Episode 42 –  Congressman Chris Smith Joins To Discuss The Pro-Life Movement And Human Trafficking

Congressman Chris Smith, representing New Jersey’s 4th congressional district joins the Catholic Association’s Dr. Grazie Christie, Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, and Maureen Ferguson in a new episode of Conversations with Consequences. The congressman shares his longtime record defending the rights of the unborn and the recent Human Trafficking summit, marking 20 years of his own Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. Father Roger Landry also joins with an inspiring homily for this Sunday’s readings.

https://thecatholicassociation.org/podcast/ep-42-congressman-chris-smith-joins-to-discuss-the-pro-life-movement-and-human-trafficking/
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1. Head of German Catholics says he’ll step down at end of term.

By Associated Press, February 11, 2020, 6:45 AM

The Roman Catholic cardinal who leads the German Bishops’ Conference said Tuesday he plans to step down at the end of his term in March.

Cardinal Reinhard Marx, 66, said in a letter to fellow bishops in Germany that he would not seek a second term leading the conference due to his age and because he wants to spend more time at the diocese of Munich and Freising, where he serves as archbishop.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/fetal-remains-tied-to-indiana-abortion-doctor-to-be-buried/2020/02/10/02f6edd6-4c50-11ea-967b-e074d302c7d4_story.html
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2. Cardinal Dolan Arrives in Cuba for Pastoral Visit: According to the Archdiocese of New York, Cardinal Dolan “accepted the invitation after consultation with the United States State Department and the Holy See.”

By Catholic News Agency, February 11, 2020

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York is in the midst of a visit to Cuba, having been invited to the country by its bishops and its president.

During his Feb. 7-12 visit, he is saying Mass at the Havana cathedral and at the Basilica Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre; meeting with the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Giampiero Gloder; visiting Catholic charities and a seminary; and meeting with president Miguel Diaz-Canel.

According to the Archdiocese of New York, Cardinal Dolan “accepted the invitation after consultation with the United States State Department and the Holy See.”

https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/cardinal-dolan-arrives-in-cuba-for-pastoral-visit
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3. West Virginia Senate passes ‘born alive’ abortion bill.

By Anthony Izaguirre, Associated Press, February 10, 2020, 2:29 PM

After acknowledging that murder is already a crime, the West Virginia Senate on Monday passed a bill to penalize physicians who don’t provide medical care to a baby born after an abortion attempt.

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The House must approve minor amendments to the bill before it goes to the office of Gov. Jim Justice, who said he will sign the measure.

“I will proudly sign this bill into law when it comes to my desk because every human life — born and unborn — is precious and a gift from God. As long as I am Governor, I will always defend the right to life for every unborn child,” Justice wrote on Twitter.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/west-virginia-senate-passes-born-alive-abortion-bill/2020/02/10/9f6e6e06-4c3b-11ea-967b-e074d302c7d4_story.html
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4. Fetal remains tied to Indiana abortion doctor to be buried.

By Associated Press, February 10, 2020, 4:55 PM

More than 2,400 sets of fetal remains found last year in the Illinois garage and a car of an Indiana abortion doctor after he died will be buried Wednesday at a northern Indiana cemetery.

The 2,411 sets of fetal remains that resulted from abortions Dr. Ulrich Klopfer performed in Indiana will be “memorialized” Wednesday afternoon at a graveside service at Southlawn Cemetery and Palmer Funeral Home in South Bend, Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill’s office said Monday.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/fetal-remains-tied-to-indiana-abortion-doctor-to-be-buried/2020/02/10/02f6edd6-4c50-11ea-967b-e074d302c7d4_story.html
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5. Mideast patriarchs tell pope they’re concerned about Christian survival.

By Doreen Abi Raad, Crux, February 10, 2020

In a private meeting with Pope Francis, Catholic patriarchs of the Middle East had an opportunity to sound the alarm regarding the survival of Christians in the region as a result of persecution, extremism, economic insecurity and immigration to the West.

They provided Francis with an overview of the general conditions of their countries and regions – Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Egypt and the Holy Land – particularly wars and crises that have led to the emigration of Christians and the need to follow the faithful pastorally in their adopted Western countries. They also presented the pope with a more detailed memorandum at the Feb. 8 meeting at the Vatican.

The Vatican did not comment on the meeting, but, in a statement, Cardinal Bechara Rai said he was “very happy” about the Holy Father’s awareness and concern regarding the churches’ affairs in the Middle East and the issues they face as well as “the importance of the presence of Christians, their role and mission” in coexisting with Muslims.

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-middle-east/2020/02/mideast-patriarchs-tell-pope-theyre-concerned-about-christian-survival/
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6. Bishop Paprocki provides pastoral guide on gender identity.

By Catholic News Agency, February 10, 2020, 7:01 PM

Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield in Illinois issued a pastoral guide last month regarding diocesan policies on gender identity, expounding on existing policy that schools and other diocesan institutions will recognize students and adults by the biological sex with which they were born.

In the guide, Paprocki noted the need to approach the issue with compassion and sensitivity, while also adhering to Church teaching and the truth.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/bishop-paprocki-provides-pastoral-guide-on-gender-identity-70300
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7. Vatican official claims canon law required giving communion to pro-choice Argentine president and consort.

By Catholic News Agency, February 10, 2020, 1:55 PM

A Vatican official has defended his decision to administer the Eucharist to Argentina’s president, despite the leader’s effort to legalize abortion in his country. The official also administered the sacrament to the president’s consort, who is by protocol Argentina’s first lady.

Argentine Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences, administered Holy Communion during a Mass offered Jan. 31 in the grotto of St. Peter’s Basilica, shortly before a meeting between Fernández’ and Pope Francis.

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Fernández has pledged to promote a bill in the country’s legislature that would legalize abortion. In 2018, Argentina’s Senate defeated a bill that would have legalized abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.

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The bishop said that according to canon law “you are obliged to give communion if somebody asks you for communion. Only in the case that he is excommunicated. The President is not excommunicated, so I can give communion if he asks me for communion.”

Canon 915 of the Church’s Code of Canon Law says that Catholics who are ”obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-official-canon-law-required-giving-communion-to-pro-choice-argentine-president-and-consort-19217
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