Catholic News 2
LONDON (AP) -- World leaders pledged more than $10 billion Thursday to help fund schools, shelter and jobs for refugees from Syria's civil war, money that British Prime Minister David Cameron said "will save lives, will give hope, will give people the chance of a future."...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Infuriating members of Congress, a smirking Martin Shkreli took the Fifth at a Capitol Hill hearing Thursday when asked about his jacking up of drug prices, then promptly went on Twitter and insulted his questioners as "imbeciles."...
LONDON (AP) -- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has found a surprising ally - a little known United Nations panel that has decided he has been unfairly detained in Britain while seeking to avoid extradition to Sweden to answer allegations of sexual misconduct....
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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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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The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate reached a milestone in the history of the congregation last week on Jan. 25 - the 200 years of their foundation. The story of the OMI begins amidst the ashes of the great upheaval of the French Revolution which has had repercussions worldwide. It was an era when the Catholic Church in France was devastated and held in contempt and ridicule. Nevertheless, on Feb. 25, 1816 in Aix-en-Provence in southern France near Marseille, a handful of zealous priests headed by their leader St. Eugene de Mazenod, committed themselves to serving the lost, the least and the last, bringing them the Good News of Jesus. To know about the OMI, we talked to Sri Lankan Oblate Father Shanil Jayawardena, the director of communications of the OMI at the order’s headquarters here in Rome. Last week, in the first part of the interview, Fr. Jayawardena explained the simple but meaningful way they marked the bi-centenary of thei...
The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate reached a milestone in the history of the congregation last week on Jan. 25 - the 200 years of their foundation. The story of the OMI begins amidst the ashes of the great upheaval of the French Revolution which has had repercussions worldwide. It was an era when the Catholic Church in France was devastated and held in contempt and ridicule. Nevertheless, on Feb. 25, 1816 in Aix-en-Provence in southern France near Marseille, a handful of zealous priests headed by their leader St. Eugene de Mazenod, committed themselves to serving the lost, the least and the last, bringing them the Good News of Jesus.
To know about the OMI, we talked to Sri Lankan Oblate Father Shanil Jayawardena, the director of communications of the OMI at the order’s headquarters here in Rome. Last week, in the first part of the interview, Fr. Jayawardena explained the simple but meaningful way they marked the bi-centenary of their foundation in Aix-en-Provence on Jan 24 and 25. He narrated the humble beginning of the OMI which today has grown to almost 4000 members in 68 countries. Originally planned for evangelizing the poor and abandoned of Aix-en-Provence, the OMI later reached out to France and the rest of the world, making their first entry in Asia through Sri Lanka in 1847. From Sri Lanka, the OMI later spread to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Today, Fr. Jayawardena begins the final part of this interview telling us about the charism of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
Listen:
(Vatican Radio) Officials from more than 70 countries are meeting in London Thursday at a donor’s conference aiming to help Syrians displaced by war and to try to slow the exodus of refugees to Europe.The United Nations and regional countries now hosting millions of Syrian refugees say they need to raise $9 billion in aid this year alone. The aid is needed for educational and economic projects to assist the some 4.6 million Syrians who have sought refuge in Jordan, Lebanon and other neighboring countries.Fadi Hallisso, co-founder and CEO of the Beirut-based charity, Basmeh Zeitooneh, is attending Thursday’s conference. He explains how the non-profit organization – a mostly Syrian start-up in its fourth year - has been providing income-generating skills training, psychological support and educational services to some 35,000 refugees and locals across Lebanon. With the help of international funding, Basmeh & Zeitooneh employs 110 refugees full...
(Vatican Radio) Officials from more than 70 countries are meeting in London Thursday at a donor’s conference aiming to help Syrians displaced by war and to try to slow the exodus of refugees to Europe.
The United Nations and regional countries now hosting millions of Syrian refugees say they need to raise $9 billion in aid this year alone. The aid is needed for educational and economic projects to assist the some 4.6 million Syrians who have sought refuge in Jordan, Lebanon and other neighboring countries.
Fadi Hallisso, co-founder and CEO of the Beirut-based charity, Basmeh Zeitooneh, is attending Thursday’s conference. He explains how the non-profit organization – a mostly Syrian start-up in its fourth year - has been providing income-generating skills training, psychological support and educational services to some 35,000 refugees and locals across Lebanon. With the help of international funding, Basmeh & Zeitooneh employs 110 refugees full time, and more than 165 women earn money producing textiles and other crafts in its workshops. They are now expanding to Turkey.
Listen to Tracey McClure's interview with Fadi Hallisso:
Help Syrian start-ups – they are the ones who will rebuild Syria
“We still need a lot of support, “ says Hallisso. “Syrian youth can do a lot once they have the resources.” At Thursday’s conference, he urged officials to provide “direct funding” and “capacity-building” to Syrian civil society “because they are the ones who can play a major role in rebuilding Syria once peace comes.”
Need for a regional ‘Marshall Plan’
Hallisso is hopeful that Thursday’s Syria conference will do “something that hasn't been done before” and goes beyond the mere pledging of funds. He wants to see “long-term development programs that go beyond emergency aid…We hope that the interest in helping the governments of the surrounding countries will materialize in a big ‘Marshall plan’ for the region to develop the region and help local governments to make development projects, create jobs for both the hosting communities and the refugees themselves.”
Such a plan, he adds, should be reinforced by the creation of “a new legal framework for refugees where they can reside and live legally [in host nations] until they return back to Syria.”
He says that he has witnessed “unprecedented momentum” ahead of and during the conference where he observes that for “the first time…we are seeing Syrian civil society involved in the preparations for the conference.”
Granting the right to work to refugees will also benefit local populations
Yet Hallisso argues that organizations like his are hampered by the fact that host nations lack “a legal framework” which would allow refugees to work. “We can achieve much more if such a framework does exist. And to do so, we need to present those governments with a plan that is efficient not only for the refugees but also for the host communities…”
“This is an opportunity to make the refugees an asset,” Hallisso asserts, “that can help the economy of those countries and not to be a burden.” Refugees will tell you that they would prefer to work rather than to receive aid, he adds.
“Aid money is limited according to the need – so help us use this money to the most benefit, by creating new job opportunities, by creating new opportunities for everyone in the region, not just only for the Syrians.”
Refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey should be granted the right to work and “not limit them to certain sectors,” Hallisso says. “Even in Turkey, recently refugees were given the right to work but there was a condition that deprived this right of its meaning by limiting the percentage of Syrians working in institutions to 10 percent. This would deprive any Syrian-established organization or institution in Turkey from its ability to function because they cannot hire 90% of their staff from the Turkish population for many reasons – [for example] for the language barrier.”
Hallisso admits he understands the genuine unemployment concerns of the local populations in host countries, especially in Lebanon where for decades, some 500,000 Palestinian refugees are offered limited job opportunities. But the alternative to new jobs legislation, he affirms, is “a total explosion in those countries.” They cannot absorb more refugees “under the current conditions and circumstances. So we need to do something drastic – a dramatic change. And we need to convince the populations that this is an opportunity that will benefit them as well.”
So far, feedback from regional governments has been slow in coming Hallisso says. “We will see, I think we have a lot of work to do in the coming months.”
(Vatican Radio) A new film produced by Sony Pictures is looking to tell the story of the days immediately following the Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.Told through the eyes of the fictional Clavius (Joseph Fiennes), a high-ranking officer in the Roman Army tasked by the Prefect of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, with the recovery of the – presumably – stolen remains of the man executed as King of the Jews, Risen follows Clavius and his aide Lucius (Tom Felton) as they attempt to locate the missing body in order to prevent an uprising in Jerusalem.Part detective story, part political thriller, the film explores great themes ranging from the nature of faith to the possibilities and limits of politics to satisfy basic human desires.Vatican Radio’s Chris Altieri attended a closed screening of the film for critics and journalists this week in Rome, and spoke with actor Joseph Fiennes, who portrays the Tribune, Clavius.Click below to hear our report “I think he...
(Vatican Radio) A new film produced by Sony Pictures is looking to tell the story of the days immediately following the Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Told through the eyes of the fictional Clavius (Joseph Fiennes), a high-ranking officer in the Roman Army tasked by the Prefect of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, with the recovery of the – presumably – stolen remains of the man executed as King of the Jews, Risen follows Clavius and his aide Lucius (Tom Felton) as they attempt to locate the missing body in order to prevent an uprising in Jerusalem.
Part detective story, part political thriller, the film explores great themes ranging from the nature of faith to the possibilities and limits of politics to satisfy basic human desires.
Vatican Radio’s Chris Altieri attended a closed screening of the film for critics and journalists this week in Rome, and spoke with actor Joseph Fiennes, who portrays the Tribune, Clavius.
Click below to hear our report
“I think he’s exhausted, possibly suffering from post-traumatic stress,” when the audience first meets him, Fiennes told Vatican Radio. “I think he’s probably saturated by death – so I think he’s a man prepped and ready for change,” Fiennes continued. “For an actor,” Fiennes said, “this is a part you would relish – he goes on such a journey.”
Risen hits theaters in the US and Canada on February 19th, and then opens in countries around the world throughout the month of March, 2016.
(Vatican Radio) The European parliament on Thursday passed a resolution that labelled as ‘genocide’ the systematic mass murder of religious minorities by the so-called Islamic State (IS) militant group in Iraq and Syria. Passed overwhelmingly by a show of hands, the resolution urged the international community to take action to protect all religious and minority groups against IS attacks. Lars Adaktusson from Sweden is the member of the European parliament (MEP) who spearheaded this debate and resolution and speaking after it was passed he explained to Susy Hodges why it is so important to classify the atrocities of the IS group as ‘genocide.’ Listen to the interview with the MEP Lars Adaktusson: A Swedish Christian Democrat and member of the European Peoples’ Party, Adaktusson said passing this resolution was a very important move because by labelling IS’s atrocities as ‘genocide’, it will help the international community...
(Vatican Radio) The European parliament on Thursday passed a resolution that labelled as ‘genocide’ the systematic mass murder of religious minorities by the so-called Islamic State (IS) militant group in Iraq and Syria. Passed overwhelmingly by a show of hands, the resolution urged the international community to take action to protect all religious and minority groups against IS attacks. Lars Adaktusson from Sweden is the member of the European parliament (MEP) who spearheaded this debate and resolution and speaking after it was passed he explained to Susy Hodges why it is so important to classify the atrocities of the IS group as ‘genocide.’
Listen to the interview with the MEP Lars Adaktusson:
A Swedish Christian Democrat and member of the European Peoples’ Party, Adaktusson said passing this resolution was a very important move because by labelling IS’s atrocities as ‘genocide’, it will help the international community to feel compelled to take more action to try to stop these crimes.
“Support from Pope Francis”
Pope Francis on several occasions has used the word ‘genocide’ to describe the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Adaktusson said “this support from Pope Francis and the Vatican” has been “very useful and important.” The MEP said he has seen “a reluctance”on the part of many international leaders to define these crimes as ‘genocide.’ At the same time, Adaktusson noted that the passing of this resolution by the European Parliament is only “the first step” in an ongoing process and that he hopes to see a similar resolution passed by the United Nations Security Council.
“Very pessimistic”
Asked how he sees the future of the Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East, Adaktusson describes himself as “very pessimistic” because despite a large international coalition fighting the IS group, the militants remain “strong” and so “the atrocities and the genocide” are continuing. Adaktusson has visited this area of the Middle East many times and said he personally is convinced that IS would like largely “to wipe out the Christian heritage” in Iraq and Syria.
“We need to do much more to stop the IS ... and help these people who are suffering so badly,” the MEP said.
(Vatican Radio) The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, concluded a visit to Slovenia on Thursday by visiting a reception centre for refugees in Dobova, on the Croatian border, where tens of thousands of immigrants arrived at the height of last autumn’s migration crisis.During his three day visit, the cardinal on Wednesday inaugurated new premises for the Apostolic Nunciature to Slovenia, in the capital Ljubljana and celebrated Mass to mark the close of the Year of Consecrated Life in Ljublijana Cathedral.Speaking at a joint press conference on Tuesday at the start of his visit, Cardinal Parolin and Slovenia’s prime minister Miro Cerar called for a “humane and solidarity-based” resolution to the refugee crisis.During his visit to the reception centre in Dobova, the Vatican Secretary of State met with volunteers and said he was impressed by the “great sense of solidarity” with migrants which must be the starting point for any las...
(Vatican Radio) The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, concluded a visit to Slovenia on Thursday by visiting a reception centre for refugees in Dobova, on the Croatian border, where tens of thousands of immigrants arrived at the height of last autumn’s migration crisis.
During his three day visit, the cardinal on Wednesday inaugurated new premises for the Apostolic Nunciature to Slovenia, in the capital Ljubljana and celebrated Mass to mark the close of the Year of Consecrated Life in Ljublijana Cathedral.
Speaking at a joint press conference on Tuesday at the start of his visit, Cardinal Parolin and Slovenia’s prime minister Miro Cerar called for a “humane and solidarity-based” resolution to the refugee crisis.
During his visit to the reception centre in Dobova, the Vatican Secretary of State met with volunteers and said he was impressed by the “great sense of solidarity” with migrants which must be the starting point for any lasting solutions to the crisis….
Listen
Cardinal Parolin said he was very struck by the sense of solidarity he experienced at the centre in Dobova. Although there are many complex issues to be taken into consideration, he said the focus on sharing difficulties and giving help to those in need is an important starting point.
Migrant crisis must be tackled through common effort
He said he was visiting the centre on behalf of Pope Francis to give “strength and courage” to those working on behalf of the refugees. He said it’s important to recognize the work of organisations like Caritas and many others, adding that it’s “a good sign” that such organisations are working together in the face of the crisis. While insisting that the Vatican does not give “technical solutions” but simply recalls the principles that must lie at the basis of any such solutions, the cardinal said the emergency can only be tackled and resolved through a common effort.
Asked about a possible papal visit to Slovenia, the cardinal said the Prime Minister invited the Pope during a trip to the Vatican last year and he repeated that invitation this week, but there are “no more details” of any papal visit at present.
