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CNA Staff, Apr 11, 2024 / 11:45 am (CNA).

Global aid organization Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is calling for an "immediate end" to violence in Gaza as workers struggle to bring critical aid to the population six months into the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

CRS is the official international Catholic relief and development agency of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The aid agency has been a major presence in Gaza since the outset of the war in October 2023, when Hamas invaded Israel, killing 1,200 and kidnapping hundreds of hostages. Israel responded with a major invasion of Gaza. The conflict has reportedly claimed over 33,000 lives in Gaza. 

In a press release this week, the group said it was reissuing its call "for an immediate end to the violence" and "greater humanitarian access to ensure innocent civilians can access food, shelter, and medical attention." 

CRS also called on "protection for humanitarians and innocent civilians and the immediate release of all hostages and others unjustly detained."

Jason Knapp, the Holy Land representative for the U.S.-based Catholic group, told CNA last week that while CRS is "working hard to keep our team as safe as possible," it remains "committed to doing everything we can to address the significant humanitarian needs of civilians in Gaza."

Knapp told CNA that CRS is expanding its operations in the region. It has set up warehouses, guesthouses, and offices in Rafah and Deir al Balah and is "in the process of setting up additional distribution points throughout Rafah, Khan Younis, and Middle Area."

Knapp said in the release this week that many of its workers have been displaced and "have lost homes and family members" during the conflict. He said the crisis in the northern part of the territory is "especially dire."

"We prioritize people living in the most vulnerable situations, so our goal is to begin serving people living in the north as soon as possible," Knapp said. 

Sean Callahan, the president and CEO of CRS, told CNA in February that the situation in the region is "catastrophic." Yet he said that in a recent visit, his team witnessed considerable "resiliency" and "hope" from the local population. 

Callahan said workers in Gaza are providing "food commodities" and "hygiene kits," among other services, to those who live there. At the outset of the conflict, CRS said it was mobilizing "emergency food, water, and living supplies" and "safe and dignified shelter" for those caught in the conflict.

"I was actually very impressed, given the situation on the ground," Callahan said of his recent visit. "You heard explosions relatively frequently, and jets overhead, and drones. But our teams were still able to register people to get supplies out to them."

In this week's release, meanwhile, Nesma Naseem, the group's shelter field officer in Gaza, said the region is marked by "resilient individuals with dreams, aspirations, and the capacity to rebuild their lives." 

"Continued assistance and solidarity can make a meaningful difference in their journey toward recovery," Naseem said. "We hope this bad dream will end soon, and we can rebuild our souls and our lives again."

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National Catholic Register, Apr 11, 2024 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

On April 7, the cause for canonization of 13-year-old Filipina Niña Ruíz-Abad was officially opened at the Cathedral of St. William the Hermit in Laoag City, Philippines, coinciding with Divine Mercy Sunday.

The event marked the first step of a lengthy process of making Ruíz-Abad one of the youngest saints in history. 

Bishop Renato Mayugba of Laoag City headed the tribunal to hear witnesses testify to the life and holiness of the Servant of God, who has been described as "an inspiration of piety, mercy, evangelization, and fortitude to others."

"We are starting our investigation on the life of Niña to discern if indeed God has blessed us with a Servant of God who can be elevated to sainthood. … All holiness is, in fact, a work of God. God is the author of holiness, because all holiness is grace. Sanctity is ultimately the work of grace, the fruit of divine mercy," the bishop said.

A video reenactment of Ruíz-Abad's life was shown at the beginning of the session, offering attendees a short glimpse of the teen's life of deep piety and love for God from a very early age. She was shown as a young child to be always engrossed in praying before the Blessed Sacrament, with her arms extended toward God, and was fond of distributing prayer cards and religious images, especially of the "Santo Niño" ("the Child Jesus" in Filipino), to her teachers and schoolmates. The video showed an unfazed girl who, when faced with the diagnosis of incurable heart disease, told her aggrieved mother: "Don't worry, Mommy; it's okay — God will heal me!"

Father Dennis Ruíz, postulator of the cause, emphasized the importance of her example, especially for the youth of today, much like Blessed Carlo Acutis. 

"Many of the youth nowadays are preoccupied by technology, fashion, fun, pleasure, and desire for worldly material things, which sometimes draw their attention away from healthy relationships, especially [relationships] to God," he said. "With the presence of dysfunctional families and family disintegration in today's society, children are usually the most affected, which consequently makes them turn for solace and consolation to their environment. But having a good model of piety and fortitude for the youth, they can be saved from utter destruction. Knowing Niña's character and traits and her strong faith toward God will serve as a guide to the youth."

The official portrait of the Servant of God by Filipino painter Ariel Caratao was presented to the public during the session. 

Dressed in traditional Filipino attire, the Divine Mercy Children's Choir, composed of children from the Little Sparks of the Divine Mercy and Immaculate Heart Filipino community, performed four songs for the congregation: "Children's Entrustment to the Immaculate Heart of Mary," "The Unity Prayer," and "Jesus, I Trust in You," followed by the singing of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

Ruíz-Abad's mother, Corazon Abad, and only sister, Mary Ann Abad, and other relatives were present at the event as well as officers and members of the God First Association — an association named after Ruíz-Abad's renowned slogan "God First" and headed by Eliza Samson, Ruíz-Abad's third grade teacher. A large number of laypeople, priests, sisters, and seminarians were also present during the event, filling the cathedral.

Right after the opening session, the tribunal of the Diocese of Laoag and the attendees of the session visited the Servant of God's tomb in the Church of St. Monica, Sarrat, Ilocos Norte.

The petition for Ruíz-Abad's beatification and canonization is part of the Church's wider effort to recognize modern-day saints, models for Catholics in the 21st century. The Catholic Church seeks to recognize saints who practiced their faith in the ordinariness of modern life.

As Bishop Mayugba encouraged: "May her life, though short, inspire all of us to put God first in our lives."

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA's sister news partner, and is reprinted here on CNA with permission.

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CNA Staff, Apr 11, 2024 / 13:35 pm (CNA).

When parents seek medical help for their gender-confused children, they are assured that puberty blockers are "reversible" treatment that pauses puberty, offering the "chance to explore gender identity." 

But a Mayo Clinic study published in late March found that boys who take puberty blockers may suffer "irreversible" harm.

The study, published on a website hosted by the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Minnesota, found that adolescent boys who take puberty blockers may experience fertility problems and atrophied testes.

Eleven Mayo Clinic scientists based in Rochester, Minnesota, studied the effect of puberty blockers on testicular cells. The researchers discovered "unprecedented" evidence "revealing detrimental pediatric testicular sex gland responses to [puberty blockers]." 

While the Mayo Clinic website currently claims that puberty blockers simply "pause" puberty and "don't cause permanent physical changes," this recent study is just one of many that have sounded the alarm about the various harms of puberty blockers. In 2022, one study gained national attention after it found that putting children on puberty blockers causes irreversible harm to bone density. 

The March study suggested that "abnormalities" from the data "raise a potential concern regarding the complete 'reversibility' and reproductive fitness of [spermatogonial stem cells]" for youth taking puberty blockers. 

Researchers found that puberty blockers hurt the development of sperm production and could affect fertility when children grow up. They reported "mild-to-severe sex gland atrophy in puberty blocker-treated children."

The study, which has not been peer-reviewed yet, looked at testicular samples for 87 patients under the age of 18. The study included 87 children total, with 16 boys who identified as girls and nine of whom took puberty blockers. 

Two of the nine who were taking puberty blockers had abnormal features on their testicles that were observable from a physical examination. 

The Mayo Clinic researchers noted that they began the study in a context where "the consequences" of puberty blockers for "juvenile testicular development and reproductive fitness" are "poorly understood." 

"To the best of our knowledge, no rigorous study has been reported on extended puberty blockade in pediatric populations and its long-term consequences on reproductive fitness," the authors noted. 

Yet puberty blockers, originally developed to suppress hormones of minors who began puberty too early, are prescribed to children experiencing gender dysphoria. 

Meanwhile, European countries such as Finland, Holland, Norway, Sweden, and the U.K. have restrictions or bans on puberty blockers for children. England ended puberty blockers for kids just last month. 

"Puberty blockers … are not available to children and young people for gender incongruence or gender dysphoria because there is not enough evidence of safety and clinical effectiveness," the NHS England website's section on "treatment" for gender dysphoria read after the update. 

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ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 11, 2024 / 14:05 pm (CNA).

The Diocese of Dunkeld, Scotland, announced Wednesday that Bishop-elect Martin Chambers, who was scheduled to be consecrated as its new bishop on April 27, passed away at the age of 59.

"It is with deep regret and sadness that I have to inform you that our bishop-elect, Martin Chambers, died in his sleep last night," diocesan administrator Father Kevin Golden posted on the diocese's X account April 10. "May he rest in peace and may his family and loved ones find comfort in the risen Lord and in the love of family and friends."

The diocese did not give a cause of death. However, the bishop-elect had believed to be in good health, according to The Tablet in the U.K.

The diocesan administrator invited the faithful to join in prayer for the bishop-elect at a Mass this Friday at 1 p.m. in St. Andrew's Cathedral.

Chambers' sudden death was also mourned by neighboring dioceses.

"Father Chambers was due to be ordained bishop of Dunkeld on April 27. Last week he traveled to Lourdes to pray for his new diocese," the Archdiocese of Glasgow observed on its X account.

Chambers was born on June 8, 1964, and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Galloway on Aug. 25, 1989.

Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Dunkeld on Feb. 2, and his episcopal consecration was scheduled for April 27.

Upon learning of his appointment this past February, Chambers said: "As I undertake this new mission as bishop of Dunkeld, I promise to sit in prayer as a disciple at the feet of Jesus, listening to his voice calling me forward in faith."

"Together, with the strength and inspiration of Christ, we can all continue to build the kingdom in the Diocese of Dunkeld," he said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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CNA Staff, Apr 11, 2024 / 14:50 pm (CNA).

Bishop Oscar Cantú of San Jose recently praised a California district attorney for seeking to convert the death sentences of more than a dozen prisoners to life in prison without possibility of parole.

Jeff Rosen, the district attorney for Santa Clara County, announced last week that he had made a filing in state superior court to resentence 15 condemned men, saying he has "lost faith in capital punishment as a fair and effective crime deterrent." 

The prosecutor added that he views capital punishment as an "antiquated, racially biased, error-prone system that deters nothing and costs us millions of public dollars and our integrity as a community that cherishes justice."

Rosen pointed to the California law that took effect at the beginning of 2019 and allows district attorneys to resentence a person if they determine the sentence no longer serves justice.

"Judges and juries of the people should decide where an inmate dies. God should decide when," Rosen said, while acknowledging the "horrible" crimes committed by the inmates.

In an April 4 statement, Cantú, whose diocese includes Santa Clara County, praised Rosen's "prophetic and principled decision."

"Catholic social teaching urges us to recognize the dignity of every human being, especially the most vulnerable," Cantú said. 

"In alignment with these teachings, the Church advocates for a consistent ethic of life, encompassing the unborn, the poor, the migrant, the sick, and those in the criminal justice system."

"DA Rosen's decision aligns with these values, challenging us to seek alternatives to the death penalty that respect human life and dignity, promote rehabilitation, and foster a safer and more compassionate society," the bishop said. "It is a call to move away from punitive justice towards restorative justice that heals and rebuilds lives."

California technically has more prisoners on death row than any other state, but the state's death penalty has been under moratorium since 2019 and has not been applied since 2006. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, reflecting an update promulgated by Pope Francis in 2018, describes the death penalty as "inadmissible" and an "attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person" (No. 2267). 

The change reflects a development of Catholic doctrine in recent years. St. John Paul II, calling the death penalty "cruel and unnecessary," encouraged Christians to be "unconditionally pro-life" and said that "the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil.

The Vatican's top doctrinal office's new declaration on the theme of human dignity, released Monday, reiterated that the death penalty "violates the inalienable dignity of every person, regardless of the circumstances."

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CNA Newsroom, Apr 11, 2024 / 06:45 am (CNA).

At a hearing for a criminal trial in France, a priest of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) who spent six years in the U.S. has admitted to sexual misconduct with French minors over a period of 15 years, local media reported Sunday. 

Speaking at the criminal court in the city of Gap in southeastern France, Father Arnaud Rostand on April 4 admitted to the accusations, according to La Provence newspaper, saying: "I ask for forgiveness from the victims and deeply regret everything I have done."

The 58-year-old is charged with misconduct against seven boys, often during church-related activities like scout camps in France, Spain, and Switzerland, the paper said, noting the abuse allegedly took place over a 15-year period between 2002 and 2018.

During that time, the priest held several roles, including that of a school principal in France, but also served as U.S. district superior from 2008 to 2014. In a "farewell letter" published in July 2014 but no longer linked on the current website, he announced his departure from that role, writing he had been assigned to manage communications for the society from its general house in Menzingen, Switzerland.

In a statement published April 5 on its website, the SSPX expressed deep regret over the abuse.

"The Society of St. Pius X cannot find strong enough words to condemn these acts, which have irreparable consequences. It wishes to express its profound compassion for the victims, whom it intends to support as much as possible."

The accused priest, according to the SSPX, had "been the subject of appropriate disciplinary supervision within the fraternity." 

Furthermore, the statement said, "when, in 2019, the fraternity's superiors learned of the existence of facts relevant to the tribunal, they reported them to the judicial authorities and strengthened the disciplinary framework."

In a critical response to the statement, the victim advocacy platform SSPX Victims Collective noted that Rostand held senior roles and positions of authority, and that at least two other priests had been accused.

"For the third time in nine months, a priest of the fraternity [of St. Pius X] finds himself before a French court for sexual assault or rape. Not to mention multiple proceedings abroad," the group said in a statement.

The sentence in the Rostand case is expected to be passed in early June.

The SSPX is a traditionalist group founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970 that has an irregular canonical status. The group is not overseen by the Catholic Church or any diocese within the Catholic Church.

In 2020, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation launched a multiyear investigation for alleged sex abuse by clergy, including SSPX members and four Catholic dioceses. The report, released in 2023, identified 188 suspects but did not result in charges.

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Rome Newsroom, Apr 11, 2024 / 09:40 am (CNA).

The Vatican's foreign minister met with Vietnam's prime minister in Hanoi on Wednesday during the first high-level diplomatic visit by a Church official to the country since the Vietnam War.

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican secretary for relations with states, spoke with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh about the possibility of Pope Francis becoming the first pope to visit the Southeast Asian country.

The Vietnamese state-run news agency reported on April 10 that both Gallagher and the prime minister agreed "on the need to push ahead with high-level contacts, including Pope Francis' visit to Vietnam."

During his six-day trip to Vietnam, Gallagher will visit Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hue. He will offer public Masses at the cathedrals in all three cities, according to the schedule released by the Vatican Secretariat of State.

Gallagher met with his counterpart, Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, on his first day in the country on April 9. He is also scheduled to meet with seminarians in Hue and members of Vietnam's bishops' conference in Ho Chi Minh City before he leaves the country on April 14.

The high-level diplomatic visit comes amid a warming in Vatican-Vietnam relations. Within the last year, Vietnam has agreed to allow the Vatican to send an official papal representative to live in the country and open an office in Hanoi. 

Pope Francis also received a delegation from Vietnam's Communist Party government at the Vatican in January, and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin could make a trip to Vietnam later this year.

Gallagher's visit has fueled speculations of a possible papal trip. The foreign minister said earlier this year that he thinks a papal trip to Vietnam will take place but added that "there are a few further steps to be taken before that would be appropriate."

"But I think the Holy Father is keen to go and certainly the Catholic community in Vietnam is very happy to want the Holy Father to go. I think it [a papal trip] would send a very good message to the region," he said.

Vietnam has one of the largest Catholic populations among countries never visited by a pope. The country is home to an estimated 7 million Catholics. An additional 700,000 Vietnamese Catholics live in the United States today, many of whom are refugees or descendants of refugees who fled by boat during the Vietnam War.

Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Marek Zalewski, a Polish Vatican diplomat, as the resident papal representative to Vietnam in December 2023.

Zalewski's appointment was a historic step toward the possibility of someday establishing full diplomatic relations. Vietnam severed ties with the Holy See after the communist takeover of Saigon in 1975. 

With the new appointment, Vietnam is the only Asian communist country to have a resident papal envoy live in the country.

The Catholic Church in Vietnam has seen a rising number of religious vocations in recent years. The country has 8,000 priests and 41 bishops, according to government data. More than 2,800 seminarians were studying for the priesthood across Vietnam in 2020, 100 times more than in Ireland.

Kimviet Ngo, a Vietnamese American Catholic, told CNA last fall that she hopes that a potential papal visit to Vietnam would help improve religious freedom in the country. 

The Vietnamese Constitution guarantees individual freedom of belief and individual religious freedom. However, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which advises branches of the U.S. government, recommended that Vietnam be designated a "country of particular concern" in its 2024 report.

Ngo's hope has been backed by a 2024 academic study, which found that papal trips can have a significant effect on the host country's human rights protections.

Pope Francis is expected to travel to Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries in early September if his health allows.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 11, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Nearly 40 years ago, an event was held in Rome that laid the foundations for what today is World Youth Day (WYD). On April 14, 1984, Pope John Paul II met in Rome with 300,000 young people from all over the world who were hosted by some 6,000 Roman families.

WYD is an encounter of young people from all over the world with the pope that takes place every two or three years in different cities around the world. The first one took place in Rome in 1986. Since then, the fruits of each WYD have flowed: conversions, vocations discovered, and even alleged miracles.

The seminal event was part of the 1984 Holy Year of Redemption, held near Palm Sunday. On that occasion, the pope told the assembled young people that "the real problem of life is, in fact, that of verifying, first of all, what is the place of youth in the present world."

St. John Paul II then addressed each of those present personally, explaining that young people are called to make the love and message of Jesus Christ present in each of their own lives.

"If you know how to look at the world with the new eyes that faith gives you, then you will know how to face it with your hands outstretched in a gesture of love. You will be able to discover in it, in the midst of so much misery and injustice, unsuspected presences of goodness, fascinating perspectives of beauty, well-founded reasons for hope in a better tomorrow," he told them.

The Holy Father stressed that that this can only be achieved through a deeply rooted faith in Jesus.

"True strength lies in Christ, the redeemer of the world! This is the central point of the whole discourse. And this is the moment to ask the crucial question: This Jesus who was young like you, who lived in an exemplary family and knew the world of men in depth, who is he for you?" the pope asked.

At that time, St. John Paul II presented the famous "Youth Cross" to the organizers of the event, with the mission of taking it throughout the world "as a sign and reminder that only in the dead and risen Jesus is there salvation and redemption." 

This wooden cross has become a symbol of WYD, traveling throughout the dioceses of the world and in all the places where the event takes place.

The cross is kept today by the San Lorenzo International Youth Center (CSL), which together with the sponsorship of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life and the John Paul II Foundation for Youth, have organized a series of events to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this first encounter of the Polish pope with young people.

On April 13, the "Youth Cross" will go on a pilgrimage from St. Peter's Square to the CSL and a Mass will be celebrated by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça. The day will conclude with a prayer vigil and adoration of the cross, known as "Rise Up."

On Sunday, April 14, Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, will offer the Mass and later there will be a time for young people to give their testimonies.

The San Lorenzo International Youth Center is a reception and information center for young pilgrims in Rome as well as a place of prayer. It also serves as headquarters for making preparations for World Youth Days.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Bangalore, India, Apr 10, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

New guidelines for Catholic schools from the Catholic bishops of India have elicited mixed reactions in the country, with many applauding the move to respect "all faith traditions" while others have accused the Church of bending to pressure from Hindu fundamentalists.

The 13-page document issued to India's 15,000 Catholic educational institutions includes a recommendation that schools display the preamble to the Indian Constitution at school entrances and that children recite the preamble during daily assemblies.

The bishops' education commission said the document was written "to face the emerging challenges due to the current socio-cultural-religious-political situation in India." Its release comes ahead of elections that will take place between April 17 and June 1.

The guidelines come at a particularly tense time in India, where Hindus make up 79.8% of the population. The Hindu fundamentalist group Kutumba Surakshya Parishad (Family Safety Council) in Assam launched a protest in February demanding a ban on Christian symbols such as crosses and statues, the religious dress of priests and nuns, and Christian prayers in educational institutions.

The Indian bishops' recommendations have been widely hailed as a bold initiative by the Church and are in stark contrast to Hindu nationalists of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) efforts to delete the word "secular" from the preamble to the Indian Constitution.

The secular media applauded the Church guidelines with front-page headlines such as "Church calls for making constitution a shield" and "Recite preamble, don't force Christian traditions: Catholic body to its schools."

Besides calling for respecting "all faith traditions without any discrimination [and to] not force our religious traditions on students of other faiths," the guidelines also prescribe the promotion of "religious and cultural sensitivity and respect for diversity with separate interreligious prayer rooms in the school, celebrating all important religious festivals."

"Reciting the preamble is a great idea that the government and Hindu schools should also follow instead of religious morning assembly," remarked John Dayal, a Catholic columnist, in his commentary in The Wire news portal on April 8. 

However, he decried what he said was "a response to the demands that have been made on institutions by state governments and non-state actors [Hindu fundamentalist groups]."

"Article 30 allows all religious and linguistic minorities to run educational institutions to nurture their core values, including faith, for future generations," Dayal said.

"The Church has unnecessarily succumbed to the pressure tactics of the Hindu fundamentalists," outspoken Jesuit activist Father Cedric Prakash told CNA on April 8. 

"These guidelines have not been made under pressure from any group," Father Maria Charles, secretary of the Indian bishop's education committee, told CNA when asked about recent threats from Hindu fundamentalists in northeastern states such as Assam and in central India. 

"There has been a lot of misunderstanding. The guideline calls for respect for other faiths in our institutions. But that does not mean that customary [Christian] prayers in the schools will stop. It will go on as usual," Charles said. 

The guidelines, he said, were drafted following the November 2023 conference of 250 Catholic education experts from the Church, including diocesan education directors, hailing from across the country.

"The guideline addresses various challenges in dealing with admissions to administration in our Catholic institutions," Charles explained. 

The Catholic Church in the country, he said, runs more than 14,000 schools, 720 colleges, seven universities, five medical colleges, and 450 technical and vocational training institutions. 

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CNA Staff, Apr 10, 2024 / 14:20 pm (CNA).

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would not sign a national abortion ban if reelected to the office of the presidency in November. 

The Republican presidential candidate was at an event in Atlanta on Wednesday when a reporter asked him: "Would you sign a national abortion ban if Congress sent it to your desk?" 

"No," Trump said in response. 

Asked by the reporter: "You wouldn't sign it?" Trump responded again: "No."

Trump had minutes earlier indicated that he disagreed with this week's historic ruling at the Arizona Supreme Court. That court on Monday ruled that state law does not guarantee a right to an abortion and that an 1864 law prohibiting all abortions can take effect later this month.

Asked in Atlanta on Wednesday if that ruling "went too far," Trump responded: "Yeah they did, and that will be straightened out."

"I'm sure that the governor and everybody else are going to bring it back into reason and that'll be taken care of, I think very quickly," the former president said. 

Trump has been steadily positioning himself as more of a centrist on abortion in recent months. 

On Monday he said in a social media video that "at the end of the day" abortion law in the U.S. is "all about the will of the people" and that "now it's up to the states to do the right thing." 

Last September, meanwhile, he called Florida's six-week abortion ban "a terrible thing" and "a terrible mistake."

President Joe Biden, on the other hand, last month promised to support a law that would legalize abortion nationwide in response to the repeal of Roe v. Wade two years ago.

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