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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 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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(Vatican Radio) America Magazine’s Editor-at-Large, Fr. James Martin, SJ, is in Rome this week for a series of appointments, including a briefing for journalists at the US Embassy to the Holy See (the proceedings were off the record) and the closing Vespers for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Fr. Martin took time out of his packed schedule to visit Vatican Radio, and spoke with us about a broad range of topics, from the power and perils of social media, to the right disposition of Catholic citizens in public discourse, to the profoundly Ignatian forma mentis of Pope Francis.

Click below to hear Fr. James Martin, SJ's extended conversation with Vatican Radio

Asked about what it was like to see a little history being made in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, where on Monday, Jan. 25^th, 2016, Pope Francis unexpectedly and in one of his unscripted moments took the unprecedented step of inviting the representative of the Ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, Archbishop Gennadios, and the representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury at Rome, Anglican Archbishop Sir David Moxon, to join him in giving the final blessing, Fr. Martin said, “My first thought was, ‘This looks fantastic!’ and then my second thought was, ‘I wonder if this has ever happened before?’ because I’ve not been in Rome [often] and I thought, ‘maybe this is the tradition, that the Pope invites two people – but something told me that this was very unusual,” he said. “It was very beautiful,” he continued, “beautiful visually, and beautiful theologically.”

If theologians of various stripes will be debating the significance of that gesture for some time to come, it is certain that Pope Francis has, by word and deed, garnered and kept a great deal of interest both in Catholic circles and in the broader secular media. We asked Fr. Martin what the source of Pope Francis’ stylistic liberty might be, and he answered with something that might fairly be described as a key to interpreting Francis’ language.

“I think that many people are unaware that much of what he says is Ignatian spirituality – in terms of freedom, detachment – even the ‘discernment’ that happened during the Synod – that’s a Jesuit word,” he explained, one that comes into the Jesuit spiritual lexicon from the broader Christian tradition and there acquires a particular strength of significance. “He’s doing it in language that people can understand,” rather than merely quoting directly and at length from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.

The Pope has enjoyed a good deal of good will in world press and media, of which some in both Catholic and secular circles are perhaps suspicious, even as people who do not share all or even some of the Church’s basic presuppositions continue to be attracted by Francis.

“One of the things I get angry about sometimes,” said Fr. Martin, “is when people say that it’s terrible that Francis is doing things in a new way, and look at all these people who are being attracted to the Church – they’re being attracted just because of Francis.” He went on to say, “We need to be happy that people are attracted to the Church for any reason – then the challenge is to keep them there, and it’s not about Francis, and it’s not about John Paul, and it’s not about Benedict (each of whom attracted people to the Church in different ways and for different reasons) – it’s about Jesus Christ, and I think [all three of the aforementioned] would agree about that.”

Fr. Martin’s mention of anger offered an opportunity to turn the conversation to the US Presidential election season. With more than 60 million citizens who self-identify as Catholic, the “Catholic vote” within the US electorate is sometimes viewed as a prize for which to contend. Catholics, however, find themselves increasingly on different sides of hot-button political and social issues. We asked Fr. Martin what he thinks it is important for Catholics, especially, to remember as they enter the election season with their fellow citizens.

“Always give people the benefit of the doubt,” he said. “Always speak charitably, always speak lovingly: never name-call, never – in the case of [intra-Catholic conversation] – call into question someone’s faith, and in the case of politics, someone’s patriotism.” “[That] we should always give people the benefit of the doubt,” Fr. Martin explained, is a good paraphrase of the idea that St. Ignatius places at the forefront of his Spiritual Exercises. “In the Church, and in the State, too, it is always good to remember that people are trying their best – and even if they’re not trying their best, [it’s good] not to assume that [they aren’t]: always to approach people – as Jesus did – with an open heart – I think that’s a good thing to remember as we move into this somewhat contentious season.”

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Vatican City, Jan 27, 2016 / 01:32 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation on family life following last year's synod will be published in March, says Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Family.

In an interview with the Portuguese Catholic agency Ecclesia, Archbishop Paglia said that the Pope will release the document in March 2016, and that it will “show that the Church is close to families in all stages of their lives.”

“I am convinced that the Apostolic Exhortation will be a hymn to love, to a love that will care for the well-being of children, that is open to wounded families who need strength, that wants to be close to the elder, a love that the whole of humanity needs,” Paglia said.

The Italian archbishop is leading a week-long conference for the Catholic clergy of Portugal's Southern ecclesiastic provinces under the title “Family: Centrality, Renewal and Continuity.”

The apostolic exhortation will be the conclusion of a multi-year synod process. In 2014 the Vatican hosted an Extraordinary Synod which was in preparation for the October 2015 Ordinary Synod. An estimated 190 bishops from around the world participated in each gathering.

The 2015 synod, which the Pope’s exhortation is expected to focus on, was themed “the vocation and mission of the family in the church and the modern world.”

The synods were surrounded by controversy, with hot-button topics of ministry to homosexuals and the divorced-and-remarried dominating media coverage.

Discussion in the synod hall also touched on such issues as marriage preparation, pornography, and domestic violence and abuse.

The apostolic exhortation is expected to be based on the final report from the synod, which was released Oct. 24. That report reflected collegiality among the bishops, though two of the 94 paragraphs were included by only a slim margin.

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MARRAKESH, Morocco (CNS) -- Muslim leaders from around the world adopted a declaration defending the rights of religious minorities in predominantly Muslim countries.

Participants said the Marrakesh Declaration, developed during a Jan. 25-27 conference, was based on the Medina Charter, a constitutional contract between the Prophet Muhammad and the people of Medina. The declaration said the charter, instituted 1,400 years ago, guaranteed the religious liberty of all, regardless of faith.

The conference included Muslim leaders from more than 120 countries, representatives of persecuted religious communities -- including Chaldean Catholics from Iraq -- and government officials.

The declaration said "conditions in various parts of the Muslim world have deteriorated dangerously due to the use of violence and armed struggle as a tool for settling conflicts and imposing one's point of view," which has enabled criminal groups to issue edicts that "alarmingly distort" Islam's "fundamental principles and goals."

"It is unconscionable to employ religion for the purpose of aggressing upon the rights of religious minorities in Muslim countries," the declaration said.

It called on:

-- Muslim scholars "to develop a jurisprudence of the concept of 'citizenship' which is inclusive of diverse groups."

-- Muslim educational institutions to review their curricula to address material that "instigates aggression and extremism, leads to war and chaos, and results in the destruction of our shared societies."

-- Politicians and leaders to take necessary steps to legally "fortify relations and understanding among the various religious groups in the Muslim world."

-- All members of society "to establish a broad movement for the just treatment of religious minorities in Muslim countries and to raise awareness as to their rights, and to work together to ensure the success of these efforts."

-- Religious groups to remove "selective amnesia that blocks memories of centuries of joint and shared living on the same land."

The declaration said cooperation must be based on "A Common Word," a statement issued in 2007 and originally signed by 138 Muslim scholars and endorsed later by dozens of other Muslim leaders. Addressed to then-Pope Benedict XVI and the heads of other Christian churches, the statement called for new efforts at Christian-Muslim dialogue based on the shared belief in the existence of one God, in God's love for humanity and in people's obligation to love one another.

With such a large percentage of the world's population belonging to the Christian or Muslim faith, the Common Word scholars insisted "the future of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christians."

"The basis for this peace and understanding already exists. It is part of the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the one God, and love of the neighbor," it said.

"Muslims, Christians and Jews should be free to each follow what God commanded them, and not have 'to prostrate before kings and the like,'" the Common Word statement said, insisting that "justice and freedom of religion are a crucial part" of the love of neighbor called for both in the Quran and the Bible.

The 50 non-Muslim religious leaders at the Marrakesh conference shared concerns over violence in the name of religion, limitations of citizenship, restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, and xenophobia, especially Islamophobia by members of their religions; reaffirmed values shared with Muslims; and asked forgiveness for past and current injuries for which their communities are complicit.

Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, provided the public report from the interfaith observers at the conference.

"I was privileged to have listened to the declaration of our final gathering. It is truly a great document, one that will influence our times and our history. It is a document that our world has been waiting for and a tribute to the Muslim scholars who prepared it. As one of the People of the Book, I thank you for this document and I thank the Lord God who has provided his followers the courage to prepare this document.

"I will be honored as an observer to support it," he said.

Organizers of the conference said they hoped to encourage Muslim nations to adopt the declaration as formal Islamic law.

The conference was led by Sheik Abdallah Bin Bayyah, president of the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies based in United Arab Emirates. It was held under the auspices of King Mohammed VI of Morocco and was organized by the country's Ministry of Endowment and Islamic Affairs and the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies.

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