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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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 WASHINGTON-Archbishop Blase J. Cupich of Chicago will serve as the first Catholic co-chair of a new National Catholic-Muslim Dialogue, sponsored by the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Archbishop Cupich's tenure as dialogue co-chair will begin January 1, 2017.

The bishops' ecumenical and interreligious committee has co-sponsored three regional Catholic-Muslim dialogues for over two decades. Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of Springfield, Massachusetts, chair of the committee, said the time is right to begin a national dialogue.

"As the national conversation around Islam grows increasingly fraught, coarse and driven by fear and often willful misinformation, the Catholic Church must help to model real dialogue and good will," said Bishop Rozanski. "Our current dialogues have advanced the goals of greater understanding, mutual esteem and collaboration between Muslims and Catholics, and the members have established lasting ties of friendship and a deep sense of trust. I am grateful to Archbishop Cupich for agreeing to represent our Conference in this crucial conversation."

The current regional Catholic-Muslim dialogues are the Mid-Atlantic (partnering with the Islamic Circle of North America), Midwest (partnering with the Islamic Society of North America) and West Coast (partnering with the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California and the Islamic Educational Center of Orange County). Each is co-chaired by a bishop and a Muslim leader from the corresponding regional organization. These dialogues will continue to meet and will work collaboratively with the members of the new national dialogue.

The National Catholic-Muslim Dialogue follows a July 2014 statement of the bishops' ecumenical and interreligious committee, reaffirming their commitment to dialogue with Muslims:  www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/ecumenical-and-interreligious/interreligious/islam/dialogue-with-muslims-committee-statement.cfm
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Keywords: Archbishop Blase J. Cupich, Chicago, National Catholic-Muslim Dialogue, USCCB, U.S. bishops, Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, Islamophobia, dialogue, Islam

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The Church in the Philippines offers its contribution in the effort to combat the spread of the Zika virus in the country, joining the widespread awareness campaign prepared by government authorities.
 

Camillian Fr. Dan Vicente Cancino, Secretary of the Commission for Health in the Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, said that in several dioceses, ecclesial teams have started to support local officials committed to reaching and informing the population living in areas at risk. "The population exposed is the same that is vulnerable to dengue" explained the Secretary. Fr. Cancino has urged the government to a stronger and determined commitment to combat an epidemic that has already taken hold in America.  

Prevention is indeed a key strategy, while there is still no specific treatment or vaccine to prevent the Zika virus. It is endemic in parts of Africa and Asia. The most affected countries are Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Honduras, El Salvador. (Fides)

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(Vatican Radio) The latest meeting of the Council of Cardinals, Pope Francis’ closest advisers, ended on Tuesday. During their meetings, the cardinals discussed the theme of ‘synodality’ and Pope Francis’ call at last year’s Synod of Bishops for the Church to move towards “a healthy decentralization.”  The other main item on the agenda was a discussion and approval of the cardinals’ final proposals concerning the two new dicasteries that are being set up within the Roman Curia. 

Pope Francis attended all three sessions, held on Monday morning and afternoon and on Tuesday morning. Often called the G-9, the Council of Cardinals is a group of cardinals chosen by the Pope to advise him on governing the Church and reforming the Roman Curia. It meets at regular intervals. 

At a briefing following the end of this meeting, Father Federico Lombardi, the Director of the Holy See’s Press Office, summarized the main issues discussed. 

Father Lombardi said the first session of the G-9 discussed the issues raised during the Pope’s keynote speech at the Synod of Bishops on October 17th 2015. This speech reflected on the theme of synodality within the Church and spoke of the need “to proceed towards a healthy decentralization” and Father Lombardi said this call by the Pope remains an importance reference point for the ongoing work of reforming the Curia. 

The next item on the G-9’s agenda was the reading and the approval of the cardinals’ final proposals concerning the two new dicasteries that are being set up as part of the reforms of the Curia. The two new dicasteries are “Laity, Family and Life” and “Justice, Peace and Migration” and the cardinals’ proposals were approved and then handed over to the Pope who will take the final decision.

Father Lombardi said the G-9 cardinals are still in the throes of discussing planned reforms for two other dicasteries: the Secretariat of State and the Congregation for Divine Worship. He defined this as still “a work in progress.”

Turning next to the work of the Commission for the Protection of Minors, Father Lombardi said the Commission’s head, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, gave an update on the commission’s activities and the proposals he has put forward for the safeguarding of children. Cardinal O’Malley said questions of a juridical and disciplinary nature will be the object of further studies by experts in this field.

As is normal at the G-9 meetings, Cardinal George Pell, Prefect of the new Secretariat for the Economy updated the cardinals on the reforms being carried out concerning the economic affairs of the Holy See and the Roman Curia. 

In conclusion, the G-9 cardinals received documentation on the so-called vade mecum or reference manual drawn up by the Tribunal of the Roman Rota for putting into practice the reforms of the canonical process concerning the validity of marriages. The vade mecum will be sent to dioceses around the world. 

Listen to this report on the above by Susy Hodges:  

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Tuesday evening met with the Missionaries of Mercy, who are priests given special faculties to absolve even sins reserved to the Holy See.

The Missionaries of Mercy are being commissioned by the Holy Father during the Ash Wednesday Mass to be “a living sign of the Father’s welcome to all those in search of his forgiveness,” and will be preaching mercy and hearing confessions in dioceses around the world during the Jubilee of Mercy.

Pope Francis, meeting with the Missionaries the day before their commissioning, told them they are a “sign of special importance” which characterizes the Jubilee of Mercy, and offered some brief reflections to give practical help in their task.

Listen:

“First of all, I would like to remind you that in this ministry you are called to express the maternal nature of the Church,” Pope Francis said.

“The Church is a Mother because she always creates new children in faith; the Church is a Mother because she nourishes this faith; and the Church is a Mother because she offers the forgiveness of God, regenerating to a new life, the fruit of conversion,” he continued.

The Holy Father also told the priests they must know how to “look into the desire of the heart of the penitent,” which through grace is the beginning of conversion.

“The heart turns to God acknowledging the evil which has been done, but with the hope of obtaining pardon,” Pope Francis said. “This desire is reinforced when the person decides in his heart to change his life and does not want to sin again. It is the moment when we trust  the mercy of God, and you have complete confidence you will be understood, forgiven and supported by Him.”

The final point brought up by the Pope was one he said “was often not spoken about,” but is a crucial subject: Shame.

“It is not easy to accuse yourself before another man, knowing that he represents God, and confess your sin,” he said. “A person feels shame both for what he has done, and for having to confess it to another person.”

He called on confessors to have “an attitude of respect and encouragement” when encountering a person’s shame.

“Do not forget: in front of us there is no sin, just the repentant sinner,” – Pope Francis said – “A person who feels the desire to be accepted and forgiven… Therefore, we are not called to judge, with a sense of superiority, as if we were immune from sin; on the contrary, we are called to act as Shem and Japheth, the sons of Noah, who took a blanket and put it over their father and hid his shame.”

He said the confessor is to “cover the sinner with a blanket of mercy,” so they can recover their dignity.

“It is, therefore, not with the club of judgment that we will bring back the lost sheep to the fold, but with the holiness of life which is the principle of renewal and reform in the Church,” Pope Francis said.

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Vatican City, Feb 9, 2016 / 02:07 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Tuesday it was announced that Pope Francis has appointed Msgr. Peter Bryan Wells, the highest ranking American in the Vatican Secretariat of State, as his new ambassador to South Africa and Botswana.

“I am extremely humbled and honored by the faith which has been placed in me by the Church and our Holy Father, especially in this Year of Mercy,” Msgr. Wells said about his nomination.

He asked for prayers as he prepares to embark on his new mission “to the extraordinary people of southern Africa.”

The Vatican announced Wells’ appointment as nuncio in a Feb. 9 communique, which noted that the Pope has also elevated him to the rank of archbishop.

Since July 16, 2009, Msgr. Wells, 52, has served as the Assessor for the General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, which handles the majority of Church affairs aside from relations with other states.

His role as assessor made Msgr. Wells the fifth ranking official in the Vatican’s Secretary of State, which he carried out first under Archbishop Fernando Filoni – now a cardinal – and Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, the current ‘Substitute’ to the Secretariat of State.

Born in Tulsa, Okla., May 12, 1963, Msgr. Wells studied at St. Meinrad Seminary College in Indiana obtaining a degree in Letters, before being sent to the Pontifical North American College in Rome to study theology.

While in Rome, he obtained a baccalaureate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1990, and later, in 1992, a licentiate from the John Paul II Institute for studies on Marriage and the Family at the Pontifical Lateran University.

After his ordination to the priesthood July 12, 1991, Msgr. Wells served in various roles in his home diocese of Tulsa, including parochial vicar at Holy Family cathedral, private secretary to the bishop and vicar for Religious Education in the diocese.

He began his diplomatic work with the Holy See July 1, 1999, after obtaining a licentiate and doctoral degree in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University, in 1998 and 1999, respectively.

The priest’s first diplomatic assignment was to the nunciature in Nigeria, where he served until 2002 when he was summoned back to Rome to work in the Vatican.

Under his new role, Msgr. Wells will now move to Pretoria, where the nunciature of South Africa is located, while serving at the same time as nuncio to Botswana. In addition to his native English, Wells is also fluent in Italian, French, German and Spanish.

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By Junno Arocho Esteves

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Confessors have two choices: to be like Jesus who readily forgave sins or like the devil who always condemns, Pope Francis said.

"You can either do the work of Jesus, who forgives, by giving your lives in prayer (and) through many hours seated there or you do the work of the devil who condemns and accuses," the pope said during Mass Feb. 9 with Capuchin friars from around the world.

The Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica was held in conjunction with the veneration of the relics of two Capuchins, Sts. Padre Pio and Leopold Mandic; Pope Francis requested their relics be brought to the Vatican for the Year of Mercy.

Both saints, the pope told the friars, spent long hours in the confessional as ministers of God's mercy and forgiveness.

Recalling the day's Gospel passage, in which the Pharisees and scribes condemn Jesus and his disciples for not observing traditions, the pope reminded the Capuchins that confessors are called to be "great forgivers in the confessional."

"The confessional is for forgiving," he said. "And if you cannot give someone absolution, please, do not 'beat' him."

The pope repeated the story of a former Capuchin provincial who was sent to a shrine as a confessor after his retirement. The friar, who usually had a long line of people waiting for him, "always found a way to forgive or at least leave that person's soul in peace with a hug."

However, the priest expressed concern that he was forgiving too much. "And what do you do when you feel that way?" the pope recalled asking him.

"'I go to the chapel in front of the tabernacle, and I tell the Lord: 'I'm sorry Lord, forgive me, I think I forgave too much today. But Lord, it was you who gave me a bad example,'" the friar responded.

Forgiveness, the pope explained, is a "caress from God" and confessors who do not forgive become like the scribes in the Gospel "who are always there to accuse," much like "the great accuser in the Bible: the devil."

Pope Francis also called on the Capuchins to be humble and sincere if they are not up to the task of forgiving with mercy.

"If you do not feel it, be humble and say: 'No, no, I'll celebrate Mass, I'll clean the floor, I'll do everything except confess because I do not know how to do it well," the pope said.

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