TCA Podcast, – “Conversations with Consequences,” Episode 177 – Dr. Anthony Esolen On Dante & Dr. Donna Harrison Talks Conscience Rights
Dr. Grazie Christie discusses Dante and the eternal truths of the Divine Comedy with lauded translator Dr. Anthony Esolen. He also speaks about his new weekly magazine, Word and Song inviting us all to elevate our minds to the good, true, and beautiful by reflecting on poetry and prose. Pro-life physician Dr. Donna Harrison also joins discussing the latest assault on pro-life doctors and nurses–and how Catholics can make their voices heard in the public square, Father Roger Landry also offers an inspiring homily to prepare us for this Sunday’s Gospel. Catch the show every Saturday at 7amET/5pmET on EWTN radio!
https://thecatholicassociation.org/podcast/ep-177-dr-anthony-esolen-on-dante-dr-donna-harrison-talks-conscience-rights/
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1. U.S. bishops lament failure of latest UN nuclear disarmament talks, By John Lavenburg, Crux, September 9, 2022
U.S. bishops are calling for world leaders to continue working towards nuclear disarmament after participants in the recent Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Review Conference (NPT) failed to reach a consensus on a final document.
“We lament the failure of the state-parties after four long weeks of negotiation to reach consensus on a final document,” Bishop David Malloy of Rockford, chair of the U.S. Bishops’ Conference Committee on International Justice and Peace said in a Sept. 8 statement.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2022/09/u-s-bishops-lament-failure-of-latest-un-nuclear-disarmament-talks
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2. Baker asks justices to review fine for refusing same-sex wedding cake, By Alex Swoyer, The Washington Times, September 9, 2022, Pg. A2
A Christian baker is back at the Supreme Court, asking the justices once again to take up her challenge to Oregon’s public accommodations law after the state put her out of business for refusing to create a custom wedding cake for a same-sex couple.
Melissa Klein and her husband Aaron owned “Sweet Cakes by Melissa.” They served all customers without discrimination until 2013 when they were approached by repeat customers for a custom cake — but this time it was to celebrate the same-sex marriage of a lesbian couple.
They refused to participate, citing the Bible’s teaching against homosexuality and their faith. As a result, the couple filed a complaint with the state, which fined them $135,000.
When they first appealed to the Supreme Court, the justices sent their case back down to Oregon courts citing the 2018 ruling in Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, where they sided with a Christian baker who refused to bake a same-sex wedding cake for a gay couple.
The high court’s 2018 ruling, though, in Masterpiece only noted that the baker did not receive a fair hearing from the Colorado commission, and the state’s civil rights commission was biased against him.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/sep/8/christian-baker-oregon-returns-supreme-court-over-/
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3. Requests to serve in abortion states considered, Top general: Army’s needs come first with no placement guarantee, By Ben Wolfgang, The Washington Times, September 9, 2022, Pg. A9
The Army will consider requests from soldiers who want to serve in states where abortion is still legal, the service’s chief of staff said in an interview published Wednesday, pledging that the Pentagon will “try to make it work for them” if possible.
During a virtual forum with the news outlet Defense One, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville stressed that the Army’s needs will come first. He said that soldiers can make requests to serve in a specific locale, but there is no guarantee such accommodations will be made.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/sep/7/army-will-consider-soldiers-requests-not-serve-sta/
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4. McCarrick case drags on a year after his arraignment in Massachusetts, By John Lavenburg, Crux, September 9, 2022
Just more than a year after ex-cardinal and ex-priest Theodore McCarrick was arraigned in a Massachusetts criminal court on assault and battery charges, proceedings continue on without an imminent conclusion.
Another status update in the case came and went in Dedham District Court on Sept. 8 without any progress and another continuance to Nov. 1.
McCarrick was criminally charged in July 2021, with three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 stemming from the alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old boy during a wedding reception at Wellesley College on June 8, 1974.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2022/09/mccarrick-case-drags-on-a-year-after-his-arraignment-in-massachusetts
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5. Conservative German Catholic Bishops Block Call for Liberalizing Teaching on Sex, The progressive agenda of German Catholic leaders has drawn warnings from the Vatican that it could divide the church, By Francis X. Rocca, The Wall Street Journal, September 8, 2022, 2:30 PM
A conservative minority of Germany’s Catholic bishops on Thursday surprisingly blocked a measure calling on Pope Francis to liberalize church teaching on sexuality, following Vatican warnings that such a move could divide the worldwide church.
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The statement on sexual ethics debated on Thursday called for removing traditional prohibitions against contraception, homosexual acts and masturbation, and for permitting the blessing of same-sex unions.
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Rejection of the proposal was likely to cheer conservatives and dismay progressives, both of whom had seen the German initiative as the vanguard of liberalization in the church.
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Thirty-three of 57 German bishops voted in favor of the statement, with 21 opposed and 3 abstaining. A supermajority of two-thirds of the bishops voting is required for final approval of synod statements. The proposal garnered the required two-thirds of the synod as a whole, with 159 in favor, 33 against and 4 abstaining.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/conservative-german-catholic-bishops-block-call-for-liberalizing-teaching-on-sex-11662660340?
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6. German bishops spike ‘synodal way’ sex document, By Luke Coppen and JD Flynn, The Pillar, September 8, 2022, 12:42 PM
Members of the German “synodal way” failed to pass on Thursday a resolution calling for a change in the Church’s approach to sexual ethics. The resolution failed to gain enough support from bishops at a synodal meeting held this week in Frankfurt.
More than two-thirds of participants in the synodal way process voted to adopt a 30-page document entitled “Life in succeeding relationships – The principles of renewed sexual ethics.”
But the resolution did not gain two-thirds of the synodal way’s bishop participants, a requirement for the passage of any resolution. Sixty-one percent of voting German bishops were in favor of the resolution, according to initial German media reports; 33 bishops voted for the motion, 3 abstained, and 21 bishops voted no, enough to stop the resolution’s passage.
The text argued that “it will not be possible to reorient pastoral care without re-defining the emphasis of the Church’s sexual teaching to a significant degree.”
It said it is “urgently necessary to overcome some of the restrictions in questions of sexuality, for reasons of sexual science as well as theology.”
The draft text also asserted that “same-sex sexuality – also expressed in sexual acts – is … not a sin that causes separation from God, and it is not to be judged as intrinsically bad.”
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/german-bishops-spike-synodal-way-sex-document/
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7. Michigan’s high court puts abortion question on Nov. ballot, By Joey Cappelletti, Sara Burnett and Ed White, Associated Press, September 8, 2022, 7:11 PM
Voters will determine whether to place abortion rights in the Michigan Constitution, the state Supreme Court declared Thursday, settling the issue a day before the fall ballot must be completed.
Abortion rights would be guaranteed if the amendment passes on Nov. 8. A 1931 state law makes it a crime to perform most abortions, but the law was suspended in May and a judge this week followed up by striking it down as unconstitutional.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/michigans-high-court-puts-abortion-question-on-nov-ballot/2022/09/08/2fe2b89a-2fbd-11ed-bcc6-0874b26ae296_story.html
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8. Pope praises Queen Elizabeth’s ‘unstinting service,’ faith in Christ, By Elise Ann Allen, Crux, September 8, 2022
After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Pope Francis on Thursday expressed his sorrow for the monarch’s passing and praised her devotion to her people, as well as her deep faith in Jesus Christ.
In a Sept. 8 statement addressed to King Charles III, Elizabeth’s eldest child, the pope said he was “deeply saddened” by the queen’s death, and he offered “heartfelt condolences” to the Royal Family, and to the people of the United Kingdom and the commonwealth.
“I willingly join all who mourn her loss in praying for the late Queen’s eternal rest, and in paying tribute to her life of unstinting service to the good of the nation and the commonwealth, her example of devotion to duty, her steadfast witness of faith in Jesus Christ and her firm hope in his promises,” he said.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-uk-and-ireland/2022/09/pope-praises-queen-elizabeths-unstinting-service-faith-in-christ
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9. Judge rules for religious adoption agency limiting services, By Associated Press, September 7, 2022
A federal judge ruled that New York state could not require a Christian family services agency to provide adoption services to unmarried or same-sex couples.
New Hope Family Services in Syracuse professes that it cannot provide adoption services to same-sex or unmarried couples because of religious beliefs. It filed a federal lawsuit against the state Office of Children and Family Services in 2018 after the agency told it to revise its “discriminatory and impermissible” policy or shut down its adoption program, according to court filings.
U.S. District Court Judge Mae A. D’Agostino in Albany cited free speech protections Tuesday in granting New Hope a summary judgment and ruling the state agency couldn’t compel New Hope to provide adoption services to unmarried or same-sex couples.
https://apnews.com/article/religion-new-york-lawsuits-gay-rights-84d80d7f89dfb4e13a587edb932d034e
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10. Religious Pro-Life Americans Under Attack: A Threat Assessment of Post-Dobbs America, By Religious Freedom Institute, September 2022
A range of dangerous actors in the United States today are violently attacking pro-life institutions. As a result, these institutions are facing an increasingly perilous reality in post-Dobbs America: some of the most fervent opponents of pro-life Americans and their institutions have become more malicious and violent in their attacks, which have included arson, death threats, property destruction, and menacing or vile graffiti.
These crimes not only imperil American citizens, their institutions, their property, and, often, their life’s work. When aimed at pro-life congregations and organizations motivated by religious conviction, they also constitute assaults on the inalienable right of religious freedom guaranteed to all Americans in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. As such, they threaten to destroy the pluralism so central to our ability to live in harmony despite our differences—e pluribus unum.
The Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) commissioned a former FBI counter-terrorism and intelligence expert to assess the crimes, and the prospects for future attacks, in the wake of the Dobbs decision.
https://religiousfreedominstitute.org/religious-pro-life-americans-under-attack/
__________________________________________________________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. |
