1. Barr: ‘Militant secularists’ weaken U.S., Rails against erosion of moral standards, founders’ vision, By Jeff Mordock, The Washington Times, September 24, 2020, Pg. A1 Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday railed against “militant secularists” who he said are eroding the nation’s moral standards and disrupting the founders’ vision of government, liberty and power. In an address to the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, he called religion the “foundation of a free society” but said it has been “under siege by secularists” who have undermined religion and tried to replace it with a morality hostile to faith. “The consequences of this hollowing out of religion have been predictably dire,” Mr. Barr said at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. “Over the past 50 years, we have seen striking increases in urban violence, drug abuse and broken families. Problems like these have fed the rise of an ever-more powerful central government.” Mr. Barr, a Catholic, has sounded that theme repeatedly and has increasingly put the power of the Justice Department behind it. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he has deployed U.S. attorneys to demand that houses of worship be treated at least as well as businesses or racial justice protesters. He received the prayer breakfast’s Christi fideles Laici Award for “fidelity to the church, exemplary selfless and steadfast service in the Lord’s vineyard” and other work. … Leonard Leo, president of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast’s board and co-chairman of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group, said Mr. Barr is “a Catholic public servant” and “a man of courage.” “His faith informs the attributes of his public service: integrity, honesty, humility, and sincere and wise counsel,” Mr. Leo said. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/sep/23/ag-william-barr-religion-under-siege-dire/ ___________________________________________________________ 2. Trump to require care of born-alive babies, By Dave Boyer, The Washington Times, September 24, 2020, Pg. A2 President Trump announced on Wednesday that he will sign an executive order to ensure that all babies born alive receive medical care, including those who survive abortions or are born prematurely. In an appeal to religious voters, Mr. Trump made the disclosure during a pre-recorded virtual address to the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/sep/23/trump-sign-executive-order-requiring-all-babies-bo/ ___________________________________________________________ 3. Trump works to win over Catholic voters on abortion issue, By Kevin Freking, Associated Press, September 23, 2020, 2:43 PM President Donald Trump promised Wednesday to sign an executive order that would require health care providers to provide medical care to all babies born alive as he makes an election-year push to appeal to voters who oppose abortion. The White House did not release further details about the order, but Trump’s announcement follows numerous attempts by GOP lawmakers in Washington and in state capitals around the country to pass legislation that threatens prison for doctors who don’t try to save the life of infants born alive during abortions. … It is not necessarily a crime to forgo sophisticated medical intervention in cases where severe fetal abnormalities leave a newborn with no chance of survival. This has happened on rare occasions in the course of a late-term abortion. The U.S. government recorded 143 deaths between 2003 and 2014 involving infants born alive during attempted abortions. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-works-to-win-over-catholic-voters-on-abortion-issue/2020/09/23/a7859a68-fdcc-11ea-b0e4-350e4e60cc91_story.html ___________________________________________________________ 4. Nation is strong because of Catholics, ‘all people of faith,’ Trump says, By Kurt Jensen, Catholic News Service, September 23, 2020 President Donald Trump said Sept. 23 he would sign an executive order to “ensure that all precious babies born alive, no matter their circumstances, receive the medical care that they deserve.” In brief recorded remarks for the livestreamed National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, Trump called it the “Born Alive Executive Order,” which pro-life leaders said would provide legal protections for babies born during “botched abortions,” like the Senate’s proposed Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act proposed would do if passed. … “Our nation is strong because of Catholics and all people of faith, and the belief that all children, born and unborn, have the right to life,” Trump said in his remarks to the breakfast. He called the executive order “our sacrosanct moral duty.” https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2020/09/nation-is-strong-because-of-catholics-all-people-of-faith-trump-says/ ___________________________________________________________ 5. Pope Francis blesses bell that will ring out in defence of unborn, By Courtney Mares, Catholic News Agency, September 23, 2020, 10:00 AM Pope Francis blessed a large bell Wednesday that Polish Catholics hope will ring out in the defence of unborn life. “May its ring awaken the consciences of legislators and all people of good will in Poland and the whole world,” Pope Francis said Sept. 23. The Voice of the Unborn bell, commissioned by the Yes to Life foundation, is a symbolic bell to be used at Poland’s March for Life and other pro-life events. It is decorated with a cast an ultrasound image of an unborn child and a quotation from Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko: “A child’s life begins under the mother’s heart.” … The pope noted that the bell would “accompany events aimed at remembering the value of human life from conception to natural death.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-blesses-bell-that-will-ring-out-in-defence-of-unborn-42314 ___________________________________________________________ 6. Trump courts Catholic voters at conservative-run National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, By Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter, September 23, 2020 As President Donald Trump’s campaign seeks to shore up declining Catholic support ahead of the November election, the president appeared at the conservative-run National Catholic Prayer Breakfast Sept. 23, where he announced he was signing an executive order to protect all infants born alive. While he did not offer specifics on the order, he said it would ensure that medical care will be provided to all infants regardless of their circumstances. https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/trump-courts-catholic-voters-conservative-run-national-catholic-prayer-breakfast ___________________________________________________________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. |