For the past few months my youngest daughter has been studying modern history. As part of the curriculum, she has had to memorize a timeline of important events. Many of these, of course, involve immense […]
Washington D.C., Nov 6, 2019 / 06:18 pm (CNA).- Nearly three quarters of Catholics in the United States are not opposed to couples cohabiting before marriage, despite the Church’s moral teaching.
A new survey by the Pew Research Center, released Nov. 6, reports that Americans as a whole are very accepting of unmarried couples living together, even if they have no plans to marry. Additionally, Pew found that a shrinking percentage of adults are getting married, and an increasing number of adults have decided to cohabit.
Only 14% of adults surveyed said they did not believe that it was ever acceptable for two unmarried adults in a romantic relationship to live together. An additional 16% said that they agreed with cohabitation only if there were plans for the couple to one day get married.
Of the people surveyed, 69% said they believed it was acceptable for an unmarried couple to live together, without any plans to eventually wed.
In 2002, the National Survey of Family Growth found that while 54% of adults between the ages of 18 and 44 had ever cohabited with a romantic partner, 60% had ever been married. By 2017, the number of adults who had ever been married dropped to 50%, while the number of adults who had cohabitated rose to 54%.
Pew found that race and religion played a role in whether or not a person was approving of the ideal of cohabitation. A total of 72% of white respondents said that cohabitation without a plan to get married was acceptable, with an additional 13% saying they approved of cohabitation without a plan to get married. Of black survey respondents, 23%, the largest of any ethnic group, said that they did not thing cohabitation was ever acceptable. Only 55% of black respondents said they approved of cohabitation without planning on getting married.
For Hispanics, only 10% of respondents said it was never acceptable to cohabitate. Slightly over one-fifth of Hispanic respondents – 21% – said they found cohabitation acceptable as long as there were wedding bells in the future.
Religion was a factor as well. Catholics and white mainline Protestants had nearly identical rates of approval of cohabitation–the survey found that 74% of Catholics and 76% of white Protestants who do not claim to be born-again or evangelical were okay with an unmarried couple cohabitating. Conversely, this figure dropped to 47% for blacked Protestants and 35% for white evangelical Protestants.
A full 90% of religiously unaffiliated people approved of cohabitation, and fewer than a third of this group said they believed society would be better off if more couples who cohabited got married.
White evangelical Christians were more likely than any other group to say that they believed increased marriage rates were better for society.
The survey also showed that married adults are more satisfied with their relationship than are those who cohabit, and they are more trustful of their partners.
The data for this survey came from the American Trends Panel, which was taken June 25- July 8. A total of 9,834 people were surveyed. Pew said the margin of error was about 1.5 points.
During the Fall 2013 USCCB General Assembly, Cardinal Sean O’Malley spoke to CNA about the reasons why couples are increasingly turning to cohabit. O’Malley cited financial instability–particularly student loans–as well as cultural norms as for why this was the case.
“Concerns about marriage – people not getting married, falloff in Mass attendance, (and the) challenge of catechizing the young Catholics” are some of the more troubling trends facing Catholicism in the U.S., the Archbishop of Boston said to CNA Nov. 11, during the general assembly of the national bishops’ conference in Baltimore.
The cardinal noted that “the whole notion of family is so undercut by the cohabitation mentality,” and that these social trends are having a tremendous impact on the working-class communities “who were once the backbone of the Church.”
“Half of the children born to that demographic are born out of wedlock,” a statistic that Cardinal O’Malley said would have been “inconceivable” a few decades ago.
Nairobi, Kenya, Nov 6, 2019 / 05:01 pm (CNA).- Bishops in Africa have raised concerns about the agenda of the Nairobi Summit, a United Nations gathering being held next week, saying the meeting will be destructive to humanity and the values around human life.
Sponsored by the UN Population Fund and the governments of Kenya and Denmark, the Nairobi Summit marks the 25th anniversary of the Cairo Conference on Population and Development. It will be held in Nairobi Nov. 12-14.
Its program includes five themes, among which are “Universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights as a part of universal health coverage” and “Upholding the right to sexual and reproductive health care even in humanitarian and fragile contexts.”
Bishop Alfred Rotich, Bishop Emeritus of the Military Ordinariate of Kenya and chair of the Kenyan bishops’ family life office, told ACI Africa: “We find such a conference not good for us, (and) destroying the agenda for life.”
“There will be about 10,000 people here and we know what they are for, they are not pro-life but they are 10,000 abortionists. They are practitioners of what is against life. Their coming here is to endorse a wrong policy,” Bishop Rotich stated.
The bishop described Kenya as a country “always open and ready and receptive to all manner of discussion and things,” and wondered why the Kenyan president has offered the country as a market where the pro-choice agenda can be be sold.
“We are looking at it from the African culture and we are asking the nation through the president, have we no values?” Bishop Rotich asked.
He continued: “What is the constitution saying about the respect of God? What is our interpretation, we as independent and sovereign nation? Are we aware of the enemy that is continually interfering with our tradition and culture of protecting life?”
He described the summit as an intrusion that is a “dragon against our agenda for life” and affirmed, “We must protect our borders, which (are) in this case the life of this country – now and in the future.”
Archbishop Martin Kivuva of Mombasa described the summit’s agenda as “unacceptable according to our teaching of the Catholic Church” and, like Bishop Rotich, he cautioned president Uhuru Kenyatta to be wary of the forum.
“Be warned Mr. President, these (ICPD25 agenda) are the issues you should watch out,” Archbishop Kivuva said, adding: “We need to say no, we cannot take this.”
Referring to the organizers of the summit, Archbishop Kivuva said that “It is not the first time they are doing this, and they have a hidden agenda.”
“Remember most of this is about population reduction and yet in Europe there is zero growth yet they tell us we are many,” Archbishop Kivuva said, adding that the foreign organizers of the summit “tell us we are poor because we are many. That is a lie! We are poor because they took and still take our resources. Look at DR Congo, with all the minerals it should be the richest country.”
Bishop Charles Kasonde of Solwezi, chairman of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa, described Africa’s population as “doing good” and “moderate”.
“In terms of population, it is poverty that drags us down otherwise as the population for Africa we are sparsely populated,” Bishop Kasonde of Solwezi told ACI Africa.
To counter the agenda of the Nairobi Summit, the Kenya Christian Professionals Forum, with the backing of Kenya’s bishops, has organized a parallel convention to be held Nov. 11-14.
A version of this story was initially reported by CNA’s sister agency, ACI Africa. It has been adapted by CNA.
Gallup, N.M., Nov 6, 2019 / 04:01 pm (CNA).- The Diocese of Gallup has chosen to stop using Zoom Video Communications for its internet meetings, citing the company’s support of abortion rights.
Eric Yuan, the founder and CEO of Zoom, was among the 187 executives who signed a letter that appeared a full-page ad in the New York Times June 10 criticizing regulations on abortion passed by state legislatures.
“Due to the company’s vocal support for abortion, the Diocese of Gallup has ceased all business with Zoom and will instead be seeking the use of an alternative platform for online meetings and presentations,” read a letter sent to the diocese’s schools and parishes.
The diocese’s education office had been utilizing Zoom for several years.
While acknowledging that “our monthly transactions with Zoom were not large,” the diocese said that “large or small, we cannot contribute to a company with anti-life policies.”
“It is distressing that the CEOs who paid for the ad call abortion restrictions ‘bad for business’, as if the life of a human being can be measured solely in monetary and economic value. We wholeheartedly reject this view.”
The Gallup diocese stated: “Each human, made in the image and likeness of God, is inherently worthy and has a right to life, from conception to natural death. We do not want to lose even a single future child, future student, future mother, father, sister or brother to abortion.”
“In providing the highest-quality Catholic education to our students, we must also strive to follow Christ and the teachings of his Church. We cannot truly be Christlike if we cooperate with evil or provide monetary support – even in the smallest amount – to other companies and institutions who promote and foster abortion, euthanasia, or other anti-life actions,” the diocese added.
The diocese has indicated that several Catholic companies and groups also use Zoom for video conferencing, and hopes that its decision may raise awareness of the company’s stance on abortion.
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Fort Wayne, Ind., Nov 6, 2019 / 02:31 pm (CNA).- The unlikely friendship between a controversial abortion doctor and a local Catholic shows the impact of encounter and friendship in spreading the Gospel, reflected a priest after the abortionist’s death.
On Sept. 16, police launched an investigation after more than 2,000 remains of aborted children were found at the former home of abortion doctor Ulrich “George” Klopfer in Will County, Illinois.
Klopfer, 75, had died about a week before the fetal remains were discovered on his property. He had spent four decades performing abortions at clinics in Indiana and Illinois.
For years, Klopfer’s abortion practice had been criticized for a lack of safeguards. His license was suspended in 2016 because he failed to exercise reasonable care and violated documentation requirements, according to local reports.
In a homily on Sept. 15, Father Dan Scheidt of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Parish in Fort Wayne said that one of the parishioners from the church had befriended Klopfer while he was alive. The parishioner, who was not named in the homily, would routinely pray outside one of the clinics where Klopfer worked, and the two eventually got to know one another.
“Even after his [medical] license was taken away from the state, George Klopfer kept returning to his closed clinic so that he could get out of his car and sit in the passenger seat of the Saint Vincent’s parishioner’s car and talk to his friend. Every single Thursday, George Klopfer drove from Chicago to be with his friend.”
Through the parishioner, Scheidt said he was also introduced to Klopfer.
“Twice I sat next to that man, who is responsible for the ending of over 30,000 human lives,” said Scheidt. “It became clear in our conversation that we were his only friends. It’s what prompted him to drive the distance and want to meet with the priest.”
Scheidt said he learned a great deal about Klopfer and the sufferings of his life. Klopfer was born in World War II Germany and witnessed “the neglect of human beings for each other,” he said. In one story, the abortion doctor recalled Russian soldiers machine-gunning small animals for their own cruel amusement.
Before Klopfer passed away, the priest said, the Catholic parishioner believed he saw the abortion doctor undergo a change of heart. At the time of their last meeting, the parishioner had challenged Klopfer, saying, “George, it’s not too late. You are like the thief on the cross next to Jesus. You belong to Jesus, George, accept that, even in the last hour, accept that.”
“The parishioner, who so many times left the Thursday meeting with frustration at the progress, he left that meeting believing that he’d actually reached George’s heart,” Scheidt said, emphasizing that God alone knows the condition of Klopfer’s soul at the moment of his death.
Scheidt encouraged members of his congregation to imitate the actions of the parishioner, seeing everyone as more than the sum of their sins, but as a child of God.
“My brothers and sisters, we must go in search of the divine image in every person. I saw in George Klopfer not simply one who slaughtered, but a lost sheep…Somebody who needed to know his sonship,” the priest said.
He encouraged parishioners to consider anyone they may have dismissed because of that person’s sin. He asked them to call on Christ for help in inviting those people into an encounter of love.
“God possesses the ability to transform and to heal human life,” he said. “This is our story and Jesus has given us everything, everything, for us to be part of the happy ending.”
Oklahoma City, Okla., Nov 6, 2019 / 01:55 pm (CNA).- Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City broke ground Sunday on what will be the largest Catholic church in the state— the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, meant to honor a late Oklahoma priest on the path to sainthood.
“What we are about to construct here we are building for the honor and glory of God whose goodness, whose holiness, whose faithfulness, whose mercy is shown through the life of Father Stanley Rother,” Archbishop Coakley said during his Nov. 3 homily.
Rother was born in 1935 in Okarche, Oklahoma, about 40 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. He graduated from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Maryland and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa in 1963.
Five years after his ordination, Fr. Rother accepted an invitation to join the mission team at Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, a poor rural community of mostly indigenous people.
Rother served the people of the parish during the Guatemalan civil war. He briefly returned to his home state of Oklahoma after a death threat, then returned knowing the dangers.
Rother was martyred in his rectory in the early morning hours of July 28, 1981 by men involved in the civil war who were attempting to kidnap him at gunpoint.
Coakley on Sunday blessed the cornerstone of the planned Spanish-style colonial shrine, the ground where the future main altar will be located, as well as the area where Blessed Rother will be entombed.
Most of Rother’s body is buried in Okarche, but his heart remained in Guatemala and became a relic upon his beatification.
Funds for the $40 million shrine come in large part from the archdiocese’s first ever capital campaign. The site will include a 2,000-seat church, a chapel where Rother’s body will be entombed, an education building, an event space and several areas designated for shrines and devotion, according to the archdiocese.
Also in attendance at the ceremony were Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, Archbishop Emeritus Eusebius Beltran, Tulsa Bishop David Konderla and Little Rock Bishop Anthony Taylor, along with nearly 2,000 priests, deacons and laypeople.
The shrine will host many large diocesan events and will help accommodate the growing Hispanic population whose parishes are significantly overcrowded, the archdiocese says.
The Oklahoma City archdiocese opened Rother’s cause for canonization in 2007, and Pope Francis recognized Rother as a martyr in 2016. His Rite of Beatification took place Sept. 23, 2017, in downtown Oklahoma City with more than 20,000 people in attendance.
Rother is the first martyr from the United States and the first U.S.-born priest to be beatified, the archdiocese says.
Rother was, according to those who knew him, a quiet man who struggled with academics at times. He was well-suited for missionary life and was much-beloved by the Tz’utujil indigenous people he served, who called him “Padre Apla’s.”
The fruits of Rother’s service in Guatemala are still apparent, Coakley and others have told CNA.
Rother helped to translate the Bible into the native language, organizing a team to translate the New Testament so they could read it at Mass. That translation is still used to this day.
He also helped to build schools, hospitals, wells, and a Catholic radio station.
“The Catholic community in Santiago Atitlan is incredibly vibrant and active. I’ve never seen as many altar servers as they have at each Sunday Mass in Santiago – it’s incredible,” said Father Josh Mayer, a priest of the Diocese of Gallup who visited Rother’s mission in Guatemala for his feast day last summer.
“The Eucharistic Ministers and lectors and catechists and other ministry groups are all incredibly well organized and everyone takes their roles very seriously. The people are very proud of what they do for Jesus and His Church. Every time I visit the parish of Santiago Apostol [St. James the Apostle], I’m inspired with a vision of what we could do at our parishes back home.”
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New York City, N.Y., Nov 6, 2019 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- A federal judge in New York overturned the Trump administration’s conscience protection rule for health care workers on Wednesday.
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