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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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Reuters reports today that Central African Republic's newly elected president, Faustin-Archange Touadera, plans to focus on reconciliation, peace and disarmament in a country torn apart by years of war, his campaign director said on Monday.

A respected former prime minister (in the 2013 government of Bozize), Faustin-Archange Touadera won a presidential run-off on Saturday in what was widely seen as a step towards reconciliation after years of violent turmoil. 

No doubt huge challenges remain in one of the world's most unstable countries which is divided along ethnic and religious lines with some parts of the country still run by warlords.

"The priority will be peace, social cohesion and security," Touadera's campaign director Simplice Sarandji told Reuters. He underlined that, "The emphasis will be put on the DDRR (disarmament, demobilisation, reintegration and repatriation) programme, then on the restructuring of the armed forces." 

Central African Republic suffered its worst crisis in history when in early 2013 the mainly Muslim aligned Seleka fighters toppled president Francois Bozize. The so-called Christian anti-Balaka militias responded by attacking the Muslim community. A fifth of the country's population have since fled their homes to escape the violence.

Touadera, 58, a former mathematics professor who campaigned against corruption, won 62.71 percent of votes cast in the 14 February election. The president will focus on disarming the Seleka and anti-Balaka fighters with help from the international community, Sarandji said. "If deemed suitable, some rebels will be able to join the army," he added.

"Those who wish to engage in other activities can do so with government support, of course," he said. Sarandji added that any major decisions, including forming a government or appointing a prime minister, will be taken after the president's inauguration.

Pope Francis visited the Central African Republic between 29 and 30 November 2015 and passionately appealed to warring factions to lay down arms and embrace peace.

Visiting the nearly 4 000 residents of the St. Sauveur internally displaced persons’ Church camp in Bangui, Pope Francis told them, "My wish for you, and for all Central Africans, is peace," Through a Sango-speaking  translator, Pope Francis then led residents in a chant:

"We are all brothers. We are all brothers."

"And because we are brothers, we want peace." 

(Reuters/ additional reporting Vatican Radio)

Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va

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(Vatican Radio) The Islamic State has released 43 Christians who were taken captive during a February 2015 military offensive in northeastern Syria, according to the Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organization (ACERO).

The Assyrian Church of the East’s Diocese of Syria, under the leadership of Mar Afram Athneil has also confirmed that this freed group comprises the final hostages from the group of 200 and more abducted from Assyrian villages in February 2015. Therefore, “no further hostages remain”, says the report from ACERO Headquarters – England, U.K.

ACERO has also extended its unreserved gratitude to all those supporters, both institutional and individual, who have stood with the Assyrians of Syria in this arduous 12-month period. “While this news thankfully marks the end of the most recent tribulation, we mourn the tremendous losses, both human and material, suffered by the indigenous Assyrians of Syria. The destruction of their livelihoods in the historic Khabur villages is a loss for the Assyrian nation and for Syria as a whole,” says the ACERO statement.

(A Report from ACERO Headquarters – England, United Kingdom)

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Tuesday morning described Christianity as a religion that by its very nature must act for good, not a “religion of saying” made of hypocrisy and vanity. The Holy Father was speaking at Mass in the Chapel of the Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican.

Click below to hear our report

Following the readings of the day, Pope Francis reflected on God’s reality and the “fakeness” of so many Christians who treat the faith as though it were window dressing – devoid of obligation – or an occasion for aggrandizement rather than an opportunity for service, especially to our neediest neighbors.

The way of doing

Building on the reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah in concert with the passage proclaimed from the Gospel according to St. Matthew, the Holy Father sought to explain once again the “evangelical dialectic between saying and doing.” He placed emphasis on the words of Jesus, which  unmask the hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees, calling the disciples and crowds to do as they say, though not as they do:

“The Lord teaches us the way of doing: and how many times we find people – ourselves included – so often in the Church, who say, ‘Oh, we are very Catholic.’ ‘But what do you do?’ How many parents say they are Catholics, but never have time to talk to their children, to play with their children, to listen to their children. Perhaps they have their parents in a nursing home, but always are busy and cannot go and visit them and so leave them there, abandoned. ‘But I am very Catholic: I belong to that association,’ [they say]. This is the religion of saying: I say it is so, but I do according to the ways of the world.”

What God wants

The way of “saying and not doing,” says the Pope, “is a deception.” Isaiah's words indicate what is pleasing to God: “Cease to do evil, learn to do good,” and, “relieve the oppressed, do right by the orphan, plead for the widow.” It also shows another thing: the infinite mercy of God, which says to humanity, “Come, let us talk it over: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”:

“The mercy of the Lord goes out to meet those who dare to argue with Him, but to argue about the truth, about the things one does or does not do, [and He argues] in order to correct me. This, then, is the great love of the Lord, in this dialectic between saying and doing. To be a Christian means to do: to do the will of God – and on the last day – because all of us we will have one – that day what shall the Lord ask us? Will He say: “What you have said about me?” No. He shall ask us about the things we did.”

The make-believe Christians

Pope Francis went on to make explicit mention of the lines from Matthew’s Gospel, which foretell of the Last Judgment, when God will call men to account for what they have done to the hungry, thirsty, imprisoned, strangers. “This,” said the Holy Father, “is the Christian life: mere talk leads to vanity, to that empty pretense of being Christian – but no, that way one is not a Christian at all.”:

“May the Lord give us this wisdom to understand well where lies the difference between saying and doing, and teach us the way of doing and help us to go down that way, because the way of saying brings us to the place where were these teachers of the law, these clerics, who liked dressing up and acting just like if they were so many Majesties – and this is not the reality of the Gospel. May the Lord teach us this way.”

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Reuters reports from Nairobi that the United Nations’ Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said Tuesday that Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza agreed to begin an inclusive dialogue to end a months-long political crisis in the central African nation.

"I was very encouraged that the political leaders whether they are ...in government or the ruling party or opposition, they promised that they will engage in inclusive dialogue. This is what President Nkurunziza also confirmed," Ban Ki-Moon told a news conference in Bujumbura.

The UN Secretary General’s comments come after he held talks with Burundi’s leader in the capital, Bujumbura, in a bid to bring fresh impetus to stalled efforts to resolve a crisis that has left more than 400 people dead.

The UN secretary-general, who also met with opposition leaders, said both sides had “promised that they would engage in inclusive dialogue” to end the violence, which began in April 2014 when Nkurunziza decided to extend his rule by running for a controversial third term. Since then, clashes between loyalists and the opposition have turned increasingly violent, despite attempts by regional leaders to broker a political solution.

Ban ki-Moon's visit came as Burundi's government appeared to soften its position towards its opponents, agreeing to receive a delegation of African heads of state expected later this week and cancelling international arrest warrants against several exiled opposition leaders. 

The African Union is sending South African President, Jacob Zuma to Bujumbura on 25 February together with the leaders of Mauritania, Senegal, Gabon and Ethiopia to assist with the political crisis in that country. 

More than 240,000 people have fled the country since the start of the crisis while thousands more have been arrested and the security forces repeatedly accused of extrajudicial executions and other human rights violations. The UN has warned that Burundi risks a repeat of the 1993-2005 civil war in which an estimated 300,000 people died.

The government of neighbouring Rwanda, which is sheltering about 75,000 Burundians, meanwhile confirmed it is planning to relocate the refugees to other countries, but insisted it would respect its obligations under international law. Rwanda's relocation plan comes amid accusations that Kigali is meddling in Burundi's affairs.

Burundi has repeatedly accused Rwanda of backing rebels intent on overthrowing the government in Bujumbura. Kigali has fiercely denied the accusations.

(Source: Reuters, FRANCE 24 and AFP)

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Denver, Colo., Feb 23, 2016 / 03:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- When Bayaud Enterprises was started in 1969 in Denver, Colorado, they had one thing on their mind: employment.

But not just any kind of employment. They wanted to seek out individuals with chronic mental illness and psychiatric disabilities to find them permanent jobs and an independent lifestyle.

Flash forward to 2016, and Bayaud Enterprises has aided over 7,000 individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment find full-time jobs, housing, and benefit acquisition instead of relying on local boarding and care homes.

“We think there is a real connection between people living independently and working...it provides dignity to the individuals,” executive director of Bayaud Enterprises David Henninger told CNA.

“The neat thing about employment is you really get to see a person blossom,” Henninger said, adding that the impact of finding permanent work for someone with a disability is life-changing.

Henninger has been with Bayaud Enterprises since its founding in 1969, and has been its executive director since 1973.

Although it was originally started as a Colorado-state run program through the Mental Health Institute at Ft. Logan, Bayaud evolved by starting its own program that helped patients after they left mental health centers.

“In a psychiatric hospital setting, you often see people initially at their worst – at the bottom of the barrel in terms of where they are,” Henninger said.

“As part of their recovery from a mental illness, the impact of work is really huge, in terms of ego and self-worth,” he said.

Bayaud Enterprises created a diverse work program that includes subcontracted work from the local business community. They hold ten different federal contracts in the state of Colorado and work with organizations such as the National Institute for Standards and Technology, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and local hospitals and hotels.

In addition, they own a secure document shredding business with over 5,000 customers across the front range. Instead of sending the shredded paper to a landfill, Bayaud Document Services compounds the paper into bales and sends it to recycling.

With such a diverse range in businesses, Bayaud is able to place every individual seeking work at the appropriate level of employment. Henninger noted that Bayaud has aided individuals with “all sorts of ability,” from people with higher education degrees to people who have been diagnosed with aspergers.

“We outplace about 400 people a year into competitive jobs that aren’t related to Bayaud – and success stories there abound,” Henninger stated.

Henninger recalled one man in particular who came to Bayaud without permanent housing. He was placed as an administrative assistant in a small insurance company and worked there for several years.

“The owner of the insurance firm really liked him...when the owner decided to retire, he actually turned the business over to this individual and that individual is now running a small insurance company and has hired his own employees,” Henninger noted.

Bayaud Enterprises continues to serve over 1,200 individuals in Colorado every year through their employment services and benefit acquisition services. By offering resource navigation, they are also able to help individuals secure additional benefits such as social security, disability, medicaid, food supplement services, housing, and transportation.

“When people approach Bayaud, they are unemployed. So, people are finding some differences in their own personal lives that are significant,” Henninger stated.

Bayaud Enterprises is also focused on remaining community-centric by being involved in local community and emphasizing permanent employment and housing. They have cultivated relationships with local homeless shelters, such as the Samaritan House, by placing homeless residents in long-term jobs.

Their program also boosts local economy by generating annual payrolls of about $5 million every year.

“Our longevity of 10+ years of all of our staff says that they believe in our mission of providing hope and opportunity and choice...we do make a difference and we see it,” Henninger continued.

“Really, these jobs become transformational.”

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