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CNA Staff, Jul 26, 2024 / 17:15 pm (CNA).

Russian Orthodox Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Budapest-Hungary has been temporarily suspended following reports about an ongoing investigation of sexual misconduct with a young staff member.

According to the online news site Novaya Gazeta Europe, Georgy Suzuki, who served as the bishop's personal assistant between Oct. 2022 and Jan. 2024, was sexually harassed on several occasions by the 58-year-old high-ranking prelate.

Alfeyev has reportedly denied all allegations made by Suzuki. 

Earlier this month, Church Times reported that 11 Russian Orthodox priests in Budapest signed a joint statement defending Alfeyev who, they believe, is innocent and a victim of a "dirty slanderous campaign."    

Yesterday, Novaya Gazeta Europe published several photos as well as details of private messages shared between Suzuki and Alfeyev, highlighting the bishop's sexually inappropriate behavior and materially-excessive lifestyle. Alfeyev reportedly purchased mansions in France and Hungary as well as expensive watches, and spent holidays on yachts and at expensive beach resorts.

Though Suzuki told Novaya Gazeta Europe that Alfeyev's advances never led to sexual encounters, he said he and his family suffered coercion, blackmail, and retaliation from the bishop who, in turn, accused Suzuki of sexually inappropriate behavior.   

The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church has appointed metropolitan Bishop Nestor of Korshun and Western Europe as temporary administrator of the Budapest-Hungary diocese while investigations are underway. 

Alfeyev has subsequently been permanently dismissed as president of the Synodal Theological Commission, and as chairman of the Theological Committee. However, it is not the first time the Russian metropolitan has been removed from a prominent position in the Orthodox Church. 

In 2022, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow dismissed Alfeyev as president of the Department of External Church Relations and as a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. That same year, he was also removed as metropolitan bishop of Volokolamsk and then transferred to Hungary and appointed as metropolitan bishop of Budapest. 

A 2022 article published by The Orthodox Times speculates that his dismissals two years ago were not linked to sexual misconduct but to the bishop's "mild stance" on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which contrasted to that of Patriarch Kirill's "full identification" with the Russian government's hardline on Ukraine.     

In light of the publicity of the allegations of sexual misconduct by former church worker Suzuki, the Russian Orthodox Church has created a special committee to further investigate the case against Alfeyev.  

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Vatican City, Jul 26, 2024 / 17:26 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis and Athletica Vaticana, the official Holy See sports association, have invited all athletes participating in the 2024 Olympic Games to harness the "great social power of sport" to unite people and be witnesses of peace, particularly during these times of international tensions and conflict.  

Around 300,000 spectators welcomed thousands of athletes representing 206 countries at the opening ceremony of this year's summer games in Paris today.

The ceremony to open the two-week international festival took place at 7:30 p.m. in Paris (1:30 p.m. ET). The Olympic Games, which take place between July 26 and Aug. 11 this year, are expected to draw approximately 800,000 tourists to France and an additional one billion viewers who wish to watch the sports events on TV or other digital channels. 

During his Sunday Angelus address on July 21, Pope Francis expressed his hope that this year's Olympics will bring athletes and spectators together and "peacefully unite people from different cultures."

"I hope that this event may be a beacon of the inclusive world we want to build and that athletes, with their sporting testimony, may be messengers of peace and authentic models for young people," the Holy Father said.    

Over 10,000 athletes from around the world will compete in 32 different sports in this year's summer games. This year's Olympics will debut surfing, sport climbing, skateboarding, and also breakdancing.

The Paralympic Games will also take place in Paris this year from Aug. 28 - Sept. 8. Approximately 4,400 athletes will participate in 22 sports — including sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball — in venues across the city such as at the Eiffel Tower, the Château de Versailles, and the Grand Palais. 

Athletica Vaticana sent an open letter addressed to Olympians and Paralympians yesterday on the vigil of the opening ceremony and encouraged all athletes to "win the medal of fraternity" this summer.  

"The Olympics and Paralympics can be strategies for peace and antidotes to war games," reads the letter. "The Games can be opportunities for hope." 

Prior to the Olympics opening ceremony, a Mass of Peace was celebrated on July 19 in France. Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris and Archbishop Emmanuel Gobilliard of Digne concelebrated the Mass which was attended by the president of the International Olympic Committee, athletes. and diplomats. 

Since the inception of the modern-day Olympics in 1896, Paris has twice been selected to host the summer games. This year marks 100 years since Paris first hosted the Olympics in 1924. 

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ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 26, 2024 / 17:45 pm (CNA).

The motto of the modern Olympic Games, "Faster, Higher, Stronger," was coined by French Dominican friar Louis Henri Didon, who became friends with the founder of the modern Olympic Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, five years before the 1896 Athens Games.

The motto, originally formulated in Latin as "Citius, Altius, Fortius," was used before the modern Olympic movement at St. Albert the Great School in Paris, where the Dominican friar was the principal.

Born in 1840, Didon entered the Rondeau Minor Seminary in Grenoble, France, beginning at the age of nine, and during his youth, he stood out for his ability as an athlete. After visiting the Carthusian monastery in Grenoble, he decided to follow a religious vocation and took the habit of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) at the age of 16. Six years later, after a period of formation in Rome, he was ordained a priest at age 22.

Military chaplain, prisoner, and refugee

Didon soon gained fame as a preacher. During the brief Franco-Prussian War, which broke out in July 1870, he was a military chaplain and for a time was held as a prisoner. When he fell ill, he ended up as a refugee in Geneva, Switzerland. From there he was sent to Marseille, where he resumed his sometimes controversial preaching activity, which led to his being sent to Corsica in 1880. 

A decade later he was appointed principal of St. Albert the Great School in Paris where he established sports as part of the school's educational program and promoted sports competition. This decision was the result of belief in the value of sports and the contact he had had with Pierre de Coubertin since 1891.

In the first race they organized, the Dominican decided to embroider on the school flag the famous motto, which would become an Olympic motto in 1894, during the first Olympic Congress held in Paris in 1894.

Two years later, Athens hosted the first Olympic Games, which have since been held every four years, interrupted only three times due to World Wars I and II (1916, 1940, and 1944) and postponed from 2020 to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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 Newsroom, Jul 26, 2024 / 14:20 pm (CNA).

Police are investigating after a parish in Arkansas was struck by three vandalism incidents in recent months, including the destruction of a statue of Mary on the parish grounds. 

Father Joseph Chan, the pastor at St. Leo Church in Hartford, Arkansas, told CNA that the incidents of vandalism began early last year. The parish is part of the Diocese of Little Rock. 

"The first was on February 26, 2023," he said. "Our St. Leo sign and notification board had words/letters removed/jumbled to reflect body parts; for example, the letter 'M' was removed from the word 'Mass'."

"The second was on March 10, 2024, which involved graffiti to our sacristy door," the pastor said. "Sprayed was a racial slur commonly directed towards African Americans."

The most recent incident occurred on July 13. "Toppled to the ground were an angel and Mary statues," Chan said. "Mary's neck was broken.  The statue of Jesus was seemingly untouched."

"All three incidents happened within 18 months," the priest noted. 

Law enforcement is investigating the crimes. 

"Police were notified but no suspects were identified tied to the vandalism to our knowledge," Chan said. 

The pastor said parishioners have suffered "sadness" over the incidents. 

Mary Radley, a parishioner of the church, told the Arkansas Catholic this week that the parish has "filed with our insurance company to see how much money we will have to repair the damage."

Chan, meanwhile, told the local outlet that "all parishes should have some sort of safeguards against vandalism," but "because it is the work of evil, prayer is the best antidote."

Multiple Catholic parishes and holy sites have suffered vandalism in the U.S. in recent months and years. 

A statue of the Blessed Mother in a prayer garden on the grounds of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was damaged by an assailant earlier this year.

Catholic churches, schools, and cemeteries throughout the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, meanwhile, were targeted by pro-abortion vandalism ahead of a major statewide vote on abortion laws. 

Catholic facilities in Texas and Colorado were also targeted last year with vandalism. 

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio told EWTN News in March that the numerous attacks against Catholic churches are "not a focus or [has] the attention of [the Biden administration] or this Justice Department."

"They can't find a single person or any of these people that were responsible for these, what is a pretty concerted effort to attack Catholic churches in America," Rubio said.

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CNA Staff, Jul 26, 2024 / 14:45 pm (CNA).

Four Florida activists from the abortion rights extremist group "Jane's Revenge" agreed on July 25 to pay restitution and keep away from crisis pregnancy centers following vandalism and threats of violence on three pro-life clinics.

"We will not allow radicals to threaten and intimidate women seeking help from crisis pregnancy centers or the counselors and health care professionals serving these women and their babies," Attorney General Ashley Mood said in a statement. "In Florida, illegal actions have consequences, and I am proud of the work our attorneys did in this case to make sure these extremists were held accountable."

Moody and First Liberty Institute, a legal nonprofit, filed civil lawsuits authorized under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act on behalf of several life-affirming pregnancy clinics in Florida. 

Three of the four activists pleaded guilty last month to criminal charges. The four of them are enjoined from going within 100 feet of the life-affirming clinics they targeted: the South Broward Pregnancy Help Center and the Life Choice Pregnancy Center as well as any of the five facilities owned by Heartbeat of Miami. 

Caleb Freestone, Amber Marie Smith-Stewart, and Annarella Rivera, will issue apologies for the 2022 acts of vandalism and together will pay $6,750 for the vandalism. Charges against the fourth defendant are pending.

The activists were associated with "Jane's Revenge," a militant pro-abortion group that targets pregnancy help centers and takes responsibility for arson, firebombing, and vandalism against the organizations. The group emerged after the leak of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in May 2022. 

At Heartbeat of Miami, the vandalism resulted in thousands of dollars in damages, with graffitied messages such as "Jane's Revenge" and "If abortions aren't safe, then neither are you" sprayed on the walls. 

Heartbeat provides free pregnancy tests; sonograms; pregnancy consultation and education, support, and referrals; and parenting preparation, according to its website. The center has a baby boutique that provides material supplies for women and has an abortion pill reversal contact center and post-abortion counseling. 

"The entry of these felony plea agreements serves as a reminder that no one should suffer violence for simply providing faith-based counseling and baby supplies to women and their babies," said First Liberty Senior Counsel, Jeremy Dys. "Attorney General Moody's leadership, together with our lawsuit, sends a clear message: those who target life-affirming reproductive health facilities with violence will face the legal penalties Congress established for their crimes."

The FACE Act has frequently been used in defense of abortion. Numerous pro-life activists have recently been convicted under the statute, including a young mother who was recently sentenced to more than three years in prison for blocking the entrance to a New York facility. Other pro-life activists are facing up to 10 years in prison for blocking the entrance to an abortion clinic in Washington, D.C., in 2020, including several elderly activists who are facing prison time. 

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 26, 2024 / 10:05 am (CNA).

Here's a roundup of pro-life-related developments in the U.S. this week. 

Harris pledges to codify Roe in federal law

Since replacing President Joe Biden as the presumptive presidential nominee for the Democratic party, Vice President Kamala Harris has already made abortion a major focus of her campaign, pledging in several speeches to codify Roe v. Wade into federal law.

In a Wednesday night speech in Indianapolis, Harris bashed former President Donald Trump for nominating three Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe.

"When I am president of the United States and when Congress passes a law to restore those freedoms, I will sign it into law," she said.

"We who believe in reproductive freedom will fight for a woman's right to choose," said Harris, "because one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that the government should not be telling her what to do."

Harris has used this line repeatedly during her "Fight for Reproductive Freedoms Tour" in which she slammed states with pro-life laws as "immoral" and advocated for a national pro-abortion law. 

Iowa heartbeat law to take effect July 29

Iowa District Judge Jeffrey Farrell lifted a block on the state's six-week pro-life law, clearing the path for the measure to finally take effect on July 29.

The Iowa "heartbeat" law was passed by the legislature in 2023. It protects unborn life from abortion once a baby's heartbeat is detectable, which is typically around six weeks.

Planned Parenthood and several other abortion groups launched a lawsuit over the law and it was blocked by a district court shortly after passage. Polk County District Judge Joseph Seidlin ruled in 2023 that the law was likely invalid because it imposed an "undue burden" on abortion.

The Iowa Supreme Court, however, ruled on June 28 that the law is likely not unconstitutional because abortion is "not a fundamental right under the Iowa Constitution." The high court returned the case to lower courts for further deliberation.

Commending the state supreme court's ruling, Iowa's Catholic bishops said: "For us, this is a question of the common good and human dignity. Human life is precious and should be protected in our laws to the greatest extent possible."

Arkansas Supreme Court rules on abortion petition  

The Arkansas Supreme Court ordered that signatures as part of an abortion ballot initiative be counted after Secretary of State John Thurston said the documentation was improperly submitted.

This comes after Thurston denied abortion advocates their petition to add a broad pro-abortion amendment to the November ballot. The prosecutor said the activists failed to identify their paid canvassers or to indicate that the canvassers had followed state law regarding gathering signatures.

The state high court's decision issued on Tuesday ordered Thurston to resume counting petition signatures gathered by volunteers by July 29.

The group claimed to have gathered over 100,000 signatures — well over the 90,700 required to add an amendment proposal to the ballot. Thurston, however, said that after subtracting the signatures allegedly invalidly obtained by paid canvassers, the group only had 87,382 signatures, more than 3,000 short of the minimum required.

The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that the petition's signatures could be counted but only those not gathered by paid canvassers, meaning the petition may fail to reach the necessary threshold for the November ballot.

Currently, Arkansas protects unborn life beginning at conception, only allowing abortion in cases in which the mother's life is in danger.

If successfully passed, the abortion amendment would mandate that the state not "prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict" abortion before 18 weeks of pregnancy. The amendment would further prohibit the state from restricting abortion at all stages in cases of rape, incest, fetal anomaly, or health of the mother.

Federal court denies effort to restrict abortion pill

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied an appeal by seven Republican-led states to challenge the federal government's recent loosening of restrictions on mifepristone, the pill that accounts for over 60% of all U.S. abortions.

The seven Republican states — Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah — argued that the federal government's loosening of mifepristone restrictions, such as allowing mail-order abortions and prescriptions via telemedicine, undermines their pro-life laws and harms women in their jurisdictions.

The states claimed they had standing to sue because the increase in women needing medical care after unsupervised chemical abortions would result in increased Medicaid expenses.

The 3-0 decision issued by a panel from the Ninth Circuit Court on Wednesday, however, denied the states had standing and dismissed their challenge.

The circuit court's ruling cited the June 13 AHM v. FDA Supreme Court decision that unanimously rejected an attempt to impose stricter regulations on mifepristone because the doctors bringing the challenge lacked standing.

This comes as a coalition of seventeen Democrat-led states and the District of Columbia are suing to block any further efforts to restrict mifepristone.

Lawsuit by Texas woman wrongly imprisoned for abortion proceeds

U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton this week denied several requests to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a Texas woman who was wrongly imprisoned over her abortion.

The woman, Lizelle Gonzalez, was improperly jailed for murder by the county sheriff for three days in 2022. She was dismissed after the county found the charges were unfounded.

Texas law protects unborn life from conception. However, the law explicitly states that pregnant mothers cannot be prosecuted for their abortions.

Gonzalez is now seeking $1 million in damages from Starr County, which is in south Texas on the U.S.-Mexico border.

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CNA Staff, Jul 26, 2024 / 11:10 am (CNA).

A priest is suing the gay dating and "hookup" app Grindr after the company reportedly failed to protect his data, leading to his resignation from a top position at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). 

In July 2021, Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill resigned from his post as the general secretary of the USCCB ahead of a report by The Pillar alleging that he had engaged in inappropriate behavior and frequent use of Grindr. 

The app advertises itself as "the largest social networking app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people." Its geolocation feature is popularly known to facilitate sex hookups between gay men. 

The Pillar said its report on Burrill was based on "commercially available records" correlated to the priest's mobile device. But a lawsuit filed this week claims that Grindr hadn't taken steps to protect the data from third-party acquisition. 

The suit, filed in the Superior Court of California, claims the ??group Catholic Laity and Clergy for Renewal (CLCR) purchased the priest's data from the app and sent it to The Pillar. 

The gay hookup app "assures customers" that it "takes steps" to protect data from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure, the suit says. But Grindr allegedly "knew they were failing to protect sensitive personal data of its customers" yet failed to take steps to protect it, the filing says. 

Public reports "reveal a stunning pattern of [Grindr's] intentional and reckless failure to protect private data of its customers," the priest argues in the suit. 

The company allegedly "fraudulently conceals and fails to disclose that it provides and/or sells its users' personal data to ad networks, data vendors, and/or or other third parties that sell the data or otherwise make it commercially available to others."

The suit requests damages, lawyer's fees, and "injunctive relief." It also asks the court to forbid Grindr "from committing such unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business practices."

In 2022 Burrill returned to active ministry as a priest in his home diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin, with then-Bishop William Callahan stating that the priest had "engaged in a sincere and prayerful effort to strengthen his priestly vows" and had "favorably responded to every request" made by the bishop and the diocese.

The priest was appointed to St. Teresa of Kolkata Parish in West Salem, where he serves as pastor. 

In his lawsuit, Burrill said his reputation had been "destroyed" by the data leak. 

In addition to losing his position at the USCCB, he was "subjected to significant financial damages and emotional and psychological devastation," the suit says. 

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ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 25, 2024 / 18:30 pm (CNA).

On July 25, 1968, St. Paul VI published Humanae Vitae, an encyclical on the regulation of birth and the dangers involved in the use of artificial contraceptive methods and their imposition as state policy. At the time the encyclical was rejected by many even within the Catholic Church.

The document, published at the beginning of the sexual revolution, continues to draw mixed reactions, which is why it's necessary to take a closer look at five key points that allow us to better understand the encyclical, the context in which it was written, its prophetic message, and its validity even today. 

1. It is ordinary, definitive, and irreformable magisterial teaching.

Various priests, theologians, and laypeople frequently claim the encyclical only belongs to the ordinary magisterium of a pope and that as such, its content could change with another pope who comes later. However, Humane Vitae has been reaffirmed by the pontiffs who succeeded Paul VI.

St. John Paul II went so far as to affirm that "what is taught by the Church on contraception does not belong to a matter freely disputable between theologians. Teaching the opposite is equivalent to misleading the moral conscience of the spouses."

Furthermore, the Polish pope maintained that the Catholic doctrine on contraception belongs to the moral doctrine of the Church and that this has been proposed "with uninterrupted continuity" because it is "a truth that cannot be disputed."

Therefore, the doctrine of an encyclical belongs to the ordinary magisterium, however, if it is exercised continuously and definitively, it is irreformable, even if it is not infallible.

2. Humanae Vitae is a prophetic encyclical.

Various notable Catholics have characterized the encyclical as "prophetic and still pertinent."

In 1968, the discussion about the negative impact of artificial contraceptives was just in its infancy; however, the document not only meant a concrete response to the debate surrounding sexual ethics, "but it meant at the time, and still means, a refusal of the Church, clear and explicit, to bow to the proposals and demands of the sexual revolution," as explained by the Spanish Bishops' Conference.

In 2018, the late archbishop of Warsaw, Henryk Hoser, noted that the voice of St. Paul VI in Humanae Vitae has been shown to be prophetic about contraceptives, as he "predicted that their application would open the easy way to marital infidelity and the general decrease in births."

Furthermore, the archbishop stressed that the encyclical is always relevant because conjugal love, "physical or spiritual, must combine these two dimensions" and that it must always be a love "free of selfishness."

Similarly, Spanish priest Javier "Patxi" Bronchalo stated in 2022 that the document warned at the time about the increase in marital infidelity, moral degradation, the general loss of dignity of women, and ideological colonization through government policies.

3. The encyclical underwent significant changes before being published.

According to research by an Italian scholar at the Vatican Apostolic Archive, Humanae Vitae should have been originally published on May 23, 1968, but then St. Paul VI decided to publish it on July 25.

This measure was taken by the pope, despite the fact that the document was already printed in Latin under the title De Nascendae Prolis (Of Children to Be Born), because he considered that it was very dense in doctrine and that it was not pastorally adequate.

After some changes to the original document, Paul VI "took the entire pastoral section and added a series of very sensitive points that still reveal his imprint today."

4. St. Paul VI consulted the bishops before publishing the encyclical.

Some accuse St. Paul VI of having published the encyclical Humanae Vitae without consulting the bishops. However, the Italian scholar's research reveals the opposite. During the 1967 Synod of Bishops, the pope asked all prelates to share with him their position on the issue.

Of the almost 200 bishops participating in the synod, only 26 responded in the period from Oct. 9, 1967, to May 31, 1968. Of this group, 19 expressed themselves in favor of contraceptives and only seven against them.

Of these seven, the best known and most important were the venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen and the then-archbishop of Krakow, Poland, Karol Wojtyla, who would become St. John Paul II, who always wanted to be remembered as "the pope of the family," as Pope Francis stated during the canonization of the Polish pope in 2014.

The then-secretary of state, Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, said that "on the morning of July 25, 1968, Paul VI celebrated the Mass of the Holy Spirit, asked for light from on high and signed: He signed his most difficult signature, one of his most glorious signatures. He signed his own passion."

5. Humanae Vitae promotes rational thinking about sexuality.

According to the Jesuit Bertrand de Margerie, being rational about sex does not evoke an indiscriminate and complete autonomy of the intimate life of the couple nor the use of artificial means to control births but rather the exercise of the virtue of chastity.

"The acquired virtue of chastity penetrates with reasonableness the exercise of sexual life when the latter is legitimate," the Jesuit priest wrote, citing St. Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologica.

"By encouraging periodic continence and the regulation of births without artificial control, Paul VI rightly exalts a humble and complete rationalization of the sexual sphere subjected to the knowledge of human reason and to the control of freedom helped by grace," the priest pointed out.

"He does not appeal to instincts," the Jesuit explained, "which are common to men and to other animals and which are deprived of reason, but he appeals to man's freedom, through which man resembles pure spirits such as angels are."

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, Jul 25, 2024 / 17:50 pm (CNA).

A Manhattan federal court sentenced Bevelyn Beatty Williams, a 33-year-old pro-life activist, to three years and five months in prison July 24 for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.

Williams was convicted of "interference, including by threats and force, with individuals seeking to obtain and provide" abortions, according to the Department of Justice. The wife and mother was sentenced after preaching the Gospel outside an abortion clinic and allegedly injuring a clinic worker's hand and blocking the entrance.  

"I was persecuted as a Christian standing for my beliefs when it comes to life," read a statement from Williams on her fundraising page. "This is devastating news. Not only is this bond extensive for the accused crime, but she made it very clear in the courtroom that she was going to make an example out of me." 

A Department of Justice July 24 press release detailed that Williams leaned against the clinic door, blocking a clinic worker from entering, and trapping another worker's hand inside the door.

The release noted that according to a livestream on social media posted by Williams, she "stood within inches of the Health Center's chief administrative officer and threatened to 'terrorize this place' and warned that 'we're gonna terrorize you so good, your business is gonna be over mama.'"

Williams, who has a 2-year-old daughter, intends to appeal the decision.

"The concern of being a young mother, and a stay-at-home mother, was completely disregarded," Williams continued.

"She told me before sentencing me that I was young and that I would not be defined by my sentence, before making a conscious decision to take me away from my 2-year-old daughter for three years," Williams said of the judge. "I have 60 days to appeal my case and fight for my freedom and I need as much help as I can get!"

Williams, born in Staten Island, New York, had her first abortion at the age of 15 after she dropped out of high school, according to her ministry website At Well Ministries. She later went on to have two more abortions and went down a "self-destructive" path of drugs and drinking. 

After she was arrested for money laundering, she had a conversion experience and "upon her release moved forward with the determination to choose a new path." She co-founded At Well Ministries, which specializes in street ministry and ministry to the homeless, and she later made a shift toward pro-life activism. 

Williams is one of many pro-life activists who have been sentenced under the FACE Act in recent years, including several elderly people and a Catholic priest.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 25, 2024 / 18:10 pm (CNA).

The Senate voted overwhelmingly to advance extensive regulations that its supporters say will protect the safety and privacy of children on the internet.

In a rare show of bipartisanship, the Senate voted 86-1 on a procedural vote that paved the way for two child online protection bills to pass the Senate within the coming weeks. Sen. Rand Paul, a libertarian-leaning Republican, was the only senator to vote against advancing the bills.

The current versions of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) emerged from months of dialogue with families and child safety advocates, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's office.

Under KOSA, the government would impose a "duty of care" on social media platforms. This means the companies could be held legally liable if they are negligent in their efforts to prevent children from accessing harmful material.

Bullying and harassment, as well as sexual and violent material, are listed as harmful material covered by the legislation. The bill would also require platforms to work to prevent children from accessing material that could contribute to anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and various other harm.

The bill would require social media platforms to allow children to opt out of algorithmic recommendations and give parents control over how platforms can use their children's information. It would also require independent audits of the platforms.

COPPA 2.0 would prohibit companies from collecting any data on users 16 years old or younger, unless first receiving consent. It would also ban targeted advertising for children and create a "Digital Marketing Bill of Rights for Teens" to restrict data collected on teenagers.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy said on the Senate floor that updating the regulations for the internet is long overdue.

"Rules from 25 years ago can not effectively govern social media sites that did not exist 25 years ago [and] were not conceived of 25 years ago," Cassidy said. "We've waited too long to update these rules."

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, one of the co-sponsors of KOSA, said on the Senate floor that the bill "empowers young people and parents." 

"It gives them choices," Blumenthal continued. "It enables them to take back control over their own lives. It enables the strongest settings of safety by default, it requires companies to disable destructive product features. It gives young people and parents tools to opt out, to choose not to be a part of algorithm recommendations … [and to] shield themselves against online predators and options to protect their own information."

Melissa Henson, the vice president of the Parents Television and Media Council, which endorsed both bills, told CNA that children have been subjected to bullying and sextortion schemes on social media platforms. She said many platforms have caused body image problems for girls and are linked to other mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression.

"A lot of these social media platforms are not designed with children's mental health and well-being in mind," Henson said, but added that social media platforms are "aware of these problems."

"These media companies aren't doing enough to protect kids," Henson said.

Adam Candeub, the director of the Intellectual Property, Information, and Communications Law Program at Michigan State University, told CNA that it is "amazing" that the legislation will likely get a vote "after years of effort and tremendous opposition." Candeub has long advocated for legislation to protect children online. 

"KOSA's duty of care will expose online platforms to liability if they fail to implement design features that 'prevent and mitigate harm to minors,'" Candeub said. "However, the devil is in the details. The question will be how the enforcers, whether the courts or federal agencies or in some cases the state attorney generals who may bring suit, will understand this vague legal duty."

Sen. Paul, who was the lone "no" vote on advancing the legislation, called the bills "a Trojan horse" and warned of a "stifling of First Amendment protected speech" when speaking on the Senate floor.

Paul said that "everyone will have a different belief as to what causes harm … [and as to] how platforms should go about protecting minors from that harm." He added that the "fear of liability [and the] fear of lawsuits … is going to cause people to censor themselves."

Some social media platforms, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have also opposed the bills based on concerns that they will lead to online censorship. 

The bills could receive a final vote in the Senate next week. If they pass, they will be sent to the House of Representatives for consideration.

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