Catholic News 2
NEW YORK (AP) -- Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton staged dueling New York City rallies on Wednesday ahead of the state's pivotal presidential primary, with the Vermont senator drawing thousands of supporters in a show of force for his self-proclaimed political revolution....
Washington D.C., Apr 13, 2016 / 03:26 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Asked whether there are ways for the government to provide contraceptive coverage that do not require them to violate their consciences, the Little Sisters of the Poor are saying “yes.”“These non-profits said ‘yes’ to the Supreme Court, just as they have been saying ‘yes’ to the federal government for many years.” said Mark Rienzi, senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, representing the Little Sisters of the Poor.Rienzi explained their supplemental brief submitted to the court on Tuesday outlining alternative means of ensuring government-mandated contraception coverage for employees without the direct or indirect participation of objecting employers.“At some point, the government has to learn how to take yes for an answer. The religious objection has always been only to those methods of distribution that forced the non-profits and their plans to particip...
Washington D.C., Apr 13, 2016 / 03:26 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Asked whether there are ways for the government to provide contraceptive coverage that do not require them to violate their consciences, the Little Sisters of the Poor are saying “yes.”
“These non-profits said ‘yes’ to the Supreme Court, just as they have been saying ‘yes’ to the federal government for many years.” said Mark Rienzi, senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, representing the Little Sisters of the Poor.
Rienzi explained their supplemental brief submitted to the court on Tuesday outlining alternative means of ensuring government-mandated contraception coverage for employees without the direct or indirect participation of objecting employers.
“At some point, the government has to learn how to take yes for an answer. The religious objection has always been only to those methods of distribution that forced the non-profits and their plans to participate,” he continued.
The briefs by both the government and the plaintiffs were submitted to the Supreme Court Tuesday, April 12. The court in March had asked whether the parties believed that an alternative way existed of ensuring that employees receive contraceptive coverage mandated by the Department of Health and Human Services under the Affordable Care Act, without religious non-profits participating in a way that they believed made them morally culpable.
Not since the 1950s in Brown v. Board of Education has such a request been made by the Supreme Court in the middle of a case, Lyle Denniston of SCOTUSblog noted.
The responding brief by the Little Sisters and fellow plaintiffs answered that “Yes,” such paths exist, “including the way described in the Court’s order.” That process would consist of the religious non-profits, when contracting with their potential insurer, telling the insurer they do not want to offer the objectionable coverage in their health plan.
Then, the insurer would – separate from the health plan and at a separate cost – set up coverage of birth control for employees. The religious charities and non-profits wouldn’t have to issue any further notice of their objection.
This coverage must be “truly independent” of the religious employers, the brief maintained, “provided through a separate policy, with a separate enrollment process, a separate insurance card, and a separate payment source, and offered to individuals through a separate communication.”
Another acceptable way would be a “regulatory requirement” directly from the government that insurers provide the coverage separately, and contact employees separately to set up the government-sponsored coverage.
The point of the case is not for the Little Sisters and other objecting religious charities to say that people cannot get contraceptives, but simply that “I just can’t be involved,” Rienzi explained in a press phone conference Wednesday morning. The notion that they want to ban all contraceptives is “just a cartoon version of what the petitioners have claimed,” he said.
In their arguments before the Supreme Court, the Little Sisters and other plaintiffs – including Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh, the Archdiocese of Washington, the pro-life group Priests for Life and several Christian colleges – had argued that the current “accommodation” offered them by the government does not protect their religious liberty.
The current process involves non-profits sending the government a notice of their objection to providing coverage for contraceptives, sterilizations, and drugs that can cause abortions. The government then notifies the insurer, who provides the coverage separately.
The plaintiffs say that since sending the government their objection is the action that prompts the coverage through their own health plans, they are forced to act as “gatekeepers” and “facilitate” the objectionable coverage. Furthermore, they argue the government is “hijacking” their health plan, which is an agreement between them and their insurer.
In the proposed process outlined in their supplemental brief, the Little Sisters say that as long as they can tell the insurer outright that they don’t want the coverage in their health plan, they don’t give any further notice of their objection, and the coverage is provided separately from their plan, this would distance themselves to an acceptable length from the process in terms of their moral culpability.
“They have to be out of it, and it can’t be something that is made part of their plan,” Rienzi stressed.
Employees, insurance companies and the federal government are aware of who is enrolled in a given company health plan, he said, so the government could easily take action such as publishing a notice about how the public could sign up for separate free contraceptive coverage.
“There are ways to do this without us,” Rienzi said of the government’s goal of providing contraceptive coverage to employees.
“Other states also have devised means of allowing individuals to contract directly with their insurance companies to obtain contraceptive coverage should their employer-sponsored plan exclude it for religious reasons,” the Little Sisters’ brief stated.
It happens “all the time” with dental and vision coverage, Rienzi said. The brief mentions this scenario, “in which individuals separately contract with insurance companies to obtain forms of coverage that are excluded from their principal health plans.”
A ruling in the Little Sisters’ case is expected this summer. The ruling could have far-reaching implications, as more than 300 plaintiffs across the country have filed lawsuits challenging the federal contraception mandate on grounds of conscience.
Founded in 1839 by Saint Jeanne Jugan, the Little Sisters of the Poor are dedicated to caring for the elderly and dying poor in more than 30 countries worldwide. The sisters operate 27 houses for the elderly in the United States.
Providence, R.I., Apr 13, 2016 / 05:21 pm (CNA).- As part of his birthday celebration April 1, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence, R.I., had the privilege of meeting and sharing a birthday celebration with a very special woman, Claire Sharpe, who turned 106 that day.Sharpe is a member of the first graduating class of St. Paul School, Cranston, a longtime parishioner of Our Lady of Mercy Parish, and is the oldest resident of East Greenwich, R.I.She remembers growing up in Rhode Island in the early 1900s. In those days, her family did not have indoor plumbing — the children took baths in a galvanized tub in the kitchen, and often before going to bed, she would heat a brick to keep her warm, wearing her coat as she slept. Sharpe recalls not having electric heating until she was 19.“We were very poor,” she said. “We didn’t have a cent. But, I learned that pennies don’t count, human beings count. We didn’t have much, but look what God has broug...
Providence, R.I., Apr 13, 2016 / 05:21 pm (CNA).- As part of his birthday celebration April 1, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence, R.I., had the privilege of meeting and sharing a birthday celebration with a very special woman, Claire Sharpe, who turned 106 that day.
Sharpe is a member of the first graduating class of St. Paul School, Cranston, a longtime parishioner of Our Lady of Mercy Parish, and is the oldest resident of East Greenwich, R.I.
She remembers growing up in Rhode Island in the early 1900s. In those days, her family did not have indoor plumbing — the children took baths in a galvanized tub in the kitchen, and often before going to bed, she would heat a brick to keep her warm, wearing her coat as she slept. Sharpe recalls not having electric heating until she was 19.
“We were very poor,” she said. “We didn’t have a cent. But, I learned that pennies don’t count, human beings count. We didn’t have much, but look what God has brought me today.”
And for her 106th birthday, God certainly brought her a full house. On Friday, Sharpe’s home was filled with friends and family, handmade birthday cards and gifts, stories and singing, all for a woman who has lived a life centered on the faith.
Father Bernard Healey, pastor of Our Lady of Mercy, organized the birthday celebration for Sharpe. Having suggested that all she wanted for her birthday was the celebration of a Mass, the pastor was happy to make this humble birthday wish come true. Young girls from the parish children’s choir sang for her and several of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion to the Sick, who bring Sharpe Holy Communion weekly, came to celebrate.
“Claire is a wonderful woman of faith and joy,” said Father Healey. “She has a deep devotion to the Eucharist as evidenced by the only request she had for her birthday was to have Mass celebrated for her. It was a great privilege to celebrate Mass for her in her home on her 106th birthday and celebrate two great gifts, Claire and the Eucharist.”
Father Ryan Connors, assistant pastor of the parish, said that he counts it as a real gift to have gotten to know Sharpe.
“She has an inspiring faith and I love visiting her,” he said. “Her gentle spirit and genuine kindness demonstrate for me what a life lived for God really looks like.”
After Mass was celebrated in her home, Bishop Tobin surprised Sharpe with visit as well as a special papal blessing and a rosary blessed by Pope Francis.
Bishop Tobin and Sharpe agreed that it's not easy being born on April Fool's Day, but Claire reminded the bishop that their unique purpose in life is to be “fools for God.”
“She is a person with wonderful stories and remarkable faith, with a beautiful devotion to our Blessed Mother,” Bishop Tobin said.
Sharpe credits her long life to her strong faith. Even though her mother was unable afford a gift to give young Claire on her birthday so many years ago, the spiritual gift of faith that she gave her meant “more than millions,” she explained.
“My mother showed me how to love God with all of my heart,” she said. “She taught me to love him and always to thank him,” she said “And even though I’m afraid to go to him, through prayer he brings me so much love that I am losing the fear.”
Sharpe has three daughters, Roberta McMahon and Kathleen Sharpe who live in Rhode Island, and Paula Hiebert, who lives in Chicago. Her daughter Kathleen said that her mother’s faith has brought her through the many challenges of life. Even after the death of her baby girl and becoming a widow, she still counted on God to get her through.
“She has a very devoted faith,” Kathleen Sharpe said of her mother. “It gets her through everything. It’s very strong.”
“Her deep faith is at the center of her spiritual life,” added McMahon.
Sofia Stewart, a sixth-grader at Our Lady of Mercy said that Sharpe shared with the girls that she fears so much for the world and especially for the youth and encouraged them to put hate aside and seek God through prayer.
“It’s pretty remarkable to meet someone who is 106,” she said. “She have us wonderful advice and told us to be kind and not to hate.”
Bishop Tobin thanked Sharpe for welcoming him into her home, for her prayers and for a faith that has inspired so many throughout her 106 years.
“I pray you have peace and happiness in the years to come,” he said. “I am so honored to share this day with you.”
Reprinted with permission from the Rhode Island Catholic.
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LANGLEY, Va. (AP) -- President Barack Obama claimed progress Wednesday in the U.S.-led fight against the Islamic State group, even as political turmoil in Iraq and renewed violence in Syria threatened to jeopardize hard-fought gains....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Russian attack planes buzzed a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Baltic Sea multiple times Monday and Tuesday, coming as close as an estimated 30 feet from the ship and twice passing below the ship's navigation bridge, U.S. officials said Wednesday....
NEW YORK (AP) -- Confirming the worst fears of many pregnant women in the United States and Latin America, U.S. health officials said Wednesday there is no longer any doubt the Zika virus causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and other severe brain defects....
