1. Abortion on the ballot in two states offers a window into a post-roe nation, By Samantha Schmidt and Emily Wax-Thibodeaux, The Washington Post, November 3, 2020, Pg. A11
As the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett raises the likelihood that Roe v. Wade could be overturned, voters in two states will decide whether to pass ballot measures to restrict abortion access, providing a window into a future without a nationwide right to an abortion.
In Colorado, voters will decide whether to ban abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions only if the person’s life is in immediate danger. Seventeen other states have similar gestational limits.
And in Louisiana, abortion foes are hoping to lead the way in creating a fresh strategy to challenge abortion, with the hope that the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling is reversed. Voters will be asked to amend the state Constitution with language clarifying that there is no right to abortion or abortion funding, a type of constitutional amendment already adopted in Alabama, Tennessee and West Virginia.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/11/02/abortion-ballot-louisiana-colorado/
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2. Poland delays implementing abortion ruling amid protests, By Monika Scislowska, Associated Press, November 3, 2020, 7:40 AM
Poland’s right-wing government is delaying the publication and implementation of a high court ruling that tightens the abortion law and that has triggered almost two weeks of nationwide protests.
A government official said Tuesday that the leaders are taking time to debate the contested ruling and find a solution.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/poland-delays-implementing-abortion-ruling-amid-protests/2020/11/03/b5a06c52-1dd1-11eb-ad53-4c1fda49907d_story.html
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3. Vatican Bishop: Peter’s Pence Not Used to Cover London Investment Losses, By Catholic News Agency, November 3, 2020
A Vatican bishop said Saturday that the Holy See did not use money from Peter’s Pence or the pope’s discretionary fund to cover its losses on a controversial London property.
Bishop Nunzio Galantino, president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (APSA), said Oct. 31 that the sum came instead from the Secretariat of State’s reserves.
Bishop Galantino told Avvenire, a newspaper owned by the Italian bishops’ conference, that “independent estimates” put the losses at 66-150 million pounds ($85-194 million).
https://www.ncregister.com/news/vatican-bishop-peter-s-pence-not-used-to-cover-london-investment-losses
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4. Vatican breaks silence, explains pope’s civil union comments, By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, November 2, 2020, 8:54 AM
The Vatican says Pope Francis’ comments on gay civil unions were taken out of context in a documentary that spliced together parts of an old interview, but still confirmed Francis’ belief that gay couples should enjoy legal protections.
The Vatican secretariat of state issued guidance to ambassadors to explain the uproar that Francis’ comments created following the Oct. 21 premiere of the film “Francesco,” at the Rome Film Festival. The Vatican nuncio to Mexico, Archbishop Franco Coppola, posted the unsigned guidance on his Facebook page Sunday.
In it, the Vatican confirmed that Francis was referring to his position in 2010 when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires and strongly opposed moves to allow same-sex marriage. Instead, he favored extending legal protections to gay couples under what is understood in Argentina as a civil union law.
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The Vatican guidance insists that Francis wasn’t contradicting church doctrine. But it doesn’t explain how his support for extending Argentine legal protections to gay couples in 2010 could be squared with the 2003 document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which says “the principles of respect and non-discrimination cannot be invoked to support legal recognition of homosexual unions.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/vatican-breaks-silence-explains-popes-civil-union-comments/2020/11/02/e9117e60-1d12-11eb-ad53-4c1fda49907d_story.html
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5. Biden claims his politics and Catholic faith ‘coincide’, despite abortion and religious freedom policies, By Catholic News Agency, November 2, 2020, 10:30 AM
Joe Biden has released a video insisting that his personal politics remain in line with Catholic social teaching. In the video, released on the eve of the general election, Biden asserts that he has the “great advantage” of his religious and political beliefs aligning, despite his support for state-funded abortion and his opposition to several legal protections for religious freedom.
“Look, I have the great advantage of my faith, the Catholic social doctrine, and my political views coincide,” said Biden in the video, which was tweeted from his official account Monday morning.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/biden-claims-his-politics-catholic-faith-coincide-despite-abortion-and-religious-freedom-policies-32928
___________________________________________________________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. |
