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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Amid deepening acrimony, a supposedly bipartisan deal to kill the North Carolina law known as the "bathroom bill" fell apart Wednesday night, ensuring the likelihood that global corporations and national sports events will continue to stay away from the state....
IMAGE: CNS photo/Johnny AntounBy Doreen Abi RaadBEIRUT (CNS) -- Amid the turmoil in theMiddle East and persecution of Christians in surrounding countries, theChristmas spirit is evident in Lebanon: sparkling lights, decorated trees andeven mangers in public places. "Wherever you go you can find Christmasdecorations," even in the cities and the places where the residents areMuslim, Maronite Father Joseph Soueid told Catholic News Service. "I feel that here in Lebanon, we havethis grace, that really, Jesus is the reason for the season," said thepriest, pastor of St. Takla Parish, which serves 6,850 Maronite Catholic families.With seating for just 280 people, the church overflows with the faithful foreach of its eight Masses on Sundays and has generated 24 vocations in the pasteight years. Its outdoor manger near the entrance to the church is just a fewsteps away from a busy street intersection.Father Soueid noted that because most of themunicipalities in Lebanon are a mix of Christian...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Johnny Antoun
By Doreen Abi Raad
BEIRUT (CNS) -- Amid the turmoil in the Middle East and persecution of Christians in surrounding countries, the Christmas spirit is evident in Lebanon: sparkling lights, decorated trees and even mangers in public places.
"Wherever you go you can find Christmas decorations," even in the cities and the places where the residents are Muslim, Maronite Father Joseph Soueid told Catholic News Service.
"I feel that here in Lebanon, we have this grace, that really, Jesus is the reason for the season," said the priest, pastor of St. Takla Parish, which serves 6,850 Maronite Catholic families. With seating for just 280 people, the church overflows with the faithful for each of its eight Masses on Sundays and has generated 24 vocations in the past eight years. Its outdoor manger near the entrance to the church is just a few steps away from a busy street intersection.
Father Soueid noted that because most of the municipalities in Lebanon are a mix of Christian and Muslim, the influence of Christianity gives the Lebanese an opportunity to "make this season a season of joy."
Muslims also have attended and continue to attend Christian schools in Lebanon. So it follows that "when they grew up, they found themselves familiar with our traditions and with the way we celebrate our great celebrations, like Christmas, like Easter," Father Soueid said.
The splendor of Christmas is not only a feast for the senses in Lebanon, but also a witness of Christianity, he said.
"Sometimes you can feel the spirit of Christmas by the choirs that come out of the churches during this season to public places to sing the glory of Jesus," Father Soueid added.
"That's why I consider that in Lebanon, we do not have a big problem when we spread the good news" through the media, on TV, magazines, "everywhere," he said. "We can share the way we think openly without having any fear of the others. Because they accept us."
At City Mall, huge cutout stars, glistening Christmas trees and garlands adorn the tri-level shopping concourse. There is also a sprawling, rustic, miniature crafted scene reminiscent of a Lebanese red-roofed village from centuries ago: women at the well with jugs of water, shepherds with their sheep, people gathering in the center square.
The Nativity is prominently featured in the display. Nestled in a cave, Mary and Joseph lovingly gaze upon the newborn King, his arms outstretched, lying in a simple manger illuminated with a soft light. Livestock surround the Holy Family. Outside the cave, the Wise Men have already arrived to pay homage to the savior; a shepherd tends to his sheep, with his head cocked toward baby Jesus.
Shoppers stroll by -- Christians and Muslims -- many stopping to get a close look at the magical scene and to snap pictures. Young children typically rush ahead of their parents to step up and lean against the translucent railing to get the closest view possible.
That's just what 5-year-old Angelina Youssef did, arriving ahead of her mother, Samar, who pushed 1-year-old Roy in a stroller.
"It's amazing," the mother said of the mall's manger display. "Kids like it. We come every year to see it. It gives us the Christmas spirit."
Gazing at the manger, Samar Youssef, a Maronite Catholic from Beirut, said: "Everything sparkles. Christmas is when Jesus was born, so we must always remember this before we think about trees and gifts. Jesus is the joy of Christmas."
Grace Abou Tayeh smiled as her 1-year-old son, Joe, looked with wonder at the creche.
"I like when my son sees Jesus inside so he won't forget what's the meaning of this holiday," she told CNS.
Her husband, Charbel Abou Tayeh, also Catholic, pointed to the appeal of Christmas within other faiths.
"The birth of Jesus is for all mankind, so no matter what the religion is -- Christian, Muslim -- it's for everyone, so we all share the happiness of Christmas here in Lebanon," said Charbel Abou Tayeh.
"And I'm seeing it, even all my Muslim friends have (Christmas) trees, and some even have the baby Jesus in their houses," he said, calling it an example of "the unique culture of our country." With 18 religious sects represented in Lebanon, he added, "we're still hanging on here," referring to the Christian presence.
In Beirut's Sassine Square, a life-size manger scene is featured next to a towering cone-shaped Christmas tree. Mary and Joseph -- an angel between them -- look upon the empty crib, filled with straw.
Admiring the site as he passed, George Abdul Malak, a Greek Orthodox from Beirut, told CNS, "It's a part of our culture that even in homes in Lebanon, we find this accompanying the tree all the time, the creche." He added that many people wait until Christmas Eve to put baby Jesus in the crib.
"Maybe globally we don't find the custom of creches, we find (Christmas) trees more," Abdul Malak said. But in Lebanon, the presence of a creche in a public place "means that we have some kind of freedom of expression."
Karim Al Younis, a Shiite Muslim visiting Lebanon from Basra, Iraq, stopped to gaze at the manger scene. Asked how he feels about the display, he told CNS, "What can you see here, except peace, love and family?"
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Copyright © 2016 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.
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IMAGE: CNS photo/Kevin Lamarque, ReutersBy Dennis SadowskiWASHINGTON(CNS) -- President-elect Donald Trump's commitments to nominate pro-lifejustices to the U.S. Supreme Court and support legislative efforts to limitabortion are invigorating abortion foes.Leadersin organizations such as U.S. bishops' Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities; NationalRight to Life, Americans United for Life and Susan B. Anthony List toldCatholic News Service that they are hopeful that Congress and eventually the SupremeCourt, with pro-life justices in place, will take steps to achieve thelong-standing goal of ending abortion altogether."Weare very excited about the new Trump administration because he took such astrong stand during the campaign," said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life."I think it's going to be a great few years."Suchenthusiasm stems not just from Trump's unexpected election, but also becauseRepublicans maintained control of both the House of Representatives (241-194) andthe ...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Kevin Lamarque, Reuters
By Dennis Sadowski
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- President-elect Donald Trump's commitments to nominate pro-life justices to the U.S. Supreme Court and support legislative efforts to limit abortion are invigorating abortion foes.
Leaders in organizations such as U.S. bishops' Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities; National Right to Life, Americans United for Life and Susan B. Anthony List told Catholic News Service that they are hopeful that Congress and eventually the Supreme Court, with pro-life justices in place, will take steps to achieve the long-standing goal of ending abortion altogether.
"We are very excited about the new Trump administration because he took such a strong stand during the campaign," said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. "I think it's going to be a great few years."
Such enthusiasm stems not just from Trump's unexpected election, but also because Republicans maintained control of both the House of Representatives (241-194) and the Senate (52-48), although with slimmer margins. As a result, the fear of a veto of pro-life legislation has virtually vanished.
Advocates also are pleased that Trump has not indicated any deviance from a campaign pledge he delivered to a coalition of groups opposed to abortion. In a September letter to pro-life leaders, Trump said he was committed to four cornerstones of the pro-life movement:
-- Nominate pro-life justices to the Supreme Court.
-- Sign into law the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would prohibit abortion after 20 weeks of gestation, about the time doctors have determined that an unborn child can feel pain.
-- End federal funding of Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, as long as the agency continues to offer abortion services.
-- Making permanent the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits tax dollars from paying for abortion except in cases of rape, incest or threat to the woman's life. Currently, the Hyde Amendment, which covers programs administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, must be renewed annually by Congress in its appropriations bill.
Greg Schleppenbach, associate director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, welcomed the commitments, but said he would maintain a "cautious optimism" that they would be carried out.
"Certainly, based upon things President-elect Trump said he will do, there's some reason for optimism. It remains to be seen if he follows through on what he said he would do," Schleppenbach said.
While making the Hyde Amendment permanent would be welcomed, Schleppenbach said, passing the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act would ensure no federal money whatsoever is used for abortion, including under the Affordable Care Act. The bill has been introduced in the past three Congresses and passed by the House each time, but has stalled in the Senate.
Still, advocates in the pro-life movement have mobilized quickly to ensure that pro-life bills will be considered by the new sessions of Congress and state legislatures.
"We will see (a) pain capable (bill) advance. It passed the House previously and it was voted on in the Senate," said Marilyn Musgrave, vice president of government affairs at the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List.
She called the current period hopeful for pro-lifers. "It's a time when we have to give all we have to advance the cause for life at a time when the country rejected Hillary Clinton and her party's extreme position on life," she said.
Even with expected action by Congress, the advocates said they feel emboldened to take steps to pass key pieces of legislation, including the so-called "pain capable" bills at the state level. Ohio serves as an example of what's ahead. Republican legislators inserted a pain-capable bill in end-of-year-legislation in December. It was signed into law by Gov. John Kasich Dec. 13.
Thirteen states have enacted pain capable laws that have gone unchallenged, although similar bans have been struck down by courts in Arizona and Idaho.
A second bill in Ohio adopted by the Legislature in December would have banned abortion when a fetal heartbeat could be detected, usually around six weeks of a pregnancy. It would have been the country's most restrictive abortion law. Kasich vetoed that provision at the urging of Ohio Right to Life; both the governor and the pro-life group have said they did not believe it would have been upheld in court and he acted to save taxpayer dollars. Similar bans elsewhere have been overturned in the courts. Ohio Right to Life leaders pointed out if the heartbeat measure became law and was challenged in court, a federal judge could strike it down along with abortion restrictions.
Pro-life groups are divided on the strategy of pursuing fetal heartbeat laws. While some groups want to see bills introduced, others believe federal courts would overturn them and harm the overall pro-life movement by contributing additional legal precedence in support of abortion.
Beyond that issue though, voters can expect to see other abortion-related bills come before state legislatures, Tobias said. In one area, National Right to Life is working with other organizations on state bans of dilation and evacuation abortion procedure -- which pro-life advocates describe as "dismemberment" -- that is commonly used during the second trimester of pregnancy.
Bills that offer conscientious protections for health care workers also are expected to be reintroduced.
While legislative victories are expected -- and expected quickly -- Clark Forsythe, acting president of Americans United for Life, suggested patience would be a virtue for pro-life advocates to embrace.
"We have to look at it as four consequential years," he explained. "People have to understand the Senate is still going to be difficult with 52-48 splits. People have to understand that Senate Democrats are going to want to resist.
"Every Supreme Court vacancy is going to be a hard fight. People have to have patience and look at it as this two-year Congress and then the opportunity to add to the Senate majority in the 2018 mid-term elections and then two more years of the Trump-Pence administration's first term," he said.
Supporters of keeping abortion legal are concerned about what they consider to be attacks on a women's right to choose the care she receives. Planned Parenthood chapters in many states have begun fundraising efforts to close the gap should federal funding of its programs end.
The organization's federal funding comes primarily through Medicaid and Title X, which provides family planning and related preventive health services.
Other organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, have said they will fill lawsuits to prevent what they consider to be excessive restrictions on abortion from taking effect.
Even with things expected to go their way in the White House, Congress and state legislatures, pro-life advocates recognize that parishioners and other churchgoers who oppose abortion will have to remain vigilant because of the strong push back expected from the supporters of keeping abortion legal.
Unity in messaging will be the key said the USCCB's Schleppenbach.
"Certainly forming and preparing our grass roots, which is really, as the church, our grass roots is our biggest strength as a lobbying force," he explained. "So we will certainly make sure that we have our grass roots informed and energized and ready to act and to communicate with our representatives."
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Follow Sadowski on Twitter: @DennisSadowski.
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Copyright © 2016 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.
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