1. Even if Roe is overturned, Congress must act to protect the unborn, By Robert P. George and Josh Craddock, The Washington Post, June 2, 2022, 7:00 AM, Opinion
If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, it will be an enormous achievement — and a necessary first step toward obtaining justice for vulnerable unborn members of the human family. But when blue states proceed to enact legislation to permit abortion to the very point of birth, it will be the duty of Congress to enforce constitutional rights for the unborn through federal legislation.
As Justice Samuel A. Alito’s Jr.’s leaked draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization shows, the Constitution confers no right to abortion. Its 14th Amendment, however, entitles unborn children to the protection, indeed the equal protection, of the laws. States that fail to protect the rights of the unborn violate this guarantee.
The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, extended “the equal protection of the laws” to “any person.” Although the court in Roe rejected the argument that the fetus is a person protected by the 14th Amendment, the majority’s reasoning was notoriously poor and its conclusion incorrect. The historical evidence is overwhelming that at the time of the amendment’s ratification, the word “person” had a settled public meaning that included any child living in the womb.
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By reversing Roe and its rejection of fetal personhood, Dobbs sets the stage for Congress to remedy state encroachments on the equal rights of our tiny sisters and brothers at the dawn of their lives and secure our nation’s promise of equal justice for all.
Robert P. George is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. Josh Craddock is an affiliated scholar with the James Wilson Institute on Natural Rights and the American Founding.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/02/roe-abortion-congress-fourteenth-amendment/
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2. Upholding Roe v. Wade Is Supported by Most Americans, WSJ Poll Finds, After decades of shifting attitudes, some 57% of respondents say a woman should be able to get an abortion for any reason, By Catherine Lucey, The Wall Street Journal, June 2, 2022, 5:30 AM
The survey shows Americans have more-mixed feelings about restricting abortion access based on the length of the pregnancy. On banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, 34% of respondents were in support, 43% were in opposition and 21% said they neither supported nor opposed such a move. The numbers were similar for a ban after six weeks, with 30% of respondents in favor, 49% opposed and 19% with no view. A Journal poll in March found plurality support for a 15-week ban.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/upholding-roe-v-wade-is-supported-by-most-americans-wsj-poll-finds-11654162200?
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3. Abortion providers in Florida filed a lawsuit to try to block the state’s new law banning the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy, set to take effect July 1., By Ann E. Marimow, The Washington Post, June 2, 2022, Pg. A1
Abortion providers in Florida filed a lawsuit Wednesday to try to block the state’s new law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, which is slated to take effect July 1.
The constitutional challenge in Florida comes as Republican-led states have moved to restrict abortion access and weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court is slated to issue a major abortion ruling that is expected to undermine if not overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
If the justices roll back the fundamental right to abortion established nearly 50 years ago, the legal battle over reproductive rights will shift to state courts. Florida and 10 other states have already recognized and protected abortion access independently from the U.S. Supreme Court, through state constitutions and past state court decisions.
The case filed Wednesday in Leon County will test the strength of the state’s protections embedded in the constitution and a decades-old state Supreme Court decision at a time when Florida’s highest court has become more conservative.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/01/florida-abortion-states-roe/
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4. Pope Francis appoints Bishop Barron to lead Minnesota diocese, By Courtney Mares, Catholic News Agency, June 2, 2022, 4:05 AM
The Vatican announced Thursday that Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Robert Barron to lead the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota.
Barron, who runs the popular Catholic media apostolate Word on Fire, has served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles since 2015.
He will succeed Bishop John Quinn, who submitted his resignation to the pope after reaching the retirement age of 75 in 2020. Barron will be installed as bishop on July 29.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251438/pope-francis-appoints-bishop-barron-to-lead-minnesota-diocese
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5. Canada Indigenous leaders want pope to visit more locations, By Rob Gillies, Associated Press, June 1, 2022, 4:02 PM
Indigenous leaders met with Canadian bishops on Wednesday and were told Pope Francis won’t add more stops, as they requested, to his trip to Canada, where he will apologize in person for the abuse suffered by Indigenous people at the hands of the Catholic church.
Pope Francis, who has been using a wheelchair because of a bad knee, will head to Canada on July 24 and visit Alberta, Quebec and Iqaluit, a small town in the far north. The pope leaves on July 29.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/canada-indigenous-leaders-want-pope-to-visit-more-locations/2022/06/01/c3d34fb8-e1e5-11ec-ae64-6b23e5155b62_story.html
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6. Pope Francis: Do not use wheat as a ‘weapon of war’ in Ukraine, By Courtney Mares, Catholic News Agency, June 1, 2022, 4:15 AM
Pope Francis appealed on Wednesday for a resolution to the blockade of Ukrainian grain exports, condemning the use of a staple food “as a weapon of war.”
“Of great concern is the blockade of grain exports from Ukraine, on which the lives of millions of people, especially in the poorest countries, depend,” Pope Francis said in St. Peter’s Square on June 1.
“Please do not use wheat, a staple food, as a weapon of war,” he urged.
Without mentioning Russia by name, the pope said that he was making “a heartfelt appeal that every effort be made to resolve this issue and to guarantee the universal human right to food.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251424/pope-francis-do-not-use-wheat-as-a-weapon-of-war-in-ukraine
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7. Pope Francis: Guarding ‘dead traditions’ is dangerous for the Church’s life, By Courtney Mares, Catholic News Agency, June 1, 2022, 12:35 PM
Pope Francis on Wednesday criticized people who “call themselves guardians of traditions, but of dead traditions,” saying that failing to move forward is dangerous for the Church today.
Speaking to the organizers of a conference on education on June 1, the pope said that it was vital to make progress by “drawing from the roots.”
He said that “there is the fashion — in every age, but in this age in the Church’s life I consider it dangerous — that instead of drawing from the roots in order to move forward — meaning fine traditions — we ‘step back,’ not going up or down, but backward.”
“This ‘back-stepping’ makes us a sect; it makes you ‘closed’ and cuts off your horizons. Those people call themselves guardians of traditions, but of dead traditions.”
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/australian-plenary-council-committee?s=r
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8. US embassy to Vatican again flies Pride Flag as Biden administration backs ‘LGBTQIA+’ advocacy, By Kevin J. Jones, Catholic News Agency, June 1, 2022, 6:00 PM
The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See has again flown a Pride Flag, as President Joe Biden reiterated his commitment to supporting LGBT advocacy and, apparently, transgender-affirming health care for children.
“The United States respects and promotes the equality and human dignity of all people including the LGBTQIA+ community,” the U.S. embassy to the Vatican said on Twitter June 1. It showed a photo of its Pride Flag and used several hashtags including “All Inclusive.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251436/us-embassy-to-vatican-again-flies-pride-flag-as-biden-administration-backs-lgbtqia-plus-advocacy
___________________________________________________________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. |
