VATICAN CITY (RNS) — For Catholics hoping for change in their church’s teaching on gender, sexuality and reproductive issues, a new Vatican document on human dignity issued last week was more than a disappointment. It left many questioning whether Pope Francis has ever intended his famed personal gestures of welcome toward LGBTQ believers to translate into doctrinal changes.

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, who oversaw the new document’s creation, seemed to seek to reassure conservatives when he said at a press conference on April 8, “Pope Francis won’t ever speak ex cathedra. He won’t want to create a new dogma of the faith — not for anything — nor a definitive declaration.”

He added rhetorically, “So will it have served nothing, that Pope Francis should have been for 11 years the Supreme Pontiff?”

RELATED: New Vatican Document Condemns Gender Theory, Surrogacy

That’s just what many progressives want an answer to. Has Francis’ pastoral acceptance of transgender and gay Catholics been merely an attempt to quiet progressives while remaining committed to the status quo?

The topics addressed in the declaration, titled “Infinite Dignity,” are of particular concern to LGBTQ Catholics, who have seen Francis as an ally since his question “Who am I to judge?” in response to questions about his views on homosexuality. The pope has also raised the community’s expectations by pushing for blessings for people in same-sex relationships and meeting with transgender activists and advocates for gay Catholics.

But when the document was released by the Vatican’s doctrinal office April 8, it identified gender theory, surrogate pregnancy and transgender surgery, all matters of concern to LGBTQ Catholics as threats to human dignity. It condemned the practice of surrogacy — when a woman carries a child for another person — as harmful to children and said “sex-change operations” and gender theory amount “to a concession to the age-old temptation to make oneself God.”

The prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, presents the declaration “Dignitas Infinita” (Infinite Dignity) during a news conference at the Vatican, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

While the document also contained a long reflection on the dignity of all human beings regardless of circumstances, origins or actions, it struck LGBTQ and women’s advocates as a step back from the previous pronouncements not only by Francis, but from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and Fernandez, who was appointed to lead it in July.

Under Fernandez, the doctrine office affirmed that trans individuals may be baptized and act as godparents, as long as doing so doesn’t cause “scandal,” defined in the church’s catechism as “an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil.”

More notably, it approved the blessing of people in same-sex relationships and others in “irregular situations” only two years after ruling out such blessings because “God cannot bless sin.”

(RNS) — When Calvin University hired Wiebe Boer as its new president in May 2022, the school signed the former business executive to a lucrative five-year deal.

Along with a $400,000 annual salary, Boer received a $100,000 signing bonus, with annual bonuses of up to $200,000 with the chance to earn additional long-term bonuses, paid college tuition for his children, a car and use of the presidential residence on campus.

The hope was that Boer, a Calvin alum and son of missionaries, could turn the prominent evangelical school around after years of budget cuts and enrollment decline while easing tensions with the denomination that owns the school.

For a while, it seemed things were working. Enrollment went up, and in January, Boer announced an ambitious plan for Calvin’s future. Less than two months later, however, everything fell apart.

RELATED: Calvin University Board Stands by Its Decision That Former President Had To Go

In mid-February, Boer resigned after the school’s board received complaints that he’d sent “unwelcome and inappropriate” messages to the employee of a vendor who worked on campus. When confronted by the board, Boer agreed to step down — leaving the campus in turmoil, with anger and confusion over how things went so wrong so fast.

That anger has led to Boer being locked out of the school’s presidential residence, a lawsuit — and this past weekend — alleged threats of violence against one of the school’s senior leaders.

“I want to be very clear. This must stop,” said Calvin interim President Greg Elzinga in a video message sent to the campus community. “Regardless of how you feel about the board’s handling of Dr. Boer’s resignation, it is never acceptable to threaten or attack other members of this community or to joke about doing so in a misguided attempt at humor.”

Elzinga said that the threat against a leader had been reported to local law enforcement. The Kent County Sheriff’s Department said in an email that any public records request for an incident report would take several days.

On Friday (April 12), Boer and his wife, Joanna, filed suit against the school in federal court, alleging that Calvin violated his employment agreement and defamed the former president — and that the school failed to pay him $400,000 in severance or to prove that he’d engaged in significant misconduct.

“Calvin, specifically the Board of Trustees as led by Chair Los and Vice Chair Tuuk Kuras, has diligently continued and perpetuated a harmful narrative about Dr. Boer to the campus and local community, irrespective of truth or fairness,” his attorneys alleged in a complaint filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Michigan Southern Division.

Jill Duggar Dillard and her husband Derrick Dillard are grieving this week after suffering a heartbreaking pregnancy loss. 

In a joint Instagram post on April 13, the couple revealed the stillbirth of their daughter, Isla Marie Dillard, during Jill’s fourth month of pregnancy. 

“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the stillbirth of our beautiful baby girl, Isla Marie Dillard.” 

The couple, who was due with their first girl in August, wrote that they found out their daughter died in utero at four months gestation. 

“From the moment we found out we were pregnant, we couldn’t wait to meet our baby,” the couple wrote. “Isla was much loved from the start, and her 3 big brothers were so excited to introduce her to their world.” 

The caption accompanied a photo of Jill and Derrick holding their tiny baby girl in a bed, as they look down at what appears to be her itty bitty body, wrapped in a pink crocheted hat and blanket. 

 

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A post shared by Jill (Duggar) Dillard (@jillmdillard)

“We appreciate your prayers as we continue to grieve and heal from the loss of our little Isla Marie.”

The Dillards are parents to three boys: Israel, 9, Samuel, 6, and Fredrick, 1.

Before their youngest, Fredrick, was born in July 2022, Duggar Dillard and Dillard opened up about their experience with pregnancy loss in a family blog post shared October 2021.

After Jill Duggar Dillard discovered she was pregnant and announced the news to her family in 2021, she started to miscarry “a few days later,” they wrote on their blog.

“Even though it was too early to tell the baby’s gender, we picked a name that we feel encompasses our baby’s significance and the life we will always remember: River Bliss Dillard,” they added.

Jill along with her sisters Jessa, Jinger, and Joy Anna have all openly discussed their miscarriages in the past. Just last march, Jessa Duggar Seewald, revealed that her and husband Ben had lost a baby over the 2022 holidays. In October, the couple announced they were pregnant again with a rainbow baby. 

According to the March of Dimes, for women who know they’re pregnant, about 10 to 20 percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage. 80 percent of miscarriages happen in the first trimester before the 12th week of pregnancy.

Pregnancy losses that happen after 20 weeks gestation are called stillbirths. 

Jill Duggar Dillard and Looking Ahead

In September, the couple released their first book Counting the Cost, a memoir, in which Jill and Derrick open up for the first time about the “secrets, manipulation, and intimidation” behind Jill’s famous family’s show, 19 Kids and Counting. 

Last year, the couple also appeared in the Amazon Prime docu-series, “Shiny Happy People,” which exposed the abusive ways of her ultra-fundamentalist family, and the cult-like conservative Christian organization they followed, the Institute of Basic Life Principles (IBLP). 

Since the release of both the series and Counting the Cost, Jill has used her social media to share more insights into the toxic culture her family embraced.

Sound engineer William Felton was saved from pornography addiction and depression to new life in Jesus in 2023 as a result of listening to Jackie Hill Perry record the Bible on audiobook. Perry revealed on Instagram Sunday that she had prayed for Felton throughout the recording process, and Felton shared how God transformed his heart.

“[Perry] being a servant, planted a seed and God began to water it and open my eyes,” Felton said in a post on Dec. 27. “I began to pray more and read the Bible for myself and God started to do a mighty work in me. One day in my room I just surrendered fully to the Lord and he filled me with his Holy Spirit.. i am redeemed in Christ now!!!!!”

RELATED: Danica McKellar Celebrates 2 Years of Being a Christian

“In that studio, I didn’t preach a sermon. I didn’t exegete a text. All I did was READ GOD’s WORD and that alone brought my guy from death and into life,” Perry said in the caption of a photo of her and Felton. “I say all of that to say, God doesn’t need antics to save souls. If you just give folks His word, you would be amazed at what He can do!”

 

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Jackie Hill Perry Prays for Sound Engineer

Jackie Hill Perry is a Christian author, speaker and hip hop artist. Last year, she recorded an audio version of the Bible for Crossway. “Doing it in a studio meant I’d have an engineer there to make sure the sound and all of that was good. A particular task the engineer had to take on was reading the Bible along with me to ensure that I didn’t skip any words,” Perry explained. “Knowing this, I would pray before every session that God would use His word to do a work in the engineer’s heart.” 

“This man right here worked alongside me while I read most of the major and minor prophets. Before each session, I prayed for him hoping that God would grant Him understanding since the prophets ain’t the easiest to make sense of sometimes,” Perry said. “On certain days, I’d pick his brain on what he thought about Amos or [Habakkuk] just to get a sense of where he was with it.”

In his December post, Felton described the state of his inner life before he took on the project with Perry. “Earlier this year, I had no thoughts of God in my mind,” he said. “I was chasing this music industry so hard this screen right in front of me was my god. A false idol. I was stuck in pornography addiction and was so depressed.”

RELATED: ‘It’s Not Ok’—Pastor Who Left Porn Industry Critiques Dennis Prager’s Views on Pornography

Felton works for Patchwerk Recording Studios and “around March” was tasked with working with Perry as she recorded the Bible on audiobook. “I didn’t want to do it [at] first but I took a chance because I believed in God and figured this could be good for me to learn about the Bible more,” Felton said. However, “after months of us working I started to hate it, and dread it.”

Ben Fuller recently was nominated as the Gospel Music Association’s (GMA) 2023 New Artist of the Year and is continuing to refresh and record music—this time with Megan Danielle. Danielle was a favorite on the 21st season of “American Idol,” which catapulted her music career.

“I couldn’t help but just believe her every word,” Fuller said when he heard Danielle sing a cover of his song, “If I Got Jesus.”

‘American Idol’ Runner-Up Megan Danielle Joins Ben Fuller for New Release, ‘If I Got Jesus’

In a Facebook reel, Fuller shared a clip of the “If I Got Jesus” music video. The song featured Fuller and Danielle singing soulful and rugged lyrics and was released on April 12.

“I couldn’t help but just believe her every word when I heard @megandaniellemusic sing a cover of ‘If I Got Jesus,'” Fuller said. “A few weeks later she was in the studio singing her heart.”

“I’m privileged and humbled by your love for Jesus, Megan,” Fuller continued. “What a gift you are to so many, and thanks again for singing with me.”

Fuller and Danielle, along with Jacob Dixon, shared a stage at a night of worship in Gainesville, Georgia, earlier this year.

Originally part of Fuller’s self-titled album, “If I Got Jesus” was released in 2023. Fuller, Ethan Hulse, and Jeff Pardo wrote the song that eloquently states how important a journey with Jesus is—now and forever:

There were bridges crossed and burned
But through all the wreckage I have learned
There is one thing that I can never lose

If I’ve got Jesus
I’ve got all that I could ever need
Take the world away from me
And I’ll be ok
If I’ve got Jesus
There’s a hope that’s living deep inside
A joy that I could never hide
And a safe place to fall
If I’ve got Jesus
I got it all

Thousands of fans reacted to the Facebook reel and commented with incredible support for them both.

“Ben this has to be one of my favorites. Your voices together are truly heaven sent and brings, ‘If I got Jesus’ to a new level,” posted one. Another shared, “Oh so glad to see Megan singing with you!! We followed her on American Idol and love her voice!!”

After winning his second Masters Tournament in three years, pro golfer Scottie Scheffler spoke of eternal victory, saying his “identity is secure forever” in Jesus. Scheffler, 27, admitted he loves winning on the course. But he said his wife and friends regularly remind him that Jesus loves him no matter what—and that his “victory was secure on the cross.”

On Sunday (April 14), Scheffler finished the Masters at -11, four strokes ahead of his closest competitor. That earned him a second green jacket at Augusta, Georgia, and a $3.6 million prize. Scheffler, who’s been ranked No. 1 in the world for 80 weeks during his career, also won the 2022 Masters.

RELATED: ‘God Is in Control’: The Master’s Presence Calms Masters Champ Scottie Scheffler

During post-tournament press conferences, Scheffler admitted he was eager to return home. Meredith, his wife of four years, is expecting their first child in a few weeks. Earlier, the golfer had indicated that if his wife went into labor mid-tournament, he’d leave the Masters, even if he was leading.

Golfer Scottie Scheffler: God Calls Me To Glorify Him

Scottie Scheffler often speaks about the importance of his Christian beliefs. In response to a reporter’s question Sunday, the golfer said his faith is what defines him. “I believe in one Creator, that I’ve been called to come out here, do my best, compete and glorify God,” he said.

Scheffler said he hopes golf doesn’t define him too much because it’s “a selfish sport,” with many demands on your time. Golf is maybe his fourth priority, he said, calling it “an endlessly not-satisfying career.”

Scheffler explained that though he was trying to answer journalists’ questions, “All I can think about right now is getting home…I think that’s what the human heart does. You always want more, and I think you have to fight those things and focus on what’s good.”

Winning the Masters or any other title doesn’t change who Scheffler is. “It’s a pretty special feeling to know that I’m secure for forever,” he said. “I believe that today’s plans were already laid out many years ago, and I could do nothing to mess up those plans.”

About his God-given talents, Scheffler said he strives to use them all “for God’s glory” because “that’s how I was designed.”

Franklin Graham was among the high-profile figures who congratulated Scheffler on Sunday’s victory. On social media, the evangelist shared a quote from the golfer, writing, “I’m thankful that Scottie isn’t ashamed to talk about his faith.”

Caddie: Scottie Scheffler Is ‘A Different Kind of Special’

At his press conference, Scheffler credited his wife with consistently praying that he will experience God’s peace and presence. The high school sweethearts dated long distance during college, while Scottie played golf at the University of Texas, and then married in 2020.

RELATED: NCAA Basketball Coach Defends Remarks About Faith Amid Complaint From Freedom From Religion Foundation

Meredith told Golf Digest she was attracted to Scottie’s down-to-earth, “super humble ambiance.”

Gabe Patillo, best known as TobyMac’s (Toby McKeehan) hype man, lost his battle with cancer on Friday, April 12.

Patillo went by the stage name GabeReal in TobyMac’s Diverse City Band. He was also the son of Gospel Music Association (GMA) President Jackie Patillo.

 

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A post shared by GMA / Dove Awards (@gmadoveawards)

In a statement, the GMA said that Patillo will be “hugely missed” and that the entire GMA staff “loved Gabe like family.”

“We know heaven is rejoicing but are praying for Jesus to be near to the many friends and family who loved Gabriel so very much,” the GMA said.

“Gabe was known for his lifelong love for Jesus,” the GMA added. “His faith was part of his every day and the reason for his infectious smile. To know Gabe was to know how much he loved the Lord and his family.”

RELATED: ‘The Most Special Moment in My Life at the Dove Awards’—TobyMac Wins for Album That Followed His Son’s Death

In addition to working with TobyMac as a background singer, choreographer, dancer, and tour producer, Patillo’s other accomplishments included voiceover acting, dancing for dc Talk when he was young, and appearing in multiple music videos. He was a theater actor at Nashville’s Opryland when he was a kid.

TobyMac’s official Facebook page, Team Toby, posted, “Today Gabe met Jesus! While we are crushed—He is healed.” The post personally addressed Gabe and told him, “You will always hold a place in our hearts. We will watch over your family. You have left a legacy that we will never forget, Oh, how we loved you!”

Due to his health, Patillo had stopped touring with TobyMac. In February, McKeehan shared on social media that he would not only miss Patillo’s talents while on tour but also his friendship.

“What can I say about one of the most impressive men I have ever had the fortune of walking with,” McKeehan said. “I have lived most of my adult life with Gabriel Patillo (GabeReal) by my side professionally and as one of my best friends.”

“In his over 20 years with me, Gabe has been the secret sauce in so many areas, well beyond his incredible gifting as a stage performer,” he added. “From helping to produce our shows to managing tour culture, from personal advice to spiritual accountability, from loving people well to holding them to a standard with compassion.”

“We have chopped up almost every professional decision on my plate for many-many years,” McKeehan said.

Investigators have recovered two bodies that they believe to be the remains of missing pastor’s wife Jilian Kelley and her friend Veronica Butler in rural Texas County, Oklahoma. Four individuals have been charged with the first-degree murder of the two women. 

Kelley, 39, was the wife of Heath Kelley, pastor of Hugoton First Christian Church in Hugoton, Kansas. She and Butler, 27, went missing on March 30. 

The two women had been driving to Eva, Oklahoma, to pick up Butler’s 6-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son to celebrate the daughter’s birthday, according to ABC 7.

The car they were driving was later found abandoned, roughly three miles from their destination.

RELATED: ‘Suspicious’ Disappearance of Pastor’s Wife and Friend Has Multiple Agencies Searching

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) and Texas County Sheriff’s Office immediately began investigating, believing that foul play was involved. Investigators reportedly found separate puddles of blood outside the vehicle along with splatters of blood inside.

On Saturday (April 13), the OSBI and Texas County Sheriff’s Office announced that four individuals had been arrested in connection with the women’s disappearance, including Tifany Machel Adams, the paternal grandmother of Butler’s children. 

The others arrested included Adams’ romantic partner, Tad Bert Cullum, along with Cole Earl Twombly and Cora Twombly.

All four suspects have been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree.

On Sunday (April 14), the OSBI and Texas County Sheriff’s Office revealed that investigators had found two bodies in connection with the case. 

RELATED: Florida Pastor Accused of Collecting Dead Person’s Social Security Benefits for Nearly 12 Years

“Both individuals will be transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office to determine identification, as well as cause and manner of death,” the joint statement said. “This is still an ongoing investigation.”

(RNS) — U.S. Catholics are more polarized than ever in how they view Pope Francis, even though majorities on both ends of the political spectrum have a positive view of the pope, according to a new survey.

Pew Research Center, in a report released Friday (April 12), found that three-quarters of U.S. Catholics (75%) have a favorable view of Francis, with nearly 9 in 10 Catholic Democrats and those who lean Democrat (89%) expressing favorable views, and just under two-thirds of Catholic Republicans and those who lean Republican (63%) saying the same.

While the favorability rating from the Democratic camp was roughly in line with recent years, the Republican and Republican-leaning favorability rating represented a decline, creating the largest partisan gap in approval of Francis since his papacy began.

Of the 14 times Pew has asked about Francis’ popularity, the new survey records the pope’s second lowest favorability rate. The only time he received lower scores was in September 2018 — a factor possibly influenced by the survey being taken right after Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò alleged that he had warned Francis of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s sexually predatory behavior and that Francis had ignored the warning.

Francis’ highest favorability rating reached 90% in February 2015, just months after he had confirmed he would be visiting the U.S. during 2015.

According to the Pew survey, Catholics who view Francis unfavorably were more likely than Catholics who view him favorably to say he represents a major change in direction for the church, with just over half of Catholics who view Francis unfavorably (54%) holding that view compared with 4 in 10 Catholics who view him favorably (41%).

In the days before last October’s Synod of Bishops, Francis prayed the assembly would be a place where the Holy Spirit would “purify the church” from “polarization.” The October assembly followed a multiyear global consultation of the Catholic faithful, a process that church reformers hoped and traditionalists feared would lead to sweeping changes in the church.

Last month, the Vatican announced that, instead of addressing controversial issues at the concluding assembly next October, study groups have been formed to address those issues, and they will finish their work by June 2025.

The Pew survey revealed that majorities of U.S. Catholics supported church reform measures, although Catholics who attend Mass weekly or more supported these reforms at lower rates than Catholics who attend less frequently. Just over a quarter of U.S. Catholics (28%) said they attend Mass weekly.

More than 8 in 10 U.S. Catholics (83%) expressed support for the church to allow birth control use, with 62% of weekly Mass attenders saying the same. Three-quarters (75%) expressed support for allowing unmarried Catholics who are living with a romantic partner to receive Communion, with 57% of weekly Mass attenders agreeing.

In terms of reform to the priesthood, 69% of adult U.S. Catholics expressed support for allowing married priests, with a little more than half of weekly Mass attenders (53%) saying the same. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. Catholics (64%) supported ordaining women priests, with 41% of weekly Mass attenders saying the same.

As for recognizing the marriages of gay and lesbian couples, more than half of U.S. Catholics (54%) expressed support, including a third of weekly Mass attenders (33%).

(RNS) — A plan to save a troubled historic Episcopal seminary in New York has come under fire after seven bishops registered their opposition to offering a long-term lease of the seminary to a nonprofit with alleged ties to a Catholic music school funded by a conservative donor.

The bishops, who lead Episcopal dioceses in New York and Long Island, issued a statement last month objecting that the School of Sacred Music, which is negotiating to sign a long-term lease with General Episcopal Seminary in New York, has ties to a donor that does not support rights for gay, transgender and queer people.

“We are concerned by the lack of full acceptance of the LGBTQ stance of its founders and the lack of transparency in its funding,” the bishops said, according to Episcopal News Service, an official church publication.

Founded in 1817, General, the Episcopal Church’s oldest and once most prominent school for training clergy, has, like many mainline Protestant seminaries, fallen on hard times in recent years. In the past fiscal year, it ran a $2.7 million deficit. The school’s campus, known as the Close, is also in need of tens of millions of dollars of long-deferred maintenance work.

The school recently replaced its residential student body with a hybrid online-in person Master of Divinity program and has little need for the dorm rooms and modest apartments that formerly housed students.

A school spokesperson said the hybrid program has proved popular with prospective clergy. “Our hybrid MDiv is meeting a strong need in the church, and we currently have 96 open applications for 20 spaces for the 2024 cohort,” said Nicky Burridge, vice president for communications for GTS, in an email. “While the hybrid MDiv is highly successful, we do need to find a solution to cover the annual running costs of the Close and tackle previously deferred maintenance.”

The School of Sacred Music, which currently rents space at the seminary for vesper services two days a week, hoped to sign a long-term lease that would allow the seminary to retain ownership of its property.

“Any agreement would also likely see the SSM cover the running costs of the Close, pay GTS an annual rent, and carry out essential maintenance on the exterior of the buildings,” Burridge said in an email. “We cannot provide further details until we are closer to reaching an agreement.”

Negotiations on a lease for the Close, first announced in November, have been approved by the school’s board. At the time the negotiations were announced, few details about the nonprofit interested in leasing the campus were disclosed.

But earlier this year, local bishops — who have no direct authority over the school — and local government officials learned that the School of Sacred Music hoped to sign a long-term lease. The SSM was founded by the Ithuriel Fund, a nonprofit based in Connecticut, which has about $70 million in assets, according to IRS documents.

One of the donors to the Ithuriel Fund is Colin Moran, an investment banker and chair of First Things, a journal founded by the conservative Catholic priest the Rev. John Neuhaus. Moran’s ties to the school, according to Episcopal News Service, may have prompted concerns from bishops and local officials.