Articles by CNA Daily News

Los Angeles, Calif., Nov 8, 2018 / 09:12 am (CNA).- Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles has offered prayers for the victims, and all who were affected by a Wednesday evening shooting at a country club in Thousand Oaks, California.

 

At least 12 people, including a Sheriff’s deputy, were killed in the attack at Borderline Bar & Grill. The venue was hosting a country-themed night for nearby college students. The shooting occurred shortly before 11:30 pm.

 

More than 20 people were taken to area hospitals for treatment following the attack.

 

The shooter, identified by authorities as 28 year-old Ian David Lang, also died of a gunshot during the attack, though it is not clear under what circumstances.

 

In a statement released by the archdiocese, Gomez said he awoke to news of “horrible violence last night at the Borderline Grill in Thousand Oaks.”

 

Gomez urged prayers for the families of the victims and for those who were killed or hurt in the shooting. He singled out Sgt. Ron Helus of the Ventura County Sheriff’s office as an “heroic officer” who was killed defending others during the attack.

 

Helus, who was due to retire next year, was the first victim to be publicly identified. After responding to the attack, he sustained multiple gunshot wounds and passed away at a nearby hospital.

 

“May God grant perpetual light to those who have died and may he bring comfort to their loved ones and peace to our community,” said Gomez.

 

A motive for the attack was not immediately available. The suspect has been identified as a Marine veteran who had numerous past run-ins with police. According to a New York Times report, Lang, a Marine Corps veteran, was the subject of a disturbance complaint at his home in April following which he spoke to mental health specialists, who concluded that he was not an immediate danger to himself or others.

 

The shooting follows an brutal anti-semitic attack on a Pittsburgh synagoge, Oct. 27, in which 11 people were killed during a service. It also follows similar mass-casualty attacks, including the Las Vegas shooting one year ago, in which 58 people lost their lives.

[…]

Washington D.C., Nov 7, 2018 / 04:30 pm (CNA).- The Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor released two updated rules concerning conscience protections for organizations and individuals in relation to the HHS contraception mandate.

 

Under the new rules, organizations and individuals objecting to the controversial mandate’s provisions on either religious or moral grounds will be exempt.

 

According to a press release from HHS, the new rules “provide an exemption from the contraceptive coverage mandate to entities and individuals that object to services covered by the mandate on the basis of sincerely held religious beliefs.”

 

“Thus,” the release said, “entities that have sincerely held religious beliefs against providing contraceptive services (or services which they consider to be abortifacients) would be exempt from the mandate and no longer be required to provide such coverage.”

 

The new rules also cover nonprofit organizations, small businesses, and individuals that have “non-religious moral convictions” opposed to the services covered by the mandate.

 

Mark Rienzi, president of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, offered praise for the new rules, saying they signaled the end of a “long, unnecessary culture war.”

 

Under the Affordable Care Act, employer-provided health insurance plans are required to cover certain “preventative services.” These were defined by guidance issued under the Obama Administration as including all contraception methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration, including abortifacient birth control pills, IUDs, and sterilization procedures.  

 

This provision was not included in the original bill, but was announced in January 2012 by then-HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

 

Initially, there were no exemptions for those opposed to the distribution of contraceptives due to their deeply-held religious beliefs. Eventually, an exemption was made, but it was so narrow in scope it excluded religious orders such as the Little Sisters of the Poor.

 

The Little Sisters of the Poor, along with several other organizations, including EWTN, filed suit against HHS over the mandate.

 

Rienzi, whose organization represented the Little Sisters of the Poor, said that the change in administration policy meant attention could now turn to ongoing cases in the states.

 

“Today, at long last, the federal government finalized the rule providing a religious exemption from the HHS Mandate to the Little Sisters and other religious non-profits.”

 

“All that is left is for state governments to admit that there are many ways to deliver these services without nuns, and the Little Sisters can return to serving the elderly poor in peace.”

 

The Little Sisters of the Poor are currently being sued by the state attorney general’s office in Pennsylvania and California.

 

In May of 2017, Trump issued an executive order asking that conscience-based objections to the HHS Contraceptive Mandate be addressed.

 

In October 2017, the Trump administration announced additional exemptions to protect those with religious objections to the distribution of contraception. These have been the subject of ongoing legal challenges.

 

Judge Wendy Beetlestone of the Federal District Court in Philadelphia issued a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s initial rules Dec. 15, 2017, saying Pennsylvania could suffer “serious and irreparable harm” from the rules because a lack of cost-effective contraception would mean “individual choices which will result in an increase in unintended pregnancies” burdening the state.

 

Shortly after Beetlestone’s ruling, Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr. of the Federal District Court in Oakland also blocked the Trump administration’s rules, saying they would “transform contraceptive coverage from a legal entitlement to an essentially gratuitous benefit wholly subject to their employer’s discretion.”

 

Both of these cases were appealed by the administration and remain pending.

 

In April, 2018, District Court Judge David Russell issued a permanent injunction and declaratory relief against the mandate for members of the Catholic Benefits Association.

 

Russell also ruled that the mandate violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act by attempting to force employers to provide contraception and sterilization in violation of their sincerely held religious beliefs.

 

The updated exemptions, released Wednesday, will not include publicly-traded businesses. Employers that still wish to cover contraceptives as part of their insurance plan remain free to do so.

 

In addition to the exemption, employers and other affected bodies can still choose to arrange for a third-party accommodation, which would provide contraceptive coverage to its employees and their dependents either through independent action by their insurer or insurance administrator.

 

A press release for HHS also confirmed that government programs providing contraception either for free or at a lower cost to low-income women will not be impacted by these new rules.

 

In addition to these two rules, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a proposed rule concerning eligibility for premium subsidies through the Affordable Care Act Exchange.

 

This rule, titled “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA): Exchange Program Integrity,” looks to ensure that patients are eligible for these subsidies. It also proposes that issuers bill patients abortion services separately from other medical services.

[…]

Washington D.C., Nov 7, 2018 / 02:31 pm (CNA).- Jeff Sessions has stepped down as attorney general. The decision came at the request of President Donald Trump.

A known defender of religious liberty and the right to life of the unborn, but a controversial actor in recent asylum and immigration debates, Sessions submitted his resignation on Wednesday afternoon.

In an undated letter, Sessions said “At your request, I am submitting my resignation.”

 

He continued, “I came to work at the Department of Justice every day determined to do my duty and serve my country. I have done so to the best of my ability, working to support the fundamental legal processes that are the foundation of justice.”

 

Sessions cited his successes in prosecuting “the largest number of violent offenders and firearm defendants” in history, as well as his work targeting transnational gangs, combating the opioid epidemic, and enforcing immigration law during his time as attorney general.

 

Rumors of Sessions’ departure from the administration had been circulating for months. In August, Trump said that Sessions would be staying as attorney general until at least November, but only weeks later appeared to avoid the question when asked if Sessions’ job was safe.

 

Tensions between the president and AG were said to begin following Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from oversight of the Justice Department invesitgation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

 

Trump’s nomination of Sessions as attorney general was cheered by pro-life groups due to his record in Congress as a Senator for Alabama. National Right to Life gave Sessions a perfect 100 percent rating throughout his Senate career.

 

In July of this year, Sessions created a religious liberty task force to ensure proper implementation of a memo from the year prior. In announcing the task force, Sessions said there was a “dangerous movement” afoot that was “challenging and eroding our great tradition of religious freedom.”

 

Sessions also garnered significant controversy over his handling of immigration issues, particularly the family separation policy. In June, he was criticized after citing Romans 13 to justify the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy on illegal immigration.

 

“I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes,” said Sessions.

 

Romans 13 states, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Those critical of Sessions noted that the same verse had been invoked in the past to defend slavery.

 

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and president of the USCCB, was publicly critical of Sessions stance on immigration at the start of the conference’s Spring General Assembly.

 

DiNardo said that Sessions’ alteration of the United States’ policy on asylum seekers “elicits deep concern because it potentially strips asylum from many women who lack adequate protection,” and could “erode the capacity of asylum to save lives, particularly in cases that involve asylum seekers who are persecuted by private actors.”

 

DiNardo also joined Bishop Joe Vasquez, who chairs the USCCB’s migration committee, in condemning family separation as “not the answer” to immigration issues, as well as being “immoral.”

 

Until a replacement is nominated, Matthew G. Whitaker, Sessions’ former chief of staff, will serve as Acting Attorney General. President Trump said that Sessions’ replacement “will be nominated at a later date.”

[…]

Washington D.C., Nov 7, 2018 / 02:10 pm (CNA).- The 2018 midterm elections saw the Catholic vote split evenly between the two main parties, while down-ballot measures to protect life and religious freedom were adopted by voters in several states.

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