1. The President Unmasked, By Brian Burch, Real Clear Politics, April 28, 2021, Opinion
From abortion to racial politics, to the politicization of science and a humanitarian crisis on the border, the first 100 days of the new administration have indeed brought a partisan wrecking ball to the priorities of religious voters — albeit with a smile hidden beneath the president’s mask.
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Many on the right mock Joe Biden as a senile old man, incapable of running the country. This is a critical mistake. Biden is installing an army of hard-left ideologues in every facet of the federal government with the goal of remaking America from the ground up. Combining radical policies like open borders, unlimited abortion, and packing the Supreme court as ways to advance the “equity” agenda, the Biden administration has never sought to restore previous norms, but instead to create its own.
Brian Burch is president of CatholicVote, a national faith-based organization.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/04/28/the_president_unmasked_145667.html
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2. Restoring dignity to children and to the medical profession, The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act protects the child and safeguards the integrity of the medical profession, By Dr. Kathi A. Aultman, M.D. and Fr. Frank Pavone, The Washington Times, April 28, 2021, Pg. B4, Opinion
Among the noble goals of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, H.R. 619, introduced in both chambers of the 117th Congress, is one that has been overlooked: It would help preserve — or at least partially restore — the integrity of the medical profession.
That is a goal that we, Dr. Kathi Aultman, a former abortionist, and Fr. Frank Pavone, a priest and full-time pro-life leader, are committed to work for.
In Dr. Aultman’s view, it is dangerous to put physicians in the position of killing their patients. Although most obstetricians are trained to do abortions, unless they opt out based on conscience, the vast majority don’t continue to do abortions once they are in private practice because they view the whole procedure as abhorrent.
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We have laws against infanticide, but they are rarely enforced in the case of abortion survivors, leaving nothing to prevent an abortionist from withholding care and passively allowing a child to die. We know this occurs because we have heard testimony from those who survived only because someone disobeyed orders and rescued them.
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The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would restore human dignity to the babies it saves, but it could also prove to be the first step back for these medical professionals who likely never imagined finding themselves holding a newborn and deciding how he or she should die. It would also be the first step in restoring the integrity and conscience of our society. For the sake of these children, and of the medical profession, let’s contact our legislators and urge them to pass this long-overdue bill.
Dr. Kathi A. Aultman, M.D. is a retired obstetrician/gynecologist and a for-mer abortion practitioner who now advocates for the right to life. Fr. Frank Pavone is the national director of Priests for Life.
https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/apr/27/restoring-dignity-to-children-and-the-medical-prof/
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3. Wisconsin attorney general launches clergy sexual abuse probe, By Todd Richmond, Associated Press, April 28, 2021
The state Department of Justice has launched a sweeping investigation of sexual assault in Catholic churches and orders across Wisconsin, Attorney General Josh Kaul announced Tuesday.
Kaul, a Democrat, said during a news conference that he wants to develop a full picture of clergy sexual abuse over the decades. He said the goal is transparency and a full accounting, and that his investigators will refer any new cases to prosecutors.
Officials in at least 22 other states have opened investigations into sexual misconduct within church hierarchies. Clergy sexual abuse survivors and their allies have long demanded that Kaul open a probe.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2021/04/wisconsin-attorney-general-launches-clergy-sexual-abuse-probe/
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4. Arizona governor signs abortion ban for genetic issues, By Bob Christie, Associated Press, April 27, 2021, 8:04 PM
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday signed a sweeping anti-abortion bill that bans the procedure if the woman is seeking it solely because a fetus has a genetic abnormality such as Down syndrome.
Doctors who perform an abortion solely because the child has a survivable genetic issue can face felony charges. The proposal also contains a raft of other provisions sought by abortion opponents.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/arizona-governor-signs-abortion-ban-for-genetic-issues/2021/04/27/58444772-a7b5-11eb-a8a7-5f45ddcdf364_story.html
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5. CDC director: Masked, fully vaccinated people can safely attend worship indoors, By Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service, April 27, 2021, 6:13 PM
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention loosened the agency’s social distancing recommendations on Tuesday (April 27), announcing that fully vaccinated people who wear masks can safely attend many indoor events such as worship services.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky made the announcement during a White House press briefing, where she outlined a number of indoor activities people who wear masks and have received vaccines against COVID-19 can participate in safely — including worship.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/cdc-director-masked-fully-vaccinated-people-can-safely-attend-worship-indoors/2021/04/27/d31655d6-a7a5-11eb-a8a7-5f45ddcdf364_story.html
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6. Psaki Dismisses Catholic Bishops’ Objections to Fetal-Tissue Research: ‘Important to Invest in Science’, By Brittany Bernstein, National Review, April 27, 2021, 3:54 PM
White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday dismissed Catholic bishops’ concerns about the use of fetal tissue from elective abortions for scientific research.
Asked how the White House would respond to comments from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that it is “deeply offense to millions of Americans for our tax dollars to be used for research that collaborates with an industry built on the taking of innocent lives,” Psaki said that the administration “respectfully disagrees.”
“We believe that it’s important to invest in science and look for opportunities to cure diseases and I think that’s what this is hopeful to do,” Psaki said of the administration’s decision to reverse a Trump-era ban on researchers’ use of fetal tissues from elective abortions.
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/psaki-dismisses-catholic-bishops-objections-to-fetal-tissue-research-important-to-invest-in-science/
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7. Catholic dioceses appeal to Supreme Court for protection against New York’s abortion coverage mandate, By Joe Bukuras, Catholic News Agency, April 27, 2021, 1:00 PM
The dioceses of Albany and Ogdensburg and other Catholic and Christian ministries last week asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case against New York’s abortion coverage mandate.
The 2017 mandate from the state’s Department of Financial Services required that employers cover abortions in their employee health insurance plans. While the state granted a religious exemption to the rule, the groups challenging the mandate in court claim that it was too narrow and did not exempt agencies which primarily serve or employ people of different faiths.
Plaintiffs in the case include the Diocese of Albany, the Diocese of Ogdensburg, three state Catholic Charities agencies, Anglican sisters, and Baptist and Lutheran churches.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247423/catholic-dioceses-appeal-to-supreme-court-for-protection-against-new-yorks-abortion-coverage-mandate
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8. Vatican criticized for investment in ‘morning after pill’ producer, By The Pillar, April 27, 2021
The Holy See invested funds in a pharmaceutical company which produces an emergency contraceptive “morning after pill,” an Italian news outlet reported, but sold its shares in the company when the Vatican’s auditor reported the investment to senior Church officials.
According to a former senior official at the Secretariat for the Economy, the Vatican held the shares at the same time that former Vatican finance czar Cardinal George Pell pushed for policy that would have required Vatican investments to align with the principles of Catholic social teaching. Pell first proposed that policy when he was appointed to the Vatican in 2014, but when financial advisors pushed back on the plan, the cardinal’s efforts were stymied.
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Asked if a policy is now in place at APSA or other Curial departments regarding the alignment of Church investments with Catholic moral and social teaching, the former official told The Pillar that there was resistance to attempts to initiate such a policy.
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/vatican-criticized-for-investment
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9. Will the Supreme Court Protect Charitable Donors From the Prying Eyes of Public Officials?, By Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, National Catholic Register, April 27, 2021
On Monday the Supreme Court heard oral argument in two consolidated cases that deal with the sensitive subject of who gives money to charities and nonprofit organizations: Americans for Prosperity v. Rodriguez and Thomas More Law Center v. Rodriguez.
The state of California — thanks to a rule put in place by its former attorney general, Vice President Kamala Harris — forces charities to hand over their federal tax returns, including a copy of Schedule B, a form containing the names and addresses of major donors nationwide. And that’s a big deal, because such information can easily find its way into the public domain, where anyone who gives a significant amount of money to an organization that’s not approved by America’s rampant “cancel culture” can find themselves targeted. It’s particularly worrying for politically conservative and traditional religious groups whose agendas aren’t exactly “flavor of the month” these days.
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Without making any predictions on how the Supreme Court will decide this case, one thing was clear on Monday: Just as groups across the ideological spectrum have filed briefs against the disclosure rule, the justices on the Supreme Court — well, at least a hefty majority — appear to be worried by its implications. As they should be.
https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/will-the-supreme-court-protect-charitable-donors-from-the-prying-eyes-of-public-officials
___________________________________________________________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. |
