Bishop Brandt Blocks Expansion Efforts of Nuns who Supported Health Bill
The Sisters of St. Joseph in Baden, Pennsylvania opposed the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops by supporting the Health Care Reform Bill. Now Bishop Lawrence E. Brandt of Greensburg has withdrawn his diocese’s support for their community by prohibiting the use of any diocesan media or parishes in their recruitment efforts.
“He has the right to disapprove a request from a religious community that wants to host a recruitment event when that community has taken a public stance in opposition to the Church’s teaching on human life,” said diocesan spokesman Jerry Zufelt.
“Furthermore an environment of dissent and public opposition to the positions of the U.S. Catholic bishops does not provide an appropriate seedbed for vocations.”
The Sisters of St. Joseph had signed a letter written by NETWORK, a Catholic “social justice” lobbying group, which urged members of Congress “to cast a life affirming ‘yes’ vote” to the Senate Health Care Reform Bill. The USCCB as well as countless pro-life organizations had opposed the bill as seriously flawed and as opening the floodgates to federal funding of abortion.
Afterwards, the Sisters of St. Joseph requested promotional support from Greensburg parishes for a vocations awareness program called “Explore,” which was meant to show teenage girls what it was like to be a sister. They were refused because of their signing of the letter.
Msgr. Lawrence T. Persico, the Greensburg diocese’s vicar general, wrote a letter on April 8 to diocesan priests stating that no diocesan office, the diocesan newspaper, or any parish or event would “would promote a vocation awareness program of any religious community that has taken a stance against the United States bishops by being a signatory of the Network document.”
Sister Mary Pellegrino, moderator of the leadership team of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden, claimed that “based on our prayerful discernment and careful research” there would be no public funding of abortion caused by the bill.
“It would not violate the doctrinal and moral teachings of the Church,” she said. Her community has requested that the diocese reverse its decision.
This article is courtesy of LifeSiteNews.com.
Showing posts with label USCCB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USCCB. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Catholic Coalition Petitions Bishops Conference to End Pro-Abortion Grants
WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 /Christian Newswire/ -- American Life League, Human Life International, Catholic Advocate, Bellarmine Veritas Ministry and Real Catholic TV, members of the Reform CCHD Now coalition, launched a petition drive Thursday asking the bishops to suspend United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) grants.
The effort comes after repeated calls over the past three months for explanations from the USCCB in response to the discovery of CCHD money spent to support organizations promoting abortion and same- sex marriage.
American Catholics will be asked to sign the following at http://www.reformcchdnow.com/:
"To ensure no more Catholic dollars are spent to support organizations advocating abortion or same- sex marriage, I respectfully request the bishops suspend all national CCHD grants until the grants process has been reformed."
"Transparency and responsible stewardship of the money donated by hard-working American Catholics to further the mission of the Church should be a top priority for those in positions of authority at the Bishops' Conference," said Catholic Advocate Vice President Matt Smith.
A copy of the petition will be presented to the following:
• Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development
• Bishop Roger Morin of Biloxi, Mississippi and Chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee on the CCHD
• Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas, Texas and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on National Collections
• Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, Texas and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities
• Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky and Chairman of the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage
CCHD donations are traditionally collected the weekend before Thanksgiving each year as one of the thirteen funds of the USCCB's National Collections program. Donations average between $7 - 9 million annually.
Below is a summary of what has transpired since information on CCHD grant recipients first surfaced in August 2009 by the Bellarmine Veritas Ministry.
* In October 2009, Human Life International, American Life League and the Bellarmine Veritas Ministry formed the Reform CCHD Now coalition. Twenty-one organizations are now members of the coalition.
* On Oct. 2 Bishop Morin announced that CCHD grantee groups Young Workers United and the Chinese Progressive Association had been defunded in response to the reports.
* In November 2009 the Reform CCHD Now coalition revealed the CCHD was supporting 31 organizations which are members of a radically pro-abortion, pro same sex marriage organization.
* Also in November 2009 another detailed report was issued by American Life League and Bellarmine Veritas Ministry implicating MIV partners, CA Partnership partners, SFOP, Preble Street, Voces De La Frontera, and many others.
* By Nov. 25, 2009 LifeSiteNews reported that five bishops had decided to discontinue the CCHD collection.
* On Monday, Feb. 1 American Life League and the Bellarmine Veritas Ministry released further information on CCHD ties to the pro-abortion, same sex marriage Center for Community Change. Two top USCCB executives involved with the CCHD have served on the board of the CCC.
* On Tuesday, February 2, 2010, RealCatholicTV.com released video evidence that within hours of the initial story breaking, the USCCB and Center for Community Change each removed any reference to the other organization from their respective websites.
* On Tuesday, Feb. 2 Catholic Advocate called upon the Catholic Campaign for Human Development to suspend its grants pending "a complete review of its awards process."
The USCCB has yet to adequately respond to any of the charges since Bishop Morin's Oct. 2 memorandum, but has instead attempted to reframe the reports as a personal attack against USCCB employees.
"We remain hopeful these issues will be addressed, potentially leading to a renewal of the CCHD, and making it an organization that is a source of unity rather than division in the Church," said Human Life International's Stephen Phelan.
Phelan added, "we respectfully ask the Episcopal leadership of the USCCB to consider the petition in good faith."
The Reform CCHD Now coalition is a group of 21 Catholic organizations concerned that funds provided to the National Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) in special annual collections continued to support organizations that advocate for abortion and same-sex marriage. For more information on the Reform CCHD Now Coalition please see http://www.reformcchdnow.com/ and contact Stephen Phelan at 540-622-5270 (sphelan@hli.org) or Katie Walker at 540-659-4942 (kwalker@all.org).
Christian Newswire
The effort comes after repeated calls over the past three months for explanations from the USCCB in response to the discovery of CCHD money spent to support organizations promoting abortion and same- sex marriage.
American Catholics will be asked to sign the following at http://www.reformcchdnow.com/:
"To ensure no more Catholic dollars are spent to support organizations advocating abortion or same- sex marriage, I respectfully request the bishops suspend all national CCHD grants until the grants process has been reformed."
"Transparency and responsible stewardship of the money donated by hard-working American Catholics to further the mission of the Church should be a top priority for those in positions of authority at the Bishops' Conference," said Catholic Advocate Vice President Matt Smith.
A copy of the petition will be presented to the following:
• Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development
• Bishop Roger Morin of Biloxi, Mississippi and Chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee on the CCHD
• Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas, Texas and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on National Collections
• Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, Texas and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities
• Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky and Chairman of the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage
CCHD donations are traditionally collected the weekend before Thanksgiving each year as one of the thirteen funds of the USCCB's National Collections program. Donations average between $7 - 9 million annually.
Below is a summary of what has transpired since information on CCHD grant recipients first surfaced in August 2009 by the Bellarmine Veritas Ministry.
* In October 2009, Human Life International, American Life League and the Bellarmine Veritas Ministry formed the Reform CCHD Now coalition. Twenty-one organizations are now members of the coalition.
* On Oct. 2 Bishop Morin announced that CCHD grantee groups Young Workers United and the Chinese Progressive Association had been defunded in response to the reports.
* In November 2009 the Reform CCHD Now coalition revealed the CCHD was supporting 31 organizations which are members of a radically pro-abortion, pro same sex marriage organization.
* Also in November 2009 another detailed report was issued by American Life League and Bellarmine Veritas Ministry implicating MIV partners, CA Partnership partners, SFOP, Preble Street, Voces De La Frontera, and many others.
* By Nov. 25, 2009 LifeSiteNews reported that five bishops had decided to discontinue the CCHD collection.
* On Monday, Feb. 1 American Life League and the Bellarmine Veritas Ministry released further information on CCHD ties to the pro-abortion, same sex marriage Center for Community Change. Two top USCCB executives involved with the CCHD have served on the board of the CCC.
* On Tuesday, February 2, 2010, RealCatholicTV.com released video evidence that within hours of the initial story breaking, the USCCB and Center for Community Change each removed any reference to the other organization from their respective websites.
* On Tuesday, Feb. 2 Catholic Advocate called upon the Catholic Campaign for Human Development to suspend its grants pending "a complete review of its awards process."
The USCCB has yet to adequately respond to any of the charges since Bishop Morin's Oct. 2 memorandum, but has instead attempted to reframe the reports as a personal attack against USCCB employees.
"We remain hopeful these issues will be addressed, potentially leading to a renewal of the CCHD, and making it an organization that is a source of unity rather than division in the Church," said Human Life International's Stephen Phelan.
Phelan added, "we respectfully ask the Episcopal leadership of the USCCB to consider the petition in good faith."
The Reform CCHD Now coalition is a group of 21 Catholic organizations concerned that funds provided to the National Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) in special annual collections continued to support organizations that advocate for abortion and same-sex marriage. For more information on the Reform CCHD Now Coalition please see http://www.reformcchdnow.com/ and contact Stephen Phelan at 540-622-5270 (sphelan@hli.org) or Katie Walker at 540-659-4942 (kwalker@all.org).
Christian Newswire
Monday, February 08, 2010
Friday, February 05, 2010
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Just exactly what IS the USCCB?
A commentary from http://www.realcatholictv.com/ What is the USCCB and why is there always some controversy swirling around it?
Scandal-Ridden USCCB Brings Pro-Abortion, LGBT Rights Activists to Speak and 4-Day Event
WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 /Christian Newswire/ -- Already embroiled in an abortion scandal, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops will host a line-up of progressive leaders -- including prominent pro-abortion activists -- to their "Catholic Social Gathering" in Washington, D.C., Feb. 7-10.
The announced USCCB "gathering" conference comes on the heels of revelations the USCCB has long standing ties to the radically pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage group Center for Community Change. New evidence continues to emerge that the CCC is only a small part of a larger collaboration with organizations that promote abortion and homosexual rights agendas.
Presenting at the Social Gathering will be:
- Fr. Thomas Reese, who was forced to resign as editor of America Magazine by the Vatican for his refusal to stop publishing articles which question church orthodoxy on issues like contraception, human embryonic stem-cell research, same-sex marriage, homosexual priests, mandatory clerical celibacy, and whether Catholic politicians who support abortion rights should be given communion
- Diana Hayes, professor of systematic theology at Georgetown University and noted speaker for Call to Action, the "Catholic" dissident group. Hayes is a homosexuality activist who wrote a book espousing liberation theology, calls for women's ordination and promotes same-sex "marriage."
- Page six of the official "Catholic Social Gathering" program gives a schedule for the Catholic Labor Network Gathering. USCCB exec John Carr is scheduled to join Paul Booth on a panel discussion. Paul Booth and his wife Heather Booth (another prominent pro-abortion activist with ties to the National Organization for Women, who helped organize a group called "JANE" in 1965 which helped young women obtain illegal abortions) founded the Midwest Academy a training institute for progressive activists.
- Paul Booth and his wife have served as host committee members for the National Organization for Women's Intrepid Awards Gala.
- Currently Paul Booth is executive assistant to the president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The AFSCME endorsed the pro-abortion March for Freedom of Choice, held in Washington, D.C. in 2004.
"Looking at this speaker lineup, one wonders if USCCB staff is thinking clearly about Catholic Social Teaching. Why are those who represent openly anti- life and pro-homosexualist organizations treated as experts in the field of peace and justice by Catholics who should know better?" asked Michael Hichborn, American Life League's lead researcher into the USCCB.
American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro- life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
American Life League: Open Letter to Tom Grenchik Regarding USCCB Cooperation With and Support for Pro-Abortion and Radical Homosexual Groups (04 February 2010)
http://all.org/article.php?id=12532
Reform CCHD Now:
http://reformcchdnow.com/
Christian Newswire
The announced USCCB "gathering" conference comes on the heels of revelations the USCCB has long standing ties to the radically pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage group Center for Community Change. New evidence continues to emerge that the CCC is only a small part of a larger collaboration with organizations that promote abortion and homosexual rights agendas.
Presenting at the Social Gathering will be:
- Fr. Thomas Reese, who was forced to resign as editor of America Magazine by the Vatican for his refusal to stop publishing articles which question church orthodoxy on issues like contraception, human embryonic stem-cell research, same-sex marriage, homosexual priests, mandatory clerical celibacy, and whether Catholic politicians who support abortion rights should be given communion
- Diana Hayes, professor of systematic theology at Georgetown University and noted speaker for Call to Action, the "Catholic" dissident group. Hayes is a homosexuality activist who wrote a book espousing liberation theology, calls for women's ordination and promotes same-sex "marriage."
- Page six of the official "Catholic Social Gathering" program gives a schedule for the Catholic Labor Network Gathering. USCCB exec John Carr is scheduled to join Paul Booth on a panel discussion. Paul Booth and his wife Heather Booth (another prominent pro-abortion activist with ties to the National Organization for Women, who helped organize a group called "JANE" in 1965 which helped young women obtain illegal abortions) founded the Midwest Academy a training institute for progressive activists.
- Paul Booth and his wife have served as host committee members for the National Organization for Women's Intrepid Awards Gala.
- Currently Paul Booth is executive assistant to the president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The AFSCME endorsed the pro-abortion March for Freedom of Choice, held in Washington, D.C. in 2004.
"Looking at this speaker lineup, one wonders if USCCB staff is thinking clearly about Catholic Social Teaching. Why are those who represent openly anti- life and pro-homosexualist organizations treated as experts in the field of peace and justice by Catholics who should know better?" asked Michael Hichborn, American Life League's lead researcher into the USCCB.
American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro- life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
American Life League: Open Letter to Tom Grenchik Regarding USCCB Cooperation With and Support for Pro-Abortion and Radical Homosexual Groups (04 February 2010)
http://all.org/article.php?id=12532
Reform CCHD Now:
http://reformcchdnow.com/
Christian Newswire
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
USCCB Exec John Carr Fails to Address Findings in Report on Pro-Abortion, Gay Marriage Group
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 /Christian Newswire/ -- American Life League and the Bellarmine Vertias Ministry, working with the Reform CCHD Now coalition, released two separate reports Monday on United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) ties with the Center for Community Change (CCC), a stridently pro-abortion, pro- homosexuality organization.
Specifically addressed in the report from ALL is USCCB exec John Carr's simultaneous membership on the CCC board and employment with the USCCB.
In his response to Our Sunday Visitor, John Carr, who oversees the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) failed to address the points raised in the ALL or BVM reports including:
- Why over 50 CCHD supported organizations are in some capacity engaged in pro-abortion or pro- homosexual causes
- Why Tom Chabolla, associate director of programs for CCHD, replaced Carr on the CCC board while the CCC was heavily engaged in pro-abortion, pro- homosexual advocacy
- Why 31 CCHD grantees are "partners" with the CCC
- Why Ralph McCloud, CCHD executive director, spoke at a CCC-sponsored rally for Barack Obama. McCloud, referred to Obama's election as, "a great day," and proclaimed "very soon we will see a new Jerusalem"
- Why Carr's USCCB bio omits his involvement with the CCC, while near word-for-word copies of his bio for outside activities include it
- If Carr didn't know the direction the CCC was headed while chairing the board of the organization, how will he address, as the head of the CCHD, the ongoing problem of funding for radical pro-abortion, pro- homosexual groups
Since ALL's report released Monday, both the CCC and USCCB made immediate changes to their websites which housed the evidence. CCC immediately announced it had severed ties with the Movement Vision Lab, which was a main source of criticism, and the USCCB deleted the statement on the CCHD's Poverty USA webpage calling for support of the CCC.
American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro- life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
* American Life League: Conference of Catholic Bishops Exec Chaired Pro-Abortion, LGBT Rights Group (01 February 2010)
http://all.org/article.php?id=12507
* Bellarmine Veritas Ministry: Addressing the CCHD
http://bellarmineveritasministry.org/campaigns/cchd/
* Our Sunday Visitor: USCCB's John Carr responds to 'unfair allegations' (01 February 2010)
http://www.osvdailytake.com/2010/02/usccbs-john-carr-responds-to-unfair.html
* Inside Catholic: More Disturbing News about the CCHD (02 February 2010)
http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7604&Itemid=48
Christian Newswire
Specifically addressed in the report from ALL is USCCB exec John Carr's simultaneous membership on the CCC board and employment with the USCCB.
In his response to Our Sunday Visitor, John Carr, who oversees the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) failed to address the points raised in the ALL or BVM reports including:
- Why over 50 CCHD supported organizations are in some capacity engaged in pro-abortion or pro- homosexual causes
- Why Tom Chabolla, associate director of programs for CCHD, replaced Carr on the CCC board while the CCC was heavily engaged in pro-abortion, pro- homosexual advocacy
- Why 31 CCHD grantees are "partners" with the CCC
- Why Ralph McCloud, CCHD executive director, spoke at a CCC-sponsored rally for Barack Obama. McCloud, referred to Obama's election as, "a great day," and proclaimed "very soon we will see a new Jerusalem"
- Why Carr's USCCB bio omits his involvement with the CCC, while near word-for-word copies of his bio for outside activities include it
- If Carr didn't know the direction the CCC was headed while chairing the board of the organization, how will he address, as the head of the CCHD, the ongoing problem of funding for radical pro-abortion, pro- homosexual groups
Since ALL's report released Monday, both the CCC and USCCB made immediate changes to their websites which housed the evidence. CCC immediately announced it had severed ties with the Movement Vision Lab, which was a main source of criticism, and the USCCB deleted the statement on the CCHD's Poverty USA webpage calling for support of the CCC.
American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro- life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
* American Life League: Conference of Catholic Bishops Exec Chaired Pro-Abortion, LGBT Rights Group (01 February 2010)
http://all.org/article.php?id=12507
* Bellarmine Veritas Ministry: Addressing the CCHD
http://bellarmineveritasministry.org/campaigns/cchd/
* Our Sunday Visitor: USCCB's John Carr responds to 'unfair allegations' (01 February 2010)
http://www.osvdailytake.com/2010/02/usccbs-john-carr-responds-to-unfair.html
* Inside Catholic: More Disturbing News about the CCHD (02 February 2010)
http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7604&Itemid=48
Christian Newswire
Monday, February 01, 2010
Conference of Catholic Bishops Exec Chaired Pro-Abortion, LGBT Rights Group
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 /Christian Newswire/ -- A national group that promotes abortion and homosexual rights has deep ties with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, according to a report released Monday.
Top USCCB executive John Carr held simultaneous leadership roles, creating a conflict of interest, with the USCCB and the radical Center for Community Change.
"The closer we look at the Bishops' Conference [staff and programs], the more we find a systemic pattern of cooperation with evil," said Michael Hichborn, American Life League's lead researcher into the USCCB scandal. "The CCC has lodged itself into the highest places of power in the USCCB while working to promote abortion and homosexuality."
John Carr is the USCCB executive director of the Department of Justice Peace and Human Development which oversees the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). He has been employed by the USCCB since 1987.
John Carr's relationship with the Center for Community Change goes back at least to 1983, serving in leadership roles from 1999 to 2006 including as chairman of the board. The Reform CCHD Now report details the organization's promotion of abortion, "reproductive rights" and homosexuality as among the CCC's core advocacy focuses.
In 2001, while Carr served as both a USCCB exec and CCC leader, the Catholic Bishops' Conference funneled $150,000 to the pro-abortion group. The USCCB web site currently promotes the group and officials have spoken at CCC events.
"Strangely, Carr's leadership on the CCC's board shows up on several bios he's submitted for speaking engagements, but the word for word bio on the USCCB web site mysteriously omits that one detail," Hichborn said. "Why?"
Revelations of John Carr's involvement in the Center for Community Change come only months after members of the Reform CCHD Now coalition, including American Life League, uncovered 31 CCHD grantees partnered with the CCC.
"The CCHD claims it will immediately investigate accusations against organizations it funds yet it is silent on the CCC," said Hichborn. "How can Carr and the USCCB possibly justify this intimate relationship with such an obvious enemy of the Church?"
The Reform CCHD Now coalition is a lay Catholic watchdog group comprised of some of the top Catholic pro-life organizations in the country including American Life League, Human Life International and Bellarmine Veritas Ministry. For a full list of all 15 coalition members see www.reformcchdnow.com.
American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro- life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
American Life League: Sleeping with the Enemy: Bishops Conference Cooperation with Pro-Abortion Organizations (01 February 2010)
Bellarmine Veritas Ministry: Revisiting the Center for Community Change (01 February 2010)
Reform CCHD Now
# # #
Christian Newswire
Top USCCB executive John Carr held simultaneous leadership roles, creating a conflict of interest, with the USCCB and the radical Center for Community Change.
"The closer we look at the Bishops' Conference [staff and programs], the more we find a systemic pattern of cooperation with evil," said Michael Hichborn, American Life League's lead researcher into the USCCB scandal. "The CCC has lodged itself into the highest places of power in the USCCB while working to promote abortion and homosexuality."
John Carr is the USCCB executive director of the Department of Justice Peace and Human Development which oversees the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). He has been employed by the USCCB since 1987.
John Carr's relationship with the Center for Community Change goes back at least to 1983, serving in leadership roles from 1999 to 2006 including as chairman of the board. The Reform CCHD Now report details the organization's promotion of abortion, "reproductive rights" and homosexuality as among the CCC's core advocacy focuses.
In 2001, while Carr served as both a USCCB exec and CCC leader, the Catholic Bishops' Conference funneled $150,000 to the pro-abortion group. The USCCB web site currently promotes the group and officials have spoken at CCC events.
"Strangely, Carr's leadership on the CCC's board shows up on several bios he's submitted for speaking engagements, but the word for word bio on the USCCB web site mysteriously omits that one detail," Hichborn said. "Why?"
Revelations of John Carr's involvement in the Center for Community Change come only months after members of the Reform CCHD Now coalition, including American Life League, uncovered 31 CCHD grantees partnered with the CCC.
"The CCHD claims it will immediately investigate accusations against organizations it funds yet it is silent on the CCC," said Hichborn. "How can Carr and the USCCB possibly justify this intimate relationship with such an obvious enemy of the Church?"
The Reform CCHD Now coalition is a lay Catholic watchdog group comprised of some of the top Catholic pro-life organizations in the country including American Life League, Human Life International and Bellarmine Veritas Ministry. For a full list of all 15 coalition members see www.reformcchdnow.com.
American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro- life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
American Life League: Sleeping with the Enemy: Bishops Conference Cooperation with Pro-Abortion Organizations (01 February 2010)
Bellarmine Veritas Ministry: Revisiting the Center for Community Change (01 February 2010)
Reform CCHD Now
# # #
Christian Newswire
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Pelosi’s archbishop slams her rationale for supporting abortion
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=18260
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF., January 13 (CNA) - Archbishop George Niederauer responded today to Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) recent comments that she has “some concerns about the Church's position respecting a woman's right to choose.” Justifying her decision to support abortion by citing her free will “is entirely incompatible with Catholic teaching,” the archbishop insisted.
Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi told Newsweek’s Eleanor Clift in a December 21, 2009 interview that she disagrees with the Church on certain issues but considers herself a “practicing Catholic.”
“I have some concerns about the church's position respecting a woman's right to choose. I have some concerns about the church's position on gay rights. I am a practicing Catholic, although they're probably not too happy about that. But it is my faith. I feel what I was raised to believe is consistent with what I profess, and that is that we are all endowed with a free will and a responsibility to answer for our actions. And that women should have that opportunity to exercise their free will,” Pelosi said.
Archbishop Niederauer countered in his January 13 column, “Embodied in that statement are some fundamental misconceptions about Catholic teaching on human freedom.” God gave human beings the capacity to choose between good and evil in order to give them the gift of freedom, even at the cost of many evil choices, the archbishop said.
But this gift of freedom, the freedom wrongly cited in justifying a woman’s right to choose, among other fallacies, does not justify the position that “all moral choices are good if they are free,” insisted Archbishop Niederauer, because “the exercise of freedom does not imply a right to say or do everything.”
Addressing those who advocate for “reproductive choice” while claiming to be Catholic, Archbishop Niederauer emphasized, “it is entirely incompatible with Catholic teaching to conclude that our freedom of will justifies choices that are radically contrary to the Gospel—racism, infidelity, abortion, theft. Freedom of will is the capacity to act with moral responsibility; it is not the ability to determine arbitrarily what constitutes moral right.”
The belief in the validity of arbitrarily determining right and wrong is widespread both in and outside of the Church, the archbishop noted.
Touching on the meaning of one's conscience, the San Francisco archbishop described it as “the judgment of reason whereby the human person, guided by God’s grace, recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act. In all we say and do, we are obliged to follow faithfully what we know to be just and right.”
“As participants in the life of the civil community,” Archbishop Niederauer wrote, “we Catholic citizens try to follow our consciences, guided, as described above, by reason and the grace of God. While we deeply respect the freedom of our fellow citizens, we nevertheless are profoundly convinced that free will cannot be cited as justification for society to allow moral choices that strike at the most fundamental rights of others. Such a choice is abortion, which constitutes the taking of innocent human life, and cannot be justified by any Catholic notion of freedom.”
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF., January 13 (CNA) - Archbishop George Niederauer responded today to Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) recent comments that she has “some concerns about the Church's position respecting a woman's right to choose.” Justifying her decision to support abortion by citing her free will “is entirely incompatible with Catholic teaching,” the archbishop insisted.
Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi told Newsweek’s Eleanor Clift in a December 21, 2009 interview that she disagrees with the Church on certain issues but considers herself a “practicing Catholic.”
“I have some concerns about the church's position respecting a woman's right to choose. I have some concerns about the church's position on gay rights. I am a practicing Catholic, although they're probably not too happy about that. But it is my faith. I feel what I was raised to believe is consistent with what I profess, and that is that we are all endowed with a free will and a responsibility to answer for our actions. And that women should have that opportunity to exercise their free will,” Pelosi said.
Archbishop Niederauer countered in his January 13 column, “Embodied in that statement are some fundamental misconceptions about Catholic teaching on human freedom.” God gave human beings the capacity to choose between good and evil in order to give them the gift of freedom, even at the cost of many evil choices, the archbishop said.
But this gift of freedom, the freedom wrongly cited in justifying a woman’s right to choose, among other fallacies, does not justify the position that “all moral choices are good if they are free,” insisted Archbishop Niederauer, because “the exercise of freedom does not imply a right to say or do everything.”
Addressing those who advocate for “reproductive choice” while claiming to be Catholic, Archbishop Niederauer emphasized, “it is entirely incompatible with Catholic teaching to conclude that our freedom of will justifies choices that are radically contrary to the Gospel—racism, infidelity, abortion, theft. Freedom of will is the capacity to act with moral responsibility; it is not the ability to determine arbitrarily what constitutes moral right.”
The belief in the validity of arbitrarily determining right and wrong is widespread both in and outside of the Church, the archbishop noted.
Touching on the meaning of one's conscience, the San Francisco archbishop described it as “the judgment of reason whereby the human person, guided by God’s grace, recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act. In all we say and do, we are obliged to follow faithfully what we know to be just and right.”
“As participants in the life of the civil community,” Archbishop Niederauer wrote, “we Catholic citizens try to follow our consciences, guided, as described above, by reason and the grace of God. While we deeply respect the freedom of our fellow citizens, we nevertheless are profoundly convinced that free will cannot be cited as justification for society to allow moral choices that strike at the most fundamental rights of others. Such a choice is abortion, which constitutes the taking of innocent human life, and cannot be justified by any Catholic notion of freedom.”
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.
Friday, November 13, 2009
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.
New York Times refuses to publish Archbishop Dolan's op-ed on anti-Catholic bias
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17538
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., October 30 (CNA) - The New York Times declined to publish an op-ed presented by the Archbishop of New York, Most Reverend Timothy M. Dolan, in which he made the point that the “Gray Lady” has been reporting stories with a strong anti-Catholic bias.
In his new blog on the archdiocese’s website, Archbishop Dolan explains that his article was submitted in a slightly shorter form to the New York Times as an op-ed, but the Times declined to publish it.
In the blog version, Archbishop Dolan says that next to baseball, “sadly, America has another national pastime, this one not pleasant at all: anti-Catholicism.”
“If you want recent evidence of this unfairness against the Catholic Church,” writes the Archbishop, “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.
“Yet,” Archbishop Dolan observes, “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.”
“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,’” he insists.
The op-ed explains that “In 2004, Professor Carol Shakeshaft documented the wide-spread problem of sexual abuse of minors in our nation’s public schools; while in 2007, the Associated Press issued a series of investigative reports that showed 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,” the Archbishop writes.
The Archbishop then takes issue with a New York Times October 16 “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,” he writes, “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,” he charges.
Then, on October 21, the Archbishop recounts, “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,” he explains.
Nevertheless, the Archbishop of New York says the “most combustible example” was “an intemperate and scurrilous piece” on the opinion pages of the Times by Maureen Dowd, a 57-year-old alumna of Catholic University of America who has a history of anti-Catholic bias.
“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.”
Describing the current visitation of women religious by Vatican representatives as “the matter that triggered the spasm” of Dowd, Archbishop Dolan says that it “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,” writes Archbishop Dolan, who also admits that “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.”
The Archbishop of New York, also an alumnus of the Catholic University of America with a doctorate in Church History, writes that “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.”
The full version of Archbishop Dolan’s column is available at: http://www.archny.org/news-events/columns-and-blogs/blog---the-gospel-in-the-digital-age/index.cfm?i=14042
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., October 30 (CNA) - The New York Times declined to publish an op-ed presented by the Archbishop of New York, Most Reverend Timothy M. Dolan, in which he made the point that the “Gray Lady” has been reporting stories with a strong anti-Catholic bias.
In his new blog on the archdiocese’s website, Archbishop Dolan explains that his article was submitted in a slightly shorter form to the New York Times as an op-ed, but the Times declined to publish it.
In the blog version, Archbishop Dolan says that next to baseball, “sadly, America has another national pastime, this one not pleasant at all: anti-Catholicism.”
“If you want recent evidence of this unfairness against the Catholic Church,” writes the Archbishop, “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.
“Yet,” Archbishop Dolan observes, “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.”
“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,’” he insists.
The op-ed explains that “In 2004, Professor Carol Shakeshaft documented the wide-spread problem of sexual abuse of minors in our nation’s public schools; while in 2007, the Associated Press issued a series of investigative reports that showed 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,” the Archbishop writes.
The Archbishop then takes issue with a New York Times October 16 “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,” he writes, “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,” he charges.
Then, on October 21, the Archbishop recounts, “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,” he explains.
Nevertheless, the Archbishop of New York says the “most combustible example” was “an intemperate and scurrilous piece” on the opinion pages of the Times by Maureen Dowd, a 57-year-old alumna of Catholic University of America who has a history of anti-Catholic bias.
“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.”
Describing the current visitation of women religious by Vatican representatives as “the matter that triggered the spasm” of Dowd, Archbishop Dolan says that it “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,” writes Archbishop Dolan, who also admits that “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.”
The Archbishop of New York, also an alumnus of the Catholic University of America with a doctorate in Church History, writes that “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.”
The full version of Archbishop Dolan’s column is available at: http://www.archny.org/news-events/columns-and-blogs/blog---the-gospel-in-the-digital-age/index.cfm?i=14042
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Texas Catholic bishops: Current health care bill fails to protect all human life
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17517
HOUSTON, TEXAS, October 28 (CNA) - All of the Catholic bishops in Texas released a statement on health care reform on Tuesday, warning that the legislation currently under consideration does not adequately ensure the protection of all human life.
The statement issued by the Texas Catholic Conference, which represents all 15 dioceses in Texas, said that the bishops “hope that our national leaders will work together to bring about genuine life-affirming reform to our nation’s health care system.”
“Our Catholic moral tradition teaches that every human being, from the moment of conception to natural death, has an innate dignity that entitles him or her to certain rights and protections, including the fundamental right to life and the right to affordable healthcare, which flows from the right to life,” they stated.
However, the bishops of Texas also said that they are concerned that the current proposed reforms do not respect these human rights. They singled out the Capps Amendment for criticism, saying that it “does not adequately ensure the protection of all human life.”
Addressing another controversial, if not problematic, facet of the current reforms, the bishops asserted that “the cost structures of any health care reform plan must not impose excessive financial burdens on low and moderate income individuals and families.”
The bishops also called for an expansion of the social safety net, writing, “Measures must also be in place to safeguard the health of all of society, including the poor, the elderly, and immigrants. Legal immigrants and their families must be allowed timely access to comprehensive and affordable health care coverage and an adequate safety net must be maintained for those who remain uncovered.”
The statement closed with a reminder of the importance of reform and a warning.
“The Catholic Bishops of Texas will continue to support reform of our nation's health care system in ways that respect the lives of all human persons while providing affordable access to health care for all. We will be a committed partner in advancing reform on this life-and-death issue; but if the final form of the legislation does not include acceptable language in these areas then we will have to oppose it vigorously.”
Among the signing bishops was Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. DiNardo sits on the USCCB Committee for Pro-Life Activities and is a member of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples.
To read the full statement by the Catholic bishops of Texas, go to: http://www.txcatholic.org/documents/2009-Texas-Catholic-Conference-Health-Care-Statement.pdf
HOUSTON, TEXAS, October 28 (CNA) - All of the Catholic bishops in Texas released a statement on health care reform on Tuesday, warning that the legislation currently under consideration does not adequately ensure the protection of all human life.
The statement issued by the Texas Catholic Conference, which represents all 15 dioceses in Texas, said that the bishops “hope that our national leaders will work together to bring about genuine life-affirming reform to our nation’s health care system.”
“Our Catholic moral tradition teaches that every human being, from the moment of conception to natural death, has an innate dignity that entitles him or her to certain rights and protections, including the fundamental right to life and the right to affordable healthcare, which flows from the right to life,” they stated.
However, the bishops of Texas also said that they are concerned that the current proposed reforms do not respect these human rights. They singled out the Capps Amendment for criticism, saying that it “does not adequately ensure the protection of all human life.”
Addressing another controversial, if not problematic, facet of the current reforms, the bishops asserted that “the cost structures of any health care reform plan must not impose excessive financial burdens on low and moderate income individuals and families.”
The bishops also called for an expansion of the social safety net, writing, “Measures must also be in place to safeguard the health of all of society, including the poor, the elderly, and immigrants. Legal immigrants and their families must be allowed timely access to comprehensive and affordable health care coverage and an adequate safety net must be maintained for those who remain uncovered.”
The statement closed with a reminder of the importance of reform and a warning.
“The Catholic Bishops of Texas will continue to support reform of our nation's health care system in ways that respect the lives of all human persons while providing affordable access to health care for all. We will be a committed partner in advancing reform on this life-and-death issue; but if the final form of the legislation does not include acceptable language in these areas then we will have to oppose it vigorously.”
Among the signing bishops was Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. DiNardo sits on the USCCB Committee for Pro-Life Activities and is a member of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples.
To read the full statement by the Catholic bishops of Texas, go to: http://www.txcatholic.org/documents/2009-Texas-Catholic-Conference-Health-Care-Statement.pdf
Monday, May 25, 2009
Vatican newspaper finally reports on U.S. bishops’ criticism of Obama, Notre Dame
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16084
VATICAN CITY, May 22 (CNA) - The Vatican daily newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, which has faced criticism from many pro-life U.S. Catholics for its positive assessment of Barack Obama’s presidency, finally reported today on the objection of U.S. bishops to both Obama’s pro-abortion record as well as to Notre Dame’s decision to invite him to its commencement speech.
In the article titled "U.S. Bishops and ethical questions," L’Osservatore quotes the strongly-worded statement from the Archbishop of Denver, Charles J. Chaput which comments on Father John Jenkins’ commencement speech that justified his decision to invite the President of the U.S. to Notre Dame.
The Vatican newspaper does not mention that Chaput’s words were addressed to Fr. Jenkins, but quotes the Denver Archbishop saying that "the most vital thing faithful Catholics can do now is to insist – by their words, actions and financial support – that institutions claiming to be ‘Catholic’ actually live the faith with courage and consistency."
L’ Osservatore then explains that Archbishop Chaput "criticized the decision of the University of Notre Dame to honor someone who has demonstrated the willingness" to uphold Roe v. Wade.
"Other U.S. bishops recently," the Vatican newspaper continues, "have recalled the non-negotiable terms in which (Catholics) must confront ethical issues such as abortion, embryonic stem cell research and the right to conscientious objection of health workers."
L’Osservatore still seemed to defend Obama by saying that the President promised during the commencement speech at Notre Dame that "such a right must be defended," but concluded with the article quoting the Bishop of Kansas City - St. Joseph, Robert W. Finn, saying that "Obama has closed any door to dialogue, affirming that he will not change his position on abortion."
VATICAN CITY, May 22 (CNA) - The Vatican daily newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, which has faced criticism from many pro-life U.S. Catholics for its positive assessment of Barack Obama’s presidency, finally reported today on the objection of U.S. bishops to both Obama’s pro-abortion record as well as to Notre Dame’s decision to invite him to its commencement speech.
In the article titled "U.S. Bishops and ethical questions," L’Osservatore quotes the strongly-worded statement from the Archbishop of Denver, Charles J. Chaput which comments on Father John Jenkins’ commencement speech that justified his decision to invite the President of the U.S. to Notre Dame.
The Vatican newspaper does not mention that Chaput’s words were addressed to Fr. Jenkins, but quotes the Denver Archbishop saying that "the most vital thing faithful Catholics can do now is to insist – by their words, actions and financial support – that institutions claiming to be ‘Catholic’ actually live the faith with courage and consistency."
L’ Osservatore then explains that Archbishop Chaput "criticized the decision of the University of Notre Dame to honor someone who has demonstrated the willingness" to uphold Roe v. Wade.
"Other U.S. bishops recently," the Vatican newspaper continues, "have recalled the non-negotiable terms in which (Catholics) must confront ethical issues such as abortion, embryonic stem cell research and the right to conscientious objection of health workers."
L’Osservatore still seemed to defend Obama by saying that the President promised during the commencement speech at Notre Dame that "such a right must be defended," but concluded with the article quoting the Bishop of Kansas City - St. Joseph, Robert W. Finn, saying that "Obama has closed any door to dialogue, affirming that he will not change his position on abortion."
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