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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WASHINGTON-The annual Collection to Aid the Church in Central and Eastern Europe will be held in most parishes February 10, Ash Wednesday. The collection supports pastoral, educational and construction projects in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.In 2015, the Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe awarded over $7.7 million through more than 250 grants. Projects supported by the collection assist a broad range of needs focused on providing pastoral care and developing resources in countries of the former Soviet Union and who have struggled to rebuild faith communities in a post-communist society. Among projects recently supported are the construction of a daycare center facility for children with disabilities in Armenia and conflict resolution and peer mediation training for faculty members of a Catholic school in Russia. "What a great way to begin our celebration of Lent during this Jubilee of Mercy. This annual collection on behalf of our brother...
WASHINGTON-The annual Collection to Aid the Church in Central and Eastern Europe will be held in most parishes February 10, Ash Wednesday. The collection supports pastoral, educational and construction projects in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
In 2015, the Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe awarded over $7.7 million through more than 250 grants. Projects supported by the collection assist a broad range of needs focused on providing pastoral care and developing resources in countries of the former Soviet Union and who have struggled to rebuild faith communities in a post-communist society.
Among projects recently supported are the construction of a daycare center facility for children with disabilities in Armenia and conflict resolution and peer mediation training for faculty members of a Catholic school in Russia.
"What a great way to begin our celebration of Lent during this Jubilee of Mercy. This annual collection on behalf of our brothers and sisters who are struggling in Central and Eastern Europe offers a vivid reminder that mercy is needed not only in our personal lives but in our world. The people in this region of the world have great need as they continue to rebuild their lives and Church communities in a post-Soviet society," said Archbishop Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, chairman of the Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe. "Participating in this collection is a tangible way for us to be a sign of mercy for those who struggle to practice the faith. Your continued support makes a real difference and is greatly appreciated."
Shareable resources to promote the collection can be found at: www.usccb.org/catholic-giving/opportunities-for-giving/central-and-eastern-europe/collection/index.cfm
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Keywords: Central and Eastern Europe, children with disabilities, mediation training, Russia, Armenia, Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, grants, stewardship, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, post-Soviet society.
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WASHINGTON-Two bishops who head U.S. dioceses bordering Mexico will officially represent the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) during the February 12-17 visit of Pope Francis to Mexico. Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, and Bishop Oscar Cantú of Las Cruces, New Mexico, received the appointment from Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, USCCB president."I am most grateful to Bishop Flores and Bishop Cantú for their generous willingness to serve in this important role," Archbishop Kurtz said of the appointments, which were made at the invitation of Cardinal José Francisco Robles Ortega, president of the Mexican bishops, and Bishop Eugenio Andrés Lira Rugarcía, general secretary of that conference. Archbishop Kurtz announced the appointments in a letter to all U.S. bishops, January 26.Bishop Flores, 54, was appointed to head the Brownsville diocese in 2009. The diocese has 1,119,583 Catholics, who make up 85 percent of its total population. Bishop ...
WASHINGTON-Two bishops who head U.S. dioceses bordering Mexico will officially represent the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) during the February 12-17 visit of Pope Francis to Mexico. Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, and Bishop Oscar Cantú of Las Cruces, New Mexico, received the appointment from Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, USCCB president.
"I am most grateful to Bishop Flores and Bishop Cantú for their generous willingness to serve in this important role," Archbishop Kurtz said of the appointments, which were made at the invitation of Cardinal José Francisco Robles Ortega, president of the Mexican bishops, and Bishop Eugenio Andrés Lira Rugarcía, general secretary of that conference. Archbishop Kurtz announced the appointments in a letter to all U.S. bishops, January 26.
Bishop Flores, 54, was appointed to head the Brownsville diocese in 2009. The diocese has 1,119,583 Catholics, who make up 85 percent of its total population. Bishop Cantú, 49, had headed the Las Cruces diocese since 2013. The diocese has 234,550 Catholics, who make up 42 of its total population.
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Keywords: Pope Francis, Mexico, Bishop Daniel E. Flores, Brownsville, Texas, Bishop Oscar Cantú, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USCCB, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, papal visit
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(Vatican Radio) Trade Ministers from twelve Asia-Pacific nations are set to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership in Auckland, New Zealand. The White House has advocated for the deal, saying it has clear economic benefits.Listen to Priscilla Huff's report: Congressional leaders are looking at the Trans Pacific Partnership with a skeptical eye. Following a meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnel, the lawmakers there are concerns about the TPP that must be address before final approval.White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, "It's a complicated process. We are not yet at a place where the President has forwarded the agreement to Congress for their ratification".The agreement covers about 26 percent of global trade and upwards of 40 percent of American imports and exports alone. The Obama administration has said, the TPP is "centerpiece of America's economic rebalancing and c...
(Vatican Radio) Trade Ministers from twelve Asia-Pacific nations are set to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership in Auckland, New Zealand. The White House has advocated for the deal, saying it has clear economic benefits.
Listen to Priscilla Huff's report:
Congressional leaders are looking at the Trans Pacific Partnership with a skeptical eye. Following a meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnel, the lawmakers there are concerns about the TPP that must be address before final approval.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, "It's a complicated process. We are not yet at a place where the President has forwarded the agreement to Congress for their ratification".
The agreement covers about 26 percent of global trade and upwards of 40 percent of American imports and exports alone. The Obama administration has said, the TPP is "centerpiece of America's economic rebalancing and can help boost regional integration.
But development experts say, actually, it's unlikely the average American will feel any impact of the TPP once it's ratified.
Kimberly Elliott, with the Center for Global development, said, "I think from the perspective of the overall US economy, the TPP will probably not even be discernable in terms of its economic effects. There will be some sectoral effects, some job losses in some sectors and some gains in some other sectors, but the overall impact will, I think, be quite small."
The deal took months of intricate negotiations with each of the 12 nations concerned about specific sectors such as Canadian timber and dairy or Japanese cars or labor practices in Vietnam.
Jeffery Schott of the Peterson Instititue for International Economics thinks on balance, the TPP is a good thing. "Now that doesn't mean that everybody will benefit. On balance, it's a big positive but for some communities, some industries, there will be more competition and net losses, for some workers as well."
And groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce - which represents America's largest industries support the deal even as Congressional lawmakers aren't so sure.
With recurring criticism that the deal was negotiated for the most part in secret the White House is emphasizing the next step is allowing for plenty of public comment in the U.S.
Josh Earnest said, "After that there are a couple of other steps before Congress has an opportunity to consider it. So, I'm not standing up here and suggesting that Congress should act tomorrow to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but what I am saying is that once we go through this process and that there has been an opportunity for the public to carefully consider what's included in the agreement, that we would like to see Congress act quickly on it."
President Obama would like the U.S. Congress to finish it's part of the formalization of the treaty before lawmakers head home to campaign for re-election, in early July.
But political watchers here in Washington think, the most likely time the Trans-Pacific Partnership will be fully approved in the US is in November
after the national elections.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis told consecrated men and women to never forget the beauty of their call to religious life, reminding them that the marrow of consecrated life is prayer. “And go forth! Each of us has a place, a work in the Church,” the Pope told religious men and women in St Peter’s Square, after celebrating Mass in the basilica for the end of the Year of Consecrated Life. “Today the Lord continues to call you with that love with which you were called,” he said. “Do not forget, do not forget that beauty, that wonder of the first call.” Listen to Ann Schneible's report: Pope Francis stressed the importance of prayer for consecrated persons in continuing forward. “The marrow of the consecrated life is prayer: pray! And thus to grow old, but you will grow old like a good wine!” He expressed special appreciation for elderly religious who have maintained a rich spiritual life. &ld...
Denver, Colo., Feb 3, 2016 / 12:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- More women along Colorado's Front Range will have access to affordable, life-affirming health services thanks to a new partnership between Catholic Charities of Denver and Bella Natural Women’s Care.Larry Smith, president of Denver Catholic Charities, made the announcement at the annual Beacon of Hope Gala on Jan. 30, an annual charity dinner and auction that supports women’s health centers in the Archdiocese of Denver.“By providing women in our community with truly life-giving and comprehensive medical services, regardless of their ability to pay and with the support they need, we will show them and walk with them in a way that they’ve never experienced before,” Smith said before the gala.Bella Natural Women’s Care opened just over a year ago and has served nearly 1,300 patients. The clinic specializes in nearly every areas of women’s health, including obstetrics, annual exams, gyn...
Denver, Colo., Feb 3, 2016 / 12:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- More women along Colorado's Front Range will have access to affordable, life-affirming health services thanks to a new partnership between Catholic Charities of Denver and Bella Natural Women’s Care.
Larry Smith, president of Denver Catholic Charities, made the announcement at the annual Beacon of Hope Gala on Jan. 30, an annual charity dinner and auction that supports women’s health centers in the Archdiocese of Denver.
“By providing women in our community with truly life-giving and comprehensive medical services, regardless of their ability to pay and with the support they need, we will show them and walk with them in a way that they’ve never experienced before,” Smith said before the gala.
Bella Natural Women’s Care opened just over a year ago and has served nearly 1,300 patients. The clinic specializes in nearly every areas of women’s health, including obstetrics, annual exams, gynecology, infertility treatment, menopause care, and even abortion pill reversal through “conventional and natural methods in line with Church teaching.”
Dede Chism, co-founder of the clinic, told CNA they recognized the need to expand their services and are glad to be part of the continuum of care offered by Denver Catholic Charities.
Through the partnership, Bella will provide an even greater number of women with comprehensive health care beyond pregnancy resources, regardless of their ability to pay.
This addition comes as part of Catholic Charities of Denver’s plan to expand women’s health services by forming partnerships with already existing clinics and resource centers throughout the area, as they did when they incorporated Real Choices Pregnancy Resource Center last October.
Clinics that already provide free pregnancy testing and ultrasounds, including Lighthouse Women’s Center and Real Choices, will be transformed into “satellite offices” of Bella, Chism said.
She described the situation of a woman visiting the clinics for a free ultrasound and counseling, who is then able to be connected with further services through the network of providers.
“With Bella nurse practitioners or midwives in the clinic, together with the awesome (Lighthouse or Real Choices) staff, they love and care for this woman, provide education and initial exam, she gets connected into the robust resources of (Denver) Catholic Charities,” she said. Those resources include counseling at Regina Caeli; housing, daycare, and help finding work from the Fr. Ed Judy House; or baby supplies from Gabriel House.
“What we know now is women feel whole again through this continuum of care,” Chism said. “The most important thing we can do is walk with a woman on her journey. It’s one thing to have her decide against an abortion, and another to help her plan a new life. Being able to have a close relationship, plug her in and set her up for success with the resources of Catholic Charities is beautiful.”
Smith said that the aim of the partnership is to provide women with “true alternatives” to abortion clinics.
“We have to show them hope, because the pro-abortion movement tells them there is none,” Smith said. “We want to let people know that there are true alternatives … women can receive a continuum of care that helps them appreciate their dignity in the eyes of God, and then a community that supports and walks with them throughout their pregnancy and on to the early beginnings of their family.”
Imagine a world where the name Scott Norwood evokes awe in Buffalo, not "aww, dude."...
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- A suburban Philadelphia judge hopes to decide whether to dismiss a sexual assault case against actor Bill Cosby over an unwritten promise of immunity a former prosecutor says he gave Cosby's now-deceased lawyer a decade ago....
NEW YORK (AP) -- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio denied he was micromanaging his image last year when his lawyers issued a sweeping mandate to review all public records requests that could "reflect directly on the mayor."...
