1. Jesus or Xi Jinping?, China’s Xi is not Jesus and must face costs for insisting he is, By Ambassador Sam Brownback with Dede Laugesen, The Washington Times, June 14, 2021, Pg. B1, Opinion
Christians in China are increasingly persecuted by a regime intent on extinguishing not only their ability to practice their faith but the very faith itself. To these ends, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities aim to replace Jesus with their leader, Xi Jinping.
Those who do not fully conform to this abominable perversion of Christianity and other restrictions on the faithful suffer violent destruction of their church properties and homes, prohibition on religious training and worship for children under 18, radically increased surveillance, and the detention of pastors, elders and congregants.
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China’s state-sponsored, genocidal war on religious liberty demands particular attention and urgent international action. The CCP must be held accountable and suffer real costs for such crimes against its own citizens and globally. China must not be allowed to brutally wipe out Christians, Muslims and other faith communities with impunity. Some sort of boycott for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing would be a good start.
Sam Brownback formerly served as U.S. ambassador at large for international religious freedom. Dede Laugesen is executive director of Save the Persecuted Christians.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/jun/13/jesus-replaced-by-xi-jinping/
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2. Catholic deacon plans to take church to Supreme Court over abuse listing, By Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times, June 14, 2021, Pg. A9
The lawyer for a 77-year-old Roman Catholic deacon in Lubbock, Texas, says he plans to ask the Supreme Court of the United States to reverse a June 11 state supreme court ruling allowing the Diocese of Lubbock to label Jesse Guerrero, as “credibly accused” of sexually abusing a minor.
Under the Texas Supreme Court decision, attorney Nick L. Olguin told The Washington Times, the church “can define words to mean whatever they want it to be in terms of ‘canon law.’ They can say whatever the heck they want to say to whomever they want to say it, even if it’s not true.”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/jun/12/catholic-deacons-lawyer-plans-high-court-appeal-af/
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3. Pope Francis: Marginalizing the poor threatens ‘the very concept of democracy’, By Catholic News Agency, June 14, 2021, 5:30 AM
Pope Francis said Monday that “the very concept of democracy is jeopardized” when the poor are marginalized and treated as if they are to blame for their condition.
In his World Day of the Poor message released June 14, the pope appealed for a new global approach to poverty.
“This is a challenge that governments and world institutions need to take up with a farsighted social model capable of countering the new forms of poverty that are now sweeping the world and will decisively affect coming decades,” he wrote.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247986/pope-francis-marginalizing-the-poor-threatens-the-very-concept-of-democracy
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4. Pope demands food aid reach starving people of Tigray, By Associated Press, June 13, 2021, 10:07 AM
Pope Francis demanded Sunday that humanitarian aid reach hungry people in the war-torn Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, where Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers are blocking food deliveries and other assistance.
Francis called for an immediate end to the fighting in Tigray, the return of social harmony and for “all food aid and health care assistance to be guaranteed.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pope-demands-food-aid-reach-starving-people-of-tigray/2021/06/13/f98c3a1a-cc34-11eb-a224-bd59bd22197c_story.html
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5. Senator Jekyll and President Hyde, By National Catholic Register, June 12, 2021, Editorial
Now that President Joe Biden has submitted his 2022 budget to Congress without the inclusion of Hyde Amendment language that sharply restricts federal taxpayers’ funding of abortion, his pro-abortion presidential credentials are established beyond any dispute.
This means that all Catholics are left to hope for, in terms of any faint residual fidelity to Church teachings on abortion Biden may have, is the possibility that he might avoid pressuring the trio of Catholic Democratic U.S. senators who still support the amendment to endorse his own egregious failure to respect religious freedom and pro-life Americans.
If Biden does back away from the issue and doesn’t twist the arms of Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Tim Kaine of Virginia and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, the Hyde Amendment language will likely be reinstated when the federal budget passes through the Senate, as noted in our article about this matter.
https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/senator-jekyll-and-president-hyde
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6. Poll: Majority of likely voters support limits on abortion after 15 weeks, By Catholic News Service, June 12, 2021
A nationwide poll of 1,200 likely voters in a general election found that a majority oppose unrestricted abortion on demand throughout pregnancy and support limits on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
The Susan B. Anthony List, a national pro-life group, commissioned OnMessage Inc. to conduct the survey shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 17 order announcing it will hear oral arguments during its next term on a 2018 Mississippi abortion law banning most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The case is Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
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OnMessage asked respondents if they would support a Republican candidate who backs limiting abortion after 15 weeks — with exceptions for the life and physical health of the mother or severe abnormality of the unborn baby — or would support a Democratic candidate who backs abortion on demand throughout all nine months of pregnancy.
Fifty-three percent said they would support the GOP candidate’s abortion position, while 28 percent said they would support the Democratic candidate. Nineteen percent said, “Don’t know.”
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On the importance of the abortion issue in relation to how they would vote for an elected official, 43 percent of likely pro-life voters identified the issue as being very important, giving it “10” on an importance scale of one to 10. Only 29% of those who said they support keeping abortion legal said the same.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2021/06/poll-majority-of-likely-voters-support-limits-on-abortion-after-15-weeks/
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7. Fr. Thomas Joseph White Named First American Rector of Angelicum in Rome, By Catholic News Agency, June 10, 2021
Theologian and Dominican Fr. Thomas Joseph White has been appointed rector of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, becoming the first American to hold the position.
Father White, who has taught at the university commonly known as the Angelicum since 2018, will start as rector on Sept. 14.
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Father White is a member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas and the author of several books, including Wisdom in the Face of Modernity: A Study in Thomistic Natural Theology and The Light of Christ: An Introduction to Catholicism. His latest book, The Trinity: On the Nature and Mystery of the One God, will be released in 2022.
https://www.ncregister.com/cna/fr-thomas-joseph-white-named-first-american-rector-of-angelicum-in-rome
___________________________________________________________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. |
