Editorials

Here in New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy continues to support a culture of death, which St. Pope John Paul II condemned in his encyclical, “Evangelium Vitae,” (“The Gospel of Life”). The governor’s recent signing into law legislation that legalized assisted suicide in the state and his first act as governor to fully restore taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest provider of abortions, attest to that.

The adoption of new regulations that ensure existing laws protecting conscience rights in healthcare are enforced and followed by the Department of Health and Human Ser­vices is good news not only for religious freedom in America but also for the pro-life cause.

The 15th annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. was akin to a joy-filled revival rally for the 1,500 Catholics who attended the event. The messages presented by the speakers were ones all Catholics need to hear: an uncompromising call to holiness and the defense of every human life with calls for a “Catholic great awakening.”

It was heartbreaking to watch live the fire that ravaged the famed Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris on April 15. As a majestic spire was consumed by the flames and fell to the ground, thoughts of the grand history of the building over the centuries and its meaning, not only to French Catholics but also to Catholics worldwide, flashed through my mind. After all, Notre Dame had survived the ravages of the French Revolution, World War I and World War II. I thought of those faithful Catholics of the 12th century who began building this magnificent edifice in honor of Our Lady. It took more than 100 years to complete, so those who began to build it never saw its completion. That was left to a new generation of the faithful to carry on to its completion.

Today begins the most solemn and holiest days on the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. With the beginning of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper tonight, the Church enters into the Sacred Triduum. The Triduum concludes with Evening Prayer on Easter Sunday. On Holy Thursday, the Mass of the Lord’s Supper relives the institution of the Eucharist and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the Last Supper, as well as the institution of the priesthood, which took place the evening before Jesus was crucified.