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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) In this Year of Mercy the local Church is continuing to promote initiatives to highlight this Extraordinary event in the life of the Church. Nowhere is that more evident than in the diocese of Salford in the UK.

It has decided to have four Holy Doors and is placing much importance on the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.

The Bishop of Salford, John Arnold  said that one of the ideas that they have had is a “Mercy bus”, which he explained, “is a bus which will go to the centre of some of the towns in the diocese and take the Church to the people.”

Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s interview with the Bishop of Salford, John Arnold

Traditionally the Holy Year has been based in Rome, but Bishop Arnold  said, that the Pope’s call for the year to be celebrated also by the local Church throughout the world, is a wonderful idea.

“Although it’s a wonderful idea to have a pilgrimage to Rome, quite frankly a lot of people cannot afford that, which in a sense can rather exclude them, so to be able to have pilgrimages locally… will bring a very positive reaction.”

So why is Mercy important in this day and age? The Bishop stressed that, “something that seems to be going wrong in our world is that if I’m all right my little world is good as it is and we’re forgetting about the people who are without the essentials of life.”

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Vatican City, Jan 26, 2016 / 09:28 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Tuesday Pope Francis met with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani for the first time, an encounter that focused heavily on human rights, religious freedom, and an end to the spread of terrorism.

Originally scheduled to take place in November, Rouhani’s visit was canceled at the last minute due to the Nov. 13, 2015, attacks in Paris. It also follows the lifting of international sanctions against the country after a long-anticipated nuclear agreement was reached in July. 

The Jan. 26 meeting between Francis the Iranian president took place in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, and lasted 40 minutes.

Rouhani was accompanied by a delegation of 12 persons, all of whom were men save an Iranian woman who served as one of two interpreters assisting during the encounter. Rouhani spoke in Farsi, while Pope Francis spoke in Italian.

A Vatican communique described the meeting between Francis and Rouhani as cordial, and centered largely on relations between the Holy See and Iran, the life of the Church in the country, and the actions of the Holy See in promoting the dignity of the human person and religious freedom.

Though no mention was explicitly made of Iran’s role in the Syrian and Iraq conflicts, the topic was likely a key point of discussion, as well as the condition of Christians across the Middle East.

However, the Vatican communique did note that Iran’s important role in the region in promoting “suitable political solutions to the problems afflicting the Middle East, to counter the spread of terrorism and arms trafficking” was spoken about, as well that of other countries.

“In this respect, the parties highlighted the importance of interreligious dialogue and the responsibility of religious communities in promoting reconciliation, tolerance and peace,” the communique said.

Discussion also touched on the conclusion and application of the recently-agreed to Nuclear Accord. After months of negotiation representatives of the United States, Iran, and other nations met in Vienna in July, reaching a long-awaited deal aimed at limiting Iran’s nuclear activity in exchange for the lifting of international economic sanctions.

Nuclear-related sanctions on Iran were lifted on the condition that country abides by the framework set, however, sanctions related to terrorism, human rights abuses and ballistic missiles remain.

Rouhani’s meeting with Pope Francis is part of a larger European tour that will also take him to Paris, and marks the first time an Iranian president or head of government has visited Europe since 1999.

As is customary during papal encounters with heads of state, both Francis and Rouhani exchanged gifts once their conversation was over.

Pope Francis gifted the Iranian president a large medal of St. Martin cutting off part of his cloak to give to a poor man, telling him, “it’s a sign of brotherhood.”

The Pope also gave Rouhani copies of his 2015 encyclical on the care for our common home, Laudato si'. Since it hasn’t yet been translated into Farsi, Francis gave the president copies in both Arabic and English.

For his part the Iranian president gave Francis a large tapestry, which he explained “was made by hand in the holy city of Qom,” which sits just southwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran. He also gave the Pope a large book with colorful illustrations.

As the two were headed to the door, Francis thanked Rouhani for the visit, and said that “I hope for peace.” In turn, the Iranian president asked the Pope for prayers.

After speaking with the Pope, Rouhani subsequently met with the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, as well as the Secretary of Relations with the States, Archbishop Paul Gallagher.

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By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Lent is a time of conversion and a time to deepen one's faith, demonstrating and sharing it through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, Pope Francis said.

"Faith finds expression in concrete everyday actions meant to help our neighbors in body and spirit," the pope said in his message for Lent, which begins Feb. 10 for Latin-rite Catholics.

Feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, welcoming strangers, offering instruction, giving comfort -- "on such things will we be judged," the pope wrote in the message, which was released at the Vatican Jan. 26.

Particularly during the Year of Mercy, he said, Catholics are called to recognize their own need for God's mercy, the greatness of God's love seen in the death and resurrection of Christ and the obligation to assist others by communicating God's love and mercy through words and deeds.

"The root of all sin" is thinking that one is god, something often expressed in a total preoccupation for accumulating money and power, the pope wrote. And just as individuals can be tempted to think they have no need of God, social and political systems can run the same risk, ignoring both God and the real needs of human beings.

"Love alone is the answer to that yearning for infinite happiness," Pope Francis wrote. It is the only response to the longings "that we think we can satisfy with the idols of knowledge, power and riches."

"The danger always remains that by a constant refusal to open the doors of their hearts to Christ who knocks on them in the poor," he said, "the proud, rich and powerful will end up condemning themselves and plunging into the eternal abyss of solitude which is hell."

But through acts of mercy and charity, "by touching the flesh of the crucified Jesus in the suffering," he wrote, "sinners can receive the gift of realizing that they too are poor and in need."

"In the corporal works of mercy we touch the flesh of Christ in our brothers and sisters who need to be fed, clothed, sheltered, visited," he wrote. "In the spiritual works of mercy -- counsel, instruction, forgiveness, admonishment and prayer -- we touch more directly our own sinfulness."

In the Christian life, Pope Francis said, "the corporal and spiritual works of mercy must never be separated."

Cardinal Francesco Montenegro, president of Caritas Italy and head of the archdiocese that includes the Italian island of Lampedusa, told reporters at a Vatican news conference that the pope's message, like the Bible, "does not stop simply at reaffirming that God is merciful, but clearly indicates that his children must be merciful, too, by living a greater love, especially by taking care of the little ones, the poor and defenseless."

The cardinal said that from his own experience as archbishop of Agrigento, he has seen how people's faith and joy have grown and become contagious when they not only go to Mass, but also volunteer to assist the thousands of migrants who land on Lampedusa's shore seeking safety and a better life for their families.

Msgr. Giampietro Dal Toso, secretary of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the office that promotes and coordinates Catholic charity, told reporters that Pope Francis wants to help Catholics rediscover the traditional corporal and spiritual works of mercy, which seemed to have been left on the shelf with dusty old books. Maybe, he said, "it was no longer fashionable" to preach about the daily actions of believers or maybe "our ecclesial practice has become quite institutionalized and politicized."

"The works of mercy are a very simple, concrete, direct, alive, daily, easy, accessible-to-all way of living the Jubilee of Mercy," he said. "The works of mercy describe what we as Christians can actually do every day, and that is why I find them so fascinating."

As part of Cor Unum's celebration of the Year of Mercy, he said, it has developed materials for a retreat day for people engaged in church charitable activity. The materials are online -- www.corunumjubilaeum.va -- and can be adapted for use by a group, a parish or a diocese.

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The text of the pope's message in English is available at: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/lent/documents/papa-francesco_20151004_messaggio-quaresima2016.html

The text of the message in Spanish is here: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/es/messages/lent/documents/papa-francesco_20151004_messaggio-quaresima2016.html

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Andrew Medichini, pool

By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the Vatican, Pope Francis told him he had high hopes for peace.

And while Pope Francis usually asks those he meets for their prayers, the Shiite cleric pre-empted the pope's request and said, "I ask you to pray for me."

President Rouhani, who was in Europe to build political and economic ties after Iran's historic nuclear agreement, met with the pope Jan. 26 for 40 minutes of private talks with the aid of translators. The president then had a separate meeting with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.

The recent international agreement limiting Iran's nuclear program was discussed as well as "the important role Iran is called to play with other nations in the region in promoting adequate political solutions to the problems that afflict the Middle East, opposing the spread of terrorism and arms trafficking," the Vatican said in a written communique.

When he convened a Middle East summit at the Vatican in 2014, Pope Francis had said that arms trafficking was the root cause of many problems in the region.

Also underlined during the Jan. 26 discussions were "the importance of interreligious dialogue and the responsibility of religious communities in promoting reconciliation, tolerance and peace," the Vatican communique said.

"During the cordial conversations, common spiritual values were highlighted" and "the good state of relations between the Holy See and the Islamic Republic of Iran" was recognized, the Vatican said.

Mention also was made of how the Catholic Church in Iran and the Holy See seek to promote "the dignity of the human person and religious freedom."

The small Catholic community in Iran dates back to the church's early centuries and has had a long history of living in harmony with the Muslim majority; there are some restrictions on full religious freedom, including the risk of the death penalty for those who convert from Islam.

After their closed-door meeting, Pope Francis greeted the 12-person Iranian delegation and accepted two gifts from the president.

Speaking in Persian, Rouhani said the intricately designed rug he was giving was "handmade in Qom," a city considered holy for Shiite Muslims. He also gave the pope a large book of reproductions of Persian miniatures painted by Mahmoud Farshchian, who lives in the United States.

The pope gave Rouhani a large medallion of St. Martin of Tours giving his cloak to a poor person. The pope told the president that the medallion's image depicted "a sign of selfless fraternity."

The pope also gave him a copy of his encyclical letter "Laudato Si'" and told him the document was "on the protection of creation." The pope apologized there was no translation of the document in Persian, but "I'm giving it to you in English" and he explained a copy in Arabic is online.

As the entourage was leaving the papal library, the pope told the president, "Thank you for this visit. I have high hopes for peace."

Rouhani then replied through a translator, "I ask you to pray for me," and told the pope it had been "a true pleasure" and wished him good luck with his work.

Mohammed Khatami was the last Iranian leader to meet a pope for private talks at the Vatican. In addition to his meeting with St. John Paul II in 1999, Khatami also attended St. John Paul's funeral in 2005.

While former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended a U.N. summit in Rome in 2008, he did not visit the pope or hold an official state visit with Italian leaders.

Rouhani, a former lawmaker and diplomat, was visiting Italy and France, meeting with those nation's leaders in the hopes of re-establishing stronger diplomatic and commercial ties with Europe after decades of sanctions. He ran his 2013 presidential campaign on a platform calling for greater openness, transparency and establishing trust with the wider world.

In July, Iran reached a landmark agreement with six nations, including the United States; the agreement allows U.N. inspectors to include military sites in its monitoring of Iran's nuclear activity. While a U.N. arms embargo would remain in place for the near future, other sanctions on trade and assets were to be eased.

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