TCA Podcast, – “Conversations with Consequences,” Episode 167 – Sister Mary Grace Of Sisters Of Life & Marie Joseph On Legacy Of Life!
As pro-life pregnancy centers are being vandalized across the country after the reversal of Roe, we visit with Sister Mary Grace of the Sisters of Life about their real love for both mother and child–and their ongoing work serving both. We also talk with Marie Joseph of Legacy of Life Foundation about the work she is doing in Pennsylvania helping women choose life–and their daily prayer requests for women who are contemplating abortion. Father Roger Landry also offers an inspiring homily for this Sunday’s Gospel as the country celebrates Independence Day. Catch the show every Saturday at 7amET/5pmET on EWTN radio!
https://thecatholicassociation.org/podcast/ep-167-sister-mary-grace-of-sisters-of-life-marie-joseph-on-legacy-of-life/
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1. Biden backs filibuster exception to protect abortion access, By Chris Megerian, Associated Press, July 1, 2022
President Joe Biden said Thursday that he would support an exception to the Senate filibuster to protect abortion access, a shift that comes as Democrats coalesce around an election-year message intended to rally voters who are outraged or deflated by the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-nato-abortion-biden-us-supreme-court-5bb634fe6efba38a3560ccf31472b5a5
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2. America’s Coming Charity Deficit, By Ericka Andersen, The Wall Street Journal, July 1, 2022, Pg. A15, Opinion
The decline of religious belief in America will cause incalculable spiritual damage, but even nonbelievers should worry about the practical consequences of an increasingly secular U.S. Consider the ticking time bomb of philanthropic demise set to detonate in the coming years.
“People who are religiously affiliated are more likely to make a charitable donation of any kind, whether to a religious congregation or to another type of charitable organization,” according to a 2017 report from Giving USA. The organization found that 62% of religious households give to charity, compared with 46% of nonreligious ones. The Almanac of American Philanthropy reports that those who attend religious services regularly give to secular causes at more than double the rate of those who don’t.
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Looking outside traditional venues for charitable giving could help stem some of the expected losses in the coming decades, but it’s unlikely these efforts will fill the gaps entirely. The reality is that regular participation in a religious community is unparalleled in terms of bolstering funding and awareness for the most vulnerable people.
But giving more people more ways to expand and maintain their charitable giving in everyday life is better than nothing. And by the grace of God, bringing religious “nones” into the charitable fold could have the welcome side effect of bringing them back to religion.
Ms. Andersen is author of “Return to Reason: Why Women Need the Church and the Church Needs Women,” forthcoming in January.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-charity-deficit-giving-nones-generosity-crisis-baby-boomers-faith-religion-families-civil-society-11656618437?
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3. Judge to temporarily block Florida’s 15-week abortion ban, By Anthony Izaguirre, Associated Press, June 30, 2022
A Florida judge on Thursday said he would temporarily block a 15-week abortion ban, following a court challenge by reproductive health providers who say the state constitution guarantees a right to the procedure.
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In his ruling, Cooper said Florida’s law was “unconstitutional in that it violates the privacy provision of the Florida Constitution.”
https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-florida-ron-desantis-legislature-7d8d912cf00f13dd1026848ec2041dc3
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4. USCCB committee chairmen raise concerns on proposed changes to Title IX, By Catholic News Service, Crux, June 30, 2022
The chairmen of three U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committees are raising concerns over a proposed rule to revise regulations governing the 50-year-old Title IX law that promotes women’s equality and opportunity in schools and colleges.
The proposed revisions, released June 23 by the Department of Education, would enshrine the rights of LGBTQ students in federal law and would give victims of campus sexual assault new protections.
However, the committee chairmen said in a June 29 statement that the proposal “contains many provisions of concern to the church and her ministries, to the faithful and the common good.”
The proposed rule requires further study to better assess any future impact, said a joint statement from Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty; Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth; and Bishop Thomas A. Daly of Spokane, Washington, chairman of the Committee on Catholic Education.
“But even at this early stage, it is apparent that the rule’s provisions on discrimination based on ‘pregnancy or related conditions,’ which include ‘termination of pregnancy,’ are intended to have implications for abortion, and therefore, life in the womb,” the bishops said.
“And by adding self-asserted ‘gender identity’ to the prohibition against sex discrimination, the rule may foreshadow a threat to women’s athletics, sex-separated spaces, and the right of students, parents, and teachers to speak the truth about the nature of the human person,” they said.
“It is a sad irony that these rules could effectively erase women and girls from the very law meant to serve them,” the bishops added.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2022/06/usccb-committee-chairmen-raise-concerns-on-proposed-changes-to-title-ix
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5. Guatemalan president demands commission desist from abortion activism, By David Ramos, Catholic News Agency, June 30, 2022, 7:00 PM
In a June 28 protocol session of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C., Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei demanded that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) “respect the sovereignty and freedom of each state” and stop being an “activist” for abortion.
Giammattei criticized the 2021 annual report of the IACHR, which calls out Guatemala in Chapter IV.b.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251686/guatemalan-president-demands-commission-desist-from-abortion-activism
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6. Attacks on churches, pro-life pregnancy centers continue, By Joe Bukuras, Catholic News Agency, June 30, 2022, 6:00 PM
Since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision on Friday, attacks on Catholic churches and pro-life pregnancy centers have been reported in West Virginia, Washington, Virginia, Louisiana, Colorado, California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Indiana.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251687/attacks-on-churches-pro-life-pregnancy-centers-continue
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7. California abortion amendment deserves ‘vigorous opposition’, bishops say, By Kevin J. Jones, Catholic News Agency, June 30, 2022, 4:47 PM
California voters will have the opportunity to approve or reject a strongly pro-abortion amendment to the state constitution in November. The state’s Catholic bishops said the proposal gives a “boundless scope” to ending the lives of the unborn when human lives should instead be protected “at every age in every stage.”
The proposed amendment “looks to enshrine the most extreme forms of abortion into the California Constitution,” the California Catholic Conference warned in a statement signed by the 12 archbishops and bishops leading the state’s 12 dioceses and archdiocese.
“This constitutional amendment, as written, will legalize and protect abortion up to the point just prior to delivery,” the conference said. “It is distressing that so many California legislators would sign their names to legislation that allows the taking of a human life moments before birth.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251684/california-abortion-amendment-deserves-vigorous-opposition-bishops-say
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8. Two Stories – One System, At the conclusion of the Washington Summit on religious freedom Lord Alton heard two stories which illustrate repressive nature of the Chinese Communist Party system., By David Alton, June 30, 2022, 4:47 PM
The CCP’s persecution of religious believers has now reached Hong Kong.
CCP propaganda media such as Ta Kung Pao publish articles attacking churches in Hong Kong and threatening further restrictions One church, the Good Neighbour North District Church, has been raided by police and the bank account of the church and its pastor were frozen by HSBC under pressure from the authorities.
One of China’s most venerable Christian leaders, Cardinal Joseph Zen, has been arrested – while Christians who have been at the forefront of the movement for democracy, human rights and the rule of law languish in prison or face further court cases.
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Speaking at the Washington Summit, Lord Alton said that “ religious persecution is a hallmark of the CCP. Think of Tibet’s Buddhists; Xinjiang’s Uyghur Muslims; Chinese Christians, Falun Gong practitioners. Think of the arrest of the venerable Cardinal Joseph Zen.
“That the CCP regime is a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council is a sick joke. Every minute of every day the CCP breaks Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which guarantees freedom of religion or belief for every citizen, everywhere.”
https://www.davidalton.net/2022/06/30/speaking-at-the-washington-summit-lord-alton-said-that-religious-persecution-is-a-hallmark-of-the-ccp-think-of-tibets-buddhists-xinjiangs-uyghur-muslims-chinese-christia/
__________________________________________________________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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