Catholic News 2

New Haven, Conn., Aug 17, 2016 / 02:09 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Since it was first used by Mario Cuomo in 1984, many Catholic politicians have taken up the argument that they are “personally opposed to abortion” but still “pro-choice.” The argument “has always been a poor one, but it has never made less sense than it does today,” writes Carl Anderson, CEO of the Knights of Columbus, in an opinion piece published yesterday in The Hill.

In a speech at Notre Dame in 1984, Cuomo famously declared that: “As a Catholic I accept the church's teaching authority. … I accept the bishops' position that abortion is to be avoided.” Cuomo added: “My wife and I were enjoined never to use abortion to destroy the life we created, and we never have.” Still, he maintained that abortion should be protected legally.

In his piece, Anderson says the Cuomo argument was never morally coherent, that its premise that opposition to abortion is the minority view is no longer valid, and that the intervening history proves that Cuomo’s claim that such actions will bring tolerance for Catholic positions has been disproven by new attempts to force religious individuals and entities to act against their beliefs.

Anderson notes that if we apply the “personally opposed” rationale to another evil we see how quickly the logic breaks down.

In addition, Cuomo’s logic was based on not imposing his view on the majority of Americans. But, the piece notes, it “simply is not true that legally restricting abortion is the minority view,” and “a broad consensus to restrict abortion” has emerged in the intervening years on that and on the immorality of abortion.

The piece sites Marist polling commissioned by the Knights of Columbus that shows about eight in 10 Americans want substantial restrictions on abortion. A solid majority would limit abortion at most only to rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. And by a margin of 23 points – 60 percent to 37 percent – most Americans now say abortion is “morally wrong.” By contrast, only about one in 10 Americans say they want no restrictions of abortion.  

Anderson writes that this means that “pro-choice” politicians who claim to be “personally opposed” now not only violate their own consciences, but also impose on the country a view held by only a “tiny minority.”

Cuomo’s idea is “now bankrupt in another way,” continues Anderson.

In defending his “pro-choice” stance, Cuomo stated in 1984: “We know that the price of seeking to force our beliefs on others is that they might someday force theirs on us.”

“Indeed, the opposite has occurred,” writes Anderson. “Catholics are increasingly facing government ‘force’ to commit actions they see as immoral… Cuomo was wrong. Our rights have not been protected as a result of his political strategy – just ask the Little Sisters of the Poor.”

Anderson concludes by arguing that politicians should embrace the American consensus on abortion restrictions “and stop acting in opposition to their own conscience and the will of the American people.”

Alternatively, Anderson suggests, they could take what he calls “the John F. Kennedy option,” a course of action that Kennedy proposed while running for president in 1960. Kennedy said: “…if the time should ever come … when my office would require me to either violate my conscience or violate the national interest, then I would resign the office; and I hope any conscientious public servant would do the same.”

This press release was provided to CNA by the Knights of Columbus.

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Munich, Germany, Aug 18, 2016 / 03:15 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Never before have so few Catholic priests been ordained in the Church in Germany: a total of 58 men joined the clergy in 2015, according to official figures published by the German Episcopal Conference this week.

Within the last decade, the number of ordinations has dropped by half. In 2005, a total of 122 diocesan priests were ordained. Five decades ago, in 1965, the number was 500.

While there were almost 20,000 Catholic priests in Germany in 1990, today their number has already dropped to 14,000. The drastic decline is set to continue, judging by the figures: last year also marked the first time in history that the number of new seminarians dropped to double digits. Only 96 new students were registered in 2015. At the same time, 309 priests passed away, and 19 left the priesthood.

The crisis of vocations to the priesthood is not just one of sheer numbers. A recent academic study showed that amongst the current clergy, more than half – 54 percent – go to confession only “once a year or less.”

Further official numbers, published in July, confirm that the precipitous decline of the faith is not just restricted to the number of vocations: average church attendance in Germany is down from 18.6 percent in 1995 to 10.4 percent in 2015. The number of people departing the Church has increased within the same time frame, having peaked at over 200,000 annually in recent years.

The German bishops have mostly responded to the crisis twofold. They've first abandoned the traditional parish structure in favor of larger “pastoral areas,” which take different names in different dioceses. In these, lay people, both paid and unpaid, play an increasingly important role in administering the Church. Secondly, several dioceses in Germany have large numbers of foreign priests working for them, mostly from Poland and India. Not all of these priests are fluent in German and/or familiar with cultural norms and traditions – which in turn occasionally leads to conflict.

With over 23.7 million members, Catholicism is the largest religious group in Germany, comprising 29 percent of the population. However, people are leaving in droves: In 2015, a total of 181,925 people departed according to official statistics published in July.  By comparison, 2,685 people became Catholic, and 6,474 reverted to Catholicism.

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Dublin, Ireland, Aug 18, 2016 / 03:48 pm (CNA).- Wealthy abortion backers could use Ireland as a model to change pro-life laws in other Catholic countries, an apparent leaked three-year plan for George Soros’ Open Society Foundations suggests.

“With one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world, a win there could impact other strongly Catholic countries in Europe, such as Poland, and provide much needed proof that change is possible, even in highly conservative places,” the document says.

It also cites support for pro-abortion efforts in Mexico, Zambia, Nigeria, and Tanzania, and other parts of Latin America and Europe. The document particularly targets constitutional protections for the right-to-life from conception.

The New York-based Open Society Foundations’ proposed 2016-2019 strategy for its Women’s Rights Program appears to be among the documents published by the website DCLeaks.com. The website claims the documents are from the globally influential foundations begun by billionaire financier George Soros. In 2015 Forbes magazine estimated Soros’ net wealth at $24.5 billion, ranking him the sixteenth wealthiest man in the U.S.

One of the program’s three themes is enabling access to legal abortion, including through efforts to repeal Ireland’s Eighth Amendment to its constitution.

The amendment, passed by voters in 1983, acknowledges “the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.”

The Open Society Foundations’ apparent strategy proposal says that it will fund the Abortion Rights Campaign, Amnesty International Ireland, and the Irish Family Planning Association “to work collectively on a campaign to repeal Ireland’s constitutional amendment granting equal rights to an implanted embryo as the pregnant woman (referred to as ‘fetal personhood’).”

Cora Sherlock, deputy chairperson of the Ireland group the Pro-Life Campaign, reflected on the strategy document.

“This is devastating news if true,” Sherlock told CNA Aug. 18. “One thing is certain. Those pushing abortion in Ireland have vast resources that they didn’t have just a few years ago. The money is not being raised from ordinary Irish citizens. That is for sure.”

“The idea that an outside body would fund and organize groups in Ireland to dismantle Ireland’s protection for the unborn child would represent a gross interference and total contempt for the Irish people.”

She said it is “extremely difficult” for Irish pro-life advocates to compete, given the funding for efforts to repeal Ireland’s Eighth Amendment. She called on the pro-abortion groups named in the document to clarify their relationship to the alleged funding.
 
“It is not a surprise that international pro-abortion groups are trying to impose their agenda on Ireland,” she said. “Ireland’s excellent record of safety in pregnancy for women without recourse to abortion is a major source of embarrassment to abortion campaigners as it completely undermines their argument that abortion somehow helps women.”

She praised Ireland’s constitutional protections for the unborn.

“Thousands of Irish citizens are alive today thanks to this law,” Sherlock said. “In addition to this, Ireland has demonstrated that it’s possible to ban abortion and also be a world leader in protecting the lives of pregnant women.”

The alleged Soros foundations’ proposed strategy to fight the Republic of Ireland’s pro-life law says the recent legalization of same-sex marriage in Ireland offers “valuable and timely opportunities to advance the campaign.”

Its next three years of activity are intended to pilot strategies to “stem, mitigate and reverse the tide of fetal personhood laws and constitutional amendments” and to generate “a robust set of organizations advancing and defending sexual and reproductive rights and injecting new thinking/strategy into the field.”

A spokesperson for the Open Society Foundations did not comment on the specific document, but told CNA that a number of internal documents were published “after being removed from an online community that served as a resource for our staff, board members, and partners across the world.”

“In some cases, the materials reflect big-picture strategies over several years from within the Open Society Foundations network, which supports human rights and the rule of law in more than 100 countries around the world.

“The Open Society Foundations work in many countries to promote full and equal rights for women, including sexual and reproductive autonomy,” the spokesperson continued, characterizing the incident as an apparent symptom of “an aggressive crackdown on civil society and human rights activists that is taking place globally.”

“We stand by our work and are proud to support all our grantees,” the spokesperson said.

The alleged strategy document appears to provide a window on the foundations’ other funded projects and its larger goals.

It pledges support for the Mexican pro-abortion group El Grupo de Información en Reproducción Elegida (GIRE). It acknowledges current support for the International Women’s Health Coalition, the Center for Reproductive Rights, National Advocates for Pregnant Women, and Women on Web.

It plans to fund the Center for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, citing the work of academic Charles Ngwena on the subject of reproductive rights and the law. It aims to encourage a partnership between this center and the Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa spinoff the Southern Africa Litigation Center to provide internship or fellowship placement for students.

The document criticizes large donors in women’s rights like the Gates Foundation, the U.S. government, and a number of corporations for allegedly focusing on “individual empowerment” that serves development goals.

“The handful of donors that do support structural transformation of political and economic systems have comparatively fewer resources,” the document says.

According to the document, the Women’s Rights Program characterizes itself as “a small program in a foundation that encourages risk taking and backing new issues, actors, and strategies.”

“Our distinctive role is to take on the controversial issues avoided by other larger donors, particularly on women’s sexuality and reproduction,” it says.

The document says the program is different from most donors because it can work with “a network of locally-staffed foundations in over 40 countries and seven regions” that has “a deep knowledge of local context, opportunities, and frontline actors.” The Open Society Foundations’ network allows the program “to make cross-country/regional connectionism,” it says.

The alleged strategy document also has other focuses of concern, such as maternal mortality, the treatment of pregnant women, child marriage, violence, access to economic resources and drug policy.

In addition to the theme of “sexual and reproductive rights,” the strategy also includes goals like economic justice and the strengthening of women’s rights organizations and movements.

However, these goals are linked to abortion advocacy.

“We see these goals as interconnected, because in order for women to take their full place as citizens, they must be able to control their bodies, have a level of economic security that enables public participation, and have the ability to advocate for themselves,” the document says.

The foundations’ supported feminist groups include the FRIDA fund and the Mexico-based El Closet de Sor Juana. Its Eurasia Program also targets Eastern Europe, the South Caucuses and Central Asia.

The goal of the 2016-2019 funding period is to “develop or deepen national level strategies pushing for accountability in commitments to women’s rights,” to develop a “deeper bench” of women’s rights organizations that can undertake efforts on the national level; and to identify “a new generation of leaders to infuse energy into the field while building on the success of the past,” according to the leaked document.

Some security experts say DCLeaks.com has the hallmarks of Russian intelligence, Bloomberg News reports. The Open Society Foundations reported a security breach to the FBI in June. A security firm investigation reportedly found the intrusion was limited to an intranet system used by the foundations’ board members, staff and foundation partners.

 

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IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Sandra Fayad, Order of Malta Lebanon

By Doreen Abi Raad

CHABROUH, Lebanon (CNS) -- In a pristine mountain setting in Lebanon, a female volunteer gently takes hold of the hands of Mohammed, a disabled adult who has trouble communicating. She gazes into his eyes -- still shaded in heart-shaped sunglasses from the dress-up activity a few hours earlier -- as she engages him in a dance to the rhythm of the music playing in the background.

Smiling contentedly, Mohammed bows his head to kiss her hand, and she responds with a kiss on his forehead.

"By showing acts of love, we are demonstrating that everyone is made in the image and likeness of God," Anton Depiro, a 30-year-old Catholic volunteer from London, told Catholic News Service during a recent camp for people with disabilities, run by the Order of Malta Lebanon.

As Depiro affectionately put his arm around Mohammed, he introduced his middle-aged guest like a proud brother, saying, "He's very shy and quiet." He told CNS they were "working together slowly and getting to know each other, and we're finding ways we can interact."

The issue of disability is still somewhat of a taboo in Lebanon, and families often experience shame when they have a child with a disability. Because the Lebanese government does not offer support for people with disabilities, many families resort to putting their family member into an institution, where there is little connection with the outside world.

The Order of Malta Lebanon addresses this inadequacy by bringing together disabled people from institutional settings and volunteers to spend a week together at its center in Chabrouh for a camp. Each disabled "guest" is paired with a volunteer for complete care and attention.

One of the aims of the Order of Malta Lebanon camp is to give guests "the love and respect they deserve and to give them back their humanity," Patrick Jabre, project director for the Chabrouh camp, told Catholic News Service. Jabre was among the first volunteers when the organization hosted its first camp there in 1997.

Depiro said volunteering with the guests can be challenging, for example, waking them to wash and get dressed for the day.

"But it's simply about sharing love with our brothers and sisters. After a while, you find the guest starts to look after you," he said.

The motto at Chabrouh is, "Our guests are our lords, and we are here to serve them."

So, if a guest signals to the volunteer a desire not to participate in the group activity in progress, the pair might instead play a quiet game, or just sit together and hold hands while taking in the spectacular views from the camp. Chabrouh, which is near Faraya, a popular skiing destination, is 6,200 feet above sea level.

Camp activities include hiking, olive picking, theatre plays, "Olympic" games as well as an outing to the beach.

Jack Straker, 25, a Catholic volunteer from England, said his guest, Charbel, who is mute, "has ups and downs all day." Middle-aged Charbel sometimes makes sounds of approval or disapproval. That morning, Charbel especially enjoyed washing up.

"Charbel likes to receive kisses. He goes up to people and presents his cheek," Straker added.

"To see the face of God in the face of the guest helps to renew a lot of people's faith," Straker said, referring to the Chabrouh camp experience as a "silent evangelization."

Each day begins and ends with a group prayer. Mass is celebrated most days, and confession and the anointing of the sick are available.

Melkite Father Romanos Bou Assi, director of the center, said the daily schedule "is always engulfed in the grace of the Lord."

Although the volunteers come from different paths and an active Christian spiritual life is not a prerequisite, the camp experience encourages them to "think deeply about the meaning of their lives," Father Bou Assi told CNS. Such reflection, while working closely with the disabled, the priest explained, also can help the volunteers to understand "the things that sometimes cripple us in life" and the importance of having a relationship with God.

Chabrouh underwent an extensive renovation and expansion, whereby two buildings were joined and a new building added in time for the 2016 camps. Cardinal Bechara Rai, Maronite Catholic patriarch, will consecrate the center Sept. 3.

This year's schedule at Chabrouh included Order of Malta volunteers from four European countries as well as from Lebanon for 18 separate weeklong camps, including two at Christmastime. In all, about 650 volunteers and 500 guests -- 15-20 percent of whom are Muslim -- will participate. The organization also hopes to receive delegations from North and South and America for future camps.

After each camp, volunteers with the Order of Malta Lebanon visit the former guests where they reside.

The order also sponsors a course for college students, who spend 10 months in Lebanon learning about the region, faith and coexistence, while working daily with the disabled in institutions across the country.

Marwan Sehnaoui, president of the Order of Malta Lebanon, fondly refers to the Chabrouh camp as "a little family" and a "house to learn how to love."

"When you look around you and see the state of the world, you understand that something is missing," Sehnaoui told CNS, citing murder, suicide and bloodshed rampant in the world today. "So we decided that the spirituality of this house is to teach how to love. Because a world without love cannot work."

Sehnaoui stressed that the experience of the camp instills in volunteers a hope that "together, they can join hands for a better world through loving the disabled." At the same time, the guest also discovers a capacity to love.

"Christ resides in these suffering people, and Christ, through these disabled people, is an instrument of peace and coexistence," Sehnaoui said, adding that in Lebanon, "all this is being done on a holy land."

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