1. Bahrain’s Shiites hope pope raises human rights during visit, By Bassem Mroue, Jon Gambrell and Mariam Fam, Associated Press, November 1, 2022, 2:07 AM
Pope Francis is making the first-ever papal trip to Bahrain this week, sparking calls from the country’s majority Shiite opposition and human rights activists for the pontiff to raise human rights concerns in the small island nation.
The island off the coast of Saudi Arabia is ruled by a Sunni monarchy that violently quashed 2011 Arab Spring protests there with the aid of allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
In the years since, Bahrain has imprisoned Shiite activists, deported others, stripped hundreds of their citizenship, banned the largest Shiite opposition group and closed down its leading independent newspaper.
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While some Shiite opposition leaders welcome the visit, they hope Francis won’t sidestep the issue of decades of sectarian strife.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/bahrains-shiites-hope-pope-raises-human-rights-during-visit/2022/11/01/736bd7dc-59ab-11ed-bc40-b5a130f95ee7_story.html
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2. Penguin Random House Stands by Plan to Publish Amy Coney Barrett’s Book, An open letter with more than 600 signatures asks publisher to re-evaluate its handling of the work, By Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, The Wall Street Journal, October 31, 2022, 7:21 PM
Penguin Random House on Monday said it is committed to publishing a coming book by Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett despite a dissenting online open letter that has garnered more than 600 signatures, including many from the publishing world.
The letter, which asks Penguin Random House to re-evaluate its decision to publish the book, argues that Justice Barrett’s vote in June in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade represented an attack on human rights, including the rights to “privacy, self determination, and bodily autonomy along with the federal right to an abortion in the United States.”
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/penguin-random-house-stands-by-plan-to-publish-amy-coney-barretts-book-11667248264?
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3. Judge keeps North Dakota abortion ban from taking effect, By James MacPherson and Dave Kolpack, The Washington Post, October 31, 2022, 6:44 PM
A North Dakota judge ruled Monday that he will keep the state’s ban on abortion from taking effect, saying there’s a “substantial probability” that a constitutional challenge to the law will succeed.
Judge Bruce Romanick’s ruling means abortion is still legal in North Dakota, though the state’s only clinic — the Red River Women’s Clinic of Fargo — shut down as it challenged the ban and has moved across the border to neighboring Minnesota.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/judge-injunction-remains-against-north-dakota-abortion-ban/2022/10/31/ec5bd324-595e-11ed-bc40-b5a130f95ee7_story.html
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4. In rare letter to all Detroit parishioners, archbishop warns of ‘extreme’ abortion initiative, By Michael Stechschulte, Catholic News Agency, October 31, 2022, 11:00 AM
In a letter mailed to all registered parishioners in the Archdiocese of Detroit, Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron again pleaded with Catholics in the six-county archdiocese to reject an extreme ballot proposal on abortion slated for Michigan’s Nov. 8 election.
The nearly unprecedented letter — sent via U.S. mail to hundreds of thousands of Catholic households in southeast Michigan — began arriving in mailboxes the week of Oct. 24.
Proposal 3, also known as the “Reproductive Freedom for All” constitutional amendment, would have “vast and extreme” consequences for Michigan if it passes, the archbishop said, turning the state into “ground zero” for abortion extremism in the United States.
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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252693/in-rare-letter-to-all-detroit-parishioners-archbishop-warns-of-extreme-abortion-initiative
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5. Cardinal Zen trial update: Defense calls for charges to be dismissed, By Courtney Mares, Catholic News Agency, October 31, 2022, 12:10 PM
Lawyers defending Cardinal Joseph Zen and five other Hong Kong democracy activists took the floor Monday in the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court, the same courthouse where a Protestant pastor was sentenced to one year in jail for sedition last week.
In the third court date this month, Zen’s defense argued before Principal Magistrate Ada Yim Shun-yee on Oct. 31 that the charges against the trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund should be dismissed.
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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252695/cardinal-zen-trial-update-defense-calls-for-charges-to-be-dismissed
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6. U.S. bishops offer pro-family policy recommendations ahead of midterms, By Jonah McKeown, Catholic News Agency, October 31, 2022, 3:15 PM
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in an Oct. 26 letter offered more than a dozen policy recommendations related to the health and well-being of women, children, and families, calling for a “radical solidarity” with mothers in need and the building of a society where families flourish without a supposed need for abortion.
The bishops’ letter comes shortly before the Nov. 8 midterm elections in the United States, during which 34 of the 100 Senate seats and all 435 seats in the House of Representatives will be contested. The bishops called the midterms, the first U.S. elections following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a “historic opportunity to redouble efforts toward a culture of life that respects and supports the dignity of every person at every stage.”
“[W]e hope for the day when abortion is unthinkable because society has successfully reckoned with the challenges of raising children in the modern world and has decided to make the full flourishing of children and their families the highest goal, without anyone being excluded,” the bishops wrote.
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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252699/us-bishops-offer-pro-family-policy-recommendations-ahead-of-midterms
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7. Total abortions decreased by 6% in the U.S. after Roe v. Wade was overturned, By Katie Yoder, Catholic News Agency, October 31, 2022, 4:15 PM
More than 10,000 unborn babies are alive today because of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a new report by a pro-abortion group suggests.
Society of Family Planning’s #WeCount initiative reported Friday that there were 5,270 fewer abortions in July and 5,400 fewer in August after the court’s June 24 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe and freed individual states to decide abortion policy.
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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252698/total-abortions-decreased-by-6-percent-in-the-us-after-roe-v-wade-was-overturned
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8. Abortion an answer to inflation? Democrats have overplayed their hand, and voters know it, When asked to clarify what she would do to fight inflation, Stacey Abrams, Georgia’s Democratic candidate for governor brought the conversation back to abortion., By Ingrid Jacques, USA Today, October 29, 2022, 4:00 AM, Opinion
Give Stacey Abrams credit for her honesty.
The Democratic contender for governor of Georgia is laying out her party’s stance on abortion loud and clear.
In an interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” last week, Abrams made the case for how abortion is more than a women’s rights issue.
“Abortion is an economic issue,” she said. “It’s been reduced to this idea of a culture war.”
When asked to clarify what she would do to fight inflation – the No. 1 issue on voters’ minds – she brought the conversation back to abortion: “Having children is why you’re worried about your price for gas. It’s why you’re concerned about how much food costs.”
That’s a disconcerting argument, but not surprising coming from Abrams. Recall how last month she also said a fetal heartbeat at six weeks is a “manufactured sound” so men can control women’s bodies.
Democrats have also led a shift in the language around abortion, which the news media have adopted. It’s no longer just abortion – it’s “abortion care” or reproductive health. Anything that avoids focusing on what abortion actually is.
Others on the left are comfortable celebrating abortion itself. Last month, the Women’s March – the group that champions progressive women – tweeted: “We’re not just pro-choice. We are proudly, unapologetically pro-abortion.”
This rhetoric is part of a concerted push to ennoble abortion as Democrats seek to rally their base ahead of the midterm elections following the reversal of Roe v. Wade in June.
The strategy doesn’t seem to be working. And I believe Democrats and progressives have overplayed their support of abortion on demand and have succeeded in alienating even members of their own party.
A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll highlights how 37% of voters say the economy and inflation are what will determine their vote. Less than half that number – 18% – pointed to abortion.
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By championing abortion without limits, turning it into an “economic” issue and avoiding other voter concerns, Democrats have erred – and succeeded in giving Republicans the upper hand.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/10/29/voters-worry-inflation-economy-democrats-focus-abortion-midterms/10608961002/
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9. Vatican body, Italian bishops strike deal for safeguarding in global south, By Elise Ann Allen, Crux, October 29, 2022
On Friday the Italian Bishops’ Conference signed an agreement with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors to provide support for safeguarding initiatives, particularly in the global south, where funds for these efforts is often lacking.
Speaking to journalists Friday at the close of the commission’s fall plenary assembly, Father Andrew Small, the commission’s secretary, noted that it is part of the commission’s mandate to help bishops’ conferences implement national listening centers and stable publicly accessible reporting mechanisms for victims and survivors of abuse.
These services were required by Pope Francis in his 2019 legislation Vos Estis Lux Mundi, which also imposed mandatory reporting for bishops for any allegation of abuse.
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https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2022/10/vatican-body-italian-bishops-strike-deal-for-safeguarding-in-global-south
__________________________________________________________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. |
