Catholic News 2

Full Article

 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.
---
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
# # #
MEDIA CONTACT
Don Clemmer
O: 202-541-3206

Full Article

Washington D.C., Jan 26, 2016 / 01:22 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Supreme Court of the United States on Monday declined to hear a case that overturned North Dakota’s limits on abortion to before a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

A state pro-life group expressed its disapproval.

“It is disappointing that the United States Supreme Court has once again failed to recognize the human rights of unborn children,” North Dakota Right to Life stated Jan. 25 in response to the Court’s refusal.

The refusal left in place July’s ruling by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld a district court decision striking down the abortion law.

In 2013, the state’s legislature had passed a general ban on abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, around six weeks of gestation. Under the law, a physician would have to determine there is no fetal heartbeat before performing an abortion.

A district court ruled the law unconstitutional and the Eighth Circuit Court upheld that ruling in July.

“Having a heartbeat is a universal sign of life, and all human beings with heartbeats should have legal protection,” North Dakota Right to Life stated. “This is especially disconcerting on the anniversary of the mistakes of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton.” Those decisions on January 22, 1973 recognized a woman’s legal right to have an abortion.

At issue is the point in a pregnancy when a fetus is determined to be viable. The state referred to the opinion of an obstetrician who concluded viability at a fetal heartbeat, around six weeks. The plaintiffs in the suit quoted two medical experts who claimed a fetus is viable much later, around 24 weeks.

The Eighth Circuit had cited previous Supreme Court precedent in Roe and in Planned Parenthood v. Casey to conclude that it could not overturn the district court’s decision.

According to the decision, the Court had previously ruled that the viability of a baby is the point at which it can survive outside the mother’s womb, albeit with artificial support; the North Dakota law had conflicted with that ruling because it determined viability at a much earlier stage. Thus, it was a violation of a woman’s constitutional right to have an abortion before viability.

“Just as we are bound by the Supreme Court’s assumption of Casey’s principles, we are also bound by the Court’s statement that viability is the time ‘when, in the judgment of the attending physician on the particular facts of the case before him, there is a reasonable likelihood of the fetus’ sustained survival outside the womb, with or without artificial support’,” the court decided.

However, the circuit court decision added, “good reasons exist for the Court to reevaluate its jurisprudence.”

Firstly, the Court had detracted too much from the states’ interest in protecting unborn human life. Also, scientific and technical advances since the Roe decision have allowed for greater exploration and knowledge of unborn human life.

Full Article

By Jessica Trygstad

ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) -- Catholic youths from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis were among those stuck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike overnight on the way home from the annual March for Life in Washington.

And they had stories to tell that include attending an impromptu roadside Mass complete with a snow altar.

"Each trip has something in it, but this one will be hard to forget," said Jack Dorcey, a chaperone from St. Pius X Parish in White Bear Lake.

The Minnesota buses carrying about 130 people left Washington after the march Jan. 22, but didn't beat the storm that slammed much of the East Coast. At 8 p.m., they came to a stop on the Pennsylvania Turnpike -- about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh, and hunkered down for the night. Traffic was at a standstill after a tractor- trailer jackknifed near a mountain tunnel and snow continued to accumulate on roads before the accident was cleared.

Bill Dill, from the archdiocesan Office of Marriage, Family and Life, said the group had plenty of snacks and fuel, but several people ventured out the next morning to get water. That's when they noticed many buses from the march and struck up conversations with fellow pro-life advocates, many of whom were Catholic.

"You can imagine the fraternity among these people," he told The Catholic Spirit, the archdiocesan newspaper.

While meeting up with others also stuck on the road, Dorcey met a priest from the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska, who suggested they have a Mass.

Students already were playing in the snow, so Dill and Dorcey asked them to make an altar, which was no small feat in the powdery snow.

The students from Epiphany Church in Coon Rapids used pro-life signs from the march as shovels and then packed the snow for the altar so it wouldn't collapse. Once complete, they also laid the signs across the altar so that nothing would tip over. Using sticks, they made a cross to place against what they dubbed "John Paul the Great Hillside Chapel."

"No one diocese had everything they needed to have a Mass. We didn't have a priest or hosts, but we had the inspiration," Dorcey said. "Omaha had vestments, but not a Mass kit. It all came together within an hour. You could see and feel that the spirit was there."

Dill and his wife, Tiffany, walked along the roadside inviting people to Mass, which was celebrated by Father Pat Behm from the Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa, and concelebrated by at least six other priests. Dorcey estimates about 600 people from a handful of states attended.

"People just started filing in. It was really cool to look on both sides and see people just streaming in to come to Mass," said Dorcey, who offered his umbrella during Mass to protect the Eucharist from the snow. Pat Millea, high school faith formation director at St. Michael in Prior Lake, played music.

Before the Mass, Dill said one of the priests notified the local diocese, Altoona-Johnstown, of their plans considering the unusual circumstances and canon law requirements.

Dorcey said Mass was quick, but everybody was able to receive Communion. By the end of Mass, the buses were starting to move. When they left, someone stuck a pro-life sign in the middle of the altar to commemorate the occasion.

The group got back to St. Paul around 3:45 p.m. Jan. 24 and their trip officially ended with a Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul, celebrated by Father John Ubel, the rector.

Reflecting on the experience, Dorcey said: "Everything that happened ... you could just feel God's presence right there."

He said that group leaders had discouraged the students from bringing their cellphones, but technology ultimately spread their pro-life message.

One girl used Twitter to share details about their roadside Mass. Soon after, a news station from the Twin Cities contacted her, and word spread from there.

Other March for Life groups stuck on the Pennsylvania highway included students from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, and Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and three buses from the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Maria Schuette, director of religious education and youth ministry for the Diocese of Green Bay, who was interviewed by phone Jan. 23 from one of the buses, described the delay as another opportunity for the group "to practice what it means to be pro-life.

The diocesan pilgrims: parish youth groups members, Catholic high school students and chaperones, turned the negative experience into a positive, she told The Compass, Green Bay's diocesan newspaper.

"We have been taking in strangers, people whose cars ran out of fuel," she said. "It's definitely been like a God moment for us."

Schuette said students provided people with bottled water and invited them to use the bathrooms on the bus or simply get warm.

"They have kind of made the most of the situation," she added. "They've gotten out, cleaned off visitors' cars, shared food and had snowball fights."

Danny Stewart, 17, a junior at Notre Dame Academy in Green Bay who had participated in his first March for Life, viewed the snow delay in philosophical terms. "A pilgrimage is like an adventure and you're going to experience times that are difficult," he said. "This is part of the difficult time so far. It's just crazy."

Through a March for Life Facebook page, the group had been able to keep in contact with family and friends during their ordeal.

Schuette said prayers from families and other people who are following their trip were helpful. "We have really felt the prayers through the whole pilgrimage. We couldn't have done it without them."

She also said it was an opportunity for the group to pray for others.

"All the kids stepped up," she said, noting that they prayed the rosary not only for their own rescue, but for the safety of national guardsmen, the highway patrol and fellow travelers.

Another group, four busloads of pilgrims from the Diocese of Kansas City- St. Joseph, Missouri, were especially grateful that their chartered bus service figured out how to find a spot off the road with hot food and shelter.

The group of 160, including students, deacons, chaperones and eight priests, avoided the standstill traffic by taking a detour and arriving at American Legion Post 113 in Bedford, some 23 miles to the east, where they had a warm meal and slept on the hall's floors before resuming their trip the next day.

"It's very, very scenic right now," one of the pilgrims, Michael Aberer, told Catholic News Service Jan. 23.

- - -

Trygstad is assistant editor of The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Contributing to this report was Sam Lucero in Green Bay and Kurt Jensen in Washington.

- - -

Copyright © 2016 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article