null / Shutterstock.CNA Newsroom, May 25, 2023 / 13:15 pm (CNA).South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed a bill Thursday prohibiting abortion after six weeks of pregnancy that goes into effect immediately.The Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act, passed the Republican-controlled Senate Tuesday in a 27-19 vote, a week after the House passed the bill. The new law includes exceptions for rape and incest, the life of the mother, and fetal abnormalities up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. "With my signature, the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act is now law and will begin saving the lives of unborn children immediately," the Republican governor said. "This is a great day for life in South Carolina, but the fight is not over. We stand ready to defend this legislation against any challenges and are confident we will succeed. The right to life must be preserved, and we will do everything we can to protect it," he said.South Carolina had previou
null / Credit: ShutterstockACI Prensa Staff, May 25, 2023 / 16:30 pm (CNA).A Catholic bishop and Alliance Defending Freedom have criticized the 2022 ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) on the Pavez Pavez vs. Chile case for proposing controversial nondiscrimination "training" regarding sexual orientation that could threaten the country s religious denominations.The court gave Chile, and indirectly the Church, two years to comply.ACI Prensa, CNA s Spanish-language news partner, recently interviewed Juan Ignacio González Errázuriz, the bishop of San Bernardo, Chile, where the controversy originated, to learn how the Church is dealing with the case.The prelate said the ruling handed down on April 20, 2022, against the Chilean state "implies that the independence of the Church or religious denominations is disavowed, and that is very serious and absolutely unacceptable.""The ruling jeopardizes the independence and autonomy of a religious den
Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA / nullDenver, Colo., May 25, 2023 / 14:55 pm (CNA).Three former students at a Massachusetts Catholic high school have filed a lawsuit against Boston s Cardinal Sean O Malley and other Church leaders because of alleged abuse committed by the school s vice principal.Attorney Mitchell Garabedian on Monday announced that he had filed a May 5 lawsuit in Suffolk County Superior Court on behalf of three former students at Arlington Catholic High School in the northwest Boston suburb of Arlington.The plaintiffs, who are not named in court papers, allege that former vice principal Stephen Biagioni abused them from about 2011 to 2016, the Boston Globe reported. The former students were between the ages of 15 and 17 at this time, they told reporters on Monday, according to WBUR News.Biagioni, who became principal of Arlington Catholic High School, was placed on administrative leave in April 2016 pending the outcome of an inve.
An all-Ireland pro-life rally in Dublin. / William Murphy/infomatique via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).Rome Newsroom, May 25, 2023 / 14:15 pm (CNA).Five years after Irish voters rejected the constitutional amendment that protected "the right to life of the unborn," more than 28,800 abortions have occurred in Ireland since the referendum came into effect.Irish Sen. Rónán Mullen called losing Ireland s pro-life Eighth Amendment in the referendum vote on May 25, 2018, "the most tragic moment in Irish political history" in terms of the number of lives lost.According to Ireland s Pro-Life Campaign, the country s annual abortion rate has increased by at least 70%, with 28,802 abortions performed in the republic since the referendum came into effect in 2019. New data provided by Ireland s Health Service Executive on May 25 revealed that there were 8,876 abortions performed in Ireland in 2022 alone, a 33% increase from 2021."When we look at the change that has happened
St. Philip Neri in levitation, fresco by unknown (1600 ca.) from Vallicella rooms of the saint, Chiesa Nuova, Rome. / Credit: Francesco Cantone/ShutterstockRome, Italy, May 26, 2023 / 01:00 am (CNA).On the via Appia Antica, beyond the Aurelian walls, sits the ancient basilica of San Sebastiano fuori le Mura. It is one of the most important churches in Rome, not only because it is one of the seven pilgrimage churches of Rome, but also because it is where the remains of Sts. Peter and Paul were taken (it was known as "Basilica Apostolorum" before it was dedicated to St. Sebastian) during the Christian persecution. It is also here, deep in the catacombs that lie beneath the extant basilica, where St. Philip Neri had his spiritual epiphany on the eve of Pentecost in 1544. It is here where the beloved Second Apostle of Rome committed himself to a life of charity.Early life, arrival in Rome, and the catacombsBorn in 1515 to a wealthy Florentine family, the young Filippo Neri w