1. Pakistani court sentences Christian to death for blasphemy, By Asim Tanveer, Associated Press, September 10, 2020, 6:44 AM
A Pakistani court sentenced a Christian man to death after finding him guilty of blasphemy for insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad in text messages he sent to a Muslim co-worker in 2013, a defense lawyer said Thursday.
Saiful Malook said his client, 37-year-old Asif Pervaiz, was convicted and sentenced this week in the eastern city of Lahore. It was the latest example of the Islamic nation’s strict upholding of blasphemy laws.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/pakistani-court-sentences-christian-to-death-for-blasphemy/2020/09/10/900bc1ca-f352-11ea-8025-5d3489768ac8_story.html
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2. Lubbock braces for showdown on abortion, Planned Parenthood moves to open clinic, By Valerie Richardson, The Washington Times, September 10, 2020, Pg. A6
A showdown over abortion is brewing in west Texas as Planned Parenthood moves ahead with plans to open a clinic in Lubbock — and pro-life groups mobilize to stop it.
Several hundred people gathered Tuesday outside city hall to rally for a “sanctuary city for the unborn” ordinance, which would ban abortions within city limits, after three state legislators asked Mayor Dan Pope “to take all necessary actions to prevent them [Planned Parenthood] from opening.”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/sep/9/lubbock-texas-braces-for-abortion-showdown-as-plan/
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3. Bishops rebuke Biden for his pro-choice views, Critics warn of politicization of pulpit, By Christopher Vondracek, The Washington Times, September 10, 2020, Pg. A6
Some Roman Catholic priests and bishops have taken to social media to chide parishioners considering voting for Democrats, in general, and presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden, in particular, by reminding them of the church’s opposition to abortion.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/sep/9/catholic-priests-bishops-rebuke-joe-biden-for-his-/
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4. March For Life In Focus, By The Washington Times, September 10, 2020, Pg. A2
Organizers for the annual March for Life will reveal the annual event’s 2021 theme Thursday during a virtual event, according to Jeanne Mancini, president of the organization.
Among those who will appear: Kay Coles James, president of the Heritage Foundation; Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List; Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life; Penny Nance, president of Concerned Women for America; Rep. Chris Smith, New Jersey Republican; Catholic Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City; Ryan Bomberger, founder of The Radiance Foundation; Christina Bennett, an activist with the National Black Pro-Life Coalition; and Jim Daly, president of Focus of the Family.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/sep/9/inside-the-beltway-richest-americans-now-worth-32-/
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5. Four Catholic-led groups working to reelect President Donald Trump, By Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter, September 10, 2020
Below is an NCR snapshot of some of the most notable Catholic-led groups and organizations ensuring that the man who recently described himself as the “best president in the history of the [Catholic] Church” gets four more years.
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Catholics for Trump
Executive director: Catharine O’Neill
Type of organization: official campaign committee
Mission: “Catholics for Trump will energize and activate the Catholic community in re-electing President Donald J. Trump by sharing the many successes of the Trump administration. Re-electing President Trump will ensure continued victories in pro-life issues, judicial appointments, and religious freedom.”
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The six-person advisory board for Catholics for Trump consists of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (who is married to U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Callista Gingrich), former Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, longtime Republican political consultant Mary Joe Matalin, president of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles Alfonso Aguilar, and chairman of the American Conservative Union, Matt Schlapp.
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CatholicVote.org
Founded: 2008
President: Brian Burch
HQ: Madison, Wisconsin
Types of organization: 501(c)3, 501(c)4 and PAC
Annual Revenue: $3,277,947 (as of 2018)
Mission: “Inspired and organized by faithful Catholic laity. For this reason, we do not claim to speak for any individual bishop or the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. We represent the voices of millions of Catholics across America who seek to renew our country and our culture, in full communion with and 100% faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.”
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Susan B. Anthony List
Founded: 1993
President: Marjorie Jones Dannenfelser
Founder: Rachel M. MacNair
HQ: Arlington, Virginia
Type of organization: 501(c)4
Annual Revenue: $12,006,326 (as of 2018)
Mission: “To end abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.”
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Valor America
Founded: 2014
Founder and president: Joseph Arlinghaus
HQ: Houston, Texas
Type of organization: super PAC
Mission: “Building a Republican Electorate through science”
https://www.ncronline.org/news/politics/four-catholic-led-groups-working-reelect-president-donald-trump
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6. Religious Freedom’s Tenuous 21st-Century Foothold, By Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, National Catholic Register, September 9, 2020, Opinion
At no point in the recent history of the United States has our freedom of religious belief looked so fragile — and this despite the fact that the Trump administration has shown an unusually strong commitment to preserving that freedom.
Since 2017, the federal government has done its best to preserve the rights of freedom of worship and the exercise of belief. But religious liberty cannot be left to the mercy of politicians of any party. These rights enshrined in U.S. public life by the First Amendment require a judiciary willing to enforce it.
Therefore, the Supreme Court is crucial — and never more so than now, when so many fashionable activists are apparently happy to suppress both religious freedom and conscience rights.
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Republicans, on the other hand, are standing firm. In addition to creating and defending exemptions for religious and moral objectors to the ACA’s contraceptive mandate, the Trump administration has promoted religious freedom in many other ways. The Catholic Association recently highlighted many of its religious freedom and pro-life accomplishments. It’s an impressively long list.
Andrea Picciotti-Bayer is the director of the Conscience Project.
https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/religious-freedoms-tenuous-21st-century-foothold
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7. Trump releases list of potential Supreme Court nominees, By Dave Boyer and Ryan Lovelace, The Washington Times, September 9, 2020, 8:11 AM
Among the potential nominees are two holdovers from Mr. Trump’s previous list: Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Amul Thapar of the 6th Circuit. Both are considered to be front-runners.
The 20 additions to his list include Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, former Solicitor General Paul Clement, Judge Gregory Katsas of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Ambassador to Mexico Christopher Landau, and Deputy White House Counsel Kate Dodd.
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Maureen Ferguson, senior fellow for The Catholic Association, said the president’s expanded list of Supreme Court candidates “brings transparency and clarity to the American voters who care about the rule of law and the defense of our constitutional rights.” Maureen Ferguson, senior fellow for The Catholic Association, said the president’s expanded list of Supreme Court candidates “brings transparency and clarity to the American voters who care about the rule of law and the defense of our constitutional rights.”
“Most of the additions come from the pool of his extraordinary appointees to the circuit courts,” she said.
“Voters are left to wonder why Joe Biden won’t treat them with the same respect and release a list of his own.”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/sep/9/trump-releases-list-potential-supreme-court-nomine/
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8. New Trump rule ties college funding to speech, faith rights, By Collin Binkley, Associated Press, September 9, 2020, 6:02 PM
The Trump administration is moving forward with a policy that expands protections for religious groups on college campuses and threatens to cut federal education funding to colleges that violate free speech rules.
The rule was issued by the Education Department Wednesday, less than two months before the election, and cements much of what President Donald Trump outlined in a March 2019 executive order demanding wider speech protections at U.S. colleges. In taking up the issue, Trump highlighted concerns from conservatives who complained that their voices had been suppressed on university campuses.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/new-trump-rule-ties-college-funding-to-speech-faith-rights/2020/09/09/175be846-f2e8-11ea-8025-5d3489768ac8_story.html
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9. Common good, not greed, must motivate search for vaccine, pope says, By Junno Arocho Esteves, Crux, September 9, 2020
The common good — and not political or economic gain — should be at the heart of the race to find a vaccine for COVID-19, Pope Francis said.
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“If the solutions for the pandemic bear the imprint of selfishness, whether it be by people, businesses or nations, we may perhaps emerge from the coronavirus crisis, but certainly not from the human and social crisis that the virus has brought to light and accentuated,” the pope said.
“Therefore, we must be careful not to build on sand! To build a healthy, inclusive, just and peaceful society we must do so on the rock of the common good,” he said. “Common good is a rock.”
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2020/09/common-good-not-greed-must-motivate-search-for-vaccine-pope-says/
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10. La Crosse bishop to correct ‘Catholics can’t be Democrats’ priest, By Catholic News Agency, September 9, 2020, 3:32 PM
After a Wisconsin priest said in a viral video that no Catholic can be a Democrat, the priest’s bishop will attempt fraternal correction, and said Wednesday the priest has inflicted a “wound” upon the Church. A Texas bishop, however, has doubled down on his support for the priest.
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Fr. James Altmann, a priest of La Crosse, gained attention after an Aug. 30 video was published on YouTube, in which the priest said that “You can not be Catholic and be a Democrat. Period.”
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The priest’s video gained even more attention after Tyler, Texas Bishop Joseph Strickland “endorsed” it over the weekend.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/la-crosse-bishop-to-correct-catholics-cant-be-democrats-priest-fr-james-altman-37520
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11. Catholic Mass will continue at San Diego Navy bases, By Christine Rousselle, Catholic News Agency, September 9, 2020, 10:20 AM
Mass has returned to three Naval bases in the San Diego area after the U.S. Navy reversed a decision to end contracts with civilian priests as a cost-saving measure.
“Contrary to previous discussions, this year we will continue contracted religious ministry programs and services similar to what we’ve had in place previously,” said Rear Adm. Bette Bolivar, the commander of Navy Region Southwest, in a statement published the evening of Sept. 8 in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/catholic-mass-will-continue-at-san-diego-navy-bases-13209
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12. Pro-Life Groups Praise Trump’s New Supreme Court List: “He’s the Best Pro-Life President Ever”, By Steven Ertelt, Life News, September 9, 2020, 5:20 PM
Leading pro-life groups are praising President Donald Trump’s list that he released today of possible Supreme Court nominees and they are very excited about the kind of potential SCOTUS justices.
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Maureen Ferguson, Senior Fellow for The Catholic Association, told LifeNews that the impact of the court is significant and the list is a set of names pro-life Americans can trust.
“President Trump continues to keep his promise to transform the federal judiciary and his newest list of potential Supreme Court picks is further evidence of this. In releasing this expanded list, he brings transparency and clarity to the American voters who care about the rule of law and the defense of our constitutional rights. Most of the additions come from the pool of his extraordinary appointees to the circuit courts. Voters are left to wonder why Joe Biden won’t treat them with the same respect and release a list of his own,” Ferguson said.
https://www.lifenews.com/2020/09/09/pro-life-groups-praise-trumps-new-supreme-court-list-hes-the-best-pro-life-president-ever/
___________________________________________________________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. |
