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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) Pope Francis on Wednesday told prison inmates that God’s mercy embraces everyone and is found in every corner of the world.

On the last day of his Mexican pilgrimage, the Pope travelled to Ciudad Juárez, very close to the US border, where he visited inmates, their families and prison workers in the city’s Prison n. 3.

Until not long ago, Juárez was considered the murder capital of the world as cartel-backed gang warfare triggered souring homicide rates and ‘disappearances’.

To the some 700 inmates gathered in the prison courtyard, Pope Francis noted he was coming to the end of his visit to Mexico and he could not leave with greeting them and celebrating the Jubilee Year of Mercy with them.

He said that to celebrate the Holy Year of Mercy recalls “the pressing journey that we must undertake in order to break the cycle of violence and crime”.

He said that many decades have already been lost “thinking and believing that everything will be resolved by isolating, separating, incarcerating (…) and believing that these policies really solve problems”.

Pope Francis said that the care for prisoners is a moral imperative for the whole of society and that reintegration does not begin “within these walls”, but “before – outside -  in the streets of the city”.
  
“Reintegration or rehabilitation begins by creating a system which we could call social health, that is, a society which seeks not to cause sickness, polluting relationships in neighbourhoods, schools, town squares, the streets, homes and in the whole of the social spectrum.  A system of social health that endeavours to promote a culture which acts and seeks to prevent those situations and pathways that end in damaging and impairing the social fabric” he said.

And recognizing that those present have known the power of sorrow and sin and that they cannot undo what they have done , the Pope said that they must now learn to open the door to the future, to tomorrow and believe that things can change. 

“ Celebrating the Jubilee of Mercy with you means inviting you to lift up your heads and to work in order to gain this space of longed-for freedom” he said. 

Pointing out that he who has suffered the greatest pain, “has experienced hell” can become a prophet in society, the Pope urged those present to work so that “this society which uses people and discards them will not go on claiming victims”.

He also had words of thanks and encouragement to those who work in this Centre or others like it and expressed gratitude for the efforts made by the chaplains, consecrated persons and lay faithful who have dedicated themselves to keeping alive the hope of the Gospel of Mercy in the prison. 

“Never forget - he said - that all of you can be signs of the heart of the Father.  We need one another to keep on moving forward”.

Please find below the full text of the Pope’s address to prison inmates at the Centre for Social Adjustment n.3 in Ciudad Juárez:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I am coming to the end of my visit to Mexico, and I could not leave without greeting you and celebrating with you the Jubilee of Mercy.

I am deeply grateful for your words of welcome, which express your many hopes and aspirations, as well as your many sorrows, fears and uncertainties.

During my visit to Africa, I was able to open the door of mercy for the whole world in the city of Bangui.  United to you and with you today, I want to reiterate once more the confidence that Jesus urges us to have: the mercy that embraces everyone and is found in every corner of the world.  There is no place beyond the reach of his mercy, no space or person it cannot touch.

Celebrating the Jubilee of Mercy with you is recalling the pressing journey that we must undertake in order to break the cycle of violence and crime.  We have already lost many decades thinking and believing that everything will be resolved by isolating, separating, incarcerating, and ridding ourselves of problems, believing that these policies really solve problems.  We have forgotten to focus on what must truly be our concern: people’s lives; their lives, those of their families, and those who have suffered because of this cycle of violence.

Divine Mercy reminds us that prisons are an indication of the kind of society we are.  In many cases they are a sign of the silence and omissions which have led to a throwaway culture, a symptom of a culture that has stopped supporting life, of a society that has abandoned its children.

Mercy reminds us that reintegration does not begin here within these walls; rather it begins before, it begins “outside”, in the streets of the city.  Reintegration or rehabilitation begins by creating a system which we could call social health, that is, a society which seeks not to cause sickness, polluting relationships in neighbourhoods, schools, town squares, the streets, homes and in the whole of the social spectrum.  A system of social health that endeavours to promote a culture which acts and seeks to prevent those situations and pathways that end in damaging and impairing the social fabric.

At times it may seem that prisons are intended more to prevent people from committing crimes than to promote the process of rehabilitation that allows us to address the social, psychological and family problems which lead a person to act in a certain way.  The problem of security is not resolved only by incarcerating; rather, it calls us to intervene by confronting the structural and cultural causes of insecurity that impact the entire social framework.

Jesus’ concern for the care of the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless and prisoners (cf. Mt 25:34-40) sought to express the core of the Father’s mercy.  This becomes a moral imperative for the whole of society that wishes to maintain the necessary conditions for a better common life.  It is within a society’s capacity to include the poor, infirm and imprisoned, that we see its ability to heal their wounds and make them builders of a peaceful coexistence.  Social reintegration begins by making sure that all of our children go to school and that their families obtain dignified work by creating public spaces for leisure and recreation, and by fostering civic participation, health services and access to basic services, to name just a few possible measures. 

Celebrating the Jubilee of Mercy with you means learning not to be prisoners of the past, of yesterday.  It means learning to open the door to the future, to tomorrow; it means believing that things can change.  Celebrating the Jubilee of Mercy with you means inviting you to lift up your heads and to work in order to gain this space of longed-for freedom.

We know that we cannot turn back, we know that what is done, is done.  This is the way I wanted to celebrate with you the Jubilee of Mercy, because it does not exclude the possibility of writing a new story and moving forward.  You suffer the pain of a failure, you feel the remorse of your actions and in many cases, with great limitations, you seek to remake your lives in the midst of solitude.  You have known the power of sorrow and sin, and have not forgotten that within your reach is the power of the resurrection, the power of divine mercy which makes all things new.  Now, this mercy can reach you in the hardest and most difficult of places, but such occasions can also perhaps bring truly positive results.  From inside this prison, you must work hard to change the situations which create the most exclusion.  Speak with your loved ones, tell them of your experiences, help them to put an end to this cycle of violence and exclusion.  The one who has suffered the greatest pain, and we could say “has experienced hell”, can become a prophet in society.  Work so that this society which uses people and discards them will not go on claiming victims.

I wish also to encourage those who work in this Centre or others like it: the directors, prison guards, and all who undertake any type of work in this Centre.  And I am also grateful for the efforts made by the chaplains, consecrated persons and lay faithful who have dedicated themselves to keeping alive the hope of the Gospel of Mercy in the prison.  Never forget that all of you can be signs of the heart of the Father.  We need one another to keep on moving forward.

Before giving you my blessing, I would like for us all to pray a moment in silence.  From the depths of our hearts, may each one of us ask God to help us believe in his mercy.

And I ask you, do not forget to pray for me.

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has called on business leaders and representatives of the Chambers of Commerce to invest in the future by creating opportunities of sustainable and profitable work for the young.

On the last day of his apostolic journey to Mexico the Pope was addressing representatives of the “world of work” gathered at an Institute for Superior Education, the Colegio de Bachilleres of the State of Chihuahua.

Please find below the translation of the Pope’s address:  

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

    I wanted to meet with you here in this land of Juárez, because of the special relationship this city has with the world of labour.  I am grateful not only for your words of welcome and for your testimonies, which reveal the anxieties, joys and hopes of your lives, but also for this opportunity to share and reflect together.  Anything we can do to foster dialogue, encounter, and the search for better alternatives and opportunities is already an accomplishment to be valued and highlighted.  Obviously more needs to be done, and today we do not have the luxury of missing any chance to encounter, discuss, confront or search.  This is the only way we will be able to build for tomorrow, to create sustainable relationships capable of providing the needed framework that, little by little, will rebuild the social bonds so damaged by a lack of communication and by a lack of the minimal respect necessary for a healthy coexistence.  So I thank you, and I hope that this occasion may serve to build the future.  May it be a good opportunity to forge the Mexico that its people and children deserve.

    I would like to dwell on this latter point.  Here today there are various workers’ organizations and representatives of Commerce Chambers and business associations.  At first sight they could be considered as adversaries, but they are united by the same responsibility: seeking to create employment opportunities which are dignified and truly beneficial for society and especially for the young of this land.  One of the greatest scourges for young people is the lack of opportunities for study and for sustainable and profitable work, which would permit them to work for the future.  In many cases, this lack of opportunity leads to situations of poverty.  This poverty then becomes the best breeding ground for the young to fall into the cycle of drug trafficking and violence.  It is a luxury which no one can afford; we cannot allow the present and future of Mexico to be alone and abandoned.

    Unfortunately, the times we live in have imposed the paradigm of economic utility as the starting point for personal relationships.  The prevailing mentality advocates for the greatest possible profits, immediately and at any cost.  This not only causes the ethical dimension of business to be lost, but it also forgets that the best investment we can make is in people, in individual persons and in families.  The best investment is creating opportunities.  The prevailing mentality puts the flow of people at the service of the flow of capital, resulting in many cases in the exploitation of employees as if they were objects to be used and discarded (cf. Laudato Si’, 123).  God will hold us accountable for the slaves of our day, and we must do everything to make sure that these situations do not happen again.  The flow of capital cannot decide the flow and life of people.
    
When faced with tenets of the Church’s Social Doctrine, it is objected frequently: “These teachings would have us be charitable organizations or that we transform our businesses into philanthropic institutions”.  The only aspiration of the Church’s Social Doctrine is to guard over the integrity of people and social structures.  Every time that, for whatever reason, this integrity is threatened or reduced to a consumer good, the Church’s Social Doctrine will be a prophetic voice to protect us all from being lost in the seductive sea of ambition.  Every time that a person’s integrity is violated, society, in a certain sense, begins to decline.  This is against no one, but in favour of all.  Every sector has the obligation of looking out for the good of all; we are all in the same boat.  We all have to struggle to make sure that work is a humanizing moment which looks to the future; that it is a space for building up society and each person’s participation in it.  This attitude not only provides an immediate improvement, but in the long run it will also transform society into a culture capable of promoting a dignified space for everyone.  This culture, born many times out of tension, is creating a new style of relationships, a new kind of nation.

    What kind of world do we want to leave our children?  I believe that the vast majority of us can agree.  This is precisely our horizon, our goal, and we have to come together and work for this.  It is always good to think about what I would like to leave my children; it is also a good way to think of others’ children.  What kind of Mexico do you want to leave your children?  Do you want to leave them the memory of exploitation, of insufficient pay, of workplace harassment? Or do you want to leave them a culture which recalls dignified work, a proper roof, and land to be worked?  What type of culture do we want for those who will come after us?  What air will they breathe?  An air tainted by corruption, violence, insecurity and suspicion, or, on the contrary, an air capable of generating alternatives, renewal and change?

    I know that the issues raised are not easy, but it is worse to leave the future in the hands of corruption, brutality and the lack of equity.  I know it is often not easy to bring all parties together in negotiations, but it is worse, and we end up doing more harm, when there is a lack of negotiations and appreciation.  I know it is not easy to get along in an increasingly competitive world, but it is worse to allow the competitive world to ruin the destiny of the people.  Profit and capital are not a good over and above the human person; they are at the service of the common good.  When the common good is used only in the service of profit and capital, the only thing gained is known as exclusion.

    I began by thanking you for this opportunity to be together.  I wish now to invite you to dream of Mexico, to build the Mexico that your children deserve; a Mexico where no one is first, second, or fourth; a Mexico where each sees in the other the dignity of a child of God.  May our Lady of Guadalupe, who made herself known to Juan Diego, and revealed how the seemingly abandoned were her privileged witnesses, help and accompany us in this our work.  

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Juarez, Mexico, Feb 17, 2016 / 09:23 am (CNA).- Watch LIVE coverage of the final Mass of Pope Francis in Mexico from the Ciudad Juárez fairgrounds at 6:00 pm EST.

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