Plan B. / Mike Mozart via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).Washington D.C., Mar 15, 2023 / 15:55 pm (CNA).Miami University s student government association has plans to install a "Plan B" emergency contraception vending machine on its Oxford, Ohio, campus in time for the fall semester. Plan B emergency contraception, also known as "the morning-after pill," is a one-step pill that can sometimes act as an abortifacient. Though plans have not yet been finalized, the university s student government has proposed purchasing the pills in bulk and selling them in a campus community hall to make them available to students 24/7 at a discounted price, according to student government meeting notes. Miami University would be the first school in Ohio to have a contraception vending machine on campus.Sophomore Ryan Parker, one of the students behind the proposal, told The Miami Student that he expected the university s administration to approve the initiative."We re still kind of working o
Fire in the Sacred Heart of Jesus Chapel belonging to St. Francis of Assisi Parish in the village of Selva Oscura, Chile, March 13, 2023. / Credit: Bishopric of TemucoCNA Newsroom, Mar 15, 2023 / 16:30 pm (CNA).The Catholic community of the Diocese of Temuco in Chile said no to violence following the March 13 fire that destroyed the Sacred Heart of Jesus chapel in the Amaza sector.In a public statement signed by the diocesan administrator, Father Juan Andrés Basly Erices, the community expressed its grief over the arson attack that occurred in the early morning hours of March 13, destroying the chapel belonging to St. Francis of Assisi Parish in the village of Selva Oscura."On this day, when His Holiness Pope Francis marks the 10th anniversary of his pontificate, we echo the words of the message he delivered to us during his visit to these lands of La Araucanía, where he stated that violence calls for violence, destruction increases division and separation. Violence ends up tu.
Ruins after a militia attack in Benue state, Nigeria, during the last week of February 2023. / Credit: Courtesy of Michael Burton/Ignition633.orgWashington D.C., Mar 15, 2023 / 14:15 pm (CNA).The controversial presidential election on Feb. 25 still dominates Nigeria s main news. Meanwhile, recent terrorist raids in Benue, a predominantly Catholic state in north-central Nigeria, are getting scant mention.Six counties in the Middle Belt state have seen deadly attacks by Fulani militants since the election, according to Mike Uba, the county chairman of Guma, adjacent to the state capital of Makurdi. The affected counties are both in the north and southern borders of the state.One of the most recent attacks, on March 7, left at least 20 residents dead in the village of Tse Jor after about 40 attackers with machetes arrived on motorbikes and slashed defenseless men, women, and children for at least two hours, Helen Tikyaa, an aid worker employed by the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, t.
Young people at Holy Family Mission in Counter Waterford, Ireland. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNACNA Staff, Mar 15, 2023 / 13:42 pm (CNA).A new gap year program gives young people the opportunity to spend one year living in Ireland in an intentional Catholic community with daily Mass, eucharistic adoration, and faith formation.Located in the rolling green hills of County Waterford, the Holy Family Mission program is seen by many local Catholics as a ray of hope for the Church in Ireland. "This idea of having a place where you can get to know yourself better, get to know the Lord better, and then really face life as a more confident, well-rounded, mature, faithful person is a great gift," Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan of Waterford told CNA."I wonder how many young people wander into college without really knowing what they want, and then get distracted with all kinds of things," he said.The nine-month "gap year" is for people aged 18-30 who desire
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany, NY. / Drew Proto via Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)Denver, Colo., Mar 16, 2023 / 09:47 am (CNA).The Catholic Diocese of Albany has decided to file for bankruptcy, saying a financial reorganization will help provide some compensation for the hundreds of sex abuse victims who have filed lawsuits."I understand this filing causes uncertainty, but as a Church and a community of faith, we must recognize that victim-survivors are our sons and daughters, and our brothers and sisters, and all of us, without exception, must work together to find ways to help them," Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of Albany said in a March 15 statement. "It s a natural thing for us to do, especially for those who have been hurt by an institution we are all called to be a part of. We must reach out to all and journey with them through the healing process," the bishop s statement read.Parishes and schools are not part of the filing and are incorp