1. Equality begins in the womb, Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, By Jeanne Mancini, The Washington Times, November 8, 2021, Pg. B3, Opinion From our nation’s birth, our founders recognized the dignity inherent to all people, making each one of us equal in our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Because of this, Americans have fought for centuries to advance equality for every person, regardless of race, sex, or disability status. It has taken centuries, but discrimination is now acknowledged as unacceptable just about everywhere in America. Everywhere, that is, except in the womb. … Tragically, at least 67% of American babies with Down syndrome are aborted. While some lawmakers have attempted to prevent such discrimination, abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood have sued to keep these discriminatory practices legal. … As our country continues to advance along the path to a more just society, we cannot ignore the discrimination that is taking place against vulnerable unborn babies who some view as “less than” others. To create a more just society, we must recognize that equality begins in the womb. Jeanne Mancini is the President of the March for Life. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/nov/6/equality-begins-in-the-womb/___________________________________________________________ 2. Pope decries Ethiopia’s humanitarian crisis, urges dialogue, By Associated Press, November 7, 2021, 7:12 AM Pope Francis on Sunday decried the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia and pressed for dialogue to prevail over the protracted war. The pontiff in his traditional appearance to the public in St. Peter’s Square said he was following the news with “worry” from the Horn of Africa, particularly from Ethiopia, “shaken by a conflict that has dragged on for more than a year and has caused numerous victims and a grave humanitarian crisis.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pope-decries-ethiopias-humanitarian-crisis-urges-dialogue/2021/11/07/f16fd0d2-3fc3-11ec-9404-50a28a88b9cd_story.html___________________________________________________________ 3. In Defense of EWTN, By Ashley E. McGuire, National Review, November 7, 2021, 6:30 AM, Opinion It’s easy enough for the “courtiers” of Rome to throw mud at EWTN. When I mentioned the latest attack to a friend, she reminded me that long before the network had its modern critics, the likes of Fr. James Martin and now disgraced Cardinal Mahoney, among others, had made a sport of criticizing it and its foundress in particular. But it’s impossible to imagine life as a Catholic in the 21st century without EWTN. For decades, the network has been beaming the Mass to the homebound, the Rosary to the downtrodden, and major church events to those who can’t afford the plane tickets to Rome. … I myself have been invited to join EWTN’s myriad programs more times than I can remember. I’ve grappled with topics ranging from the sex-abuse scandals to paid family leave to Catholic schools in a pandemic. None of these are easy topics. Call that a “dialogue with the devil” if you will. But if you really want to see the “work of the diablos” and “powerful U.S.-based media conglomerate[s]” using their “formidable wealth and power to turn a large portion of the people of God against Rome,” I’d suggest you look basically everywhere except EWTN. The mainstream press delights in trashing the Church, in using the pope as a political prop, in tearing down faithful Catholics, in confusing the laity about doctrine, and in mocking, deriding, and insulting nearly everything the Church stands for. That kind of turning the people of God against Rome is easy to come by in today’s media world. What’s not is programming that offers those at the ends of the earth the chance to glimpse Rome, gives the busy an easy way to pray, offers those shut in a way to see Mass, and makes a Catholic girl proud of her faith and excited to see what Catholic women walking in the shoes of Mother Angelica can achieve for their Church. https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/11/in-defense-of-ewtn/___________________________________________________________ 4. In echo of Watergate, Vatican faces ‘missing minutes’ quandary, By John L. Allen Jr., Crux, November 6, 2021, Opinion Amid the Watergate scandal of the 1970s, just 18 and ½ minutes of missing tape on secret recordings of White House conversations released under court order was enough to help bring down the Nixon presidency, convincing many Americans there was a conscious effort to prevent the full truth from coming to light. Now that the Vatican faces its own “missing minutes” controversy regarding sensitive recordings produced under subpoena – and, given that the missing portions could be as much as two hours, far more than the Watergate original – it remains to be seen if these omissions will have the same devastating impact. … The next hearing in the trial is set for Nov. 17, and we’ll see what happens when the three-judge panel, led by veteran Italian jurist Giuseppe Pignatone, takes up the defense appeal. Yet, in the court of popular opinion, it’s probably fair to say that prosecutors are facing an ever-wider “credibility gap.” This trial was supposed to be a coronation of the financial reforms adopted under Pope Francis, the cornerstones of which are supposed to be transparency and accountability. Instead, impressions are growing that this may be simply a show trial, meaning a bit of theatre designed to place blame for failure on a group of carefully selected scapegoats while preventing anything embarrassing or contradictory to the chosen narrative from emerging. Pope Francis made this entire exercise possible by issuing a series of rescripts invoking his executive authority to amend, or to suspend, certain rules of procedure. It remains to be seen if the pontiff now will draw on that same authority and order his prosecutors to come clean. https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2021/11/in-echo-of-watergate-vatican-faces-missing-minutes-quandary/___________________________________________________________ 5. Reproductive rights back in State Dept. reports, Topic was removed from human rights survey by Trump administration, By Missy Ryan, The Washington Post, November 6, 2021, Pg. A7 The U.S. State Department has restored assessments of global reproductive rights to its annual human rights report, another move by the Biden administration to roll back decisions made under President Donald Trump. The department’s 2020 rights report, released in updated form Thursday, now includes dedicated sections describing foreign countries’ methods of handling of contraception and abortion, information on maternal mortality, and other issues related to family planning and reproductive health. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the addition to the annual report, first released without separate reproductive rights sections in March, reflected the Biden administration’s focus on gender equality. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/state-department-human-rights-report-reproductive-rights/2021/11/05/5584147e-3e2b-11ec-a67c-d7c2182dac83_story.html___________________________________________________________ 6. REGISTER ROUNDTABLE: A Pope, a President and a Crisis of Communion, The Register speaks with Jayd Henricks, Stephen White and Ashley McGuire in the wake of President Joe Biden’s meeting with Pope Francis, By Jonathan Liedl, National Catholic Register, November 5, 2021 Pope Francis’ meeting with President Joe Biden Oct. 29 week created controversy — not because of anything that we actually know was said during the meeting, but because of how one of the participants characterized the exchange. … To make sense of what transpired and the wider conversation around abortion-supporting politicians and the Eucharist, we asked three Catholic leaders for their perspective. Our participants for this inaugural “Register Roundtable” include Jayd Henricks, former executive director of government relations at the USCCB; Stephen White, executive director of The Catholic Project at the Catholic University of America; and Ashley McGuire, a senior fellow at the Catholic Association. [Interviewer:] Complete the sentence: “The most significant impact of President Biden’s meeting with Pope Francis will be…” … Ashley McGuire: “…people realizing that it was actually rather insignificant.” The Pope meets with many heads of state, but the media paid such extreme attention to this meeting because Biden is our first Catholic president in decades and because the media is obsessed with abortion and Biden’s efforts to “thread the needle” by simultaneously touting and flouting his Catholic faith. … [Interviewer:] It has been noted that a lot of Catholics who embrace both the Church’s teachings on the Eucharist and abortion, and also aren’t in any rush to disagree with the Holy Father, are disappointed and frustrated by what was apparently said — or unsaid — during last Friday’s meeting. What’s your advice to them? … McGuire: Whenever I see that the Pope has said something that made headlines, I have to go and read it in its entirety, because it is almost always taken out of context. In this case, we don’t even know what the Pope actually said to President Biden other than what we saw on the cameras. So my advice to people would simply be to not accept anyone’s spin on what was said or unsaid by the Holy Father, unless it is documented in writing, confirmed by the Vatican, and read within the full context of what was said.  And to trust that the Holy Spirit is guiding the Holy Father and the Church. … [Interviewer:] If you had a magic wand, and could banish one misleading/incoherent/untruthful talking point in this whole discourse about abortion and Communion from ever being uttered again, which one would it be and why? … McGuire:  It would be great to once and for all clarify the fact that when the Church speaks on matters of prudential issues, it does not have the same authority as statements regarding universal and foundational moral doctrine. Doctrinal issues get to the fundamental questions about right and wrong, the Christian faith and human dignity. They are immutable and unchanging, and the Pope does not have the authority to change them. The Church leaves prudential policy matters to lawmakers pursuing the common good to discuss and debate. There is no Church teaching on carbon taxes, for example, and when the Pope speaks about air conditioners, it is simply not in the same category as abortion, marriage or religious liberty. I so wish that the media and lawmakers with certain agendas would stop conflating the two categories. It is at the heart of what is causing so much confusion today. [Interviewer:] The word “scandal” gets used a lot in the conversation about the Eucharist and Catholics who publicly and persistently contravene Church doctrine. But scandal isn’t just about offending someone’s sensibilities; it’s acting in a way that could lead them to sin. In a case like President Biden’s, paint me a picture of how that actually might happen. … McGuire: My own family is probably a good example. I get emails and texts all the time from them, confused and scandalized by all of this. I am a convert, and they are Protestant bystanders, who simply don’t understand how on the one hand, they could not come to Communion at my wedding because they reject the belief that the Eucharist is the body and blood of Jesus Christ, but others who aggressively and publicly reject other fundamental Catholic teachings can. It’s just deeply confusing to people, and I sincerely understand the bishops’ desire to protect and guard the teachings of the Church and reverence for the Eucharist, the very thing that brings us together as Catholics. … [Interviewer:] A draft version of the USCCB’s statement on the Eucharist is circulating. It looks like, contrary to the fears/hopes of some, there’s no explicit prohibition of President Biden receiving Communion. Instead, the drafters chose to highlight at length St. John Paul II’s 2003 teaching that Communion can be withheld out of “pastoral concern” in cases of outward conduct that is clearly and steadfastly “contrary to the moral norm.” What’s your initial reaction to the approach the bishops appear to be taking? … McGuire: I think the bishops have the extremely challenging task of trying to restore unity and clarity in both a gentle and firm way, while being highly scrutinized by the anti-Catholic press and speaking to an understandably confused laity. I think we should all give them the benefit of the doubt that their intentions come from a place of love, for the Church and the laity, and be patient as they undertake this difficult task in these very confusing and contentious times. https://www.ncregister.com/blog/register-roundtable-a-pope-a-president-and-a-crisis-of-communion___________________________________________________________

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.
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