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 WASHINGTON-Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York called on everyone "concerned about the tragedy of abortion" to recommit to a "vision of life and love, a vision that excludes no one" on January 14. His statement marks the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Cardinal Dolan chairs the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

"Most Americans oppose a policy allowing legal abortion for virtually any reason - though many still do not realize that this is what the Supreme Court gave us," wrote Cardinal Dolan. "Most want to protect unborn children at later stages of pregnancy, to regulate or limit the practice of abortion, and to stop the use of taxpayer dollars for the destruction of unborn children. Yet many who support important goals of the pro-life movement do not identify as 'pro-life,' a fact which should lead us to examine how we present our pro-life vision to others."

"Even as Americans remain troubled by abortion," wrote Cardinal Dolan, a powerful and well-funded lobby holds "that abortion must be celebrated as a positive good for women and society, and those who cannot in conscience provide it are to be condemned for practicing substandard medicine and waging a 'war on women'." He said this trend was seen recently when President Obama and other Democratic leaders prevented passage of the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act, "a modest measure to provide for effective enforcement" of conscience laws.

"While this is disturbing," said Cardinal Dolan, "it is also an opportunity." Pro-life Americans should reach out to "the great majority of Americans" who are "open to hearing a message of reverence for life." He added that "we who present the pro-life message must always strive to be better messengers. A cause that teaches the inexpressibly great value of each and every human being cannot show disdain or disrespect for any fellow human being." He encouraged Catholics to take part, through prayer and action, in the upcoming "9 Days for Life" campaign, January 16-24. More information on the campaign is available online: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxJwfcefUiU

He also cited the Year of Mercy called by Pope Francis as a time for women and men to find healing through the Church's Project Rachel post-abortion ministry.

The full text of Cardinal Dolan's message is available online.
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Keywords: Roe v. Wade, anniversary, Pro-Life, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, 9 Days for Life, USCCB, U.S. bishops, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Year of Mercy, Project Rachel, Pope Francis
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(Vatican Radio) The four religious sisters of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta’s Missionaries of Charity, slain along with a dozen other victims of terrorist violence in the Yemeni city of Aden on Friday, March 4^th, are, “The martyrs of our day,” and “also victims of indifference – the globalization of indifference,” of which the prevalent silence with regard to the incident in most international mainstream media is proof. These were just a few of the words of Pope Francis at the Angelus on Sunday, during which he renewed his condemnation of the attack on a rest home for the aged run by the sisters, in which sixteen people perished.

The Vicar Apostolic of Southern Arabia, bishop Paul Hinder, OFM Cap., knew the sisters personally. He told Vatican Radio the sisters knew and understood the dangers involved in keeping up their mission in the war-torn country, and made their decision to stay with the suffering people with eyes wide open. “[The sisters] told me, from the beginning – a year ago, when the war broke out – ‘We must remain with our poor, whatever happens’,” he said.

Click below to hear our report

Asked whether he knew why the sisters and their mission were targeted, Bishop Hinder said, “I know of no reason, save that of hate of a radical kind,” for which anyone could perpetrate so heinous an act. The Vicar Apostolic of Southern Arabia went on to say, “A person who truly believes in God can never do anything similar.” 

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis and members of the Vatican Curia arrived on Sunday evening at the "Casa del Divin Maestro,” a retreat centre in Ariccia, located about 25 miles from Rome. They are taking part in the week-long Curial Spiritual Exercises.

Usually conducted during the first week of Lent, the exercises were postponed this year due to the Papal Voyage to Mexico.

Each day will include moments of prayer, meditation, and Eucharistic adoration. The spiritual exercises will be led by noted Italian author, Father Ermes Ronchi.

The participants will return to the Vatican on Friday.

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis and other members of the Roman Curia began their annual spiritual retreat on Sunday 6th February, the fourth Sunday of Lent.

On Sunday evening, after having prayed the Angelus together with the faithful in St. Peter’s Square at noon, Pope Francis boarded a small bus that took him to the “Casa Divin Maestro” Centre in the town of Ariccia in the Alban Hills just outside Rome.

This is where Fr. Ermes Ronchi, of the Servants of Mary, is leading the group in spiritual exercises based on 10 questions from the Gospels. 

These are the questions contemplated: 

1. “What are you looking for?” (John 1:38)
2. “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40)
3. “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again?”   (Matthew 5:13)
4. “But who do you say that I am?” (Luke 9:20)
5. “Then, turning to the woman, he told Simon, ‘Do you see this woman?’” (Luke 7:44)
6. “How many loaves do you have?” (Mark 6:38, Matthew 15:34)
7. “Straightening up, Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?’” (John 8:10)
8. “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” (John 20:15)
9. “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” (John 21:16)
10. “Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be?’” (Luke 1:34).
  
The Pope’s retreat lasts until Friday 10 March.

During the retreat Pope Francis will have no public meetings or audiences, including no Wednesday general audience.

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(Vatican Radio) A child labourer who grew up learning to scavenge for food. A freedom fighter and political prisoner who raised two children in jail. The indomitable founder and president of a forum fighting to combat human trafficking in the Philippines.

Cecilia Flores-Oebanda is all these things and has been recognized globally as a human rights activist whose foundation has helped save at least 17.000 men, women and children trapped by different forms of modern slavery.

She will be telling her story at the Voices of Faith event taking place in the Vatican on Tuesday to mark the March 8th International Women’s Day.

Cecilia sat down with Philippa Hitchen to talk about her childhood, her work and her inspirational journey of faith….

Listen: 

Cecilia begins by describing the Visayan Forum Foundation which has been working for 25 years in the Philippines to intercept the traffickers at ports and airports, to offer protection to victims and to educate young people through a project called the iFIGHT movement.

She talks about the wide variety of situations where people are enslaved, through domestic work, prostitution and through the flourishing cyber-sex industry. Poor families are tempted by the quick money they can make and do not realise how children are abused and traumatized by the traffickers, she says.

From child labourer to freedom fighter

Cecilia tells her own story of poverty, learning to sell fish and scavenge for food from seven years old, before becoming a catechist and then, when Church workers were attacked by the military, joining the rebel army fighting against Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos. She recounts how she was eight months pregnant with her second child when she was captured by the military, alongside two young recruits who were shot in front of her.

Finding faith in prison

Cecilia endured an attempted rape during her interrogation, before giving birth a few days later. She was one of the longest serving political prisoners and was only released when the dictatorship was toppled in 1986. Yet in jail, she says, she also found the compassion of others, discovered the strength of her faith and learnt to appreciate the small pleasures of breastfeeding her babies, planting vegetables or teaching her children to write with stones on the prison walls.

Fighting for freedom from human trafficking

Mercy and compassion are not easy, Cecilia admits, especially as she can still see the faces of her comrades who were killed. But she insists that forgiveness is also a process of healing for herself and for the girls she helps to escape from the traffickers. “I think God wanted me to be strong and to be a freedom fighter for the girls”, she says, teaching them to forgive and embrace the future”. 

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(Vatican Radio) After his meeting with Pope Francis on Saturday, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, spoke to Vatican Radio’s Ukrainian section.

A translation of the interview follows:

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk: “The meeting of our Permanent Synod was an historical meeting, because in a few days, we will mark the 70th anniversary of the Pseudo-Synod of Lviv, the forced suppression of our Church in what was then the Ukrainian USSR. We had planned to hold a session of the Permanent Synod and have a special audience with the Holy Father at this time, so that, once again, and in a visible way, we could manifest our full ecclesial communion with the Successor of the Apostle Peter, that living communion which those who orchestrated the pseudo-synod attempted to destroy.

This was the first meeting after the signing of the Havana Declaration and the meeting of Patriarch Kirill with the Pope. So the Lord God took our original intention and placed it in a new context. I want to emphasize that our discussion was extraordinarily warm and the Holy Father highlighted our time together in Argentina and how precious the little icon which I gave him when we said goodbye in 2011 [when Shevchuk moved to Kyiv] was to him. With fatherly affection he told us that the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church is like a favourite child to him, one that he personally cares for.

When I explained to him the various ways in which Ukrainians had interpreted the Havana accord, he underlined that, in his way of thinking, you cannot achieve any goal at the price of even a single life, let alone that of an entire Eastern Catholic Church. He empathizes with – and shares the concerns of  – the Ukrainian people and views the communion that our Church has with Peter as a spiritual inheritance not only for us, but for the Universal Church as a whole.

As to the dramatic situation in Ukraine, I emphasized how important the moral authority is of the Pope is, not only for Ukraine or for the Greek or Roman Catholic Churches there, but for all confessions and for those of no particular confession. I explained how our people are particularly sensitive about the unjust aggression against Ukraine and that, if they can’t hear a clear voice from the Holy Father, they don’t understand and they feel lost and abandoned.

We also explained the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the war; the biggest humanitarian catastrophe in Europe since the Second World War. We compared the number of migrants in Germany and those in Ukraine and compared how each country reacted to the challenge. We told him that Ukraine needs international humanitarian assistance and an appeal from the Pope to the international community. He assured us that he is ready to do this and has already received the reports of the Apostolic Nuncio, who visited Donbas [in the war zone]. He told us that he even watched video coverage taken during this visit, so he truly understands what Ukraine is going through, and he sympathises and is ready to help.

We also shared with him other problems that Ukrainian society is going through, and told him how our Church is attempting – through preaching and promoting authentic Catholic social doctrine – to help build-up Ukrainian society and the state, working together with other Churches and religious organizations.

We gave the Pope a copy of the Ukrainian icon from Poland, “Doors of Mercy”. He had had the original brought to Rome to be used during the inauguration of the Holy Year. After he blessed us, he bowed his head said, ‘the Pope can also ask for a blessing, so please bless me.’ We were very moved as he humbly bowed his head to receive our blessing.

Vatican Radio: What would you say to those who expressed concern about the Havana Declaration?

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk: I not only understand their feelings, but I also had the same feeling myself. I could not understand some of the points of the Havana Declaration. In light of today’s meeting, we know that the Holy Father shares in the sufferings of the Ukrainian people, and that he considers the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church as a favourite child of the Universal Church. He assured us not to worry, and of his closeness to our needs and his attention to us. He explained that the meeting with patriarch Kirill was necessary for the Universal Church and that the declaration itself is ‘not the words of the Gospel’: It is open to discussion and to criticism. The Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church has the right to its opinion, and he expressed particular gratitude to us, in listening to our observations of it.

(Translation by Fr. Athanasius McVay)

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