TCA Podcast, – “Conversations with Consequences,” Episode 107 – Lila Rose On Fighting For Life & Curtis Martin Of Focus Talks Foundations For Discipleship!
Just in time for Mother’s Day, Dr. Grazie Christie and Maureen Ferguson talk with Lila Rose about her new book, Fighting for Life: Becoming a Force for Change in a Wounded World. Curtis Martin also joins with a look at FOCUS and his new book, Foundations for Discipleship out now with Dr. Edward Sri. Father Roger Landry also offers an inspiring homily with a special message for mothers–make sure to catch the show every Saturday at 7am ET/5pm ET on EWTN radio!
https://thecatholicassociation.org/podcast/ep-107-lila-rose-on-fighting-for-life-curtis-martin-of-focus-talks-foundations-for-discipleship/
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1. Religious Freedom and Sacred Land, A copper-mining plan threatens an Apache site—and the liberty of all Americans., By Rick Boucher and Erik Jaffe, The Wall Street Journal, May 7, 2021, Pg. A13, Opinion
The defense of religious liberty in the U.S. unites Americans with fundamental differences—nonbelievers and believers of every sort concerned with constitutional freedoms. To defend these freedoms, Americans should especially defend the country’s smallest religious minorities. Consider the Apache tribes’ continuing fight to protect sacred land.
Oak Flat, a 2,200-acre forest in Arizona owned by the federal government, is known to the Apache community as Chich’il Bildagoteel, their equivalent of the Temple Mount or Vatican Hill. In the 2015 defense authorization bill, this area was set to be traded to a foreign mining company for private land elsewhere. Oak Flat is slated to be mined for copper in a manner that will reduce these sacred grounds to a crater nearly two miles in diameter.
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Tribes and organizations dedicated to protecting religious freedom are still trying to stop the mine. Spirited legal challenges—led by the Becket Fund advocacy group, with friend-of-the-court support from our organization, among others—highlight how much is at stake for the First Amendment and the cause of freedom of religion.
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Freedom of religion supports and complements the other First Amendment rights. It forms a cultural and legal barrier against forced compliance with top-down edicts that would conflict with America’s commitment to tolerance and celebration of intellectual, ethnic, racial and religious diversity.
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This time it is Apache sacred land; next time it may be yours. Showing respect for what is religiously sacred to the Apache serves the constitutionally “sacred” function of defending all our rights and freedoms under the First Amendment.
Mr. Boucher, a former U.S. representative (1983-2011), is a senior policy advisor for Protect the 1st. Mr. Jaffe, an appellate attorney, is policy director of Protect the 1st.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-growing-baby-bust-11620255578?
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2. German Catholic diocese hosts event declaring same-sex blessings a case of ‘not if, but how’, By Catholic News Agency, May 7, 2021, 5:30 AM
A German Catholic diocese has hosted an online event declaring that same-sex blessings are a matter of “not if, but how.”
The Diocese of Essen, in Germany’s industrial Ruhr area, held the conference, entitled “Blessings for all. Blessing celebrations for same-sex couples,” ahead of a nationwide event on May 10 in defiance of the Vatican’s “no” to same-sex blessings.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247567/german-catholic-diocese-hosts-event-declaring-same-sex-blessings-a-case-of-not-if-but-how
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3. Vatican prelate says individual bishops have final say on Communion, By Claire Giangravé, Religion News Service, May 6, 2021, 4:24 PM
As some American bishops discuss the possibility of denying Communion to Catholic politicians such as President Joe Biden for supporting abortion-rights policies, a senior Vatican prelate said decisions about administering the sacrament rest solely on the bishop giving the Eucharist.
“It’s not up to bishops in general to make these decisions, it’s the bishop of the person,” said Cardinal Michael Czerny, the undersecretary of the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, in an interview with Religion News Service on Thursday (May 6).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/vatican-prelate-says-individual-bishops-have-final-say-on-communion/2021/05/06/179a7b10-aea9-11eb-82c1-896aca955bb9_story.html
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4. Vatican denounces UK laws regulating immigration, calls for ‘a wider we’, By Claire Giangravé, Religion News Service, May 6, 2021, 4:24 PM
The Vatican presented its plans for the 107 World Day of Migrants and Refugees during a news conference Thursday (May 6). The event will take place on Sept. 26 with the theme “Toward an Even Wider We.” The Migrants and Refugee section at the Vatican will spearhead this year’s campaign.
Speakers at the news conference addressed the challenges faced by immigrants and refugees, from the U.S.-Mexico border to England, highlighting how the situation has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and “hostile public policies.”
“We are all in the same boat and we are called to commit ourselves so that no more walls separate us, so that there are no longer others but only one we, a we as wide as us, an us as great as all of humanity,” Pope Francis said in a video message released for the launch of the media campaign.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/vatican-denounces-uk-laws-regulating-immigration-calls-for-a-wider-we/2021/05/06/013924c0-aea9-11eb-82c1-896aca955bb9_story.html
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5. Appeals judges skeptical about reinstating NC abortion ban, By Gary D. Robertson, Associated Press, May 6, 2021, 7:03 PM
Federal judges expressed skepticism on Thursday about reinstating North Carolina’s ban on abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy, especially after state officials have acknowledged that the prohibition hasn’t been enforced.
A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, heard remote oral arguments from attorneys for abortion providers who successfully sued years ago to block the ban — which provided some exceptions for medical emergencies — and local prosecutors and state officials who are trying to restore it. The judges did not indicate when they would rule.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/n-carolina-abortion-ban-after-20-weeks-before-appeals-court/2021/05/06/76bb4344-ae50-11eb-82c1-896aca955bb9_story.html
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6. Biden’s National Day of Prayer proclamation lacks mention of God, By Catholic News Agency, May 6, 2021, 11:01 PM
US President Joe Biden issued on Wednesday the annual proclamation of a National Day of Prayer, without mentioning any deity in it.
The May 5 statement says that “throughout our history, Americans of many religions and belief systems have turned to prayer for strength, hope, and guidance. Prayer has nourished countless souls and powered moral movements — including essential fights against racial injustice, child labor, and infringement on the rights of disabled Americans.”
This year the National Day of Prayer is observed May 6.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247565/bidens-national-day-of-prayer-proclamation-lacks-mention-of-god
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7. Legislators urge Biden to address global religious persecution, By Catholic News Agency, May 6, 2021, 7:00 PM
A bipartisan group of members of Congress asked President Biden this week to prioritize responding to global religious persecution.
“Religious freedom, one of the most basic human rights for all people, has historically been an area of sincere bipartisan support and agreement in American foreign policy,” stated a May 4 letter by members of both the House and Senate to President Biden.
The May 4 letter was led by Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.). The members were joined by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), James Hill (R-Alaska), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), as well as Reps. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas).
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247557/legislators-urge-biden-to-address-global-religious-persecution
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8. San Diego bishop: Don’t weaponize the Eucharist for political ends, By Mark Pattison, Catholic News Service, May 6, 2021
“The Eucharist must never be instrumentalized for a political end, no matter how important,” said Bishop Robert W. McElroy of San Diego in a May 5 essay published on the website of America magazine, the Jesuit journal.
Because of efforts by some U.S. bishops to exclude Catholic politicians — including President Joe Biden — from receiving Communion, “the Eucharist is being weaponized and deployed as a tool in political warfare. This must not happen,” the bishop said.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2021/05/san-diego-bishop-dont-weaponize-the-eucharist-for-political-ends/
___________________________________________________________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. |
