1. Unsung Heroes Of the Holocaust, In the Garden of the Righteous, By Diane Cole, The Wall Street Journal, January 23, 2023, Pg. A15, Book Review In June 1940, Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Portugal’s consul general in Bordeaux, France, watched from his office window as a stream of Jewish men, women and children flooded his sidewalk. … Sousa Mendes knew that the visas were their only chance of escape but knew also that defying Salazar would mean the end of his career and his ability to support his family of 15 children. His dilemma—whether to obey the dictates of conscience and risk personal harm or to follow orders that would endanger others—is central to the lives of the individuals profiled in Richard Hurowitz’s “In the Garden of the Righteous: The Heroes Who Risked Their Lives to Save Jews During the Holocaust.” Mr. Hurowitz, an independent historian, chronicles 10 remarkable rescue stories, including one in which 10 British POWs banded together to save a 16-year-old concentration-camp escapee. All of these rescuers have since been honored by Israel’s Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, with the title Righteous Among the Nations. … What motivated them to act rather than stand by, as so many others did, in silent complicity? Religious belief was one catalyst for compassion. Having decided to spend his last weeks in France signing as many visas as he could, Sousa Mendes, a devout Catholic, publicly declared to the crowd of refugees outside his consulate: “I would rather stand with God against man than with man against God.” He then proceeded to issue approximately 1,575 visas (by some counts, the number was much higher), thus saving many who would have otherwise perished in the Holocaust. In punishment, Salazar stripped him of his position and his property. Sousa Mendes died penniless but never wavered in his belief that “the true lesson of Christianity is to love one’s neighbor.” … That deeper sense of duty to humanity also infuses the story of Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic nurse and social worker. Appalled by the rampant disease and severe food shortage in the tiny Warsaw ghetto into which 400,000 Jews had been forcibly crammed, she set about organizing a team that smuggled out an estimated 2,500 Jewish children via whatever means possible, from hiding them in garbage bags to sedating them in hearses to sending them through the sewage system. Sendler’s team would then provide the children with false papers under assumed names and place them with new families or at various orphanages, convents and other religious institutions. … The Nazis arrested, tortured and sentenced Sendler to death; she was only freed from execution at the last moment by a bribed prison guard. Her injuries stayed with her the rest of her life, as did her sense of moral purpose. … https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-the-garden-of-the-righteous-review-unsung-heroes-of-the-holocaust-11674419310__________________________________________________________ 2. ‘Here again’: Abortion activists rally 50 years after Roe, By Claire Rush and Harm Venhuizen, Associated Press, January 22, 2023, 6:45 PM From beach cities to snow-covered streets, abortion supporters rallied by the thousands on Sunday to demand protections for reproductive rights and mark the 50th anniversary of the now-overturned Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision that established federal protections for the procedure. The reversal of Roe in June unleashed a flurry of legislation in the states, dividing them between those that have restricted or banned abortion and those that have sought to defend access. The Women’s March, galvanized during Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration in 2017 amid a national reckoning over sexual assaults, said it has refocused on state activism after Roe was tossed. … Sunday’s main march was held in Wisconsin, where upcoming elections could determine the state Supreme Court’s power balance and future abortion rights. But rallies took place in dozens of cities, including Florida’s state capital of Tallahassee, where Vice President Kamala Harris gave a fiery speech before a boisterous crowd. … Some also carried weapons. Lilith K., who declined to provide their last name, stood on the sidewalk alongside protestors, holding an assault rifle and wearing a tactical vest with a holstered handgun. “With everything going on with women and other people losing their rights, and with the recent shootings at Club Q and other LGBTQ night clubs, it’s just a message that we’re not going to take this sitting down,” Lilith said. The march also drew counter-protestors. Most held signs raising religious objections to abortion rights. “I don’t really want to get involved with politics. I’m more interested in what the law of God says,” John Goeke, a Wisconsin resident, said. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/womens-marches-to-draw-thousands-on-50th-anniversary-of-roe/2023/01/22/9ccfd7b8-9a7e-11ed-93e0-38551e88239c_story.html__________________________________________________________ 3. Pope makes plea for end of violence, start of talks in Peru, By Associated Press, January 22, 2023, 7:51 AM Pope Francis on Sunday made an impassioned plea, delivered partly in Spanish, for an end to widening violence in Peru over demands for the resignation of the country’s president. Addressing some 15,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly appearance at a window of the Apostolic Palace, Francis said: “I invite (you) to pray so that the acts of violence cease in Peru.” “Violence extinguishes hope for a just solution to the problems,” the pontiff said. “I encourage all sides involved to take up the path of dialogue among brothers in the same nation, in the full respect of human rights and of the rule of law.” Noting that he was joining in an appeal of Peruvian bishops, Francis switched from speaking Italian to Spanish to exclaim: “No to violence, from whatever part it comes! No more deaths!” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pope-makes-plea-for-end-of-violence-start-of-talks-in-peru/2023/01/22/6cded200-9a53-11ed-93e0-38551e88239c_story.html__________________________________________________________ 4. A Maryland judge perpetuates secrecy on clergy sex abuse, By The Washington Post, January 22, 2023, 9:34 AM, Editorial Secrecy enabled clerical sexual abuse of children in the Roman Catholic Church over decades, and even now the impulse to suppress the appalling details of that abuse remains the main impediment to a full accounting of the church’s worst scandal in centuries. It’s bad enough when the church continues to obstruct the release of information relating to abuse and coverup, even after Pope Francis has taken steps to lift the shroud of confidentiality that blocked disclosure for so long. It compounds the damage when courts abet that effort. That’s what a Maryland judge has done in hiding from public view the findings of a major investigation by the state attorney general’s office into eight decades of clergy sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Circuit Judge Anthony Vittoria sealed not only the 456-page report, completed in November, but also any future related filings by the attorney general’s office, which wants to make it public, or by an anonymous group of church-affiliated individuals named in the report that is trying to block publication. Judge Vittoria even retroactively sealed a 35-page filing by Attorney General Brian Frosh’s office that had already been made public — and remains available online — which argues persuasively for disclosure because “healing is not possible without accountability and accountability is not possible without transparency.” … As the attorney general’s office argued in requesting the report be unsealed, “Time and again, the Archdiocese chose the abuser over the abused, the powerful over the weak, and the adult over the child.” Accountability and transparency can help provide healing to those victims, and courts should support that effort, not hinder it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/20/maryland-catholic-church-clergy-sex-abuse/__________________________________________________________ 5. Harris rallies against GOP push to roll back abortion rights, By Chris Megerian and Seung Min Kim, Associated Press, January 22, 2023, 2:17 PM Vice President Kamala Harris railed against efforts in Washington and in Republican-led states to restrict abortion on what would have been the 50th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, invoking fundamental American values such as freedom to make the case for protecting abortion access despite the Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate constitutional protections for it. Leading the administration’s response on commemorating Roe on Sunday, Harris methodically detailed fights throughout history for certain liberties, such as civil rights and the right to vote for women, and tied that to access for abortion, which Harris called the “fundamental, constitutional, right of a woman to make decisions about her own body.” “Can we truly be free if families cannot make intimate decisions about the course of their own lives?” Harris said in a fiery speech before a boisterous crowd of 1,500 people in Tallahassee, Florida. “And can we truly be free if so-called leaders claim to be quote, I quote, on the vanguard of freedom while they dare to restrict the rights of the American people and attack the very foundations of freedom?” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/abortion-at-crossroads-after-midterms-with-focus-on-states/2023/01/22/95e9140e-9a4d-11ed-93e0-38551e88239c_story.html__________________________________________________________ 6. Second bystander ensnared by English ban on prayer outside abortion clinics, By Kevin J. Jones, Catholic News Agency, January 22, 2023, 5:00 AM Amid continuing controversy over strict limits on behavior outside abortion clinics in some English cities, a man faces a fine for praying silently outside one clinic in memory of his dead son. “I would never have imagined being in a position to risk a criminal record for praying silently,” Adam Smith-Connor said, according to the legal group supporting him, Alliance Defending Freedom UK. Smith-Connor had approached a British Pregnancy Advisory Service abortion facility in Bournemouth, in the southwest English county of Dorset. He intended to pray for his unborn son, who had died in an abortion he helped procure at a similar facility more than two decades ago. Smith-Connor stood silently with his back to the clinic to respect the privacy of staff and visitors, according to Alliance Defending Freedom UK. Community safety officers inquired about what he was doing, and Smith-Connor replied: “Praying for my son, who is deceased.” … The attorney compared the case to that of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, who was arrested in Birmingham Dec. 6, 2022, for standing still and praying silently outside an abortion facility, which was closed at the time. Vaughan-Spruce, 45, faces four counts of violating that city’s protection order.  https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253422/second-bystander-ensnared-by-english-ban-on-prayer-outside-abortion-clinics__________________________________________________________ 7. Supreme Court Tackles Respect for the Sabbath in ‘Groff v. DeJoy’, The United States was founded on the respect for the religious beliefs of all its citizens., By Andrea M. Picciotti-Bayer, National Catholic Register, January 22, 2023, Opinion Gerald Groff began working for the U.S. Postal Service in 2012 as a mailman at a rural outpost in Pennsylvania. In 2013, USPS signed a contract with Amazon to deliver its packages.  The deal required those packages to be delivered on Sundays and holidays. Gross is a strict Sabbatarian Christian, so he refused because it would violate the Third Commandment. A long-running dispute began — and now the case will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.  … Not all Americans will feel huge sympathy for Gerald Groff; however you read the situation, his supervisors tried to accommodate him, and one can understand why coworkers complained. That said, we mustn’t forget that Groff’s Sabbatarian beliefs would once have been held by a majority of American churchgoers. They were part of the fabric of our lives. Just as we do not expect observant Jews to violate the Sabbath by working after sundown on Fridays, we shouldn’t refuse to extend a similar protection to Christians with Sabbatarian beliefs that were once mainstream — and held by many Catholics. If we do, we will be making nonsense of the legal guarantees of religious freedom. It really is as simple as that. Oral argument in Groff v. DeJoy has not yet been scheduled. A decision by the Court is expected by late June. https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/supreme-court-tackles-respect-for-the-sabbath-in-groff-v-dejoy__________________________________________________________ 8. Ivan Provorov Went to a Hockey Game, and a Culture War Broke Out, By Tal Fortgang, The Wall Street Journal, January 21, 2023, Pg. A13, Opinion American pluralism is a glorious thing. Dedication to shared ideals and the commitment to living peacefully among compatriots of all colors and creeds can bring out the best in us. It unites people of all religions, national origins and other historical sources of division in defending our aspirations to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Yet that pluralism is in peril today, compelling me, an American Orthodox Jew, to defend Ivan Provorov, a Russian Orthodox Christian and professional hockey player. Mr. Provorov, a defenseman for the Philadelphia Flyers, has come under fire for refusing to wear a “Pride Night” jersey bearing the rainbow flag or use a rainbow-taped hockey stick during warm-ups before the team’s game on Tuesday. Mr. Provorov told reporters he declined to participate “to stay true to myself and my religion.” He added, “I respect everyone. I respect everybody’s choices.” When a die-hard New York Rangers fan is roused to defend a member of the Philadelphia Flyers, something is wrong indeed. Hockey rivalries aside, there is a bitter irony to religious people of all backgrounds and loyalties having to play defense for a fundamental principle of free societies: that no one should be forced to show support for a cause that violates his conscience. This is true whether or not the person is motivated by religion. A nation committed to religious liberty shouldn’t descend into antireligious—or in this case, anti-Christian—fervor. … Many religious people see freedom as the proper end of our shared political life, precisely because we recognize that every American sees and pursues the good life differently. But we do so understanding that freedom to live as one pleases is a two-way street. So most of all, that flag and the fiery demands to respect the orthodoxy that invariably accompanies it are a violation of the pluralist compromise. Those who wave and wear it preach tolerance but don’t seem committed to that value in the face of other viewpoints. Mr. Provorov may not have thought it through on those terms, but he knows a basic truth. He is being compelled to support the tenets of a faith other than his own. And here in America, we believe that is wrong. Mr. Fortgang is a fellow at the Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty. https://www.wsj.com/articles/ivan-provorov-went-to-a-hockey-game-and-a-culture-war-broke-out-lgbt-pride-night-jersey-nhl-russian-11674224141__________________________________________________________ 9. Historic Black churches receive $4M in preservation grants, By Aaron Morrison, Associated Press, January 20, 2023, 12:33 PM Administrators of a trust fund established to preserve historic Black churches in the United States on Friday revealed a list of houses of worship receiving $4 million in financial grants. … Since before the abolition of slavery, the Black church has been an epicenter for the cultural, social and educational pursuits of its members. The church has also played a role in brokering congregants’ relationship to political power. It’s not uncommon for politicians, most often Democrats, to campaign from Black church pulpits. … St. Rita Catholic Church in Indianapolis, another action fund grantee, will receive $100,000 to fix its bell tower and repair the main structure’s masonry, which date back to 1958. … “The Black community, some time back, considered the Catholic Church to be the church for the whites,” Ntawugashira said. “They are going to understand that the Catholic Church is universal and it doesn’t close doors to anyone. They belong to a global community.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/historic-black-churches-receive-4m-in-preservation-grants/2023/01/20/8dabf47a-98e8-11ed-a173-61e055ec24ef_story.html__________________________________________________________ 10. March for Life eyes Congress for post-Roe abortion limits, By Ashraf Khalil and Calvin Woodward, Associated Press, January 20, 2023, 5:47 PM A half century after Roe v. Wade, March for Life supporters on Friday celebrated the Supreme Court’s dismantling of that constitutional right to abortion and heralded the political struggle set loose by the court’s decision. President Joe Biden pledged to do all in his limited power to restore core abortion rights. The first March for Life since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June came with a new focus. Instead of concentrating their attention on the court, the marchers vowed to push for action from the building directly across the street: the U.S. Capitol. Congress, movement leaders say, must be warned against making any attempt to curtail the multiple anti-abortion laws imposed last year in a dozen states. Tens of thousands spread across a section of the National Mall for speeches, the Capitol Building in sight, then marched. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/march-for-life-returns-to-dc-with-new-post-roe-v-wade-focus/2023/01/20/a0e6848a-9882-11ed-a173-61e055ec24ef_story.html__________________________________________________________ 11. ‘We want women to thrive’ – A look inside a Chicago maternity home, By Michelle La Rosa, The Pillar, January 20, 2023, 3:49 AM Gina grew up in a Chicago suburb. In 2019, she discovered she was pregnant with her second child. At the time, she was homeless, and running from the law. She was addicted to drugs and alcohol. … She met with her mom for lunch, and her mom gave her a 1-800 number to call if she wanted help. “I didn’t think they were actually going to help me. Probably just give me some feel good words over the phone and that would be it,” she recalled. Gina didn’t expect much from the number. But she felt like she was out of options, so she gave it a try. She was connected with Aid for Women— a Catholic network of five pregnancy centers and two maternity homes in the Chicago area. Shortly thereafter, Gina moved into Heather’s House, one of the two maternity homes run by Aid for Women. The staff at the house helped her prepare for her baby. They helped her stay clean and sober. They paid for her first year of school. They connected her with resources. Today, Gina and her daughter live in a two bedroom apartment in a Chicago suburb. Her older son is in the process of returning to live with her. Gina is working full time and is studying to be a sonographer. She wants to do ultrasounds at Aid for Women’s pregnancy centers. … Aid for Women is one of more than 400 maternity homes in the United States that offer practical, hands-on support for women during pregnancy and the first years postpartum. Residents at the organization’s maternity homes receive food, maternity and infant supplies, life skills training, educational and employment assistance, postpartum aid, and other support. … Heather’s House has rules. Residents must log 40 hours of productivity a week. If they want to leave the house – even just for a few hours – they must fill out a request form three days in advance. And they are expected to attend daily prayer and weekly Mass with the staff. Gina said she was upset about the rules at first. But looking back, she realizes they gave her life structure and accountability and purpose. … She thinks the work of maternity homes is an important part of the pro-life movement. When she hears people argue that pro-life advocates don’t care about women and babies after birth, Faith steps forward. “I love those arguments. I walk fully into those arguments,” she said. “Because I say, ‘Hi, we do that. We don’t just want babies to be born. We want women to thrive.’” https://www.pillarcatholic.com/we-want-women-to-thrive-a-look-inside-a-chicago-maternity-home/__________________________________________________________ 12. Does Dobbs violate the establishment clause?, By Ruth Marcus, The Washington Post, January 20, 2023, 9:04 AM, Opinion “How is your interest anything but a religious view?” Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked the lawyer for the state of Mississippi during oral arguments in the case that would later eliminate the constitutional right to abortion. “So when you say this is the only right that takes away from the state the ability to protect a life, that’s a religious view, isn’t it?” … Now, a lawsuit filed by 13 members of the clergy in Missouri picks up on Sotomayor’s question and builds on the companion constitutional protection against establishment of a state religion. On a federal level, this argument would be an almost certain loser, with a Supreme Court that has demonstrated increasing willingness to blur the line of separation between church and state. Even in 1980, when the court took a stricter view of church-state separation, it refused to hold that the law barring Medicaid funding for the procedure violated the establishment clause. “The fact that the funding restrictions in the Hyde Amendment may coincide with the religious tenets of the Roman Catholic Church does not, without more, contravene that Clause,” it said. The outcome in Missouri courts could be different, though its abortion law — passed in 2019 with a near-complete ban on abortion in anticipation of Roe v. Wade being overturned — is explicitly grounded on religion. … Whatever its ultimate resolution, the Missouri lawsuit highlights the religious tensions unavoidable in the post-Dobbs debate. Yes, other religious and moral views are written into civil law — “Thou shalt not kill.” But abortion is uniquely grounded on metaphysical and, ultimately, religious convictions about when life begins. “How is your interest anything but a religious view?” I still haven’t heard a convincing answer to Sotomayor’s vexing question. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/20/abortion-dobbs-establishment-clause-sotomayor/__________________________________________________________ 13. German diocese guide on ‘sexual diversity’ is sharp contrast to Vatican texts, By Michelle La Rosa, The Pillar, January 20, 2023, 9:13 PM Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, Germany, issued last year a pastoral guide on sexual education in his diocese, which calls for the acceptance and blessing of same-sex couples, and stands in stark contrast to recent Vatican guidance on the same subjectsThe Limburg guide is dated May 17, 2022, but was made public this week.  It instructs diocesan institutions and parishes to respect different lifestyles and to “actively promote” an appreciation of “diversity in sexual identity and orientation.” “Sexuality is not only between man and woman. But also between woman and woman. Or between man and man. Or between people who feel neither like a woman nor like a man,” the guide says. It stresses the need for acceptance of all of these different arrangements, and says the Diocese of Limburg welcomes all couples who wish to have their partnership blessed.The guide says that Catholic educators should encourage people “in their sexual self-determination, to which every human being has a right.” “Self-determination means a person decides something for himself,” it adds. Adolescents having their first sexual experiences, the guide says, “need to be supported in developing their identity, in questions of education, contraception, unwanted pregnancies and avoiding the transmission of sexual diseases.” The document echoes a failed German “synodal way” proposal, which called for “re-defining the emphasis of the Church’s sexual teaching to a significant degree.” The failed proposal argued, among other things, that homosexual activity should not be viewed as inherently immoral. While the Limburg guide repeatedly stresses the need to be welcoming and accepting in discussions surrounding sexuality, it does not include the Catechism’s teaching that “Sexuality is ordered to the conjugal love of man and woman” and “is realized in a truly human way only if it is an integral part of the love by which a man and woman commit themselves totally to one another until death.” The Limburg guidelines stand in stark contrast to “Male and Female He Created Them,” a 2019 document issued by the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education. https://www.pillarcatholic.com/german-diocese-guide-on-sexual-diversity-is-sharp-contrast-to-vatican-texts/__________________________________________________________ 14. Pope Francis reviewed 2nd Cardinal Ouellet misconduct allegation, By Luke Coppen, The Pillar, January 20, 2023, 8:57 PM Pope Francis reviewed a second accusation of sexual misconduct against Vatican Cardinal Marc Ouellet, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Quebec confirmed Thursday. The spokesperson told the Quebec-based news agency Présence on Jan. 19 that the misconduct allegation against the prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops was reported to Cardinal Gérald Lacroix, the archbishop of Quebec. “As soon as Cardinal Gérald C. Lacroix received this complaint, it was immediately forwarded to Cardinal Ouellet’s immediate superior, Pope Francis, as provided for in the procedure established by the motu proprio Vos estis lux mundi on the handling of abuse committed or concealed by a bishop,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson was responding to a report published Jan. 18 by the French Catholic magazine Golias, which said that a woman it identified as “Marie” made unspecified misconduct allegations against Ouellet, which are said to date back to 2008 and 2009, when the cardinal was archbishop of Quebec. https://www.pillarcatholic.com/pope-francis-reviewed-2nd-cardinal-ouellet-misconduct-allegation/__________________________________________________________ 15. Cincinnati Archbishop Restricts ‘Ad Orientem’ Mass Posture, Similar to the policy in La Crosse, Wisconsin, the Dec. 19 document from Archbishop Dennis Schnurr states at least one public Mass must be celebrated facing the people on Sunday and holy days, By Judy Roberts, National Catholic Register, January 20, 2023 The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has restricted the celebration of the Mass ad orientem, joining a number of dioceses that have done so in the past two years. With his decree, Archbishop Schnurr joins other bishops across the country who have either restricted the use of ad orientem or banned it, a trend some may find disturbing, but which others, including Archbishop Schnurr, see as furthering unity in liturgical practice. In a decree issued Dec. 21 and effective Jan. 19, Archbishop Schnurr ordered that in every church where a public Mass is scheduled, at least one Mass be offered versus populum (facing the people) on Sundays and other days of obligation . Further, the chancery must be informed in writing in advance of implementing a parish Mass schedule that includes Mass regularly celebrated ad orientem (facing, along with the congregation, toward the liturgical east).  … Among other dioceses that have banned or limited the use of ad orientem are Venice, Florida, and Chicago, both of which require permission from the bishop to celebrate ad orientem, and Seattle and Boise, Idaho, which have prohibited the posture for the Mass of Paul VI, also referred to as the Novus Ordo.  https://www.ncregister.com/news/cincinnati-archbishop-restricts-ad-orientem-mass-posture__________________________________________________________ 16. Marching Forward, In the post-Roe era, there is a great need to coordinate and enhance our pro-life efforts at the national level and state level in order to convert hearts and minds to the pro-life cause., By Michael Warsaw, National Catholic Register, January 20, 2023, Opinion To “state” the obvious, now that the demise of Roe v. Wade has returned abortion law to the authority of individual U.S. states, there is a greatly enhanced need for pro-life advocacy at this level.  But what might be less obvious is that, in the post-Roe era, there is a similarly enhanced need to coordinate pro-life efforts at the national level and to explore new avenues to convert hearts and minds to the pro-life cause.  Indeed, these changed dynamics were the central theme for this year’s March for Life in Washington, which will continue to be the annual centerpiece of the collective efforts by faithful Catholics and our pro-life allies to protect unborn lives nationwide.  … The vast majority of pro-life Americans aren’t able to travel to Washington to participate personally in the March for Life. But in light of its commitment to expand the number of local marches in this new post-Roe era, there will be additional opportunities to join personally in one of these inspiring and public affirmations of life. And even when Catholics still can’t march in person, all of us can be permanently “on the march” for unborn life most importantly through prayer and by supporting vital pro-life efforts financially and through volunteer work. In this way, we can continue marching forward together for life! https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/marchingforward2023__________________________________________________________ 17. Biden commemorates abortion as pro-lifers march in Washington, By Tyler Arnold, Catholic News Agency, January 20, 2023, 5:45 PM As tens of thousands of pro-life activists marched to the Supreme Court on Friday for the annual March for Life, President Joe Biden issued a pro-abortion proclamation to commemorate the anniversary of the now-obsolete Roe V. Wade decision. “I call upon Americans to honor generations of advocates who have fought for reproductive freedom, to recognize the countless women whose lives and futures have been saved and shaped by the Roe v. Wade decision, and to march forward with purpose as we work together to restore the right to choose,” Biden said in his proclamation. The president officially recognized Jan. 22 as the 50th anniversary of Roe V. Wade, saying the Supreme Court “got Roe right 50 years ago.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253421/biden-commemorates-abortion-as-pro-lifers-march-in-washington__________________________________________________________ 18. Connecticut pro-life pregnancy center drops lawsuit against state’s ‘deceptive advertising’ ban, By Matt McDonald, Catholic News Agency, January 20, 2023, 6:30 PM A pro-life pregnancy center in Connecticut has ended its legal challenge of a state statute that bans what it calls “deceptive advertising” by such centers. A lawyer representing Care Net Pregnancy Resource Center of Southeastern Connecticut said his clients are satisfied that the state attorney general, William Tong, isn’t taking action against crisis pregnancy centers in the state. “Connecticut Attorney General Tong revealed in the litigation that he is not aware of any women being deceived by pro-life pregnancy centers. Therefore, he currently has no basis to enforce this law. Our client, Care Net New London, will continue to focus their energy and resources on serving unborn children and their mothers,” said Mark Lippelman, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, in a written statement to the National Catholic Register through a spokesman. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253418/connecticut-crisis-pregnancy-center-drops-lawsuit-against-states-deceptive-advertising-ban__________________________________________________________ 19. The Next Phase of the Abortion Fight Is Happening Right Now in New York, By Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times, January 20, 2023, Opinion … For those with unwanted pregnancies who live in states with abortion prohibitions, using medication to self-manage an abortion is sometimes the only option. “It’s only a minority of people who can afford the travel,” said Prine. Nonprofits like the Brigid Alliance can help cover expenses, but they can’t ensure people have child care they trust, make their bosses give them time off from work, or explain their absence to unsupportive parents. “So some people are figuring out how to get pills as best as they can,” Prine said. Doing so can take a frighteningly long time. The Biden administration has authorized telehealth providers to prescribe and ship abortion pills, but online pharmacies won’t mail pills to states where abortion is illegal. Women can rent post office boxes in blue states and then have their mail forwarded, but Prine said that some telehealth providers check their patients’ IP addresses. For people in prohibition states, one of the most reliable sources of mail-order pills is the European organization Aid Access, which Prine works closely with. But because those pills are shipped from India, they can take up to three weeks to arrive, an eternity for someone desperate to end an unwanted pregnancy. … It’s because of this terror and distress that Prine, along with a few other intrepid doctors, is preparing to start mailing abortion pills across state lines. Before she can get up and running, though, she needs New York to pass a bill ensuring that the state will try to protect her from red state prosecutors and lawsuits. … Shield laws for telemedicine abortions are at the cutting edge of pro-choice lawmaking. They’re an attempt, at a time of staggering loss, for supporters of abortion rights to go on the offensive. In anticipation of the fall of Roe v. Wade — a decision that would have turned 50 next week — several blue states, including New York, passed laws protecting abortion providers who care for those traveling from places with abortion bans. Telemedicine shield laws go much further, attempting to protect doctors who break the laws of anti-abortion states by helping the women in them have abortions at home. Right now, only Massachusetts has such a law, but New York may soon join it; this week, a bill sponsored by State Senator Shelley Mayer was voted out of committee. “We just can’t back away because it’s complicated,” said Mayer. “The doctors are not backing away.” … https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/20/opinion/new-york-abortion-rights-legislation.html__________________________________________________________ 20. The First Post-Roe March for Life Was Euphoric—and a Little Confused, Where does the anti-abortion movement go from here?, By Molly Olmstead And Christina Cauterucci, Slate, January 21, 2023, 10:30 AM, Opinion In a large hotel ballroom awash in pink and purple lighting, pro-life advocates gathered Thursday morning in D.C. for the first major event of the 2023 March for Life. The event, called “Capitol Hill 101,” was an informational session focused on refuting pro-choice talking points and on pushing legislators to assist in the anti-abortion fight of a post-Roe world. Topics of discussion included bills to outlaw “late-term” abortions; bills blocking the sale of abortion pills; bills preventing any government funding from going to abortions; bills funding “pro-life safety net” organizations; and “conscience protection” bills that would allow healthcare providers to more easily avoid providing abortion-related care. Over the course of an hour, four panelists repeatedly reminded the crowd, seated around round banquet tables, that the pro-life movement had entered a new phase, that it was an exciting opportunity for a new, bold direction for the movement. The March for Life has been around for nearly 50 years, but now that Roe has been overturned, there’s a certain new feeling of euphoria—and, to some degree, confusion as to what to make of the big victory and its aftermath.  … Polling consistently shows that most Americans—including most Catholics—support legal abortion in most or all cases. And many pundits have blamed the failure of a “red wave” to materialize in the midterms squarely on Dobbs. In other words, the overturning of Roe may have created unexpected repercussions—and left the movement scrambling to figure out why it isn’t in the place it hoped to be. At the more practical and sedate Capitol Hill 101 session on Thursday, the court of public opinion was framed as the “abortion lobby” —an entity whose influence was rationalized as remaining exceptionally powerful. “We are being outspent,” said Maureen Ferguson, a senior fellow at the Catholic Association. “You saw what that did in November.” https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/01/march-for-life-abortion-washington-dc.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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