1. Abortion rights protected in Michigan, California, Vermont, By Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press, November 9, 2022, 4:41 AM
Voters in battleground Michigan enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution, joining reliably Democratic California and Vermont in taking that step. An anti-abortion measure in Kentucky was too early to call.
The Tuesday ballot measures came months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion it guaranteed to women nationwide. The decision in June has led to near-total bans in a dozen states.
…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/michigan-kentucky-among-states-with-abortion-on-ballot/2022/11/08/db8f1f22-5f91-11ed-a131-e900e4a6336b_story.html
__________________________________________________________
2. An ecumenical law on abortion: National abortion reporting, What we don’t know, can hurt us, By Kristan Hawkins, The Washington Times, November 9, 2022, Pg. B1, Opinion
On the surface level, it seems our federal health officials err very much on the side of caution, even when the evidence is minimal.
…
During the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA put a sharp halt on some vaccines in light of one death and several other complications. This summer, the FDA denied JUUL authorization to market e-cigarettes even though “the FDA has not received clinical information to suggest an immediate hazard.” The possibility of harm was enough justification to act… unless the concerns are about abortion.
Abortion in America is marketed by its proponents as completely safe. The problem is that the conversation ends with “don’t ask, don’t tell” style assurances because there is no national abortion reporting law tracking or monitoring a chemically or surgically induced event impacting women across the country. What makes this a problem is President Biden and his Democratic Party allies are pledging that more abortion is the one thing voters can count on them, as crime and inflation spiral out of control. But is more abortion a good thing for women? Its impact on the preborn is more than painfully obvious.
…
The public must rely on piecemealed data that abortionists offer voluntarily or from research often sponsored by Corporate Abortion’s allies in places like the Bixby Center, funded by abortion industry money, hardly an unbiased source.
The true proponent of women’s safety would be asking why we have to get reliable abortion data from places like Finland instead of our own country, or why chemical abortion-related Emergency Room visits have risen 500% over the last decade, or why we aren’t talking about the 26 women we know have died after taking chemical abortion pills, according to the FDA.
…
What is known about abortion in America comes voluntarily from the abortion industry itself, a boon every industry must envy. What business would turn down the freedom to issue its own reports on product safety? What competent government would trust those assurances?
Kristan Hawkins is president of Students for Life of America & Students for Life Action with more than 1,300 groups on educational campuses in all 50 states.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/nov/8/what-we-dont-know-about-abortion-can-hurt-us/
__________________________________________________________
3. Cardinal tells leaders at COP27 they have duty to act on climate change, By Catholic News Service, November 9, 2022
Leaders gathered in Egypt for the U.N. climate summit have “a moral obligation” to act seriously and together to safeguard the planet and to offer concrete aid to people suffering the “more frequent and more serious humanitarian impacts caused by climate change,” said Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
The Vatican secretary of state led the Holy See’s official delegation to COP27, the 27th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh Nov. 6–18.
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2022/11/cardinal-tells-leaders-at-cop27-they-have-duty-to-act-on-climate-change
__________________________________________________________
4. Barring head coverings in prison violates federal law, appeals court rules, By Rachel Weiner, The Washington Post, November 8, 2022, 11:29 AM
A Virginia prison’s restrictions on head coverings violated the religious beliefs of an incarcerated man, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled Monday.
The policy, a unanimous three-judge panel said, required the man “to either violate his religious beliefs — by refraining from wearing a head covering at all times — or risk discipline.”
…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/11/08/barring-head-coverings-prison-violates-federal-law-appeals-court-rules/
__________________________________________________________
5. French cardinal to be investigated over abuse confessions, By Associated Press, November 8, 2022, 11:20 AM
The prosecutor’s office in Marseille has opened a preliminary investigation for “aggravated sexual assault” against Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, one of France’s highest-ranking prelates of the Catholic Church.
Via a letter that was read out Monday during a conference of French bishops, Ricard said that he had abused a 14-year-old girl 35 years ago and is withdrawing from his religious duties.
The investigation was opened Tuesday following a letter from an adviser of the current bishop of Nice.
Dominique Laurens, the Marseille prosecutor, opened the preliminary investigation but specified that “no complaint” has yet been filed against the cardinal.
…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/french-cardinal-to-be-investigated-over-abuse-confessions/2022/11/08/9f33328c-5f7f-11ed-a131-e900e4a6336b_story.html
__________________________________________________________
6. Boston pays out $2.1M to settle Christian flag legal case, By Mark Pratt, Associated Press, November 8, 2022, 3:13 PM
The city of Boston has agreed to pay more than $2.1 million to the Christian legal organization that backed a court challenge after the city refused to fly a Christian flag outside City Hall, a case that made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The settlement announced Tuesday by Liberty Counsel covers attorneys’ fees and other costs associated with the legal battle that started in 2017 when city resident Hal Shurtleff and his Camp Constitution group asked to hoist the flag on one of three poles on City Hall Plaza to mark Constitution Day.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/boston-pays-out-21m-to-settle-christian-flag-legal-case/2022/11/08/671a83b8-5f9e-11ed-a131-e900e4a6336b_story.html
__________________________________________________________
7. In Ukraine, religion under occupation, In the occupied territories of Ukraine, religious leaders face the prospect of arrest and coercion, researchers say., By Anatolii Babynskyi, The Pillar, November 8, 2022, 8:10 PM
On the 258th day of Russian military aggression in Ukraine, the country continues to suffer human casualties among the military and civilian population, who face the shelling of Ukrainian towns and villages and large-scale material losses.
In recent weeks, Russian forces have focused on destroying Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which seems particularly threatening to most Ukrainians given the imminent onset of winter.
Along with the destruction of residential buildings and industrial facilities, buildings belonging to Ukrainian churches and religious organizations have also been damaged since the outbreak of the war.
They are damaged most often because they are located near the fighting, and are most likely hit by shelling accidentally. But according to the authors of a Ukrainian research project, “Religion on Fire,,” there are also cases in which Ukrainian churches have been deliberately destroyed.
Members of religious communities close to the front line or under occupation are in even greater danger.
According to researchers, 20 priests and pastors have been killed since the war began — but there is reason to believe that an accurate figure might be five times higher.
And sources say the religious leaders who have not fled Ukraine’s occupied territories are persecuted by Russian efforts to see them cooperate with the occupation, or to coerce them into urging Ukrainians to Russian loyalty.
…
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/in-ukraine-religion-under-occupation/
__________________________________________________________
8. U.S. bishops launch new approach to teaching the faith, By Carol Zimmermann, Catholic News Service, November 8, 2022
Catholic church leaders are taking a new approach to passing on the faith, saying they recognize a pressing need to do this in a way that adapts to the modern world.
This new outreach, called the Institute on the Catechism, is not a place but instead a new springboard for faith formation developed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on the Catechism.
It will involve catechetical publishers working directly with the USCCB subcommittee on new ways to pass on the faith using digital tools and aiming to reach a more diverse church. It will also provide resources to dioceses and yearly, in-person training conferences and retreats for diocesan catechetical leaders.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2022/11/u-s-bishops-launch-new-approach-to-teaching-the-faith
__________________________________________________________
9. Sunday Mass obligation re-instituted for Catholics in the Archdiocese of Chicago, By Joe Bukuras, Catholic News Agency, November 8, 2022, 3:17 PM
For Catholics in the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sunday Mass will become obligatory once again after a general dispensation was granted at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The restoration of the obligation comes more than a year and a half after dioceses in other parts of the U.S. began lifting their dispensations.
“Dear Brothers, Cardinal [Blase] Cupich is lifting the general dispensation from the obligation to participate in Sunday Mass that was put into effect at the beginning of the pandemic,” says an internal email to priests from the archdiocese’s vicar general, Bishop Robert Casey.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252761/sunday-mass-obligation-re-instituted-for-catholics-in-the-archdiocese-of-chicago
__________________________________________________________
10. With no pro-life laws, Colorado sees abortion numbers spike, By Kevin J. Jones, Catholic News Agency, November 8, 2022, 12:35 PM
A new study has shown that the number of abortions in Colorado has spiked, in part because more women come from out of state seeking to procure abortions.
While Catholic ministries and charities continue to help pregnant women in Colorado, the state Legislature could be poised to introduce legislation that would further increase the number of abortions.
Between April and August the number of abortions increased by 33% in Colorado, from 1,450 in April to 1,940 in August, the Society of Family Planning said in its Oct. 28 publication called the “#WeCount Report.” The Society of Family Planning bills itself as “the source for abortion and contraception science.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252758/with-no-pro-life-laws-colorado-sees-abortion-numbers-spike
__________________________________________________________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. |
