Beijing, China, Dec 3, 2019 / 04:30 pm (CNA).- A Chinese bishop has said that Catholics in the country must put their loyalty to the state before the faith. Bishop John Fang Xingyao made the statement during a Communist Party sponsored meeting in Beiji… […]
Vatican City, Dec 3, 2019 / 10:03 am (CNA).- Pope Francis said Tuesday that disabled people make important contributions to humanity, and called discrimination against them a sin. The pope added that disabled people are not members of humanity’s minor “leagues.”
“We are called to recognize in every person with a disability, even with complex and serious disabilities, a unique contribution to the common good through their original life story,” he said Dec. 3.
“Recognize the dignity of each one, knowing that it does not depend on the functionality of the five senses.”
Pope Francis sent his message on the 2019 World Day of People with Disabilities, the theme of which is “the future is accessible.”
The Gospel teaches the dignity of every person, the pope said, adding that everyone must work to fight a culture which considers some people to be part of “Serie A” and others “Serie B,” a reference to the major and minor Italian soccer leagues.
“A culture that considers some lives to be ‘League A’ and others ‘League B’” based on their physical or mental abilities is “a social sin!” he added.
Francis noted that unfortunately, in some countries, people with disabilities are not treated with equal dignity, “as brothers and sisters in humanity.”
“Have the courage to give voice to those who are discriminated against due to their disability,” he said.
Inclusive laws and protections against discrimination are important, but they are not enough if not accompanied by a change of mentality, he said, “if we do not overcome a widespread culture that continues to produce inequalities, preventing active participation in ordinary life for people with disabilities.”
Pope Francis asked everyone, on this World Day of People with Disabilities, to renew their faith, a faith which sees “in every brother and sister the presence of Christ himself, who considers every gesture of love for one of the least of his brothers to be made for him.”
“On this occasion, I would like to recall that today the promotion of participation rights has a central role to combat discrimination and promote a culture of encounter and quality life,” he said.
He explained that a lot of progress has been made in the medical and welfare fields, but even today there is a culture of waste, and a feeling for many that they exist “without belonging and without participating.”
“All this calls [us] not only to protect the rights of people with disabilities and their families,” he said, “but urges us to make the world more human by removing all that prevents them from full citizenship, the obstacles of prejudice, and by promoting the accessibility of places and quality of life, which takes into account all the dimensions of the human.”
London, England, Dec 3, 2019 / 12:22 am (CNA).- A pro-life group in the UK has decried a report from a London-based medical association calling for women to be able to access abortion pills without meeting in-person with a doctor.
On Dec. 2, the Royal… […]
Vatican City, Dec 2, 2019 / 07:30 pm (CNA).- In a letter to a veteran Italian journalist, Cardinal Angelo Becciu wrote Monday that he was not involved in the purchase of a bankrupt Italian hospital, and that reports to the contrary are unreliable.
&ld… […]
Charleston, S.C., Dec 2, 2019 / 03:30 pm (CNA).- Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg quoted the Gospel of Matthew in his first statewide ad in South Carolina, the latest in the candidate’s references to Christianity in his campaign m… […]
Leeds, England, Dec 2, 2019 / 02:26 pm (CNA).- The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales are urging voters to consider issues of human rights and the dignity of human life as the country’s general election approaches, with Britain’s exit fr… […]
Canberra, Australia, Dec 2, 2019 / 02:01 pm (CNA).- Australia’s Catholic bishops support “nationally consistent” reporting standards for the abuse of minors, but cannot support new national legal standards that would force priests to … […]
Budapest, Hungary, Dec 2, 2019 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- Hungary has seen a surge in marriages in 2019 following the introduction of government incentives for couples to marry and have children, but the reforms have yet to deliver a boost to the country&rsquo… […]
Harrisburg, Pa., Dec 2, 2019 / 12:01 pm (CNA).- The Pennsylvania Senate is debating a bill that would require the burial or cremation of human remains after miscarriage or abortion.
HB 1890, the Final Disposition of Fetal Remains Act, was passed by the state House Nov. 18 by a vote of 123 to 76. It would require health care facilities to bury or cremate fetal remains not claimed by the child’s parents.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Frank Ryan, R-Lebanon, said that “we wanted to craft something that was voluntary, that provided the family with the ability for closure, the ability to understand that a human life was lost.”
Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, has said he would veto the bill if it makes it to his desk.
In November, Wolf vetoed a bill that would have banned the abortion of children prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome. He also vetoed, in 2017, a bill that would have limited abortions to 20 weeks into pregnancy, and banned dilation and evacuation abortions.
Similar bills regarding the treatment of fetal remains are being considered in Ohio and on the federal level.
The portion of an Indiana law requiring aborted babies to be cremated or buried was upheld by the US Supreme Court in May. In an unsigned opinion, the court cited a previous decision that states have a “legitimate interest in proper disposal of fetal remains.”
Vatican City, Dec 2, 2019 / 10:59 am (CNA).- Catholic business owners have both a grave responsibility and an opportunity to promote the Church’s social teaching in a difficult atmosphere, Pope Francis told young entrepreneurs Monday.
“I a… […]
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