1. Report on sexual abuse in German diocese faults retired pope, By Geir Moulson, Associated Press, January 20, 2022
A long-awaited report on sexual abuse in Germany’s Munich diocese on Thursday faulted retired Pope Benedict XVI’s handling of four cases when he was archbishop in the 1970s and 1980s. The law firm that drew up the report said Benedict strongly denies any wrongdoing.
The findings, though, were sure to reignite criticism of Benedict’s record more than a decade after the first, and until Thursday only, known case involving him was made public.
https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-pope-benedict-xvi-reinhard-marx-germany-europe-c75f721f469f969d05348703c093e53d
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2. Pakistan court sentences woman to death for blasphemy, By Associated Press, January 20, 2022
A Pakistani court sentenced a Muslim woman to death after finding her guilty of blasphemy for insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad in text messages she sent to a friend, an official said Thursday.
The woman, Aneeqa Atteeq, was arrested in May 2020 after the man alerted police that she sent him caricatures of the Prophet — considered sacrilegious — via WhatsApp.
Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting the religion or religious figures can be sentenced to death. While authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy, just the accusation can cause riots.
https://apnews.com/article/islam-religion-94d390a8e0c8971f3aee97d7e123859f
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3. Planned Parenthood sues to stop South Dakota abortion rule, By Associated Press, January 20, 2022
A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday by Planned Parenthood aims to prevent the state of South Dakota from implementing a new rule for medical abortions that would make the state one of the hardest places in the nation to get abortion pills.
The rule approved by lawmakers earlier this month requires women to return to a doctor to receive the second of two drugs used to carry out a medication abortion. Usually women receive both drugs in one visit, taking the second medication at home. The regulation is expected to go into effect later this month.
https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-planned-parenthood-south-dakota-medication-a1094e40dea21d936def5d00859b3c55
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4. Pro-lifers plan smaller march, but with higher hopes this year, By Sean Salai, The Washington Times, January 20, 2022, Pg. A1
Pro-life activists expect higher enthusiasm and smaller crowds when the March for Life returns in person Friday to the nation’s capital with tighter COVID-19 restrictions and anticipation of a Supreme Court decision that could overturn Roe v. Wade.
“We are profoundly grateful for the countless women, men and families who sacrifice to come out in such great numbers each year as a witness for life,” said Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life, whose annual event was a virtual affair last year.
In their National Park Service application, march organizers estimated about 50,000 participants for a demonstration against abortion. More than twice as many showed up for the 2020 event, where President Trump addressed the activists.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/jan/19/pro-lifers-expect-higher-enthusiasm-smaller-crowds/
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5. Pro-life leaders blast abortion’s ‘irreparable damage’ to Black community, By Valerie Richardson, The Washington Times, January 20, 2022, Pg. A7
The fabric of Angela Minter’s life is inextricably woven with abortion. She said she was born in Detroit after surviving a botched procedure, then underwent two abortions in her teens before giving birth to three children.
Now the president of Sisters for Life, Ms. Minter appeared Wednesday with other pro-life leaders ahead of the 49th annual March for Life to condemn abortion’s disparate impact on Black women, who account for more than one-third of all U.S. procedures even though they make up 15% of the childbearing population. “Washington, D.C.: 55% of the abortions obtained are Black women. In Michigan, 50%. In Alabama, 62%. In my state, Kentucky, that number is roughly the same,” Ms. Minter said at a press conference. “How would you know that, Angela? Because I do sidewalk counseling there at the Planned Parenthood there, the Planned Parenthood that told me where to go to get my abortion.”
She cited figures from a report released Wednesday by the Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE), “The Impact of Abortion in the Black Community,” which found that, “Disproportionately, the leading consumer of abortion services is the African-American female.”
In 2018, 33.6% of all U.S. abortions were obtained by non-Hispanic Black women. In 2019, that figure rose to 38.6%, ahead of non-Hispanic White women, who accounted for 33.4%, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures from 30 states and jurisdictions that reported race by ethnicity data.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/jan/19/pro-life-leaders-blast-abortions-irreparable-damag/
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6. Pope to soon declare 37th doctor of the church: St. Irenaeus, By Associated Press, January 20, 2022
A 2nd-century saint known as a bridge between eastern and western Christianity took another step Thursday toward being declared a doctor of the church, one of the highest honors in the Catholic Church.
The head of the Vatican’s saint-making office, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, told Pope Francis that the office’s members had agreed that St. Irenaeus should receive the honor, and proposed that Francis declare it, the Vatican said.
Thursday’s audience was something of a formality since Francis had already announced in October that he intended to soon declare Irenaeus the “doctor of unity,” though no date has been set.
https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-christianity-religion-4ae801c6ff1e8e896c1da139e6c17f6c
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7. Knights of Malta warn Vatican reforms risk their sovereignty, By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, January 19, 2022
A top leader of the Knights of Malta, an ancient aristocratic Catholic order that provides humanitarian aid around the world, warned the group’s members on Wednesday that the Holy See’s latest proposals to reform the order threaten its internationally recognized status as a sovereign state.
The Knights’ grand chancellor, Albrecht von Boeselager, wrote a letter to the Knights’ members saying the Vatican proposals contradict assurances he had been given that Pope Francis doesn’t want to put the order’s sovereignty at risk. That sovereign status allows the Knights to have diplomatic relations with more than 100 countries, which facilitates the delivery of humanitarian aid in war zones and conflict areas, and participate in the U.N. and other international organizations as an observer state.
Von Boeselager, who acts as the order’s prime minister and foreign minister, said he would normally raise his objections directly with the Holy See, from one sovereign state to another. “But that avenue has been closed to me,” he wrote in the letter obtained by The Associated Press, suggesting he had essentially been cut off from direct contact with the Vatican.
https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-malta-europe-religion-113a76200b7214ac150bf4201a4ecf9b
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8. Scholarships, loan relief for abortion workers in California budget proposal, By Kevin J. Jones, Catholic News Agency, January 19, 2022, 5:00 PM
California health care workers who commit to providing abortions could see their student loans repaid and prospective abortion industry workers could receive scholarships, if lawmakers retain a $20 million proposal in the state’s new draft budget.
The proposal drew criticism from pro-life advocates who worry it creates terrible incentives.
Kathleen Domingo, executive director of the California Catholic Conference, called the proposal “a gross overreach of what most Californians would want our tax dollars to go to.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250151/scholarships-loan-relief-for-abortion-workers-in-california-budget-proposal
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9. Synod of Bishops’ Resources Website Links to Women’s Ordination Group, The Women’s Ordination Conference, founded in 1975, describes itself as “the oldest and largest organization working to ordain women as deacons, priests, and bishops.”, By Catholic News Agency, January 19, 2022
A website overseen by the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican has linked to a group campaigning for women’s ordination.
In a post dated Jan. 15, the Synodresources.org website shared information about the Women’s Ordination Conference organization, based in Washington, D.C.
Thierry Bonaventura, communication manager of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, told CNA on Jan. 19 that the website was not promoting the group.
https://www.ncregister.com/cna/synod-of-bishops-resources-website-links-to-women-s-ordination-group
___________________________________________________________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. |
