Catholic News 2

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article

Spoleto, Italy, Aug 24, 2016 / 04:56 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- While the number of victims of the earthquake that hit central Italy in the early hours of Wednesday  climbs, the gestures of generosity and aid for those affected have multiplied.

At approximately 3:30 am Aug. 24, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck roughly six miles southeast of Norcia in central Italy. Over the next several hours, nearly 200 aftershocks shook the regions of Umbria, Lazio, and Marche, leaving towns throughout the area devastated.

So far, at least 159 people have been killed, according to Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi.  More than 360 are  injured; most of the victims are from the towns of Amatrice, Accumoli, Arquata del Tronto, and Pescara del Tronto – all of which have been reduced to rubble.

Among those affected by the disaster are the Benedictine monks of Norcia. They are all safe, but their buildings are damaged, and the community has announced that they will transfer to Rome for a time as a precautionary measure.

“We strive to maintain the order of the Rule even during the most difficult of circumstances, and this transfer, while disruptive, will ensure the safety of our monks and grant us all the peace to continue to practice our monastic life,” they stated.

While the monks are temporarily in Rome, please keep them in your prayers. https://t.co/F8tSZjILAb

— The Monks of Norcia (@monksofnorcia) August 24, 2016 However, aid has arrived quickly. Medical teams, nurses, and rescue workers from the Italian Aid Corps of the Sovereign Order of Malta have already reached the affected areas.

In Arquata del Tronto, a canine unit has been called in to aid rescue operations. An emergency evaluation team – including a doctor and a nurse – is now located in Amatrice, where it is joined by staff of the Department of Civil Protection engaged in disaster intervention and medical care.

The Order of Malta has activated a mobile unit that will provide assistance to the affected populations in Amatrice and Accumoli. Within hours of the earthquake, the Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta, Fra. Matthew Festing, extended to Italian president Sergio Mattarella a message of condolence.

“I want to convey feelings of sincere condolences for the many victims. I also want to express solidarity and sympathy, and assure prayers of comfort and consolation to their family, to the survivors, and to the displaced persons,” Festing said.

As in other similar situations, Vatican City has sent help, making six fire brigades available to the Italian Civil Protection. In addition, the Catholic aid group for ill Lourdes pilgrims, Unitalsi, along with Bishop Domenico Pompili of Rieti are coming back from their pilgrimage to Lourdes in order to help the victims in Amatrice.

“We have already sent the National Department of Civil Protection a note informing them of the immediate availability of our personnel and motor vehicles for the transport of disabled persons,” said Unitalsi national president, Antonio Diella.

Bishop Javier Echevarría Rodriguez, the prelate of Opus Dei, asked Catholics, “especially the faithful of the Prelature and our friends present in the area. to collaborate as much as possible and to help those responsible for organizing and bringing relieve to those affected.”

On social media throughout Italy, there are many posts from people offering support and shelter for survivors of the earthquake, and many teams of volunteers from around Italy have arrived in the provinces of Rieti and Ascoli Piceno.

 

Full Article

IMAGE: CNS photo/Joshua Roberts, Reuters

By Ann Rodgers

PITTSBURGH (CNS) -- The Pittsburgh Diocese said Bishop David A. Zubik is making every effort to achieve a swift negotiated solution to the diocese's dispute with the federal government over religious freedom in relation to the federal contraceptive mandate, as directed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

"We have always been willing to meet with representatives of the government to negotiate a mutually agreeable solution to our impasse over religious freedom," said a diocesan statement issued Aug. 10.

In a May 16 unanimous decision in Zubik v. Burwell, a consolidated case of challenges to the contraceptive mandate filed by several Catholic and other religious entities, the Supreme Court sent the case back to lower courts, vacated earlier judgments against those parties opposing the mandate, and encouraged the plaintiffs and the federal government to resolve their differences.

Zubik v. Burwell involves the Little Sisters of the Poor, Priests for Life, the Pennsylvania dioceses of Pittsburgh and Erie, the Archdiocese of Washington, and other Catholic and faith-based entities challenging the Affordable Care Act's mandate that most religious and other employers must cover contraceptives, sterilization and abortifacients through employer-provided health insurance -- even if the employers oppose the coverage on moral grounds. They see the mandate, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, as a violation of their religious freedom.

"Zubik" in the case name is Bishop Zubik, and "Burwell" is HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell.

The plaintiffs, who do not fit the narrow exemption to the contraceptive mandate the government gives to churches, argue that providing contraceptive coverage even indirectly through a third party, as the Obama administration allows through what it calls an accommodation, still violates their religious beliefs.

The government argues its existing opt-out provision for these employers does not burden their free exercise of religion.

"Our counsel and counsel for the other Supreme Court litigants had a meeting with representatives of the Department of Justice, at which we attempted to engage in the kind of resolution talks that the Supreme Court intended in its order," the Pittsburgh Diocese said in its statement. "The government has been slow to offer anything of substance to pursue a negotiated solution, except to mention openness to future meetings."

Bishop Zubik initiated the lawsuit against the government on behalf of Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh, arguing that it is a violation of religious freedom to force a religious organization to facilitate access to anything that it teaches is immoral.

After Bishop Zubik won an initial victory in the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh in November 2013, the case was appealed until it reached the Supreme Court this year.

In its May decision, the high courts urged the lower courts to give the litigants time to find a negotiated solution. The high court also affirmed that the diocese and the others could not be fined during those negotiations.

However, the diocese has learned that the Department of Justice is pressuring secular insurance companies that have contracts with the diocese, and with other religious organizations, to begin providing church employees with the objectionable coverage.

The Diocese of Pittsburgh, along with several neighboring dioceses, is self-insured through the Catholic Benefits Trust. Catholic Benefits Trust hires secular insurance companies to handle the administration and claims for its plans.

Those companies have told the diocese that they recently received letters from the Department of Justice directing them to provide the disputed coverage at their own expense, said Christopher Ponticello, general counsel of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

"Since the Supreme Court issued its ruling strongly directing that the parties negotiate a mutually agreeable resolution to this matter, we have remained hopeful and open to those talks," Ponticello told the Pittsburgh Catholic diocesan newspaper.

"It is discouraging to see this aggressive action taken by the government," he said. "We hope to prevail upon the Department of Justice to stop this latest action without having to pursue additional litigation. We have believed from the beginning that an agreement could be reached that would allow the government to accomplish its goals without involving the church in the process."

The diocese has not paid anything for its legal representation in Zubik v. Burwell. All costs associated with the litigation have been donated by the legal firm of Jones Day.

Mickey Pohl, one of the Jones Day attorneys who has been representing Bishop Zubik, the diocese, Catholic Charities and other religious organizations in this litigation, said: "It is extremely disappointing that the Department of Justice is trying to pressure insurers to steamroll the religious objections of Catholics and other people of faith who have been part of this litigation. It is also troublesome that these assaults on freedom of religion have not been the subject of inquiry by the mainstream media during this election cycle."

The Aug. 10 statement from the diocese said that "we are aware that the government has made an extremely aggressive interpretation of the court's order in the Zubik case and is apparently trying to take over -- to force our third-party administrators to include the objectionable coverage in our self-insured plans."

"We think that is an erroneous reading of what the Supreme Court said," it continued. "Furthermore, as the government seems to acknowledge, because we are self-insured there is no obligation or authority for the third-party administrator to provide the objectionable coverage."

If the fines for not facilitating the coverage were imposed, Ponticello said, they would bankrupt Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh. Each year that agency provides about $10 million in services, such as free medical and dental care, and support to homeless women and veterans, to people of all faiths in southwestern Pennsylvania.

"The Supreme Court also made clear that we cannot be fined or penalized for refusing to comply with the government's current regulations," the statement said. "Therefore, we believe the government's position is wrong. In order to avoid future litigation, we will try to work through these issues with our insurers, third-party administrators and the government. Our counsel is actively working on this endeavor, and we remain in prayer for a mutually agreeable solution."

In late July, the Obama administration opened a public-comment period seeking input on ways the government can comply with religious employers' refusal on moral grounds to cover contraceptives for employees and at the same time make sure those employees get such coverage.

- - -

Rodgers is general manager of the Pittsburgh Catholic, newspaper of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

- - -

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.

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article