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“It is a pity. We have never reached this level of violence. We preach, we hope, we weep. In all of the Middle East it is not a normal life.” | Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem, discussing the challenges Christians face in the Middle East at the hands of Islamic State militants. (Catholic News Service)
In the news
Reaching out to millennial ‘nones’
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A broad digital media project to coincide with Pope Francis’ visit this fall to the United States aims to recruit and interact with young people, particularly those who do not think of themselves as religious.
These “nones,” as researchers have called them, are especially found among the millennial generation, generally defined as those who came of age around the year 2000.
This youthful, religiously unaffiliated demographic presents a golden opportunity for the Catholic Church’s new evangelization, said Kathleen Hessert, founder of Charlotte-based Sports Media Challenge. Hessert is leading a national digital evangelization initiative by the global Catholic network Aleteia.org in conjunction with the pope’s Sept. 22-27 trip to Philadelphia, New York and Washington.
“Engagement is our top priority,” Hessert told the Catholic News Herald, newspaper of the Diocese of Charlotte. “It’s key to instigate conversation, not just broadcast information.” (CNS)
Saints under 40
Faithful suffering
St. Fina’s brief life was marked by tremendous pain and illness, but she bore her afflictions joyfully and with great faith in God.
St. Fina was born in 1238 into a poor yet devout family in San Geminiano, Italy, and suffered from a weak constitution at an early age. She grew into a beautiful young woman, but illness left her disfigured and bedridden.
It is said that rather than lie in comfort, she chose an oak plank on which to rest. Forced by her illness to lie on one side of her body, she developed horrible sores yet never complained — instead, she gave thanks to God.
St. Fina passed away on March 12, 1253, the feast day of St. Gregory the Great, to whom she was devoted. When her body was lifted from the oak plank, white violets were discovered where she lay. Thousands of miracles performed through her intercession were reported thereafter. (www.loyolapress.com)