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-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-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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(Vatican Radio) Clashes broke out in central Athens on Thursday as about 40,000 people marched to the Greek Parliament during a general strike.The strike was called to protest planned pension reforms that are part of the country's third international bailout.Listen to the report by John Carr in Athens: Riot police battled demonstrators in central Athens today in a one-day general strike that’s the biggest blow yet against the year-old left-led government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.The strike was called to protest fresh pension cuts and tax rises mandated by Greece’s creditors. Demonstrators threw petrol bombs at the police in front of the Parliament building, where thousands had gathered. At the same time farmers, protesting what they call crushing new taxation, have been blocking Greece’s main roads and land border points for two weeks.They vow not to stop until the government backtracks.As the demonstrations were occurring, officials...
(Vatican Radio) Clashes broke out in central Athens on Thursday as about 40,000 people marched to the Greek Parliament during a general strike.
The strike was called to protest planned pension reforms that are part of the country's third international bailout.
Listen to the report by John Carr in Athens:
Riot police battled demonstrators in central Athens today in a one-day general strike that’s the biggest blow yet against the year-old left-led government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
The strike was called to protest fresh pension cuts and tax rises mandated by Greece’s creditors.
Demonstrators threw petrol bombs at the police in front of the Parliament building, where thousands had gathered.
At the same time farmers, protesting what they call crushing new taxation, have been blocking Greece’s main roads and land border points for two weeks.
They vow not to stop until the government backtracks.
As the demonstrations were occurring, officials of the creditors pressured the government for more welfare cuts.
The cuts are up for debate in the Greek Parliament later this month. Tsipras has a majority of just three in the chamber. If he loses the welfare vote, then his government falls and the future of Greece’s economic bailouts and recovery is again in serious doubt.
Vatican City, Feb 4, 2016 / 10:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The incorrupt body of Padre Pio has arrived to Rome for the first time ever alongside that of another friar, St. Leopold Mandi?, as a special initiative for the Jubilee of Mercy.Urns containing the relics of Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina and Saint Leopold Mandi? arrived to Rome’s basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Wall Feb. 3.They will remain for a week of vigils, Masses and stops at several Roman churches, including St. Peter’s Basilica, before returning to their usual place of repose.Both members of the Order of Friars Minor founded by St. Francis of Assisi, more commonly known as “Franciscans,” the saints lived during the same time period, and were both canonized by St. John Paul II.The relics of the saints, consisting of their incorrupt bodies, meaning they haven’t decomposed, were welcomed to St. Lawrence with a large celebration and procession into the basilica.After a day of be...
Vatican City, Feb 4, 2016 / 10:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The incorrupt body of Padre Pio has arrived to Rome for the first time ever alongside that of another friar, St. Leopold Mandi?, as a special initiative for the Jubilee of Mercy.
Urns containing the relics of Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina and Saint Leopold Mandi? arrived to Rome’s basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Wall Feb. 3.
They will remain for a week of vigils, Masses and stops at several Roman churches, including St. Peter’s Basilica, before returning to their usual place of repose.
Both members of the Order of Friars Minor founded by St. Francis of Assisi, more commonly known as “Franciscans,” the saints lived during the same time period, and were both canonized by St. John Paul II.
The relics of the saints, consisting of their incorrupt bodies, meaning they haven’t decomposed, were welcomed to St. Lawrence with a large celebration and procession into the basilica.
After a day of being open to the public for veneration, the relics will be transferred to the Roman church of San Salvatore in Lauro Feb. 4 for an all-night prayer vigil, beginning at 10 p.m., which will last until 2 p.m. the next day.
On Feb. 5 Archbishop Michele Castoro, who oversees the diocese of Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo where Padre Pio’s body usually resides, will celebrate the 2 p.m. Mass at San Salvatore.
After the Mass, the urns containing the relics of the two saints will then be taken in a walking procession to St. Peter’s Basilica. The procession will journey the entire length of Via della Conciliazione, the large street leading up to St. Peter’s.
Once in St. Peter’s Square, the relics will be received in St. Peter’s Square by Cardinal Angelo Angelo Comastri, Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, who will lead attendees in a moment of prayer before accompanying the urns inside the basilica.
Padre Pio’s body will be placed at the basilica’s Altar of the Confession until Feb. 11, where pilgrims can come to venerate the saint during the basilica’s usual operating hours, between 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
Perhaps one of the biggest highlights of having the relics in St. Peter’s is that they will be present for the Feb. 10 commissioning of the Jubilee missionaries of mercy, who will concelebrate Ash Wednesday Mass with the Pope inside the basilica.
Numerous other events are also set to take place during the period the relics are in Rome, including a Feb. 6 papal audience with members of “Padre Pio prayer groups,” workers at the Home to Relieve Suffering – founded by St. Pio in 1956 – and faithful from the Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo archdiocese.
On Feb. 9, Pope Francis will preside over Mass with Capuchin brothers, Padre Pio’s own order, from around the world.
After Mass Feb. 11 for the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, which will be presided over by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Prefect of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, St. Pio’s relics will be taken for three days to Pietrelcina for the first time since he left as a young priest.
It is said that while alive Padre Pio, who never left San Giovanni Rotonto after being assigned there, was asked if he would ever return to his childhood hometown of Pietrelcina. In response, the saint said that he would return one day, but not until after his death.
At a Jan. 29 press briefing on the arrival of the relics, Archbishop Fisichella said that their presence in Rome “is of great significance for it is an unprecedented event, given the stories of these two saints who spent their lives in the service of the mercy of God.”
St. Pio of Pietrelcina, colloquially known as “Padre Pio,” was a priest of the Order of the Friars Minor Capuchin, a stigmatist, and a mystic, who lived from 1887-1968. He was beatified in 1999, and canonized in 2002 by St. John Paul II. He was born in Pietrelcina, but ministered in San Giovanni Rotondo from 1916 until his death.
His brother friar St. Leopold Mandi?, also a Capuchin, was born in 1866 in Croatia, but spent the majority of his life in the northern Italian city of Padua, where his relics remain to this day. For nearly 30 years he would spend 10-15 hours a day in the confessional, and was known for being generous with forgiveness and mercy. He died in 1942, and was canonized by St. John Paul II Dec. 16, 1983.
In a Jan. 29 interview with CNA, Archbishop Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, said the presence of the saints’ bodies is “an exceptional event,” particularly because they will come during an extraordinary jubilee.
“The desire of the Holy Father was to give all the priests in the world, but especially to the missionaries of mercy, a sign,” he said, adding that “where can we find a better sign of sanctity, of holiness, of dedication, total dedication to confession (than) in Padre Pio and in Padre Leopoldo?”
Washington D.C., Feb 4, 2016 / 12:59 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In their keynote address at the National Prayer Breakfast, the couple behind the History Channel’s ‘The Bible’ miniseries called for efforts to unite people of different faiths, races and political beliefs.“It’s very easy to divide people and it’s very difficult to bring people together,” said producer Mark Burnett.He and his wife, actress Roma Downey, spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual gathering of religious and civic leaders held since 1953, in Washington, D.C. Attendance at the event is generally in the thousands.Describing their work to make ‘The Bible’ miniseries, Burnett said that they quickly realized the challenge in working across faith communities that included various Protestant groups, Catholics and Jews.In fact, he said, there are more than 30,000 denominations within Christianity alone, and they have different views on parts of Scripture.&ldquo...
Washington D.C., Feb 4, 2016 / 12:59 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In their keynote address at the National Prayer Breakfast, the couple behind the History Channel’s ‘The Bible’ miniseries called for efforts to unite people of different faiths, races and political beliefs.
“It’s very easy to divide people and it’s very difficult to bring people together,” said producer Mark Burnett.
He and his wife, actress Roma Downey, spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual gathering of religious and civic leaders held since 1953, in Washington, D.C. Attendance at the event is generally in the thousands.
Describing their work to make ‘The Bible’ miniseries, Burnett said that they quickly realized the challenge in working across faith communities that included various Protestant groups, Catholics and Jews.
In fact, he said, there are more than 30,000 denominations within Christianity alone, and they have different views on parts of Scripture.
“We learned to become bridge builders. And bridge-building became our mission,” he said.
Downey elaborated: “I know the power of a bridge from my own life’s journey growing up in war-torn Northern Ireland.”
She talked about the need for bridges in the 21st century.
“We are at a time in the world’s history where there is so much pain and fear and division everywhere. And these divisions show up in race and in religion and in politics,” she said. “The dividing lines are easy to find. The bridges to peace are harder to build.”
“May we all find our dividing lines and work until we’ve built our own bridges of peace across them,” Downey said. “Perhaps a good place to start is to simply see the image of God in the eyes of everyone you meet.”
Held at the Washington Hilton, Thursday’s prayer breakfast also featured remarks by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), a rendition of “Panis Angelicus” by tenor Andrea Bocelli, and remarks from U.S. president Barack Obama.
Speaker Ryan defended the importance of prayer against what he deemed as a “growing impatience” with it.
“When people say they’re praying for someone or something, the attitude in some quarters seems to be, ‘Don’t just pray; do something about it,’” he said. “But the thing is, when you are praying, you are doing something about it. You are revealing the presence of God.”
“(T)here is nothing more comforting – or more humbling, really – than to hear someone say, ‘I’m praying for you.’ Because when hear you that, you realize, you’re not alone. God is there. And hundreds, if not thousands, if not millions of people are all speaking to Him on your behalf,” the speaker said.
President Obama spoke in his remarks about faith and Christ as “the great cure for fear.”
“What better time than these changing, tumultuous times to have Jesus standing beside us, steadying our minds, cleansing our hearts, pointing us towards what matters.”
God’s love “gives us the courage to go against the conventional wisdom and stand up for what’s right, even when it’s not popular,” he said, adding that he is inspired by the work of people of faith in serving the needy around the world.
“Whether fighting global poverty or working to end the scourge of human trafficking, you are the leaders of what Pope Francis calls ‘this march of living hope’,” he said.
The president offered prayers for all those around the world who are oppressed for their faith, “including Christians who are persecuted, or who have been driven from their ancient homelands by unspeakable violence.”
“And just as we call on other countries to respect the rights of religious minorities, we, too, respect the right of every single American to practice their faith freely,” he added.
Obama ended his address with a series of petitions. “I pray that we will uphold our obligation to be good stewards of God’s creation – this beautiful planet,” he said.
“I pray that we will see every single child as our own, each worthy of our love and of our compassion. And I pray we answer Scripture’s call to lift up the vulnerable, and to stand up for justice, and ensure that every human being lives in dignity.”
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- It's the perfect scenario, a Hollywood-type script: Peyton Manning emulates John Elway and rides off into the sunset with the Lombardi Trophy in his grip....
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- The head of the airline whose jetliner was damaged in an explosion shortly after takeoff from Somalia said Thursday that investigators have found what appears to be residue from explosives, though he cautioned that the findings were inconclusive....
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -- Two Virginia Tech students carefully planned the kidnapping and killing of a 13-year-old girl, arranging a pre-dawn rendezvous online after buying cleaning supplies and a shovel at separate Wal-Mart stores, a prosecutor alleged on Thursday....
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- High-ranking officials in Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's administration were aware of a surge in Legionnaires' disease potentially linked to Flint's water long before the governor reported the increase to the public last month, internal emails show....
