| 1. The Mississippi clinic at the center of the fight to end abortion in America, The state’s last abortion clinic, known as the ‘Pink House,’ is at the heart of a Supreme Court case that could severely restrict abortion access for millions of largely poor women., By Emily Wax-Thibodeaux and Ariana Eunjung Cha, The Washington Post, August 25, 2021, Pg. A1 Later this year, the court will hear arguments about a Mississippi law that if allowed to take effect would ban nearly all abortions after 15 weeks. If the court’s conservative majority permits the law to stand, it could deal a major blow to abortion rights. Such a ruling could give states greater latitude to limit how and when abortions are performed. And if the court goes further and accedes to Mississippi’s request to overturn Roe v. Wade, the decision giving women a constitutional right to an abortion, some legislatures are poised to ban nearly all abortions. Twelve states, including Mississippi, have passed “trigger” laws with stringent abortion restrictions that could go into effect immediately, or soon after, if Roe were overturned. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2021/mississippi-abortion-law/
___________________________________________________________ 2. A More Secular America Is Not Just a Problem for Republicans, By Ryan Burge, The New York Times, August 25, 2021, 5:00 AM, Opinion Since 1988, the General Social Survey has been asking Americans of different ages what they believe about God. For decades, the answer did not change much. Around 70 percent of members of the Silent Generation said that they “know God really exists” and “have no doubts about it.” That same sentiment was shared by about 63 percent of baby boomers and Generation Xers. But in 2018, millennials expressed a lot less certainty. Only 44 percent had no doubts about the existence of God. Even more doubtful were members of Generation Z — just one-third claimed certain belief in God. Today, scholars are finding that by almost any metric they measure religiosity, younger generations are much more secular than their parents or grandparents. In responses to survey questions, over 40 percent of the youngest Americans claim no religious affiliation, and just a quarter say they attend religious services weekly or more. Americans have not come to terms with how this cultural shift will affect so many facets of society — and that’s no more apparent than when it comes to the future of the Republican and Democratic Parties. … Religious voters, especially white evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics, are part of the bedrock of the modern Republican Party. … But it appears very much that there is something of an expiration date on this wave of religious conservatives. The share of Americans who identify as white Christians has rapidly declined over the last several decades. … The Democratic Party and the coalition that elected Joe Biden in 2020 face challenges of their own. The Democratic coalition increasingly relies on a hodgepodge of groups, religious and nonreligious, that are often at odds with one another on key social and cultural issues. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/25/opinion/republicans-democrats-america-religion.html
___________________________________________________________ 3. Pope Francis: ‘Hypocrisy in the Church is particularly detestable’, By Catholic News Agency, August 25, 2021, 3:55 AM Pope Francis said on Wednesday that hypocrisy within the Church is “particularly detestable.” Speaking at the general audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall on Aug. 25, the pope underlined that hypocritical behavior damaged Church unity. “Hypocrisy in the Church is particularly detestable, and unfortunately there is hypocrisy in the Church, and there are many hypocritical Christians and ministers. We should never forget the Lord’s words: ‘Let what you say be simply Yes or No; anything more than this comes from evil,’” he said, quoting Matthew 5:37. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248768/pope-francis-at-the-general-audience-hypocrisy-in-the-church-is-particularly-detestable
___________________________________________________________ 4. Pope: Laudato si’ is not only a ‘green’ Encyclical but also a ‘social’ Encyclical, By Vatican News, August 24, 2021 Pope Francis has sent greetings to the members of the Laudato si’ Inter-University Congress scheduled to hold from 1-4 September in Argentina. In the video message delivered in Spanish, he expressed hope that the initiative will “advance social awareness and consciousness” for the care of our common home. “The Encyclical Laudato si’ is not only a ‘green’ Encyclical, it is also a ‘social’ Encyclical,” the Pope said, hoping that the Congress will help its scope and consequences to become more visible. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-08/pope-laudato-si-inter-university-congress-videomessage.html
___________________________________________________________ 5. Push to ban ‘killer robots’ gets a boost from the Vatican and the pope, By Dennis Sadowski, Crux, August 24, 2021 Among the many threats to human life and dignity, the Vatican is making sure that the widening use of lethal autonomous weapons systems worldwide is not reduced to a natural progression of technology that people learn to accept and live with. Vatican officials have joined Pope Francis in repeatedly expressing trepidation over such weapons, known as LAWS, saying their use poses a serious threat to innocent civilians. https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2021/08/push-to-ban-killer-robots-gets-a-boost-from-the-vatican-and-the-pope/
___________________________________________________________ 6. Holy See expresses deep concern over crisis in Afghanistan, By Vatican News, August 24, 2021 The Holy See continues to follow the developments in Afghanistan “with great attention and deep concern,” and has renewed the appeal launched by Pope Francis on August 15 calling on all people to pray with him “to the God of peace so that the clamour of weapons might cease and solutions can be found at the table of dialogue.” Only in this way, he said at the time, “can the battered population of that country – men, women, elderly and children – return to their own homes, and live in peace and security, in total mutual respect.” This message was reiterated on Tuesday morning by Monsignor John Putzer, chargé d’affaires of the Holy See’s Permanent Mission to the UN and other international organizations in Geneva. Speaking at the 31st Special Session of the Human Rights Council, the Vatican representative urged all parties “to recognize and uphold the respect for the human dignity and fundamental rights of every person, including the right to life, the freedom of religion, the right to freedom of movement and the right to peaceful assembly.” https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2021-08/holy-see-expresses-deep-concern-over-crisis-in-afghanistan.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. | 
