1. Medical students shunned a doctor because of her abortion views. Is this what America has become?, The protesting University of Michigan students didn’t care what the doctor actually said – they were making a point about disagreeing with her beliefs., By Ingrid Jacques, USA Today, July 28, 2022, 6:02 AM, Opinion
After being chosen for the honor of speaking to the medical school’s annual white coat ceremony for incoming students, Collier was not granted the respect she deserved by a large number of students who walked out Sunday as she gave her keynote address.
The aspiring doctors decided shunning was called for because Collier holds personal religious views and is anti-abortion. In addition to her other roles, she is the director of the medical school’s program on health, spirituality and religion.
Yet, Collier did not address abortion in her speech. Instead, she gave a warm welcome to the students and offered sound advice about how to approach the work of caring for others.
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This kind of intolerance for other views on abortion is on full display in my state of Michigan, not just in the academic realm but in the political one as well, with both sides pushing the debate to extremes.
The lack of middle ground is out of line with polls that show the majority of Americans want compromise. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has sent decisions about abortion laws back to the states, Michigan is far from alone in grappling with these issues.
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Most worrisome is a ballot initiative, backed by Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, that seeks to enshrine abortion rights in the Michigan Constitution.
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But voters who could see this Reproductive Freedom for All proposal on the ballot – and don’t know all the details behind it – could think it sounds better than the other option, the archaic 1931 law.
Those who are anti-abortion should tread carefully in this moment. If they show no ability to compromise, then the alternative might be even more abortion access than there was under Roe. That’s hardly what they want.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/07/28/abortion-extremists-both-sides-undermine-cause/10155296002/
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2. Abortion, Communion and the Weight of Sin, By Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, The Wall Street Journal, July 28, 2022, Pg. A16, Letter to the Editor
Father James Martin contradicts basic Catholic moral principles and theology in his case against denying communion to those who persist in manifest, grave sin (“Abortion and the Grumbling Crowd,” Houses of Worship, July 22). Jesus broke bread with sinners, but he called them to conversion. He didn’t leave them in sin. He required that they choose between following him and rejecting his call.
No one is worthy to receive communion, but Jesus gave us the sacrament of reconciliation. “Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of penance,” the catechism teaches. To receive absolution, the penitent must have sincere contrition, which includes “the resolution not to sin again.” This applies to all mortal sins.
Typically, such matters are private and impossible for the minister of holy communion to know. But with a public figure who publicly and obstinately persists in promoting grave evil, the matter is laid bare for all to see, adding scandal and confusion of the faithful to the weight of the sin.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/abortion-holy-communion-catholic-church-eucharist-james-martin-pelosi-biden-11658904582?
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3. Canada says pope’s apology to Indigenous not enough, By Nicole Winfield and Rob Gillies, Associated Press, July 28, 2022, 3:13 AM
The Canadian government made clear Wednesday that Pope Francis’ apology to Indigenous peoples for abuses in the country’s church-run residential schools didn’t go far enough, suggesting that reconciliation over the fraught history is still very much a work in progress.
The official government reaction came as Francis arrived in Quebec City for meetings with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Governor General Mary Simon at her Quebec residence, the hilltop Citadelle fortress, on the second leg of Francis’ week-long visit to Canada.
The government’s criticisms echo those of some survivors and concern Francis’ omission of any reference to the sexual abuse suffered by Indigenous children in the schools, as well as his original reluctance to name the Catholic Church as an institution bearing responsibility.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/canada-says-popes-apology-to-indigenous-not-enough/2022/07/27/d033695a-0dff-11ed-88e8-c58dc3dbaee2_story.html
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4. Bishops: HHS proposals are ‘violation of religious freedom and bad medicine’, By John Lavenburg, Crux, July 28, 2022
Proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act that were announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on July 25 are “a violation of religious freedom and bad medicine,” according to multiple U.S. Bishops’ Conference chairmen.
Chief among the bishops’ concerns are regulations that would mandate healthcare workers to perform transgender surgeries and require health insurance providers to cover the procedures. They also fear that HHS will force healthcare workers to perform abortions, or risk their jobs.
“Catholic health care ministries serve everyone, no matter their race, sex, belief system, or any other characteristics,” said the USCCB chairmen in a July 27 statement. “The same excellent care will be provided in a Catholic hospital to all patients, including patients who identify as transgender, whether it be for a broken bone, or for cancer, but we cannot do what our faith forbids. We object to harmful procedures, not to patients.”
“Sadly, Monday’s proposed regulations threaten our ability to carry out our healing ministries, and others’ to practice medicine,” they continued.
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The USCCB statement was signed was signed by Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the conference Committee on Pro-Life Activities; Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage and Family Life; and Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, chairman of the Committee on Religious Liberty.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2022/07/bishops-hhs-proposals-are-violation-of-religious-freedom-and-bad-medicine
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5. Biden DOJ Official Smears Pregnancy Centers Amid Wave of Attacks, By Chuck Ross, Free Beacon, July 27, 2022, 5:15 PM
The Department of Justice’s third-ranking official has a history of calling crisis pregnancy centers “fake clinics,” a false, inflammatory description employed by terrorist groups that have recently attacked the pro-life organizations.
Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta deployed the rhetoric in a 2020 letter urging senators to vote against a Trump judicial nominee. Nearly 60 crisis centers, which counsel women on alternatives to abortion, have been firebombed or vandalized over the past two months. An anarchist group that has claimed responsibility for many of the attacks, Jane’s Revenge, has used the same “fake clinic” rhetoric as Gupta.
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The head of one pro-life group that has sought a DOJ meeting says Gupta’s remarks make her “unfit” to lead the task force.
“Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta’s attacks on pregnancy resource centers which help pregnant women in need are shameful and utterly irresponsible,” said CatholicVote president Brian Burch.
“Ms. Gupta should be investigating and prosecuting the radical criminals who are vandalizing and firebombing pregnancy resource centers nationwide,” Burch told the Free Beacon, adding that Attorney General Merrick Garland should “immediately rescind” Gupta’s appointment.
https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/biden-doj-official-smears-pregnancy-centers-amid-wave-of-attacks/
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6. Pope in Quebec amid decline of Catholic Church in province, By Rob Gillies, Associated Press, July 27, 2022, 3:49 PM
Pope Francis arrived in Quebec on Wednesday at a time when many French Canadians in the province are not only moving away from religion but explicitly rejecting it, embracing secularization long after their forebears built their identity on the rock of the Catholic Church.
Pews these days are rarely filled, hundreds of churches have closed and the provincial government has banned public service workers from wearing religious symbols.
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Although nearly all of the province’s 6.8 million French speakers have Catholic roots, fewer than 10% attend Mass regularly, compared with 90% several decades ago.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pope-in-quebec-amid-decline-of-catholic-church-in-province/2022/07/27/c095b6a2-0da9-11ed-88e8-c58dc3dbaee2_story.html
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7. Pope Francis expresses ‘deep shame’ in Canada, warns of new ‘cancel culture’, By Katie Yoder, Catholic News Agency, July 27, 2022, 5:04 PM
Pope Francis asked for forgiveness for the harm done to indigenous Canadians by Catholics in a Wednesday address before top government officials and representatives of the indigenous peoples in Canada.
“I express my deep shame and sorrow, and, together with the bishops of this country, I renew my request for forgiveness for the wrong done by so many Christians to the indigenous peoples,” the 85-year-old pontiff said, citing the Catholic Church’s role in running many of the country’s government-sponsored residential schools for indigenous children.
These residential schools, in place until the late 1990s, worked to stamp out aspects of native culture, language, and religious practice. Former students have described mistreatment and even abuse at the schools.
Pope Francis condemned the “deplorable system” that “separated many children from their families” in an address before Canada’s governor general, Mary Simon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, civil and religious authorities, representatives of the indigenous peoples, and members of the diplomatic corps in Québec.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251894/pope-francis-expresses-deep-shame-in-canada-warns-of-new-cancel-culture
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8. US bishops call for more support for African continent, By John Lavenburg, Crux, July 27, 2022
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have renewed a longstanding pledge of solidarity with Africa, highlighting a blossoming Catholic population and the need for the U.S. government to provide the continent with more support.
The document, A Renewed Call to Solidarity with Africa that was published on July 26, seeks to “commemorate and rekindle the grace and vision” of a similar document from 2001, and “recommit the church in the United States to solidarity with Africa.”
“Considering the challenges and opportunities that Africa faces and considering the strong bonds of communion that the church in the U.S. and Africa share, we believe now is the time for us as the Catholic Church in the United States to renew our solidarity with the church and the people of this land,” reads the document.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-africa/2022/07/u-s-bishops-call-for-more-support-for-african-continent
__________________________________________________________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. |
