Catholic News 2

 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)  European Council President Donald Tusk has warned there are just two months left to prevent the possible collapse of EU’s passport free Schengen Zone amid Europe’s biggest refugees crisis since World War Two. He spoke shortly after several EU countries and Serbia warned of tougher border controls, while several nations expressed opposition towards an EU plan to divide refugees among member states.

Listen to Stefan Bos' report:

The president of the EU’s European Council, Donald Tusk told European law makers that the 28-nation block has just two months to sort out its migration policy. He acknowledged that the EU spent most of last year to cope with the arrival of more than 1 million refugees but that few were having a real impact.

Referring to comments made by the Dutch prime minister, Tusk expressed concerns about the future of the EU’s passport-free travel area, known as the Schengen Zone.  “I share the sentiments of prime minister [Mark] Rutte that we have no more than two months to get things under control,” Tusk said. 

He stressed that a summit of EU leaders in Brussels on March 17-18 "will be the last moment to see if our strategy works." Tusk warned that "if it doesn't, we will face grave consequences such as the collapse of Schengen."

Tougher controls

His remarks came while several countries announced tougher border controls. Austria's interior ministry said Tuesday it would tighten entry requirements later this week for migrants.  Only those seeking asylum in Austria or neighboring Germany will be allowed to enter the country.

That prompted foreign ministers from Slovenia and nearby Serbia to warn that if Austria scales down the influx of refugees, it would cause a domino effect and collapse down the so-called Balkan migrant corridor. Serbia also said that migrants won't be allowed to return to Serbia if turned back elsewhere.

Additionally representatives of neighboring Hungary as well as the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia, known as the Visegrad Four group, said Tuesday they rejected a plan to distribute as many as 160,000 migrants fleeing war and poverty among the EU member states.

Hungary and Slovakia have already challenged the EU plan in court. It remains unclear whether the European Union is united enough to overcome these sharp differences.

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(Vatican Radio)  Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, addressed the UN Security Council on Tuesday, calling for the protection of civilians in armed conflict and thanking frontline countries for their aid to persons in conflict zones.

He reminded the Security Council of the disastrous effects of conflict on civilians, including children casualities, distruction of schools and hospitals, and deprivation of food.

Archbishop Auza then asked the Council to consider six points crucial to the Holy See's call for the elimination of violence against civilians:

1. First, this barbarity must be denounced by all without exception and in the strongest possible terms;
2. Second, the international community must do all it can to stop these heinous crimes, including the legitimate use of force to stop mass atrocities and war crimes;
3. Third, the tools at the disposal of this Council and of the international community to protect civilians in armed conflict and bring perpetrators to justice must be enhanced and further strengthened where necessary;
4. Fourth, the international community and individual States must have the will and readiness to use these tools;
5. Fifth, those responsible must be held accountable;
6. Sixth, civilian populations who have been affected by mass atrocities and war crimes deserve all the help we can and must provide.

He also expressed Pope Francis' gratitude to the frontline countries who have shown solidariety and fraternity to persons in conflict zones. "The Pope explicitly thanks Lebanon and Jordan, as well as the frontline countries of Italy, Greece and Turkey for all their efforts and commitments to save lives and ease the suffering. These countries need the help of the entire international community to face the challenges posed by massive movements of refugees and migrants."

The full text of Archbishop Auza's address is below:

Intervention of H.E. Archbishop Bernardito Auza

Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations

United Nations Security Council Open Debate on The Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict

New York, 19 January 2016

Mr. President,

My delegation wishes to thank the Presidency of Uruguay for bringing the question of the protection of civilians in armed conflict to the attention of the international community. One of the saddest developments in the evolution of armed conflicts is that more and more victims are innocent civilians. In the early 1900s, around 5 percent of fatalities were civilians, while in the 1990s, over 90 percent of the fatalities were non-combatants. And it continues to get worse: All the reports and studies on this theme during the last six months, in particular the June 2015 Report of the Secretary-General on the Protection  of Civilians in Armed Conflict, unanimously affirm that the deliberate targeting of and indiscriminate attacks on civilians are still increasing.

The consequences are there for the whole world to see: huge civilian casualties including many children; massive population displacements; the refugee and migration crisis; the intentional destruction of civilian infrastructure like schools and medical facilities; the use of civilians as weapons of war by depriving them, inter alia, of food and other basic necessities; a total disregard for the safety of humanitarian workers and journalists; and other clear violations of international humanitarian law.

The  whole  international  community  is  implicated  in  these  heinous  crimes  in  one  way  or another, by our silence and indifference, for instance, and by the fact that the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the slaughter of innocent civilians are perpetrated with weapons manufactured and supplied by the industrial engines of the world, and sold on the open or black market or given or loaned to client states. The extent of responsibility goes well beyond those directly massacring civilians. Nobody  can  remain  indifferent  before  this  ongoing  tragedy.  We  must  act  with  the  utmost urgency:

First, this barbarity must be denounced by all without exception and in the strongest possible terms; Second, the international community must do all it can to stop these heinous crimes, including the legitimate use of force to stop mass atrocities and war crimes; Third, the tools at the disposal of this Council and of the international community to protect civilians in armed conflict and bring perpetrators to justice must be enhanced and further strengthened where necessary; Fourth, the international community and individual States must have the will and readiness to use these tools; Fifth, those responsible must be held accountable; Sixth, civilian populations who have been affected by mass atrocities and war crimes deserve all the help we can and must provide.

Mr. President,

Pope Francis, in his January 11, 2016 Address to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See gave voice to the victims of wars, saying: “We hear Rachel weeping for her children who are no more. Hers is the plea of thousands of people who weep as they flee horrific wars, persecutions and human rights violations, or political or social instability, which often make it impossible for them to live in their native lands. It is the outcry of those forced to flee in order to escape unspeakable acts of cruelty towards vulnerable persons such as children and the disabled, or martyrdom solely on account of their religion.”

In the name of Pope Francis, my delegation wishes to convey profound gratitude to countries, communities and individuals who are extending hands of solidarity and fraternity in the midst of so much human suffering. The Pope explicitly thanks Lebanon and Jordan, as well as the frontline countries of Italy, Greece and Turkey for all their efforts and commitments to save lives and ease the suffering. These countries need the help of the entire international community to face the challenges posed by massive movements of refugees and migrants.

Mr. President,

There is a panoply of interdependent problems that can only be resolved by establishing peace through dialogue and negotiations. We are encouraged by progress towards finding political solutions to some of the most violent conflicts in the Middle East. Care  for the civilians caught in the crossfire and used as weapons of war calls for full support for ongoing dialogue and negotiations. Peace achieved through these means is our best guarantee to avoid resorting to war again.

The  use  of  civilians  as  weapons  of  war  represents  the  worst  of  human  behavior.  The international  community  should  show  itself  at  its  best  by  conquering  evil  with  good,  by beating  our  swords  into  ploughshares  and  our  spears  into  pruning  hooks,  by  combatting indifference with solidarity, and by rising above narrow national and geopolitical interests to spare all of us from the scourge of wars.

Thank you, Mr. President. 

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Washington D.C., Jan 20, 2016 / 12:57 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Beneath the pro-life/pro-choice divide in the U.S., there is a significant consensus favoring abortion restrictions, according to a new Marist poll commissioned by the Knights of Columbus.

“Although the issue is often a very polarizing issue politically, what we found is that it is not a polarized issue,” Barbara Carvalho, director of the Marist Poll, said at the National Press Club on Jan. 19, announcing the poll results.

“The debate is too often reduced to the percentage who identify with the labels ‘pro-life’ or ‘pro-choice’,” said Patrick Kelly of the Knights of Columbus and executive director of the St. John Paul II National Shrine.

“What we have found each year is that the split over the labels masks a very real consensus, a consensus of Americans who favor substantial restrictions on abortion. A consensus who sees abortion as morally wrong and ultimately harmful to women,” he added.

The Knights released the poll results on Tuesday in advance of the Jan. 22 National March for Life, remembering the 43rd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that decided a woman’s legal right to have an abortion.

Over 80 percent of poll respondents – including almost two-thirds of identified pro-choice respondents – supported limiting abortions to the first trimester of pregnancy. This high level of support has remained about the same since 2008 when the Knights conducted their first poll on this issue.

That number is “the real story,” noted Andrew Walther, vice president of communications and strategic planning for the Knights of Columbus, at the National Press Club. It is a “much better metric in terms of where the American people are than simply terms like pro-life and pro-choice,” he said.

While polls like Gallup might reveal how many Americans identify as pro-life or pro-choice, the Marist poll has “gone deeper” and explored public opinion on various positions, Carvalho explained.

Pro-life and pro-choice respondents showed consensus on other positions too. Sixty-eight percent overall opposed public funding of abortions with tax dollars, and 51 percent of pro-choice respondents supported that.

While it is illegal for federal tax dollars to pay for elective abortions, recent heightened scrutiny has led to efforts to block federal funding of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. A defunding bill passed both the House and Senate as part of a budget bill that was vetoed by President Obama.

In the poll, 61 percent supported an abortion ban after 20 weeks of pregnancy except in cases where the mother’s life is in danger – a position that 62 percent of pro-choice respondents supported. The U.S. House passed a 20-week abortion ban in May but the effort failed in the Senate in September.  

Fifty-five percent said that abortion “ultimately does a woman more harm than good” compared to just 30 percent who disagreed. Sixty percent said it is “morally wrong.”

“The real debate over abortion is not an intractable one over labels that correspond to hardened positions,” Kelly said. “Rather, it is a broad and often overlooked consensus in favor of substantial restrictions on abortion.”

Millennials also supported pro-life positions, although not as much as everyone else. Seventy-six percent favored restricting abortions to the first trimester, about two-thirds opposed taxpayer funding of abortions, and 62 percent supported a 20-week abortion ban.

More than 1,600 adults nationwide were surveyed between Nov. 15-22 by the Marist Institute of Public Opinion. The margin of error for the poll was 2.4 percentage points.

 

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