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AMMAN, Jordan (AP) -- When retired Maj. Gen. Mohammed Otoom was summoned to Jordan's domestic intelligence service over a critical web comment, he wasn't too rattled. After all, he was a 30-year veteran of the agency that sought to question him....
President Donald Trump's executive order banning refugees from certain countries has brought stress, desperation, worry and confusion to a number of families in the United States and abroad....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- If confirmed by the Senate to the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch would fill the seat of the man he seeks to emulate as a judge....
Manila, Philippines, Jan 31, 2017 / 07:37 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Catholic bishops of the Philippines voiced strong objections to proposals intended to reinstate the death penalty in the country.“The Gospel of the Lord Jesus is the Gospel of Life. It is this Gospel we must preach. It is this Gospel that we must uphold,” Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said Jan. 30.“We therefore unequivocally oppose proposals and moves to return the death penalty into the Philippine legal system,” he added. “We urge the government to champion life for all!”Speaking on behalf of the national bishops’ conference, Archbishop Villegas pointed to the 2006 repeal of legislation that imposed the death penalty for heinous crimes, calling this repeal “a considerable stride in the defense of life.” He said there is an “unmistakable” global trend against...
Manila, Philippines, Jan 31, 2017 / 07:37 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Catholic bishops of the Philippines voiced strong objections to proposals intended to reinstate the death penalty in the country.
“The Gospel of the Lord Jesus is the Gospel of Life. It is this Gospel we must preach. It is this Gospel that we must uphold,” Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said Jan. 30.
“We therefore unequivocally oppose proposals and moves to return the death penalty into the Philippine legal system,” he added. “We urge the government to champion life for all!”
Speaking on behalf of the national bishops’ conference, Archbishop Villegas pointed to the 2006 repeal of legislation that imposed the death penalty for heinous crimes, calling this repeal “a considerable stride in the defense of life.” He said there is an “unmistakable” global trend against the death penalty and international agreements oblige the country not to impose it.
The Philippines legislature is considering a bill that would restore the death penalty for 21 crimes categorized as “heinous.” These include treason, some forms of murder and rape, violent car thefts, and nine drug offenses, the New York Times reports. Some drug crimes involving as little as 10 grams of methamphetamines or marijuana oil result in capital punishment.
Archbishop Villegas voiced regret over the “strident efforts” to revive the death penalty.
“Though the crime be heinous, no person is ever beyond redemption, and we have no right ever giving up on any person,” he said.
“When we condemn violence, we cannot ourselves be its perpetrators, and when we decry murder, we cannot ourselves participate in murder, no matter that it may be accompanied by the trappings of judicial and legal process.”
The country’s bishops have previously clashed with the government of President Rodrigo Duterte, charging that his drug war violates legal process and moral norms.
At least 2,250 drug suspects have been reported killed by police, while at least 3,700 others were murdered by unknown suspects who sometimes accused their victims of being drug dealers or addicts, according to Agence France Presse.
Some churches have put up banners denouncing the extrajudicial killings, while some priests and bishops are afraid to speak out against the killings, Jerome Secillano, public affairs chief for the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said last week.
IMAGE: CNS photo/Andrew Kelly, ReutersBy WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The chairmenof three U.S. bishops' committees Jan. 31 expressed solidarity with the Muslimcommunity and expressed deep concern over religious freedom issues they said PresidentDonald Trump's refugee ban raises.Trump's executive memorandum ofJan. 27 "has generated fear and untold anxiety among refugees, immigrants andothers throughout the faith community in the United States," said the committeechairmen in a joint statement. "In response ' we join with other faith leadersto stand in solidarity again with those affected by this order, especially ourMuslim sisters and brothers.""We also express our firmresolution that the order's stated preference for 'religious minorities' shouldbe applied to protect not only Christians where they are a minority, but allreligious minorities who suffer persecution, which includes Yezidis, ShiaMuslims in majority Sunni areas, and vice versa," said the statement from byBishop Mitchell T. Rozans...
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The chairmen of three U.S. bishops' committees Jan. 31 expressed solidarity with the Muslim community and expressed deep concern over religious freedom issues they said President Donald Trump's refugee ban raises.
Trump's executive memorandum of Jan. 27 "has generated fear and untold anxiety among refugees, immigrants and others throughout the faith community in the United States," said the committee chairmen in a joint statement. "In response ' we join with other faith leaders to stand in solidarity again with those affected by this order, especially our Muslim sisters and brothers."
"We also express our firm resolution that the order's stated preference for 'religious minorities' should be applied to protect not only Christians where they are a minority, but all religious minorities who suffer persecution, which includes Yezidis, Shia Muslims in majority Sunni areas, and vice versa," said the statement from by Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of Springfield, Massachusetts, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore and Bishop Oscar Cantu of Las Cruces, New Mexico.
They are, respectively, the chairmen of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty and Committee on International Justice and Peace.
"While we also recognize that the United States government has a duty to protect the security of its people, we must nevertheless employ means that respect both religious liberty for all, and the urgency of protecting the lives of those who desperately flee violence and persecution," they said.
MORE TO COME
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Copyright © 2017 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler OrsburnBy WASHINGTON (CNS) -- President Donald Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the seat on the U.S. Supreme Court that has been empty since the death of Justice Antonin Scalialast February.Gorsuch is a man the countryneeds, Trump said in announcing his nominee the evening of Jan. 31. He added that his pick for the high court already has had bipartisan support. When Trump announced his choice at the White House, in the audience was Maureen McCarthy Scalia, the widow of the late justice. One of thecouple's children also was present: Father Paul Scalia, a priest of the Dioceseof Arlington, Virginia.In his remarks, Gorsuch said he was thankful forfriends, family and faith giving him balance. He also said he was honored andhumbled to be chosen as a nominee to the nation's highest court. He described Scalia as"lion of the law" and said he misses him. Gorsuch,judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, is 49, making him the youngestSupreme Cou...
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- President Donald Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the seat on the U.S. Supreme Court that has been empty since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last February.
Gorsuch is a man the country needs, Trump said in announcing his nominee the evening of Jan. 31. He added that his pick for the high court already has had bipartisan support.
When Trump announced his choice at the White House, in the audience was Maureen McCarthy Scalia, the widow of the late justice. One of the couple's children also was present: Father Paul Scalia, a priest of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia.
In his remarks, Gorsuch said he was thankful for friends, family and faith giving him balance. He also said he was honored and humbled to be chosen as a nominee to the nation's highest court. He described Scalia as "lion of the law" and said he misses him.
Gorsuch, judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, is 49, making him the youngest Supreme Court nominee in 25 years. He was born in Denver. He currently lives outside of Boulder, Colorado, with his wife and two daughters, he lived in the Washington area as a teenager when his mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Gorsuch attended the Jesuit-run Georgetown Preparatory School where he won a national debate championship.
Gorsuch has the typical qualifications of a high court justice. He graduated from Columbia, Harvard and Oxford, clerked for two Supreme Court justices and also worked for the Department of Justice.
He also is an adjunct law professor at the University of Colorado and he wrote a 2009 book arguing against the legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Gorsuch hasn't written a ruling specifically on abortion but he has strong views on religious liberty. He sided with the Little Sisters of the Poor in their challenge of the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act. And in Hobby Lobby Stores v. Sebelius, in June 2013, the 10th Circuit ordered the federal government to stop enforcement of the federal mandate against Hobby Lobby, the Oklahoma-based Christian chain of retail arts and crafts stores. In his concurrence, Gorsuch said the contraception mandate substantially burdened the company's religious exercise -- a decision the Supreme Court later upheld.
Gorsuch is an Episcopalian. Scalia, who had been one of six Catholic members of the court, was often described as its most conservative voice and known for his strict interpretation of the Constitution's intent.
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Copyright © 2017 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, fired by President Donald Trump, has told others she refused to enforce his executive order on refugees because she felt it was intended to disadvantage Muslims, according to a person familiar with her thinking....
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- Salespeople at Pyongyang's premier car dealership wait patiently beside racks of glossy brochures in a showroom filled with that unmistakable new car smell from a couple dozen Whistle sedans and Cuckoo SUVs - all bearing the distinctive, double-pigeon logo of Pyonghwa Motors, North Korea's only passenger car company....
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- The Army Corps of Engineers was ordered to allow construction of the Dakota Access pipeline to proceed under a disputed Missouri River crossing, North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said on Tuesday, the latest twist in a months-long legal battle over the $3.8 billion project....
DENVER (AP) -- Neil Gorsuch, named Tuesday as President Donald Trump's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, has a solidly conservative pedigree that has earned him comparison to the combative justice he would replace, Antonin Scalia....
