1. Ukraine ask pope’s help in getting children back from Russia, By Frances D’Emilio, Associated Press, April 27, 2023, 7:33 PM
Ukraine’s prime minister said he asked Pope Francis during a private Vatican audience Thursday to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children who were forcibly taken to Russia.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, briefing reporters on his half-hour audience with the pontiff, said he also invited Francis to come to Ukraine.
“I asked the Vatican and the Holy Father for help in getting back children taken by force by Russia,” the prime minister said.
The Vatican’s brief statement on the audience did not go into particular points of the talks. It noted that Shmyhal met with the Holy See’s secretary of state and foreign minister after his meeting with Francis.
…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/27/ukraine-pope-francis-russia-abducted-children/5e6645f0-e4ef-11ed-9696-8e874fd710b8_story.html
__________________________________________________________
2. Kansas abortion providers face new rule after veto overriden, By John Hanna, Associated Press, April 27, 2023, 12:42 AM
Kansas health care providers could face criminal charges over accusations about their care of newborns delivered during certain abortion procedures after the Republican-controlled Legislature on Wednesday overrode Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of their legislation.
The new law takes effect July 1 and will require that heath care providers “exercise the same degree of professional skill, care and diligence” to preserve the health of newborns delivered during an abortion procedure that a “reasonably diligent and conscientious” provider would with other live births. The newborns will have to be transported to a hospital, and violating the law will be a felony, punishable up to a year’s probation for a first-time offender.
…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/26/abortion-restrictions-born-alive-kansas/100c269a-e490-11ed-9696-8e874fd710b8_story.html
__________________________________________________________
3. Pay attention to Nikki Haley, Republicans. This is how to talk about abortion, By Henry Olsen, The Washington Post, April 27, 2023, 6:45 AM, Opinion
Republican presidential candidates need to figure out how to talk abortion in a way that satisfies pro-life voters without offending those who are moderately pro-choice. The declared candidates so far have offered sharply different approaches. Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley’s is easily the best.
This is a thorny question for Republicans because of the gulf between the views of Republican primary voters and swing voters.
…
Swing voters, however, are not pro-life. Polls have long shown that moderates support abortion access in the first trimester of pregnancy, with substantial numbers supporting it well into the second trimester. Most of these voters have not traditionally prioritized their abortion beliefs at the voting booth, but there is some evidence the Dobbs decision is pushing them to do so. Preventing that from happening, and thereby saving the opportunity for pro-life groups to begin to change peoples’ minds, should be the movement’s top goal.
Instead, many national groups are making passage of federal legislation to regulate abortion access their primary goal.
…
Haley rightly says that saving babies and protecting moms should be the nation’s top priority. How best to do that under present circumstances are strategic and prudential questions. Her approach, fleshed out with more detail, would be the best path forward for the pro-life movement and the best chance to elect a pro-life president.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/27/nikki-haley-abortion-speech-republican-presidential-primary/
__________________________________________________________
4. San Francisco to repeal boycott of anti-LGBT states, By Associated Press, April 26, 2023, 11:25 PM
San Francisco is repealing a ban on city-funded travel to 30 states that it says restrict abortion, voting and LGBTQ rights after determining the boycott is doing more harm than good.
The Board of Supervisors voted 7-4 on Tuesday to repeal a section of the city’s administrative code that prohibits staff from visiting and city departments from contracting with companies headquartered in the states, which include Texas, Florida and Ohio.
California, meanwhile, is considering the repeal of a similar law.
…
The idea was to exert economic pressure on those conservative states. Instead, a report released last month by the city administrator concluded that the policy was raising costs and administrative burdens for the city. Because of restrictions, there were fewer bidders for city work and that ending the boycott might reduce contracting costs by 20% annually, the report concluded.
In addition, the city had approved hundreds of exemptions and waivers for some $800 million worth of contracts, the report said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/26/san-francisco-travel-ban-repeal-lgbtq/7d3805e6-e4a8-11ed-9696-8e874fd710b8_story.html
__________________________________________________________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. |
