1. America Must Once Again Affirm the Dignity of Life and Family, By Steve Daines, National Review, December 21, 2021, 6:30 AM, Opinion
One year ago, over 30 nations joined forces to affirm life and family. The Geneva Consensus Declaration, signed on October 22, 2020, brought together countries that disagree on a wide range of issues. But they all found common ground to reaffirm a set of shared goals: that all people are equal before the law, that the human rights of women are inalienable, that all people possess inherent dignity and worth, that abortion is not family planning, and that the family is a fundamental unit of society. These coalition countries — including Brazil, Egypt, Uganda, and Indonesia — represented 1.6 billion people from around the world.
Under the leadership of President Donald Trump, the U.S. boldly led this global coalition in affirming that all life is sacred, and that abortion is not an international right. Our country stood alongside dozens of world leaders defending the sovereign right of nations to enact laws that advance the foundational values of life and family.
Today, however, one nation is notably missing from the Geneva Consensus list: the United States of America. Sadly, President Joe Biden abandoned this broad coalition’s values. In the earliest days of his presidency, Biden removed the U.S. from the list of signatories.
Despite this shameful withdrawal, life and women are winning. The global coalition has continued to grow, with 37 countries working together in support of real health gains for women and against the imposition of an anti-life, anti-family agenda.
…
As senator from Montana and the founder and chairman of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, I will never back down from fighting the Biden administration’s radical attempts to push its pro-abortion agenda at home and abroad. U.S. foreign policy should not be about bullying other countries to adopt extreme agendas that run counter to their own values. I will continue to defend and vigilantly uphold longstanding federal laws, like the Helms Amendment and Siljander Amendment, which prohibit the United States from conducting or funding abortion or abortion lobbying in foreign countries.
Steve Daines represents Montana in the U.S. Senate.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/12/america-must-once-again-affirm-the-dignity-of-life-and-family/
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2. China bars four from U.S. panel on religious freedom in response to sanctions, By Reuters, December 21, 2021, 3:40 AM
China has barred entry to four people from a U.S. commission on religious freedom, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday, following U.S. sanctions this month against Chinese people and entities over accusations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
The four people, from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), would be banned from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-puts-entry-ban-four-us-individuals-response-sanctions-2021-12-21/
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3. Turkson on resignation: It’s up to the pope to decide, By Elise Ann Allen, Crux, December 21, 2021
Ghanian Cardinal Peter Turkson said Tuesday his offer to resign from his prominent Vatican post is a matter of his term limit coming to an end, and he is waiting for the pope to decide whether to accept it, reject it, or reassign him.
Turkson, prefect of the Vatican department for Integral Human Development who has long been considered a close papal aide, declined Tuesday to offer clarity on the status of his pending letter of resignation, which he submitted earlier this month over apparent tensions in his department.
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2021/12/turkson-on-resignation-its-up-to-the-pope-to-decide
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4. LA Archdiocese sues LAUSD, alleging it kept federal funds from Catholic schools, By Alejandra Molina, Religion News Service, December 20, 2021, 5:03 PM, Opinion
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is suing the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest in the United States, arguing that legal action is necessary to force the district to take the appropriate steps to restore federal funding for low-income and disadvantaged students who attend Catholic schools.
The complaint, filed Thursday (Dec. 16) in California Superior Court, claims that the district “has openly and consistently acted to prevent federally funded services from reaching eligible, lower income (archdiocesan) students.”
The archdiocese said in the suit that the district has acted “to increase its own share of federal education monies by artificially reducing (archdiocesan) schools’ share of services.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/la-archdiocese-sues-lausd-alleging-it-kept-federal-funds-from-catholic-schools/2021/12/20/9a868948-61e0-11ec-9b51-7131fa190c5e_story.html
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5. Pope tells abused mother domestic violence ‘nearly satanic’, By Associated Press, December 20, 2021, 6:42 AM
Pope Francis has denounced domestic violence against woman as “nearly satanic” and said parents should never slap their children.
Francis made the comments in a televised encounter with an abused woman who recently fled her home with her four children. Their meeting was broadcast late Sunday on the private Mediaset network’s TG5 program and also included footage of Francis interacting with a homeless woman, a prisoner and a student.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pope-tells-abused-mother-domestic-violence-nearly-satanic/2021/12/20/f33205ce-6189-11ec-9b51-7131fa190c5e_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.
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