1. Let Him Bake Cake, By William McGurn, The Wall Street Journal, June 22, 2021, Pg. A15, Opinion
For a simple Christian who bakes cakes for a living, Jack Phillips seems to have a special recipe for getting himself sued.
Mr. Phillips is a co-owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, a mom-and-pop operation near Denver in Lakewood, Colo….[I]n 2018 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the rulings against him because the commission had shown “clear and impermissible hostility” to his religious beliefs.
Alas, there are no permanent victories for cake bakers. The same day the Supreme Court agreed to hear that case, a transgender woman named Autumn Scardina ordered another cake—blue on the outside, pink on the inside—intended to celebrate her birthday and her gender transition from male to female. Again Mr. Phillips declined, and last Tuesday a Denver district court judge ruled against him.
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Certainly there are plenty of intolerant religious people. But no one is more intolerant than the modern left-wing secular crusader, whose views on these cultural issues further enjoy the backing of the media, big business, academe and so on. For the most part, religious communities with old-fashioned positions on human sexuality and abortion no longer expect American society to uphold their views. The aim now is for something far more modest: enough freedom to live their lives and run their institutions in accord with their deepest beliefs.
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[I]t is apparently not enough for a Colorado woman to get a blue-and-pink cake celebrating her gender transition from any of dozens of bakers in her area who are more than happy to bake her one. She wants to force Jack Phillips to make it—precisely because she knows it goes against his beliefs. Yet another testament to why the most egregious exercises of intolerance today are those done in the name of tolerance.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/let-jack-phillips-bake-cake-11624313827
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2. South Carolina considers extending religious objections to therapists, By Michelle Liu, Associated Press, June 22, 2021
South Carolina lawmakers are considering a bill to let mental health professionals refuse to provide care that violates their religious beliefs in response to an ordinance banning conversion therapy for minors in the state’s capital city.
The Senate Medical Affairs subcommittee heard testimony on the legislation Monday, but didn’t take a vote.
The state already has such medical conscience protections in place for doctors and other health care providers, allowing them to opt out of providing non-emergency services to people when it contradicts their religious, moral, ethical or philosophical beliefs or principles. The legislation would expand those protections to mental health professionals, said bill sponsor Sen. Josh Kimbrell, a Republican from Spartanburg.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2021/06/south-carolina-considers-extending-religious-objections-to-therapists/
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3. Psaki suggests Biden not backing down from split with church over abortion, By Jeff Mordock, The Washington Times, June 22, 2021, Pg. A2
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that President Biden will continue to attend Mass, pushing back against the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which is moving forward with a plan that many deny Communion to the pro-choice president.
“Joe Biden is a strong man of faith,” Ms. Psaki said at the White House press briefing. “He goes to church nearly every weekend. He even went when we were on our overseas trip.”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/jun/21/white-house-joe-biden-will-attend-mass-despite-pos/
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4. Fires destroy 2 Catholic churches on Canadian Indigenous reserves, By Associated Press, June 22, 2021
Two Catholic churches on First Nations reserves in British Columbia have burned to the ground in overnight fires, Canada’s national police force said Monday.
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The RCMP say both churches were destroyed and investigators are treating the fires as suspicious.
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The Tk’emlups te Secwepemc Nation recently announced the discovery of what are believed to be the remains of 215 children at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. It operated between 1890 and 1969, when the federal government took over operations from the Catholic Church and operated it as a day school until it closed in 1978.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-americas/2021/06/fires-destroy-2-catholic-churches-on-canadian-indigenous-reserves/
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5. Vatican intervenes in proposed ‘anti-homophobia’ law in Italy, By Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency, June 22, 2021, 4:35 AM
The Vatican has intervened with the Italian state in a proposed “anti-homophobia” law, saying that the legislation as written violates freedoms of the Catholic Church in Italy.
According to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states, gave a formal diplomatic note to the Italian embassy to the Holy See on June 17, expressing concern about the text under debate.
Local media have called the Vatican’s action “unprecedented” in the history of the relationship between the two states.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248088/vatican-intervenes-in-proposed-anti-homophobia-law-in-italy
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6. US Catholics urged to practice ‘solidarity’ on religious freedom, By Christine Rousselle, Catholic News Agency, June 21, 2021, 3:32 PM
Catholics in the United States are being encouraged to pray each day this week about an issue related to religious freedom.
The theme of the U.S. bishops’ Religious Freedom Week – which runs from June 22-29 – is “Solidarity in Freedom,” where one bishop each day singles out a threat to religious freedom and asks for prayers from Catholics.
“Religious freedom is for all people,” said Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, chair of the U.S. bishops’ religious freedom committee, in a video posted on the conference Twitter account on Monday.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248081/us-catholics-urged-to-practice-solidarity-on-religious-freedom
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7. UN experts’ letter to Vatican has ‘no real teeth,’ says Church official, By Catholic News Agency, June 21, 2021, 12:00 PM
A Church official said Monday that a letter from U.N. experts accusing the Vatican of engaging in “obstructive practices” related to clerical abuse has “no real teeth.”
In the 11-page letter, made public on June 21, the four experts argued that the Vatican was using international agreements to avoid accepting responsibility for abuse committed by members of the Catholic Church.
“We urge the authorities of the Holy See to refrain from obstructive practices and to cooperate fully with the civil, judicial and law enforcement authorities of the countries concerned, as well as to refrain from signing or using existing agreements to evade accountability for Church members accused of abuse,” said the letter, whose existence was first reported by CNA on June 20.
A Church official, who asked not to be named as he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter, told CNA that while the letter lacked “teeth,” it signaled frustration among activists seeking to advance abortion and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) issues through international institutions.
“It is a sign, however, of how frustrated the pro-abortion and pro-SOGI forces are that they can’t bulldoze their agenda at the U.N. because of the work of several member states and a permanent observer. Hence the concerted attempt to undermine the credibility of the Holy See,” the official said.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248079/un-experts-letter-to-vatican-has-no-real-teeth-says-church-official
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8. Cardinal Tobin appointed member of Vatican’s highest court, By Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency, June 21, 2021, 9:00 AM
Pope Francis on Monday appointed 12 new members of the Vatican’s highest court, the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, including Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark.
American Cardinal James Harvey, archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, and Bishop Mark Bartchak of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, Pennsylvania, were also named members of the court.
The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura is one of three courts within the Holy See, and functions as a sort of Supreme Court, hearing appeals coming from the two other tribunals.
The court’s new members were appointed for a term of five years.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248076/cardinal-tobin-appointed-member-of-vaticans-highest-court
___________________________________________________________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. |
