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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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The Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan has called for a sincere, moral and national, spiritual rebirth in Nigeria. The Cardinal has described the spiritual rebirth required as an effective antidote for the nation’s socio-economic and moral challenges. The Cardinal made the call in his homily at the opening Mass of the first plenary meeting of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) held recently at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Pro-Cathedral, Garki, Abuja. The theme of the week-long plenary was, The Catholic Church: Promoting Mercy, Social Justice and Peace.

According to Cardinal Onaiyekan, the nation’s two major challenges are corruption and insecurity which have a common moral source. While appreciating the efforts of the present Nigerian government at tackling the two challenges headlong, Cardinal Onaiyekan noted that the government could not deal with these challenges alone. He called on all Nigerians to collaborate and support the government. In his words: “We must, therefore, do all we can to mobilise everybody, each person with whatever arms available to us.”Adding, “In this regard, we must not underestimate the importance of our own spiritual weapons since our challenges have deep moral roots,” the Cardinal said.

The Cardinal further challenged all Nigerian nationals to go through a process of introspection with regard to the country’s two foremost challenges.

“Our inability to deal adequately with the terrorist insurgency has been closely linked with massive criminal corruption in the system.” While agreeing that recent revelations of diverted public funds to private pockets should anger Nigerians, the Cardinal stated that anger alone was not enough. “We must seek a positive and effective way forward, which takes on board our common spiritual and religious values.” Cardinal Onaiyekan stated that there should be no going back on the war against corruption, “a war that our Church has been waging for many years with our own appropriate weapons of prayer and exhortations.

To restore the nation into a decent society, we need to go beyond the legal processes; to a serious moral, national and spiritual rebirth. We need to explore alternative and parallel strategies based on moral principles of the three Rs namely – Repentance, Reparation and Reconciliation.

On the challenge of the war on terrorism, especially in the Northeastern part of the country, Cardinal Onaiyekan expressed sadness at the diversion of money meant for the purchase of arms and ammunition to execute the war. He added, “The nation’s gallant troops must no longer be improperly equipped to prosecute the war against the Boko Haram insurgency.”

Nevertheless, the Cardinal warned that the Boko Haram insurgency could not be solved solely with military action.

“To get to the root of the insurgency, other parallel strategies are called for. In general, Boko Haram members are not foreigners. They are our kith and kin. Does it not make more sense to win them back to our communities than to aim at killing them all off?

(CNSNg.org in Abuja, Nigeria)

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(Vatican Radio) The Holy See told the United Nations Commission for Social Development "progress in social development remains uneven," despite recent increases in economic growth.

“While poverty has been reduced significantly over the past decade, adequate social policies are needed more than ever to address the underlying social inequalities and vulnerabilities experienced among those left behind by the market economy,” said Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Holy See’s  Permanent Observer to the United Nations on 8 February 2016.

“To rally solidarity and fight indifference, the international community took an ambitious step forward with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” he continued.

“As we look forward to a coherent implementation of the 2030 Agenda, strengthening social development in the coming years will require a concerted effort by all governments to deliver on their commitments and to build more effective international support” – Archbishop Auza concluded – “An important role of the Commission will be to ensure that the Agenda enjoys this support and maintains a holistic approach to development that consistently prioritizes social policies and promotes the integral development of the human person and the common good of society as a whole.”

The full text of Archbishop Auza’s remarks are below

Statement of H.E. Archbishop Bernardito Auza

Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN

to the 54th Session of the Commission for Social Development

Agenda Item 3 (a): Rethinking and strengthening social development in the contemporary world

New York, 8 February 2016

Mr. Chair,

At the outset, my delegation wishes to congratulate you and your bureau on your election to this Commission in such a pivotal year, and looks forward to working with you and with our fellow delegations, as together we seek to ensure that this Commission, and the others, are “fit for purpose” and provide the support necessary for the implementation of a truly people-centered, inclusive and integrated 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Mr. Chair,

Despite increased economic growth and recovery in many regions of the world, progress in social development remains uneven. While poverty has been reduced significantly over the past decade, adequate social policies are needed more than ever to address the underlying social inequalities and vulnerabilities experienced among those left behind by the market economy. Without such measures, we risk undermining the impact of economic growth on poverty eradication and on the well-being of society as a whole.

Complicating matters further, “major global trends such as climate change and reoccurring global, economic, food and energy crises also demonstrate that achievements in poverty reduction and human development can be quickly weakened or reversed by economic shock, a natural disaster or political conflict.”1

These destabilizing events, although at times unpredictable, can be mitigated or even prevented by the collective action of the international community. Negative events can be exacerbated by a “globalization of indifference” that spawns the creation of “new forms of poverty and new situations of injustice, often with dire consequences for security and peace.”2 As Pope Francis reminded us in his Address to the UN General Assembly on September 25, “Indifference to others and to their dignity, their fundamental rights and their freedom, when it is part of a culture shaped by the pursuit of profit and hedonism, can foster and even justify actions and policies which ultimately represent threats to peace. Indifference can even lead to justifying deplorable economic policies that breed injustice, division and violence, for the sake of ensuring the well-being of individuals or nations.” On the other hand, the international community can effectively face negative events with the “globalization of solidarity.”

Mr. Chair,

To rally solidarity and fight indifference, the international community took an ambitious step forward with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which affirms that “global development requires a more integrated vision, one that is grounded in sustainability, equity and inclusion.” Its goals and targets address inequalities and exclusion at their root, in order to build more just and peaceful societies committed to eradicating all forms of poverty and achieving sustainable development in its three dimensions, leaving no one behind.

Fundamentally, this means working in solidarity to provide every individual with the “minimal spiritual and material means needed to live in dignity and to create and support a family, which is the primary cell of any social development.” Pope Francis, in his Address to the General Assembly, affirmed that this absolute minimum has three names: “lodging, labour, and land; and one spiritual name: spiritual freedom, which includes religious freedom, the right to education and all other civil rights.” 3

Mr. Chair,

In conclusion, as we look forward to a coherent implementation of the 2030 Agenda, strengthening social development in the coming years will require a concerted effort by all governments to deliver on their commitments and to build more effective international support. An important role of the Commission will be to ensure that the Agenda enjoys this support and maintains a holistic approach to development that consistently prioritizes social policies and promotes the integral development of the human person and the common good of society as a whole.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

1 Rethinking and strengthening social development in the contemporary world”, Report of the Secretary General (E/CN.5/2016/3)

2 Message of His Holiness, Pope Francis for the Celebration of the World Peace Day, 1 January 2016

3 Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to the United Nations Headquarters, New York, 25 September 2015

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(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis stopped for a moment of silent prayer and blessing Wednesday  at Mexico’s border with the United States to recall the dramatic plight of migrants who’ve died or been arrested trying to cross illegally into their northern neighbor.   Ciudad Juarez, just across from El Paso, Texas, was the last venue of the Pope’s six day pastoral visit to Mexico. 

An industrial city wracked by drug violence, Ciudad Juarez is a popular crossing for Mexicans and Central Americans who try to pass into the U.S. illegally.

Standing in reflection just a stone’s throw away from the Rio Grande which separates Mexico from the U.S., the pontiff laid a wreath and blessed three small crosses which will be sent to the dioceses of El Paso, Ciudad Juarez and Las Cruces, New Mexico. Several pair of shoes of migrants who have died were laid beside them.

Before heading home to Rome, Pope Francis said, "We cannot deny the humanitarian crisis…each step, a journey laden with grave injustices: the enslaved, the imprisoned and extorted; so many of these brothers and sisters of ours are the consequence of trafficking in human beings."

"Injustice is radicalized in the young; they are 'cannon fodder', persecuted and threatened when they try to flee the spiral of violence and the hell of drugs. Then there are the many women unjustly robbed of their lives."

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Oklahoma City, Okla., Feb 18, 2016 / 03:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- “Padre, they've come for you.”

Those were some of the last words heard by Father Stanley Francis, spoken by someone staying at the mission in Guatemala who had been led, at gunpoint, to where “Padre Francisco” was sleeping.

It was 1:30 in the morning on July 28, 1981, and Guatemala was in the throes of a decades-long civil war. The three ski-masked men who broke into the rectory were Ladinos, the non-indigenous men who had been fighting the native people and rural poor of the country since the 60s. They were known for their kidnappings, and wanted to turn Father Stanley into one of “the missing.”

But Father Stanley refused. Not wanting to endanger the others at the parish mission, he struggled but did not call for help. Fifteen minutes and two gunshots later, Father Stanley was dead and the men fled the mission grounds.

“How a 46-year-old priest from a small German farming community in Oklahoma came to live and die in this remote, ancient Guatemalan village is a story full of wonder and God’s providence,” writes Maria Scaperlanda in her biography of Father Stanley, “The Shepherd Who Didn’t Run.”

The five-foot-ten, red-bearded missionary priest was from the unassuming town of Okarche, Okla., where the parish, school and farm were the pillars of community life. He went to the same school his whole life and lived with his family until he left for seminary.



Surrounded by good priests and a vibrant parish life, Stanley felt God calling him to the priesthood from a young age. But despite a strong calling, Stanley would struggle in the seminary, failing several classes and even out of one seminary before graduating from Mount St. Mary's seminary in Maryland. 

Hearing of Stanely’s struggles, Sister Clarissa Tenbrick, his 5th grade teacher, wrote him to offer encouragement, reminding him that the patron Saint of all priests, St. John Vianney, also struggled in seminary.

“Both of them were simple men who knew they had a call to the priesthood and then had somebody empower them so that they could complete their studies and be priests,” Scaperlanda told CNA. “And they brought a goodness, simplicity and generous heart with them in (everything) they did.”

When Stanley was still in seminary, Pope St. John XXIII asked the Churches of North America to send assistance and establish missions in Central America. Soon after, the diocese of Oklahoma City and the diocese of Tulsa established a mission in Santiago Atitlan in Guatemala, a poor rural community of mostly indigenous people.

A few years after he was ordained, Fr. Stanley accepted an invitation to join the mission team, where he would spend the next 13 years of his life.

When he arrived to the mission, the Tz'utujil Mayan Indians in the village had no native equivalent for Stanley, so they took to calling him Padre Francisco, after his baptismal name of Francis.

The work ethic Fr. Stanley learned on his family’s farm would serve him well in this new place. As a mission priest, he was called on not just to say Mass, but to fix the broken truck or work the fields. He built a farmers' co-op, a school, a hospital, and the first Catholic radio station, which was used for catechesis to the even more remote villages.

“What I think is tremendous is how God doesn't waste any details,” Scaperlanda said. “That same love for the land and the small town where everybody helps each other, all those things that he learned in Okarche is exactly what he needed when he arrived in Santiago.”

The beloved Padre Francisco was also known for his kindness, selflessness, joy and attentive presence among his parishioners. Dozens of pictures show giggling children running after Padre Francisco and grabbing his hands, Scaperlanda said.



“It was Father Stanley’s natural disposition to share the labor with them, to break bread with them, and celebrate life with them, that made the community in Guatemala say of Father Stanley, ‘he was our priest,’” she said.

Over the years, the violence of the Guatemalan civil war inched closer to the once-peaceful village. Disappearances, killings and danger soon became a part of daily life, but Fr. Stanley remained steadfast and supportive of his people.

In 1980-1981, the violence escalated to an almost unbearable point. Fr. Stanley was constantly seeing friends and parishioners abducted or killed. In a letter to Oklahoma Catholics during what would be his last Christmas, the priest relayed to the people back home the dangers his mission parish faced daily.

“The reality is that we are in danger. But we don’t know when or what form the government will use to further repress the Church…. Given the situation, I am not ready to leave here just yet… But if it is my destiny that I should give my life here, then so be it.... I don’t want to desert these people, and that is what will be said, even after all these years. There is still a lot of good that can be done under the circumstances.”

He ended the letter with what would become his signature quote:

“The shepherd cannot run at the first sign of danger. Pray for us that we may be a sign of the love of Christ for our people, that our presence among them will fortify them to endure these sufferings in preparation for the coming of the Kingdom.”

In January 1981, in immediate danger and his name on a death list, Fr. Stanley did return to Oklahoma for a few months. But as Easter approached, he wanted to spend Holy Week with his people in Guatemala.



“Father Stanley could not abandon his people,” Scaperlanda said. “He made a point of returning to his Guatemala parish in time to celebrate Holy Week with his parishioners that year – and ultimately was killed for living out his Catholic faith.”    

Scaperlanda, who has worked on Fr. Stanley’s cause for canonization, said the priest is a great witness and example, particularly in the Year of Mercy.

“Father Stanley Rother is truly a saint of mercy,” she said. “He fed the hungry, sheltered the homeless, visited the sick, comforted the afflicted, bore wrongs patiently, buried the dead – all of it.”

His life is also a great example of ordinary people being called to do extraordinary things for God, she said.

“(W)hat impacted me the most about Father Stanley’s life was how ordinary it was!” she said.  

“I love how simply Oklahoma City’s Archbishop Paul Coakley states it: ‘We need the witness of holy men and women who remind us that we are all called to holiness – and that holy men and women come from ordinary places like Okarche, Oklahoma,’” she said.  

“Although the details are different, I believe the call is the same – and the challenge is also the same. Like Father Stanley, each of us is called to say ‘yes’ to God with our whole heart. We are all asked to see the Other standing before us as a child of God, to treat them with respect and a generous heart,” she added.

“We are called to holiness – whether we live in Okarche, Oklahoma, or New York City or Guatemala City.”

In June 2015, the Theological Commission of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints voted to recognize Fr. Stanley Rother as a martyr. The next step will be for his cause to go before a panel of cardinals and archbishops of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints.

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