| 1. Funding Ban Ends For Clinics That Refer Abortions, By Tarini Parti, The Wall Street Journal, October 5, 2021, Pg. A3 The Biden administration Monday reversed a Trump-era policy that stripped federal family-planning dollars from clinics that refer patients for abortions. The Department of Health and Human Services finalized a rule that would undo a 2019 policy on a federal program which called for clinics that received federal funding to physically separate their abortion services in a different building from all other services, and not to discuss abortions as an option with patients. The program, known as Title X, offers about $286 million each year to clinics that provide reproductive healthcare and other women’s health screenings, such as Pap smears, to about four million uninsured Americans a year. The new rule takes effect Nov. 8. https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-rule-ends-ban-on-federal-funds-for-clinics-that-refer-abortions-11633393632?
___________________________________________________________ 2. Pope Francis learns “with sorrow” of French clergy abuse report, By Reuters, October 5, 2021, 2:24 AM Pope Francis “learned with sorrow” about the content of an investigation into sexual abuse in the French Catholic Church, a Vatican statement said on Tuesday. “First of all his thoughts go to the victims, with great sorrow, for their wounds,” the statement said, adding that the pope also felt gratitude for the courage they had shown in denouncing what they had been through. “(His thoughts go to) the Church of France, so that, in the awareness of this terrible reality … it may embark on a path of redemption,” the statement added. French clergy have sexually abused more than 200,000 children over the past 70 years, a major investigation released on Tuesday found. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/pope-francis-learns-with-sorrow-french-clergy-abuse-report-vatican-2021-10-05/
___________________________________________________________ 3. Top Vatican cardinal says Biden should not be denied Communion, By Donna Cassata, Associated Press, October 4, 2021, 1:50 PM A top Vatican cardinal says President Biden should not be denied Communion amid a push by U.S. Catholic bishops to withhold the sacrament from the president because of his support for abortion rights. Cardinal Peter Turkson, who works closely with Pope Francis, said the sacrament, also known as the Eucharist, should “not in any way become a weapon,” and denying it should only occur in “extreme cases.” “If you say somebody cannot receive Communion, you are basically doing a judgment that you are in a state of sin,” Turkson said in an interview with Axios that aired on HBO on Sunday. Asked specifically whether “state of sin” applied to Biden, the second Catholic president in the nation’s history, Turkson said no. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-catholic-communion-abortion-rights/2021/10/04/4c4a7138-2525-11ec-8831-a31e7b3de188_story.html
___________________________________________________________ 4. Joe Biden Overturns Trump’s Pro-Life Rule Defunding Planned Parenthood of $60 Million, By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews, October 4, 2021, 5:11 PM Joe Biden just overturned a pro-life rule President Trump put in place that cut $60 million in funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business. Biden claims he’s a “devout Catholic” but he’s really just the most pro-abortion president in America’s history. … Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie, policy advisor for The Catholic Association, told LifeNews that the Biden rule would undo important, life-saving progress in America. “The newly proposed Title X rule fails to recognize that abortion has never been an accepted method of family planning” Christie said. “[It] would result in tens of millions of taxpayer dollars being once again funneled to abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood, when polls consistently show that U.S. taxpayers do not want to underwrite this life-ending procedure.” https://www.lifenews.com/2021/10/04/joe-biden-overturns-trumps-pro-life-rule-defunding-planned-parenthood-of-60-million/
___________________________________________________________ 5. The Pope, members of Congress plead for clemency ahead of execution tomorrow, By Joseph Guzman, The Hill, October 4, 2021, 5:15 AM The Pope and Democratic members of Congress are calling on the governor of Missouri to halt the execution of a man on death row who’s scheduled to be put to death Tuesday. Ernest Lee Johnson, 61, was sentenced to death in connection to the murder of three people during a robbery at a convenience store in Columbia, Mo., in 1994. … In addition to the lawmakers, the Vatican’s ambassador to the U.S. sent a letter from Pope Francis to Parson last week requesting clemency for Johnson. “This request is not based upon the facts and circumstances of his crimes; who could not argue that grave crimes such as his deserve grave punishments,” the letter states. “Rather, His Holiness wishes to place before you the simple fact of Mr. Johnson’s humanity and the sacredness of all human life. We ask you to consider that, when violence of all types is restrained, even the violence of a legal execution, all of society benefits,” the letter said. https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/575161-the-pope-members-of-congress-plead-for-clemency-ahead-of-execution
___________________________________________________________ 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. | 
