1. Jimmy Lai’s 1,000 Prison Days, The publisher’s bravery has exposed China’s false promises to Hong Kong, By The Wall Street Journal, September 26, 2023, Pg. A14, Editorial
Jimmy Lai marks his 1,000th day in Hong Kong’s Stanley Prison on Tuesday, an ignominious anniversary that should remind the world of Mr. Lai’s bravery and China’s disdain for international treaties and the rule of law.
Mr. Lai is the founder and owner of the pro-democracy paper Apple Daily, which the Hong Kong government confiscated without due process. What makes his sacrifice so compelling is that Mr. Lai could have avoided a prison cell by fleeing to one of his homes abroad.
China and its Hong Kong factotums have sought every way possible to target Mr. Lai for daring to advocate for freedom for Hong Kong’s people. The 75-year-old has been convicted for his peaceful participation in three protests, including a vigil to commemorate the Chinese victims of the 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen Square.
He was also convicted on business fraud charges the U.S. State Department has rightly denounced as “spurious.” But his biggest trial, on national-security charges that could carry a life sentence, is scheduled for December. The government has denied Mr. Lai his choice of lawyer in the case.
Everyone in Hong Kong knows he will be found guilty—an example of how Hong Kong is following China’s dictates despite the promise Beijing made to Britain of autonomy for 50 years after 1997 in a formal treaty.
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Jimmy Lai risked arrest and prison by staying in Hong Kong, and in so doing he has exposed those lies. The longer he remains behind bars the more powerful his witness becomes. And the more Hong Kong’s reputation for adherence to the rule of law fades into distant memory.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/jimmy-lais-1-000-prison-days-china-ccp-arrest-sentence-kong-truth-freedom-protest-5feea2a8
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2. Home schooling today is less religious and more diverse, poll finds, Fear of school shootings, bullying and indoctrination helped fuel a pandemic-era boom in home schooling, according to an exclusive Washington Post-Schar School survey, By Laura Meckler, Peter Jamison, Emily Guskin and Scott Clement, The Washington Post, September 26, 2023, 6:00 AM
A pandemic-era boom has fundamentally changed the face of American home schooling, transforming a group that has for decades been dominated by conservative Christians into one that is more racially and ideologically diverse, a Washington Post-Schar School poll finds.
Rather than religion, home-schoolers today are likely to be motivated by fear of school shootings, anxiety over bullying and anger with the perceived encroachment of politics into public schools, the poll finds. Yet even among those who voice such concerns, many do not share the deep-seated opposition to public education that defined home-schoolers of past decades, and the new crop is more likely to mix and match home schooling with public school, depending on their children’s needs.
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In a 2012 federal survey, nearly 2 in 3 home-school parents listed a desire to provide religious instruction as a reason for home schooling. That dropped to about half of parents in 2016 and 2019 federal surveys.
Now the share has fallen much further, The Post-Schar School poll finds, to 34 percent. Those who home-schooled before the pandemic are twice as likely to name providing religious instruction as those who began after.
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Nearly 7 in 10 parents say a desire to provide “moral instruction” is among their reasons for home-schooling. In a follow-up question, about half of those parents say this instruction is based on religious values, a number equivalent to those who list religion as a motivator.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/09/26/home-schooling-vs-public-school-poll/
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3. Pro-democracy Catholic Jimmy Lai marks 1,000th day in jail awaiting trial, By Courtney Mares, Catholic News Agency, September 26, 2023, 6:30 AM
Jimmy Lai, a Catholic pro-democracy activist and former publisher of Hong Kong’s Apple Daily newspaper, spent his 1,000th day in jail on Tuesday awaiting his long-delayed trial.
Lai’s son has expressed fear that Lai could die in prison and human rights groups have urged the U.K. government to take immediate action to free the jailed newspaper publisher, who is a British citizen.
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Jimmy Lai has been jailed awaiting a trial since he was arrested in December 2020 under Hong Kong’s national security law. The Catholic covert could face life in prison if convicted. His trial is set for Dec. 18, nearly one year after it was originally scheduled.
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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255471/pro-democracy-catholic-jimmy-lai-marks-1000th-day-in-jail-awaiting-trial
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4. State of California sues pro-life pregnancy centers over abortion pill reversal drug, By Tyler Arnold, Catholic News Agency, September 25, 2023, 1:48 PM
California’s pro-abortion attorney general, Rob Bonta, sued five pro-life pregnancy centers Sept. 21 over their promotion of a drug that is meant to reverse chemical abortions.
In his lawsuit against Heartbeat International and affiliated pregnancy center chain RealOptions, Bonta accused the pregnancy centers of using fraudulent and misleading claims when advertising the abortion pill reversal drug.
The state’s lawsuit claims that there is no scientific evidence supporting the safety or efficacy of the abortion pill reversal drug despite the pregnancy centers describing them as an effective and safe way to reverse chemical abortions. It argues that pregnant women must have access to accurate information when deciding whether to use the drug.
“Those who are struggling with the complex decision to get an abortion deserve support and trustworthy guidance — not lies and misinformation,” Bonta said in a statement.
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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255466/california-ag-sues-pro-life-pregnancy-centers-over-abortion-pill-reversal-drug
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5. Is the Era of the Traditional Family Over in America? Survey Suggests Yes, The Pew Research Center survey of 5,073 U.S. adults took place from April 10–16. Respondents were part of the Pew Center’s American Trends Panel., By Kevin Jones, Catholic News Agency, September 25, 2023
Most Americans don’t place a high priority on marriage and children compared with their careers and friends, a new Pew Research Center survey says, and a large minority of Americans are pessimistic about the future of marriage and family.
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The Pew survey showed near-unanimous consensus on one point, with 90% saying that a husband and wife raising children together is “completely acceptable.” At the same time, 40% of Americans are pessimistic about the future of the institution of marriage and the family, compared with 26% who say they are optimistic and 29% who say they are neither.
Only 26% of respondents said that having children is extremely or very important to “living a fulfilling life,” and only 23% said the same about being married. By comparison, 24% said having money was extremely or very important for fulfillment, 61% said this of having close friends, and 71% said this of having a job or career they enjoy.
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About 49% of respondents said it is a negative trend to have fewer children raised by two married parents, while only 11% found this a positive trend. Another 36% said it’s a negative trend that fewer people are getting married, while 9% said this is positive. About 29% said it is a negative trend that more couples are living together without marrying, while 15% said this is positive.
As for the trend that people are having fewer children, 27% of Pew respondents thought this to be negative while 25% thought this to be positive. Respondents said this trend would have a good effect on the environment as well as women’s careers and job opportunities, but a negative effect on social security and the overall economy.
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https://www.ncregister.com/cna/is-the-era-of-the-traditional-family-over-in-america-survey-suggests-yes
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6. Superior ‘removed’ from community co-founded with Rupnik, By Luke Coppen, The Pillar, September 25, 2023, 2:26 PM
The superior of a religious community cofounded by the religious artist and former Jesuit Marko Ivan Rupnik has been removed from her position, over concerns about her leadership, according to a Portuguese media report.
Sr. Ivanka Hosta reportedly has been ordered to pray in reparation for the victims of abuse committed by Rupnik, and to have no contact with some members of her community.
The move points to ongoing disagreement among Church officials regarding how to respond to the Rupnik affair.
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https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/superior-removed-from-community-co
__________________________________________________________TCA Media Monitoring provides a snapshot from national newspapers and major Catholic press outlets of coverage regarding significant Catholic Church news and current issues with which the Catholic Church is traditionally or prominently engaged. The opinions and views expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Catholic Association. |
