1. Support for Legalized Abortion Grows Since Dobbs Ruling, WSJ Poll Shows, More than half of voters said the issue made them more likely to cast ballots in the midterm elections; majorities oppose 6-week and 15-week abortion bans, By Catherine Lucey, The Wall Street Journal, September 6, 2022, Pg. A4Voters have grown more supportive of legalizing abortion following the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, with a clear majority opposing restrictions, like bans at a certain point of pregnancy or barring women from traveling to get a legal abortion, according to a new Wall Street Journal poll that underscores the importance of the issue in the midterm elections. According to the survey, 60% of voters said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, up from 55% in March. Another 29% said it should be illegal, except in cases of rape, incest and when the woman’s life is endangered, compared with 30% in March. And 6% said it should be illegal in all cases, down from 11% in March. … Support for abortion in most or all cases rose among Catholics to 59%, up from 45% in March. Support from Black voters was at 69%, up from 59%. College-educated women moved to 76% in support, up from 65%. https://www.wsj.com/articles/support-for-legalized-abortion-grows-since-dobbs-ruling-wsj-poll-shows-11662210020?__________________________________________________________ 2. Pope says Ukraine, Russia trip not currently possible due to knee pain, By Elise Ann Allen, Crux, September 6, 2022 In a new interview, Pope Francis laid to rest rumors that a papal visit to Kyiv could happen before his visit to Kazakhstan next week, saying he has been forbidden by doctors from traveling before that due to his ongoing knee troubles. Speaking to CNN Portugal, the pope said he has spoken to both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that dialogue is key. https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2022/09/pope-says-ukraine-russia-trip-not-currently-possible-due-to-knee-pain__________________________________________________________ 3. Tensions over clericalism, sovereignty swirl amid Knights of Malta overhaul, By Crux, September 5, 2022 Pope Francis decreed a new constitution for the Knights of Malta Saturday and dissolved its government ahead of the selection of a new leadership team, effectively ending a tumultuous debate over the group’s future but threatening further divisions among the group’s 13,500 members and 48 national associations. Founded in the 11th century during the Crusades, the “Sovereign Military Order of Malta” long has been a sort of hybrid entity within the Catholic Church. It has elements of a religious order, including a small class of roughly 35 professed religious who take vows. Yet it’s also a sovereign entity under international law, enjoying diplomatic relations with over 100 nations and the European Union, and virtually all of its activities are administered by the order’s lay members. In effect, the changes decreed Saturday come down on the side of the Knights being fundamentally a religious order with control vested in its clergy, subject to the direct authority of the pope. That point was stressed in a briefing for reporters by Italian Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda, an expert on canon law who was part of the drafting team for the new constitution, who said the group had to remain under the purview of the Vatican. Critics, however, warn that the changes may jeopardize the sovereign standing of the Knights of Malta, and also sideline lay members of the group who actually have the expertise to effectively oversee its works. https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2022/09/tensions-over-clericalism-sovereignty-swirl-amid-knights-of-malta-overhaul__________________________________________________________4. Jesuits remain in Mexican mountains after priests’ killings, By Fabiola Sánchez, Associated Press, September 5, 2022, 10:03 AM Two months after a pair of Jesuit priests were killed in a remote mountain community in northern Mexico, the suspected killer remains on the loose and townspeople are frightened, but the religious order says it is not leaving. The killings of Javier Campos and Joaquín Mora, as well as a tourism guide they tried to shelter, stirred anger in Mexico and the Roman Catholic Church. Frustration has grown with failure to capture the suspect, the alleged leader of a local drug gang, José Portillo Gil, alias “El Chueco,” or “The Crooked One.” Two priests who survived the attack remain at the parish in Cerocahui in the Tarahumara Mountains of Chihuahua state, but now move about with military escorts. Despite the killings and continuing safety concerns, the Jesuit order dismissed any idea of closing its mission there. It is sending two more priests and a person studying for the priesthood, said Jorge González Candia, an advisor with the Roman Catholic Society of Jesus in Mexico, who was assigned to the case. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/jesuits-remain-in-mexican-mountains-after-priests-killings/2022/09/05/827fd6e2-2d23-11ed-bcc6-0874b26ae296_story.html__________________________________________________________ 5. This LA convent-turned-maternity home sets single moms and their babies up for success, By Pablo Kay, Angelus, September 5, 2022, 8:00 AM After undergoing extensive renovations, adding new furniture, and opening its doors to homeless pregnant women, the Pico Home was just missing one more thing: a blessing. On Friday, Aug. 19, Archbishop José H. Gomez visited the former convent in the Mid-City area of Los Angeles to do the honors himself.  “It’s a gift beyond what we could have ever imagined,” said Sarah Wilson, executive director for Harvest Home, a local nonprofit residential program that operates the home.  The opening of the home, made possible through a partnership between the archdiocese’s Office of Life, Justice, and Peace (OLJP) and Harvest Home, comes amid a renewed focus on helping pregnant women and their babies after the recent U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs v. Mississippi ruling, which overturned the federal right to abortion given by Roe v. Wade nearly 50 years ago.  https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252183/this-la-convent-turned-maternity-home-sets-single-moms-up-for-success__________________________________________________________ 6. Pressing Limits to Ease Delivery of Abortion Pill, By Jim Towey, The New York Times, September 4, 2022, Pg. A1 As bans and restrictions proliferate across the country, abortion pill providers are pushing the envelope of regulations and laws to meet the surging demand for medication abortion in post-Roe America.Some are using physician discretion to prescribe pills to patients further along in pregnancy than the 10-week limit set by the Food and Drug Administration. Some are making pills available to women who are not pregnant but feel they could need them someday. Some are employing a don’t-ask-don’t-tell approach, providing telemedicine consultations and prescriptions without verifying that patients are in states that permit abortion. These changes are easing access to the pills for patients in states that have curtailed abortion, and also in states where it remains legal, but where clinics have longer wait times as patients flood in from restrictive states. Some of the practices, like not confirming that telemedicine patients are located in states that allow abortion, may run afoul of anti-abortion state laws or fall into uncharted legal territory, but they may also be challenging to police, reproductive health experts said. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/03/health/abortion-pill-access-roe-v-wade.html__________________________________________________________ 7. John Paul I, briefly serving, ‘smiling” pope, is beatified, By Frances D’Emilio, Associated Press, September 4, 2022, 7:33 AM Pope Francis on Sunday beatified one of his predecessors, John Paul I, a briefly serving pontiff who distinguished himself with his humility and cheerfulness, and whose abrupt death in his bedroom in 1978 shocked the world and fueled suspicions for years about his demise. The ceremony in St. Peter’s Square constituted the last formal step in the Vatican before possible sainthood for Albino Luciani, an Italian who died 33 days after being elected pontiff. “With a smile, Pope John Paul managed to communicate the goodness of the Lord,” Francis said in his homily. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/john-paul-i-briefly-serving-smiling-pope-is-beatified/2022/09/04/6ab64136-2c38-11ed-bcc6-0874b26ae296_story.html__________________________________________________________ 8. USCCB’s Labor Day statement touts bills to help children, women, families, By Mark Pattison, Crux, September 4, 2022 This year’s annual Labor Day statement from the U.S. bishops touts two bills awaiting action in Congress as being helpful to children, women and families: the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and an expansion of the federal child tax credit. “Even before current economic uncertainties, women — especially women of African descent and Latina women — earned less than their male counterparts, including when doing the same work with the same qualifications,” said Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, in the statement. https://cruxnow.com/cns/2022/09/usccbs-labor-day-statement-touts-bills-to-help-children-women-families__________________________________________________________ 9. My baby saved my life. Now I help save others, Local maternity charity taught me independent living skills that helped me and my baby, By Danielle Nicholson, Fox News, September 4, 2022, 7:00 AM, Opinion I chose life for my daughter 10 years ago. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here today.    At 20 years old, I had gone down a very dark path and thought that coping with years of abuse and assault meant immersing myself in drugs, alcohol and risky behavior. I had no goals or motivation to disrupt this lifestyle, which was numbing my pain.   My positive pregnancy test was the one thing that jolted me back to reality, as I stared in terror at the two pink lines in that little window.   I scrambled through my fog of emotion and fear to think about what this meant. I knew that I was carrying life — that it wasn’t just me anymore — but I had no money, and my family refused to support me. I didn’t know how I would make it, but I was determined to figure it out for my baby’s sake.   … That’s when I met Randy and Evelyn, the founders of a local maternity home called the Paul Stefan Foundation, who welcomed me with open arms. The next few years of learning how to take care of myself and my growing baby were the hardest of my entire life, but they transformed me and my future in an incredible way.    … They did more than just change my demeanor. Evelyn recognized that I was just a young girl who needed mothering just as much as my own baby needed me. She taught me the importance of adhering to a schedule, how to be a good steward of my money, that my appearance matters, and that my daughter should always be my first priority. She and Randy brought in people to teach the other women and me how to cook, organize, and budget. They offered the other moms and me weekly parent and baby education through a community resource, where I learned crucial information about my pregnancy and developing baby. These classes continued for years after the birth of my daughter to make sure that she was reaching her developmental milestones.   I lived at the Paul Stefan Foundation for five years and have remained involved with the home for 10 years overall. Their impact and resources not only helped me to get an education, but also inspired me to find my life calling.   … Today, I am a foster care social worker in the Virginia Department of Social Services, where I have been promoted five times since 2017. I credit my success to the perseverance, professionalism and compassion Randy and Evelyn taught me. They never let me give up on myself; they pushed me to do more than what I ever could have dreamed of accomplishing. More importantly, I know that my daughter is looking to my example, and I want her to see that she is capable of great things if she works hard and has grace.   So many women resort to abortion because they think it’s their only option, or that their baby will hinder their goals. I wish I could comfort those women and tell them how keeping my baby motivated me to achieve every single goal that I set my mind on.   I’d tell them that I named my daughter Lei’Lani, which means royal child of heaven.   Why? I tell anyone who will listen — God sent her to me to save my life.  https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/my-baby-saved-my-life-help-save-others__________________________________________________________ 10. Planned Parenthood Arizona joins others restarting abortions, By Bob Christie, Associated Press, September 2, 2022, 5:58 PM Planned Parenthood Arizona has joined several other providers that have restarted abortion care in the state —, although it may only be temporary — after clinics ceased providing the service when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that women do not have a constitutional right to end a pregnancy. The organization has for years done the most abortions in the state, but it ended the practice after the high court overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling on June 24. Planned Parenthood and other providers shut down because of the legal uncertainty over a pre-statehood law that bans almost all abortions and a “personhood” law that they feared could be used to prosecute doctors and nurses providing that care. A federal judge blocked the personhood law on July 11 after abortion rights groups sued, saying it was unconstitutionally vague. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/planned-parenthood-arizona-joins-others-restarting-abortions/2022/09/02/b74af36a-2b08-11ed-a90a-fce4015dfc8f_story.html__________________________________________________________ 11. VA plans limited abortion access to vets, despite state bans, By Associated Press, September 2, 2022, 7:51 PM The Department of Veterans Affairs said Friday it will provide abortion access to veterans and their beneficiaries — even in states that have made abortions illegal — in cases when the pregnant woman’s life or health is at risk, or in cases of rape or incest. … It is the first time abortion services and abortion counseling will be offered by the VA. The document said that before the U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision overturning Roe v. Wade, veterans could obtain abortions in their communities. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/va-plans-limited-abortion-access-to-vets-despite-state-bans/2022/09/02/1ec1c4e0-2b1a-11ed-a90a-fce4015dfc8f_story.html__________________________________________________________

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.
Subscribe to the TCA podcast!
“Conversations with Consequences” is a new audio program from The Catholic Association. We’ll bring you thoughtful dialogue with the leading thinkers of our time on the most consequential issues of our day. Subscribe today or listen online and enjoy our entertaining and informative weekly episodes.