Catholic doctors, ethicists criticize Pontifical Academy for Life

Statue of St. Peter in front of St. Peter's Basilica. / Credit: Vatican MediaCNA Newsroom, May 31, 2024 / 09:47 am (CNA).Representatives of the Australian Catholic Medical Association, with the support of several Catholic moral theologians and bioethicists, have criticized a book published by the Pontifical Academy for Life for its lack of understanding of "current science" and specific areas of medicine. The experts argue that the book spreads "misleading and confusing" theological and medical information that contradicts established Church teachings on contraception and assisted reproductive technologies.The book in question, "Etica Teologica Della Vita" (ETV), covers "Theological Ethics of Life: Scripture, Tradition, and Practical Challenges." The 528-page Italian publication is a synthesis of a seminar sponsored by the academy in 2021.The critique, published April 23 in the Linacre Quarterly, the official journal of the Catholic Medical Association, describes cont...

Church responds to mob attack on Christians in Pakistan

Catholics attend Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Lahore, on Aug. 20, 2023, four days after mob attacked several Pakistani churches over blasphemy allegations. More than 80 Christian homes and 19 churches were vandalized when hundreds rampaged through a Christian neighbourhood in Jaranwala in Punjab province on Aug. 16. / Credit: ARIF ALI/AFP via Getty ImagesBlackburn, UK, May 31, 2024 / 15:40 pm (CNA).Church officials strongly condemned a recent attack on Christians in Sargodha, Pakistan, and expressed disappointment over the level of intolerance in Pakistani society.On May 25, a violent mob attacked the homes of two Christian families in Mujahid Colony, Sargodha City, about 150 miles south of Islamabad, in Punjab province of Pakistan. The mob burned and vandalized the Christian houses and their shoe factory after Nazir Masih, a Catholic, was accused of blasphemy for allegedly desecrating pages of the Holy Quran.Masih, 76, spent a couple of years ...

Tennessee bans 'abortion trafficking' of underage girls   

null / Credit: ShutterstockCNA Staff, May 31, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).An adult who helps an underage girl get a surgical or chemical abortion in Tennessee will be liable to criminal prosecution and a civil lawsuit for wrongful death starting July 1 if a new law enacted this week takes effect.The new Class C felony, called "abortion trafficking of a minor," applies to an adult who "recruits, harbors, or transports" a pregnant girl 17 or younger within the state for the purpose of procuring an abortion. It does not apply to the parents or legal guardian of the underage girl. A Class C felony in Tennessee carries a prison sentence of between three and 15 years and may carry a fine of up to $10,000. Abortion is already illegal in Tennessee except to preserve the life of the mother or "prevent serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman," according to a statute enacted in April 2023. Tennessee is one of 14 states t...

U.S. bishops to Congress: Abortion funding is 'antithesis of healthcare and justice'

Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, speaks at Philadelphia's Eucharistic Congress on Sept. 30, 2023.  / Credit: Sarah Webb/Archdiocese of PhiladelphiaCNA Staff, May 31, 2024 / 14:20 pm (CNA).In a recent letter to Congress, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) decried federal abortion funding and the commodification of human beings through IVF, while encouraging pro-family policies and restorative reproductive medicine. Bishop Michael Burbidge, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities and the Bishop of Arlington, highlighted in the May 16 letter that the USCCB "will oppose any bill that expands taxpayer funding of abortion."We take this stand because abortion funded by the government advances neither healthcare nor justice; it is the antithesis of healthcare and justice," he stated in the letter to members of the House and Senate Appropriations committees.As the abortion battle continues in the U.S. ...

As Jimmy Lai languishes in prison, fellow activists convicted in Hong Kong

Frances Hui is policy and advocacy coordinator for the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation. / Credit: "EWTN News Nightly"/ScreenshotCNA Staff, May 31, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).Fourteen pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong have been convicted of subversion while billionaire Catholic convert Jimmy Lai, 76, remains imprisoned and on trial on similar charges.The 14 were among 47 activists charged with conspiracy to commit subversion through an unofficial primary election in 2020 under a national security law passed by China following anti-government protests that year. It is the same law being used to prosecute Lai. On Thursday, the court ruled that the dissidents' activism would have caused a "constitutional crisis for Hong Kong."Lai, who has been imprisoned for three years, remains in the midst of his own trial. In January, he pleaded not guilty to the national security law charges brought against him. Frances Hui, policy and advocacy coordinator for th...

Feast of Corpus Christi: Lebanon celebrates 199 years of miraculous Eucharistic event

The procession in Zahle, Lebanon, for the feast of Corpus Christi, May 30, 2024. / Credit: Marwan SemaanZahle, Lebanon, May 31, 2024 / 19:12 pm (CNA).Thousands of Christians flocked to Zahle, Lebanon, on Thursday, May 30, a city nicknamed "The City of 52 Churches," to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi. This year's celebration held special significance, marking the 199th anniversary of a miraculous event credited with saving Zahle from a bubonic plague outbreak.Preparations for the feast began a week prior, culminating in a moving candlelit procession on the eve of Corpus Christi. The procession weaved through the streets of Zahle, starting from St. Elias Al-Touak Monastery and concluding at the Melkite Cathedral of Our Lady of Deliverance. The faithful walked and prayed in unison, led by the stirring sounds of trumpets. The procession culminated in a blessing bestowed by the Melkite Patriarch Youssef al-Absi and Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim.The procession in Zahle, Lebanon, ...

Another elderly pro-life activist sentenced to two years in prison

Pro-life activists protest the incarceration of nine activists charged with FACE Act violations. / Credit: Photo by Tyler ArnoldCNA Staff, May 31, 2024 / 18:40 pm (CNA).Paulette Harlow, an elderly woman with a debilitating medical condition was sentenced to 24 months in jail Friday after being convicted last November of participating in a pro-life blockade of a Washington, D.C. abortion clinic in 2020.Harlow of Kingston, Massachusetts, 75, was convicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and of a civil rights conspiracy, a statute that prohibits the violation of someone's rights guaranteed to them by the U.S. Constitution and law. The FACE Act prohibits "violent, threatening, damaging, and obstructive conduct intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with the right to seek, obtain, or provide reproductive health services."Harlow was sentenced by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sitting in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the...

Texas Supreme Court upholds law outlawing abortion even in so-called 'hard cases'

Pro-life supporters take part in a "Rally for Life" march and celebration outside the Texas State Capitol on January 27, 2024, in Austin, Texas. / Credit: Photo by SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty ImagesCNA Staff, May 31, 2024 / 18:15 pm (CNA).The Texas Supreme Court has upheld the state's law outlawing almost all abortions, turning aside a challenge based on severe pregnancy complications. "The history of abortion regulation in Texas demonstrates the Legislature's unmistakable commitment to protecting the lives of pregnant women experiencing life-threatening complications while also valuing and protecting unborn life," the high court said in a 9-0 ruling. State Supreme Court justices in Texas are elected. All nine are Republicans. Abortion supporters criticized the ruling, which puts a spotlight on so-called "hard cases." "As women across the country are finding out, exceptions to abortion bans are illusory and it is dangerous to be pregna...

Catholic bishop: Biden admin 'subverted' pro-family policy by mandating abortion leave

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, speaks at the USCCB fall plenary assembly Nov. 14, 2023. / Credit: USCCB videoWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 31, 2024 / 17:40 pm (CNA).A law meant to offer accommodations for pregnant workers has been "twisted" to "undermine human dignity" thanks to a new regulation mandating paid abortion leave, according to the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Archbishop Timothy Broglio.The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which requires employers to accommodate women for workplace limitations that arise from pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, had the full support of the USCCB when lawmakers considered the bill in 2022. However, regulations issued by President Joe Biden's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) this year have interpreted the related medical conditions covered in the law to include abortion.In an op-ed published in the W...

A major organ build in Virginia highlights the 'multidisciplinary' art of church organ-making

The new gallery organ sits under construction at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond, Virginia. / Credit: Alexa EdlundCNA Staff, May 29, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA)."Much longer than any of us." That's how long Anne Kenny-Urban says the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart's newly installed organ will last. Kenny-Urban, a board member of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart Foundation in the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, is part of the huge team of administrators and advocates that have spent nearly a decade planning and executing the replacement of the cathedral's more-than-century-old gallery organ. The instrument was installed shortly after the cathedral was completed in 1906. Built by the John Brown Company of Wilmington, Delaware, it was reportedly the largest in the country at the time. Over the course of nearly 120 years, it received countless repairs, renovations, and upgrades in order to keep it running, including a complete rebuild in 1940 and a major renova...