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New York City, N.Y., Jan 18, 2016 / 10:21 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Timothy Dolan has marked the upcoming anniversary of Roe v. Wade with a reflection encouraging the pro-life movement to remember the importance of mercy and to see the opportunity to reach those who do not identify as pro-life.

The Archbishop of New York said the pro-life cause backs “an essential moral vision that lifts up every human person.”

“Genuine progress must be progress for all, beginning with those most vulnerable who cannot speak for themselves,” he said in a Jan. 14 message. “May God bless our efforts to uphold human life!”

The cardinal cited Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium. There, the Pope said the defense of the unborn is “closely linked to the defense of each and every other human right … It is not ‘progressive’ to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life.”

Cardinal Dolan heads the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-life Activities. His statement comes ahead of the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that mandated permissive abortion laws nationwide.

“Abortion itself, despite the endorsement of our highest legal tribunal and many political and cultural elites, is as controversial as ever,” the cardinal said. “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.”

Most Americans want to protect unborn children later in pregnancy, most want limits and regulations on abortion, and most want to bar taxpayer funding for abortion.

The cardinal noted that despite this, some are reluctant to adopt the pro-life mantle.

“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.”

Cardinal Dolan said most Americans are “open to hearing a message of reverence for life,” and so pro-life advocates “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 explained. “We should celebrate human freedom, always reminding others that this freedom is ours so we can freely choose the good – and that to enjoy this freedom, each of us must first of all be allowed to live.”

The cardinal said it is “wrenching” to mark the anniversary of legalized abortion so soon after Christmas.

Citing the Church’s Year of Mercy, Cardinal Dolan said that God’s love is infinite. He added: “this same love is a source of unbounded mercy and forgiveness for all who have fallen short of God's plans for us.”

Cardinal Dolan also criticized the “powerful and well-financed lobby” that backs abortion and tries to depict it as basic health care. He charged that Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers hold 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 objected to the lack of conscience protections for those opposed to abortion, including the failure of President Obama and other national Democratic leaders who were unwilling to support the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act.

In the cardinal’s view, there is an opportunity for pro-life advocates to reach most Americans.

“They do not see the unborn child as an illness or a tumor. They are repelled when they see the callousness of the abortion industry, as in the recent undercover videos of Planned Parenthood officials calmly discussing the harvesting of body parts,” he said.

“They do not want to be pushed into actively promoting and paying for abortion. They do not want doctors and nurses who are sensitive to the value of life at its most vulnerable to be driven from the healing professions”

The Cardinal invited Catholics in particular to take part in the 9 Days for Life campaign of prayer and action Jan. 16-24.

He also noted the Church’s ministry Project Rachel, which offers mercy and reconciliation for people who have been involved in an abortion.

“I invite all who are concerned about the tragedy of abortion to recommit themselves to this vision of life and love, a vision that excludes no one,” he said.

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Washington D.C., Jan 18, 2016 / 11:30 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Religious freedom advocates voiced gratitude and joy at the release of Christian pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen who had been held in an Iranian prison since 2012.

Abedini was among the three American citizens freed as part of the U.S.-Iran prisoner exchange over the weekend. 

“This is a major victory. We are incredibly grateful to the more than 1.1 million people who have joined us in fighting across the globe for Pastor Saeed’s freedom,” said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), in a Jan. 16 statement.

The ACLJ had for years been advocating for Pastor Abedini’s freedom from Iran by organizing prayer vigils, collecting signatures for petitions, and sending letters to the United Nations and Congress. 

Born and raised as a Muslim in Iran, Abedini converted to Christianity in 2000, becoming an American citizen in 2010 following his marriage to his wife Naghmeh, who is also an American citizen.

After his conversion to Christianity, Abedini began working with house churches in Iran which, though technically legal, drew complaints from the government. He then agreed to shift his work towards non-religious humanitarian efforts.

While visiting non-religious orphanages in September 2012, Pastor Abedini was arrested on charges of threatening national security. He was sentenced to eight years in prison; he served over three.

Religious freedom advocates had argued that the arrest was actually due to his Christian faith.

During the time that he served in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison, the pastor was beaten and denied proper medical treatment, according to reports. 

“This has been an answer to prayer,” Naghmeh Abedini said of her husband’s release. “This is a critical time for me and my family. We look forward to Saeed's return and want to thank the millions of people who have stood with us in prayer during this most difficult time.” 

Naghmeh had spoken numerous times about the toll that her husband’s imprisonment had been taking on their family. She lives in Idaho with the couple’s two young children.

In November 2015, Naghmeh ended her public advocacy for her husband’s freedom, citing marital problems and abuse, which she said got even worse during his imprisonment as they were able to communicate via Skype. 

In two emails to her supporters she said she had suffered “physical, emotional, psychological, and sexual abuse (through Saeed’s addiction to pornography)” at the hands of her husband, Christianity Today reported.

However, when she learned that her husband would be one of the men freed in the prisoner exchange, she took to Twitter to thank President Obama “for all the hard work and support in bringing Saeed home” after a phone call with the White House.

In addition to Abedini, Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, who was arrested a year and a half ago, and U.S. Marine veteran Amir Hekmati, who was arrested in 2011 while visiting his grandmother, were also released, along with Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, who chose to remain in Iran. A student named Matthew Trevithick, was also released and had already left the country, but not as a part of the exchange deal. 

In return for their freedom, the U.S. pardoned or commuted the sentences of seven men – six dual citizens and one Iranian citizen. 

Former FBI agent and CIA contractor, Robert Levinson, who went missing in Iran in 2007 was also brought up during negotiations, though Iran has denied detaining him. According to Secretary of State John Kerry on Twitter, “Iran has agreed to deepen our coordination as we work to locate Robert Levinson.”

These releases were the result of more than a year of secret talks between the U.S. and Iran in the midst of the nuclear deal struck between the two countries. Kerry said that the exchange was “accelerated” by the deal, CNN reported. 

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Washington D.C., Jan 18, 2016 / 01:39 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Martin Luther King Day is a time to promote racial harmony in America and honor the slain civil rights leader who was “inspired by the teachings of Christ,” says the head of the Knights of Peter Claver.

“Considering that so many 'church-going folks' were supporting segregation and Jim Crow laws during the civil rights movement, it is wonderful that King dedicated his life to employing Christ's teachings to resist and counter the very social sins of prejudice, racial discrimination and segregation,” Supreme Knight F. DeKarlos Blackmon told CNA.

He said Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. a Baptist minister, was “a man of faith and deep conviction” who studied Catholic theology and was “particularly impressed” with St. Augustine.

King’s famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” cited St. Augustine's saying “An unjust law is no law at all.”

Since 2010, Blackmon has headed the Knights of Peter Claver, a New Orleans-based Catholic fraternal order present in about 39 states and in South America. It takes as its model the Spanish Jesuit priest St. Peter Claver, who ministered to slaves in Colombia in the 1600s. Its membership is significantly African-American but the order is open to all practicing Catholics without regard to race or ethnicity.

The organization was founded in Mobile, Ala. in 1909 by four priests of the Josephite Fathers and three Catholic laymen to serve African-Americans and other racial minorities. Its founders were concerned the Catholic Church would lose black individuals to fraternal and secular organizations, at a time when local racism kept many out of the Knights of Columbus.

The order has six divisions: the Ladies of Peter Claver, two separate junior divisions for young men and young women, the Fourth Degree Knights and the Fourth Degree Ladies of Grace.

The Knights of Peter Claver and the Ladies Auxiliary opposed segregation and worked to transform how communities and cities thought about race, equality and justice, Blackmon said. They worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Urban League.
 
The order's leadership and members were “intimately involved” in the civil rights movement. Civil rights attorney A.P. Tureaud, a national secretary and national advocate of the order, worked with future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall to help overturn legal segregation.

The now demolished Claver Building in New Orleans, which was the Knights’ headquarters from 1951 to 1974, hosted early meetings “that ultimately launched the civil rights movement,” Blackmon added.

Today, members of the order organize Martin Luther King Day activities like Masses of Unity, prayer services, days of unity, and programs commemorating King's vision in addition to their other charitable works.

Blackmon said King challenged America “to live out its creed that all men are created equal.” He said the observance is an opportunity for American Catholics to remember King's life and work and to realize the challenge to work towards Jesus’ prayer that the Catholic Church “may all be as one.”

He said African-American Catholics should use the day to remember those who have accomplished “something for the larger community and the greater good.” He mentioned African-American Catholic bishops like the late New Orleans auxiliary Bishop Harold Perry and Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, former president of the U.S. bishops’ conference.

Blackmon praised the rise of African-Americans in professions like law, medicine, higher education and politics.

“We have realized numerous African-American and Hispanic cabinet officials, legislators, and federal judges. We have realized a black president in the White House,” he said.

However, he added, “there is still yet more to be effected.”

“By the grace of almighty God, by the arduous work of our hands, by the standing up to be a witness to the saving power of God, we will overcome prejudice, racism, intolerance, bias, narrow-mindedness, and chauvinism,” he said.

He said Christians must be “ever mindful of our role in not only welcoming, but also embracing and helping ‘the stranger’ among us.”

The Knights of Peter Claver aim to serve God and the Catholic Church. They assist the needy, the sick, and disabled, while developing their members through fellowship, recreational activities, scholarships, and charitable work. Their website is www.kofpc.org.


This article was originally published on CNA Jan. 20, 2013 with the headline, 'MLK was Christ-inspired, says head Knight of Peter Claver'
 

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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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