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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) The rector of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Fatima, Portugal has announced that the shrine “will be reopened” on February 2nd, the day on which the Church celebrates the Presentation of the Lord at the Temple.

In a press release, Father Carlos Cabecinhas added that renovations have led to a “substantial benefit” for the faithful who wish to pay their respects and pray at the graves of Blesseds Francisco and Jacinta Marto near the main altar.

Until now, Fr. Cabecinhas admitted, “the path that led to the graves of the little shepherds was fairly tricky.”  But from now on, he stressed, new arrangements mean the burial places will be more easily accessed by people, and allow them to spend some moments in prayer beside them as well.  

According to the Catholic news agency SIR, the bishop of Leiria-Fatima, mgr. António Marto, will celebrate Mass on 2 February, during which “a completely new altar” designed by sculptor Bruno Marques will be consecrated.

 Fr. Cabecinhas explained that following the reopening of the Basilica, the celebration of three daily Masses will resume for pilgrims.  Begun in 1928, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary was designed by Dutch architect Gerard Van Kriechen and built by Portuguese architect João Antunes.  Consecrated on 7th October 1953,  it is 70.5 metres long and 37 metres wide. The Basilica was dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary by Pope Pius XII through the brief pontifical document, “Luce Superna” on 11th November 1954.

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(Vatican Radio) The Horn of Africa is currently experiencing an intense drought brought on in significant part by the el Niño weather phenomenon, which is often followed by the la Niña phenomenon, creating a cycle of drought and flooding, which climatologists say is made more intense and more frequent by climate change. Millions of people are already affected, many of whom in the largely agriculture-based societies and economies of the region face a total and permanent loss of their livelihood.

A senior technical officer with the FAO emergency and rehabilitation division, Neil Marsland, told Vatican Radio his organization urgently needs help to carry out its mission of helping vulnerable people predict, prepare for, and protect themselves against these increasingly intense phenomena and preserve their way of life. “These weather patterns – what’s going on is creating huge challenges for these agricultural systems, and what we need to do as an international, as national and as local communities, is make these [vulnerable] communities more resilient to the effects of extreme climate,” Marsland said.

Click below to hear the FAO's Neil Marsland speak with Chris Altieri

He went on to detail a four-pillared program of prediction, preparation, insulation and relief/support, spearheaded by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization in partnership with the UN’s World Food Program and other international, government, and civil society actors.

The FAO and partners are currently experiencing an increasingly critical shortage of funding, however.

The FAO has recently launched an appeal for $50 million to implement a three-pronged plan to help protect the lives and livelihoods of Ethiopian farmers, and raisers of livestock – an appeal that comes at a time when international donor funds are already under considerable stress from the broad array of major crises around the world.

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The delegate of Pope Francis to the 51st International Eucharistic Congress in the Philippines has called on Christians to wage a third world war against poverty by committing themselves to justice and devoting time to help the poor.  "The Eucharist calls for a third world war," Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon, Myanmar, told thousands of people gathered for the opening Mass of the international gathering in Cebu City in the central Philippines on Sunday.   The Jan 24-31 International Eucharistic Congress has as its theme, “‎ “Christ in You, Our Hope of Glory.”   

Cardinal Bo lamented that while dogs get sumptuous organic food, more children have no food on the table, while more weapons are produced, more than half a billion don't have enough food.   Myanmar’s first ever cardinal cited data from the United Nations Children's Fund saying some 20,000 people die of starvation and malnutrition everyday.  Cardinal Bo said described malnutrition and starvation as "mass genocide," adding that in an unequal and uncaring world, "the Eucharist calls us to justice" because the Eucharist and poverty are inseparable.  "The Eucharist is a beacon of human dignity for the poor," he said, adding "no other religion elevates the poor to this level," he said.

Cardinal Bo emphasized the need to proclaim the "Gospel of life" in the streets while warning against the dangers posed by abortion, death penalty, and euthanasia.   "Devotion,” he said, “is good but not enough." "Christ is calling us to be disciples to carry his cross," he said.  Real fasting, he said “is breaking the chains of injustice" by removing oppression, sharing food with the hungry, and sheltering the homeless.  (Source: UCAN)

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The newly-installed bishop of Macau has called on local Catholics to unite and live out the Catholic faith and the Chinese values for the well-being of society.   Bishop Stephen Lee Bun-sang, former Auxiliary Bishop of Hong Kong, was installed the new bishop of Macau on Saturday at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady in Macau, which was packed with more than 1,000 Catholics, including people from Hong Kong and China's Guangdong province.  It was timed to mark the 440th anniversary of the establishment of Macao Diocese. 

Pope Francis on Jan. 16 appointed Bishop Lee as the bishop of Macau, replacing Bishop Jose Lai of Macao who stepped down due to ill health. Hong Kong,  a former British territory, and Macau a former Portuguese territory, reverted to China in 1997 and 1999.   Both have a high degree ‎of autonomy because of their Special Administrative Region status.

At the end of the Mass, 59-year old Bishop Lee told the faithful that as a newcomer to the diocese, he could not talk any plans now, but hoped the faithful would unite as his episcopal coat of arms reads: "ut omnes unum sint" - "that they all may be one".  He said he would visit all the parishes and to listen to views on how to promote evangelization and cultural exchanges in the diocese.  Bishop Lee told reporters after the Mass that it was also important for Catholics in Macau to spread the Chinese values of “cultivating oneself, putting family in order, governing the state, and pacifying the world”, quoting the Chinese “Confucian Analects”. The families and marriages, education and young people’s formation are of his concerns, he added, and for the well-being of the society.  (Source: UCAN/AsiaNews)

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By Carol Zimmermann

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A growing number of U.S. public school districts are combining lessons in world religions with U.S. government and politics as they grapple with closing schools for religious holidays.

"The question is not should we do it. We have to do it to live with one another. How do we do it is the question," said Charles Haynes, director of the Religious Freedom Center of the Newseum Institute in Washington.

And that's the million-dollar question not only for Haynes, who has written extensively about religion in public schools, but for many school districts across the country with diverse populations and religious groups seeking fair recognition.

Although the First Amendment's establishment clause bars officials from closing public schools on religious holidays to accommodate religion, it allows them to close if it will serve a legitimate secular or educational purpose. A percentage of student absences to observe a religious holiday is viewed as a legitimate factor, he said.

For decades, public school districts in New York and Maryland have been closed for major Jewish holy days for this reason. Public schools, first started by Protestants, Haynes points out, have always been closed for Christmas and are often closed near Easter. In Maryland, state law requires public schools to be closed on Christmas, Good Friday and Easter Monday.

Maryland's Montgomery County school officials found what they thought was a compromise to school closure on Jewish holy days by simply labeling the days off as professional days, but that did not sit well with many in the community.

The county school board also recently moved one of its professional days to give students a day off next fall for Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.

Last year, New York City public schools announced they would close for the observance of two Muslim holy days, becoming the first city to do so.

Muslim holy days have long been school holidays in areas such as Dearborn, Michigan, and at least five other school districts in the country, including Cambridge, Massachusetts; Burlington, Vermont; and two New Jersey districts.

But as the number of members of different religious groups expands across the United States, the inevitable question is raised: If Christians and Jewish holy days can be school holidays, why not recognize Muslim, or for that matter Hindu or Sikh, holy days?

That's exactly what another Maryland county recently debated. In mid-January, school board members in Howard County voted unanimously to give public school students days off on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, the eve of Lunar New Year and the Hindu holiday of Diwali, in addition to two Jewish holy days. The county schools will continue to be closed on Jewish holy days of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah.

"We're in a different America," Haynes told Catholic News Service Jan. 20, noting the shift from a predominantly Christian country to one with many religions, or no religion, who are finding their voice in the public square and asking: "Why aren't we at the table, too, and treated with more respect?"

"In many ways, public schools are a microcosm of the public square," he added, noting that the process of working out who gets on the school calendar simply reflects changes in society at large.

Some argue that many schools already provide excused absences for religious observances, so what more is needed? Haynes' response is that many students do not want to be absent from school -- maybe they want a perfect attendance record or want to keep up with their studies.

He also notes that it is a complicated issue because many people think the school boards are going too far and others, such as those with no religion, which is a large group, may not want the days off at all.

But even with the tricky balance school boards are working to achieve with their academic calendars, Haynes believes it is worth the effort. He notes that religious diversity can be messy, but when it is recognized, there is "more protection for religious freedom."

He also thinks public schools should take this a step further and teach students about religions -- including religious holidays ?- so students will have more understanding of one another.

This is nothing new to Catholics and Catholic schools. The Second Vatican Council document "Nostra Aetate," which outlines the relationship between the Catholic Church and non-Christian religions, also called for dialogue and collaboration with people of other faiths.

Teaching students about other faiths has "tremendous value," said Mickie Abatemarco, assistant director for professional development with the National Catholic Educational Association.

Abatemarco, who taught religion at Good Counsel High School in White Plains, New York, said her students not only had the chance to learn about other faiths but to work side by side with people of other faiths in service projects.

Such experiences, she said, broadened their understanding of one another from just sound bites or what they might pick up from movies or television.

And as she put it: "Understanding each other is huge."

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Follow Zimmermann on Twitter: @carolmaczim.

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