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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 Tuesday celebrated Mass with priests, seminarians and religious men and women and urged them not to surrender to difficulties posed  by situations of violence, corruption, drug trafficking and disregard to human dignity, and he appealed to them to continue proclaiming the message of the Gospel.

The Mass, celebrated in Morelia’s “Venustiano Carranza” Stadium, comes on the penultimate day of his apostolic journey to Mexico.

After his arrival in Morelia, the capital of Michoacan State, the Pope made his way through crowds of people lined up along the motorcade route cheering and waving Vatican flags.

Michoacan State is at the heart of Mexico’s drug-trafficking route, a region wracked by poverty, unemployment, drug violence and corruption.    

The Pope’s presence in Morelia is also a sign of his respect for the city's Archbishop, Alberto Suarez Inda, whom Francis proclaimed Cardinal last year.

In his homily the Pope told those present that their lives “speak of prayer” and that “the school of prayer is the school of life”.

And acknowledging that “temptation can come to us from places often dominated by violence, corruption, drug trafficking, disregard for human dignity, and indifference in the face of suffering and vulnerability”, Pope Francis urged the clergy and all consecrated persons never to succumb to “resignation”.

“A resignation which paralyzes us and prevents us not only from walking, but also from making the journey; a resignation which not only terrifies us, but which also entrenches us in our “sacristies” and false securities; a resignation which not only prevents us from proclaiming, but also inhibits our giving praise.  A resignation which not only hinders our looking to the future, but also thwarts our desire to take risks and to change.  And so, “Our Father, lead us not into temptation” he said.

Pope Francis also recalled one Mexican evangelizer, first known – he said - as “the Spaniard who became an Indian”.

Among the Indians – the Pope said – he was known as “Tata Vasco”, which in the Purhépechan language means Father.

“The situation of the Purhépechas Indians, whom he described as being “sold, humiliated, and homeless in marketplaces, picking up scraps of bread from the ground”, far from tempting him to listless resignation, succeeded in kindling his faith, strengthening his compassion and inspiring him to carry out plans that were a “breath of fresh air” in the midst of so much paralyzing injustice.  The pain and suffering of his brothers and sisters became his prayer, and his prayer led to his response” he said.

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Morelia, Mexico, Feb 16, 2016 / 08:30 am (CNA).- Update: 11:50 am EST - Below is the full text of Pope Francis' Feb. 16 homily during Mass with priests, men and women religious, consecrated people and seminarians at “Venustiano Carranza” Stadium in Morelia, Mexico.

There is a saying which goes “tell me how you pray, and I will tell you how you live; tell me how you live and I will tell you how you pray. Because showing me how you pray, I will learn to find the God for whom you live, and showing me how you live, I will learn to believe in the God to whom you pray”. For our life speaks of prayer and prayer speaks of our life; our life speaks through our prayer and our prayer speaks through our life. Praying is something learned, just as we learn to walk, to speak, to listen. The school of prayer is the school of life and in the school of life we progress in the school of prayer.
 
And Paul to his disciple Timothy, when he taught him or exhorted him to live the faith, he said to him to remember his mother and his grandmother. And the seminarians when they entered the seminary, many times they asked me: Father, but I would like to have a more intense prayer life, more mental prayer. Look, keep praying as you were taught at home and after, step by step, your prayer will grow as you grow in life. Prayer you learn, just like with life.

Jesus wished to introduce his companions into the mystery of Life, into the mystery of His life. He showed them by eating, sleeping, curing, preaching and praying, what it means to be Son of God. He invited them to share his life, his interiority, and in his presence among them he allowed them to touch, in his flesh, the life of the Father. He helped them to experience, in his gaze, in his going out in power, the newness of saying “Our Father”. In Jesus this expression has no trace of routine or mere repetition. On the contrary, it contains a sense of life, of experience, of authenticity. With these two words, “Our Father”, he knew how to live praying and to pray living.

Jesus invites us to do the same. Our first call is to experience this merciful love of the Father in our lives, in our experiences. His first call is to introduce us into the new dynamic of love, of sonship. Our first calling is to learn to say, “Our Father”, that is, Abba.

“Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!”, says Saint Paul, “Woe to me!”. For to evangelize, he continues, is not a cause for glory but rather a need (1 Cor 9:16).

He has invited us to share in his life, his divine life, and woe to us if we do not share it, woe to us if we are not witnesses to what we have seen and heard, woe to us. We are not and do not want to be “administrators of the divine”, we are not and do not want to be God’s employees, for we are invited to share in his life, we are invited to enter into his heart, a heart that prays and lives, saying, “Our Father”. What is our purpose if not to say with our lives, “Our Father”?

He who is Our Father, it is he to whom we pray every day with insistence: Lead us not into temptation. Jesus himself did the same thing. He prayed that his disciples – yesterday’s and today’s – would not fall into temptation. What could be one of the sins which besets us? What could be one of the temptations which springs up not only in contemplating reality but also in living it? What temptation can come to us from places often dominated by violence, corruption, drug trafficking, disregard for human dignity, and indifference in the face of suffering and vulnerability?

What temptation might we suffer over and over again when faced with this reality which seems to have become a permanent system?

I think we can sum it up in a word, “resignation”. Faced with this reality, the devil can overcome us with one of his favourite weapons: resignation. A resignation which paralyzes us and prevents us not only from walking, but also from making the journey; a resignation which not only terrifies us, but which also entrenches us in our “sacristies” and false securities; a resignation which not only prevents us from proclaiming, but also inhibits our giving praise. A resignation which not only hinders our looking to the future, but also thwarts our desire to take risks and to change. And so, “Our Father, lead us not into temptation”.

How good it is for us to tap into our memories when we are tempted. How much it helps us to look at the “stuff” of which we are made. It did not all begin with us, nor will it all end with us, and so it does us good to look back at our past experiences which have brought us to where we are

And in this remembering, we cannot overlook someone who loved this place so much, who made himself a son of this land. We cannot overlook that person who could say of himself: “They took me from the tribunal and put me in charge of the priesthood for my sins. Me, useless and quite unable to carry out such a great undertaking; me, who didn’t know how to use an oar, they chose

me to be the first Bishop of Michoacán” (Vasco Vázquez de Quiroga, Pastoral Letter, 1554).

With you, I would like to recall this evangelizer, first known as “the Spaniard who became

an Indian”.

The situation of the Purhépechas Indians, whom he described as being “sold, humiliated, and homeless in marketplaces, picking up scraps of bread from the ground”, far from tempting him to listless resignation, succeeded in kindling his faith, strengthening his compassion and inspiring him to carry out plans that were a “breath of fresh air” in the midst of so much paralyzing injustice.

The pain and suffering of his brothers and sisters became his prayer, and his prayer led to his response. Among the Indians, he was known as “Tata Vasco”, which in the Purhépechan language means, Father, dad, daddy...

It is to this prayer, to this expression, that Jesus calls us.

Father, dad, daddy... lead us not into the temptation of resignation, lead us not into the temptation of losing our memory, lead us not into the temptation of forgetting our elders who taught us by their lives to say, “Our Father”.

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Rome, Italy, Feb 16, 2016 / 09:45 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After recent media reports suggested the Vatican is telling bishops to cover up sexual abuse, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has said that reporting abuse is not just a civil responsibility, but a moral one.

“The crimes and sins of the sexual abuse of children must not be kept secret for any longer. I pledge the zealous vigilance of the Church to protect children and the promise of accountability for all,” Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, president of the commission, said in a Feb. 15 statement, quoting Pope Francis.

On behalf of himself and the other members of the commission, the cardinal affirmed that “our obligations under civil law must certainly be followed.”

Even beyond these civil requirements, “we all have a moral and ethical responsibility to report suspected abuse to the civil authorities who are charged with protecting our society,” he said.

Cardinal O'Malley's statement comes less than a week after some media reports falsely suggested that the Vatican is telling new bishops that they don’t have to report sexual abuse.

The news reports concerned a statement from French Msgr. Tony Anatrella, who contributed to a 2015 formation course for new bishops organized by the Congregation for Bishops.

Msgr. Anatrella, a consultant to the Pontifical Council for the Family and the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, wrote a document with a section reflecting on countries' civil laws that mandate abuse reporting.

The document said “it is not necessarily the duty of the bishop to report suspects to authorities, the police or state prosecutors in the moment when they are made aware of crimes or sinful deeds.” Msgr. Anatrella said that decision is up to victims and their families.

Some media reports depicted the monsignor's statements as an encouragement to cover up sexual abuse or as a claim that it is “not necessarily” a bishop’s duty to report sexual abuse in cases where laws require it.

However, in his statement Cardinal O'Malley stressed the importance of reporting suspected abuse and following the guidelines that are in place.

As an example, he pointed to the Charter for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which “clearly states the obligation that all dioceses/eparchies and personnel report suspected abuse to the public authorities.”

This obligation is reaffirmed every year during the USCCB's November training session for new bishops, as well as every other February when the conference runs a second training program for new bishops that also “clearly and explicitly includes this obligation,” the cardinal said.

He noted that the commission recently shared with Pope Francis an overview of their “extensive education efforts” in local churches over the past two years.

At the same time, he said, the commission reiterated their willingness to provide this same educative material at courses offered in Rome, which include the annual training program for new bishops, as well as one for the offices of the Roman Curia in their own child protection efforts.

In comments made to CNA Feb. 12, Bill Kilgallon, a member of the commission and director of the National Office for Professional Standards of the Catholic Church in New Zealand, said that education and accountability have been big talking points for the commission.

“We’ve already recommended to the Pope the establishment of a system of holding bishops and religious superiors to account who don’t apply the appropriate guidelines, and don’t deal with the matter of sexual abuse appropriately,” he said.

One of the main tasks of the commission, Kilgallon said, is to both establish effective guidelines for handling abuse cases and to make sure that they are being followed.

“In discussions with people from countries across the world, the need for those guidelines and the effect of guidelines is apparent,” he said.

However, he stressed that guidelines “are only the beginning. What we need to do then is make sure people follow those guidelines, and follow them effectively.”

In addition to making sure that local churches implement the guidelines, Church leadership must also be educated, Kilgallon said.

“That's very important. That's been highlighted…we have a group working on that issue,” he said, adding that a separate group is currently looking into changes that need to be made in canon law.

“So there are a number of things happening that I think point to a positive future.”

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Mexico City, Mexico, Feb 16, 2016 / 09:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In the face of corruption, violence, and atrocities against the human person, resignation becomes the “devil's favorite weapon,” Pope Francis told priests, religious, and seminarians on the fourth day of his journey to Mexico.
 
“What temptation can come to us from places often dominated by violence, corruption, drug trafficking, disregard for human dignity, and indifference in the face of suffering and vulnerability?” the Pope asked.

Centering his homily on the day's Gospel account of Jesus teaching his disciples the Our Father, the pontiff reflected on the line, “Lead us not into temptation,” and decried the temptation toward resignation.

“What temptation might we suffer over and over again when faced with this reality which seems to have become a permanent system?”

“Faced with this reality, the devil can overcome us with one of his favorite weapons: resignation,” the Pope said, explaining that resignation provokes fear, entrenches us in “false securities,” and prevents us from enacting change.

Pope Francis made these remarks during Mass in the city of Morelia, a central Mexican city rife with violence and corruption.

He stressed the importance of learning from the past in confronting temptation.

“How good it is for us to tap into our memories when we are tempted,” the pontiff reflected. “How much it helps us to look at the “stuff” of which we are made.”

“It did not all begin with us, nor will it all end with us, and so it does us good to look back at our past experiences which have brought us to where we are today.”

Pope Francis' visit to Mexico's Michoacán State comes on the second to last day of his Feb. 12-17 trip to Mexico, his first since his election to the papacy.

Throughout his homily, the Pope stressed the balance between prayer and the way we live our lives.

“For our life speaks of prayer and prayer speaks of our life,” he said; “our life speaks through our prayer and our prayer speaks through our life.”

Praying is something to be learned, the Pope explained. “The school of prayer is the school of life and in the school of life we progress in the school of prayer.”

Jesus sought to introduce his companions “into the mystery of His Life,” he said. “He showed them by eating, sleeping, curing, preaching and praying, what it means to be Son of God.”

Inviting his companions into “his interiority,” Jesus introduced them to the “newness of saying 'Our Father,'” the pontiff explained, an expression which “contains a sense of life, of experience, of authenticity.”

With these words, Jesus “knew how to live praying and to pray living,” the Pope said, and he “invites us to do the same.”

“Our first call is to experience this merciful love of the Father in our lives, in our experiences,” and then share the Gospel with others, he added.

“He has invited us to share in his life, his divine life, and woe to us if we do not share it, woe to us if we are not witnesses to what we have seen and heard, woe to us.”

“We are not and do not want to be 'administrators of the divine',” or “God's employees,” Pope Francis said.

Rather, “we are invited to share in his life,” and “enter into his heart.” In turn, we are called to live out the words: “Our Father.”

Pope Francis recalled the legacy of 16th century Bishop Vasco Vázquez de Quiroga, the first bishop of Michoacán.

The bishop did not respond to the dire situation experienced by the indigenous Purhépechas Indians with “listless resignation,” the Pope said.

Rather, it “succeeded in kindling his faith, strengthening his compassion and inspiring him to carry out plans that were a “breath of fresh air” in the midst of so much paralyzing injustice.”

“The pain and suffering of his brothers and sisters became his prayer, and his prayer led to his response,” the Pope said of the bishop, who came to be known as “Tata Vasco,” meaning “Father, dad, daddy.”

“It is to this prayer, to this expression, that Jesus calls us,” Pope Francis concluded: “lead us not into the temptation of resignation, lead us not into the temptation of losing our memory, lead us not into the temptation of forgetting our elders who taught us by their lives to say, 'Our Father'.”

 

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IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring

By David Agren

SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico (CNS) -- Pope Francis warned against moves to diminish the importance of the family, peppering his talk with anecdotes and off-the-cuff remarks that kept a packed soccer stadium cheering, laughing and applauding.

Speaking under a scorching-hot sun as dozens were treated for heat stroke, the pope said family life was not always easy and often was a struggle, but he pleaded for perseverance, saying family life was one of the solutions to increasing isolation and uncertainty and its unintended consequences.

"I prefer a wounded family that makes daily efforts to put love into play to a society that is sick from isolationism and is habitually afraid of love," Pope Francis said Feb. 15 in front of a boisterous audience of families, who came from across southern Mexican and nearby Guatemala for a celebration in the city of Tuxtla Gutierrez. "I prefer a family that makes repeated efforts to begin again to a society that is narcissistic and obsessed with luxury and comfort. I prefer a family with tired faces from generous giving to faces with makeup that know nothing of tenderness and compassion."

The pope's focus on families turned the focus of his six-day visit toward the pastoral issues after hitting hard on matters such as corruption, crime and the country's often impoverished and exploited indigenous populations.

During the event, a couple from the city of Monterrey -- one of whom was divorced -- spoke of the stigma and sense of not belonging by not being able to receive Communion, but finding a home in the Catholic Church by serving others and organizing pastoral projects.

"As we came close to our church, we received loved and compassion," said Humberto and Claudia Gomez, who are married civilly, but not in the church. "It's marvelous to have a marriage and family in which God is at the center."

Another speaker, single mother Beatriz Munoz Hernandez, 52, spoke of a childhood marked by "poverty, violence and abandonment" by her father, then of becoming pregnant as a teenager.

"I found the love of God through his church and he rescued me, announced that he loved me, that he didn't reject me and, above all, that he forgave me," said Munoz, adding her faith helped in overcoming the temptation of seeing abortion as a solution to several pregnancies.

Pope Francis cracked jokes throughout his speech and strayed from his prepared text. He mentioned a couple married for 50 years and asked "who was the most patient." The answer was obvious for the pope: "Both of them."

Departing from prepared remarks, he offered advice for creating happy families and keeping the peace in times of turbulence.

"Do not end the day without making peace," Pope Francis said. "If you end the day in war, you will end up in cold war, and a cold war is very dangerous in the family, because it will undermine families from underneath."

Pope Francis focused most on overcoming isolation and uncertainty and its insidious effects.

"Uncertainty is not only a threat to our stomach (which is already serious), but it can also threaten our soul, demoralizing us and taking away our energy, so that we seek apparent solutions that, in the end solve nothing," he said. "There is a kind of uncertainty which can be very dangerous, which can creep in surreptitiously; it is the uncertainty born of solitude and isolation."

He cited the example of Humberto and Claudia and their service to others as a solution. Another solution, he said, was with smart public policy, "which protects and guarantees the bare necessities of life so that every home and every person can develop through education and dignified employment."

"Laws and personal commitment," the pope said, "are a good pairing to break the spiral of uncertainty."

Family is often seen as a social safety net in Mexico and a pillar in a low-trust society, though state statistics show people are marrying less, divorcing more and increasingly living in nontraditional families.

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Follow Agren on Twitter: @el_reportero.

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