “cruelty and isolation.”

The new policy will also bring changes to provincial sports. A women’s-only division will be created to ensure women and girls have the option of not competing against a biological male who now identifies as a female. The government will also collaborate with sporting organizations by expanding co-ed divisions and forming gender-neutral categories for athletic competitions.