Ottawa, Canada, Jul 10, 2018 / 03:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Legal opposition continues to gather against a new rule for a long-standing Canadian summer jobs program, which requires grant applicants to affirm abortion access as a human right.
Previous le… […]
Washington D.C., Jul 9, 2018 / 07:25 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- President Donald Trump announced Monday night he is nominating Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created when Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement June 27.
In a brief speech after the announcement, Kavanaugh spoke about the importance of his Catholic upbringing and how it has affected his career.
The July 9 announcement came after much speculation over how Trump will choose to shape the Supreme Court during his first term. This is the second vacancy he has filled; previously, he appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
Confirmation hearings are expected to begin shortly in the Senate.
Trump said that Kavanaugh “has devoted his life to public service.”
After being introduced, Kavanaugh said he is “deeply honored” to be nominated.
“The motto of my Jesuit high school was ‘men for others’,” said Kavanaugh, who graduated from Georgetown Preparatory School in Washington, D.C. “I have tried to live that creed.”
“I am part of the vibrant Catholic community in the D.C. area,” he said at his nomination. “The members of that community disagree about many things, but we are united in our commitment to serve.”
Kavanaugh highlighted his commitment to service, both in and out of the courtroom. He volunteers serving meals to the homeless, coaching his daughter’s basketball team, and tutoring at an elementary school.
He made special mention of Msgr. John Enzler, President and CEO of Catholic Charities, who was present at the announcement.
“40 years ago, I was an altar boy for Fr. John,” said Kavanaugh, adding that they now serve the homeless together through his work with Catholic Charities.
Kavanaugh currently serves on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, and has done so since 2006. Previously, he worked in the George W. Bush White House.
Bush said that Kavanaugh “is a brilliant jurist who has faithfully applied the Constitution and laws throughout his 12 years on the D.C. Circuit. He is a fine husband, father, and friend — a man of the highest integrity.”
Kavanaugh clerked for Justice Kennedy.
He received his undergraduate and law degrees from Yale University. He and his wife, Ashley, have two daughters.
On abortion, not much is known regarding his personal views. Kavanaugh recently wrote a decision that prevented a pregnant undocumented minor in federal custody from receiving an abortion. The decision was overturned by another court.
Kavanaugh has written dissents in the past opposing undocumented persons voting in union elections and was opposed to expanding visas to foreign workers when there were Americans who could do the job.
His 2015 ruling on the HHS contraception mandate was met with a mixed response. While he sided with Priests for Life in their case against the Obama administration, he appeared to acknowledge a “compelling” interest in the availability of government-provided contraception, which had previously been recognized by members of the Supreme Court.
In a case involving the Washington Metro’s prohibition on religious-themed advertisements, including an ad by the Archdiocese of Washington, Kavanaugh was “unrelenting” in his questioning of the Metro’s lawyer, saying that he believed the prohibition was “discriminatory.”
Davao, Philippines, Jul 9, 2018 / 05:17 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Filipino bishops conference has called for three days of prayer and fasting, about a month after President Rodrigo Duterte called God “stupid,” among other things. After the i… […]
Washington D.C., Jul 9, 2018 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- After critics charged that US delegates threatened Ecuador to prevent a World Health Organization resolution supporting breastfeeding, President Trump and administration officials say the U.S. supports breastfeeding.
The New York Times reported July 8 that during a WHO meeting in May, American officials threatened Ecuador with sanctions if it would not withdraw its sponsorship for a resolution in support of breastfeeding. US officials say the matter is more complicated.
The resolution was primarily meant to prevent dishonest or inaccurate marketing of baby formula, subsequently promoting breastfeeding as the healthiest choice for babies, Britain’s Baby Milk Action Policy Director Patti Rundall said in an interview with NPR.
Rundell said the resolution was “all about trading, and trading goods that really are misleadingly marketed.”
The resolution, sponsored by the Ecuador, encouraged governments to oppose marketing that claims baby formula is better for babies than breastfeeding.
But an HHS spokeswoman said that “the resolution as originally drafted placed unnecessary hurdles for mothers seeking to provide nutrition to their children,”
Caitlin Oakley, a spokesperson for the US Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement that “”The issues being debated were not about whether one supports breastfeeding.”
“The United States was fighting to protect women’s abilities to make the best choices for the nutrition of their babies.
“Many women are not able to breastfeed for a variety of reasons, these women should not be stigmatised; they should be equally supported with information and access to alternatives for the health of themselves and their babies.”
The New York Times reported that the US attempted to “water down” the wording of the resolution, focusing on two passages, the article said: one requiring that countries “‘protect, promote and support breast-feeding,’” and another that would place restrictions on companies selling baby formula that is, according to health officials, harmful.
Their efforts were unsuccessful, so, according to media reports, the US reportedly “threatened” any country that supported the resolution, including Ecuador and several South American and African countries. The US has denied allegations it threatened any country during negotiations.
Though Ecuador withdrew its support for the resolution, Russian delegates took up its sponsorship, and the measure passed, amended partially by the US in two ways: language was removed offering WHO support for nations trying to stop ‘inappropriate promotion of foods for infants and young children,” and the phrase “‘evidence-based” was added to some provisions about advertisements supporting breastfeeding.
Critics charge that the US delegation is unduly influenced by lobbyists for formula manufacturers.
Erroneously advertised baby formulas, while claiming to be authentic, can be detrimental to babies’ health. They can sometimes even cause death, Rundall said.
“I don’t think people thought about it very much,” she said, “that… marketing could lead people to the extent… that you would actually have babies dying.”
In a tweet Monday, President Trump said that the “U.S. strongly supports breast feeding but we don’t believe women should be denied access to formula. Many woman need this option because of malnutrition and poverty.”
Harrisburg, Pa., Jul 9, 2018 / 02:40 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Several Pennsylvania news outlets and victims of clergy sex abuse sued Friday for the release of a grand jury report which details cases of abuse in six of the state’s eight Catholic dioceses. The state supreme court had blocked the release.
Todd Frey, who testified to the grand jury about having been abused by a priest, filed a petition with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court July 6, saying the delayed release of the report is re-traumatizing victims. Philadelphia attorney Tom Kline has filed suit on behalf of another, unnamed victim.
Frey’s court filing said the stay on the report’s release “replicates and continues” the silencing he experienced as a youth.
Nine news outlets argued that Pennsylvania law requires that the more-than-800-page report, a “matter of extraordinary public importance”, be released publicly.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced June 29 he would be taking legal action to force the report’s release.
The state’s two dioceses which are not subjects of the report, Philadelphia and Altoona-Johnstown, have already undergone similar investigations.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court stayed the release of the report June 20, after numerous individuals named in the report objected to its release, citing concerns of due process and reputational rights guaranteed by the state constitution.
Those who requested a block on the release of the report have said that though they could file written rebuttals with the grand jury, they could not present their own testimony or evidence, or cross-examine witnesses.
The objections were made by around 24 persons, including current and former clerics. The dioceses named in the report have all said they did not apply for the stay, and that they support the publication of the report.
The individuals who asked for the stay said the report “denies them due process based upon the lack of a pre-deprivation hearing and/or an opportunity to be heard by the grand jury,” according to the state supreme court.
Justin Danilewitz, an attorney representing the current and former clerics who sought to block the report’s release, said the report is replete with inaccuracies. He wrote that “grand jury secrecy protects those, like the Clergy Petitioners, whose reputations may be unjustly harmed, including the innocent wrongly accused.”
Lawyers for the media outlets requesting the report’s release have said a redacted version could be released to respond to those concerns, while the court considers challenges to the full report’s release, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Some priests have said they would not object to the release of a redacted version of the report, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News.
Efrem Grail, an attorney representing an individual named in the report, has written that “There is simply no reason why speed in this entire proceeding will lead to anything other than injustice and confusion.”
Witnesses who testified to the grand jury want the report “to bring sweeping change, forcing their abusers and the church to be accountable and take responsibility. They hope it encourages other victims who haven’t come forward after years of dealing alone with their trauma to get the help they need. They also hope it propels lawmakers to change Pennsylvania law to give prosecutors more time to pursue charges against child predators and victims more time to sue for damages,” according to the Associated Press.
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted in 2002 a Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which has been the foundation for the efforts to provide a safe environment in the Church in the US.
The charter obligates all compliant dioceses and eparchies to provide resources both for victims of abuse and resources for abuse prevention. Each year, the USCCB releases an extensive report on the dioceses and eparchies, including an audit of all abuse cases and allegations, and recommended policy guidelines for dioceses. The guidelines of the current charter have been implemented in every US diocese.
The charter has been continually updated, including earlier this year.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has said its stay order will be revisited “when the proceedings before it have advanced to a stage at which either the petitions for review can be resolved, or an informed and fair determination can be made as to whether a continued stay is warranted.”
Petitioners must submit briefs to the court by July 10, and the attorney general is to respond by July 13.
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Chicago, Ill., Jul 9, 2018 / 02:12 pm (CNA).- Thousands of marchers joined Chicago priest Father Michael Pfleger to protest gun violence on Saturday, shutting down more than a mile of the city’s busiest highway.
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John Zmirak’s Politically Incorrect Guide to Catholicism is a witty, acerbic, and clear book that shows up the ongoing crisis in contemporary Catholicism. […]
Vatican City, Jul 9, 2018 / 09:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis sent his prayers and condolences to Japan Monday following the death of at least 119 people in some of the worst flooding and landslides the country has seen in decades.
Heavy rains a… […]
San Sebastian, Spain, Jul 8, 2018 / 04:33 pm (ACI Prensa).- Fr. Juan Pablo Aroztegi became the youngest priest in the diocese of San Sebastian, Spain, when he was ordained last weekend by Bishop José Ignacio Munilla at Good Shepherd Cathedral.
According to reports in various local media, Aroztegi, age 35, began to discern his vocation after an agnostic friend asked him why he was a Christian.
Until then, he had not questioned why he was following Jesus Christ, nor what he wanted to do with his life. He was working as an industrial engineer at a software company in Pamplona at that time, but after a profound reflection, he decided to join the seminary.
He described the decision to enter the seminary as one of the “greatest moments of freedom” in his life. When he told the agnostic friend who had questioned him that he was becoming a seminarian, the friend replied that he has been expecting it.
“Your friends know you and can intuit your decisions. It’s ironic that an agnostic friend made me question my Christian life and my vocation,” Aroztegi said.
While the majority of his friends are non-believers, the new priest said that they have respect for his faith and his decision. Some of them attended his ordination Mass last Sunday.
“The conversations I had with some of them to tell them of my decision was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. I felt free and I was open about who I am. We spoke about important issues we had never dealt with before,” he recalled.
His family was also surprised when he announced his decision to pursue the priesthood, although he had always lived his faith “in a very natural way.”
Fr. Aroztegi said that he always went to Mass with his family on Sundays, but had never imagined that he would become a priest, instead assuming that he would marry and have a family.
“[Priesthood] didn’t even cross my mind,” he told Diaro Vasco. “Certainly the best things that have happened to me in life have been unexpected.”
“In that sense I am in expectation of everything that awaits me in priestly life. I sincerely hope for an intense and exciting life, with good moments, and others with the cross and suffering as in any other path in life.”
Looking to the future, Aroztegi said he would like to follow the example of some priests who have been important in his life.
“I admire the priests who aren’t looking for success or applause, but help whoever needs it without anyone knowing about it. I am drawn to the priest who is humble in every sense, the one who sees himself as just another Christian, a disciple of Jesus who is on his way just like anybody else. The priest who is a man of God, prays for his people and seeks nothing more than the things of God. And above all I am drawn to the priest who creates unity, who knows how to be with others,” he said.
He also explained that one of the challenges of a priest is “to form Christian communities where one can live the greatness of life in Christ,” and so he encourages “going to the essential, to what’s important in life, to love and be loved,” and said that if Christianity is lived with authenticity, it is “truly attractive.”
Aroztegi told Diaro Vasco news that in the days leading up to his July 2 ordination, he was “calm and excited” because “what at the beginning was like a flame of fire within me, small but which I could not doubt, during those years was getting stronger.”
“I arrived at [the ordination] peaceful because I felt very free. And at the same time, the emotion is great. I am excited about everything it means, and because I will be able to give myself totally to that which I feel called.”
This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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