1. Pope Francis Seen as Critical of Argentine Leader Mauricio Macri, Some observers say pontiff has political differences with recently elected president of his native country, By Taos Turner and Santiago Perez. The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 24, 2016 5:30 AM ET.
BUENOS AIRES— Pope Francis’ active engagement in political questions has stirred particular controversy in his native country, where he has faced criticism for what some see as a series of papal snubs of President Mauricio Macri.
Beyond the more general denunciations from some quarters of the pontiff for bashing globalization and avoiding criticism of Cuba’s Communist rulers, Pope Francis has been fending off charges at home that he is brushing off Mr. Macri as the president is weaning Argentina off populist policies, realigning it with the West, and leading South America toward market-friendly overhauls as the collapse in commodities prices undermines leftist governments across the region.
The Vatican denies anything is amiss, and Francis has dismissed speculation about the alleged tension. “I think Macri is a good person, a noble person,” he was quoted as saying in an interview with La Nación last month. The Vatican’s then-spokesman, the Rev.Federico Lombardi, said the pope “does not enter into any sort of polemic regarding the politics of Argentina.”
2. U.S. Sued Over New Transgender Health-Care Regulation, Five states and religiously affiliated providers aim to block rule requiring coverage for gender-transition treatments, By Ian Lovett and Louise Radnofsky. The Wall Street Journal, August 24, 2016, Pg. A3.
Five states, a Catholic health network and other Christian health-care providers sued the federal government on Tuesday, hoping to block a new rule they say could require doctors to provide gender-transition treatments and procedures that conflict with their beliefs.
The lawsuit marks religious conservatives’ growing engagement in the fight over transgender rights, which has rapidly emerged as one of the most explosive social debates of the Obama administration.
The suit comes just one day after a Texas judge temporarily suspended new federal guidelines intended to expand bathroom access for transgender students at public schools.
North Carolina, which passed a law that requires people to use public bathrooms according to the gender on their birth certificates, and the federal government are suing each other over the issue of transgender access to public restrooms.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-sued-over-new-transgender-health-care-regulation-1471995720
3. More Attacks on Transgender Rights, Editorial. The New York Times, August 24, 2016, Pg. A18.
Judge O’Connor on Sunday issued a preliminary injunction that prohibits the Education Department from enforcing its guidelines nationwide. In a 38-page order, he barred the federal government from taking enforcement action against discriminatory policies or practices.
The ruling, which the Justice Department is expected to appeal, may lead educators around the country to question whether they need to follow the Education Department’s transgender guidelines as the new school year starts. They would be wrong not to; the rules provide a common-sense approach that makes harassment and stigmatization of transgender students less likely.
Meanwhile, [Texas Attorney General] Mr. Paxton is determined to block another important protection for transgender people. On Tuesday, his office filed a new lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services over a regulatory change that sought to expand access to medical care for transgender Americans. This case, too, has been assigned to Judge O’Connor.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/24/opinion/more-attacks-on-transgender-rights.html
4. On the Canonization of Saint Teresa of Calcutta, By Fr. George W. Rutler. Crisis Magazine, August 24, 2016.
The canonization of Teresa of Calcutta gives the kind of satisfaction that comes from having your mother declared Mother of the Year. More important is the fact that she is a mother. Demographically, the cradles of our land are covered with cobwebs. Motherhood itself is in danger. To prefer motherhood over a corporate career may seem an insult to the autonomous self. At the 2016 Democratic convention, a speaker was cheered when she announced that she had aborted her baby for the sake of her of her professional job. A macabre acoustics twisted Rachel weeping for her children who were not, into Rachel laughing because her children were not. This also obtains in some religious orders: Reverend Mothers have refashioned themselves as presidents, declaiming “peace and justice and climate change” instead of salvation. As one cannot fool Mother Church for long, those orders are evaporating.
http://www.crisismagazine.com/2016/memories-mother-canonization-saint-teresa-calcutta
5. Let’s follow Mother Teresa and prioritize abortion in 2016, By Carl Anderson.Crux, August 24, 2016.
Mother Teresa knew poverty inside and out. Having devoted her life to the destitute on the streets of Calcutta – and around the world – she daily ministered to those most would consider the poorest people on earth.
The poor were her passion and her life’s work. No one on earth was more identified with the destitute. So when she addressed the Harvard graduates of 1982, they were well within their rights to expect her to speak of the poor – of a poverty most of them could not even imagine.
She did speak that day of poverty, but it was not the poverty of a faraway place.
https://cruxnow.com/commentary/2016/08/24/lets-follow-mother-teresa-prioritize-abortion-2016/
