Why an Australian super fund and Texan nuns are lobbying the world’s biggest fast-food company

When it comes to McDonald's, an $84 billion Australian superannuation fund and a small group of Texan nuns are united in their mission.

Hesta and the Benedictine Sisters of Boerne are part of an investor movement using the stock market to lobby the world's biggest fast-food chain.

They want the company to make burgers from animal products farmed with fewer antibiotics.

The use of antibiotics in meat production has emerged as a new front of shareholder activism, similar to the lobbying that fossil fuel companies have been facing over climate targets. 

However, the investor group's push is divisive, with McDonald's hitting back and scientists raising questions about some of the policies being put forward.

The unlikely antibiotic allies are resolute in their bid to bring about structural change, despite the criticism.

"We intend to stay at the table," Sister Susan Mika, a representative of Benedictine Sisters of Boerne, told the ABC.

So how did a group of Texan nuns and a major super fund end up in a cross-country battle with an American takeaway staple?

The Catholic nuns taking on McDonald's

The Benedictine Sisters of Boerne have a 32-year history of lobbying companies on issues such as water access and foreign workers' rights.

Their activism was spearheaded by Sister Mika and others, quickly growing into a coalition of 26 monasteries across the United States and Mexico.

However, the sisters didn't get interested in antibiotics reduction until about 10 years ago, when global attention was turning to antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

AMR occurs when bugs that cause infectious disease can't be killed by the medicines designed to quash them, such as antibiotics.

It has given rise to so-called "superbugs", with bacterial AMR contributing to the deaths of about 4.95 million people in 2019, according to data published in the Lancet.

The problem is particularly acute in poorer countries, and it also affects farm animals when they face disease outbreaks. Even plants are facing superbugs.

"It's really a significant problem," said Branwen Morgan, the lead at the Antimicrobial Resistance Mission at Australia's national science body, the CSIRO. 

"And there's no time to wait. We all have a shared responsibility, trying to work out how we mitigate the impacts of AMR, which affects food security, biosecurity and economic security."

It is those economic impacts that piqued Hesta's interest.

"So antimicrobial resistance is a systemic threat to both global health and our ability to deliver strong long-term returns to our members," the fund's head of responsible investment, Kim Farrant, told the ABC.

Ms Farrant cites modelling by the World Bank, which previously estimated that AMR – if left unchecked – could wipe out 3.8 per cent of the world's gross domestic product by 2050.

The bank's high-impact scenario found global trade would drop, especially in agriculture as animals get sick, and that healthcare costs globally would soar. 

"It's the same impact as the global financial crisis," Ms Farrant says of the World Bank's forecast.

Hesta, which is a specialist superannuation fund for Australian healthcare workers, has also done surveys with its 1 million members about this topic, and found 80 per cent of them were aware of it.

Members told the fund they were seeing diseases that were no longer treatable, and they were having to give patients multiple types of antibiotics and keep them in hospital longer.

"And they had views on what Hesta should be doing as a fund to help address this issue," Ms Farrant says.

So what can a fund do about AMR?

While AMR is a natural phenomenon, the World Health Organisation (WHO) links the "overuse and misuse" of antibiotics in people, plants and animals to the exacerbation of this trend.

"In Australia, we're really fortunate that we have quite strong regulation and practices [around antibiotic use in animals and humans]. But this is very much a global issue," Hesta's Kim Farrant says. 

And this global approach has turned McDonald's into a target.

Fairr, which is a global investor alliance working on risks in the world's food sector, identified the fast-food chain as the top company to lobby over this issue.

That's due to its sheer size and ability to influence a massive network of agricultural suppliers, Fairr said.

Fairr also highlighted other food companies, including KFC's parent company Yum! Brands, The Cheesecake Shop, Domino's Pizza, Starbucks, Wendy's and the owner of Burger King, Restaurant Brands International.

All of these entities are listed on the world's biggest stock market on Wall Street, and are beholden to engaging with their shareholders as public companies.

Hesta owns McDonald's stock — specifically 0.014 per cent of its market value — through an international fund, as well as shares in Yum! Brand's and US food giants Tyson and Hormel. 

It officially joined Fairr in 2020 to fight AMR before going on to lodge shareholder resolutions two years later.

These are actions that are lodged by entities that own stocks in a company and are voted on by all other shareholders, and are a big part of the shareholder movement that is also fighting climate risks. 

Hesta's first AMR resolution was against Hormel, the American owner of tinned meat, Spam.

The Hormel Foods resolution urged the company to conduct a study into the public health costs from the use of antibiotics in its supply chain.

The vote received 14 per cent in favour, excluding management's 47 per cent ownership.

The next year, Hesta lodged more resolutions, this time against three companies: Hormel, Tyson, and McDonald's.

What do experts say about antibiotics resistance?

The action against McDonald's was done by Hesta in tandem with an advocacy group that is prominent on AMR, The Shareholder Commons, and another investment fund, Amundi.

Their joint resolution on the NYSE called on McDonald's to comply with WHO guidelines on the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals.

WHO has long recommended that antibiotics deemed medically important for human use be significantly restricted in food-producing animals.

That includes the "complete restriction of these antibiotics for growth promotion and disease prevention without diagnosis".

"Healthy animals should only receive antibiotics to prevent disease if it has been diagnosed in other animals in the same flock, herd, or fish population," the WHO recommended last decade.

However, scientists said implementing these standards was easier said than done.

Nations have varying approaches to antibiotic use and distinct interpretations of what is classified as medically important.

That is despite WHO having its own global list, and experts recognising that lists vary from country to country, when national health priorities are considered. 

Outside of WHO, which is primarily concerned with human health, there are also advice lists from other specialist bodies, such as the World Organisation for Animal Health.

In Australia, for instance, regulators don't use the phrase "medically important" but they do have rules around what can and can't be used in agricultural settings.

"We have a relatively unique position in Australia," the CSIRO's Branwen Morgan said.

"And that's because we [have] very strict regulation around the use of antimicrobials in our primary industries."

Dr Morgan said those pushing new policies had to therefore be "very careful of unintended negative consequences".

"Guidelines for antimicrobial use are very context dependent and locally dependent," she said.

"We wouldn't want companies in the animal or food industry sector to stop using antimicrobials. Businesses with unhealthy animals aren't good businesses and economically viable businesses."

She also said the most pressing issues in Australia were not the use of antibiotics on farms, but the overuse of them in humans and in the treatment of waste, which could spread into the environment.

On a global scale, Dr Morgan said helping low socio-economic countries implement stronger rules on the use of antibiotics was a more important issue.

McDonald's hits back at Hesta's proposal

In response to Hesta's resolution, McDonald's argued it was already doing plenty to eradicate unnecessary antibiotics in its supply chain, with policies that echoed WHO guidelines.

The fast-food company released a policy in 2017 to eradicate medically important antibiotics of the highest priority from its chicken supply chain in "top markets".

It also pledged to stop the use of antibiotics entirely in chicken for the purposes of growth promotion and for disease prevention in flocks.

However, this year, McDonald's said some markets still had not achieved these milestones, with the company hoping to fulfil its promise in 2027.

It has not made similar pledges on pork or beef.

"Our intention is to help drive positive behavioural change and transparency," it said in May. 

"As well as enable comprehensive assessment of antibiotic use across our in-scope supply chains and industries in the future.

"To this end, we are engaged in global partnerships across our supply chains to gather antibiotic use data, which helps inform the development, implementation, and evolution of our responsible protein-specific antibiotic use policies applicable for in-scope markets. 

"Because each supply chain is unique, we must work in a targeted way to meet our commitments."

McDonald's was contacted for comment about Hesta's and the Texan nuns' proposals but referred the ABC to its shareholder statements and declined to say anything further.

In previous statements, it has called Hesta's push "duplicative" and "unnecessary", and recommended that all other shareholders vote against it. The resolution got 18 per cent support, excluding company management.

The Shareholder Commons, which was the lead on the action, disputes McDonald's claim that their action was unnecessary and says the fast-food chain still isn't following WHO guidelines.

Last year, an investigation by the Guardian found suppliers for McDonald's and other American chains like Walmart had antibiotics in their meats in ways that were "reckless".

Hesta's Kim Farrant said the fund was satisfied with the results of its efforts, having also lobbied pharmaceutical companies to make changes.

"Engagement is never a one-meeting sort of process," she said.

"It occurs over a number of years and is intended to drive awareness and action.

"We do hope to see further support from a range of investors as they also recognise this as a systemic risk."

As part of their bid to create more awareness, Hesta moved its attention to lodging a similar AMR vote against the owner of KFC, Yum! Brands during Wall Street's shareholder meeting season in May.

They received a similar result, while McDonald's was instead tackled by the sisters.

How the sisters have gone further than Hesta 

In Texas, the sisters have been lobbying McDonald's for far longer than Hesta.

In their 10 years of activism against the $194 billion company, they have achieved something that the fund has found difficult: getting meetings with McDonald's representatives.

Experts believe that antibiotic resistance will become a global problem in the long term, with a new study finding high rates of resistance in samples of salmon and beef.

All because they hold just $US2,000 in McDonald's shares.

"We own the stock, and so we said that we would step up and be the leader in order to raise questions with the company," Sister Mika said.

"If you're owning shares in any company, you are an owner of the company. That gives you power.

"And that's how we look at this. It's a ministry to us."

"When we first started raising questions [10 years ago] the company said they would start with chicken, which they did, and they have taken it out of the chicken across the US [and many other markets].

"So we're still working on the pork and the beef." 

The sisters also started lodging shareholder resolutions against McDonald's a few years ago, with their latest lodged just a few months ago to tackle those meats. 

It called for McDonald's to phase out the use of all medically important antibiotics "for disease prevention purposes" in pork and beef products.

"The basic premise of what we're talking about here is that there are antibiotics for animals and there's antibiotics for humans," Sister Mika says.

The sisters' vote in May 2024 got just 15.16 per cent in favour, and another slap down from McDonald's, which vigorously defended its existing policies.

"Our board unanimously recommends that you vote against this proposal," it noted.

"Overall reduction remains an intended outcome, while allowing for the necessary treatment of sick animals, aligned with herd veterinarian direction."

McDonald's didn't respond to multiple requests for comment from the ABC.

However, the pressure on companies about antibiotics isn't going away.

Last year, despite Australia being seen as having tight policies on agricultural use, supermarket giant Woolworths put out a brief policy on the use of antibiotics in its supply chain.

Its rival Coles says it has one too, but that it is confidential. 

Meanwhile, other companies overseas have walked back on pledges after finding them too difficult to implement, including the US food giant Tyson, which backflipped on an antibiotics-free chicken pledge.

"Consumers have a very powerful voice," the CSIRO's Dr Branwen says. 

"And sometimes they may not realise that what they're doing and calling for a particular action is actually going to have detrimental effects."

Despite her reluctance to support any specific shareholder resolution, Dr Branwen thinks Hesta and the sisters have a role to play in fighting a global problem.

"Shareholder action is a really powerful mechanism to make the broader community aware of the antimicrobial resistance problem globally," she said.

"A key way that investors and insurers can help to focus on the AMR problem at large is by considering appropriate use and what that means."

That includes measures to reduce the need for antibiotics, she said, such as developing better vaccines and giving farm animals better ventilation, so they don't get sick to begin with.

Back in Texas, the sisters are about to enter their 10th year of engaging with McDonald's, and Sister Mika said they would be continuing that relationship as long as possible.

"I think most companies want to improve," she said. 

"And so we're in it for the long haul. We intend to stay at the table for as long as possible."

Medieval manuscript goes on display in Kilkenny

One of Ireland's most significant medieval manuscripts has gone on display in the cathedral where it was created over 700 years ago.

Well known for its round tower, St Canice’s Cathedral in Kilkenny has been an important site of Christian worship since the 6th Century.

The Red Book of Ossory was composed largely in the 14th Century at the time of Bishop Richard Ledred (c.1317-1361).

Events will be held at the church in November to mark the Alice Kyteler Witch Trial which occurred 700 years ago.

Bishop Ledred charged Alice Kyteler with heresy and Witchcraft following the deaths of four of her husbands.

In the end, Alice Kyteler managed to flee Ireland and her maid, Petronilla de Meath was charged with being an accomplice and burned at the stake in Kilkenny.

An ecumenical service will be held at the beginning of November to mark the first known case in Ireland or Britain of death by fire for the crime of heresy.

The Dean of Ossary, Rev Stephen Farrell said the service would be an opportunity "to think through the events".

It will question power and the role of women in society at what was "not perhaps the finest hour of the Irish Church or the Irish legal system", he said.

The Red Book of Ossory which is a journal of Bishop Ledred’s work, will remain on display at the chapterhouse of the cathedral for a year.

Gregorian Chant and Wine Is a Fruitful Pairing for These French Nuns

In recent years, the nuns of the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Fidélité in Jouques, a few kilometers north of Aix-en-Provence, have gained international recognition through their participation in the Neumz project, a smartphone app offering streaming of the entire Gregorian chant repertoire of the Novus Ordo liturgy. 

But it’s also for the outstanding quality of their local produce, particularly their Provence wines, that this dynamic Benedictine community has made a name for itself in France, with major media outlets recently showing an interest in monastic initiatives, especially when they promote new forms of female entrepreneurship. 

In this respect, the activities of Jouques Abbey, located in the idyllic setting of the Provence region and whose hospitality welcomes many visitors in search of peace and recollection every year, ticks all the boxes.

A Path to Excellence 

Since settling in Jouques in 1967, the community, which today numbers some 45 nuns, has lived by the Benedictine rule of prayer and work, their activity being mainly focused on the running of their vast 150-acre estate overlooking the Durance Valley.

They ensure their livelihood through producing many local delicacies, which they sell directly from their abbey store or on platforms dedicated to monastic products. 

The vast fields of fruit and olive trees, lavender and einkorn that surround the abbey enable them to commercialize oils, hydrolats, jams, honey, cookies and other delicatessen items prized by the public.

As for their vineyards, they extend over 20 acres of land, the vastness of which leads Sister Armelle, the abbey’s cellarer, to joke that the community’s only enclosure is the cliffside that borders their estate.

“When the first nuns arrived here in 1967, there were abandoned vineyards and apricot groves all over the land, and as they were looking for ways to earn a living, they rehabilitated them, and initially limited themselves to producing wines which they stored in the abbey cellars for local sales,” Sister Armelle said in an interview with the Register. 

Indeed, it was not until 2005 that the first marketable bottles were developed, with the original design we know today, inspired by the drawings of Mother Geneviève Gallois, a famous artist from the same community who died in 1962. The first vintages yielded two red wines. The first one, Louange, is an emblematic cuvée blending Syrah with an old Grenache vine planted in 1950, which enhances its quality and sublimates the brightness of its color, giving it notes of ripe fruit and spices. “While the young vines ensure quantity, the old ones produce very good grapes, as do the wines themselves, which improve with age,” Sister Armelle explained.

The second wine, Fidelis, is made from Merlot vines planted in 2000 on the estate’s highest plateau and called Notre Dame de France. It has red fruit aromas and notes of blueberry and black cherry. 

“As our expertise grew year after year, we realized that we couldn’t decently produce Provence wines without offering rosé, which is always closely associated with the region in the minds of wine lovers,” she continued. Thus, in 2017, the community purposefully planted 6 acres of vines for rosé, whose first vintage, a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Caladoc, saw daylight in 2020 under the name Exsulta. This elegant wine, with its pale pink color and citrus notes, has already won rave reviews.

This reputation gives the community hope for future international development, particularly in the U.S., where customers are particularly fond of Provence rosés. 

“We strive to guarantee consistent quality for our products by making sure that our grapes are as beautiful as possible, but as our products are not industrial, there may be slight variations due to the climate,” said the Benedictine cellarer, precising that the community takes care of the entire agricultural work, from caring for the vines and soils to harvesting the grapes. The wine-making process is then carried out in the cellar of a neighboring village, a step that the Jouques nuns follow closely, right up to the final tasting before bottling.

Allegory of the Liturgy 

In their quest for excellence, the nuns spare no effort. While they hand-pick the grapes for the red wine, the rosé grapes require mechanical harvesting, which begins in the middle of the night. “For rosé to be of the highest quality,” explains Sister Armelle, “the time between cutting the grapes and pressing them has to be as short as possible. That’s why we usually activate the harvester around 3 a.m., so that the grapes can be delivered to the cellar at dawn.”

This leaves the nuns a couple of hours to get on with the task, before joining the other nuns in the chapel at 5 a.m. sharp for the first of seven offices of the day, the chants of which are streamed on the Neumz app.

It is in fact to the liturgy that the abbey’s three wines appeal, as a kind of allegory of the communion between a God-given gift and the work of man.

While Louange refers to the Divine Office or Liturgy of the Hours, and Fidelis echoes the name of their Abbey, Exsulta (inspired by Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, behold your King is coming to you”) is meant to reflect the joy of working the land and vines in such a spectacular setting as Provençal France. 

“This land has been given to us, as if it were only waiting for our community to come, and we have made it bear fruit as best we could,” said the Benedictine nun, pointing to Christ’s recurring use of the image of vine and wine to illustrate his love and presence in the world. 

In her eyes, winegrowing is indeed a privileged meeting place with God. “The liturgy is the ultimate expression of a gift from God to which men respond with their work, and this communion of the two dimensions is what the Lord has desired from the beginning and for all eternity,” she concluded. 

The fruit of this providential alliance, which brings delight to connoisseurs, also comes to garnish the table of the abbey’s nuns on Sundays and feast days, as a divine reward for their perseverance in the quest for the good and the beautiful. 

This sweet image is like a nod to the memory of the famous Franco-British writer Hilaire Belloc. “Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine, / There’s always laughter and good red wine,” he wrote. “At least I’ve always found it so. / Benedicamus Domino!”

Georgian Orthodox Church Dissatisfied with Georgian Dream’s Alleged Plans to Recognize Orthodox Christianity as State Religion

Recent statements by the Georgian Dream Party and its Honorary Chairman, Bidzina Ivanishvili, have sparked rumors in Georgia that the ruling party intends to use the establishment of Orthodox Christianity as the state religion as one of the pillars of its pre-election campaign. 

However, the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) appears to oppose these constitutional changes, fearing that they serve the government’s possible intention to increase control over the church.

On August 27, the clergy of the High Hierarchy held a meeting under the chairmanship of Metropolitan Shio Mujiri, locum tenens of the Georgian Patriarch, on the topic of constitutional changes in the relations between the Church and the State. 

According to the representative of the Patriarchate’s press office, there is no such official offer from the government to the GOC, and the meeting was held on the basis of an unofficial proposal. It was also noted that deliberations on this issue haven’t been completed yet and future meetings of the Synod are planned.

At present, the relations between the State and the Church are regulated according to the Constitutional Agreement of 2002, which emphasizes that “the State and the Church confirm their readiness to cooperate, observing the principle of mutual independence”. 

Both the press office of the Patriarchate and the Metropolitan of Akhalkalaki and Kumurdo, Nikoloz Pachuashvili, confirm that the position of the Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II to maintain the relations according to the agreement has not changed and will be respected by the Synod.

“…Declaring [Orthodox Christianity] as a state religion is very dangerous,” Metropolitan Nikoloz Pachuashvili told Formula TV. “The best [system] we could have is what we have today, the Georgian Orthodox Church has the highest status, and a [interference by] person can only spoil that.”

Metropolitan Pachuashvili also pointed to the example of Greece, which has recognized Orthodox Christianity as the state religion, stating: “Neither the Archbishop nor the Bishop of Greece can be appointed by the Church unless the Greek Parliament has confirmed it. If the Minister of Education does not confirm it within three weeks, the candidacy is withdrawn… The state completely determines the budget, and this means that it has full control…”.

The same opinion was shared by Protopresbyter Giorgi Zviadadze, who also spoke to Formula TV: “The Georgian Church has the same position as the position of the Patriarch [before]. The government has a very correct and good attitude towards the Church, which is very important in many areas. At this stage it is not right to talk about changing the Constitutional agreement”.

Georgian Dream proposes to recognise Orthodox Christianity as state religion

On Wednesday, the Patriarchate of the Georgian Orthodox Church confirmed that Georgia’s ruling party had proposed to designate Orthodox Christianity as the state religion, but suggested that the Church remained sceptical about the proposal.

Speaking to media, Church spokesperson Andria Jaghmaidze stated that members of the clergy had met with unnamed representatives of the ruling party on Monday to discuss the proposal. 

Jaghmaidze praised the government for its commitment to upholding ‘national values and traditions’ as well as a ‘policy of peace’, and emphasised that the  proposal originated from the government's ‘desire to strengthen the Church's role and status further’. 

However, he suggested that the idea required further deliberation. Jaghmaidze also mentioned that Monday’s meeting was ‘spontaneous’, and that a broader meeting was scheduled for 29 August.

Speculation regarding this possibility arose from Georgian Dream’s campaign promises to ban ‘LGBT propaganda’, ‘peacefully’ retake control over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, outlaw key opposition rivals, and, as their fourth major promise, to ‘protect’ Georgia’s ‘national values’ without specifying what that entailed. 

The ruling party has insisted that these measures would only be possible if they secure a 133-member constitutional majority in the 150-seat legislature following the October parliamentary elections.

Earlier reactions from individual clergy members appeared to be more candid, suggesting the Church was not impressed by the proposal.

On 27 August, the Patriarchate’s high official Giorgi Zviadadze and spokesperson Longinoz Suarishvili confirmed that Shio Mujiri, the incumbent of the ageing Patriarch Ilia II since 2017, attended the Monday meeting.

Zviadadze, along with Nikoloz Pachuashvili, the Bishop of Akhalkalaki and Kumurdo and a member of the Church’s ruling body, the Holy Synod, attested that the Church was not in favour of the idea, as it would lead to a diminished independence from the state.

‘This is a very respectful, calm, and thorough discussion about the legal model [of the relationship] between the Church and the state,’ Zviadadze told TV channel Formula on 27 August.

‘There is no ground yet to change the legal model that exists today between the state and the church’, Zviadadze added. 

Pachuashvili similarly highlighted the Church’s happiness with the existing arrangement between them and the state. 

‘Recognising Orthodox Christianity as a state religion […] is not a benevolent proposal… it poses significant threats […] The Georgian Orthodox Church enjoys the highest status today and one can only worsen it’, Pachuashvili told Formula.

Zenon Iarajuli, the Archbishop of Dmanisi and Agarak-Tashir, was the second Synod member, following Pachuashvili, to speak on the matter.

‘If this proposal is deliberate, it can only be conceived as a malicious and base intent aimed at the institutional destruction of the Church and a deviation from democratic governance’, Iarajuli wrote on his Facebook page. 

Calls to designate Orthodox Christianity as the ‘state religion’ have been a recurring theme since Georgia regained independence from the Soviet Union, particularly during election campaigns or among fringe conservative groups.

The Georgian Orthodox Church currently enjoys a special status guaranteed by a constitutional agreement between the Church and the state. Rights groups argue that this agreement, established in 2002, is discriminatory. 

Despite several individual comments and confirmation from spokesperson Jaghmaidze, the Patriarchate has so far not issued an official written statement regarding the proposal from Georgian Dream, despite that being their usual form of communication.

This is Georgian Dream’s first major public disagreement with the Church in almost five years, following the ruling party’s failed attempt in 2018 to persuade the Patriarchate not to oppose their initiative to legalise cannabis production in Georgia. 

Georgian Dream eventually retracted the controversial draft law.

The Church has otherwise been viewed as a key ally of the government, particularly in Georgian Dream’s recent conservative shift and their commitment to limit advocacy for equal rights for queer people, legislation the Church explicitly called for last year.

Regularly attending religious services can help prevent suicidal thoughts in elderly people

Loneliness in later life in Ireland is associated with an increased risk of people wishing for their own death – but attending religious services can help prevent suicidal thoughts, new research reveals.

Being active socially can also safeguard against these negative ­feelings and thoughts. The findings are from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (­Tilda), at Trinity College Dublin, based on responses from 8,000 adults.

It highlights the growing problem of death ideation and the increasing rates of both loneliness and suicidal thoughts among older individuals.

The study is published in peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Public Health and explores the critical issue of social disconnection and its link to a “wish to die” among older adults.

Dr Mark Ward, senior research fellow at Tilda and lead author of the paper, said: “Both loneliness and suicide among older adults have been increasing and are now viewed as critical public health concerns. This wish for death is often a precursor to suicidal thoughts and behaviours.

“On the other hand, pro-social behaviours, including attending religious services and other communal activities, protect against these negative thoughts about one’s own life.

“Uniquely, we also show attending religious services regularly can protect against death ideation among older adults in Ireland. Our findings again highlight the importance of promoting social activities and networks to safeguard against loneliness and related ­psychological distress.”

Interventions addressing depression and anxiety, including cognitive behavioural therapy, may also help alleviate loneliness, the study found.

Petition to be launched in a bid to secure former Convent of Mercy building in Tipperary

A public petition will be launched shortly to support recent attempts to secure the former Convent of Mercy building for the community of Templemore.

Developments have continued apace in recent weeks with every avenue being explored in an attempt to retain this iconic building for community use.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to expand our community infrastructure and facilities and to succeed we require the full support of our entire parish along with those of Borrisoleigh, Moyne-Templetuohy and Loughmore-Castleiney.

Future generations will thank us for having the courage and foresight to secure this building to benefit all in our community and especially our vulnerable and ageing population.

The community has a long-standing relationship with the Convent going right back to its opening in 1872.

The following appeared in the Freeman’s Journal Newspaper in June of that year: “The Sisters of Mercy return their most grateful thanks to the gentry and people of Templemore and its neighbourhood for their kind patronage and liberality in contributing so generously to the Bazaar in aid of their new buildings which was held on Thursday last, June 10th”.

Rosica faces sexual assault lawsuit

Well-known media figure Fr. Thomas Rosica has been accused of sexually assaulting a younger priest during the lead up to the Church’s 2002 World Youth Day in Toronto, Canada.

Rosica has denied any “improper conduct” with the priest, and urged a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him, so that allegations can be addressed in a canonical court. 

Rosica’s faculties for priestly ministry were withdrawn in March, after the alleged victim filed suit against him.

Rosica was the principal organizer of the 2002 World Youth Day, a Vatican advisor and media attaché,, and was a fixture in Catholic media and television for nearly two decades, before his prominence was stalled by 2019 reports of widespread plagiarism. 

The priest was also a high-profile participant in the Vatican’s 2019 global abuse summit, convened by Pope Francis, where he urged that the problem of clerical sexual abuse not be “ignored.”

According to a lawsuit filed in March in the Canadian province of Ontario, Rosica developed a mentoring relationship with a newly ordained Canadian priest in the late 1990s, while the priest was in graduate studies. 

Rosica also invited the young priest to assist in preparations for the 2002 World Youth Day, for which Rosica had been appointed chief executive officer.

The lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by The Pillar, does not identify the plaintiff-priest by name; use of a pseudonym in such suits is permitted in Canadian law. The plaintiff-priest, whose identity is known to The Pillar, declined to answer questions about the case.

When they first met, the young priest “was impressed with Rosica who was influential, well-connected, and internationally recognized within the Roman Catholic Church,” according to the lawsuit.

The complaint alleges that Rosica developed a “close personal relationship” of “authority and trust” with the young priest, “under the guise of the role of a senior priest” giving guidance to the newly ordained priest. 

That relationship “allowed Rosica an opportunity to be alone with the Plaintiff and to exert total control over him, prey upon him and sexually abuse him,” the lawsuit charged.

The suit alleges that Rosica initially “made unwanted physical contact with the Plaintiff, including long hugs and touching the Plaintiff’s body and arms.”

But in the summer of 2000, and over the next several months, the suit charges, Rosica exposed himself to the young priest, and repeatedly “groped and fondled” the young priest’s genitalia. 

“Rosica facilitated the abuse under the guise of his role as teacher, priest, and guidance counsellor, and further with a view of implicitly or explicitly helping the Plaintiff’s career within the Church in return for Rosica’s sexual advances,” the suit charges.

The older priest “used his position of authority and trust, as well as the dependency relationship that he had fostered with the Plaintiff, to ensure that the Plaintiff did not tell anyone about the behaviours they had engaged in,” the lawsuit adds.

Rosica’s attorney told The Pillar Aug. 28 that he was not able to comment on the allegations against his client.

But in a response filed in an Ontario court, Rosica denied “that he had a close personal relationship with the Plaintiff in any capacity, and denies he had any control or influence over him, or that he preyed upon him or sexually abused him.”

Instead, Rosica’s response claimed that he had “infrequent ministerial contact with the Plaintiff between 1996 and 2002, but denies sexually abusing or sexually assaulting or making unwanted physical contact or engaging in any improper conduct with the Plaintiff.”

Rosica asked the court to dismiss the case against him, arguing that “this matter is governed by the Codes of Canon Law,” and should be adjudicated in a canonical context.

“Fr. Rosica pleads the Court has no jurisdiction over the subject matter of this dispute as the Plaintiff and Fr. Rosica are ordained priests and the alleged assaults occurred while they were engaged in duties on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church. Any such complaints or allegations would be governed by Canon Law. The court should defer to the ecclesiastical court and its application of Canon Law.”

The plaintiff’s lawsuit also charges that Rosica’s religious order, the Congregation of St. Basil, failed to properly supervise Rosica, and ignored issues which arose when he was a seminarian, and during his priesthood. 

The suit alleged that the order knew Rosica had been accused of acting inappropriately with other young men, before his alleged relationship with the plaintiff.

It charged that in some of Rosica’s assignments, the priest had been the subject of complaints “about his actions with young males,” and that the order “took no steps to stop the behaviour or to protect the Plaintiff, and instead, took steps to attempt to cover-up the behaviour.”

“The Basilians knew or ought to have known that Rosica had engaged in deviant behaviour and failed to investigate such. In failing to investigate and identify any past failings of Rosica, they also failed to identify any victims who may have been in need of counselling, assistance and support because of the actions of the Rosica,” the lawsuit charged.

According to the lawsuit, the priest-plaintiff suffered difficulty in relationships, difficulties with mental health, and difficulties in his priestly vocation, because of Rosica’s alleged sexual assault.

For its part, the Basilian order is also likely to petition a judge that the case should be resolved in a canonical forum, according to sources close to the case.

An attorney for the order has not yet responded to The Pillar’s request for comment.

But in March, the order removed Rosica’s faculties for priestly ministry, according to documents reviewed by The Pillar.

Despite that, Rosica was listed as the facilitator of a “Walking with Francis” retreat at a Jesuit-owned retreat in July, and is advertised to lead another such retreat in January, at which he will “lead us each day with conferences, group reflections, Eucharistic Celebrations, and opportunities for individual Spiritual Direction.” 

Rosica, 65, was ordained a priest in 1986, and rose to prominence when he was the principal organizer of Toronto’s World Youth Day in 2002. 

In 2003, Rosica helped launch Salt+Light Television, a Toronto-based Catholic television network. The priest was appointed in 2009 a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communication, and in 2013 a Vatican spokesman ahead of the conclave which elected Pope Francis, and was a media advisor during 2008 and 2018 Synods of Bishops at the Vatican. 

Rosica was also a participant in the Vatican’s February 2019 global summit on clerical sexual abuse, which was convened by Pope Francis in the wake of the 2018 Theodore McCarrick scandal.

“We’ve watched one country after another face [clerical abuse scandals],” Rosica told reporters at the start of that summit. “And more countries to come. This is now at the highest level of the Church. This is at the universal level. Nobody can ignore this right now.” 

In the same month, Rosica praised an archbishop appointed by the Vatican to “eliminate the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults by clergy and its cover-up by bishops and heads of religious orders.”

In 2019, Rosica resigned his leadership position at Salt+Light, and several university board positions, amid widespread indications that he had serially committed plagiarism in his published works. 

Rosica said that he had been neither “prudent nor vigilant with several of the texts that have surfaced,” and said that the apparent plagiarism had been a “lack of oversight.”

“If there was an error on my part, it is that I have often relied on others who have generously helped me in my preparation of various texts and I did not do the necessary checking into sources, etc. I regret that. It was never wilfully done,” Rosica said in a February 2019 statement.

Since the 2018 Theodore McCarrick scandals, advocates have called for the Church to give more attention to the prospect of the sexual abuse, coercion, and assault of adults within the Church, especially that perpetrated by clergy. 

Pope Francis himself has frequently recognized the problem, and urged that solutions be found to address it.

African Archbishops: ‘They Are Sending Us Missionaries of Evil’

The West used to send Africa the Gospel. 

Now, African Church leaders are warning that Western nations and individuals are spreading a far different message throughout the continent, in what they describe as a warped form of proselytization.

From Kenya to Cameroon, Ghana to Tanzania, local archbishops tell the Register that Western aid workers, government officials and even tourists are advancing secular understandings of sexuality and the human person that are incompatible not merely with African cultural values, but with the timeless teachings of the Catholic faith. 

And while aspects of this push are consistent with what Pope Francis has criticized as “ideological colonization,” which involves Western governments pressuring less-developed nations to change public policies, African prelates warn that the advancement of secular causes like the normalization of homosexual activity is also being driven by far more personal, almost evangelistic efforts. 

“It’s just like the missionaries who went all over to evangelize,” said Archbishop Renatus Leonard Nkwande of Mwanza, Tanzania. Except now, he said, the West is “sending us missionaries of evil.”

Examples of this ideological proselytization include everything from NGO (nongovernmental organization) workers promoting sexual ideologies in the classroom to activists recruiting African youth to gay sex parties.

Pro-LGBTQ organizations often deny these kinds of claims as fearmongering propagated by conservative Christians from the U.S. 

But reports of on-the-ground effects are widespread among Africa’s Catholic episcopacy, with some local leaders citing their own experience of combating what they see as a dire moral and spiritual threat.

Among them is Archbishop Charles Palmer-Buckle of Cape Coast, Ghana. His archdiocese includes parts of the Gold Coast, where European missionaries came ashore 140 years ago to share the Catholic faith.

But now, Archbishop Palmer-Buckle says white tourists who come to Ghana’s beaches are promoting something far different among his people.

“They’ve come to enjoy themselves, and they are messing with our little boys on the beach,” he told the Register, “sexually abusing them for a little money.”

The Ghanian archbishop described this phenomenon, which he says takes advantage of locals’ financial need, as “far, far worse” than macro-level ideological colonization — and described those who participate in it as particularly twisted. 

“They themselves are already warped,” he said. “And they are warping these [young people]. It’s like, sorry to say, the devil trying to get more disciples.”

Targeting Youth

Additionally, Archbishop Palmer-Buckle added that he has frequently dealt with foreign-aid workers promoting things like homosexuality in schools and other venues, despite such activism being prohibited by their charters.

When the Ghanaian archbishop, an important voice for orthodox sexual teaching in the universal Church, has confronted NGO leaders about these incidents, he says they have “abdicated” their responsibility.

“As a teacher, it is not your right to expose the child to that which is harmful to them in the long run, as if you are proselytizing,” he said.

Concerns about the sexual exploitation of youth, which can lead to long-lasting psychological and sexual disorders, led Tanzania’s Mwanza Archdiocese to set up an archdiocesan task force to instruct youth how to respond if confronted by people inviting them to participate in immoral sexual activity.

“We have decided to do it because we have seen a number of people coming, gathering young people, and entertaining them,” said Archbishop Nkwande. “At the end, they are like that.”

Archbishop Nkwande said that anxieties about Westerners promoting sexual deviancy are so widespread that “the first meeting with somebody from Europe,” whether a tourist or an NGO worker, “you just fear. You try to shy away.”

The Tanzanian archbishop also spoke of Western NGOs distributing lubricants used in gay sex in his archdiocese, an effort that he said was stopped during the Trump administration but has increased during nearly four years of U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration. 

Under President Biden, the promotion of LGBTQ ideology abroad has become a “core part” of U.S. foreign policy, with the Biden administration spending more than $4 billion taxpayer dollars on related initiatives around the world.

Similar stories are shared in neighboring Kenya, where clergy tell the Register that personnel associated with NGOs promote homosexuality in the classroom and even provide financial support to young people who enter into a gay lifestyle, which in turn draws in other youths.

In Uganda, the government ordered a 2023 probe into NGO-run schools, which were described as LGBT “conscription centers” aimed at “distort[ing] the norms of African society.” Earlier this year, Kenyan religious leaders raised concerns about the presence of “LGBTQ content” in school textbooks.

And in 2017, activists from a South African initiative that is funded by Western organizations like the Ford Foundation and promotes homosexuality through “strategic litigation” were arrested in Tanzania’s capital, Dar es Salam, and deported for “promoting homosexuality.”

These efforts, local Church leaders say, are not isolated, but are part of a bigger, coordinated plan to normalize homosexual tendencies among African youth.

“We don’t speak about it openly, but it’s intentional,” said Archbishop Nkwande. 

Social Media’s Impact

Secular values are also being imported into Africa via social media — especially in places like Kenya, where more than 60% of residents have a smartphone, a much higher rate than the average sub-Saharan country.

Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba of Kisumu draws a sharp distinction between the message brought by outside evangelizers decades ago and the Western messages of secularization and hedonism promoted in Kenya by the social-media platforms of today.

“When the missionaries came, they came with the Good News,” said Archbishop Muhatia, who is president of the Kenyan Conference of Catholic Bishops. “Now, the culture coming through social media is not good news. It is bad news.”

In Obala, Cameroon, Bishop Sosthène Léopold Bayemi Matjei said that social-media content from countries like France, the central African country’s former colonizer, is leading to a dramatic remaking of values among Cameroonian youth.

In addition to changes in speech and dress, Bishop Bayemi said he is now aware of reports that young boys are organizing sex groups after being exposed to the idea through online videos.

“These are things that I’ve never dreamt of,” he said. “But now we see that they are arriving.”

Policy Pressure

Ideological proselytization in Africa at the personal and cultural level is moving in tandem with ideological colonization at the level of public policy, which Pope Francis has said “destroys the human personality.”

In Cameroon, for instance, abortion is illegal, but Bishop Bayemi said that the French embassy actively promoted it in March after France enshrined abortion as a “guaranteed freedom” in its constitution. Additionally, Western NGOs reportedly give grants to facilities in Cameroon to perform free abortions, which are tolerated by the local government.

Regarding homosexuality, several African nations have responded to the West’s ideological push by drafting stringent measures meant to curb the spread of LGBTQ ideology. Some of these bills make it illegal to publicly identify as gay, while others carry with them harsh sentences for gay sex.

In turn, the West has responded with hard-hitting economic sanctions. The U.S. sanctioned Uganda for passing a bill that makes homosexual activity a possible capital offense. And there is speculation that Ghana’s legislation restricting the spread of LGBTQ activism could lose the African country $3.8 billion from the International Monetary Fund.

In addition to criticizing ideological colonization, Pope Francis has spoken out against the criminalization of homosexuality in Africa.

Standing Strong

African archbishops see their resistance to secular ideologies as fidelity to the Gospel — not an attempt to protect merely cultural values, which some, including Pope Francis, suggested was what motivated the African episcopacy to push back against the Vatican’s December 2023 document that initially appeared to allow for blessings of same-sex couples.

“It’s a complete misunderstanding of the stance of the African bishops,” said Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of the Bamenda Archdiocese in Cameroon, who said that when he was ordained, he made an oath to defend the Catholic faith, not African culture.

“We are keeping the tradition of our one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church,” he said. “And any objections that we raise are objections to defend our faith as we received from our forefathers. It has nothing to do with ‘defending the culture of Africa.’ The African bishops don’t defend African culture. We defend the Catholic faith.”

In Kenya, Archbishop Muhatia said he finds it ironic that African Catholics are criticized by Westerners for embracing the tenets of the very same faith that the West promoted in Africa within the past century.

“I always found it strange when people would just say, ‘Oh, African Catholics are responding this way just because of a cultural preference,’” the Kenyan archbishop told the Register. “It’s not a cultural problem. It’s the faith they were taught from the beginning, and they believe it’s the right thing to do.”

Archbishop Nkea, who said he spoke out against ideological colonization at the October 2023 session of the Synod on Synodality in Rome, approvingly noted that “most of our governments are rejecting this ideological colonization of Africa” even if it means losing out on grants.

But he insisted that Catholic leaders need to continue to urge civil authorities to stand strong.

“As a Church, we are trying to take positions that will make our government understand that they cannot sell our people for the sake of grants from the West,” said the president of the Cameroonian bishops’ conference.

In Tanzania, Archbishop Nkwande points to the witness of St. Charles Lwanga, one of the first sub-Saharan Africans canonized, as a witness for the present moment. The Uganda saint and his companions were martyred in 1886 after they resisted a king’s immoral sexual advances and then refused to renounce their Catholic faith.

Archbishop Nkwande acknowledged that African Catholics aren’t facing death for refusing to give into sexual immorality, like St. Charles Lwanga did. Instead, he said, they are facing enormous economic and political pressure — but can still draw inspiration from the African saint.

“We have to be strong and say, ‘No.’”

Jesuit: Without deaconesses, there is no longer a need for deacons

The US Jesuit and publicist Thomas Reese has proposed suspending the ordination of permanent deacons. 

"If we cannot ordain women as deacons, there is no reason to ordain men," writes Reese in a guest article for the portal"National Catholic Reporter" on Tuesday. 

If the purpose of ordination is merely to give deacons more status, this is another form of clericalism. 

The Church had existed for centuries without the permanent diaconate.

There is nothing a deacon can do that a layperson cannot do, said Reese. 

Deacons are not allowed to celebrate mass, hear confessions or anoint the sick. Instead, they are allowed to preach in the Eucharist, which can also be done by lay people under canon law. 

Lay people and deacons alike could baptise, marry and bury. 

Reese demands: "Stop ordaining anyone as deacons and allow both women and men to take on many of the same tasks as catechists."

In addition, catechists would no longer have the "disadvantages" that the diaconate entails, such as the financial responsibility of the diocese for clergy, the celibacy obligation and the laicisation procedure "if a deacon gets into difficulties".

The aim of the permanent diaconate

Reese refers to the idea of reintroducing the permanent diaconate during the Second Vatican Council. 

At that time, it was hoped that the introduction of the office would help with preaching in Africa and Asia. 

However, according to Reese, it was mainly in Europe and America that permanent deacons were ordained: "There are only around 500 deacons in the whole of Africa, fewer than in the Archdiocese of Chicago, where there are over 850." 

In Africa, on the other hand, the focus is on training catechists. 

There are "more than 450,000 catechists who teach the faith, hold Bible studies, lead small Christian communities, prepare people to receive the sacraments and conduct communion services when priests are not available."

The issue of ordaining women as deacons in the Catholic Church has played a role for decades. It was most recently discussed during the Synod on Synodality. 

Pope Francis also set up several commissions to investigate the possibility of ordaining women. 

The results of these commissions have not yet been published. 

In the run-up to the second plenary assembly of the Synod on Synodality in Rome in October, Pope Francis removed the issue from the discourse and referred it to a study group. 

It is to discuss the issue by summer 2025.