Four dead in a shooting at a funeral home in Ecuador (2023)

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Denver, Colorado, October 11, 2022 / 4:00 p.m. (CNA).
Many YouTube videos made by Catholic or pro-life organizations will now include an abortion disclaimer and links to an abortion website, since YouTube claims abortion is the ultimate…[…]

A pity in the Catholic school of St. St. Stephen in New Orleans / Monsignor Christopher Nalty

Washington D.C., September 2, 2021 / 3:00 PM (CNA).

A New Orleans pastor whose parochial school was severely damaged by Hurricane Ida is bracing for "big costs" but hopes that classroom life won't be too disrupted for students this year.

Catholic school of St. Stephen, located in uptown New Orleans, lost the roof of its high school when Hurricane Ida passed through the area on August 29.

"At some point during the early part of the storm, the wind got under the vinyl and then just ripped everything off the roof," Monsignor Christopher Nalty, pastor of St. Stephen's Church and School, told CNA Thursday.

The type of roof that used to be on the gymnasium "is very prone to destruction," Nalty explained. And while the extent of the damage is not yet known, it is suspected that the floor of the sports hall was also destroyed. He is also waiting to see how the second wing of the school with the classrooms went.

"We're going to have to replace the roof," he said. "That's what we're working on now."

In-person classes in the Archdiocese of New Orleans have been suspended until after Labor Day due to the effects of the hurricane. Many areas of the archdiocese still lack power.

Local media reported significant damage to the school.

"Look at this. It looks like the roof has come off the school building," said Travers Mackel, reporter and anchor for WDSU News invideo recordingarea measurement. "This is by far the most damage we've seen here."

Mackel said that most of the destruction in the surrounding area was vegetation, and that it appeared that only St. Stephen suffered significant material damage.

Pieces of the school roof were scattered on nearby trees and the street. The church building, located next to the school, was mostly spared, although part of the bell tower was damaged.

Nalty told CNA he hopes to replace the gym roof with a steel slat roof. He said many Gulf Coast churches decided to replace their roofs with similar styles after suffering storm damage.

"I told [the contractor], 'This is what I want in a school,'" Nalty said. "'Cause I don't want to fix this again, you know?"

The cost of the repairs is not yet clear, but Nalty told CNA he doesn't think it will be cheap. The archdiocese's insurance policy charges a 3% deductible for any damage done by a named storm, such as Hurricane Ida.

"So 3% of the value of the whole building is a deduction," he said. “For example, for my school, my church, I think it's valued at $15 million. So that means I have a $450,000 deductible before any insurance kicks in.”

For Nalty, the school and its students hold a special place in his heart and he hopes to be able to return to school soon.

"I do a lot of different things in the archdiocese. I teach at the seminary. I have three churches. Quite possibly, the most important thing I do is school," he said, blinking back tears.

The school was founded in 1852 and serves students from the age of two to the seventh grade. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, St. Stephen became a "central school" that received students whose schools had been destroyed.

“Now our school is about 98% African American and they're from the poorest demographic in the city,” Nalty said. "My principal is a rock star and all these kids have scholarships."

The school is "such a family," Nalty said. Students are brought to campus early for breakfast and then stay for classes. For the past four years, every graduating senior has been accepted to a Catholic high school in New Orleans, with a scholarship.

"They go to school in this family community. We have mass every Friday," he said. "The children are actively involved. They know their religion."

The opportunities afforded St. Stephen's students "mean the trajectory of their lives has changed."

"Their chances are exponentially different from their neighbors who go to public schools," Nalty said. "It is an incredibly important service for me. I just love these kids. They're just, [storm damage] just severe.”

"But anyway, you know, well... We'll get through it."

Anyone who wants to support the restoration can do sohere.

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Pope Francis at the general audience on Wednesday at the Square of St. Petra, May 24, 2023 / Daniel Ibanez/CNA

The Vatican, May 24, 2023 / 09:25 (CNA).

Pope Francis has determined that the auditor general of the Holy See will continue to perform his tasks during the sede vacante.

A sede vacante is the period between the death or resignation of a pope and the election of his successor. According toRight of the Holy See, during the sede vacante, "all heads of curial institutions and members cease their service," although secretaries "attend to the regular management of curial institutions, taking care only of ordinary affairs."

Francis ruled that the Office of the Auditor General, which has no secretary, can also continue its "regular administration" in the event of a vacant papal chair.

The Auditor General is responsible for auditing the financial reports of the Holy See and the Vatican City State.

He is also responsible for speeding up the investigation into the controversial investment by the Secretary of State in a building in London - a purchase that is now at the center of a major Vatican finance trial.

The IOR, commonly referred to as the Vatican Bank, first agreed to make a loan to the Treasury for a mortgage on a property in London. But the IOR suddenly reversed course and submitted a report to the Auditor General, who investigated.

The proclamation was part of May 24rescript on the work of the Office of the Auditor Generalsigned by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State. The rescript was issued after a meeting between Parolin and Pope Francis on April 24.

The Pope said in light of the provisions of the apostolic constitution of the ChurchPreach the Gospel, "the regular administration, in the case of a vacant Apostolic See, would not be interrupted and the function of control would continue to be exercised by the Office of the Auditor General under the supervision of the Cardinal Chamberlain."

The chamberlain is responsible for overseeing the preparations for the papal conclave and managing the administration of the Holy See during the sede vacante.

Pope Francis also decided to change part of the article in the statute of the Office of the Auditor General.

According to the rescript, after analyzing the reports on suspicious actions, the auditor general will no longer present them to the special committee of the adviser for general affairs of the State Secretariat, the secretary of the prelate of the Economic Council and the secretary of the State Secretariat. Secretariat for the Economy.

Instead, using the expressionPreach the Gospelin paragraph 2 of Article 224year, the auditor will submit a report on the report of suspicious actions to the prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, and if deemed necessary, to the main coordinator of the Council for the Economy.

This change means that the State Secretariat does not receive a report from the auditor on suspicious activity reports received by the office.

Suspicious activity reports that are substantiated should continue to be forwarded to the appropriate judicial authorities, the rescript added.

The Pope's rescript on the function of the Office of the Auditor General comes at a time when the former auditor of the Holy See and his deputy are suing the State Secretariat for illegal dismissal.

Free Milone and Ferruccio Paniccofiled a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in November 2022; after several blocks, the case went to trial this year.

The two are seeking damages for lost earnings, reputational damage and emotional distress they claim they suffered after being forced out of their jobs in 2017.

Shortly after resigning midway through his five-year term, Milone said he had been "threatened" to resign by the "old guard" opposed to his work.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu, then second in command at the Secretariat of State, is held responsible for Milone's dismissal.

Becciu told Reuters in 2017 that Milone "went against all the rules and spied on the private lives of his superiors and staff, including me."

CardinalPope Francis pointed out, claiming that the pope had told him that he no longer trusted Milone and wanted Becciu to tell the auditor that he should resign.

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