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MEDELLIN, Colombia (AP) -- Authorities prepared Thursday to transport home the bodies of dozens of victims of this week's air tragedy in Colombia as grief turned to anger amid indications the airliner ran out of fuel before slamming into the Andes. Bolivian aviation officials announced they were indefinitely suspending the charter company that operated the flight....
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Donald Trump saluted workers, owners and himself Thursday at a Carrier plant in Indiana, declaring that a deal to keep a local plant open instead of moving operations to Mexico was only the first of many business victories to come in the U.S. with him as president....
Washington D.C., Dec 1, 2016 / 11:34 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pro-life leaders have expressed their dissatisfaction as House Democrats re-elected pro-abortion Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as the House Minority Leader.“We have been in trouble since 2010, and failed to realize that we have alienated parts of our party, including the pro-life wing. And by making the platform more supportive of abortion, taxpayer funding of abortion, it further pushed people away,” Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats for Life of America, told CNA on Wednesday.“We need a leader that’s going to pull people together and make a change, rather than business-as-usual,” she continued.Pelosi was re-elected by House Democrats as the Minority Leader on Tuesday, winning 134 votes to 63 for Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio).Pelosi, 76, has served in Congress since 1987. She is a long-time abortion advocate who has won the praises of Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Rights Action ...
Washington D.C., Dec 1, 2016 / 11:34 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pro-life leaders have expressed their dissatisfaction as House Democrats re-elected pro-abortion Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as the House Minority Leader.
“We have been in trouble since 2010, and failed to realize that we have alienated parts of our party, including the pro-life wing. And by making the platform more supportive of abortion, taxpayer funding of abortion, it further pushed people away,” Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats for Life of America, told CNA on Wednesday.
“We need a leader that’s going to pull people together and make a change, rather than business-as-usual,” she continued.
Pelosi was re-elected by House Democrats as the Minority Leader on Tuesday, winning 134 votes to 63 for Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio).
Pelosi, 76, has served in Congress since 1987. She is a long-time abortion advocate who has won the praises of Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Rights Action League. Current Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards’ bio reveals she formerly served as Pelosi’s deputy chief-of-staff in the House.
The congresswoman was criticized by NARAL earlier this year for saying, “I don’t believe in abortion on demand,” although she still affirmed that “woman have the right to make their own decisions” about pregnancy.
The president of the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List, who chaired President-elect Donald Trump’s pro-life coalition during the presidential campaign, stated Tuesday that “Nancy Pelosi is a chief purveyor of voter-rejected Democratic abortion extremism.”
“Her re-nomination as Minority Leader signals Democrats would rather continue to be in the minority than stray from their pro-abortion orthodoxy,” Dannenfelser said
Her opponent in the race for House Minority Leader, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), was formerly on the board of Democrats for Life.
Yet in choosing their next Minority Leader, the Democrats would have ended up with a pro-abortion Catholic either way, as both Pelosi and Ryan are Catholics and support abortion access.
Ryan admitted last year in an op-ed that he had changed his mind on abortion, citing the Gospel of Matthew “judge not, lest ye be judged” to explain his decision.
Ryan insisted that “there is no easy answer” for some “complex and difficult” pregnancy decisions, and added that “the heavy hand of government must not make this decision for women and families.”
Ryan’s explanation for his decision was flawed, a theology professor at the Franciscan University of Steubenville explained. “If we were to outlaw abortion, we’re not claiming to stand in judgement over anyone’s soul any more than we do when we outlaw murder and stealing and fraud,” Dr. Donald Asci told CNA.
“The pro-life position would be that all abortion should be removed from the discussion as an option in these stressful situations,” he added. “The sanctity of the life is what should be made very clear to all involved. And then you go forward in doing the best you can with whatever the particulars of the situation are.”
The Democratic Party’s strong platform on abortion called for the repeal of the Hyde and Helms Amendments’ prohibition of taxpayer funding of abortions domestically and in foreign aid. The platform and the strong pro-abortion support of the party’s presidential nominee Hillary Clinton turned off some Democratic voters in the recent election, Day said.
“I’m sure that that played a role,” she reflected. “I know there are a lot of pro-life Democrats who really struggled, and didn’t vote for her [Clinton] because of that.”
With Pelosi at the helm for House Democrats, there will soon be debates in the House about abortion – for example, an effort to defund Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider.
Although the Hyde Amendment prohibits federal funding of abortions, pro-life leaders say that funding of Planned Parenthood, like through Medicaid payments, frees up other resources for them to perform abortions.
Democrats should be careful “not to put Planned Parenthood as the line in the sand,” Day insisted, but should work to redirect their funding to community health centers that provide “access to care” without doing abortions.
They should also look for common ground with Republicans in health policy, she said, like keeping prenatal care and access to insurance for people with pre-existing conditions.
Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Dec 1, 2016 / 11:44 am (Aid to the Church in Need).- As devastating wildfires continue to burn in East Tennessee, a startling discovery was made.This statue of Jesus was the only thing left standing in a house burned by the Tennessee wildfires https://t.co/1El3FQqhJm pic.twitter.com/65JrtUdXeE— CNN (@CNN) December 1, 2016On Thursday, CNN said that one of its affiliate reporters had found a statue of Jesus in the remains of a burnt-down house in Sevier County. The statue was the only thing standing amid the rubble.Earlier in the week, Dollywood theme park employee Isaac McCord found a page from Scripture that had survived the flames.In a Facebook post, he said that he found the page from the Bible while helping clean part of the theme park.Several verses from the book of Joel are visible on the burnt page, including, “To you, LORD, I call, for fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.&rdqu...
Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Dec 1, 2016 / 11:44 am (Aid to the Church in Need).- As devastating wildfires continue to burn in East Tennessee, a startling discovery was made.
This statue of Jesus was the only thing left standing in a house burned by the Tennessee wildfires https://t.co/1El3FQqhJm pic.twitter.com/65JrtUdXeE
— CNN (@CNN) December 1, 2016
On Thursday, CNN said that one of its affiliate reporters had found a statue of Jesus in the remains of a burnt-down house in Sevier County. The statue was the only thing standing amid the rubble.
Earlier in the week, Dollywood theme park employee Isaac McCord found a page from Scripture that had survived the flames.
In a Facebook post, he said that he found the page from the Bible while helping clean part of the theme park.
Several verses from the book of Joel are visible on the burnt page, including, “To you, LORD, I call, for fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.”
Since it began last week, the Gatlinburg, Tennessee fire near Great Smoky Mountains National Park has burned an estimated 17,000 acres, damaging hundreds of homes and businesses. At least 7 deaths have been confirmed, with more than 70 injured and numerous other people missing.
Strong wind gusts and lightning storms have added to the fire, making the flames difficult to fight. On the morning of Dec. 1, the fire was only 10 percent contained.
The exact cause of the fire is still being investigated, with arson being a possibility.
Bishop Richard F. Stika of Knoxville is offering prayers for the fire’s victims, while Catholic Charities of East Tennessee is providing aid to those who have lost their homes.
IMAGE: CNS photo/David MaungBy WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Prayer services and special Masses will be held in manydioceses across the country as the U.S. Catholic Church has asked that the Dec.12 feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe be a day of prayer with a focus on migrantsand refugees.Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patroness of the Americas."As Christmas approaches and especially on this feast of Our Lady, we arereminded of how our savior Jesus Christ was not born in the comfort of his ownhome, but rather in an unfamiliar manger," said a Dec. 1 statement from CardinalDaniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, who is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.The day of prayer is intended to be a time to place before a merciful God thehopes, fears and needs of all those families who have come to the United Statesseeking a better life."So many families are wondering how changes to immigration policy might impactthem," Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles,USCCB vice president, said in a D...
IMAGE: CNS photo/David Maung
By
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Prayer services and special Masses will be held in many dioceses across the country as the U.S. Catholic Church has asked that the Dec. 12 feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe be a day of prayer with a focus on migrants and refugees.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patroness of the Americas.
"As Christmas approaches and especially on this feast of Our Lady, we are reminded of how our savior Jesus Christ was not born in the comfort of his own home, but rather in an unfamiliar manger," said a Dec. 1 statement from Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, who is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The day of prayer is intended to be a time to place before a merciful God the hopes, fears and needs of all those families who have come to the United States seeking a better life.
"So many families are wondering how changes to immigration policy might impact them," Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, USCCB vice president, said in a Dec. 1 statement. "We want them to know the church is with them, offers prayers on their behalf, and is actively monitoring developments at the diocesan, state, and national levels to be an effective advocate on their behalf."
The
USCCB suggested that Catholics unable to attend such a service or Mass Dec. 12 or who
live in an area where one is not being held should "offer prayers wherever
they may be." The USCCB's Migration and Refugee Services office has developed a
scriptural rosary called "Unity in Diversity" that includes prayers for
migrants and refugees. It can be accessed at the Justice for Immigrants website at http://tinyurl.com/hldg3o9.
Another resource suggested by the USCCB is "Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope," the 2003 pastoral letter issued jointly by the bishops of the United States and Mexico. Summary versions of the pastoral are available online in English at http://tinyurl.com/c4xm2vs and in Spanish at http://tinyurl.com/c26ql3x.
A USCCB announcement on the day of prayer said the bishops' conference would
develop additional pastoral resources.
"To all those families separated and far from home in uncertain times, we join with you in a prayer for comfort and joy this Advent season," Cardinal DiNardo added.
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