Faith in the news

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: Crux
Link: cruxnow DOT com/church-in-the-usa/2024/01/maine-bishop-blasts-liberal-abortion-bill-as-immoral-and-unnecessary

Maine bishop blasts liberal abortion bill as ‘immoral and unnecessary’

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NEW YORK — A proposal from Maine legislators to codify the right to an abortion throughout a pregnancy in the state’s constitution has drawn the ire of the state’s lone Catholic bishop, who has called the proposal “immoral and unnecessary.”

The proposal, made earlier this week, follows last summer’s passage of a bill that expanded abortion access in the state from about 24 weeks — when a fetus is generally viable outside of the womb — to any time during a pregnancy if deemed medically necessary by a licensed physician.

That bill narrowly passed by a 73–69 vote, giving Maine one of the least restrictive abortion laws in the United States. State legislators now look to cement that reality with their new proposal to amend the constitution.

“This is a political attempt to distract from the heinous law passed last June that eliminated any restrictions for abortion,” Bishop Robert Deely of Portland, Maine, said in a statement. “A change to the constitution to promote abortion on demand will affect unborn children who cannot speak for themselves but will suffer the ultimate price.”

The proposal, bill L.D. 780, reads: “Every person has a right to personal reproductive autonomy, which is central to dignity and the liberty to determine one’s own life course. The State may not deny or infringe on the right to personal reproductive autonomy unless the denial or infringement is justified by a compelling state interest and is accomplished using the means that least denies or infringes on the right.”

Given how narrow the vote was to pass the abortion expansion last summer, it will be difficult for the current proposal to pass — it takes approval votes from two-thirds of the state house and senate, and approval on a statewide ballot, to amend Maine’s constitution.

[…]

Deely is one of a number of Catholic bishops who will travel to Washington, D.C., this week to participate in the National Prayer Vigil for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, held today, and tomorrow’s National March for Life.

Bishop Michael Burbidge or Arlington, the U.S. Bishops’ Conference pro-life chair, is the celebrant and of the vigil’s opening Mass, held this evening. Earlier this week, Burbidge issued a statement ahead of the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion nationwide.

[…]

Commenting on abortion policy post Roe, Burbidge said “human life remains gravely threatened by legalized abortion in most states and it continues to be aggressively promoted at the federal level.”

Burbidge added that the American bishops remain committed to work for the legal protection of every human life from conception to natural death. He also noted that equally as important as advocating for abortion restrictions, is helping women who face unexpected pregnancies, and being there to support new mothers and their babies.

“May all people of faith and good will proclaim that human life is a precious gift from God and that each person who receives this gift has responsibilities toward God, self, and others,” Burbidge said. “And may we work together towards the day when society, through its laws and institutions, protects and nurtures human life at every stage of its existence.”

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: National Catholic Reporter
Link: ncronline DOT org/news/bostons-first-brazilian-catholic-bishop-wants-immigrants-feel-home

Boston's first Brazilian Catholic bishop wants immigrants to 'feel at home'

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Boston, Mass. — Boston's Fr. Cristiano Barbosa was consecrated on Feb. 3 as a new auxiliary bishop for the archdiocese. He is Boston's first Brazilian-born bishop and is the second Brazilian-born bishop in the United States.

Born and raised in Brazil, Barbosa was ordained for the Diocese of Bauru in 2007. He came to Boston in 2008 to study at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, where he earned a licentiate in theology and a doctorate in sacred theology. He has served the Brazilian and Portuguese-speaking communities of the archdiocese since his arrival, and was incardinated into the archdiocese in 2021.

Barbosa is currently the secretary for evangelization and discipleship as well as episcopal vicar for the central region of the Boston Archdiocese, roles in which he plans to continue as bishop. At 47, he is the second youngest U.S. bishop.

"I'm asking God for all the graces I need to serve, and to serve better, to be a good bishop," Barbosa said in a recent NCR interview. "People ask me my mission, and my mission is to support [Boston Cardinal Seán O'Malley] in his mission."

[…]

"I'm very pleased and encouraged by his appointment," Fr. Paul Soper, the archdiocese's secretary for ministerial personnel and director of clergy personnel, told NCR. "This has always been an immigrant diocese, is certainly an immigrant diocese right now, and our immigrant population is crucial to our future and increasingly a centerpoint in the life of our diocese."

The consecration ceremony reflected this diversity: The first reading was in Vietnamese, the psalm was in Spanish, and the second reading was in Haitian Creole, with the Gospel in English. Barbosa addressed the congregation afterward in Portuguese, English and Spanish. After the procession of clergy, a statue of Our Lady of Aparecida, the patroness of Brazil, was carried up to the chancel. Some congregants waved a Brazilian flag.

One challenge the diocese faces in serving the needs of immigrants is a lack of non-English speaking priests, both in general and in the specific communities where the newcomers are currently living.

"Parishes often reflect a different demographic and haven't caught up," Barbosa told NCR.

Immigrants often move from community to community as they seek new opportunities and become more prosperous, and the Masses offered in a particular language at one parish may not best serve today's population, Barbosa said.

It can be especially difficult to know where large communities of Brazilian immigrants live, as they often are designated as "white" or "Hispanic" in government data, he said.

He estimated 120,000 to 360,000 Brazilian immigrants live in the diocese.

The Archdiocese of Boston serves both Brazilian- and European-Portuguese speakers, as well as a large community of speakers of Cape Verdean Creole (a Portuguese-derived Creole language) and a smaller community of Portuguese speakers from Mozambique.

At St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Cambridge, Massachusetts, separate Masses are offered for the Brazilian and the European Portuguese communities. "It's usually the same priest, but the music is very different," Barbosa said. European Portuguese immigrants usually prefer organ and Brazilians usually prefer piano and guitar, he said.

Portugal and Brazil also use different missals. "People need to feel they are at home," said the new auxiliary bishop.

Barbosa said he hopes that by talking more about vocations and the sacrifice of the Mass with young men from Brazilian (and Latino) immigrant parishes, they will be able to raise up more priests who can offer services in Portuguese and Spanish.

"The message doesn't always get to these communities," he said.

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: America / OSV News
Link: americamagazine DOT org/politics-society/2024/03/05/france-bishops-abortion-constitution-fasting-247430

French bishops call for fasting, prayer as abortion is enshrined in country’s constitution

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PARIS (OSV News) — French bishops called for fasting and prayer as abortion was enshrined in the constitution by an overwhelming 780–72 vote, accompanied by a standing ovation when the result was announced as the parliament met in Versailles.

After several months of legislative process, the French Congress, a special body composed of both chambers of parliament, revised the country’s 1958 constitution to enshrine women’s “guaranteed freedom” to abort in Article 34, making France the first country in the world to explicitly include the right to abortion in its constitution.

French bishops called for “fasting and prayer” in a March 4 statement with the Pontifical Academy for Life releasing its own communique on the same day, saying, “There can be no ‘right’ to end a human life.”

Academy members lamented the debate over the bill in France “did not touch on support mechanisms for those who wish to keep their child” and added that the “protection of human life is humanity’s primary objective, and can only develop in a world free of conflict, where science, technology and industry are at the service of the human person and of fraternity.”

In a statement signed by Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort of Reims, president of the French bishops’ conference, and vice presidents Archbishop Vincent Jordy of Tours and Bishop Dominique Blanchet of Créteil, the bishops cried out that “of all European countries, even Western Europe, France is the only one where the number of abortions is not decreasing and has even increased over the last two years,” and that France “would have honored itself by instead promoting the rights of women and children.”

In an online post Oct. 28, 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron said that “in 2024, the right of women to choose abortion will become irreversible.” This followed a promise Macron made March 8, 2023, International Women’s Day, which was seen as a response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022.

In the wake of Congress’s move that French media called “historic,” French bishops said in a Feb. 29 statement that abortion “remains an attack on life from the very beginning,” and “cannot be seen from the sole angle of women’s rights,” regretting that “the debate initiated did not mention support measures for those who would like to keep their child” — argument repeated in the statement issued by Pontifical Academy for Life on March 4.

Several French bishops additionally stressed their anger and expressed the danger for freedom of expression about abortion in their country.

On Feb. 27, Archbishop Olivier de Germay of Lyon pointed out that constructive debate is no longer possible in France on the issue of abortion. “It is becoming difficult to express oneself on this subject without running the risk of becoming a media target,” he said.

With the bill, Archbishop Germay said, France put “the equal dignity of all human life — a principle with constitutional value — and freedom of access to abortion on the same level. How to explain such a contradiction?” he asked.

[…]

Lucie Pacherie, a lawyer for the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, which continues the research of geneticist Jérôme Lejeune on Down syndrome, told OSV News, “The freedom to have an abortion was in fact already constitutionally recognized.”

The threat, she said, is that the Congress has now “placed it at the rank of a supreme constitutional value.”

“This elevated it to a higher level than other freedoms — such as freedom of conscience or freedom of expression — which are only recognized by (statements issued by) the Constitutional Council or in other texts with constitutional value,” she said. Pacherie warned “this will put a greater pressure on those who seek to understand and remedy the often dramatic causes which can lead women to have an abortion.”

In 1958 — same year when the now-updated constitution was passed — Lejeune and two other scientists, Marthe Gautier and Raymond Turpin, discovered the chromosomal anomaly responsible for trisomy 21, known as Down syndrome.

Dismayed to see his discovery used in prenatal diagnosis, and leading to abortions, he campaigned throughout his life for the defense of human life from conception until natural death. St. John Paul II asked Lejeune to become the founding president of the Pontifical Academy for Life. He died in 1994, and in 2021 Pope Francis approved the promulgation of a decree on his heroic virtues, declaring Lejeune venerable.

“I am concerned about the taboo that now exists on this issue,” Pacherie added. “The deputies were unable to raise the ethical questions that the medical act of abortion poses, to propose amendments or evoke the conscience clauses for doctors, without being booed. The number of abortion is increasing in France, and it is impossible to debate on this subject,” she echoed the concerns of the bishops.

Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris, speaking on Catholic-run Radio Notre Dame March 2, expressed his “sadness” at seeing “the fact of not transmitting life” promoted as a positive value.

“We guarantee the freedom not to carry a pregnancy to term. But what guarantees do we have that women will have the freedom to make another choice? What support will they have?” he asked.

[…]

“This constitutionalization of abortion is the constitutionalization of a lie,” Pacherie told OSV News. “This lie hides the objective reality of abortion, which regards an unborn child, and a woman in a situation of distress.”

The Pontifical Academy for Life appealed to “all governments and all religious traditions to do their best so that, in this phase of history, the protection of life becomes an absolute priority.”

The French bishops added in their March 4 statement, “As Catholics, we will always have to remain servants of the life of each and every one, from conception to death,” and they prayed that “our fellow citizens will rediscover the taste for life, for giving it, for receiving it, for accompanying it, for having and raising children.”

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: Crux
Link: cruxnow DOT com/church-in-the-usa/2024/03/military-archbishop-deplores-plan-to-permanently-provide-abortion

Military archbishop ‘deplores’ plan to permanently provide abortion

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NEW YORK — Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, has called the federal government’s decision to make permanent a policy to provide abortion under certain circumstances “at odds with the notion that the military protects the innocent.”

On March 4, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) permanently amended its medical regulations to remove the exclusion on abortion counseling, and establish exceptions to the exclusion of abortions for those who use the department’s medical benefits package, and for those who are beneficiaries of its Civilian Health and Medical Program.

The policy has been in effect under an interim tag since 2022. The final rule goes into effect on April 3.

“The [U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’] decision is at odds with the notion that the military protects the innocent,” Broglio told Crux in a March 6 statement. “Now, the Department which was established to care for Veterans of the United States Armed Forces through service-related disabilities and retirement, affirms its decision to join what Pope Francis called ‘hit men’ — those who choose ‘to do away with a human life to solve a problem.’ ”

Broglio made clear he was responding to the VA’s decision strictly in his capacity as Archbishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and not in his capacity as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Broglio said he “deplores” the VA’s decision.

“The notion that killing an unborn child can somehow be considered ‘medical or surgical care’ certainly violates the dignity of the human person and suggests that some lives are more important than others,” Broglio said. “I deplore this decision that once more removes the right to life for the defenseless and inflicts untold physical and psychological trauma on mothers.”

[…]

In its comments with the final rule, the VA acknowledges that under Section 106 barred abortion provisions, however, adding that fact “did not limit VA’s authority to provide such services under any other statutory provision.” It goes on to explain that for years the department has already relied on other provisions for general pregnancy care and infertility services.

Broglio pushed back on the logic.

“Nonsensically, the Department claims that other statutes, which never mention abortion, create in their silence, a right to abortion, even though abortion is specifically prohibited within the larger statutory scheme for VA health care,” Broglio explained.

Broglio also took aim at the legal rhetoric the department used to justify the decision.

“This bald rhetoric ignores logic and basic tenets of statutory construction, and bellies a relentless ideological pursuit of abortion even when it is plainly contrary to law.”

As it’s written, the final rule does protect those — medical personnel, staff, and others — who have religious, or simply conscience, objections to abortion from adhering to the rule by stating that it “adheres to all applicable Federal laws relating to employee rights and protections, including protections based on an employee’s religious or conscience-based objection to abortion.”

Broglio said he expects this will remain the case.

“It is expected that the Department of Veteran Affairs will at least respect the conscience rights of medical personnel, staff, and other employees and permit them to abstain from any involvement in immoral procedures,” Broglio said.

[Del]

+JMJ+

Source: Crux
Link: cruxnow DOT com/church-in-the-usa/2024/03/military-archbishop-deplores-plan-to-permanently-provide-abortion

“Nonsensically, the Department claims that other statutes, which never mention abortion, create in their silence, a right to abortion, even though abortion is specifically prohibited within the larger statutory scheme for VA health care,” Broglio explained.

We need a better President who will issue a quick executive order commanding the VA to obey the original law as written.

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: America
Link: americamagazine DOT org/politics-society/2024/03/12/france-abortion-constitution-pro-life-247497

Pro-life groups gear up to counter historic French vote on abortion

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Mar 12, 2024 — After France became the first country in the world to enshrine abortion as a “guaranteed freedom” into its constitution, leaders from both the French and European pro-life movements say they are mobilizing to counteract the unprecedented move.

In some ways, the strategies they plan are neither new nor different, as the possibility of passing new restrictions on abortion in France has long been slim. Just two years ago, the cut-off for abortion in France was extended from 12 weeks to 14 weeks. The constitutional measure passed on March 4 by a vote of 780 to 72 in a joint session of the National Assembly and the Senate. Almost no politicians or political parties in France favor new limits on abortion.

But the latest move to protect abortion access has inspired pro-life leaders to redouble efforts where they can be successful. In the current context, their next moves include campaigns to promote pro-family public policy and legislation that will create alternatives to abortion.

Proposing and supporting social policies that support women facing unexpected pregnancies or facilitate adoption that may mean fewer abortions “is more necessary than ever,” said Caroline Roux, president of France’s Alliance Vita. “We must continue to raise awareness of the reality of abortion,” she said.

Pro-life groups point out that abortion rates in France have been trending higher, in contrast to the declining rates experienced by many other countries around the world and a regional trend that has seen abortions in Europe generally decline since the 1990s. Ms. Roux said that in the most recent data available from the French health service in 2022, the number of abortions performed in France was the highest ever recorded at 234,300.

The causes for the rise in abortions in France are not clear, according to pro-life groups, though Ms. Roux points to evidence that poverty and domestic violence are factors consistently at play in a decision to terminate a pregnancy.

[…]

“A lot of abortions could be avoided with the right support,” Ms. Roux told America. “It is clear that not all women have abortions freely and by choice, but because they lack alternatives and safety.”

Ms. Roux said that in addition to its longstanding efforts to provide direct support to women in unplanned or difficult pregnancies, Alliance Vita plans to “launch a campaign focused on the links between abortion and the pressure, violence and discrimination faced by women at the start of pregnancy.”

Other pro-life groups are organizing similar efforts. Nicolas Tardy-Joubert, president of the Paris-based Marche Pour La Vie, said his organization is campaigning for a parliamentary investigation into the causes and consequences of abortion in France. He added there is wide public support for such a study.

“What we want to do is wake up our consciences and change hearts and minds. That is our main objective,” he said. “We are not giving up.”

French pro-life groups have the support of other European pro-life organizations.

“Instead of narratives that divide women from children, we support the campaigns of our member associations,” Vincent Bassi, president of the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe, said. “Families are not a cost to society, but rather an investment. In these times of isolation, families bring intergenerational solidarity. In times of depression, families bring compassion. In times of darkness, families bring hope.”

The group’s French member association, the National Federation of Catholic Family Associations, not only provides direct services to families but also promotes the social benefits of families and advocates for stronger public policy and financial support for motherhood. The French association is promoting an ambitious family policy plan that includes more equitable state benefits for larger families, improved flexibility for maternity leave and stronger consideration of the time dedicated to motherhood in calculating state pension benefits.

On the other side of the Pyrenees, the One of Us Foundation is organizing an event in Spain to demonstrate its opposition to the French constitutional change and its support of pro-life groups.

“In Spain, we’re going to organize an action against this declaration with all of the Spanish and European pro-life associations that want to unite in defense of fundamental [human] rights, whose birthplace is Europe,” Ana del Pino, executive director of One of Us, told America. “We reject and cannot permit that Europe, which has been the cradle of fundamental rights, turns into its casket.”

Noting that some European leaders have hailed the French constitutional change, Ms. Del Pino sees a risk that the French move will inspire similar constitutional campaigns in other countries. Mr. Bassi likewise fears a ripple effect.

“The claim being made by pro-abortion legislators in France is that abortion is a human right. No such [human right] exists — this is established by the European Court of Human Rights,” he said. Now “we must not be surprised if similar changes are attempted in other countries on the continent.”

Mr. Bassi explained that growing social polarization and political populism — on both the left and the right — could encourage other political leaders to follow French President Emanuel Macron’s political lead. Mr. Macron argued that the constitutional change was necessary to create an obstacle to a legislative or judicial turnabout on abortion access like the one being experienced in the United States after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.

But the president’s critics charge that the effort to have abortion declared a constitutional right did not emerge because of an actual political threat to abortion access in France, as much as it reflected a campaign to shore up support for the Macron presidency. Abortion access is already well-protected in France. Having scored a win among pro-choice voters with this addition to the constitution, Mr. Macron on March 11 proposed a new “aid in dying bill” that would allow adults facing end-of-life illness to take lethal medication, a first in the country.

Ms. Roux believes few other European states will go as far as France.

“This new legislation may indeed give ideas to few other European countries, but I don’t think it will affect a lot of countries,” she said. “Pro-abortion movements in France are pushing for the right to abortion to be enshrined in the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, but this is far from a consensus,” she said.

She also points out that under its founding treaty, the European Union does not have the power to regulate abortion — that remains in the hands of each member state.

But pro-life groups have no intention of letting their guard down.

“We lost this battle,” Mr. Tardy-Joubert said, “but we aren’t giving up.”

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: Crux
Link: cruxnow DOT com/church-in-the-usa/2024/03/pro-life-bishop-says-vp-harris-should-visit-service-of-life-not-abortion-clinic

Pro-Life bishop says VP Harris should visit ‘service of life’ — not abortion clinic

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NEW YORK — On the day Vice President Kamala Harris visited an abortion clinic in Minnesota, a first for a U.S. vice president, the head of the U.S. Bishops’ Conference Committee on Pro-Life Activities said she should have instead visited an agency or organization at the service of life.

“I am distressed to learn that the vice president is visiting an abortion clinic when there are so many agencies and organizations who are at the service of life that she could visit,” Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, the USCCB Pro-Life Chair, told Crux in a statement.

“She could learn about all they do to welcome every child, and how they support and accompany the mothers and fathers, especially those in need,” Burbidge continued.

Harris visited a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minneapolis–St. Paul area on March 14, as the latest stop on a national tour she began in January to promote the Biden administration’s commitment to reproductive rights following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which gave the states the power to determine their abortion laws.

Harris’s visit included a tour of the facility, and a meeting with two dozen staff.

In remarks afterwards, she touted a “health crisis” that the nation is facing following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe, and called what’s happening at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota an example of “what true leadership looks like.”

“I’m here at this health care clinic to uplift the work that is happening in Minnesota as an example of what true leadership looks like, which is to understand that it is only right and fair that people have access to the healthcare they need,” Harris said.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who was present with Harris during her visit, signed sweeping abortion legislation last year that gave the midwestern state some of the loosest abortion restrictions nationwide.

[…]

In response to Harris’s March 14 visit, Maggee Hangge, a policy associate with the Minnesota Catholic Conference, told Crux that it “undermines the goal of fostering an inclusive society.”

“Vice President Harris is here to celebrate that Minnesota is one of the most permissive places for abortion anywhere in the world,” Haggee said. “This open access to abortion without protections undermines the goal of fostering an inclusive society and is out of touch with the views of most Minnesotans on the issue.”

“Irrespective of the laws today, Catholics in Minnesota are committed to walking with moms in need and identifying common ground policy solutions that foster prenatal justice, such as the child tax credit, which passed in 2023,” Hangge added.

[Jocose]

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/italy ... -or-below/

Italy faces catastrophic collapse of Catholic faith as Mass attendance falls to 10% or below

The steady, even accelerating, decline in the practice of the Catholic faith among Italians is detailed in a new study published by Professor Luca Diotallevi of the University of Rome.