Catholic News 2
DUBLIN (AP) -- Ireland's police force deployed military-style road checkpoints Tuesday as the government announced toughened measures to try to prevent a gang war in Dublin from claiming more lives....
BOSTON (AP) -- A wind-driven winter storm that brought blizzard conditions to Cape Cod fell short of forecast snowfall totals and spared the Northeast the widespread power outages that had been predicted....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- North Korea has expanded a uranium enrichment facility and restarted a plutonium reactor that could start recovering material for nuclear weapons in weeks or months, the U.S. intelligence chief said Tuesday in delivering the annual assessment by intelligence agencies of the top dangers facing the country....
BAD AIBLING, Germany (AP) -- Two commuter trains crashed head-on Tuesday in southern Germany, killing nine people and injuring around 90 as they slammed into each other on a curve after an automatic safety braking system apparently failed, the transport minister said....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama sent Congress on Tuesday his eighth and final budget, proposing to spend a record $4.1 trillion on a number of initiatives. They include launching a new war on cancer, combating global warming and fighting growing threats from ISIS terrorists....
BERLIN (AP) -- The Latest on a train crash in Germany that has caused deaths and injuries (all times local):...
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 rema...
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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MEDIA CONTACT
Don Clemmer
O: 202-541-3206
WASHINGTON-The Office of General Counsel of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court, February 1, on behalf of USCCB, the Texas Catholic Conference and several Christian partners in support of a Texas law mandating health and safety standards protecting women who undergo abortions. Other groups joining the brief include the National Association of Evangelicals, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. The case is Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, currently before the U.S. Supreme Court."There is ample evidence in this case that hospital admitting privileges and ambulatory surgical center requirements protect women's lives and health," said the brief. "When such requirements are not enforced, abuses detrimental to women's lives and health arise."The brief noted that some abortion clinics have decla...
"There is ample evidence in this case that hospital admitting privileges and ambulatory surgical center requirements protect women's lives and health," said the brief. "When such requirements are not enforced, abuses detrimental to women's lives and health arise."
The brief noted that some abortion clinics have declared the standards too strict, although the standards are similar to those issued by the abortion industry. It added that abortion providers "should not be allowed to rely upon their own failure to comply with health and safety laws" as a reason to strike such laws down. The brief said the providers' resistance to such regulations is not in the best interests of women's health and safety. It also noted that over 40 years of precedent, including the Court's 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, reaffirms that states may regulate abortion to protect maternal life and health.
Full text of the brief is available online: www.usccb.org/about/general-counsel/amicus-briefs/upload/Whole-Woman-s-Health-v-Hellerstedt.pdf
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Keywords: General Counsel, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Texas law abortion, amicus curia, National Association of Evangelicals, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, U.S. Supreme Court
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Pope: new appointments to Vatican Communications Secretariat(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appointed Dr. Nataša Govekar, professor at the "Theology Atelier Card . T. Špidlík" of the Aletti Center in Rome as the new Director of the Department of Pastoral Theology of the recently established Vatican Secretariat for Communications. The Holy Father has also named as Director of the Technology Department of the Communications Secretariat Francesco Masci, hitherto responsible for the Technical Department of the Vatican Internet Service.From Slovenia to RomeNataša Govekar was born in 1975 at Šempeter pri Gorici, Slovenia. She studied Theology and Slovene at the University of Ljubljana. She received her Doctorate in Missiology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, writing her doctoral thesis on ‘The Transmission Of Faith Through Images.'The Centro Aletti was founded in 1993 by St. John Paul II in order to encou...
Pope: new appointments to Vatican Communications Secretariat
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appointed Dr. Nataša Govekar, professor at the "Theology Atelier Card . T. Špidlík" of the Aletti Center in Rome as the new Director of the Department of Pastoral Theology of the recently established Vatican Secretariat for Communications.
The Holy Father has also named as Director of the Technology Department of the Communications Secretariat Francesco Masci, hitherto responsible for the Technical Department of the Vatican Internet Service.
From Slovenia to Rome
Nataša Govekar was born in 1975 at Šempeter pri Gorici, Slovenia. She studied Theology and Slovene at the University of Ljubljana. She received her Doctorate in Missiology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, writing her doctoral thesis on ‘The Transmission Of Faith Through Images.'
The Centro Aletti was founded in 1993 by St. John Paul II in order to encourage research on the meaning of faith and art in the eastern Catholic tradition, and to provide a bridge between the Churches of east and west. The center, attached to the mission of the Society of Jesus at the Pontifical Oriental Institute, fosters intellectual research and spirituality.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appointed American Monsignor Peter Bryan Wells, currently Assessor for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, as the Holy See’s new Apostolic Nuncio in South Africa and Botswana. The Holy Father has at the same time elevated Msgr. Wells to the titular see of Marcianopolis, with the dignity of archbishop.The archbishop-designate hails from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on 1 July 1999 and was named Assessor at the Secretariat of State in 2009.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appointed American Monsignor Peter Bryan Wells, currently Assessor for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, as the Holy See’s new Apostolic Nuncio in South Africa and Botswana. The Holy Father has at the same time elevated Msgr. Wells to the titular see of Marcianopolis, with the dignity of archbishop.
The archbishop-designate hails from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on 1 July 1999 and was named Assessor at the Secretariat of State in 2009.
