Catholic News 2
BURNS, Ore. (AP) -- The FBI released video Thursday of the shooting death of a spokesman for the armed occupiers of a wildlife refuge that shows the man reaching into his jacket before he fell into the snow. The FBI said the man had a loaded gun in his pocket....
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- A woman who taught English classes at a Southern California jail was arrested Thursday on suspicion of helping three inmates - including an alleged killer - escape the lockup, and the men are believed to be riding around in a stolen van....
VIENNA (AP) -- The head of the U.N. nuclear test ban treaty organization says arch-enemies Iran and Israel are "the closest" of the eight holdout nations to ratifying the treaty and assuring the world they will never conduct a nuclear test explosion....
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Paul Kantner, an original member of the 1960s rock group Jefferson Airplane who stayed with the San Francisco-based band through its transformation from hippies to hit makers as the eventual leader of successor group Jefferson Starship, has died at age 74....
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- As his rivals made their final case to voters ahead of Iowa's kickoff caucuses, Donald Trump was headlining a show of his own....
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- It was clear, even before it started, that Thursday night's Republican presidential debate would be dramatically different....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican presidential contenders let fly with some inaccuracies when they badmouthed the Obama administration on health care, military readiness and pay for construction workers in their latest debate....
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Absent Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidates strained to take advantage of a rare opportunity to step out of the front-runner's shadow in Thursday night's debate - a staid, policy-heavy contest that offered a glimpse of what the GOP contest might have been without the unpredictable businessman....
 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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Strasbourg, France, Jan 28, 2016 / 04:37 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Europe’s leading human rights body passed a resolution on Wednesday calling ISIS atrocities a “genocide,” a week before the European Parliament will vote on a similar resolution.“States should act on the presumption that Da’ish commits genocide,” read a statement passed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. “Da’ish” is another name for the Islamic State (ISIS).The resolution passed overwhelmingly, with 117 votes for and only one against.The council is a regional group of 47 member states encompassing a population of 820 million. It is Europe’s leading promoter of human rights and democracy, as well as an important partner with the European Union. The resolution’s passage is therefore significant, as the European Parliament will vote on a similar resolution next week on the plight of religious minorities in the Middle East at the hands of I...
Strasbourg, France, Jan 28, 2016 / 04:37 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Europe’s leading human rights body passed a resolution on Wednesday calling ISIS atrocities a “genocide,” a week before the European Parliament will vote on a similar resolution.
“States should act on the presumption that Da’ish commits genocide,” read a statement passed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. “Da’ish” is another name for the Islamic State (ISIS).
The resolution passed overwhelmingly, with 117 votes for and only one against.
The council is a regional group of 47 member states encompassing a population of 820 million. It is Europe’s leading promoter of human rights and democracy, as well as an important partner with the European Union. The resolution’s passage is therefore significant, as the European Parliament will vote on a similar resolution next week on the plight of religious minorities in the Middle East at the hands of ISIS.
“It is very important to see that an international institution representing an even larger and more diverse group of countries than the EU has recognized the ongoing persecution of Christians in the Middle East as genocide,” Sophia Kuby, director of European Union advocacy for ADF International, stated after the resolution’s passage.
“We hope that members of the European Parliament will pay due regard to the clear message signaled by the votes of their colleagues in the Parliamentary Assembly,” she added.
The resolution “Foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq” condemned the recent acts of terror in France, Turkey, Lebanon, Russia, and other countries and noted the role of ISIS behind many of those attacks.
The terror group has “perpetrated acts of genocide and other serious crimes punishable under international law,” the resolution stated, adding that states “should be aware that this entails action under the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.”
Genocide is recognized as the “crime of all crimes,” and is defined as actions taken with “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” It can take the form of mass killing, torture, deprivation of vital resources, or displacement to bring about the end of a group of persons.
A genocide resolution is significant because it would further pressure the United Nations Security Council to issue a genocide resolution of its own. The council would have the power to refer the case to the International Criminal Court (ICC), where the perpetrators would be tried.
“Although the path is difficult, the aim must be to achieve a world-wide condemnation of the atrocities of ISIS at the ICC, just as happened with Srebrenica and Rwanda, so Christians in the Middle East can live free from the fear of persecution and death,” Sophia Kuby stated in an interview.
Pope Francis, during his trip to South America in July, said that Middle Eastern Christians face genocide.
“Today we are dismayed to see how in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world many of our brothers and sisters are persecuted, tortured and killed for their faith in Jesus,” he said, adding that “in this third world war, waged piecemeal, which we are now experiencing, a form of genocide is taking place, and it must end.”
The U.S. has not yet formally declared genocide, although the State Department recently was expected to issue a genocide designation for ISIS atrocities committed against Yazidis in Iraq. Christians, Shi’a Muslims, and other religious minorities were reportedly not going to be included as victims of genocide.
However, genocide resolutions have been introduced in the U.S. House and Senate, recognizing Christians and other ethnic and religious minorities as victims of ISIS atrocities. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan federal commission that advises the U.S. State Department, has also called on the government to issue a genocide declaration recognizing Christians, Shi’a Muslims, and other ethnic and religious minorities as genocide victims.
Photo credit: Oleg Zabielin via www.shutterstock.com
