Fr. Pavone Says Reid Health Care Bill is a Gift Americans Won't Accept
STATEN ISLAND, NY, Dec. 24 /Christian Newswire/ -- Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, the largest pro-life ministry in the Catholic Church, issued the following statement on this morning's passage of the Reid health care bill in the Senate.
"Apparently a Senate bill that unleashes unprecedented funding for abortions is the Senate's idea of a Christmas gift," said Fr. Pavone. "Given that taxpayers oppose public funding of abortion by a three- to-one margin, perhaps next November Senators will learn just how offensive their gift is. Beginning immediately, Priests for Life is mobilizing voters to put the right to life first in every election."
Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro- life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit http://www.priestsforlife.org/ .
Christian Newswire
Thursday, December 24, 2009
The U.S. Senate's Christmas Gift to America: Abortion for All, at Taxpayer-Expense
"This bill is a betrayal of conscience for millions of Americans. And it is a betrayal of the principles proclaimed by Reid, Nelson, and Casey."
WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 /Christian Newswire/ -- In response to this morning's passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act introduced by Senator Harry Reid (D- Nev.), Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser offered the following statement:
"On Christmas Eve, the U.S. Senate gave Americans a gift no one wants: abortion for all, at taxpayer- expense. Even more tragic, they can thank self- described 'pro-life' senators like Ben Nelson, Bob Casey, Jr., and Harry Reid for paving the way for legislation that will open the floodgates for the greatest expansion of government-backed abortion since Roe v. Wade.
"Today's vote was a career-affecting vote. The senators who voted to advance this legislation should consider themselves on notice. Votes have consequences, and the Susan B. Anthony List will use all the resources at our disposal to educate their constituents about today's result. As this debate moves forward, pro-life House members would do well to consider the impact of their own votes. Abortion is never good for women, and it should never be a legitimate aspect of any 'health care' debate.
"If this bill is signed into law, for the first time, federally funded and managed health care plans will cover elective abortions. Pro-life Americans in states that choose to 'opt-out' of abortion coverage will still be forced to foot the bill for abortions in California and New York.
"This is not 'compromise' or 'middle ground.' The only ones who support the senate abortion language are a handful of senators so far-removed from the consciences of their own constituents that it's laughable. Discussions of 'different accounts' and 'separate checks' are just a smokescreen.
"This bill is a betrayal of conscience for millions of Americans. And it is a betrayal of the principles proclaimed by Reid, Nelson, and Casey. Today's vote is exactly the type of 'leadership' that repels the American electorate. Americans are hungry for authenticity. They are hungry for leaders whose actions follow their principles, for stalwart representatives who will never abandon their convictions for a sweet deal. Unfortunately, on Christmas Eve 2009, as a result of that lack of real leadership, Americans received the gift of abortion in the name of 'health care reform.'
"The good news for the pro-life movement is that Bart Stupak is already a leader for Life in the House, and we know he won't compromise his principles. The Susan B. Anthony List plans to reinforce Stupak's leadership with our own efforts to target key members of the House of Representatives.
"Unlike the House version of health care reform, the Senate bill as amended by Senator Harry Reid (D- Nev.) does not prohibit abortion coverage for plans offered in federally subsidized health care exchanges. The state "opt-out" provision does nothing to prevent one state's tax dollars from funding abortions in other states."
The new public insurance exchange managed by the Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) will cover abortions. Each state through OPM can provide two multi-state plans and only one of them will exclude abortions. OPM's current health care program, the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), does not include any plans that cover elective abortion. The bill also includes a reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, without language to prevent federal funding of abortions.
As part of its Votes Have Consequences project, the Susan B. Anthony List has funded television ads in Nevada (video) and Pennsylvania (video), radio ads in Nevada, Arkansas, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, and targeted advocacy telephone campaigns nationwide to mobilize pro-life Americans to contact Congress and urge their legislators to defend Life in health care reform.
For the last several months, the Susan B. Anthony List has mobilized tens of thousands of pro-life Americans nationwide to urge Congress to exclude abortion from healthcare reform. Susan B. Anthony List activists have sent over one million letters to Congress requesting an explicit exclusion of abortion from health care reform.
The Susan B. Anthony List is a nationwide network of Americans, over 280,000 residing in all 50 states, dedicated to mobilizing, advancing, and representing pro-life women in politics. Its connected Candidate Fund increases the percentage of pro-life women in the political process.
http://www.sba-list.org/
Christian Newswire
WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 /Christian Newswire/ -- In response to this morning's passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act introduced by Senator Harry Reid (D- Nev.), Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser offered the following statement:
"On Christmas Eve, the U.S. Senate gave Americans a gift no one wants: abortion for all, at taxpayer- expense. Even more tragic, they can thank self- described 'pro-life' senators like Ben Nelson, Bob Casey, Jr., and Harry Reid for paving the way for legislation that will open the floodgates for the greatest expansion of government-backed abortion since Roe v. Wade.
"Today's vote was a career-affecting vote. The senators who voted to advance this legislation should consider themselves on notice. Votes have consequences, and the Susan B. Anthony List will use all the resources at our disposal to educate their constituents about today's result. As this debate moves forward, pro-life House members would do well to consider the impact of their own votes. Abortion is never good for women, and it should never be a legitimate aspect of any 'health care' debate.
"If this bill is signed into law, for the first time, federally funded and managed health care plans will cover elective abortions. Pro-life Americans in states that choose to 'opt-out' of abortion coverage will still be forced to foot the bill for abortions in California and New York.
"This is not 'compromise' or 'middle ground.' The only ones who support the senate abortion language are a handful of senators so far-removed from the consciences of their own constituents that it's laughable. Discussions of 'different accounts' and 'separate checks' are just a smokescreen.
"This bill is a betrayal of conscience for millions of Americans. And it is a betrayal of the principles proclaimed by Reid, Nelson, and Casey. Today's vote is exactly the type of 'leadership' that repels the American electorate. Americans are hungry for authenticity. They are hungry for leaders whose actions follow their principles, for stalwart representatives who will never abandon their convictions for a sweet deal. Unfortunately, on Christmas Eve 2009, as a result of that lack of real leadership, Americans received the gift of abortion in the name of 'health care reform.'
"The good news for the pro-life movement is that Bart Stupak is already a leader for Life in the House, and we know he won't compromise his principles. The Susan B. Anthony List plans to reinforce Stupak's leadership with our own efforts to target key members of the House of Representatives.
"Unlike the House version of health care reform, the Senate bill as amended by Senator Harry Reid (D- Nev.) does not prohibit abortion coverage for plans offered in federally subsidized health care exchanges. The state "opt-out" provision does nothing to prevent one state's tax dollars from funding abortions in other states."
The new public insurance exchange managed by the Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) will cover abortions. Each state through OPM can provide two multi-state plans and only one of them will exclude abortions. OPM's current health care program, the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), does not include any plans that cover elective abortion. The bill also includes a reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, without language to prevent federal funding of abortions.
As part of its Votes Have Consequences project, the Susan B. Anthony List has funded television ads in Nevada (video) and Pennsylvania (video), radio ads in Nevada, Arkansas, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, and targeted advocacy telephone campaigns nationwide to mobilize pro-life Americans to contact Congress and urge their legislators to defend Life in health care reform.
For the last several months, the Susan B. Anthony List has mobilized tens of thousands of pro-life Americans nationwide to urge Congress to exclude abortion from healthcare reform. Susan B. Anthony List activists have sent over one million letters to Congress requesting an explicit exclusion of abortion from health care reform.
The Susan B. Anthony List is a nationwide network of Americans, over 280,000 residing in all 50 states, dedicated to mobilizing, advancing, and representing pro-life women in politics. Its connected Candidate Fund increases the percentage of pro-life women in the political process.
http://www.sba-list.org/
Christian Newswire
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Orthodox leader Patriarch Kirill is one of Russia's people of 2009
Moscow (ENI). Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill I has been honoured in a Russian 2009 Person of the Year award, taking top honours along with President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at an awards ceremony held at Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow. The award is given by an organization called the Russian Biographical Institute. It honours public figures in spheres such as religion, politics, sports, medicine, education and culture. Winners are chosen by a committee and also by voting in the media and on the Internet. [331 words, ENI-09-0994]
Russian church official reiterates 'no dialogue' with female bishop
Trier, Germany (ENI). The external relations' head of the Moscow Patriarchate has reiterated that Patriarch Kirill I of the Russian Orthodox Church will not take part in meetings with the newly-elected leader of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) as she is a female bishop. "Despite the fact that we do not recognise the Protestant church as a church, there had in the past been meetings between the chairperson of the EKD and the Patriarch. That is not possible anymore. The Patriarch cannot meet a woman bishop," Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk said in an interview with the German weekly magazine, Der Spiegel. [334 words, ENI-09-0992]
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wisconsin ‘pro-choice Catholic’ group is disowning Catholic heritage, Archbishop Listecki states
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=18077
LA CROSSE, WISC., December 16 (CNA) - A self-described Wisconsin Catholic group which holds that Catholics can disregard Church teaching on abortion, contraception and human sexuality is disowning its heritage, Archbishop-designate of Milwaukee Jerome E. Listecki said in a Dec. 15 statement.
The group Young Catholics for Choice, which is a part of the dissenting group Catholics for Choice, has begun collaborating with Family Planning Health Services of Wausau. Members of the group have gone on local television and also have advocated for the “Plan B” contraceptive at a press conference.
Archbishop-designate Listecki said the group is conducting an advertising campaign to convince Catholics they can disregard Church teaching and still remain in good standing.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” the archbishop-designate insisted.
He added that it is his duty as a bishop to state “clearly and unequivocally” that these views are in “grave contradiction” to Catholic teaching. By professing and disseminating such views, members of groups like Young Catholics for Choice “in fact disown their Catholic heritage,” and are “tragically distancing themselves” from communion with the Church.
“We pray that they may reconcile their position which is contrary to the Catholic Faith they claim to profess,” Archbishop-designate Listecki’s statement concluded.
LA CROSSE, WISC., December 16 (CNA) - A self-described Wisconsin Catholic group which holds that Catholics can disregard Church teaching on abortion, contraception and human sexuality is disowning its heritage, Archbishop-designate of Milwaukee Jerome E. Listecki said in a Dec. 15 statement.
The group Young Catholics for Choice, which is a part of the dissenting group Catholics for Choice, has begun collaborating with Family Planning Health Services of Wausau. Members of the group have gone on local television and also have advocated for the “Plan B” contraceptive at a press conference.
Archbishop-designate Listecki said the group is conducting an advertising campaign to convince Catholics they can disregard Church teaching and still remain in good standing.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” the archbishop-designate insisted.
He added that it is his duty as a bishop to state “clearly and unequivocally” that these views are in “grave contradiction” to Catholic teaching. By professing and disseminating such views, members of groups like Young Catholics for Choice “in fact disown their Catholic heritage,” and are “tragically distancing themselves” from communion with the Church.
“We pray that they may reconcile their position which is contrary to the Catholic Faith they claim to profess,” Archbishop-designate Listecki’s statement concluded.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
I hope old Sam is right about us on this one
Actor blames Catholic Church for lack of Golden Compass sequels
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=18066
LONDON, ENGLAND, December 16 (CNA) - Actor Sam Elliot has blamed the Catholic Church for stopping sequels from being made to the Golden Compass movie based on the first book of Philip Pullman’s atheistic trilogy His Dark Materials.
The film, starring Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Eva Green, grossed more than $380 million worldwide after its Christmas 2007 release, but took in only $85 million in the U.S. According to the Internet Movie Database, the film had a budget of $180 million.
The 65-year-old Elliot, who played a Texan “aeronaut” in the film, charged that a Catholic-led campaign against the movie stopped its sequels from being made.
“The Catholic Church happened to The Golden Compass, as far as I'm concerned,” Elliot remarked to the Evening Standard.
He said the movie did “incredible” at the box office but the Catholic Church “lambasted” the filmmakers and “scared off” New Line Cinema executives.
The movie itself is about a young heroine named Lyra who fights against an evil organization called the Magisterium, which many people see as a reference to the Catholic Church's body of teachings of the same name. The anti-religious message was reportedly toned down compared to the book.
Bill Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights had charged that the books and movie sold “atheism for kids.”
He told the Evening Standard that he was “delighted that the boycott worked.”
"I knew if we could hurt the box office receipts here, it might put the brakes on the next movie,” he added.
Donohue said he protested the movie because of its “deceitful attempt to introduce Christian children to the wonders of atheism in a backdoor fashion at Christmas time.”
“Everyone agrees the film version was not anti-Catholic, but that hardly resolves the issue. The fact is that each volume in the trilogy becomes increasingly anti-Catholic,” he continued.
Pullman, the author of the book on which the Golden Compass was based, said that the likelihood of the film trilogy being completed is decreasing.
He said that Catholics’ efforts against the film “must have played a part” in the trilogy being shelved, the Telegraph reports.
Pullman has denied his series is anti-Catholic, claiming it is a warning about what religion can do “when it gets its hands on the levers of power.”
According to CinemaBlend.com, the first book of the His Dark Materials trilogy is the most mild “by far” and the movie had most of its anti-religion references stripped.
“That kind of sanitization would have been impossible when adapting later books,” the movie website continued, noting that the series “quite literally” becomes a story about homosexual angels trying to kill God.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office for Film & Broadcasting had initially published a positive review of the movie, which was later pulled.
Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput had said the film had an “aggressively anti-religious, anti-Christian undercurrent” and an “absence of joy or any real laughter.” He criticized the promotion of “this cold, angry, anti-religious fable” as holiday fare and invited Catholics to voice their concerns to New Line Cinema.
Bishop of LaCrosse, Wisconsin Jerome Listecki sent a letter about the film to his priests, urging them to warn parents about the books’ attacks on the Christian faith.
"Instead of using fantasy to lead people to truth and to God, this trilogy tries to lead them away from God," he said.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=18066
LONDON, ENGLAND, December 16 (CNA) - Actor Sam Elliot has blamed the Catholic Church for stopping sequels from being made to the Golden Compass movie based on the first book of Philip Pullman’s atheistic trilogy His Dark Materials.
The film, starring Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Eva Green, grossed more than $380 million worldwide after its Christmas 2007 release, but took in only $85 million in the U.S. According to the Internet Movie Database, the film had a budget of $180 million.
The 65-year-old Elliot, who played a Texan “aeronaut” in the film, charged that a Catholic-led campaign against the movie stopped its sequels from being made.
“The Catholic Church happened to The Golden Compass, as far as I'm concerned,” Elliot remarked to the Evening Standard.
He said the movie did “incredible” at the box office but the Catholic Church “lambasted” the filmmakers and “scared off” New Line Cinema executives.
The movie itself is about a young heroine named Lyra who fights against an evil organization called the Magisterium, which many people see as a reference to the Catholic Church's body of teachings of the same name. The anti-religious message was reportedly toned down compared to the book.
Bill Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights had charged that the books and movie sold “atheism for kids.”
He told the Evening Standard that he was “delighted that the boycott worked.”
"I knew if we could hurt the box office receipts here, it might put the brakes on the next movie,” he added.
Donohue said he protested the movie because of its “deceitful attempt to introduce Christian children to the wonders of atheism in a backdoor fashion at Christmas time.”
“Everyone agrees the film version was not anti-Catholic, but that hardly resolves the issue. The fact is that each volume in the trilogy becomes increasingly anti-Catholic,” he continued.
Pullman, the author of the book on which the Golden Compass was based, said that the likelihood of the film trilogy being completed is decreasing.
He said that Catholics’ efforts against the film “must have played a part” in the trilogy being shelved, the Telegraph reports.
Pullman has denied his series is anti-Catholic, claiming it is a warning about what religion can do “when it gets its hands on the levers of power.”
According to CinemaBlend.com, the first book of the His Dark Materials trilogy is the most mild “by far” and the movie had most of its anti-religion references stripped.
“That kind of sanitization would have been impossible when adapting later books,” the movie website continued, noting that the series “quite literally” becomes a story about homosexual angels trying to kill God.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office for Film & Broadcasting had initially published a positive review of the movie, which was later pulled.
Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput had said the film had an “aggressively anti-religious, anti-Christian undercurrent” and an “absence of joy or any real laughter.” He criticized the promotion of “this cold, angry, anti-religious fable” as holiday fare and invited Catholics to voice their concerns to New Line Cinema.
Bishop of LaCrosse, Wisconsin Jerome Listecki sent a letter about the film to his priests, urging them to warn parents about the books’ attacks on the Christian faith.
"Instead of using fantasy to lead people to truth and to God, this trilogy tries to lead them away from God," he said.
Federal appellate court to review San Francisco board’s anti-Catholic resolution
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=18065
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF., December 16 (CNA) - A full panel of judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments concerning the constitutionality of the San Francisco Board of Supervisor’s resolution attacking the Catholic Church for its opposition to the adoption of children by homosexuals.
The panel will review the earlier opinion of a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel that upheld the resolution.
Robert Muise, an attorney with the Thomas More Law Center, will argue on behalf of the plaintiffs, the Catholic League and two Catholic residents of San Francisco.
The Law Center in a statement charged that the resolution sounded “like a Ku Klux Klan anti-Catholic diatribe.”
It refers to the Vatican as a “foreign country” interfering in the affairs of the city. It says the Church’s teaching on homosexuality is “insulting to all San Franciscans,” “hateful,” “insulting and callous,” “defamatory” and “insensitive and ignorant.”
The Board’s resolution refers to the Inquisition and urges the Archbishop of San Francisco and Catholic Charities of San Francisco to defy Church directives.
The resolution was unanimously adopted by the Board on March 21, 2006.
The lawsuit charges that the resolution violates the Establishment Clause of the Constitution on the grounds that it expresses government hostility toward the Catholic Church.
In the Thomas More Law Center’s view, the “anti-Catholic” resolution sends a clear message to the plaintiffs and other faithful Catholics that “they are outsiders, not full members of the political community.” It also tells those who oppose Catholic beliefs that they are “insiders” and “favored members of the political community.”
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF., December 16 (CNA) - A full panel of judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments concerning the constitutionality of the San Francisco Board of Supervisor’s resolution attacking the Catholic Church for its opposition to the adoption of children by homosexuals.
The panel will review the earlier opinion of a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel that upheld the resolution.
Robert Muise, an attorney with the Thomas More Law Center, will argue on behalf of the plaintiffs, the Catholic League and two Catholic residents of San Francisco.
The Law Center in a statement charged that the resolution sounded “like a Ku Klux Klan anti-Catholic diatribe.”
It refers to the Vatican as a “foreign country” interfering in the affairs of the city. It says the Church’s teaching on homosexuality is “insulting to all San Franciscans,” “hateful,” “insulting and callous,” “defamatory” and “insensitive and ignorant.”
The Board’s resolution refers to the Inquisition and urges the Archbishop of San Francisco and Catholic Charities of San Francisco to defy Church directives.
The resolution was unanimously adopted by the Board on March 21, 2006.
The lawsuit charges that the resolution violates the Establishment Clause of the Constitution on the grounds that it expresses government hostility toward the Catholic Church.
In the Thomas More Law Center’s view, the “anti-Catholic” resolution sends a clear message to the plaintiffs and other faithful Catholics that “they are outsiders, not full members of the political community.” It also tells those who oppose Catholic beliefs that they are “insiders” and “favored members of the political community.”
Wisconsin state senator calls for Planned Parenthood inquiry, cites video evidence
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=18068
APPLETON, WIS., December 16 (CNA) - Following the release of an undercover video showing staffers at a Wisconsin Planned Parenthood clinic giving false information to a woman they believed was seeking an abortion, a state senator has called for an investigation into the organization.
An undercover video made by Live Action Films shows staffers at a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic near Appleton, Wisconsin giving conflicting and unscientific information about human development.
One staffer claimed that an unborn baby has only “heart tones,” not a heartbeat, until “about seventeen or eighteen weeks” into gestation.
The fetal heartbeat actually begins at around three weeks into pregnancy.
The video also shows the abortionist saying the unborn child is “not a baby at this stage” and telling the young woman that having an abortion is “much safer” than having a baby.
Wisconsin State Senator Glenn Grothman has called for an investigation, saying legislators should make sure Planned Parenthood does not “mislead” young girls in the future.
He called for the medical board to begin an investigation into whether the abortionist should continue to have a medical license.
Wisconsin law requires women seeking abortions to receive medically accurate information, a press release from Live Action says.
Teri Huyck, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, issued a statement on Friday saying that the doctor provided “honest, medically accurate information.” She described the videos as “edited.”
Live Action has sent the full unedited footage to Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and Outagamie County District Attorney Carrie Schneider for review.
Lila Rose, the president of Live Action, charged that Planned Parenthood “poses” as a mainstream health provider but hides the facts of fetal development “so they can sell more abortions to more women.”
“An abortion is not a mere surgery. Instead, abortion determines whether a woman's unborn son or daughter will live or die,” she added.
“Planned Parenthood's pattern of medical malpractice and refusal to accept correction from scientific authorities further separates them from the rest of the medical community, who base their treatment on sound scientific guidance, not deceiving patients."
APPLETON, WIS., December 16 (CNA) - Following the release of an undercover video showing staffers at a Wisconsin Planned Parenthood clinic giving false information to a woman they believed was seeking an abortion, a state senator has called for an investigation into the organization.
An undercover video made by Live Action Films shows staffers at a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic near Appleton, Wisconsin giving conflicting and unscientific information about human development.
One staffer claimed that an unborn baby has only “heart tones,” not a heartbeat, until “about seventeen or eighteen weeks” into gestation.
The fetal heartbeat actually begins at around three weeks into pregnancy.
The video also shows the abortionist saying the unborn child is “not a baby at this stage” and telling the young woman that having an abortion is “much safer” than having a baby.
Wisconsin State Senator Glenn Grothman has called for an investigation, saying legislators should make sure Planned Parenthood does not “mislead” young girls in the future.
He called for the medical board to begin an investigation into whether the abortionist should continue to have a medical license.
Wisconsin law requires women seeking abortions to receive medically accurate information, a press release from Live Action says.
Teri Huyck, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, issued a statement on Friday saying that the doctor provided “honest, medically accurate information.” She described the videos as “edited.”
Live Action has sent the full unedited footage to Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and Outagamie County District Attorney Carrie Schneider for review.
Lila Rose, the president of Live Action, charged that Planned Parenthood “poses” as a mainstream health provider but hides the facts of fetal development “so they can sell more abortions to more women.”
“An abortion is not a mere surgery. Instead, abortion determines whether a woman's unborn son or daughter will live or die,” she added.
“Planned Parenthood's pattern of medical malpractice and refusal to accept correction from scientific authorities further separates them from the rest of the medical community, who base their treatment on sound scientific guidance, not deceiving patients."
Off-duty COP pulls GUN on pro-life counselor in Aurora, IL
This morning, Rachelle Crile, one of our most committed sidewalk counselors, was threatened by an off duty Chicago police officer who pointed his gun at her from inside his minivan.
Rachelle had been counseling in the bitter cold and was warming up in her car when the man and his female passenger pulled into the Blockbuster lot nearby her car.
Somehow Rachelle knew they were headed to Planned Parenthood and after praying about it, she peacefully approached the car with literature. When she reached the driver's window, he pointed a gun at her, and she backed away with her hands up.
The couple then drove into the Planned Parenthood lot, and Rachelle called the police. Then sidewalk counselor Marie Sulita called me, and I rushed out there.
There were about eight police cars there when I arrived, and then several reporters showed up. Despite being shaken up, Rachelle courageously spoke to the press -- taking the opportunity to explain the life-saving mission of sidewalk counseling.
The police discovered that the man is a Chicago police officer, and there was indeed a gun in his car. But he claims he was only showing Rachelle his badge! Outrageous.
A police report was filed, but no charges. Rachelle will be following up with the DuPage County state's attorney -- I'll let you know about any developments.
You can learn more about the incident at the Pro-Life Action League website, and get links to some of the news stories about it, here:
http://prolifeaction.org/#gun
--- HOW YOU CAN HELP ---
This is a scary thing to happen, especially only a few months after pro-life activist Jim Pouillion was shot and killed in Michigan.
But there are three things you can do to help:
1. PRAY for Rachelle and her husband Jim. This has been a
really tough day for them.
2. PRAY that people will not be frightened away from clinic
witness. Such incidents are extremely rare, and we need to
keep our witness at the abortuaries strong.
3. HELP the Pro-Life Action League with a gift towards
training more great sidewalk counselors like Rachelle:
http://prolifeaction.org/donations?m=e&c=sidewalk
As Rachelle told the reporters this morning, the violence of abortion begets more violence. It's really no wonder that a man bent on seeing his own unborn child killed would pull a gun on a pro-life counselor.
The true wonder is that God keeps calling forth brave Christians like Rachelle to confront this violence with the healing of Christ's boundless love and forgiveness. God bless her.
Yours for Life,
-- Eric
Eric Scheidler
Executive Director
Pro-Life Action League
Tel: 630-896-1200
Facebook: http://prolifeaction.org/facebook .
.
Pro-Life Action League
6160 N Cicero Ave, Ste 600
Chicago, IL 60646, USA
Rachelle had been counseling in the bitter cold and was warming up in her car when the man and his female passenger pulled into the Blockbuster lot nearby her car.
Somehow Rachelle knew they were headed to Planned Parenthood and after praying about it, she peacefully approached the car with literature. When she reached the driver's window, he pointed a gun at her, and she backed away with her hands up.
The couple then drove into the Planned Parenthood lot, and Rachelle called the police. Then sidewalk counselor Marie Sulita called me, and I rushed out there.
There were about eight police cars there when I arrived, and then several reporters showed up. Despite being shaken up, Rachelle courageously spoke to the press -- taking the opportunity to explain the life-saving mission of sidewalk counseling.
The police discovered that the man is a Chicago police officer, and there was indeed a gun in his car. But he claims he was only showing Rachelle his badge! Outrageous.
A police report was filed, but no charges. Rachelle will be following up with the DuPage County state's attorney -- I'll let you know about any developments.
You can learn more about the incident at the Pro-Life Action League website, and get links to some of the news stories about it, here:
http://prolifeaction.org/#gun
--- HOW YOU CAN HELP ---
This is a scary thing to happen, especially only a few months after pro-life activist Jim Pouillion was shot and killed in Michigan.
But there are three things you can do to help:
1. PRAY for Rachelle and her husband Jim. This has been a
really tough day for them.
2. PRAY that people will not be frightened away from clinic
witness. Such incidents are extremely rare, and we need to
keep our witness at the abortuaries strong.
3. HELP the Pro-Life Action League with a gift towards
training more great sidewalk counselors like Rachelle:
http://prolifeaction.org/donations?m=e&c=sidewalk
As Rachelle told the reporters this morning, the violence of abortion begets more violence. It's really no wonder that a man bent on seeing his own unborn child killed would pull a gun on a pro-life counselor.
The true wonder is that God keeps calling forth brave Christians like Rachelle to confront this violence with the healing of Christ's boundless love and forgiveness. God bless her.
Yours for Life,
-- Eric
Eric Scheidler
Executive Director
Pro-Life Action League
Tel: 630-896-1200
Facebook: http://prolifeaction.org/facebook .
.
Pro-Life Action League
6160 N Cicero Ave, Ste 600
Chicago, IL 60646, USA
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Bus ads aim to attract lapsed Catholics in Dallas
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=18045
DALLAS, TEXAS, December 14 (CNA) - As Christmas quickly approaches, the Diocese of Dallas has launched a campaign to bring lapsed Catholics back into the Church. One part of the outreach involves bus ads with the message: “Catholics come home for Christmas.”
“When I travel around the diocese, I have so many people tell me that their wife or husband or parents or kids have abandoned their church or faith,” Bishop Kevin Farrell explained to the Dallas Morning News on Sunday. “They're always asking me what we can do about it.”
The recent bus ads are part of the larger Catholics Come Home for Christmas campaign which “is an appeal from the Diocese of Dallas” to “welcome all inactive Catholics to return to the Faith,” the diocesan website says.
“No matter if you've been away from the Church for only a brief period of time or for many years, the important thing that I want you to know is that all of us are praying that during this special time of the year, this Christmas season, you will think about coming home to the Catholic Church,” Bishop Farrell said in a video message. “I hope you will fondly remember the church you grew up in, the church you made your first communion in or confirmation,” continued Bishop Farrell. “Perhaps you will think of your friends and family members who attended the same Catholic school with you or maybe you just remember what it was like to be part of a parish community who praise God together and were strengthened in faith through the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass.”
The Bishop of Dallas also acknowledged that people may have left the Church because they were hurt. “ I hope that whatever the hurt, the anger or the disinterest you experienced in leaving the Church can be healed so that you can once again know the comfort, the joy, the sense of belonging that worshiping with your family, your friends and neighbors can bring,” the bishop said in his video.
“As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior, we invite you to join us at any one of more than 70 parishes to welcome the light of the world, Who has saved us,” Bishop Farrell concluded.
The bus advertisements in Dallas have been financially supported by the Knight of Columbus as well as private donors who have worked to put the ads on 13 Dallas Area Rapid Transit buses. The ads cost $359 each and will run through Dec. 27.
To view the Come Home for Christmas video, please visit, http://www.cathdal.org/default.asp?contentID=336
DALLAS, TEXAS, December 14 (CNA) - As Christmas quickly approaches, the Diocese of Dallas has launched a campaign to bring lapsed Catholics back into the Church. One part of the outreach involves bus ads with the message: “Catholics come home for Christmas.”
“When I travel around the diocese, I have so many people tell me that their wife or husband or parents or kids have abandoned their church or faith,” Bishop Kevin Farrell explained to the Dallas Morning News on Sunday. “They're always asking me what we can do about it.”
The recent bus ads are part of the larger Catholics Come Home for Christmas campaign which “is an appeal from the Diocese of Dallas” to “welcome all inactive Catholics to return to the Faith,” the diocesan website says.
“No matter if you've been away from the Church for only a brief period of time or for many years, the important thing that I want you to know is that all of us are praying that during this special time of the year, this Christmas season, you will think about coming home to the Catholic Church,” Bishop Farrell said in a video message. “I hope you will fondly remember the church you grew up in, the church you made your first communion in or confirmation,” continued Bishop Farrell. “Perhaps you will think of your friends and family members who attended the same Catholic school with you or maybe you just remember what it was like to be part of a parish community who praise God together and were strengthened in faith through the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass.”
The Bishop of Dallas also acknowledged that people may have left the Church because they were hurt. “ I hope that whatever the hurt, the anger or the disinterest you experienced in leaving the Church can be healed so that you can once again know the comfort, the joy, the sense of belonging that worshiping with your family, your friends and neighbors can bring,” the bishop said in his video.
“As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior, we invite you to join us at any one of more than 70 parishes to welcome the light of the world, Who has saved us,” Bishop Farrell concluded.
The bus advertisements in Dallas have been financially supported by the Knight of Columbus as well as private donors who have worked to put the ads on 13 Dallas Area Rapid Transit buses. The ads cost $359 each and will run through Dec. 27.
To view the Come Home for Christmas video, please visit, http://www.cathdal.org/default.asp?contentID=336
Holy See reiterates opposition to violation of homosexual persons’ human rights
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=18049
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., December 14 (CNA) - Following an afternoon panel discussion about treatment of homosexuals by governments around the world, the Vatican’s legal attaché to the United Nations issued a Dec. 10 statement saying the Holy See continues to oppose “all grave violations” of homosexual persons’ human rights.
The letter named such grave violations as the use of the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
“The Holy See also opposes all forms of violence and unjust discrimination against homosexual persons, including discriminatory penal legislation which undermines the inherent dignity of the human person,” continued the letter, signed by Rev. Philip J. Bené of the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations.
“The murder and abuse of homosexual persons are to be confronted on all levels, especially when such violence is perpetrated by the State.
“While the Holy See's position on the concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity remains well known, we continue to call on all States and individuals to respect the rights of all persons and to work to promote their inherent dignity and worth.”
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., December 14 (CNA) - Following an afternoon panel discussion about treatment of homosexuals by governments around the world, the Vatican’s legal attaché to the United Nations issued a Dec. 10 statement saying the Holy See continues to oppose “all grave violations” of homosexual persons’ human rights.
The letter named such grave violations as the use of the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
“The Holy See also opposes all forms of violence and unjust discrimination against homosexual persons, including discriminatory penal legislation which undermines the inherent dignity of the human person,” continued the letter, signed by Rev. Philip J. Bené of the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations.
“The murder and abuse of homosexual persons are to be confronted on all levels, especially when such violence is perpetrated by the State.
“While the Holy See's position on the concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity remains well known, we continue to call on all States and individuals to respect the rights of all persons and to work to promote their inherent dignity and worth.”
Monday, December 14, 2009
Pope expresses 'outrage' after report on sexual abuse in Ireland
By Luigi Sandri
Rome, 14 December (ENI). Pope Benedict XVI has said he is "disturbed and distressed" by the findings of an official report that says the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland failed to deal with allegations of sexual abuse. A Vatican statement issued after a meeting in Rome between the Pope and senior Irish bishops said that the pontiff, "shares the outrage, betrayal and shame felt by so many of the faithful in Ireland", and is to draw up a document on the consequences for the church there. The meeting followed the publication of an Irish government-commissioned report, which concluded that church authorities had covered up abuse over three decades. [493 words, ENI-09-0977]
This summary may be copied or re-posted provided the information printed below is retained.
Individual paragraphs may be reproduced provided ENI is acknowledged as the source.
For details of subscriptions to the full ENI News Service, which contains full text articles, contact ENI at the address below.
ENI Online - www.eni.ch
Ecumenical News International
PO Box 2100
CH - 1211 Geneva 2
Switzerland
Tel: (41-22) 791 6088/6111
Fax: (41-22) 788 7244
Email: eni@eni.ch
Rome, 14 December (ENI). Pope Benedict XVI has said he is "disturbed and distressed" by the findings of an official report that says the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland failed to deal with allegations of sexual abuse. A Vatican statement issued after a meeting in Rome between the Pope and senior Irish bishops said that the pontiff, "shares the outrage, betrayal and shame felt by so many of the faithful in Ireland", and is to draw up a document on the consequences for the church there. The meeting followed the publication of an Irish government-commissioned report, which concluded that church authorities had covered up abuse over three decades. [493 words, ENI-09-0977]
This summary may be copied or re-posted provided the information printed below is retained.
Individual paragraphs may be reproduced provided ENI is acknowledged as the source.
For details of subscriptions to the full ENI News Service, which contains full text articles, contact ENI at the address below.
ENI Online - www.eni.ch
Ecumenical News International
PO Box 2100
CH - 1211 Geneva 2
Switzerland
Tel: (41-22) 791 6088/6111
Fax: (41-22) 788 7244
Email: eni@eni.ch
2009 not a good year for human rights, Congressman Chris Smith says
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=18035
WASHINGTON D.C., December 13 (CNA) - In observance of Human Rights Day on December 10, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) released a summary of the numerous human rights abuses in China, Cuba, Sudan, Vietnam and other countries. Rep. Smith highlighted that 2009 has not been a good year for many people around the world.
Vietnam, whose president met with Pope Benedict on Friday, was cited by Rep. Smith in his 2009 summary as a place where respect for human rights has gone “from bad to worse.”
“Hanoi has unleashed a torrent of repression upon courageous citizens fighting for basic rights. These victims have been imprisoned by the regime for practicing their faith and standing up for what they believe in,” he charged.
Smith has introduced to the U.S. House the Vietnam Human Rights Act for the purpose of holding the Vietnamese government accountable for its mistreatment and incarceration of democracy activists, people of faith and labor rights activists.
Rep. Smith, who is the ranking member on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, also voiced concern about human rights in China.
“The United States has been sending a message that profits and money-making and climate change issues trump human rights,” he claimed.
China has an oppressive one-child policy and its women reportedly have the highest suicide rate in the world.
Smith also voiced concern about peace in Sudan, which has suffered massacres, sexual violence and the destruction of entire villages.
On the matter of U.S.-Cuba relations, he advocated that the release of political prisoners should be a priority ahead of permitting travel to Cuba or altering the trade embargo on the country.
Last week the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) held a hearing on international child abduction. Parents, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and judicial and legal experts on relevant international law testified at the hearing.
Rep. Smith, an executive member of TLHRC, said that child abduction is a “growing problem” that needs “real systematic change.”
WASHINGTON D.C., December 13 (CNA) - In observance of Human Rights Day on December 10, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) released a summary of the numerous human rights abuses in China, Cuba, Sudan, Vietnam and other countries. Rep. Smith highlighted that 2009 has not been a good year for many people around the world.
Vietnam, whose president met with Pope Benedict on Friday, was cited by Rep. Smith in his 2009 summary as a place where respect for human rights has gone “from bad to worse.”
“Hanoi has unleashed a torrent of repression upon courageous citizens fighting for basic rights. These victims have been imprisoned by the regime for practicing their faith and standing up for what they believe in,” he charged.
Smith has introduced to the U.S. House the Vietnam Human Rights Act for the purpose of holding the Vietnamese government accountable for its mistreatment and incarceration of democracy activists, people of faith and labor rights activists.
Rep. Smith, who is the ranking member on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, also voiced concern about human rights in China.
“The United States has been sending a message that profits and money-making and climate change issues trump human rights,” he claimed.
China has an oppressive one-child policy and its women reportedly have the highest suicide rate in the world.
Smith also voiced concern about peace in Sudan, which has suffered massacres, sexual violence and the destruction of entire villages.
On the matter of U.S.-Cuba relations, he advocated that the release of political prisoners should be a priority ahead of permitting travel to Cuba or altering the trade embargo on the country.
Last week the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) held a hearing on international child abduction. Parents, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and judicial and legal experts on relevant international law testified at the hearing.
Rep. Smith, an executive member of TLHRC, said that child abduction is a “growing problem” that needs “real systematic change.”
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Pope warns on 'deceitful' aspects of liberation theology
Rome (ENI). An exhortation by Pope Benedict XVI to Brazilian bishops to reject "certain deceitful principles" of liberation theology has been condemned by a movement campaigning for reforms in the Roman Catholic Church. Meeting a group of Brazilian bishops on 4 December at the Vatican, the Pope recalled a 1984 document on liberation theology issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he headed this body responsible for ensuring doctrinal orthodoxy. [348 words, ENI-09-0969]
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Fourth Catholic priest gunned down in South Africa in nine months
Cape Town (ENI). A French priest ministering to impoverished people, the Rev. Louis Blondel of the Missionaries of Africa, shot dead in his home by child robbers, is the fourth Roman Catholic cleric killed by South African criminals since March. Blondel, aged 70 was shot dead around in the early hours of 7 December in Dieplsloot, north of Johannesburg. He and another priest, the Rev. Guido Bourgeois, also 70, who was born in Canada, were awakened by three boys who forced their way into the priest's offices through a broken window in their living quarters at the Sacred Heart Catholic church premises. [465 words, ENI-09-0962]
Reid plans to kill hundreds of children on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of our Blessed Mother
Senate Defeats Pro-Life Health Care Amendment
Abortion will be funded under Reid bill
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Senate defeated an amendment today that would bar funding of elective abortions in the massive health care bill. By a vote of 54-45, the Senate tabled, effectively killing, the Nelson- Hatch amendment, which is similar to the Stupak-Pitts amendment in the House.
Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America, stated:
"Nelson-Hatch was a reasonable amendment that does one thing: ensures federal funds are not spent on elective abortions. What the government funds, we get more of. Without this amendment, the health care bill will violate two of Pres. Obama's promises: that the bill will not fund abortion and that he will work to reduce abortions.
"Since abortion costs less than delivery of a baby, it is not unlikely that bureaucrats, facing pressure to reduce costs, will sign off on paying for abortion but not for the health care that pregnant women and their babies need. This could lead to women being coerced into abortion by their own government.
"The Senate bill is now at odds with the House version, which prohibits funding of elective abortions.
"Federal funding of abortion will increase the number of abortions and lead to higher health care costs for women who suffer complications, such as hemorrhaging, infection, subsequent premature births, and psychological issues.
"If more children are aborted, who will pay for this massive government entitlement when it balloons in 20 years?"
Concerned Women for America is the nation's largest public policy women's organization.
Christian Newswire
Abortion will be funded under Reid bill
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Senate defeated an amendment today that would bar funding of elective abortions in the massive health care bill. By a vote of 54-45, the Senate tabled, effectively killing, the Nelson- Hatch amendment, which is similar to the Stupak-Pitts amendment in the House.
Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America, stated:
"Nelson-Hatch was a reasonable amendment that does one thing: ensures federal funds are not spent on elective abortions. What the government funds, we get more of. Without this amendment, the health care bill will violate two of Pres. Obama's promises: that the bill will not fund abortion and that he will work to reduce abortions.
"Since abortion costs less than delivery of a baby, it is not unlikely that bureaucrats, facing pressure to reduce costs, will sign off on paying for abortion but not for the health care that pregnant women and their babies need. This could lead to women being coerced into abortion by their own government.
"The Senate bill is now at odds with the House version, which prohibits funding of elective abortions.
"Federal funding of abortion will increase the number of abortions and lead to higher health care costs for women who suffer complications, such as hemorrhaging, infection, subsequent premature births, and psychological issues.
"If more children are aborted, who will pay for this massive government entitlement when it balloons in 20 years?"
Concerned Women for America is the nation's largest public policy women's organization.
Christian Newswire
Monday, December 07, 2009
A good example of why all Anglicans should swim the Tiber
I believe Rowan Williams may be a good man, but being a good bishop requires more. A backbone would be a start.
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Archbishop of Canterbury warns on election of U.S. lesbian bishop
New York (ENI). The election of an openly lesbian priest, who lives with her partner, as a bishop in the U.S. Episcopal (Anglican) Church is likely to cause further problems in the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has said. "The election of Mary Glasspool by the diocese of Los Angeles as suffragan [assistant] bishop-elect raises very serious questions not just for the Episcopal Church and its place in the Anglican Communion, but for the Communion as a whole," said Williams, the leader of the 77-million Anglican Communion, in a 6 December statement. [419 words, ENI-09-0956]
------------------
Archbishop of Canterbury warns on election of U.S. lesbian bishop
New York (ENI). The election of an openly lesbian priest, who lives with her partner, as a bishop in the U.S. Episcopal (Anglican) Church is likely to cause further problems in the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has said. "The election of Mary Glasspool by the diocese of Los Angeles as suffragan [assistant] bishop-elect raises very serious questions not just for the Episcopal Church and its place in the Anglican Communion, but for the Communion as a whole," said Williams, the leader of the 77-million Anglican Communion, in a 6 December statement. [419 words, ENI-09-0956]
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Reported hate crimes against U.S. Catholics up by nearly 25 percent
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17850
WASHINGTON D.C., November 26 (CNA) - New FBI statistics on hate crimes show a nine percent increase in crimes against religious groups in 2008 and an almost 25 percent increase in reported hate crimes against Catholics.
Last year there were 1,519 incidents classified as hate crimes based on a victim’s religion, USA Today reports. Anti-Jewish attacks made up one of every six incidents, but there were 75 such crimes against Catholics. This is an increase from 61 in 2007.
Bill Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights told USA Today that he had never seen the country so culturally divided and polarized.
Speaking in more detail with CNA, he remarked that increased outspokenness among Catholic bishops and laity may have caused some retaliation.
“Lay Catholics are following the energy from the bishops who are becoming more vocal than they have been,” he commented.
In Donohue’s view, same-sex “marriage,” abortion, and protections conscientious objections are particular issues of public controversy.
“Proposition 8 in California last November led to violence against Catholics – many who were Latinos,” Donohue commented, referring to the successful California ballot measure which restored the definition of marriage to being between a man and a woman.
“You have to accept that there are some nasty things done, but you can't let that scare you. They want to intimidate people of faith.”
Donohue said he thinks the culture is “at a turning point.”
“I see no way around it than to continue speaking out.”
WASHINGTON D.C., November 26 (CNA) - New FBI statistics on hate crimes show a nine percent increase in crimes against religious groups in 2008 and an almost 25 percent increase in reported hate crimes against Catholics.
Last year there were 1,519 incidents classified as hate crimes based on a victim’s religion, USA Today reports. Anti-Jewish attacks made up one of every six incidents, but there were 75 such crimes against Catholics. This is an increase from 61 in 2007.
Bill Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights told USA Today that he had never seen the country so culturally divided and polarized.
Speaking in more detail with CNA, he remarked that increased outspokenness among Catholic bishops and laity may have caused some retaliation.
“Lay Catholics are following the energy from the bishops who are becoming more vocal than they have been,” he commented.
In Donohue’s view, same-sex “marriage,” abortion, and protections conscientious objections are particular issues of public controversy.
“Proposition 8 in California last November led to violence against Catholics – many who were Latinos,” Donohue commented, referring to the successful California ballot measure which restored the definition of marriage to being between a man and a woman.
“You have to accept that there are some nasty things done, but you can't let that scare you. They want to intimidate people of faith.”
Donohue said he thinks the culture is “at a turning point.”
“I see no way around it than to continue speaking out.”
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Catholic bishops reiterate that Senate health care bill is 'fundamentally flawed'
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17815
WASHINGTON D.C., November 24 (CNA) - In a teleconference Monday afternoon, representatives of the USCCB reiterated that the current Senate health care bill needs "substantial improvement" before it can be considered anything but morally unacceptable for Catholics.
Present at the teleconference were John Carr, Executive Director of the USCCB's Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development; Kevin Applby, Director of the Office of Migration Policy and Public Affairs; Kathy Saile, Director of the Office of Domestic Policy; and Richard Doerflinger, Associate Director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities.
The spokesmen for the USCCB noted that the Senate's version of the health care bill falls short in three regards: abortion funding and conscience protection, immigrants rights in regards to health care, and accessibility and affordability.
The current version of the Senate bill does not allow undocumented immigrants to purchase federal health insurance with their own money and maintains the five year ban on legal immigrants having access to Medicaid.
For 24 million Americans who are well below the poverty line, the bill does not affect their access or ability to afford health insurance.
"To lose the precedent of no federal funding for abortion for the first time since Roe v Wade, to say that people, by law, have to pay for other peoples' abortions would be a fundamental failure," said John Carr. "Keeping in place the existing protections against federal funding for abortion seems frankly like a modest goal" as is "making sure that affordable and accessible health care is really affordable and accessible," he added.
The representatives made it clear that they were not changing any existing laws in their calls for change to the Senate bill. "For better or for worse, the status quo in this country is that abortion is legal and available and no one is required to pay for somebody else's abortion with their tax payer dollars or their premiums required by law," Carr said.
"Part of what's going on here," Carr remarked, "is the people on the other side have felt the need to dramatically exaggerate what the Stupak amendment does. What we're trying to do here is simply apply the Hyde amendment, which has been the law of the land for decades."
Not all of the Senators who voted to open discussion on the bill agree with what it currently says. "I, along with others, expect to have legitimate opportunities to influence the healthcare reform legislation that is voted on by the Senate later this year or early next year,'' said Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.)
Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he voted to move the bill to discussion because he wants the chance to amend it.
Political analysts are predicting the need for some delicate maneuvering on Reid's part to get this bill through the Senate.
In the mean time, John Carr noted, "when it comes to the abortion funding question, we clearly have precedent with us and we clearly have public opinion with us, you've all seen the CNN poll."
"Our hope is that having come this far, the Senate, and ultimately the Congress, and ultimately the country, will achieve the goal the bishops have set: which is genuine health care reform which will respect and protect the life, dignity, health, and consciences of all of us," Carr concluded.
WASHINGTON D.C., November 24 (CNA) - In a teleconference Monday afternoon, representatives of the USCCB reiterated that the current Senate health care bill needs "substantial improvement" before it can be considered anything but morally unacceptable for Catholics.
Present at the teleconference were John Carr, Executive Director of the USCCB's Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development; Kevin Applby, Director of the Office of Migration Policy and Public Affairs; Kathy Saile, Director of the Office of Domestic Policy; and Richard Doerflinger, Associate Director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities.
The spokesmen for the USCCB noted that the Senate's version of the health care bill falls short in three regards: abortion funding and conscience protection, immigrants rights in regards to health care, and accessibility and affordability.
The current version of the Senate bill does not allow undocumented immigrants to purchase federal health insurance with their own money and maintains the five year ban on legal immigrants having access to Medicaid.
For 24 million Americans who are well below the poverty line, the bill does not affect their access or ability to afford health insurance.
"To lose the precedent of no federal funding for abortion for the first time since Roe v Wade, to say that people, by law, have to pay for other peoples' abortions would be a fundamental failure," said John Carr. "Keeping in place the existing protections against federal funding for abortion seems frankly like a modest goal" as is "making sure that affordable and accessible health care is really affordable and accessible," he added.
The representatives made it clear that they were not changing any existing laws in their calls for change to the Senate bill. "For better or for worse, the status quo in this country is that abortion is legal and available and no one is required to pay for somebody else's abortion with their tax payer dollars or their premiums required by law," Carr said.
"Part of what's going on here," Carr remarked, "is the people on the other side have felt the need to dramatically exaggerate what the Stupak amendment does. What we're trying to do here is simply apply the Hyde amendment, which has been the law of the land for decades."
Not all of the Senators who voted to open discussion on the bill agree with what it currently says. "I, along with others, expect to have legitimate opportunities to influence the healthcare reform legislation that is voted on by the Senate later this year or early next year,'' said Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.)
Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he voted to move the bill to discussion because he wants the chance to amend it.
Political analysts are predicting the need for some delicate maneuvering on Reid's part to get this bill through the Senate.
In the mean time, John Carr noted, "when it comes to the abortion funding question, we clearly have precedent with us and we clearly have public opinion with us, you've all seen the CNN poll."
"Our hope is that having come this far, the Senate, and ultimately the Congress, and ultimately the country, will achieve the goal the bishops have set: which is genuine health care reform which will respect and protect the life, dignity, health, and consciences of all of us," Carr concluded.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Audience with the Archbishop of Canterbury
VATICAN CITY, 21 NOV 2009 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office today released the following communique:
"This morning His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI received in private audience His Grace Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.
"In the course of the cordial discussions attention turned to the challenges facing all Christian communities at the beginning of this millennium, and to the need to promote forms of collaboration and shared witness in facing these challenges.
"The discussions also focused on recent events affecting relations between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, reiterating the shared will to continue and to consolidate the ecumenical relationship between Catholics and Anglicans, and recalling how, over coming days, the commission entrusted with preparing the third phase of international theological dialogue between the parties (ARCIC) is due to meet".
OP/AUDIENCE/WILLIAMS VIS 091123 (140)
"This morning His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI received in private audience His Grace Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.
"In the course of the cordial discussions attention turned to the challenges facing all Christian communities at the beginning of this millennium, and to the need to promote forms of collaboration and shared witness in facing these challenges.
"The discussions also focused on recent events affecting relations between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, reiterating the shared will to continue and to consolidate the ecumenical relationship between Catholics and Anglicans, and recalling how, over coming days, the commission entrusted with preparing the third phase of international theological dialogue between the parties (ARCIC) is due to meet".
OP/AUDIENCE/WILLIAMS VIS 091123 (140)
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Planet Unites in Opposing Death Penalty
Cities Join With Sant'Egidio Community Initiative
ROME, NOV. 18, 2009 (Zenit.org).- On Nov. 30, more than 1,000 cities around the globe will floodlight a monument symbolizing opposition to the death penalty, joining with the Community of Sant'Egidio in their "No Justice Without Life" initiative.
The community recognizes a change in world opinion on the death penalty, highlighted by two U.N. resolutions calling for a universal moratorium on the practice.
A statement from the group called capital punishment a "residue from the past," and said that like slavery and torture, it should eventually be rejected.
Yet, "the path to the abolition of capital punishment continues to be long and difficult and it needs decisive and long-term action in view of the implementation of the resolution and of the definitive abolition of capital punishment," the communiqué affirmed.
The World Day of Cities for Life is observed every Nov. 30 in memory of the first abolition of the death penalty by a state (the Grand Duchy of Tuscany), which took place in 1786.
The 2008 celebration saw the participation of 1,000 cities, more than 50 of which were capitals. It thus represented the most widespread international mobilization ever in the movement to halt all capital executions in the world.
Cities are invited to make a visible gesture to its citizens and to the world. The gesture, preferably the illumination of an important monument of the city, is accompanied with adherence to the universal moratorium and a concrete commitment to build awareness about the issue in civil society. The city of Rome, for example, illuminates the Colosseum, Brussels the Atomium, Barcelona the Cathedral Square.
ROME, NOV. 18, 2009 (Zenit.org).- On Nov. 30, more than 1,000 cities around the globe will floodlight a monument symbolizing opposition to the death penalty, joining with the Community of Sant'Egidio in their "No Justice Without Life" initiative.
The community recognizes a change in world opinion on the death penalty, highlighted by two U.N. resolutions calling for a universal moratorium on the practice.
A statement from the group called capital punishment a "residue from the past," and said that like slavery and torture, it should eventually be rejected.
Yet, "the path to the abolition of capital punishment continues to be long and difficult and it needs decisive and long-term action in view of the implementation of the resolution and of the definitive abolition of capital punishment," the communiqué affirmed.
The World Day of Cities for Life is observed every Nov. 30 in memory of the first abolition of the death penalty by a state (the Grand Duchy of Tuscany), which took place in 1786.
The 2008 celebration saw the participation of 1,000 cities, more than 50 of which were capitals. It thus represented the most widespread international mobilization ever in the movement to halt all capital executions in the world.
Cities are invited to make a visible gesture to its citizens and to the world. The gesture, preferably the illumination of an important monument of the city, is accompanied with adherence to the universal moratorium and a concrete commitment to build awareness about the issue in civil society. The city of Rome, for example, illuminates the Colosseum, Brussels the Atomium, Barcelona the Cathedral Square.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Celibacy as a Rule Still in Force for Anglicans
Ordination of Married Men to Come Case by Case
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 9, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's apostolic constitution establishing personal ordinariates for Anglicans in communion with Rome does not alter the discipline of clerical celibacy nor the esteem the Church has for this practice, the Vatican clarified.
This clarification was given today in a statement from the Vatican announcing "Anglicanorum Coetibus," Benedict XVI's apostolic constitution for Anglicans who want to enter the Catholic Church. Complementary norms and an official commentary were also published.
The constitution states: "Those who ministered as Anglican deacons, priests, or bishops, and who fulfill the requisites established by canon law and are not impeded by irregularities or other impediments may be accepted by the Ordinary as candidates for Holy Orders in the Catholic Church.
"In the case of married ministers, the norms established in the Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI 'Sacerdotalis coelibatus,' n. 4215 and in the Statement 'In June' are to be observed. Unmarried ministers must submit to the norm of clerical celibacy of CIC can. 277, §1."
This practice is nothing new and has already been in use for Anglican priests who have come into communion with Rome on an individual basis.
The question nevertheless arose after last month's announcement of the constitution whether married seminarians would be able to become priests.
The document clarifies: "The Ordinary, in full observance of the discipline of celibate clergy in the Latin Church, as a rule (pro regula) will admit only celibate men to the order of presbyter. He may also petition the Roman Pontiff, as a derogation from can. 277, §1, for the admission of married men to the order of presbyter on a case by case basis, according to objective criteria approved by the Holy See."
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 9, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's apostolic constitution establishing personal ordinariates for Anglicans in communion with Rome does not alter the discipline of clerical celibacy nor the esteem the Church has for this practice, the Vatican clarified.
This clarification was given today in a statement from the Vatican announcing "Anglicanorum Coetibus," Benedict XVI's apostolic constitution for Anglicans who want to enter the Catholic Church. Complementary norms and an official commentary were also published.
The constitution states: "Those who ministered as Anglican deacons, priests, or bishops, and who fulfill the requisites established by canon law and are not impeded by irregularities or other impediments may be accepted by the Ordinary as candidates for Holy Orders in the Catholic Church.
"In the case of married ministers, the norms established in the Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI 'Sacerdotalis coelibatus,' n. 4215 and in the Statement 'In June' are to be observed. Unmarried ministers must submit to the norm of clerical celibacy of CIC can. 277, §1."
This practice is nothing new and has already been in use for Anglican priests who have come into communion with Rome on an individual basis.
The question nevertheless arose after last month's announcement of the constitution whether married seminarians would be able to become priests.
The document clarifies: "The Ordinary, in full observance of the discipline of celibate clergy in the Latin Church, as a rule (pro regula) will admit only celibate men to the order of presbyter. He may also petition the Roman Pontiff, as a derogation from can. 277, §1, for the admission of married men to the order of presbyter on a case by case basis, according to objective criteria approved by the Holy See."
Friday, November 13, 2009
Italian mayors respond to Strasbourg ruling by hanging more crucifixes in schools
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17681
ROME, ITALY, November 12 (CNA) - A number of Italian officials have responded to the ruling by the European Human Rights Court that ordered schools in Italy to remove crucifixes from the classrooms by taking unprecedented measures to preserve the Christian symbol.
According to the Italian daily “Avvenire,” the mayor of Sezzadio, Pier Luigi Arnera, has leveled a fine of 500 euros against anyone who removes a crucifix from a public place.
Arnera explained that the displaying of the crucifix in “places other than churches does not affect the dignity of anyone, because it is one of our cultural references.”
Likewise in the cities of Sassuolo and Trapani, officials have acquired dozens more crucifixes to display them in public schools.
In Montegrotto Terme, digital billboards that normally are used to inform the public are now displaying the crucifix with the phrase, “We will not take it down.” The mayor of Assisi has ordered that Nativity scenes be displayed in addition to the crucifix in public offices.
In Varesotto a local contractor placed a 16-foot cross on his farm in order to express his indignation over the EU court ruling.
ROME, ITALY, November 12 (CNA) - A number of Italian officials have responded to the ruling by the European Human Rights Court that ordered schools in Italy to remove crucifixes from the classrooms by taking unprecedented measures to preserve the Christian symbol.
According to the Italian daily “Avvenire,” the mayor of Sezzadio, Pier Luigi Arnera, has leveled a fine of 500 euros against anyone who removes a crucifix from a public place.
Arnera explained that the displaying of the crucifix in “places other than churches does not affect the dignity of anyone, because it is one of our cultural references.”
Likewise in the cities of Sassuolo and Trapani, officials have acquired dozens more crucifixes to display them in public schools.
In Montegrotto Terme, digital billboards that normally are used to inform the public are now displaying the crucifix with the phrase, “We will not take it down.” The mayor of Assisi has ordered that Nativity scenes be displayed in addition to the crucifix in public offices.
In Varesotto a local contractor placed a 16-foot cross on his farm in order to express his indignation over the EU court ruling.
Benedict XVI surfs the web and uses email
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17683
VATICAN CITY, November 12 (CNA) - The president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, shared this week that the Holy Father has an appreciation for new developments in technology and is comfortable surfing the internet and using email.
During an interview with the program “Studio Aperto” on the Italia 1 TV network, Archbishop Celli added, while the Pope doesn't have a personal email address, he “sends his own personal emails. He does! He has great appreciation for new technology.”
The archbishop explained that while the Pope “cannot respond to the millions of messages that arrive in his inbox,” he is committed to “offering his prayers for all who write to him.”
“The internet is an excellent means of communication,” he continued. “We are seeking to be present where the people are, especially the youth.”
VATICAN CITY, November 12 (CNA) - The president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, shared this week that the Holy Father has an appreciation for new developments in technology and is comfortable surfing the internet and using email.
During an interview with the program “Studio Aperto” on the Italia 1 TV network, Archbishop Celli added, while the Pope doesn't have a personal email address, he “sends his own personal emails. He does! He has great appreciation for new technology.”
The archbishop explained that while the Pope “cannot respond to the millions of messages that arrive in his inbox,” he is committed to “offering his prayers for all who write to him.”
“The internet is an excellent means of communication,” he continued. “We are seeking to be present where the people are, especially the youth.”
Adult Stem Cells Saved My Life campaign set to launch
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17689
KANSAS CITY, KAN., November 12 (CNA) - The Family Research Council, (FRC) has announced the beginning of its campaign to spread awareness about how successful adult stem cells are in treating a variety of diseases. The most recent count places the number of conditions successfully treated at close to 80.
On Saturday, November 14, 2009, the FRC will kick off the “Adult Stem Cells Saved My Life Education & Awareness Campaign” at the Town Hall in Shawnee, Kansas. At the premier, they will publicly launch www.stemcellresearchfacts.com and present the stories of people who have been successfully treated with adult stem cells via short videos.
Laura Dominguez knows firsthand about the impact a stem cell treatment can make.
In the summer of 2001, when Dominguez was just 16 years-old, she was involved in a car accident that broke her neck, paralyzing her from the neck down.
After a Portuguese surgeon took stem cells from her nose, cultured them, and used them to replace the scar tissue in her neck, she is now able to feel her body below her chest. She can grasp and move the mouse of a computer and is able to walk with leg braces. Though her range of motion is limited compared to her abilities before the accident, due to the treatment which used her own stem cells, she is no longer a paraplegic.
David Prentice, Ph.D., formerly a professor at Indiana State University who now works full time with FRC, told CNA that this campaign is about awareness. “This (adult stem cell research) is out there. There’s more coming.” Prentice noted that the majority of people don’t even know about adult stem cell treatments and how effective they are.
According to Prentice, the exact number of conditions that can be successfully treated by adult stem cells “is growing weekly. It’s over 70, and soon it will be 80.”
Currently the most common and effective treatments using stem cells are various forms of cancers and anemias, he said, though adult stem cells have also repaired heart attack damage, treated leukemias, lymphomas, spinal cord injuries and helped patients with multiple sclerosis and juvenile diabetes.
When asked about the embryonic stem cell research debate, Prentice noted, “No human beings have even been injected yet” in embryonic stem cell research. Published science, however, has verified the successful treatments of thousands of patients using adult stem cells.
“Lets focus on helping the patients, and helping them now,” Prentice said. “We’re not even talking about embryonic stem cell research. It’s not helping anybody. It’s not even helping the lab rats.”
KANSAS CITY, KAN., November 12 (CNA) - The Family Research Council, (FRC) has announced the beginning of its campaign to spread awareness about how successful adult stem cells are in treating a variety of diseases. The most recent count places the number of conditions successfully treated at close to 80.
On Saturday, November 14, 2009, the FRC will kick off the “Adult Stem Cells Saved My Life Education & Awareness Campaign” at the Town Hall in Shawnee, Kansas. At the premier, they will publicly launch www.stemcellresearchfacts.com and present the stories of people who have been successfully treated with adult stem cells via short videos.
Laura Dominguez knows firsthand about the impact a stem cell treatment can make.
In the summer of 2001, when Dominguez was just 16 years-old, she was involved in a car accident that broke her neck, paralyzing her from the neck down.
After a Portuguese surgeon took stem cells from her nose, cultured them, and used them to replace the scar tissue in her neck, she is now able to feel her body below her chest. She can grasp and move the mouse of a computer and is able to walk with leg braces. Though her range of motion is limited compared to her abilities before the accident, due to the treatment which used her own stem cells, she is no longer a paraplegic.
David Prentice, Ph.D., formerly a professor at Indiana State University who now works full time with FRC, told CNA that this campaign is about awareness. “This (adult stem cell research) is out there. There’s more coming.” Prentice noted that the majority of people don’t even know about adult stem cell treatments and how effective they are.
According to Prentice, the exact number of conditions that can be successfully treated by adult stem cells “is growing weekly. It’s over 70, and soon it will be 80.”
Currently the most common and effective treatments using stem cells are various forms of cancers and anemias, he said, though adult stem cells have also repaired heart attack damage, treated leukemias, lymphomas, spinal cord injuries and helped patients with multiple sclerosis and juvenile diabetes.
When asked about the embryonic stem cell research debate, Prentice noted, “No human beings have even been injected yet” in embryonic stem cell research. Published science, however, has verified the successful treatments of thousands of patients using adult stem cells.
“Lets focus on helping the patients, and helping them now,” Prentice said. “We’re not even talking about embryonic stem cell research. It’s not helping anybody. It’s not even helping the lab rats.”
Local regulations targeting pro-life pregnancy centers suggest new strategy
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17691
BALTIMORE, MD., November 13 (CNA) - Critics have accused proposed municipal and county legislation in Maryland of singling out pro-life pregnancy resource centers with regulations critics say are intended to harass and discredit the charities. The laws could be part of a new strategy that uses local lawmakers, rather than state or national legislators.
The concerns center upon two proposed laws for the city of Baltimore and Montgomery County.
The Montgomery County proposal would require pregnancy resource centers to provide to clients a written disclaimer in English and Spanish saying that the information that the pregnancy center provides is “not intended to be medical advice or to establish a doctor-patient relationship.” The disclaimer would also say the client should consult with a health care provider before proceeding on “a course of action regarding the client’s pregnancy.”
Violation of the law would be punished as a Class A civil violation, with fines of up to $500 for a first-time violation and up to $750 per day for repeat violations. The law will be voted upon in December.
“The bill singles out pregnancy resource centers only because of their pro-life mission,” the Maryland Catholic Conference said in a press release. “If approved, the Montgomery County regulation would impose government-compelled speech on a non-profit organization that does not receive government funding simply because the organization declines to provide or refer for abortion.”
One of the Montgomery County Council members sponsoring the bill, Duchy Trachtenberg, is a past president of Maryland National Organization for Women.
She also served as an advisor on “women’s issues” to Howard Dean during his 2004 effort to secure the Democratic presidential nomination. Dean, a former governor of Vermont, was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009.
Similar legislation before the Baltimore City Council requires pregnancy centers to provide a list of services they do not provide, like abortion and contraception, or face a daily fine.
The Conference reports that the regulation does not apply to “family planning” clinics, which are funded by the county, or to abortion clinics.
The city bill has passed committee and will be voted upon by the full city council on Nov. 16.
CNA spoke about the proposals in a Thursday interview with Mary Sullivan, Communications Director of the Maryland Catholic Conference.
She characterized the legislation as a bill promoted by NARAL and Planned Parenthood to “single out pro-life charities for harassment in an attempt to discredit them.”
“Just imagine being a vulnerable woman in need. You don’t have a lot of material resources and you may have been abandoned by your support system. You’re going to one of these charitable organizations and you’re being told, essentially, ‘we’re not the people you should come to, we’re unreliable.’”
Fines punishing violation of the laws would also burden the privately-funded charities, she said.
Sullivan told CNA that in 2008 a bill was filed in the Maryland Legislature that would have required pregnancy centers that don’t provide or refer for abortions or contraceptives to tell clients that the center is not required to provide them with “factually accurate” information.
The proposal never made it out of committee.
The law before the Baltimore City Council was filed in Oct. 2009, Sullivan reported, charging that supporters are “shopping the bill around” to local jurisdictions.
She said NARAL’s claims that pregnancy centers mislead women or provide them with inaccurate information are based on their own investigation in which they sent interns into pregnancy centers to find out information.
“Unfortunately some local lawmakers are considering that investigation to be a reliable source of information,” added Sullivan. “In fact it’s not. The only reliable sources are the actual women served by these centers. All of these women say they received excellent, competent care.”
In hearings for the proposals NARAL and Planned Parenthood were unable to provide “a single real woman” who claimed to have been misled, she reported.
Noting that Montgomery County itself is adjacent to Washington, D.C., CNA asked Sullivan about the possible national implications of these efforts. Sullivan replied that she understands similar legislation has been introduced in other states.
While not identical, the bills all intend to discredit the centers, she charged.
To Sullivan’s knowledge, the other attempts were made at the state level. The Maryland proposals mark the first attempts at local legislation of pregnancy resource centers.
She noted that Planned Parenthood and NARAL have promoted the legislation on their websites and have encouraged their supporters to back the measures.
“If they’re successful here they will try in other places, certainly,” Sullivan told CNA.
BALTIMORE, MD., November 13 (CNA) - Critics have accused proposed municipal and county legislation in Maryland of singling out pro-life pregnancy resource centers with regulations critics say are intended to harass and discredit the charities. The laws could be part of a new strategy that uses local lawmakers, rather than state or national legislators.
The concerns center upon two proposed laws for the city of Baltimore and Montgomery County.
The Montgomery County proposal would require pregnancy resource centers to provide to clients a written disclaimer in English and Spanish saying that the information that the pregnancy center provides is “not intended to be medical advice or to establish a doctor-patient relationship.” The disclaimer would also say the client should consult with a health care provider before proceeding on “a course of action regarding the client’s pregnancy.”
Violation of the law would be punished as a Class A civil violation, with fines of up to $500 for a first-time violation and up to $750 per day for repeat violations. The law will be voted upon in December.
“The bill singles out pregnancy resource centers only because of their pro-life mission,” the Maryland Catholic Conference said in a press release. “If approved, the Montgomery County regulation would impose government-compelled speech on a non-profit organization that does not receive government funding simply because the organization declines to provide or refer for abortion.”
One of the Montgomery County Council members sponsoring the bill, Duchy Trachtenberg, is a past president of Maryland National Organization for Women.
She also served as an advisor on “women’s issues” to Howard Dean during his 2004 effort to secure the Democratic presidential nomination. Dean, a former governor of Vermont, was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009.
Similar legislation before the Baltimore City Council requires pregnancy centers to provide a list of services they do not provide, like abortion and contraception, or face a daily fine.
The Conference reports that the regulation does not apply to “family planning” clinics, which are funded by the county, or to abortion clinics.
The city bill has passed committee and will be voted upon by the full city council on Nov. 16.
CNA spoke about the proposals in a Thursday interview with Mary Sullivan, Communications Director of the Maryland Catholic Conference.
She characterized the legislation as a bill promoted by NARAL and Planned Parenthood to “single out pro-life charities for harassment in an attempt to discredit them.”
“Just imagine being a vulnerable woman in need. You don’t have a lot of material resources and you may have been abandoned by your support system. You’re going to one of these charitable organizations and you’re being told, essentially, ‘we’re not the people you should come to, we’re unreliable.’”
Fines punishing violation of the laws would also burden the privately-funded charities, she said.
Sullivan told CNA that in 2008 a bill was filed in the Maryland Legislature that would have required pregnancy centers that don’t provide or refer for abortions or contraceptives to tell clients that the center is not required to provide them with “factually accurate” information.
The proposal never made it out of committee.
The law before the Baltimore City Council was filed in Oct. 2009, Sullivan reported, charging that supporters are “shopping the bill around” to local jurisdictions.
She said NARAL’s claims that pregnancy centers mislead women or provide them with inaccurate information are based on their own investigation in which they sent interns into pregnancy centers to find out information.
“Unfortunately some local lawmakers are considering that investigation to be a reliable source of information,” added Sullivan. “In fact it’s not. The only reliable sources are the actual women served by these centers. All of these women say they received excellent, competent care.”
In hearings for the proposals NARAL and Planned Parenthood were unable to provide “a single real woman” who claimed to have been misled, she reported.
Noting that Montgomery County itself is adjacent to Washington, D.C., CNA asked Sullivan about the possible national implications of these efforts. Sullivan replied that she understands similar legislation has been introduced in other states.
While not identical, the bills all intend to discredit the centers, she charged.
To Sullivan’s knowledge, the other attempts were made at the state level. The Maryland proposals mark the first attempts at local legislation of pregnancy resource centers.
She noted that Planned Parenthood and NARAL have promoted the legislation on their websites and have encouraged their supporters to back the measures.
“If they’re successful here they will try in other places, certainly,” Sullivan told CNA.
Priest donates own ‘holy kidney’ to ailing parishioner
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17695
DALLAS, TEXAS, November 13 (CNA) - A Texas woman in need of a kidney has received one from her parish priest. She has called the donation a “holy kidney,” while he says the gift of his kidney is an attempt to follow Christ’s life-giving example.
Carrie Gehling, who has lost both legs to diabetes and has suffered four heart attacks, needed a kidney transplant after years of dialysis. Her medical history made her a high-risk candidate and she needed to find a live donor herself, the Dallas Morning News reports.
The 45-year-old Gehling turned to her pastor at St. Rita Catholic Church, Msgr. Mark Seitz.
Msgr. Seitz, thinking about where his parishioner could find a donor, said he thought to himself 'Why not me?'
Testing proved he was an acceptable match. Gehling, hearing he would be her donor, said she would call the gift her “holy kidney.”
A spokesman for the Dallas parish said the Tuesday morning transplant went well and both patients were recovering.
Msgr. Seitz, who is 55, told the Dallas Morning News he considers the organ donation a manifestation of his priestly duties.
“We follow the model of one who literally gave his life for us. If he can lay down his life, I can give away a kidney."
An essay written by Msgr. Seitz said that he has known Gehling for more than six years.
“I have greatly admired her courage in dealing with her diabetes and all the many effects of this terrible disease. Through the many daily trials and sufferings and limitations, the hours of dialysis; through all the difficulties she has continued to fight. Not only this, but she has continued to love God, to trust in His goodness and to reach out to others in love. Who could fail to be inspired by this witness of Faith?”
The priest recounted how he, Gehling and her mother had traveled to a shrine named San Juan de los Lagos on the Texas/Mexico border.
“Many answers to prayers have been associated with this holy place,” Msgr. Seitz explained. “We made a day trip in the airplane owned by one of our parishioners and we celebrated Mass there. Little did I know that less than a year following that pilgrimage that I would end up being part of the answer to her prayer.”
But it wasn't always smooth sailing for Gehling, who told the Dallas Morning News that she lost her faith for a time after her father died of a heart attack when she was 20.
"Then one day, I woke up and thought, 'What in the world is wrong with you?'" she said. "If my father had lived after that heart attack, he would have been a vegetable. What the Lord did was for the best.
"There's only one way to put it: Thy will be done."
Before the operation, she said people who did not think she would make it don’t know her.
“There’s more in life that I want to accomplish,” she said.
Parishioners at St. Rita’s held a special rosary service the night before the transplant.
On Thursday afternoon Msgr. Seitz posted an entry at the patient journal site CaringBridge.org. He said he is disconnected from all his tubes and is feeling “a bit more human each day.”
Prayers had “buoyed him up” and had given him peace during the operation.
“It gives me great joy to know that Carrie is doing great. She says that she is feeling better that she has in 15 years.
“I told her I expected that. She didn't receive any second rate kidney!”
Gehling made an entry eight minutes later, saying “There are no words to say thank you. How do you say thank you to a man that has given one a new life?”
DALLAS, TEXAS, November 13 (CNA) - A Texas woman in need of a kidney has received one from her parish priest. She has called the donation a “holy kidney,” while he says the gift of his kidney is an attempt to follow Christ’s life-giving example.
Carrie Gehling, who has lost both legs to diabetes and has suffered four heart attacks, needed a kidney transplant after years of dialysis. Her medical history made her a high-risk candidate and she needed to find a live donor herself, the Dallas Morning News reports.
The 45-year-old Gehling turned to her pastor at St. Rita Catholic Church, Msgr. Mark Seitz.
Msgr. Seitz, thinking about where his parishioner could find a donor, said he thought to himself 'Why not me?'
Testing proved he was an acceptable match. Gehling, hearing he would be her donor, said she would call the gift her “holy kidney.”
A spokesman for the Dallas parish said the Tuesday morning transplant went well and both patients were recovering.
Msgr. Seitz, who is 55, told the Dallas Morning News he considers the organ donation a manifestation of his priestly duties.
“We follow the model of one who literally gave his life for us. If he can lay down his life, I can give away a kidney."
An essay written by Msgr. Seitz said that he has known Gehling for more than six years.
“I have greatly admired her courage in dealing with her diabetes and all the many effects of this terrible disease. Through the many daily trials and sufferings and limitations, the hours of dialysis; through all the difficulties she has continued to fight. Not only this, but she has continued to love God, to trust in His goodness and to reach out to others in love. Who could fail to be inspired by this witness of Faith?”
The priest recounted how he, Gehling and her mother had traveled to a shrine named San Juan de los Lagos on the Texas/Mexico border.
“Many answers to prayers have been associated with this holy place,” Msgr. Seitz explained. “We made a day trip in the airplane owned by one of our parishioners and we celebrated Mass there. Little did I know that less than a year following that pilgrimage that I would end up being part of the answer to her prayer.”
But it wasn't always smooth sailing for Gehling, who told the Dallas Morning News that she lost her faith for a time after her father died of a heart attack when she was 20.
"Then one day, I woke up and thought, 'What in the world is wrong with you?'" she said. "If my father had lived after that heart attack, he would have been a vegetable. What the Lord did was for the best.
"There's only one way to put it: Thy will be done."
Before the operation, she said people who did not think she would make it don’t know her.
“There’s more in life that I want to accomplish,” she said.
Parishioners at St. Rita’s held a special rosary service the night before the transplant.
On Thursday afternoon Msgr. Seitz posted an entry at the patient journal site CaringBridge.org. He said he is disconnected from all his tubes and is feeling “a bit more human each day.”
Prayers had “buoyed him up” and had given him peace during the operation.
“It gives me great joy to know that Carrie is doing great. She says that she is feeling better that she has in 15 years.
“I told her I expected that. She didn't receive any second rate kidney!”
Gehling made an entry eight minutes later, saying “There are no words to say thank you. How do you say thank you to a man that has given one a new life?”
Religious exemptions in D.C. same-sex ‘marriage’ bill are too narrow, archdiocese says
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17676
WASHINGTON D.C., November 12 (CNA) - The Archdiocese of Washington has criticized a D.C. City Council committee for narrowing the religious freedom exemptions in a bill that would recognize same-sex “marriage.” The archdiocese says the bill leaves religious organizations and individuals at risk of lawsuits for adhering to their beliefs and could endanger Catholic social services.
While the proposed bill presently says religious organizations do not have to participate in the “solemnization or celebration” of a same-sex marriage ceremony, a previous version of the bill had exempted such organizations from having to promote “marriage that is in violation of the entity’s religious beliefs.”
The revised vision, the archdiocese said in a Tuesday statement, “significantly narrows” the exemption to the promotion of marriage “through religious programs, counseling, courses or retreats.”
The archdiocese said that those who refuse to promote and support same-sex “marriages” in a “host of settings where it would compromise their religious beliefs” would risk facing legal action. Such settings could include employee benefits, adoption services and the use of church halls for non-wedding events for same-sex couples.
“Religious organizations such as Catholic Charities could be denied licenses or certification by the government, denied the right to offer adoption and foster care services, or no longer be able to partner with the city to provide social services for the needy,” the archdiocese warned.
According to the Washington Post, churches would have to abide by aspects of the city’s Human Rights Act, which includes a ban on discriminating against homosexual employees who choose to “marry.”
“The bill provides no exemption for individuals with sincerely-held religious beliefs, as required under federal law,” the archdiocese’s statement noted. “In fact, one council member opposed an amendment that would have respected an individual’s federally-protected, deeply-held religious beliefs by saying that would encourage a ‘discriminatory impulse.’”
The archdiocese charged that the City Council’s Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, which is handling the bill, has rejected the concerns voiced in testimony from the archdiocese, the American Civil Liberties Union, the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, and nationally recognized legal scholars.
These experts cited Supreme Court case law under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and also the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
The archdiocese has also argued that individuals should be able to exempt themselves from participation in same-sex “weddings” and other activities.
At a city council hearing on Tuesday, Council member Mary M. Cheh questioned why wedding photographers should be allowed to choose the clients they serve.
“That would be discrimination, right?” she asked.
Jane G. Belford, the chancellor of the archdiocese, in a letter to Council member Phil Mendelson, noted the archdiocese’s opposition to the redefinition of marriage in the District but also defended broad religious exemptions if such a law should be passed.
She argued that the bill is not accurately framed as “a clear cut matter of equality and civil rights” but must be seen in the context of balancing competing interests: “The interest of the homosexual community to be able to marry freely and the interests of the religious community to be able to practice religion freely."
Noting that the RFRA requires the District government to burden an individual’s religious practice in the “least restrictive means possible,” Belford said: “The outright prohibition of the observance of a sincerely held religious belief about marriage cannot possibly be said to be the least restrictive means in this case.”
The Washington Post said it was doubtful the archdiocese would be successful.
Edward Orzechowski, president/CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, said his organization was concerned the narrowing of the exemption would cause the government to discontinue its partnership with Catholic Charities and would “open up the agency to litigation and the use of resources to defend our religious beliefs rather than serve the poor.”
The bill is now headed to the full City Council.
The archdiocese said Catholic teachings recognize that all individuals have equal dignity and deserve equal respect, but by its very nature marriage “must be between a man and a woman.”
“One essential purpose of marriage is an openness to creating and nurturing the next generation, which is the reason that governments and cultures throughout all time have given these relationships special recognition and support,” the archdiocese said.
There are over 580,000 Catholics in the District of Columbia and five Maryland counties. In the District there are 40 parishes, 21 Catholic schools and 25 corporations in service to the community.
The archdiocese has set up a website on marriage at http://www.MarriageMattersDC.org.
WASHINGTON D.C., November 12 (CNA) - The Archdiocese of Washington has criticized a D.C. City Council committee for narrowing the religious freedom exemptions in a bill that would recognize same-sex “marriage.” The archdiocese says the bill leaves religious organizations and individuals at risk of lawsuits for adhering to their beliefs and could endanger Catholic social services.
While the proposed bill presently says religious organizations do not have to participate in the “solemnization or celebration” of a same-sex marriage ceremony, a previous version of the bill had exempted such organizations from having to promote “marriage that is in violation of the entity’s religious beliefs.”
The revised vision, the archdiocese said in a Tuesday statement, “significantly narrows” the exemption to the promotion of marriage “through religious programs, counseling, courses or retreats.”
The archdiocese said that those who refuse to promote and support same-sex “marriages” in a “host of settings where it would compromise their religious beliefs” would risk facing legal action. Such settings could include employee benefits, adoption services and the use of church halls for non-wedding events for same-sex couples.
“Religious organizations such as Catholic Charities could be denied licenses or certification by the government, denied the right to offer adoption and foster care services, or no longer be able to partner with the city to provide social services for the needy,” the archdiocese warned.
According to the Washington Post, churches would have to abide by aspects of the city’s Human Rights Act, which includes a ban on discriminating against homosexual employees who choose to “marry.”
“The bill provides no exemption for individuals with sincerely-held religious beliefs, as required under federal law,” the archdiocese’s statement noted. “In fact, one council member opposed an amendment that would have respected an individual’s federally-protected, deeply-held religious beliefs by saying that would encourage a ‘discriminatory impulse.’”
The archdiocese charged that the City Council’s Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, which is handling the bill, has rejected the concerns voiced in testimony from the archdiocese, the American Civil Liberties Union, the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, and nationally recognized legal scholars.
These experts cited Supreme Court case law under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and also the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
The archdiocese has also argued that individuals should be able to exempt themselves from participation in same-sex “weddings” and other activities.
At a city council hearing on Tuesday, Council member Mary M. Cheh questioned why wedding photographers should be allowed to choose the clients they serve.
“That would be discrimination, right?” she asked.
Jane G. Belford, the chancellor of the archdiocese, in a letter to Council member Phil Mendelson, noted the archdiocese’s opposition to the redefinition of marriage in the District but also defended broad religious exemptions if such a law should be passed.
She argued that the bill is not accurately framed as “a clear cut matter of equality and civil rights” but must be seen in the context of balancing competing interests: “The interest of the homosexual community to be able to marry freely and the interests of the religious community to be able to practice religion freely."
Noting that the RFRA requires the District government to burden an individual’s religious practice in the “least restrictive means possible,” Belford said: “The outright prohibition of the observance of a sincerely held religious belief about marriage cannot possibly be said to be the least restrictive means in this case.”
The Washington Post said it was doubtful the archdiocese would be successful.
Edward Orzechowski, president/CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, said his organization was concerned the narrowing of the exemption would cause the government to discontinue its partnership with Catholic Charities and would “open up the agency to litigation and the use of resources to defend our religious beliefs rather than serve the poor.”
The bill is now headed to the full City Council.
The archdiocese said Catholic teachings recognize that all individuals have equal dignity and deserve equal respect, but by its very nature marriage “must be between a man and a woman.”
“One essential purpose of marriage is an openness to creating and nurturing the next generation, which is the reason that governments and cultures throughout all time have given these relationships special recognition and support,” the archdiocese said.
There are over 580,000 Catholics in the District of Columbia and five Maryland counties. In the District there are 40 parishes, 21 Catholic schools and 25 corporations in service to the community.
The archdiocese has set up a website on marriage at http://www.MarriageMattersDC.org.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Bishop Tobin says Rep. Kennedy is in ‘flawed communion’ with the Church
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17660
PROVIDENCE, R.I., November 11 (CNA) - Bishop of Providence Thomas J. Tobin has responded to Rep. Patrick Kennedy’s contention that his dissent from Catholic teaching on abortion does not make him “less of a Catholic.” Saying that such dissent renders the lawmaker's communion “flawed,” he urged Kennedy to become a “profile in courage” and to defend the unborn.
Rep. Kennedy (D-R.I.), the son of the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, had accused the Catholic Church of fanning “the flames of dissent and discord” because of the Catholic bishops’ opposition to proposed health care reform that does not explicitly prohibit funding of abortion.
Bishop Tobin responded critically to the congressman and asked for an apology.
A meeting had been scheduled between the prelate and the politician, but a Tuesday statement from the Diocese of Providence said it had been postponed.
“Bishop Tobin remains hopeful the he can meet with Congressman Kennedy in a personal and pastoral setting in the very near future,” the diocese reported.
Responding to Rep. Kennedy in his Nov. 12 diocesan newspaper column, Bishop Tobin said he usually does not speak about someone’s faith in a public setting but it has become an issue in his exchange with Rep. Kennedy.
The bishop focused on Rep. Kennedy’s comment in an Oct. 29 letter in which the Congressman said:
“The fact that I disagree with the hierarchy on some issues does not make me any less of a Catholic.”
Bishop Tobin said the statement could not go unchallenged because it raises an important question about what it means to be a Catholic.
In a way, Bishop Tobin commented, disagreement with the Catholic hierarchy does make someone less of a Catholic.
“Although I wouldn’t choose those particular words, when someone rejects the teachings of the Church, especially on a grave matter, a life-and-death issue like abortion, it certainly does diminish their ecclesial communion, their unity with the Church.
“This principle is based on the Sacred Scripture and Tradition of the Church and is made more explicit in recent documents,” the bishop explained.
He cited sections from canon law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church about the layman’s obligation to learn Christian doctrine and to live in accord with it.
One’s refusal to accept the teaching of the Church, Bishop Tobin added, makes one’s communion with the Church “flawed.”
He explained that a Catholic believes and accepts the teaching of the Church “especially on essential matters of faith and morals.” A Catholic must also belong to a local parish, attend Mass on Sunday, and receive the sacraments regularly.
Further, a Catholic must give personal, public, spiritual and financial support to the Church.
Bishop Tobin asked whether Rep. Kennedy accepted these “basic requirements of being a Catholic,” including the Catholic stance on abortion.
The bishop said it was “terrific” that Rep. Kennedy has said he embraces his faith. But he wondered what makes Kennedy a Catholic.
Rep. Kennedy’s rejection of Catholic teaching on abortion is a different category than ordinary human imperfection, Bishop Tobin added. Rather, he wrote, it is “a deliberate and obstinate act of the will” that has been re-affirmed “on many occasions.”
“Sorry, you can’t chalk it up to an ‘imperfect humanity.’ Your position is unacceptable to the Church and scandalous to many of our members. It absolutely diminishes your communion with the Church,” the bishop continued.
The prelate told Rep. Kennedy that he wrote his words not to embarrass or judge him but to correct the public record and to invite him into “a sincere process of discernment, conversion and repentance.”
He said Rep. Kennedy could still repair his relationship with the Church and redeem his public image. Alluding to the book by the congressman’s uncle, President John F. Kennedy, he said Rep. Kennedy could become an authentic “profile in courage” by defending the sanctity of unborn human life.
PROVIDENCE, R.I., November 11 (CNA) - Bishop of Providence Thomas J. Tobin has responded to Rep. Patrick Kennedy’s contention that his dissent from Catholic teaching on abortion does not make him “less of a Catholic.” Saying that such dissent renders the lawmaker's communion “flawed,” he urged Kennedy to become a “profile in courage” and to defend the unborn.
Rep. Kennedy (D-R.I.), the son of the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, had accused the Catholic Church of fanning “the flames of dissent and discord” because of the Catholic bishops’ opposition to proposed health care reform that does not explicitly prohibit funding of abortion.
Bishop Tobin responded critically to the congressman and asked for an apology.
A meeting had been scheduled between the prelate and the politician, but a Tuesday statement from the Diocese of Providence said it had been postponed.
“Bishop Tobin remains hopeful the he can meet with Congressman Kennedy in a personal and pastoral setting in the very near future,” the diocese reported.
Responding to Rep. Kennedy in his Nov. 12 diocesan newspaper column, Bishop Tobin said he usually does not speak about someone’s faith in a public setting but it has become an issue in his exchange with Rep. Kennedy.
The bishop focused on Rep. Kennedy’s comment in an Oct. 29 letter in which the Congressman said:
“The fact that I disagree with the hierarchy on some issues does not make me any less of a Catholic.”
Bishop Tobin said the statement could not go unchallenged because it raises an important question about what it means to be a Catholic.
In a way, Bishop Tobin commented, disagreement with the Catholic hierarchy does make someone less of a Catholic.
“Although I wouldn’t choose those particular words, when someone rejects the teachings of the Church, especially on a grave matter, a life-and-death issue like abortion, it certainly does diminish their ecclesial communion, their unity with the Church.
“This principle is based on the Sacred Scripture and Tradition of the Church and is made more explicit in recent documents,” the bishop explained.
He cited sections from canon law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church about the layman’s obligation to learn Christian doctrine and to live in accord with it.
One’s refusal to accept the teaching of the Church, Bishop Tobin added, makes one’s communion with the Church “flawed.”
He explained that a Catholic believes and accepts the teaching of the Church “especially on essential matters of faith and morals.” A Catholic must also belong to a local parish, attend Mass on Sunday, and receive the sacraments regularly.
Further, a Catholic must give personal, public, spiritual and financial support to the Church.
Bishop Tobin asked whether Rep. Kennedy accepted these “basic requirements of being a Catholic,” including the Catholic stance on abortion.
The bishop said it was “terrific” that Rep. Kennedy has said he embraces his faith. But he wondered what makes Kennedy a Catholic.
Rep. Kennedy’s rejection of Catholic teaching on abortion is a different category than ordinary human imperfection, Bishop Tobin added. Rather, he wrote, it is “a deliberate and obstinate act of the will” that has been re-affirmed “on many occasions.”
“Sorry, you can’t chalk it up to an ‘imperfect humanity.’ Your position is unacceptable to the Church and scandalous to many of our members. It absolutely diminishes your communion with the Church,” the bishop continued.
The prelate told Rep. Kennedy that he wrote his words not to embarrass or judge him but to correct the public record and to invite him into “a sincere process of discernment, conversion and repentance.”
He said Rep. Kennedy could still repair his relationship with the Church and redeem his public image. Alluding to the book by the congressman’s uncle, President John F. Kennedy, he said Rep. Kennedy could become an authentic “profile in courage” by defending the sanctity of unborn human life.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
SBA List President Applauds House Approval of Pro-Life Pitts-Stupak Amendment to H.R. 3962, Warns Opponents that Votes Have Consequences
"Congress has sided with the resounding majority of citizens opposed to government funding of abortion." -- Marjorie Dannenfelser, President, Susan B. Anthony List
WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 /Christian Newswire/ -- Tonight the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Pitts-Stupak amendment to H.R. 3962, America's Healthy Future Act by a vote of 240 to 194, with 64 Democratic members voting in favor of the amendment. Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser offered the following comments:
"Tonight the House of Representatives made a principled and politically sound decision to continue our nation's longstanding policy of protecting taxpayers' conscience in the area of abortion funding. We urge the Senate to follow suit. We will remain vigilant, and shift our efforts to the Senate to ensure that these same pro-life protections are added to the Senate bill.
"On behalf of the 280,000 members and activists of the Susan B. Anthony List who contacted Congress on this issue, I applaud all those who voted to honor the American legacy of protecting citizens' conscience from conscription into activity to which most are morally opposed. Congress has sided with the resounding majority of citizens opposed to government funding of abortion. Supporters of government-funded abortion will now have some explaining to do back home, before voters head to the ballot box in 2010.
"If there's one thing many members of Congress learned from Tuesday's elections, it's the danger of being out of step with your constituents. Votes do have consequences, and the recent tensions over health care reform should drive that message home. We will use every tool in our arsenal to ensure the folks back home know the truth about their legislator's record."
For the last several months, the Susan B. Anthony List has mobilized tens of thousands of pro-life Americans nationwide to urge Congress to exclude abortion from healthcare reform. Already this year Susan B. Anthony List activists nationwide delivered over 408,703 letters to Congress urging an explicit exclusion of abortion funding from health care reform.
The Susan B. Anthony List is a nationwide network of Americans, over 167,000 residing in all 50 states, dedicated to mobilizing, advancing, and representing pro-life women in politics. Its connected Candidate Fund increases the percentage of pro-life women in the political process.
Christian Newswire
WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 /Christian Newswire/ -- Tonight the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Pitts-Stupak amendment to H.R. 3962, America's Healthy Future Act by a vote of 240 to 194, with 64 Democratic members voting in favor of the amendment. Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser offered the following comments:
"Tonight the House of Representatives made a principled and politically sound decision to continue our nation's longstanding policy of protecting taxpayers' conscience in the area of abortion funding. We urge the Senate to follow suit. We will remain vigilant, and shift our efforts to the Senate to ensure that these same pro-life protections are added to the Senate bill.
"On behalf of the 280,000 members and activists of the Susan B. Anthony List who contacted Congress on this issue, I applaud all those who voted to honor the American legacy of protecting citizens' conscience from conscription into activity to which most are morally opposed. Congress has sided with the resounding majority of citizens opposed to government funding of abortion. Supporters of government-funded abortion will now have some explaining to do back home, before voters head to the ballot box in 2010.
"If there's one thing many members of Congress learned from Tuesday's elections, it's the danger of being out of step with your constituents. Votes do have consequences, and the recent tensions over health care reform should drive that message home. We will use every tool in our arsenal to ensure the folks back home know the truth about their legislator's record."
For the last several months, the Susan B. Anthony List has mobilized tens of thousands of pro-life Americans nationwide to urge Congress to exclude abortion from healthcare reform. Already this year Susan B. Anthony List activists nationwide delivered over 408,703 letters to Congress urging an explicit exclusion of abortion funding from health care reform.
The Susan B. Anthony List is a nationwide network of Americans, over 167,000 residing in all 50 states, dedicated to mobilizing, advancing, and representing pro-life women in politics. Its connected Candidate Fund increases the percentage of pro-life women in the political process.
Christian Newswire
Voting Records to Go to All Churches, Leading Priest States
WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 /Christian Newswire/ -- Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, stated this morning that the voting records of members of Congress on the Stupak-Pitts amendment to HR 3962 (and other abortion-related votes) will be distributed to every Catholic parish in America, with instructions to each pastor on how to make clear to his congregation the implications of how that congregation's representative voted. "Whatever one's position on abortion itself," Fr. Pavone commented, "the vast majority of Americans have always opposed the idea that taxpayers should fund it. Our plan to inform pastors of these voting records is phase one of a year-long effort to activate Churches as never before regarding what they can legally do in preparation for next year's midterm elections. Publishing voting records in a non-partisan fashion is certainly one of those activities."
Fr. Pavone also said that in his role as President of the National Pro-life Religious Council, he would also involve Churches of other denominations in this project to educate voters on the outcome of the Stupak- Pitts amendment.
Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro- life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.
Christian Newswire
Fr. Pavone also said that in his role as President of the National Pro-life Religious Council, he would also involve Churches of other denominations in this project to educate voters on the outcome of the Stupak- Pitts amendment.
Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro- life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.
Christian Newswire
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
One Million Views of Abortion
STATEN ISLAND, NY, Nov. 3 /Christian Newswire/ -- Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, announced today that the video posted on his You Tube page www.YouTube.com/frfrankpavone that describes a suction abortion has surpassed one million views.
"This is a reason to rejoice," said Fr. Pavone, "because one of the biggest problems we have regarding abortion is that it's hidden. Thanks to videos like this, people who think they are pro-choice become fervently pro-life. We receive testimonies literally every day about such conversions. We invite others to spread these videos."
The suction video, available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBOAPleF1t0, illustrates the most common abortion procedure. In describing it, Fr. Frank quotes abortionists and medical texts, and uses fetal models with actual instruments used in abortions. It was originally posted in March of 2008.
Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro- life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.
Christian Newswire
"This is a reason to rejoice," said Fr. Pavone, "because one of the biggest problems we have regarding abortion is that it's hidden. Thanks to videos like this, people who think they are pro-choice become fervently pro-life. We receive testimonies literally every day about such conversions. We invite others to spread these videos."
The suction video, available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBOAPleF1t0, illustrates the most common abortion procedure. In describing it, Fr. Frank quotes abortionists and medical texts, and uses fetal models with actual instruments used in abortions. It was originally posted in March of 2008.
Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro- life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.
Christian Newswire
Monday, November 02, 2009
Cardinal Levada: No 'celibacy issue' exists in reception of Anglicans into Church
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17554
VATICAN CITY, October 31 (CNA) - In an extensive clarification released on Saturday by the Vatican press office, Fr. Federico Lombardi made clear, on behalf of the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Levada, that there is no “celibacy issue” delaying the publication of the Constitution that will establish the procedure for Anglicans to be received into the Catholic Church.
In a statement released in English –breaking the common use of Italian- Fr. Lombardi explained that “there has been widespread speculation, based on supposedly knowledgeable remarks by an Italian correspondent Andrea Tornielli.
The Vatican analyst suggested that the delay in the publication of the Apostolic Constitution on Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans entering into full communion with the Catholic Church is due to "more than ‘technical’ reasons.”
“According to this speculation, there is a serious substantial issue at the root of the delay, namely, disagreement about whether celibacy will be the norm for the future clergy of the Provision,” Fr. Lombardi’s said.
Responding to other claims that the rule of celibacy for Latin rite clergy would be open to discussion, Fr. Lombardi offered the official comments of Cardinal Levada.
“Had I been asked I would happily have clarified any doubt about my remarks at the press conference. There is no substance to such speculation. No one at the Vatican has mentioned any such issue to me.”
According to Cardinal Levada, Pope Benedict’s Apostolic Constitution will be ready “by the end of the first week of November” and its delay “is purely technical in the sense of ensuring consistency in canonical language and references.”
The Prefect of the Congregation also explained that “the drafts prepared by the working group, and submitted for study and approval through the usual process followed by his congregation, have all included the following statement, which is currently Article VI of the Constitution:
- 1. Those who ministered as Anglican deacons, priests, or bishops, and who fulfill the requisites established by canon law and are not impeded by irregularities or other impediments may be accepted by the Ordinary as candidates for Holy Orders in the Catholic Church. In the case of married ministers, the norms established in the Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI Sacerdotalis coelibatus, n. 42 and in the Statement "In June" are to be observed. Unmarried ministers must submit to the norm of clerical celibacy of Code of Canon Law 277, §1.
- 2. The Ordinary, in full observance of the discipline of celibate clergy in the Latin Church, as a rule (pro regula) will admit only celibate men to the order of presbyter. He may also petition the Roman Pontiff, as derogation from can. 277, §1, for the admission of married men to the order of presbyter on a case by case basis, according to objective criteria approved by the Holy See.”
Cardinal Levada further explains that “this article is to be understood as consistent with the current practice of the Church, in which married former Anglican ministers may be admitted to priestly ministry in the Catholic Church on a case by case basis.”
With regard to future seminarians, the Cardinal explains that “it was considered purely speculative whether there might be some cases in which a dispensation from the celibacy rule might be petitioned.”
“Objective criteria about any such possibilities (e.g. married seminarians already in preparation) are to be developed jointly by the Personal Ordinariate and the Episcopal Conference, and submitted for approval of the Holy See,” Cardinal Levada said.
VATICAN CITY, October 31 (CNA) - In an extensive clarification released on Saturday by the Vatican press office, Fr. Federico Lombardi made clear, on behalf of the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Levada, that there is no “celibacy issue” delaying the publication of the Constitution that will establish the procedure for Anglicans to be received into the Catholic Church.
In a statement released in English –breaking the common use of Italian- Fr. Lombardi explained that “there has been widespread speculation, based on supposedly knowledgeable remarks by an Italian correspondent Andrea Tornielli.
The Vatican analyst suggested that the delay in the publication of the Apostolic Constitution on Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans entering into full communion with the Catholic Church is due to "more than ‘technical’ reasons.”
“According to this speculation, there is a serious substantial issue at the root of the delay, namely, disagreement about whether celibacy will be the norm for the future clergy of the Provision,” Fr. Lombardi’s said.
Responding to other claims that the rule of celibacy for Latin rite clergy would be open to discussion, Fr. Lombardi offered the official comments of Cardinal Levada.
“Had I been asked I would happily have clarified any doubt about my remarks at the press conference. There is no substance to such speculation. No one at the Vatican has mentioned any such issue to me.”
According to Cardinal Levada, Pope Benedict’s Apostolic Constitution will be ready “by the end of the first week of November” and its delay “is purely technical in the sense of ensuring consistency in canonical language and references.”
The Prefect of the Congregation also explained that “the drafts prepared by the working group, and submitted for study and approval through the usual process followed by his congregation, have all included the following statement, which is currently Article VI of the Constitution:
- 1. Those who ministered as Anglican deacons, priests, or bishops, and who fulfill the requisites established by canon law and are not impeded by irregularities or other impediments may be accepted by the Ordinary as candidates for Holy Orders in the Catholic Church. In the case of married ministers, the norms established in the Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI Sacerdotalis coelibatus, n. 42 and in the Statement "In June" are to be observed. Unmarried ministers must submit to the norm of clerical celibacy of Code of Canon Law 277, §1.
- 2. The Ordinary, in full observance of the discipline of celibate clergy in the Latin Church, as a rule (pro regula) will admit only celibate men to the order of presbyter. He may also petition the Roman Pontiff, as derogation from can. 277, §1, for the admission of married men to the order of presbyter on a case by case basis, according to objective criteria approved by the Holy See.”
Cardinal Levada further explains that “this article is to be understood as consistent with the current practice of the Church, in which married former Anglican ministers may be admitted to priestly ministry in the Catholic Church on a case by case basis.”
With regard to future seminarians, the Cardinal explains that “it was considered purely speculative whether there might be some cases in which a dispensation from the celibacy rule might be petitioned.”
“Objective criteria about any such possibilities (e.g. married seminarians already in preparation) are to be developed jointly by the Personal Ordinariate and the Episcopal Conference, and submitted for approval of the Holy See,” Cardinal Levada said.
Same-sex marriage law in D.C. could ‘suppress’ Catholic institutions, archdiocese warns
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17550
WASHINGTON D.C., November 1 (CNA) - A Washington, D.C. City Council proposal to recognize same-sex “marriage” would redefine marriage and could force Catholic educational and charitable institutions to close or face lawsuits, burdensome regulation and the compromising of their faith, the Archdiocese of Washington has warned.
The proposed law, called the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009, redefines marriage as “the legally recognized union of two people.” It says a religious association or a non-profit associated with a religion shall not be required to provide services, accommodations, facilities or goods related to the solemnization, celebration or promotion of a marriage that is in violation of the entity’s religious beliefs unless the entity makes those services available to members of the general public.
Representatives of the archdiocese spoke at an Oct. 26 hearing before the D.C. City Council’s Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary. They argued that the law would endanger Catholic services to the general public.
In written testimony, the archdiocese opposed the legislation and “any effort to redefine marriage as any other than that between a man and a woman.” The archdiocese voiced “deep concerns” that the bill would restrict religious freedom if it is passed as drafted.
To continue the archdiocese’s service to the poor of the District of Columbia, the archdiocese testified, a “meaningful” religious exemption is needed to ensure that the government “will not suppress its religious exercise in such a way.”
In its support, the archdiocese cited a legal analysis of the bill by the Williams & Connolly law firm, which said the expected effect of the bill would put the archdiocese in an “untenable” position under the First Amendment unless religious conscience protections are expanded.
“The District will effectively force the Archdiocese either to violate the law or to abandon forms of religious practice – care for the poor, hungry and homeless – that are fundamental to the practice of Catholic social teaching,” the law firm commented.
In addition to overturning the definition of marriage, the legislation has no exemptions for churches, religious organizations such as the Knights of Columbus or religiously-owned nonprofits such as Catholic Charities if they provide services to the general public or rent space to individuals or groups outside of their faith.
According to the archdiocese, six prominent legal scholars including Prof. Robin Fretwell Wilson of Washington & Lee University have independently submitted a letter to City Council Chairman detailing serious religious freedom problems with the legislation.
“They note that religious organizations are at risk of lawsuits if, for example, they decline to offer their facilities to same sex couples or to limit married student housing to couples of the opposite sex,” the archdiocese said in a press release.
Other risks for religious organizations and individuals who cannot recognize same-sex “marriages” include the denial of access to government contracts and access to government facilities, such as leases. Licenses for objecting doctors and social workers could be revoked while child care licenses could be denied.
The proposed law could also allow lawsuits against those who do not provide same-sex benefits to employees and could result in the revocation of the accreditation of religious colleges.
“This would have serious implications in the District of Columbia, where Catholic Charities provides foster care and adoption services for nearly 100 children every year as well as shelter every night for nearly one in three of the city’s homeless men, women and children under contracts with the city, which cannot provide these services itself as efficiently and cost effectively,” the Archdiocese of Washington said.
“Every year, Catholic Charities provides shelter, food, counseling, medical and legal assistance, and more to 68,000 people in the District of Columbia regardless of their faith,” explained Ed Orzechowski, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington. “If the Council passes this bill as written, these programs are at risk along with nearly 100 different parish social ministry programs, all of the other ministries operated by the Catholic Church and even meeting space for groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Scouts and neighborhood organizations who partner with churches.”
The lack of an adequate exemption, the archdiocese said, would require religious organizations and individuals to choose “between exercising their faith and following the law.” This would cause “division and dissatisfaction” among the citizens of D.C., it warned.
WASHINGTON D.C., November 1 (CNA) - A Washington, D.C. City Council proposal to recognize same-sex “marriage” would redefine marriage and could force Catholic educational and charitable institutions to close or face lawsuits, burdensome regulation and the compromising of their faith, the Archdiocese of Washington has warned.
The proposed law, called the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009, redefines marriage as “the legally recognized union of two people.” It says a religious association or a non-profit associated with a religion shall not be required to provide services, accommodations, facilities or goods related to the solemnization, celebration or promotion of a marriage that is in violation of the entity’s religious beliefs unless the entity makes those services available to members of the general public.
Representatives of the archdiocese spoke at an Oct. 26 hearing before the D.C. City Council’s Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary. They argued that the law would endanger Catholic services to the general public.
In written testimony, the archdiocese opposed the legislation and “any effort to redefine marriage as any other than that between a man and a woman.” The archdiocese voiced “deep concerns” that the bill would restrict religious freedom if it is passed as drafted.
To continue the archdiocese’s service to the poor of the District of Columbia, the archdiocese testified, a “meaningful” religious exemption is needed to ensure that the government “will not suppress its religious exercise in such a way.”
In its support, the archdiocese cited a legal analysis of the bill by the Williams & Connolly law firm, which said the expected effect of the bill would put the archdiocese in an “untenable” position under the First Amendment unless religious conscience protections are expanded.
“The District will effectively force the Archdiocese either to violate the law or to abandon forms of religious practice – care for the poor, hungry and homeless – that are fundamental to the practice of Catholic social teaching,” the law firm commented.
In addition to overturning the definition of marriage, the legislation has no exemptions for churches, religious organizations such as the Knights of Columbus or religiously-owned nonprofits such as Catholic Charities if they provide services to the general public or rent space to individuals or groups outside of their faith.
According to the archdiocese, six prominent legal scholars including Prof. Robin Fretwell Wilson of Washington & Lee University have independently submitted a letter to City Council Chairman detailing serious religious freedom problems with the legislation.
“They note that religious organizations are at risk of lawsuits if, for example, they decline to offer their facilities to same sex couples or to limit married student housing to couples of the opposite sex,” the archdiocese said in a press release.
Other risks for religious organizations and individuals who cannot recognize same-sex “marriages” include the denial of access to government contracts and access to government facilities, such as leases. Licenses for objecting doctors and social workers could be revoked while child care licenses could be denied.
The proposed law could also allow lawsuits against those who do not provide same-sex benefits to employees and could result in the revocation of the accreditation of religious colleges.
“This would have serious implications in the District of Columbia, where Catholic Charities provides foster care and adoption services for nearly 100 children every year as well as shelter every night for nearly one in three of the city’s homeless men, women and children under contracts with the city, which cannot provide these services itself as efficiently and cost effectively,” the Archdiocese of Washington said.
“Every year, Catholic Charities provides shelter, food, counseling, medical and legal assistance, and more to 68,000 people in the District of Columbia regardless of their faith,” explained Ed Orzechowski, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington. “If the Council passes this bill as written, these programs are at risk along with nearly 100 different parish social ministry programs, all of the other ministries operated by the Catholic Church and even meeting space for groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Scouts and neighborhood organizations who partner with churches.”
The lack of an adequate exemption, the archdiocese said, would require religious organizations and individuals to choose “between exercising their faith and following the law.” This would cause “division and dissatisfaction” among the citizens of D.C., it warned.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
'We are never alone,' Pope exclaims on All Saints Day
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17555
VATICAN CITY, November 1 (CNA) - To the faithful gathered on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square for the Angelus, Pope Benedict XVI presented the communion of saints, a “beautiful and comforting” reality that says “we are never alone.” In particular he held up the ancient cult of martyrs in the early Church, and in this Year for Priests, “the saintly priests, both those canonized…and those many more that are known to the Lord.”
Pope Benedict also spoke of Monday’s commemoration of the faithful departed, also known as All Souls Day. "I would ask,” he said, “that this liturgical memory be lived in a genuine Christian spirit, that is, in light of the Paschal Mystery.”
Benedict XVI explained that Christ died and rose again and opened the door to the house of the Father, the kingdom of life and peace: “Those who follow Jesus in this life are welcomed where He came before us. So as we visit cemeteries, let us remember that there, in the tombs, are only the mortal remains of our loved ones awaiting the final resurrection.”
Pope Benedict concluded his remarks by teaching that the most proper and effective way to honor and pray for the faithful departed is by offering acts of faith, hope and charity: “In union with the Eucharistic Sacrifice, we can intercede for their eternal salvation, and experience the deepest communion, as we wait to find ourselves together again, to enjoy forever the Love that created and redeemed us."
After the Angelus prayer, the Pope recalled the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Joint Declaration between the World Lutheran Federation and the Catholic Church. "That document,” he said, “attests to an agreement between Lutherans and Catholics on the fundamental truth of the doctrine of justification, a truth that brings us to the very heart of the Gospel and the essential issues of our lives.”
The Holy Father expounded on the acceptance and redemption of man by God, saying, “Our existence is part of the horizon of grace. It is led by a merciful God who forgives our sin and calls us to a new life following in the footsteps of his Son. We live by the grace of God and are called to respond to his gift. This frees us from fear and gives us hope and courage in a world full of uncertainty, anxiety, suffering."
This anniversary, the Pontiff explained, is an occasion to remember the truth about the justification of man, witnessed together, to unite Catholics and Lutherans in ecumenical celebrations and to further investigate this issue and others that are the subject of ecumenical dialogue.
“I sincerely hope that this important anniversary will help bring forward the path towards the full visible unity of all the disciples of Christ.”
VATICAN CITY, November 1 (CNA) - To the faithful gathered on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square for the Angelus, Pope Benedict XVI presented the communion of saints, a “beautiful and comforting” reality that says “we are never alone.” In particular he held up the ancient cult of martyrs in the early Church, and in this Year for Priests, “the saintly priests, both those canonized…and those many more that are known to the Lord.”
Pope Benedict also spoke of Monday’s commemoration of the faithful departed, also known as All Souls Day. "I would ask,” he said, “that this liturgical memory be lived in a genuine Christian spirit, that is, in light of the Paschal Mystery.”
Benedict XVI explained that Christ died and rose again and opened the door to the house of the Father, the kingdom of life and peace: “Those who follow Jesus in this life are welcomed where He came before us. So as we visit cemeteries, let us remember that there, in the tombs, are only the mortal remains of our loved ones awaiting the final resurrection.”
Pope Benedict concluded his remarks by teaching that the most proper and effective way to honor and pray for the faithful departed is by offering acts of faith, hope and charity: “In union with the Eucharistic Sacrifice, we can intercede for their eternal salvation, and experience the deepest communion, as we wait to find ourselves together again, to enjoy forever the Love that created and redeemed us."
After the Angelus prayer, the Pope recalled the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Joint Declaration between the World Lutheran Federation and the Catholic Church. "That document,” he said, “attests to an agreement between Lutherans and Catholics on the fundamental truth of the doctrine of justification, a truth that brings us to the very heart of the Gospel and the essential issues of our lives.”
The Holy Father expounded on the acceptance and redemption of man by God, saying, “Our existence is part of the horizon of grace. It is led by a merciful God who forgives our sin and calls us to a new life following in the footsteps of his Son. We live by the grace of God and are called to respond to his gift. This frees us from fear and gives us hope and courage in a world full of uncertainty, anxiety, suffering."
This anniversary, the Pontiff explained, is an occasion to remember the truth about the justification of man, witnessed together, to unite Catholics and Lutherans in ecumenical celebrations and to further investigate this issue and others that are the subject of ecumenical dialogue.
“I sincerely hope that this important anniversary will help bring forward the path towards the full visible unity of all the disciples of Christ.”
Papal Infallibility
The Catholic Church’s teaching on papal infallibility is one which is generally misunderstood by those outside the Church. In particular, Fundamentalists and other "Bible Christians" often confuse the charism of papal "infallibility" with "impeccability." They imagine Catholics believe the pope cannot sin. Others, who avoid this elementary blunder, think the pope relies on some sort of amulet or magical incantation when an infallible definition is due.
Given these common misapprehensions regarding the basic tenets of papal infallibility, it is necessary to explain exactly what infallibility is not. Infallibility is not the absence of sin. Nor is it a charism that belongs only to the pope. Indeed, infallibility also belongs to the body of bishops as a whole, when, in doctrinal unity with the pope, they solemnly teach a doctrine as true. We have this from Jesus himself, who promised the apostles and their successors the bishops, the magisterium of the Church: "He who hears you hears me" (Luke 10:16), and "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven" (Matt. 18:18).
Vatican II’s Explanation
Vatican II explained the doctrine of infallibility as follows: "Although the individual bishops do not enjoy the prerogative of infallibility, they can nevertheless proclaim Christ’s doctrine infallibly. This is so, even when they are dispersed around the world, provided that while maintaining the bond of unity among themselves and with Peter’s successor, and while teaching authentically on a matter of faith or morals, they concur in a single viewpoint as the one which must be held conclusively. This authority is even more clearly verified when, gathered together in an ecumenical council, they are teachers and judges of faith and morals for the universal Church. Their definitions must then be adhered to with the submission of faith" (Lumen Gentium 25).
Infallibility belongs in a special way to the pope as head of the bishops (Matt. 16:17–19; John 21:15–17). As Vatican II remarked, it is a charism the pope "enjoys in virtue of his office, when, as the supreme shepherd and teacher of all the faithful, who confirms his brethren in their faith (Luke 22:32), he proclaims by a definitive act some doctrine of faith or morals. Therefore his definitions, of themselves, and not from the consent of the Church, are justly held irreformable, for they are pronounced with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, an assistance promised to him in blessed Peter."
The infallibility of the pope is not a doctrine that suddenly appeared in Church teaching; rather, it is a doctrine which was implicit in the early Church. It is only our understanding of infallibility which has developed and been more clearly understood over time. In fact, the doctrine of infallibility is implicit in these Petrine texts: John 21:15–17 ("Feed my sheep . . . "), Luke 22:32 ("I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail"), and Matthew 16:18 ("You are Peter . . . ").
Based on Christ’s Mandate
Christ instructed the Church to preach everything he taught (Matt. 28:19–20) and promised the protection of the Holy Spirit to "guide you into all the truth" (John 16:13). That mandate and that promise guarantee the Church will never fall away from his teachings (Matt. 16:18, 1 Tim. 3:15), even if individual Catholics might.
As Christians began to more clearly understand the teaching authority of the Church and of the primacy of the pope, they developed a clearer understanding of the pope’s infallibility. This development of the faithful’s understanding has its clear beginnings in the early Church. For example, Cyprian of Carthage, writing about 256, put the question this way, "Would the heretics dare to come to the very seat of Peter whence apostolic faith is derived and whither no errors can come?" (Letters 59 [55], 14). In the fifth century, Augustine succinctly captured the ancient attitude when he remarked, "Rome has spoken; the case is concluded" (Sermons 131, 10).
Some Clarifications
An infallible pronouncement—whether made by the pope alone or by an ecumenical council—usually is made only when some doctrine has been called into question. Most doctrines have never been doubted by the large majority of Catholics.
Pick up a catechism and look at the great number of doctrines, most of which have never been formally defined. But many points have been defined, and not just by the pope alone. There are, in fact, many major topics on which it would be impossible for a pope to make an infallible definition without duplicating one or more infallible pronouncements from ecumenical councils or the ordinary magisterium (teaching authority) of the Church.
At least the outline, if not the references, of the preceding paragraphs should be familiar to literate Catholics, to whom this subject should appear straightforward. It is a different story with "Bible Christians." For them papal infallibility often seems a muddle because their idea of what it encompasses is often incorrect.
Some ask how popes can be infallible if some of them lived scandalously. This objection of course, illustrates the common confusion between infallibility and impeccability. There is no guarantee that popes won’t sin or give bad example. (The truly remarkable thing is the great degree of sanctity found in the papacy throughout history; the "bad popes" stand out precisely because they are so rare.)
Other people wonder how infallibility could exist if some popes disagreed with others. This, too, shows an inaccurate understanding of infallibility, which applies only to solemn, official teachings on faith and morals, not to disciplinary decisions or even to unofficial comments on faith and morals. A pope’s private theological opinions are not infallible, only what he solemnly defines is considered to be infallible teaching.
Even Fundamentalists and Evangelicals who do not have these common misunderstandings often think infallibility means that popes are given some special grace that allows them to teach positively whatever truths need to be known, but that is not quite correct, either. Infallibility is not a substitute for theological study on the part of the pope.
What infallibility does do is prevent a pope from solemnly and formally teaching as "truth" something that is, in fact, error. It does not help him know what is true, nor does it "inspire" him to teach what is true. He has to learn the truth the way we all do—through study—though, to be sure, he has certain advantages because of his position.
Peter Not Infallible?
As a biblical example of papal fallibility, Fundamentalists like to point to Peter’s conduct at Antioch, where he refused to eat with Gentile Christians in order not to offend certain Jews from Palestine (Gal. 2:11–16). For this Paul rebuked him. Did this demonstrate papal infallibility was non-existent? Not at all. Peter’s actions had to do with matters of discipline, not with issues of faith or morals.
Furthermore, the problem was Peter’s actions, not his teaching. Paul acknowledged that Peter very well knew the correct teaching (Gal. 2:12–13). The problem was that he wasn’t living up to his own teaching. Thus, in this instance, Peter was not doing any teaching; much less was he solemnly defining a matter of faith or morals.
Fundamentalists must also acknowledge that Peter did have some kind of infallibility—they cannot deny that he wrote two infallible epistles of the New Testament while under protection against writing error. So, if his behavior at Antioch was not incompatible with this kind of infallibility, neither is bad behavior contrary to papal infallibility in general.
Turning to history, critics of the Church cite certain "errors of the popes." Their argument is really reduced to three cases, those of Popes Liberius, Vigilius, and Honorius, the three cases to which all opponents of papal infallibility turn; because they are the only cases that do not collapse as soon as they are mentioned. There is no point in giving the details here—any good history of the Church will supply the facts—but it is enough to note that none of the cases meet the requirements outlined by the description of papal infallibility given at Vatican I (cf. Pastor Aeternus 4).
Their "Favorite Case"
According to Fundamentalist commentators, their best case lies with Pope Honorius. They say he specifically taught Monothelitism, a heresy that held that Christ had only one will (a divine one), not two wills (a divine one and a human one) as all orthodox Christians hold.
But that’s not at all what Honorius did. Even a quick review of the records shows he simply decided not to make a decision at all. As Ronald Knox explained, "To the best of his human wisdom, he thought the controversy ought to be left unsettled, for the greater peace of the Church. In fact, he was an inopportunist. We, wise after the event, say that he was wrong. But nobody, I think, has ever claimed that the pope is infallible in not defining a doctrine."
Knox wrote to Arnold Lunn (a future convert who would become a great apologist for the faith—their correspondence is found in the book Difficulties): "Has it ever occurred to you how few are the alleged ‘failures of infallibility’? I mean, if somebody propounded in your presence the thesis that all the kings of England have been impeccable, you would not find yourself murmuring, ‘Oh, well, people said rather unpleasant things about Jane Shore . . . and the best historians seem to think that Charles II spent too much of his time with Nell Gwynn.’ Here have these popes been, fulminating anathema after anathema for centuries—certain in all human probability to contradict themselves or one another over again. Instead of which you get this measly crop of two or three alleged failures!" While Knox’s observation does not establish the truth of papal infallibility, it does show that the historical argument against infallibility is weak.
The rejection of papal infallibility by "Bible Christians" stems from their view of the Church. They do not think Christ established a visible Church, which means they do not believe in a hierarchy of bishops headed by the pope.
This is no place to give an elaborate demonstration of the establishment of a visible Church. But it is simple enough to point out that the New Testament shows the apostles setting up, after their Master’s instructions, a visible organization, and that every Christian writer in the early centuries—in fact, nearly all Christians until the Reformation—fully recognized that Christ set up an ongoing organization.
One example of this ancient belief comes to us from Ignatius of Antioch. In his second-century letter to the church in Smyrna, he wrote, "Wherever the bishop appears, let the people be there; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church" (Letter to the Smyrnaeans, 8, 1 [A.D. 110]).
If Christ did set up such an organization, he must have provided for its continuation, for its easy identification (that is, it had to be visible so it could be found), and, since he would be gone from earth, for some method by which it could preserve his teachings intact.
All this was accomplished through the apostolic succession of bishops, and the preservation of the Christian message, in its fullness, was guaranteed through the gift of infallibility, of the Church as a whole, but mainly through its Christ-appointed leaders, the bishops (as a whole) and the pope (as an individual).
It is the Holy Spirit who prevents the pope from officially teaching error, and this charism follows necessarily from the existence of the Church itself. If, as Christ promised, the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church then it must be protected from fundamentally falling into error and thus away from Christ. It must prove itself to be a perfectly steady guide in matters pertaining to salvation.
Of course, infallibility does not include a guarantee that any particular pope won’t "neglect" to teach the truth, or that he will be sinless, or that mere disciplinary decisions will be intelligently made. It would be nice if he were omniscient or impeccable, but his not being so will fail to bring about the destruction of the Church.
But he must be able to teach rightly, since instruction for the sake of salvation is a primary function of the Church. For men to be saved, they must know what is to be believed. They must have a perfectly steady rock to build upon and to trust as the source of solemn Christian teaching. And that’s why papal infallibility exists.
Since Christ said the gates of hell would not prevail against his Church (Matt. 16:18b), this means that his Church can never pass out of existence. But if the Church ever apostasized by teaching heresy, then it would cease to exist; because it would cease to be Jesus’ Church. Thus the Church cannot teach heresy, meaning that anything it solemnly defines for the faithful to believe is true. This same reality is reflected in the Apostle Paul’s statement that the Church is "the pillar and foundation of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15). If the Church is the foundation of religious truth in this world, then it is God’s own spokesman. As Christ told his disciples: "He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me" (Luke 10:16).
NIHIL OBSTAT: I have concluded that the materials
presented in this work are free of doctrinal or moral errors.
Bernadeane Carr, STL, Censor Librorum, August 10, 2004
IMPRIMATUR: In accord with 1983 CIC 827
permission to publish this work is hereby granted.
+Robert H. Brom, Bishop of San Diego, August 10, 2004
Source:
Catholic Answers, 2020 Gillespie Way, El Cajon, CA 92020 USA
Main: 619-387-7200 | Fax: 619-387-0042
U.S. Orders: 888-291-8000 | Non-U.S. Orders: 619-387-7200
Given these common misapprehensions regarding the basic tenets of papal infallibility, it is necessary to explain exactly what infallibility is not. Infallibility is not the absence of sin. Nor is it a charism that belongs only to the pope. Indeed, infallibility also belongs to the body of bishops as a whole, when, in doctrinal unity with the pope, they solemnly teach a doctrine as true. We have this from Jesus himself, who promised the apostles and their successors the bishops, the magisterium of the Church: "He who hears you hears me" (Luke 10:16), and "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven" (Matt. 18:18).
Vatican II’s Explanation
Vatican II explained the doctrine of infallibility as follows: "Although the individual bishops do not enjoy the prerogative of infallibility, they can nevertheless proclaim Christ’s doctrine infallibly. This is so, even when they are dispersed around the world, provided that while maintaining the bond of unity among themselves and with Peter’s successor, and while teaching authentically on a matter of faith or morals, they concur in a single viewpoint as the one which must be held conclusively. This authority is even more clearly verified when, gathered together in an ecumenical council, they are teachers and judges of faith and morals for the universal Church. Their definitions must then be adhered to with the submission of faith" (Lumen Gentium 25).
Infallibility belongs in a special way to the pope as head of the bishops (Matt. 16:17–19; John 21:15–17). As Vatican II remarked, it is a charism the pope "enjoys in virtue of his office, when, as the supreme shepherd and teacher of all the faithful, who confirms his brethren in their faith (Luke 22:32), he proclaims by a definitive act some doctrine of faith or morals. Therefore his definitions, of themselves, and not from the consent of the Church, are justly held irreformable, for they are pronounced with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, an assistance promised to him in blessed Peter."
The infallibility of the pope is not a doctrine that suddenly appeared in Church teaching; rather, it is a doctrine which was implicit in the early Church. It is only our understanding of infallibility which has developed and been more clearly understood over time. In fact, the doctrine of infallibility is implicit in these Petrine texts: John 21:15–17 ("Feed my sheep . . . "), Luke 22:32 ("I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail"), and Matthew 16:18 ("You are Peter . . . ").
Based on Christ’s Mandate
Christ instructed the Church to preach everything he taught (Matt. 28:19–20) and promised the protection of the Holy Spirit to "guide you into all the truth" (John 16:13). That mandate and that promise guarantee the Church will never fall away from his teachings (Matt. 16:18, 1 Tim. 3:15), even if individual Catholics might.
As Christians began to more clearly understand the teaching authority of the Church and of the primacy of the pope, they developed a clearer understanding of the pope’s infallibility. This development of the faithful’s understanding has its clear beginnings in the early Church. For example, Cyprian of Carthage, writing about 256, put the question this way, "Would the heretics dare to come to the very seat of Peter whence apostolic faith is derived and whither no errors can come?" (Letters 59 [55], 14). In the fifth century, Augustine succinctly captured the ancient attitude when he remarked, "Rome has spoken; the case is concluded" (Sermons 131, 10).
Some Clarifications
An infallible pronouncement—whether made by the pope alone or by an ecumenical council—usually is made only when some doctrine has been called into question. Most doctrines have never been doubted by the large majority of Catholics.
Pick up a catechism and look at the great number of doctrines, most of which have never been formally defined. But many points have been defined, and not just by the pope alone. There are, in fact, many major topics on which it would be impossible for a pope to make an infallible definition without duplicating one or more infallible pronouncements from ecumenical councils or the ordinary magisterium (teaching authority) of the Church.
At least the outline, if not the references, of the preceding paragraphs should be familiar to literate Catholics, to whom this subject should appear straightforward. It is a different story with "Bible Christians." For them papal infallibility often seems a muddle because their idea of what it encompasses is often incorrect.
Some ask how popes can be infallible if some of them lived scandalously. This objection of course, illustrates the common confusion between infallibility and impeccability. There is no guarantee that popes won’t sin or give bad example. (The truly remarkable thing is the great degree of sanctity found in the papacy throughout history; the "bad popes" stand out precisely because they are so rare.)
Other people wonder how infallibility could exist if some popes disagreed with others. This, too, shows an inaccurate understanding of infallibility, which applies only to solemn, official teachings on faith and morals, not to disciplinary decisions or even to unofficial comments on faith and morals. A pope’s private theological opinions are not infallible, only what he solemnly defines is considered to be infallible teaching.
Even Fundamentalists and Evangelicals who do not have these common misunderstandings often think infallibility means that popes are given some special grace that allows them to teach positively whatever truths need to be known, but that is not quite correct, either. Infallibility is not a substitute for theological study on the part of the pope.
What infallibility does do is prevent a pope from solemnly and formally teaching as "truth" something that is, in fact, error. It does not help him know what is true, nor does it "inspire" him to teach what is true. He has to learn the truth the way we all do—through study—though, to be sure, he has certain advantages because of his position.
Peter Not Infallible?
As a biblical example of papal fallibility, Fundamentalists like to point to Peter’s conduct at Antioch, where he refused to eat with Gentile Christians in order not to offend certain Jews from Palestine (Gal. 2:11–16). For this Paul rebuked him. Did this demonstrate papal infallibility was non-existent? Not at all. Peter’s actions had to do with matters of discipline, not with issues of faith or morals.
Furthermore, the problem was Peter’s actions, not his teaching. Paul acknowledged that Peter very well knew the correct teaching (Gal. 2:12–13). The problem was that he wasn’t living up to his own teaching. Thus, in this instance, Peter was not doing any teaching; much less was he solemnly defining a matter of faith or morals.
Fundamentalists must also acknowledge that Peter did have some kind of infallibility—they cannot deny that he wrote two infallible epistles of the New Testament while under protection against writing error. So, if his behavior at Antioch was not incompatible with this kind of infallibility, neither is bad behavior contrary to papal infallibility in general.
Turning to history, critics of the Church cite certain "errors of the popes." Their argument is really reduced to three cases, those of Popes Liberius, Vigilius, and Honorius, the three cases to which all opponents of papal infallibility turn; because they are the only cases that do not collapse as soon as they are mentioned. There is no point in giving the details here—any good history of the Church will supply the facts—but it is enough to note that none of the cases meet the requirements outlined by the description of papal infallibility given at Vatican I (cf. Pastor Aeternus 4).
Their "Favorite Case"
According to Fundamentalist commentators, their best case lies with Pope Honorius. They say he specifically taught Monothelitism, a heresy that held that Christ had only one will (a divine one), not two wills (a divine one and a human one) as all orthodox Christians hold.
But that’s not at all what Honorius did. Even a quick review of the records shows he simply decided not to make a decision at all. As Ronald Knox explained, "To the best of his human wisdom, he thought the controversy ought to be left unsettled, for the greater peace of the Church. In fact, he was an inopportunist. We, wise after the event, say that he was wrong. But nobody, I think, has ever claimed that the pope is infallible in not defining a doctrine."
Knox wrote to Arnold Lunn (a future convert who would become a great apologist for the faith—their correspondence is found in the book Difficulties): "Has it ever occurred to you how few are the alleged ‘failures of infallibility’? I mean, if somebody propounded in your presence the thesis that all the kings of England have been impeccable, you would not find yourself murmuring, ‘Oh, well, people said rather unpleasant things about Jane Shore . . . and the best historians seem to think that Charles II spent too much of his time with Nell Gwynn.’ Here have these popes been, fulminating anathema after anathema for centuries—certain in all human probability to contradict themselves or one another over again. Instead of which you get this measly crop of two or three alleged failures!" While Knox’s observation does not establish the truth of papal infallibility, it does show that the historical argument against infallibility is weak.
The rejection of papal infallibility by "Bible Christians" stems from their view of the Church. They do not think Christ established a visible Church, which means they do not believe in a hierarchy of bishops headed by the pope.
This is no place to give an elaborate demonstration of the establishment of a visible Church. But it is simple enough to point out that the New Testament shows the apostles setting up, after their Master’s instructions, a visible organization, and that every Christian writer in the early centuries—in fact, nearly all Christians until the Reformation—fully recognized that Christ set up an ongoing organization.
One example of this ancient belief comes to us from Ignatius of Antioch. In his second-century letter to the church in Smyrna, he wrote, "Wherever the bishop appears, let the people be there; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church" (Letter to the Smyrnaeans, 8, 1 [A.D. 110]).
If Christ did set up such an organization, he must have provided for its continuation, for its easy identification (that is, it had to be visible so it could be found), and, since he would be gone from earth, for some method by which it could preserve his teachings intact.
All this was accomplished through the apostolic succession of bishops, and the preservation of the Christian message, in its fullness, was guaranteed through the gift of infallibility, of the Church as a whole, but mainly through its Christ-appointed leaders, the bishops (as a whole) and the pope (as an individual).
It is the Holy Spirit who prevents the pope from officially teaching error, and this charism follows necessarily from the existence of the Church itself. If, as Christ promised, the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church then it must be protected from fundamentally falling into error and thus away from Christ. It must prove itself to be a perfectly steady guide in matters pertaining to salvation.
Of course, infallibility does not include a guarantee that any particular pope won’t "neglect" to teach the truth, or that he will be sinless, or that mere disciplinary decisions will be intelligently made. It would be nice if he were omniscient or impeccable, but his not being so will fail to bring about the destruction of the Church.
But he must be able to teach rightly, since instruction for the sake of salvation is a primary function of the Church. For men to be saved, they must know what is to be believed. They must have a perfectly steady rock to build upon and to trust as the source of solemn Christian teaching. And that’s why papal infallibility exists.
Since Christ said the gates of hell would not prevail against his Church (Matt. 16:18b), this means that his Church can never pass out of existence. But if the Church ever apostasized by teaching heresy, then it would cease to exist; because it would cease to be Jesus’ Church. Thus the Church cannot teach heresy, meaning that anything it solemnly defines for the faithful to believe is true. This same reality is reflected in the Apostle Paul’s statement that the Church is "the pillar and foundation of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15). If the Church is the foundation of religious truth in this world, then it is God’s own spokesman. As Christ told his disciples: "He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me" (Luke 10:16).
NIHIL OBSTAT: I have concluded that the materials
presented in this work are free of doctrinal or moral errors.
Bernadeane Carr, STL, Censor Librorum, August 10, 2004
IMPRIMATUR: In accord with 1983 CIC 827
permission to publish this work is hereby granted.
+Robert H. Brom, Bishop of San Diego, August 10, 2004
Source:
Catholic Answers, 2020 Gillespie Way, El Cajon, CA 92020 USA
Main: 619-387-7200 | Fax: 619-387-0042
U.S. Orders: 888-291-8000 | Non-U.S. Orders: 619-387-7200
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Archbishop Dolan's blog entry exposing the New York Times
Anti-Catholicism
October 29, 2009
The following article was submitted in a slightly shorter form to the New York Times as an op-ed article. The Times declined to publish it. I thought you might be interested in reading it.
FOUL BALL!
By Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan
Archbishop of New York
October is the month we relish the highpoint of our national pastime, especially when one of our own New York teams is in the World Series!
Sadly, America has another national pastime, this one not pleasant at all: anti-catholicism.
It is not hyperbole to call prejudice against the Catholic Church a national pastime. Scholars such as Arthur Schlesinger Sr. referred to it as “the deepest bias in the history of the American people,” while John Higham described it as “the most luxuriant, tenacious tradition of paranoiac agitation in American history.” “The anti-semitism of the left,” is how Paul Viereck reads it, and Professor Philip Jenkins sub-titles his book on the topic “the last acceptable prejudice.”
If you want recent evidence of this unfairness against the Catholic Church, look no further than a few of these following examples of occurrences over the last couple weeks:
•On October 14, in the pages of the New York Times, reporter Paul Vitello exposed the sad extent of child sexual abuse in Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jewish community. According to the article, there were forty cases of such abuse in this tiny community last year alone. Yet the Times did not demand what it has called for incessantly when addressing the same kind of abuse by a tiny minority of priests: release of names of abusers, rollback of statute of limitations, external investigations, release of all records, and total transparency. Instead, an attorney is quoted urging law enforcement officials to recognize “religious sensitivities,” and no criticism was offered of the DA’s office for allowing Orthodox rabbis to settle these cases “internally.” Given the Catholic Church’s own recent horrible experience, I am hardly in any position to criticize our Orthodox Jewish neighbors, and have no wish to do so . . . but I can criticize this kind of “selective outrage.”
Of course, this selective outrage probably should not surprise us at all, as we have seen many other examples of the phenomenon in recent years when it comes to the issue of sexual abuse. To cite but two: In 2004, Professor Carol Shakeshaft documented the wide-spread problem of sexual abuse of minors in our nation’s public schools (the study can be found here). In 2007, the Associated Press issued a series of investigative reports that also showed the numerous examples of sexual abuse by educators against public school students. Both the Shakeshaft study and the AP reports were essentially ignored, as papers such as the New York Times only seem to have priests in their crosshairs.
•On October 16, Laurie Goodstein of the Times offered a front page, above-the-fold story on the sad episode of a Franciscan priest who had fathered a child. Even taking into account that the relationship with the mother was consensual and between two adults, and that the Franciscans have attempted to deal justly with the errant priest’s responsibilities to his son, this action is still sinful, scandalous, and indefensible. However, one still has to wonder why a quarter-century old story of a sin by a priest is now suddenly more pressing and newsworthy than the war in Afghanistan, health care, and starvation–genocide in Sudan. No other cleric from religions other than Catholic ever seems to merit such attention.
•Five days later, October 21, the Times gave its major headline to the decision by the Vatican to welcome Anglicans who had requested union with Rome. Fair enough. Unfair, though, was the article’s observation that the Holy See lured and bid for the Anglicans. Of course, the reality is simply that for years thousands of Anglicans have been asking Rome to be accepted into the Catholic Church with a special sensitivity for their own tradition. As Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Vatican’s chief ecumenist, observed, “We are not fishing in the Anglican pond.” Not enough for the Times; for them, this was another case of the conniving Vatican luring and bidding unsuspecting, good people, greedily capitalizing on the current internal tensions in Anglicanism.
•Finally, the most combustible example of all came Sunday with an intemperate and scurrilous piece by Maureen Dowd on the opinion pages of the Times. In a diatribe that rightly never would have passed muster with the editors had it so criticized an Islamic, Jewish, or African-American religious issue, she digs deep into the nativist handbook to use every anti-Catholic caricature possible, from the Inquisition to the Holocaust, condoms, obsession with sex, pedophile priests, and oppression of women, all the while slashing Pope Benedict XVI for his shoes, his forced conscription -- along with every other German teenage boy -- into the German army, his outreach to former Catholics, and his recent welcome to Anglicans.
True enough, the matter that triggered her spasm -- the current visitation of women religious by Vatican representatives -- is well-worth discussing, and hardly exempt from legitimate questioning. But her prejudice, while maybe appropriate for the Know-Nothing newspaper of the 1850’s, the Menace, has no place in a major publication today.
I do not mean to suggest that anti-catholicism is confined to the pages New York Times. Unfortunately, abundant examples can be found in many different venues. I will not even begin to try and list the many cases of anti-catholicism in the so-called entertainment media, as they are so prevalent they sometimes seem almost routine and obligatory. Elsewhere, last week, Representative Patrick Kennedy made some incredibly inaccurate and uncalled-for remarks concerning the Catholic bishops, as mentioned in this blog on Monday. Also, the New York State Legislature has levied a special payroll tax to help the Metropolitan Transportation Authority fund its deficit. This legislation calls for the public schools to be reimbursed the cost of the tax; Catholic schools, and other private schools, will not receive the reimbursement, costing each of the schools thousands – in some cases tens of thousands – of dollars, money that the parents and schools can hardly afford. (Nor can the archdiocese, which already underwrites the schools by $30 million annually.) Is it not an issue of basic fairness for ALL school-children and their parents to be treated equally?
The Catholic Church is not above criticism. We Catholics do a fair amount of it ourselves. We welcome and expect it. All we ask is that such critique be fair, rational, and accurate, what we would expect for anybody. The suspicion and bias against the Church is a national pastime that should be “rained out” for good.
I guess my own background in American history should caution me not to hold my breath.
Then again, yesterday was the Feast of Saint Jude, the patron saint of impossible causes.
October 29, 2009
The following article was submitted in a slightly shorter form to the New York Times as an op-ed article. The Times declined to publish it. I thought you might be interested in reading it.
FOUL BALL!
By Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan
Archbishop of New York
October is the month we relish the highpoint of our national pastime, especially when one of our own New York teams is in the World Series!
Sadly, America has another national pastime, this one not pleasant at all: anti-catholicism.
It is not hyperbole to call prejudice against the Catholic Church a national pastime. Scholars such as Arthur Schlesinger Sr. referred to it as “the deepest bias in the history of the American people,” while John Higham described it as “the most luxuriant, tenacious tradition of paranoiac agitation in American history.” “The anti-semitism of the left,” is how Paul Viereck reads it, and Professor Philip Jenkins sub-titles his book on the topic “the last acceptable prejudice.”
If you want recent evidence of this unfairness against the Catholic Church, look no further than a few of these following examples of occurrences over the last couple weeks:
•On October 14, in the pages of the New York Times, reporter Paul Vitello exposed the sad extent of child sexual abuse in Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jewish community. According to the article, there were forty cases of such abuse in this tiny community last year alone. Yet the Times did not demand what it has called for incessantly when addressing the same kind of abuse by a tiny minority of priests: release of names of abusers, rollback of statute of limitations, external investigations, release of all records, and total transparency. Instead, an attorney is quoted urging law enforcement officials to recognize “religious sensitivities,” and no criticism was offered of the DA’s office for allowing Orthodox rabbis to settle these cases “internally.” Given the Catholic Church’s own recent horrible experience, I am hardly in any position to criticize our Orthodox Jewish neighbors, and have no wish to do so . . . but I can criticize this kind of “selective outrage.”
Of course, this selective outrage probably should not surprise us at all, as we have seen many other examples of the phenomenon in recent years when it comes to the issue of sexual abuse. To cite but two: In 2004, Professor Carol Shakeshaft documented the wide-spread problem of sexual abuse of minors in our nation’s public schools (the study can be found here). In 2007, the Associated Press issued a series of investigative reports that also showed the numerous examples of sexual abuse by educators against public school students. Both the Shakeshaft study and the AP reports were essentially ignored, as papers such as the New York Times only seem to have priests in their crosshairs.
•On October 16, Laurie Goodstein of the Times offered a front page, above-the-fold story on the sad episode of a Franciscan priest who had fathered a child. Even taking into account that the relationship with the mother was consensual and between two adults, and that the Franciscans have attempted to deal justly with the errant priest’s responsibilities to his son, this action is still sinful, scandalous, and indefensible. However, one still has to wonder why a quarter-century old story of a sin by a priest is now suddenly more pressing and newsworthy than the war in Afghanistan, health care, and starvation–genocide in Sudan. No other cleric from religions other than Catholic ever seems to merit such attention.
•Five days later, October 21, the Times gave its major headline to the decision by the Vatican to welcome Anglicans who had requested union with Rome. Fair enough. Unfair, though, was the article’s observation that the Holy See lured and bid for the Anglicans. Of course, the reality is simply that for years thousands of Anglicans have been asking Rome to be accepted into the Catholic Church with a special sensitivity for their own tradition. As Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Vatican’s chief ecumenist, observed, “We are not fishing in the Anglican pond.” Not enough for the Times; for them, this was another case of the conniving Vatican luring and bidding unsuspecting, good people, greedily capitalizing on the current internal tensions in Anglicanism.
•Finally, the most combustible example of all came Sunday with an intemperate and scurrilous piece by Maureen Dowd on the opinion pages of the Times. In a diatribe that rightly never would have passed muster with the editors had it so criticized an Islamic, Jewish, or African-American religious issue, she digs deep into the nativist handbook to use every anti-Catholic caricature possible, from the Inquisition to the Holocaust, condoms, obsession with sex, pedophile priests, and oppression of women, all the while slashing Pope Benedict XVI for his shoes, his forced conscription -- along with every other German teenage boy -- into the German army, his outreach to former Catholics, and his recent welcome to Anglicans.
True enough, the matter that triggered her spasm -- the current visitation of women religious by Vatican representatives -- is well-worth discussing, and hardly exempt from legitimate questioning. But her prejudice, while maybe appropriate for the Know-Nothing newspaper of the 1850’s, the Menace, has no place in a major publication today.
I do not mean to suggest that anti-catholicism is confined to the pages New York Times. Unfortunately, abundant examples can be found in many different venues. I will not even begin to try and list the many cases of anti-catholicism in the so-called entertainment media, as they are so prevalent they sometimes seem almost routine and obligatory. Elsewhere, last week, Representative Patrick Kennedy made some incredibly inaccurate and uncalled-for remarks concerning the Catholic bishops, as mentioned in this blog on Monday. Also, the New York State Legislature has levied a special payroll tax to help the Metropolitan Transportation Authority fund its deficit. This legislation calls for the public schools to be reimbursed the cost of the tax; Catholic schools, and other private schools, will not receive the reimbursement, costing each of the schools thousands – in some cases tens of thousands – of dollars, money that the parents and schools can hardly afford. (Nor can the archdiocese, which already underwrites the schools by $30 million annually.) Is it not an issue of basic fairness for ALL school-children and their parents to be treated equally?
The Catholic Church is not above criticism. We Catholics do a fair amount of it ourselves. We welcome and expect it. All we ask is that such critique be fair, rational, and accurate, what we would expect for anybody. The suspicion and bias against the Church is a national pastime that should be “rained out” for good.
I guess my own background in American history should caution me not to hold my breath.
Then again, yesterday was the Feast of Saint Jude, the patron saint of impossible causes.
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