U.S.

Study examines common features in some families where children remained Catholic as adults

WASHINGTON — As about 15% of U.S. adults who were raised Catholic said they had remained practicing Catholics attending weekly Mass into adulthood, researchers at Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate and the Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life conducted the “Future Faithful Families Project” study to examine commonalities in families with children who remained Catholic as adults. The interviews for the study were conducted with 28 individuals from June 2021 to February 2023 and included qualifying participants from past CARA surveys. The study found participants from these families generally described their households as “warmer and more affectionate than the average family,” with “very good communication,” listening to questions and concerns, rituals of meals eaten together and faith-filled family routines. Participants emphasized the importance of weekly Mass attendance and nearly all participants reported doing service work and giving to charity, with many doing so through their parish or a church organization. (OSV News)

Record storms damage Southern California Catholic schools

LOS ANGELES — Record-breaking storms in Southern California have damaged several Catholic schools and church properties, while forcing the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to postpone its Rite of Election for catechumens until Feb. 25. The region has been battered for several days by consecutive atmospheric rivers, long columns of water vapor in the atmosphere capable of dumping large amounts of rain or snow upon making landfall. As of Feb. 6, rain totals in some areas exceeded 12 inches over a four-day period. The rain has so far resulted in at least nine deaths, as well as flooding, mudslides, downed trees, power outages and building damage. Catholic Charities of Los Angeles has created a disaster relief fund for victims. (OSV News)

Grand jury indicts Tennessee priest on sex abuse charges

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Nashville Diocese announced Feb. 9 that Father Juan Carlos Garcia, a former associate pastor at St. Philip Catholic Church in Franklin who was ordained nearly four years ago, has been indicted by a grand jury on multiple sex abuse charges. A Williamson County grand jury indicted the priest on one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, one count of aggravated sexual battery, four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and two counts of sexual battery. The Nashville Diocese removed Father Garcia from his parish post and from public ministry in January while the Franklin Police Department investigated reports of sexual misconduct. Father Garcia, ordained to the priesthood in 2020, was assigned to St. Philip in July 2022. In early November, St. Philip officials reported to the Diocese of Nashville Safe Environment Office that a teen in the parish had made a report of improper touching involving Father Garcia. Per diocesan protocols, a report was immediately made by the diocese and St. Philip representatives to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. (OSV News)

Pope accepts resignation of Maine bishop, successor named

WASHINGTON — Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert P. Deeley of Portland, Maine, and appointed as his successor Father James T. Ruggieri, a pastor in the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island. Bishop Deeley has headed the statewide diocese just one day shy of 10 years: He was installed as Portland’s 12th bishop Feb. 14, 2014, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland. Bishop Deeley is 77; canon law requires bishops to turn in their resignation to the pope when they turn 75. Bishop-designate Ruggieri, 56, is currently pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish and St. Michael’s Parish in Providence. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Providence June 24, 1995. The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington Feb. 13 by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. (OSV News)

WORLD

Prayer can change people’s hearts, pope says at canonization Mass

VATICAN CITY — St. María Antonia de Paz Figueroa, known as Mama Antula, devoted herself completely to helping others experience God’s closeness and compassion, Pope Francis said after he declared the 18th-century consecrated laywoman a saint. By letting her heart and life be “touched” and “healed” by Christ, he said, “she proclaimed Him tirelessly her whole life long, for she was convinced, as she loved to repeat: ‘Patience is good, but perseverance is better.’” “May her example and her intercession help us to grow according to the heart of God, in charity,” the pope said in his homily after proclaiming her a saint during a Mass Feb. 11 in St. Peter’s Basilica. St. María Antonia de Paz Figueroa is Argentina’s first female saint. She was closely tied to the Jesuits and continued to lead Ignatian spiritual exercises in Argentina after the expulsion of the order. Argentine President Javier Miliei was present at the Mass and had a private meeting with the pope Feb. 12. (CNS)

In response to report, head of Ireland’s Jesuits is ‘ashamed’ of order’s failure to act on abuse

DUBLIN — The head of the Jesuits in Ireland has said he is “ashamed” at the order’s failure to confront abuse after the release of a new report revealing 93 complaints of sexual, physical and emotional abuse against a now deceased priest. The order also revealed the names of two other members of its Irish province against whom it says it has received credible allegations of abuse, and admitted that it was slow to prioritize safeguards even when the church in Ireland adopted binding norms in 1996. According to the provincial, Jesuit Father Shane Daly, the order has received 93 complaints against now-deceased priest and teacher Father Joseph Marmion, who was named as a child abuser three years ago. It has so far paid out over $7.55 million in compensation and set aside more resources for future claims. In March 2021, the Society of Jesus invited complainants against Father Marmion to engage with the order and a restorative justice program was established. The congregation Feb. 8 published what it described as a narrative record of Father Marmion’s abuse, saying that 45 of the 93 complaints received from 1977 related to child sexual abuse. (OSV News)