1. Catholic Schools Are Beating Covid, Will Joe Biden speak up for those he credits with making him the man he is today?, By William McGurn, The Wall Street Journal, February 2, 2021, Pg. A15, Opinion
The National Catholic Education Association reports that its schools boast a total enrollment of 1,626,291. In ordinary times their teachers do an extraordinary job, especially for their poor and minority students. As Justice Sonia Sotomayor once said, “Catholic schools have been a pipeline to opportunity” for people like her—poor, Latina, raised by a single mom. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, Catholic-school administrators have moved heaven and earth to keep their classrooms open to new generations of Sotomayors.
“The science is clear that there is no substitute for in-person learning, especially for poor and minority children most at danger of falling behind,” says Tom Carroll, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Boston. “Across the nation, the Catholic school approach is to stay open wherever we are allowed.”
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Catholic schools prove you can keep classrooms open while keeping Covid-19 at bay, which gave teachers unions another reason to resent them. The good news is that Covid-19 has heightened awareness that too many kids are held in education limbo by public-school systems that cannot put their students first because they are hostage to the unions.
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The president has never fought for school choice, but in 1997 then-Sen. Biden did declare on the floor that the plight of children “presently caught in a failed public school” was leading him to rethink his opposition to vouchers. Perhaps now, with so many public-school systems leaving their students in the lurch, would be a good moment for another reconsideration. Don’t parents deserve the option of a school that will put their children first, just as Mr. Biden’s did?
“It’s wonderful that President Biden appreciates what his Catholic alma mater did for him,” says Jeanne Allen of the Center for Education Reform. “But the test will be whether the president will support efforts to ensure that poor and working-class kids just like him have the same life-defining opportunity he had.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/catholic-schools-are-beating-covid-11612221948?
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2. Pope denounces violence against women, demands protection, By Associated Press, February 2, 2021
Pope Francis is denouncing the verbal, physical, psychological and sexual violence that women endure and is demanding greater protections for them.
Francis dedicated his February prayer intentions to female victims of violence, and said those who commit such abuses are cowards.
“It’s shocking how many women are beaten, insulted, and raped,” he said. “The various forms of ill-treatment that many women suffer are acts of cowardice and a degradation of all humanity. Of men and of all humanity.”
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2021/02/pope-denounces-violence-against-women-demands-protection/
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3. On President Biden, bishop warns against ‘weaponization of Eucharist’, By John Lavenburg, Crux, February 2, 2021
For Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego, the way U.S. bishops should approach President Joe Biden and important issues can in part be answered through a question his mother used to ask: “What would Jesus do?”
In the case of abortion, McElroy said Jesus would say to fight for the unborn child. Immigration, Jesus would say to fight for the children on the border and refugees. And with race, Jesus would say you need to fight for those who are victims.
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“I do not see how depriving the President or other political leaders of Eucharist based on their public policy stance can be interpreted in our society as anything other than the weaponization of Eucharist and an effort not to convince people by argument and by dialogue and by reason, but, rather, to pummel them into submission on the issue,” McElroy said.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2021/02/on-president-biden-bishop-warns-against-weaponization-of-eucharist/
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4. Carl Anderson receives Pro-life Legacy Award, By Catholic News Agency, February 1, 2021, 4:28 PM
Upon receiving the a lifetime achievement award from the March for Life, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson of the Knights of Columbus reflected on the accomplishments of the pro-life movement and emphasized four of its pillars.
Anderson spoke during the virtual Rose Dinner Gala Jan. 29 after receiving the 2021 Pro-life Legacy Award.
“I am very honored to receive the March for Life lifetime achievement award and to have the opportunity to speak to you about this great cause,” he said.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/carl-anderson-receives-pro-life-legacy-award-60829
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5. California bishops challenge state’s extension of statute of limitations for abuse, By Catholic News Agency, February 1, 2021, 3:45 PM
California bishops are asking a judge to overturn a state law that extends the statute of limitations for sexual abuse claims.
The state now allows adult survivors of child sexual abuse to file civil claims in old abuse cases until the age of 40, or five years after an adult survivor realizes they have been abused.
In addition, survivors are eligible under the law for triple damages in the event of an institutional cover up of the abuse. Previously, survivors of child sex abuse had to file civil claims by age 26, or within three years of realizing their abuse.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/california-bishops-challenge-states-extension-of-statute-of-limitations-for-abuse-92898
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6. Bishops praise Biden for actions on ‘racial equity’, By Catholic News Agency, February 1, 2021, 9:45AM
U.S. bishops on Monday praised the Biden administration for its “actions to promote racial equity” in housing and criminal justice reform.
“The federal government has a critical role to play in overcoming and redressing our nation’s history of discrimination, and we hope the administration follows through on the important work of promoting fair housing and human dignity,” Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City and Bishop Shelton Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux said in a joint statement on Monday.
Archbishop Coakley chairs the domestic justice committee of the U.S. bishops’ conference (USCCB), and Bishop Fabre chairs the USCCB’s anti-racism committee.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/us-bishops-praise-president-joe-biden-for-actions-on-racial-equity-83730
___________________________________________________________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. |
