News
Military archbishop: U.S. invasion led to fewer Iraqi Christians
Rome, Italy, Jan 28, 2012 / 07:03 am (CNA).- U.S. Military Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio says the collapse of Iraq’s Christian population is among the legacies of America's invasion in 2003.
“Yes, you can say in a certain sense that the invasion of Iraq did provoke this tremendous diminution of the Christian population in that country. And what the future holds, that still remains to be seen,” the archbishop for the armed forces told CNA during his visit to Rome on Jan. 16.
His comments come only a month after the final pull-out of U.S. troops from Iraq, where they remained following the invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. Aid agencies estimate that over the course of eight years, the Catholic population of Iraq fell from over 800,000, to less than 150,000 now
Archbishop Broglio believes Catholicism suffered after the invasion because of a perceived closeness to its previous ruler. He said Saddam Hussein tended “to trust Catholics, and gave them positions of responsibility.” One prominent Iraqi Catholic was Hussein’s Foreign Minister Tarik Aziz.
And even if Catholics “weren’t particularly part of the regime, they became identified with the regime,” Archbishop Broglio said.
“Before, they were a minority that was protected, but now they are a minority that is not protected.”
As President Barack Obama withdrew the last U.S. troops from Iraq on Dec. 15, he said they were leaving behind a “sovereign, stable and self-reliant,” country.
But there are signs that Iraqi Christians' plight has worsened since then.
“At a time of increased political instability, we continue to receive disturbing reports,” said John Pontifex of Aid to the Church in Need on Jan. 20.
He said an attack took place earlier in the month against security personnel outside the residence of Kirkuk's Archbishop Louis Sako.
Archbishop Sako, who was indoors at the time, told Aid to the Church in Need that the situation is less stable now that U.S. troops are gone, with much of the turmoil stemming from the power struggle between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
Pontifex says there is a “ticking bomb regarding Christianity in Iraq.”
“Few Christians, no matter how deep their roots are in the local society, feel able to withstand the pressure to leave.”
Fear of an attack forced Archbishop Sako to cancel the Chaldean Catholics' midnight Christmas celebration last month. Services were moved to the daytime, and Christians were warned not to display decorations outside their homes.
Nevertheless, it appears that many of the Catholics who fled Iraq would return if safety improved.
Monsignor John Kozar, president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, recently spoke of the “strong determination” some Iraqi Catholics have to go back home. He recently visited Jordan, where many Christians from Iraq now reside.
“I think they have a yearning to return to the homeland, and that homeland for them means practicing their Chaldean-rite Christianity,” the monsignor said. “That has become very, very important to them.”
“Yes, you can say in a certain sense that the invasion of Iraq did provoke this tremendous diminution of the Christian population in that country. And what the future holds, that still remains to be seen,” the archbishop for the armed forces told CNA during his visit to Rome on Jan. 16.
His comments come only a month after the final pull-out of U.S. troops from Iraq, where they remained following the invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. Aid agencies estimate that over the course of eight years, the Catholic population of Iraq fell from over 800,000, to less than 150,000 now
Archbishop Broglio believes Catholicism suffered after the invasion because of a perceived closeness to its previous ruler. He said Saddam Hussein tended “to trust Catholics, and gave them positions of responsibility.” One prominent Iraqi Catholic was Hussein’s Foreign Minister Tarik Aziz.
And even if Catholics “weren’t particularly part of the regime, they became identified with the regime,” Archbishop Broglio said.
“Before, they were a minority that was protected, but now they are a minority that is not protected.”
As President Barack Obama withdrew the last U.S. troops from Iraq on Dec. 15, he said they were leaving behind a “sovereign, stable and self-reliant,” country.
But there are signs that Iraqi Christians' plight has worsened since then.
“At a time of increased political instability, we continue to receive disturbing reports,” said John Pontifex of Aid to the Church in Need on Jan. 20.
He said an attack took place earlier in the month against security personnel outside the residence of Kirkuk's Archbishop Louis Sako.
Archbishop Sako, who was indoors at the time, told Aid to the Church in Need that the situation is less stable now that U.S. troops are gone, with much of the turmoil stemming from the power struggle between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
Pontifex says there is a “ticking bomb regarding Christianity in Iraq.”
“Few Christians, no matter how deep their roots are in the local society, feel able to withstand the pressure to leave.”
Fear of an attack forced Archbishop Sako to cancel the Chaldean Catholics' midnight Christmas celebration last month. Services were moved to the daytime, and Christians were warned not to display decorations outside their homes.
Nevertheless, it appears that many of the Catholics who fled Iraq would return if safety improved.
Monsignor John Kozar, president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, recently spoke of the “strong determination” some Iraqi Catholics have to go back home. He recently visited Jordan, where many Christians from Iraq now reside.
“I think they have a yearning to return to the homeland, and that homeland for them means practicing their Chaldean-rite Christianity,” the monsignor said. “That has become very, very important to them.”
Categories: News
God’s love will not fail you, archbishop tells leprosy victims
Vatican City, Jan 27, 2012 / 07:26 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski told those affected by leprosy that God's love will never fail them.
In statement for the 59th World Leprosy Day, which will be observed on Jan. 29, the archbishop addressed survivors of the disease and those still suffering from it around the globe.
“He who is in suffering and … prays to the Lord is certain that God's love will never abandon him,” the Archbishop told those who are suffering from the disease.
Archbishop Zimowski, who heads the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, said that those currently being treated for leprosy can and must “express all the riches of their dignity and spirituality.” He also counseled them to be in solidarity with others who have been “equally afflicted and have been marked indelibly by this infection.”
Those who have been cured of the disease can “communicate their gratitude in a practical way” by providing moral support to those still suffering from leprosy and contributing to the identification and prevention of the disease, he said.
“Those who have attained a cure can in this way communicate all their interior riches ... as people touched by suffering and involved in working for the health of the community to which they belong.”
Leprosy, which is also called Hansen’s Disease, has not been eradicated from the modern world, although it continues to decrease every year. The World Health Organization estimated a total of about 200,000 cases in 2010 – 2011.
Archbishop Zimowski said that God's love and the love of the Church, which is an extension of God's work, “will never fail” them.
Pope Benedict XVI recently chose the gospel passage of Luke 17:19, “Stand and go; your faith has saved you” as the theme for the 20th World Day of the Sick, to be held on Feb. 11.
The archbishop pointed out that those afflicted by leprosy can find particular comfort in the Pope's scripture selection because it speaks of Christ's healing of the 10 lepers who were “readmitted to the community and reintegrated into the social occupational fabric.”
He expanded on the scripture passage by pointing out that the leper who returned to thank Jesus showed that “reacquired health is a sign of something more precious that mere physical healing.” The healing that the leper experienced was also a sign of salvation through Christ.
Archbishop Zimowski noted the many volunteer organizations that have helped in reducing the number of cases of leprosy, especially the Raoul Follereau Foundation based in Bologna, Italy.
He urged those involved in treating leprosy to fight against the disease and to continue their work “tenaciously” to reduce relapse cases.
In statement for the 59th World Leprosy Day, which will be observed on Jan. 29, the archbishop addressed survivors of the disease and those still suffering from it around the globe.
“He who is in suffering and … prays to the Lord is certain that God's love will never abandon him,” the Archbishop told those who are suffering from the disease.
Archbishop Zimowski, who heads the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, said that those currently being treated for leprosy can and must “express all the riches of their dignity and spirituality.” He also counseled them to be in solidarity with others who have been “equally afflicted and have been marked indelibly by this infection.”
Those who have been cured of the disease can “communicate their gratitude in a practical way” by providing moral support to those still suffering from leprosy and contributing to the identification and prevention of the disease, he said.
“Those who have attained a cure can in this way communicate all their interior riches ... as people touched by suffering and involved in working for the health of the community to which they belong.”
Leprosy, which is also called Hansen’s Disease, has not been eradicated from the modern world, although it continues to decrease every year. The World Health Organization estimated a total of about 200,000 cases in 2010 – 2011.
Archbishop Zimowski said that God's love and the love of the Church, which is an extension of God's work, “will never fail” them.
Pope Benedict XVI recently chose the gospel passage of Luke 17:19, “Stand and go; your faith has saved you” as the theme for the 20th World Day of the Sick, to be held on Feb. 11.
The archbishop pointed out that those afflicted by leprosy can find particular comfort in the Pope's scripture selection because it speaks of Christ's healing of the 10 lepers who were “readmitted to the community and reintegrated into the social occupational fabric.”
He expanded on the scripture passage by pointing out that the leper who returned to thank Jesus showed that “reacquired health is a sign of something more precious that mere physical healing.” The healing that the leper experienced was also a sign of salvation through Christ.
Archbishop Zimowski noted the many volunteer organizations that have helped in reducing the number of cases of leprosy, especially the Raoul Follereau Foundation based in Bologna, Italy.
He urged those involved in treating leprosy to fight against the disease and to continue their work “tenaciously” to reduce relapse cases.
Categories: News
English seminary in Rome celebrates its 650th birthday
Rome, Italy, Jan 27, 2012 / 06:10 pm (CNA).- The Catholic seminary in Rome where young Englishmen are trained for the priesthood turned 650 years-old on Jan. 27.
It was on that day in 1362 that the forerunner of the Venerable English College, a house for English and Welsh pilgrims to Rome, was founded. In the 16th century it became a seminary.
“It is right in the heart of Rome. It is a wonderful location,” said vice rector Fr. Mark Harold, as he gave a tour of the college to CNA.
The English College “is a really historic place and we believe it is the oldest English institution in the world outside England,” he explained.
The pilgrim house, which is tucked away on Rome’s Via di Monserrato, was in operation for about 200 years and enjoyed royal patronage.
Beginning in 1412 its front wall was emblazoned with the English Royal Coat of Arms – a crest that is still there today. During the reign of Henry VII it was known as the “King’s Hospice,” while Henry VIII described it as “Our Hospice.”
But that all changed in the 16th century when the English monarchy turned against the Catholic faith, fueling a Protestant Reformation in England.
“Then, Pope Gregory XIII met with Cardinal William Allen who was resident here in the hospice,” explained Fr. Harold. Pope Gregory said, “‘why don’t you found your seminary for the English here in this place on the Via Mosserato?’” Portraits of the two founders still claim pride of place in the seminary’s dining room.
Since its foundation in 1579 the English College has produced numerous martyrs who were killed for their Catholic faith upon return to England. The roll of honor in the college’s grand entrance hall is a litany of 10 former students who have been declared canonized saints, 28 who have been declared beatified, and four others who are venerable.
The impressive list of martyrs led to the college being bestowed with the title “Venerable” in 1818.
“It is very much part of the tradition of this college, a tradition of mission for the Catholic Church, a mission showing witness, showing martyrdom for Christ by giving their life,” said Fr. Harold.
He related how the college’s first martyr, St. Ralph Sherwin, was executed at Tyburn in central London in 1581, only two years after the seminary was founded.
His fellow students quickly developed a tradition that whenever an alumnus was martyred they would assemble in front of the college chapel’s altar piece to sing a “Te Deum Laudemus” in thanksgiving. That tradition will be repeated after Mass on Jan. 27.
Over the past 650 years the college has hosted many distinguished guests – from the poet John Milton to Cardinal John Henry Newman to Blessed John Paul II in 1979.
“It is also reported that William Shakespeare, who was a recusant Catholic – so many people say – visited Italy and the college. He certainly wrote widely about Italy in his plays,” claimed Fr. Harold.
This weekend many alumni will return to the college to celebrate the 650th anniversary, including Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, who was also rector for six years in the 1970s.
They return to an institution that seems to be in good health with numbers of seminarians on the up and up. When Fr. Harold joined the staff three-and-a-half years ago the college had 25 students. Today it has 45. The majority come from England and Wales, while four hail from Scandinavia.
A former student himself, Fr. Harold says it is “a real privilege” to be a seminarian in Rome because it gives young men six years at the heart of the Church to develop both intellectually and spiritually.
“That spiritual development is particularly important – your life with Christ in prayer, to make it become part of you. Seminary life is not just about acquiring knowledge and skills. It is about growing in Christ,” he said.
It was on that day in 1362 that the forerunner of the Venerable English College, a house for English and Welsh pilgrims to Rome, was founded. In the 16th century it became a seminary.
“It is right in the heart of Rome. It is a wonderful location,” said vice rector Fr. Mark Harold, as he gave a tour of the college to CNA.
The English College “is a really historic place and we believe it is the oldest English institution in the world outside England,” he explained.
The pilgrim house, which is tucked away on Rome’s Via di Monserrato, was in operation for about 200 years and enjoyed royal patronage.
Beginning in 1412 its front wall was emblazoned with the English Royal Coat of Arms – a crest that is still there today. During the reign of Henry VII it was known as the “King’s Hospice,” while Henry VIII described it as “Our Hospice.”
But that all changed in the 16th century when the English monarchy turned against the Catholic faith, fueling a Protestant Reformation in England.
“Then, Pope Gregory XIII met with Cardinal William Allen who was resident here in the hospice,” explained Fr. Harold. Pope Gregory said, “‘why don’t you found your seminary for the English here in this place on the Via Mosserato?’” Portraits of the two founders still claim pride of place in the seminary’s dining room.
Since its foundation in 1579 the English College has produced numerous martyrs who were killed for their Catholic faith upon return to England. The roll of honor in the college’s grand entrance hall is a litany of 10 former students who have been declared canonized saints, 28 who have been declared beatified, and four others who are venerable.
The impressive list of martyrs led to the college being bestowed with the title “Venerable” in 1818.
“It is very much part of the tradition of this college, a tradition of mission for the Catholic Church, a mission showing witness, showing martyrdom for Christ by giving their life,” said Fr. Harold.
He related how the college’s first martyr, St. Ralph Sherwin, was executed at Tyburn in central London in 1581, only two years after the seminary was founded.
His fellow students quickly developed a tradition that whenever an alumnus was martyred they would assemble in front of the college chapel’s altar piece to sing a “Te Deum Laudemus” in thanksgiving. That tradition will be repeated after Mass on Jan. 27.
Over the past 650 years the college has hosted many distinguished guests – from the poet John Milton to Cardinal John Henry Newman to Blessed John Paul II in 1979.
“It is also reported that William Shakespeare, who was a recusant Catholic – so many people say – visited Italy and the college. He certainly wrote widely about Italy in his plays,” claimed Fr. Harold.
This weekend many alumni will return to the college to celebrate the 650th anniversary, including Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, who was also rector for six years in the 1970s.
They return to an institution that seems to be in good health with numbers of seminarians on the up and up. When Fr. Harold joined the staff three-and-a-half years ago the college had 25 students. Today it has 45. The majority come from England and Wales, while four hail from Scandinavia.
A former student himself, Fr. Harold says it is “a real privilege” to be a seminarian in Rome because it gives young men six years at the heart of the Church to develop both intellectually and spiritually.
“That spiritual development is particularly important – your life with Christ in prayer, to make it become part of you. Seminary life is not just about acquiring knowledge and skills. It is about growing in Christ,” he said.
Categories: News
Peruvians must overcome hatred of terrorists, archbishop says
Lima, Peru, Jan 27, 2012 / 03:03 pm (CNA).- The new president of the Bishops’ Conference of Peru, Archbishop Salvador Pineiro Garcia Calderon of Ayacucho exhorted Peruvians to work for forgiveness and overcome the hatred sown by terrorism.
In a Jan. 26 press conference at the bishops’ conference offices, Archbishop Garcia Calderon called for peace and reconciliation but also said Peruvians must not forget “those difficult hours of humiliation, vengeance and hatred” they lived through during the 1980s and 90s because of the Shining Path, a Maoist rebel group.
His comments came as the Peruvian government rejected a request by the Movement for Amnesty and Fundamental Rights to form a political party. The organization is led by Manuel Fajardo, who is the attorney for the Shining Path’s leader, Abimael Guzman. The violence that took the lives of some 70,000 people finally abated in 1992 when Guzman was captured by the Peruvian government.
Archbishop Garcia Calderon also commented on the dispute between the Archdiocese of Lima and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, which has refused to follow the statutes of Pope John Paul II’s “Ex Corde Ecclesia.” Last December, the Vatican appointed Cardinal Peter Erdo to mediate in the conflict.
“This is an issue that should have been studied as a family, without the media intervening. We should not forget that the Catholic University was born in the Church. Moreover, in the dialogue with culture, we must not forget the issue of faith,” he said.
Archbishop Garcia Calderon called on the media to practice “moderation in your lives and solidarity with those most in need, and to help us expand the work of the Church.”
In a Jan. 26 press conference at the bishops’ conference offices, Archbishop Garcia Calderon called for peace and reconciliation but also said Peruvians must not forget “those difficult hours of humiliation, vengeance and hatred” they lived through during the 1980s and 90s because of the Shining Path, a Maoist rebel group.
His comments came as the Peruvian government rejected a request by the Movement for Amnesty and Fundamental Rights to form a political party. The organization is led by Manuel Fajardo, who is the attorney for the Shining Path’s leader, Abimael Guzman. The violence that took the lives of some 70,000 people finally abated in 1992 when Guzman was captured by the Peruvian government.
Archbishop Garcia Calderon also commented on the dispute between the Archdiocese of Lima and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, which has refused to follow the statutes of Pope John Paul II’s “Ex Corde Ecclesia.” Last December, the Vatican appointed Cardinal Peter Erdo to mediate in the conflict.
“This is an issue that should have been studied as a family, without the media intervening. We should not forget that the Catholic University was born in the Church. Moreover, in the dialogue with culture, we must not forget the issue of faith,” he said.
Archbishop Garcia Calderon called on the media to practice “moderation in your lives and solidarity with those most in need, and to help us expand the work of the Church.”
Categories: News
Year of Faith is Pope's response to 'profound crisis'
Vatican City, Jan 27, 2012 / 01:48 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The upcoming 2012-2013 “Year of Faith” seeks to awaken humanity at a critical moment, Pope Benedict XVI said as he addressed the Church's highest doctrinal office on Jan. 27.
“In vast areas of the earth the faith risks being extinguished, like a flame without fuel,” the Pope told assembled members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who met in a plenary session on Friday.
“We are facing a profound crisis of faith, a loss of a religious sense which represents one of the greatest challenges for the Church today.”
Pope Benedict hopes the Year of Faith, which will run from Oct. 11, 2012 to Nov. 24, 2013, will contribute “to restoring God's presence in this world, and to giving man access to the faith, enabling him to entrust himself to the God who, in Jesus Christ, loved us to the end.”
“The renewal of faith,” the Pope announced, “must, then, be a priority for the entire Church in our time.”
His remarks to the doctrinal congregation came two days after the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, the final day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
The Pope spoke about the quest to reunite all Christians, as he acknowledged that ecumenical efforts had not always served to strengthen believers' faith.
Along with the “many good fruits that have emerged from ecumenical dialogue,” there are also “risks of indifference and of false irenicism” – which give the appearance of unity, without regard for truth.
In today's world, the Pope observed, there is an “increasingly widespread” perception “that truth is not accessible to man, and that, therefore, we must limit ourselves to finding rules to improve this world.”
“In this scenario,” he noted, “faith comes to be replaced by a shallow-rooted moralism,” which can cause the dialogue between Christian groups to become superficial.
“By contrast, the core of true ecumenism is faith, in which man encounters the truth revealed in the Word of God.”
Pope Benedict told officials of the doctrine congregation, the office he led before his election to the papacy, that controversial issues cannot be downplayed or ignored in talks between the Catholic Church and other Christian churches and communities.
Matters of faith and morals, he said, “must be faced courageously, while always maintaining a spirit of fraternity and mutual respect … In our dialogues we cannot overlook the great moral questions about human life, the family, sexuality, bioethics, freedom, justice and peace.”
By defending the Church's authentic tradition, he observed, “we defend man and we defend the creation.”
“In vast areas of the earth the faith risks being extinguished, like a flame without fuel,” the Pope told assembled members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who met in a plenary session on Friday.
“We are facing a profound crisis of faith, a loss of a religious sense which represents one of the greatest challenges for the Church today.”
Pope Benedict hopes the Year of Faith, which will run from Oct. 11, 2012 to Nov. 24, 2013, will contribute “to restoring God's presence in this world, and to giving man access to the faith, enabling him to entrust himself to the God who, in Jesus Christ, loved us to the end.”
“The renewal of faith,” the Pope announced, “must, then, be a priority for the entire Church in our time.”
His remarks to the doctrinal congregation came two days after the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, the final day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
The Pope spoke about the quest to reunite all Christians, as he acknowledged that ecumenical efforts had not always served to strengthen believers' faith.
Along with the “many good fruits that have emerged from ecumenical dialogue,” there are also “risks of indifference and of false irenicism” – which give the appearance of unity, without regard for truth.
In today's world, the Pope observed, there is an “increasingly widespread” perception “that truth is not accessible to man, and that, therefore, we must limit ourselves to finding rules to improve this world.”
“In this scenario,” he noted, “faith comes to be replaced by a shallow-rooted moralism,” which can cause the dialogue between Christian groups to become superficial.
“By contrast, the core of true ecumenism is faith, in which man encounters the truth revealed in the Word of God.”
Pope Benedict told officials of the doctrine congregation, the office he led before his election to the papacy, that controversial issues cannot be downplayed or ignored in talks between the Catholic Church and other Christian churches and communities.
Matters of faith and morals, he said, “must be faced courageously, while always maintaining a spirit of fraternity and mutual respect … In our dialogues we cannot overlook the great moral questions about human life, the family, sexuality, bioethics, freedom, justice and peace.”
By defending the Church's authentic tradition, he observed, “we defend man and we defend the creation.”
Categories: News
Bells to welcome Pope upon arrival in Mexico
Leon, Mexico, Jan 27, 2012 / 12:10 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Father Jorge Raul Villegas, the director of logistics for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Leon, said church bells throughout the Mexican city will ring out to welcome the Pope upon his arrival.
“We are inviting all of Mexico to welcome him in this way as soon as he lands, and so we are inviting people to bring small bells.”
Fr. Villegas spoke with CNA on Jan. 18 and outlined details for the Pope’s visit, which is scheduled for March 23-26.
He recalled that during John Paul II’s five visits to the country, Mexicans used small mirrors to reflect sunlight up to the Pope as the papal jet descended.
The priest added that there will be an official song for Benedict XVI’s visit and that young people will have a significant presence during the trip. He also said special catechesis sessions will be provided to young people leading up to the Pope’s arrival.
Fr. Villegas said the greatest gift Mexicans can give the Pope is a deepening in their faith, “to tell him: We are believers, we continue to trust in our only guide who is the pastor of all pastors. We welcome you, Holy Father, as our pastor and we wish to listen to you.”
“We are inviting all of Mexico to welcome him in this way as soon as he lands, and so we are inviting people to bring small bells.”
Fr. Villegas spoke with CNA on Jan. 18 and outlined details for the Pope’s visit, which is scheduled for March 23-26.
He recalled that during John Paul II’s five visits to the country, Mexicans used small mirrors to reflect sunlight up to the Pope as the papal jet descended.
The priest added that there will be an official song for Benedict XVI’s visit and that young people will have a significant presence during the trip. He also said special catechesis sessions will be provided to young people leading up to the Pope’s arrival.
Fr. Villegas said the greatest gift Mexicans can give the Pope is a deepening in their faith, “to tell him: We are believers, we continue to trust in our only guide who is the pastor of all pastors. We welcome you, Holy Father, as our pastor and we wish to listen to you.”
Categories: News
Days after HHS mandate, White House honors Catholic educators
Washington D.C., Jan 27, 2012 / 05:51 am (CNA).- Despite the White House’s recent effort to honor people committed to Catholic education, analysts are cautioning about seeing the gesture as an appreciation for Catholic teachings.
Political commentator and author Mark Stricherz said that the decision to highlight Catholic educators “is not surprising.”
“Teachers have been a Democratic constituency for four decades at least,” he told CNA on Jan. 26.
“But to most practicing Catholics who follow the news, the president's timing would strike them as a Janus-faced move,” Stricherz said.
“He honors their educators while dishonoring their faith and leaders.”
The White House honored 10 individuals involved with Catholic education at a Jan. 25 ceremony, where they were recognized as “Champions of Catholic Education.”
The event included time for each person to share how he or she was able to help improve Catholic education in the United States.
Currently, more than 2 million children are educated in Catholic elementary and secondary schools across the country.
However, the White House ceremony comes amid growing tension between the Obama administration and Catholics in the United States.
That fact was not lost on the U.S. bishops' conference spokeswoman Sister Mary Ann Walsh. “Irony is the word of the day,” she said in remarks to the Washington Post.
The Obama administration has clashed with Catholic leaders over a series of religious freedom disputes.
Most recently, the administration drew strong Catholic criticism for its Jan. 20 decision to require health insurance plans to cover contraception, including abortion-causing drugs – and sterilization.
Despite concerns raised by religious leaders across the country, the Department of Health and Human Services has refused to allow an exemption for most religious employers who object to such “benefits.”
Sr. Mary Ann Walsh, director of media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, observed that the mandate seemed unfairly targeted at Catholics and those with similar beliefs.
“The Amish have a conscientious objection to health insurance, and so the law exempts them from buying it,” she wrote in a Jan. 24 blog post.
“Why are beliefs of Catholics and others dismissed?”
Political commentator and author Mark Stricherz said that the decision to highlight Catholic educators “is not surprising.”
“Teachers have been a Democratic constituency for four decades at least,” he told CNA on Jan. 26.
“But to most practicing Catholics who follow the news, the president's timing would strike them as a Janus-faced move,” Stricherz said.
“He honors their educators while dishonoring their faith and leaders.”
The White House honored 10 individuals involved with Catholic education at a Jan. 25 ceremony, where they were recognized as “Champions of Catholic Education.”
The event included time for each person to share how he or she was able to help improve Catholic education in the United States.
Currently, more than 2 million children are educated in Catholic elementary and secondary schools across the country.
However, the White House ceremony comes amid growing tension between the Obama administration and Catholics in the United States.
That fact was not lost on the U.S. bishops' conference spokeswoman Sister Mary Ann Walsh. “Irony is the word of the day,” she said in remarks to the Washington Post.
The Obama administration has clashed with Catholic leaders over a series of religious freedom disputes.
Most recently, the administration drew strong Catholic criticism for its Jan. 20 decision to require health insurance plans to cover contraception, including abortion-causing drugs – and sterilization.
Despite concerns raised by religious leaders across the country, the Department of Health and Human Services has refused to allow an exemption for most religious employers who object to such “benefits.”
Sr. Mary Ann Walsh, director of media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, observed that the mandate seemed unfairly targeted at Catholics and those with similar beliefs.
“The Amish have a conscientious objection to health insurance, and so the law exempts them from buying it,” she wrote in a Jan. 24 blog post.
“Why are beliefs of Catholics and others dismissed?”
Categories: News
Pittsburgh bishop: contraception mandate tells Catholics ‘To hell with you!’
Pittsburgh, Pa., Jan 27, 2012 / 03:15 am (CNA).- The new federal contraception mandate is “like a slap in the face” that says “To Hell with you!” to Catholics and religious freedom, Bishop David A. Zubik of Pittsburgh said.
“This is government by fiat that attacks the rights of everyone – not only Catholics; not only people of all religion. At no other time in memory or history has there been such a governmental intrusion on freedom not only with regard to religion, but even across-the-board with all citizens,” Bishop Zubik wrote in the Jan. 27 edition of the Pittsburgh Catholic.
“Kathleen Sebelius (Health and Human Services Secretary) and through her, the Obama administration, have said ‘To Hell with You’ to the Catholic faithful of the United States,” he charged, adding that the administration has damned Catholics’ religious beliefs, religious liberty and freedom of conscience.
The new rules from the Department of Health and Human Services mandate insurance coverage for “preventive services,” a category which the department ruled covers sterilization and contraception, including an abortifacient drug.
Catholic teaching recognizes the use of these procedures and drugs as sinful, but the mandate’s religious exemption is narrow and will not “practically speaking” apply to many Catholic health systems, educational institutions, charities and other organization, the bishop said. It will apply in “virtually every instance where the Catholic Church serves as an employer.”
Bishop Zubik said the mandate treats pregnancy as a disease and “forces every employer to subsidize an ideology or pay a penalty while searching for alternatives to health care coverage.” It also undermines health care reform by “inextricably linking it to the zealotry of pro-abortion bureaucrats.”
He said the mandate tells Catholics “not only to violate our beliefs, but to pay directly for that violation” as well as to “subsidize the imposition of a contraceptive and abortion culture on every person in the United States.”
The bishop asked Catholics to write to President Obama, Secretary Sebelius, their senators and members of Congress.
“This mandate can be changed by Congressional pressure. The only way that action will happen is if you and I take action,” Bishop Zubik said.
“Let them know that you and I will not allow ourselves to be pushed around (or worse yet) be dismissed because of our Catholic faith.”
Unless the rules are changed, they will go into effect in one year.
“This is government by fiat that attacks the rights of everyone – not only Catholics; not only people of all religion. At no other time in memory or history has there been such a governmental intrusion on freedom not only with regard to religion, but even across-the-board with all citizens,” Bishop Zubik wrote in the Jan. 27 edition of the Pittsburgh Catholic.
“Kathleen Sebelius (Health and Human Services Secretary) and through her, the Obama administration, have said ‘To Hell with You’ to the Catholic faithful of the United States,” he charged, adding that the administration has damned Catholics’ religious beliefs, religious liberty and freedom of conscience.
The new rules from the Department of Health and Human Services mandate insurance coverage for “preventive services,” a category which the department ruled covers sterilization and contraception, including an abortifacient drug.
Catholic teaching recognizes the use of these procedures and drugs as sinful, but the mandate’s religious exemption is narrow and will not “practically speaking” apply to many Catholic health systems, educational institutions, charities and other organization, the bishop said. It will apply in “virtually every instance where the Catholic Church serves as an employer.”
Bishop Zubik said the mandate treats pregnancy as a disease and “forces every employer to subsidize an ideology or pay a penalty while searching for alternatives to health care coverage.” It also undermines health care reform by “inextricably linking it to the zealotry of pro-abortion bureaucrats.”
He said the mandate tells Catholics “not only to violate our beliefs, but to pay directly for that violation” as well as to “subsidize the imposition of a contraceptive and abortion culture on every person in the United States.”
The bishop asked Catholics to write to President Obama, Secretary Sebelius, their senators and members of Congress.
“This mandate can be changed by Congressional pressure. The only way that action will happen is if you and I take action,” Bishop Zubik said.
“Let them know that you and I will not allow ourselves to be pushed around (or worse yet) be dismissed because of our Catholic faith.”
Unless the rules are changed, they will go into effect in one year.
Categories: News
Archbishop Dolan says Obama administration 'treats pregnancy as disease'
New York City, N.Y., Jan 27, 2012 / 12:45 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan, head of the U.S. bishops' conference, says the Obama administration has revoked the religious freedom of groups that do not regard women's fertility as as “disease.”
“The Catholic Church defends religious liberty, including freedom of conscience, for everyone,” the New York archbishop and conference president wrote in a Jan. 25 Wall Street Journal editorial, addressing the government's final decision to require contraception coverage in most new health plans.
With this decision, the cardinal-designate wrote, “the Obama administration has failed to show the same respect for the consciences of Catholics and others who object to treating pregnancy as a disease.”
On Jan. 20 the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed it would impose the contraception coverage mandate on most religious institutions, with a narrow exception for groups whose main purpose is the “inculcation of religious values” among people of the same faith.
“Even Jesus and his disciples would not qualify for the exemption,” Cardinal-designate Dolan noted, “because they were committed to serve those of other faiths.”
Health and Human Services finalized the contraceptive mandate just days before the annual March for Life, an event that mourns the anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision.
As the U.S. bishops' president observed in his editorial, the decision came despite a landmark Supreme Court case in which all nine justices ruled in favor of religious ministries' right of self-determination.
“Scarcely two weeks ago, in its Hosanna-Tabor decision upholding the right of churches to make ministerial hiring decisions, the Supreme Court unanimously and enthusiastically reaffirmed these longstanding and foundational principles of religious freedom,” he recalled.
The court, he said, made it clear that religious institutions had the right “to control their internal affairs.”
But the Obama administration “has veered in the opposite direction.”
“It has refused to exempt religious institutions that serve the common good – including Catholic schools, charities and hospitals – from its sweeping new health-care mandate that requires employers to purchase contraception, including abortion-producing drugs, and sterilization coverage for their employees.”
Cardinal-designate Dolan called the move “an unprecedented incursion into freedom of conscience” that forces an “unacceptable dilemma” on believers: “Stop serving people of all faiths in their ministries – so that they will fall under the narrow exemption – or stop providing health-care coverage to their own employees.”
Non-exempt religious groups have been granted an additional year to comply with the mandate, a concession the future cardinal ridiculed – “as if we might suddenly be more willing to violate our consciences 12 months from now.”
First published in August 2011 as part of federal health care reform, the contraception coverage requirement has drawn criticism from a broad spectrum of groups – including Orthodox Jews and Evangelical Christians, as well as some Catholics known for supporting the president on other issues.
“Hundreds of religious institutions, and hundreds of thousands of individual citizens, have raised their voices in principled opposition to this requirement,” Cardinal-designate Dolan wrote in his editorial.
“Many of these good people and groups were Catholic, but many were Americans of other faiths, or no faith at all, who recognize that their beliefs could be next on the block.”
In Wednesday's editorial, Cardinal-designate Dolan stressed that religious liberty is also “the lifeblood of the American people” and “the cornerstone of American government,” guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.
Now, he warned, this right is jeopardized in the interest of preventing fertility.
“This latest erosion of our first freedom should make all Americans pause. When the government tampers with a freedom so fundamental to the life of our nation, one shudders to think what lies ahead.”
“The Catholic Church defends religious liberty, including freedom of conscience, for everyone,” the New York archbishop and conference president wrote in a Jan. 25 Wall Street Journal editorial, addressing the government's final decision to require contraception coverage in most new health plans.
With this decision, the cardinal-designate wrote, “the Obama administration has failed to show the same respect for the consciences of Catholics and others who object to treating pregnancy as a disease.”
On Jan. 20 the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed it would impose the contraception coverage mandate on most religious institutions, with a narrow exception for groups whose main purpose is the “inculcation of religious values” among people of the same faith.
“Even Jesus and his disciples would not qualify for the exemption,” Cardinal-designate Dolan noted, “because they were committed to serve those of other faiths.”
Health and Human Services finalized the contraceptive mandate just days before the annual March for Life, an event that mourns the anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision.
As the U.S. bishops' president observed in his editorial, the decision came despite a landmark Supreme Court case in which all nine justices ruled in favor of religious ministries' right of self-determination.
“Scarcely two weeks ago, in its Hosanna-Tabor decision upholding the right of churches to make ministerial hiring decisions, the Supreme Court unanimously and enthusiastically reaffirmed these longstanding and foundational principles of religious freedom,” he recalled.
The court, he said, made it clear that religious institutions had the right “to control their internal affairs.”
But the Obama administration “has veered in the opposite direction.”
“It has refused to exempt religious institutions that serve the common good – including Catholic schools, charities and hospitals – from its sweeping new health-care mandate that requires employers to purchase contraception, including abortion-producing drugs, and sterilization coverage for their employees.”
Cardinal-designate Dolan called the move “an unprecedented incursion into freedom of conscience” that forces an “unacceptable dilemma” on believers: “Stop serving people of all faiths in their ministries – so that they will fall under the narrow exemption – or stop providing health-care coverage to their own employees.”
Non-exempt religious groups have been granted an additional year to comply with the mandate, a concession the future cardinal ridiculed – “as if we might suddenly be more willing to violate our consciences 12 months from now.”
First published in August 2011 as part of federal health care reform, the contraception coverage requirement has drawn criticism from a broad spectrum of groups – including Orthodox Jews and Evangelical Christians, as well as some Catholics known for supporting the president on other issues.
“Hundreds of religious institutions, and hundreds of thousands of individual citizens, have raised their voices in principled opposition to this requirement,” Cardinal-designate Dolan wrote in his editorial.
“Many of these good people and groups were Catholic, but many were Americans of other faiths, or no faith at all, who recognize that their beliefs could be next on the block.”
In Wednesday's editorial, Cardinal-designate Dolan stressed that religious liberty is also “the lifeblood of the American people” and “the cornerstone of American government,” guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.
Now, he warned, this right is jeopardized in the interest of preventing fertility.
“This latest erosion of our first freedom should make all Americans pause. When the government tampers with a freedom so fundamental to the life of our nation, one shudders to think what lies ahead.”
Categories: News
Pope's February Through April Schedule
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 27, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican Information Service released the schedule of the liturgical celebrations over which Benedict XVI will preside from February through April:
Categories: News
Pope Tells What's Most Important on Path to Priesthood
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 27, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says the most important thing on the journey toward the priesthood and in priestly life is a personal relationship with God in Christ.
Categories: News
The Church: Standing Her Ground in Uganda
ROME, JAN. 27, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The bishop of Kotido explains that his diocese is the poorest in the central African country of Uganda. And he admits that he doesn't much like being a bishop. But with his missionary heart, he has outlined the main priorities of his Church and is working step by step. What does he say he needs the most? People to help him.
Categories: News
Next Church doctor is model for evangelization
Rome, Italy, Jan 26, 2012 / 05:59 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Today's world can learn a lot from St. John of Avila, according to those who have studied the life of the next Doctor of the Catholic Church.
"St. John of Avila is far from us in time, but nearby for his figure, his life, his evangelizing witness and for his teaching," Archbishop Juan del Río Martín of Spain's Archdiocese for Military Services told CNA.
Archbishop del Río Martín was one of three experts on the Spanish saint who gathered in Rome on Jan. 20 for the presentation of a new book in Spanish that explores the writings of St. John of Avila.
The archbishop, who wrote his doctoral thesis on St. John of Avila’s teachings, believes that Pope Benedict made an investment in the future of the Church by choosing the 16th-century saint as the Church's newest doctor.
The Pope has called the Church to a new evangelization, he notes, and in the “Apostle of Andalusia” she has a “model of how to evangelize."
St. John of Avila was born in 1500 in the town of Almodovar del Campo, 155 miles south of Madrid. A Christian of Jewish descent, he studied law at the University of Salamanca, before being ordained a priest. He went on to become a great preacher, author and mystic, writing works that influenced St. Theresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross and St. Francis Borgia, among others.
He is credited with re-evangelizing the southern Spanish region of Andalusia after it was reclaimed from the Moors.
The Apostle of Andalusia is now venerated in Spain as the patron of the nation's priests.
In fact, Pope Benedict chose a meeting with priests and seminarians during World Youth Day celebrations this past August in Madrid to declare that the saint would become a Church "doctor."
He hoped that "the word and the example of this outstanding pastor will enlighten all priests and those who look forward to the day of their priestly ordination."
The recognition places St. John of Avila among 33 others, such as Sts. Thomas Aquinas, Augustine and Therese of Lisieux, whose contributions have been declared a source of truth and of value to Christians in all times. Church "doctors" are also required to have manifested "eminent learning" and "great sanctity" in their lives.
María de la Encarnación González, the postulator of the saint's cause for being declared a Church doctor, said that John of Avila truly lived out his faith and knew how to share it.
"St. John of Avila was a great communicator. Therefore, the work he did has led him to this point where the Pope considers that he demonstrated all of the requisites to become a Doctor of the Church," she said.
Though no date has been announced for his installation, it is significant that the Pope has chosen him to be a doctor as a "new evangelization" movement gears up in the Catholic Church.
Not only has a special Vatican department been created to oversee these efforts in the West, but bishops from around the world will come to Rome in Oct. 2012 to discuss the topic for three weeks.
"How do we evangelize in the 21st century?" asked Archbishop del Río Martín. Catholics must learn to express their love for Jesus Christ the way St. John of Avila did when he said he felt “leased by Christ,” the archbishop remarked.
"In Jesus Christ," he said, "was revealed a God of love, who preaches and sends out love. And that love must be shown to men through the word, the sacraments and charity."
"St. John of Avila is far from us in time, but nearby for his figure, his life, his evangelizing witness and for his teaching," Archbishop Juan del Río Martín of Spain's Archdiocese for Military Services told CNA.
Archbishop del Río Martín was one of three experts on the Spanish saint who gathered in Rome on Jan. 20 for the presentation of a new book in Spanish that explores the writings of St. John of Avila.
The archbishop, who wrote his doctoral thesis on St. John of Avila’s teachings, believes that Pope Benedict made an investment in the future of the Church by choosing the 16th-century saint as the Church's newest doctor.
The Pope has called the Church to a new evangelization, he notes, and in the “Apostle of Andalusia” she has a “model of how to evangelize."
St. John of Avila was born in 1500 in the town of Almodovar del Campo, 155 miles south of Madrid. A Christian of Jewish descent, he studied law at the University of Salamanca, before being ordained a priest. He went on to become a great preacher, author and mystic, writing works that influenced St. Theresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross and St. Francis Borgia, among others.
He is credited with re-evangelizing the southern Spanish region of Andalusia after it was reclaimed from the Moors.
The Apostle of Andalusia is now venerated in Spain as the patron of the nation's priests.
In fact, Pope Benedict chose a meeting with priests and seminarians during World Youth Day celebrations this past August in Madrid to declare that the saint would become a Church "doctor."
He hoped that "the word and the example of this outstanding pastor will enlighten all priests and those who look forward to the day of their priestly ordination."
The recognition places St. John of Avila among 33 others, such as Sts. Thomas Aquinas, Augustine and Therese of Lisieux, whose contributions have been declared a source of truth and of value to Christians in all times. Church "doctors" are also required to have manifested "eminent learning" and "great sanctity" in their lives.
María de la Encarnación González, the postulator of the saint's cause for being declared a Church doctor, said that John of Avila truly lived out his faith and knew how to share it.
"St. John of Avila was a great communicator. Therefore, the work he did has led him to this point where the Pope considers that he demonstrated all of the requisites to become a Doctor of the Church," she said.
Though no date has been announced for his installation, it is significant that the Pope has chosen him to be a doctor as a "new evangelization" movement gears up in the Catholic Church.
Not only has a special Vatican department been created to oversee these efforts in the West, but bishops from around the world will come to Rome in Oct. 2012 to discuss the topic for three weeks.
"How do we evangelize in the 21st century?" asked Archbishop del Río Martín. Catholics must learn to express their love for Jesus Christ the way St. John of Avila did when he said he felt “leased by Christ,” the archbishop remarked.
"In Jesus Christ," he said, "was revealed a God of love, who preaches and sends out love. And that love must be shown to men through the word, the sacraments and charity."
Categories: News
Fr. Lombardi: Vatican corruption charges ‘well beyond reality’
Vatican City, Jan 26, 2012 / 04:11 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The official Vatican spokesman says an Italian television broadcast claiming to disclose financial corruption at the Vatican exaggerated the situation.
Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., questioned the “debatable” journalistic methods employed in the broadcast’s “diffusion of private documents.”
The information in the program stretched “well beyond reality,” he said in a Jan. 26 statement, adding that “the general situation of the government is not as negative as they want to make people believe.”
Accusations of financial mismanagement in the Vatican were broadcast Jan. 25 on a prominent Italian television network in a show entitled “Gli intoccabili.”
The program claimed that Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò – now the Pope’s official representative to the U.S. – wrote a private letter to Pope Benedict XVI on March 27, 2011, asking not to be transferred to the U.S. while new measures aimed at cleaning up the Vatican’s financial situation were being implemented.
Archbishop Viganò was serving as the second in command for the Governatorate of Vatican City, before he was appointed as the new nuncio to the United States in October 2011.
In his work at the Holy See, he introduced financial controls and accountability procedures that transformed a multi-million dollar deficit into a significant surplus in just one year.
In a Jan. 26 statement, Fr. Lombardi responded to the broadcast, lamenting that it has become “all too familiar” to find biased reporting about the Catholic Church.
He stressed that governing the Vatican City-State is very complex, and said that the situation was presented in “a partial and banal way” so as to exalt “the negative aspects.”
Fr. Lombardi noted the many positive effects of Archbishop Viganò’s actions as Secretary General of the Government. He said that an accurate analysis of the financial changes within the Holy See must take into account changing markets and economic situations, as well as a notable increase in visitors to the Vatican Museums.
He also commented on the “significant expenses” required to meet the Vatican’s important non-economic goal of supporting the universal Church.
The Vatican spokesman also underscored that Archbishop Viganò’s appointment as the apostolic nuncio to the United States showed Pope Benedict’s great trust in him.
Holy See officials, Fr. Lombardi said, continue to be guided by the standards of “healthy administration and of transparency” to which Archbishop Viganò committed himself.
Fr. Lombardi also said that the Vatican government is willing to “pursue all appropriate options,” including possible legal action to defend the reputation of the Vatican officials mentioned in the broadcast.
Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., questioned the “debatable” journalistic methods employed in the broadcast’s “diffusion of private documents.”
The information in the program stretched “well beyond reality,” he said in a Jan. 26 statement, adding that “the general situation of the government is not as negative as they want to make people believe.”
Accusations of financial mismanagement in the Vatican were broadcast Jan. 25 on a prominent Italian television network in a show entitled “Gli intoccabili.”
The program claimed that Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò – now the Pope’s official representative to the U.S. – wrote a private letter to Pope Benedict XVI on March 27, 2011, asking not to be transferred to the U.S. while new measures aimed at cleaning up the Vatican’s financial situation were being implemented.
Archbishop Viganò was serving as the second in command for the Governatorate of Vatican City, before he was appointed as the new nuncio to the United States in October 2011.
In his work at the Holy See, he introduced financial controls and accountability procedures that transformed a multi-million dollar deficit into a significant surplus in just one year.
In a Jan. 26 statement, Fr. Lombardi responded to the broadcast, lamenting that it has become “all too familiar” to find biased reporting about the Catholic Church.
He stressed that governing the Vatican City-State is very complex, and said that the situation was presented in “a partial and banal way” so as to exalt “the negative aspects.”
Fr. Lombardi noted the many positive effects of Archbishop Viganò’s actions as Secretary General of the Government. He said that an accurate analysis of the financial changes within the Holy See must take into account changing markets and economic situations, as well as a notable increase in visitors to the Vatican Museums.
He also commented on the “significant expenses” required to meet the Vatican’s important non-economic goal of supporting the universal Church.
The Vatican spokesman also underscored that Archbishop Viganò’s appointment as the apostolic nuncio to the United States showed Pope Benedict’s great trust in him.
Holy See officials, Fr. Lombardi said, continue to be guided by the standards of “healthy administration and of transparency” to which Archbishop Viganò committed himself.
Fr. Lombardi also said that the Vatican government is willing to “pursue all appropriate options,” including possible legal action to defend the reputation of the Vatican officials mentioned in the broadcast.
Categories: News
Spanish government seeks to add parental consent to abortion law
Madrid, Spain, Jan 26, 2012 / 03:31 pm (CNA/Europa Press).- Spain’s Minister of Justice, Alberto Ruiz Gallardon, announced on Jan. 25 that the government will work to change the country’s abortion law to require parental consent for minors who wish to undergo the procedure.
Gallardon, a member of the People’s Party, said the reform would “change the model of current abortion regulations to reinforce protection of the right to life and of minors.”
In 2010 the People’s Party filed a petition before the Constitutional Court questioning eight articles of Spain’s abortion law, arguing that it should be reformed in accord with the court’s 1985 ruling that established that the state has the duty to protect developing human life.
Gallardon criticized the law, which went into effect July 2010, for allowing abortion on demand up until the 14th week of pregnancy. He said the provision violates article 15 of the Spanish Constitution, which recognizes that “everyone has the right to life.”
He also questioned why the limit was set at 14 weeks and not 12 or 16. He said there was no explanation as why the unborn should be protected after the limit but not before.
In cases of abortion up until the 22nd week that are allowed for the health of the mother, the People’s Party noted that this exception is broad enough to justify almost any reason for an abortion.
The party said the justification for abortion in cases of “risk of grave fetal anomalies, which would appear to include blindness or deafness, missing arms or limbs, or Down syndrome,” bring to mind the “eugenic theories” of the 20th century that deemed some people “unworthy of living” or “burdensome.”
Gallardon, a member of the People’s Party, said the reform would “change the model of current abortion regulations to reinforce protection of the right to life and of minors.”
In 2010 the People’s Party filed a petition before the Constitutional Court questioning eight articles of Spain’s abortion law, arguing that it should be reformed in accord with the court’s 1985 ruling that established that the state has the duty to protect developing human life.
Gallardon criticized the law, which went into effect July 2010, for allowing abortion on demand up until the 14th week of pregnancy. He said the provision violates article 15 of the Spanish Constitution, which recognizes that “everyone has the right to life.”
He also questioned why the limit was set at 14 weeks and not 12 or 16. He said there was no explanation as why the unborn should be protected after the limit but not before.
In cases of abortion up until the 22nd week that are allowed for the health of the mother, the People’s Party noted that this exception is broad enough to justify almost any reason for an abortion.
The party said the justification for abortion in cases of “risk of grave fetal anomalies, which would appear to include blindness or deafness, missing arms or limbs, or Down syndrome,” bring to mind the “eugenic theories” of the 20th century that deemed some people “unworthy of living” or “burdensome.”
Categories: News
Cardinal Wuerl thinks Church can win contraception fight
Rome, Italy, Jan 26, 2012 / 01:51 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. believes that the Church can win its fight against the Obama administration’s contraception mandate if it takes its case to the public.
“We still have before us the opportunity to make the case to the American people,” said Cardinal Wuerl to CNA on Jan. 21.
“Americans by our tradition, by our heritage, are a people who tend to be very fair and don’t readily admit to excluding blocks and groups of people from participation in the common good,” he said.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Jan. 20 that it would not expand a religious exemption for employers who object to a requirement that their insurance plans cover contraception as part of a list of “preventative services.”
The policy requires free coverage for sterilization and contraception, including some drugs that can cause abortions.
Cardinal Wuerl underscored that the mandate will affect Catholic schools, hospitals, universities and charitable outreach to the poor.
“This is all new, in the sense that never before in our history has any government simply issued a decree emptying the religious convictions and conscience protections of all the institutions that serve the poor,” he said.
“All of a sudden, with one stroke of the pen, this administration has indicated that our objections to doing what the government wants us to do, our objections have no place.
“It is an outrageous situation.”
Cardinal Wuerl was in Rome as part of a delegation of bishops from the Mid-Atlantic states. The group spent the week updating the Vatican on the health of the Church in their dioceses.
On Thursday, Jan. 19 they met with Pope Benedict who warned of them of a “grave threat” to religious liberty in the U.S., something he described as “the most American of freedoms.”
Cardinal Wuerl thought the Pope’s address was a very timely reminder that the Gospel “implies and even demands that we be engaged in the public effort to mold a good and just society.”
With this in mind, the Pope told the bishops that the preparation of a new generation of “committed lay leaders” should be the “primary task of the Church in your country.”
“I think this new generation that the Pope is speaking about is already present,” said Cardinal Wuerl.
He believes that after two generations of young Catholics who suffered from “a devastating lack of solid catechetical teaching,” there is “a generation coming along that has been nurtured in the faith.” He credits that change to the production of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992, and the influence of Blessed Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.
“This generation is already rising up to say, ‘What can we do to restore the sense of gospel values in our lives, in our families, in our institutions, in our communities?’
“We’re seeing something wonderful happening.”
“We still have before us the opportunity to make the case to the American people,” said Cardinal Wuerl to CNA on Jan. 21.
“Americans by our tradition, by our heritage, are a people who tend to be very fair and don’t readily admit to excluding blocks and groups of people from participation in the common good,” he said.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Jan. 20 that it would not expand a religious exemption for employers who object to a requirement that their insurance plans cover contraception as part of a list of “preventative services.”
The policy requires free coverage for sterilization and contraception, including some drugs that can cause abortions.
Cardinal Wuerl underscored that the mandate will affect Catholic schools, hospitals, universities and charitable outreach to the poor.
“This is all new, in the sense that never before in our history has any government simply issued a decree emptying the religious convictions and conscience protections of all the institutions that serve the poor,” he said.
“All of a sudden, with one stroke of the pen, this administration has indicated that our objections to doing what the government wants us to do, our objections have no place.
“It is an outrageous situation.”
Cardinal Wuerl was in Rome as part of a delegation of bishops from the Mid-Atlantic states. The group spent the week updating the Vatican on the health of the Church in their dioceses.
On Thursday, Jan. 19 they met with Pope Benedict who warned of them of a “grave threat” to religious liberty in the U.S., something he described as “the most American of freedoms.”
Cardinal Wuerl thought the Pope’s address was a very timely reminder that the Gospel “implies and even demands that we be engaged in the public effort to mold a good and just society.”
With this in mind, the Pope told the bishops that the preparation of a new generation of “committed lay leaders” should be the “primary task of the Church in your country.”
“I think this new generation that the Pope is speaking about is already present,” said Cardinal Wuerl.
He believes that after two generations of young Catholics who suffered from “a devastating lack of solid catechetical teaching,” there is “a generation coming along that has been nurtured in the faith.” He credits that change to the production of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992, and the influence of Blessed Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.
“This generation is already rising up to say, ‘What can we do to restore the sense of gospel values in our lives, in our families, in our institutions, in our communities?’
“We’re seeing something wonderful happening.”
Categories: News
Minnesota governor rejects plan for stadium near basilica
Minneapolis, Minn., Jan 26, 2012 / 05:57 am (CNA).- Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton does not want the Vikings' new football stadium to be built near the Basilica of Saint Mary, where it was seen as a potentially serious threat to parish life.
“We are grateful that Governor Dayton considered our concerns and valued the work we do in making a decision to remove the Linden Avenue and Farmers Market sites from the list of potential sites for the Vikings Stadium,” officials at the basilica said in an online statement.
Church representatives said they “support the Vikings staying in Minnesota” but had “very serious concerns about the impacts of building a stadium and event center so close to the basilica.”
“I understood their concerns, and they were very valid,” Gov. Dayton told the Associated Press on Jan. 25, following his two recent meetings with the basilica's rector Father John Bauer.
The priest reportedly told the governor that the basilica would consider legal action against plans for a stadium in its vicinity, due to concerns over impacts on ministries, parking, and other effects on the historic church.
Dayton now says a new stadium at the location of the Vikings' existing Metrodome is “the only viable option,” if the team is to receive public funding for the project in the 2012 legislative session.
State senator Julie Rosen, the stadium bill's main sponsor, also says the Metrodome site is the most realistic choice. A third proposed site, in a suburb of St. Paul, would require a sales tax increase.
In a Jan. 24 column for the Minnesota Star Tribune, Rev. Bauer explained why it was not in the community's best interest to build a stadium only 300 feet from Basilica of St. Mary.
“Leaders need to look beyond the numbers and consider the negative human impact that will occur,” the basilica's rector wrote.
He explained that thousands of people obtain food, clothing, and other assistance from the church's ministries each year.
“Not only will this location affect the 6,500 households that call this parish their spiritual home, but it will also jeopardize our efforts to bring stability and provide a lifeline to those who are most in need.”
During the 1960s, the basilica temporarily lost a large proportion of its parishioners due to highway construction that nearly forced its closure. Fr. Bauer insisted it should not face the same kind of threat permanently, from the hundreds of stadium event days that would take place only 100 yards away.
“Thousands of activities fill the calendar each year at the basilica, involving parishioners and the community we serve,” he wrote. “From liturgies to our employment ministry, from concerts to outreach programs, from the Basilica Block Party to art exhibits, the life of a thriving community is at stake.”
On the day Fr. Bauer's editorial ran, Gov. Dayton said he believed the Metrodome site held promise, even though the Vikings' owners would prefer a change. Local NBC affiliate KARE quoted him as saying the site could be made “very attractive,” with “the kind of investment to build a world class stadium.”
“We are grateful that Governor Dayton considered our concerns and valued the work we do in making a decision to remove the Linden Avenue and Farmers Market sites from the list of potential sites for the Vikings Stadium,” officials at the basilica said in an online statement.
Church representatives said they “support the Vikings staying in Minnesota” but had “very serious concerns about the impacts of building a stadium and event center so close to the basilica.”
“I understood their concerns, and they were very valid,” Gov. Dayton told the Associated Press on Jan. 25, following his two recent meetings with the basilica's rector Father John Bauer.
The priest reportedly told the governor that the basilica would consider legal action against plans for a stadium in its vicinity, due to concerns over impacts on ministries, parking, and other effects on the historic church.
Dayton now says a new stadium at the location of the Vikings' existing Metrodome is “the only viable option,” if the team is to receive public funding for the project in the 2012 legislative session.
State senator Julie Rosen, the stadium bill's main sponsor, also says the Metrodome site is the most realistic choice. A third proposed site, in a suburb of St. Paul, would require a sales tax increase.
In a Jan. 24 column for the Minnesota Star Tribune, Rev. Bauer explained why it was not in the community's best interest to build a stadium only 300 feet from Basilica of St. Mary.
“Leaders need to look beyond the numbers and consider the negative human impact that will occur,” the basilica's rector wrote.
He explained that thousands of people obtain food, clothing, and other assistance from the church's ministries each year.
“Not only will this location affect the 6,500 households that call this parish their spiritual home, but it will also jeopardize our efforts to bring stability and provide a lifeline to those who are most in need.”
During the 1960s, the basilica temporarily lost a large proportion of its parishioners due to highway construction that nearly forced its closure. Fr. Bauer insisted it should not face the same kind of threat permanently, from the hundreds of stadium event days that would take place only 100 yards away.
“Thousands of activities fill the calendar each year at the basilica, involving parishioners and the community we serve,” he wrote. “From liturgies to our employment ministry, from concerts to outreach programs, from the Basilica Block Party to art exhibits, the life of a thriving community is at stake.”
On the day Fr. Bauer's editorial ran, Gov. Dayton said he believed the Metrodome site held promise, even though the Vikings' owners would prefer a change. Local NBC affiliate KARE quoted him as saying the site could be made “very attractive,” with “the kind of investment to build a world class stadium.”
Categories: News
Panicked Catholics flee violence in northern Nigeria
Abuja, Nigeria, Jan 26, 2012 / 01:50 am (CNA).- As many as 35,000 people have fled their homes in northern Nigeria after continuing attacks from the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram. Their numbers include a large number of Catholics who report that churches have been destroyed.
“There is panic. Many just leave everything behind, and run for safety, because they do not know when violence might flare up again,” a source told Aid to the Church in Need on Jan. 24.
On Jan. 20, Boko Haram killed at least 185 people in attacks that rocked Kano city, located in the state of Borno, the Associated Press reports. The coordinated attacks used cars with heavy explosives and suicide bombers who targeted police stations. Men in security uniforms gunned down government officials.
Churches have also been destroyed in Maidiguri in Borno and the city of Bauchi, in Bauchi state.
“It is the stated goal of Boko Haram to make the whole of the north free of Christians,” one source told Aid to the Church in Need.
At the beginning of January, Boko Haram spokesman Abu Qaqa gave Christians a three-day ultimatum to leave the area.
Refugees are headed to where they believe it is safe, especially the city of Jos.
Boko Haram’s name means “western education is sinful” in Nigeria’s Hausa language. The group has killed at least 935 people since its 2009 uprising, and more than 250 since the beginning of 2012, Human Rights Watch reports.
The Catholic bishops of Nigeria have decried the actions of the group.
Analysts believe the group intends to make the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian, appear unable to control the country.
“There is panic. Many just leave everything behind, and run for safety, because they do not know when violence might flare up again,” a source told Aid to the Church in Need on Jan. 24.
On Jan. 20, Boko Haram killed at least 185 people in attacks that rocked Kano city, located in the state of Borno, the Associated Press reports. The coordinated attacks used cars with heavy explosives and suicide bombers who targeted police stations. Men in security uniforms gunned down government officials.
Churches have also been destroyed in Maidiguri in Borno and the city of Bauchi, in Bauchi state.
“It is the stated goal of Boko Haram to make the whole of the north free of Christians,” one source told Aid to the Church in Need.
At the beginning of January, Boko Haram spokesman Abu Qaqa gave Christians a three-day ultimatum to leave the area.
Refugees are headed to where they believe it is safe, especially the city of Jos.
Boko Haram’s name means “western education is sinful” in Nigeria’s Hausa language. The group has killed at least 935 people since its 2009 uprising, and more than 250 since the beginning of 2012, Human Rights Watch reports.
The Catholic bishops of Nigeria have decried the actions of the group.
Analysts believe the group intends to make the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian, appear unable to control the country.
Categories: News
