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Why some parishes are offering IDs to undocumented Texans

May 8, 2018 CNA Daily News 5

Dallas, Texas, May 8, 2018 / 05:09 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- For undocumented immigrants in Texas, something as simple as a routine traffic stop could mean arrest and deportation.

Since an anti-sanctuary law was enacted this spring, Texas law enforcement officers are permitted to inquire about the immigration status of anyone they have detained, even during routine interactions, and must comply with federal guidelines to hold undocumented criminal suspects for possible deportation.

Despite promises that the law would not lead to racial profiling and unnecessary arrests, its passage has left many immigrants feeling uneasy in their communities.

Father Michael Forge, a Catholic priest in Farmers Branch, Texas, told Dallas News that since the anti-sanctuary law was passed, several of his undocumented parishioners have told him that they felt unsafe to going to church or taking their kids to school.

That’s why Forge and several other local Catholic churches have begun issuing Church identification cards. Unlike state-issued identification, they do have any legal significance, but they can provide officers with a name and address, assuaging for some card holders the fear of arrest during otherwise routine interactions.  

Auxiliary Bishop Greg Kelly of Dallas, who helped launch the initiative with the group Dallas Area Interfaith, said that the identifications give immigrants a sense of safety, community and belonging.

“It was just a way of giving them status within the church,” Kelly told CNA. “It was a way of saying you belong to us, you’re a part of our parish family.”

Applicants for the church ID cards are typically asked to provide some other form of identification, such as an expired driver’s license or passport from their country of origin, or an affidavit certifying their identity.  

Some parishes ask that immigrants show that they are active parish members for several months before applying, though that is not a requirement everywhere.

“You don’t have to be Catholic for that matter,” Forge told Dallas News. “We certainly want our immigrants, legal or otherwise, to have some sort of peace.”

Kelly said the cards have been a way to offer some solidarity with and peace of mind to fellow Christians.

“They’re our brothers and sisters but oftentimes they live in the shadows, they’re subject to injustices, wage theft, people may hire them and not pay them,” he said.

Police in the cities of Dallas, Carrollton and Farmers Branch have been told that they are allowed to accept the church cards as a form of identification. The church IDs include a person’s name, address and home parish. They can also be used to enroll in citizenship or language classes.

“So far people have said there’s a sense of relief and joy that they have something that says that they belong to this parish,” Kelly added.

“They recognize that it’s not an official government ID, they know that, it’s just a way of saying: ‘we are acknowledged here.’”

 

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NM Supreme Court reconsiders textbook funding for private schools

May 8, 2018 CNA Daily News 0

Santa Fe, N.M., May 8, 2018 / 04:54 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A 2017 U.S. Supreme Court decision has given new life to New Mexico backers of state funding for private school textbooks, as their case returns to the state Supreme Court.

“Ending the textbook lending program will disproportionately hurt low-income and minority children, at a time when they need access to a quality education more than ever,” Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, said May 7. “We should be investing in kids’ futures, not crippling their ability to gain a quality education.”

The Becket law group, working on behalf of the New Mexico Association of Nonpublic Schools, has challenged a court decision that ended non-public school students’ participation in an 80-year-old textbook lending program for state-approved textbooks and other educational material.

“A science textbook is a science textbook no matter whose shelf it’s on,” Baxter said, arguing that siding with the school would “stop discriminating” and “give all kids equal access to the best educational opportunities.”

In 2011, two parents challenged the program on the grounds the state constitution bars education funds from being used “for the support of any sectarian, denominational or private school, college or university,” language known as a Blaine Amendment. A 2015 New Mexico Supreme Court decision, Moses v. Ruszkowski, sided with the parents and ended nonpublic school students’ participation.

Becket has challenged the ruling’s reliance on the Blaine Amendment. The law group claimed the 19th century law was “originally designed to disadvantage New Mexico’s native Catholic citizens” and “was all about anti-Catholic animus.”

Such amendments have been used “to keep religious organizations from participating in neutral, generally applicable government programs on the same terms as everyone else,” the legal group charged. It cited efforts in Oklahoma to use a Blaine Amendment to block the use of scholarships for learning-disabled children attending religious schools.

Frank Susman, a Santa Fe attorney who represents the parents, said their case was backed by the Blaine Amendment and at least two other constitutional amendments which he said bar appropriations for private entities, whether schools or students.

“They all absolutely ban this type of aid,” Susman said in court May 7, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports.

The U.S. Supreme Court has returned the 2015 decision to the New Mexico Supreme Court to reconsider in light of its own 2017 ruling in Trinity Lutheran v. Comer. That 7-2 decision sided with a Christian preschool which had been denied a Missouri state grant for an effort to improve playground safety because it was associated with a church.

The United States’ highest court ruled that it was wrong to deny a church a public benefit that was otherwise available only because of its religious status.

New Mexico’s Public Education Department is also challenging the state court’s ruling, though the department has not provided funding for private school textbooks since the decision. The ruling relates to over $1 million in federal funds the state receives each year through the U.S. Mineral Leasing Act.

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March for Life UK draws thousands to London

May 8, 2018 CNA Daily News 0

London, England, May 8, 2018 / 03:16 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A Scottish bishop addressed the March for Life UK on Saturday, challenging pro-lifers to be courageous in sharing their witness.

“We will win this battle by truth, but we will win it even more by courage,” Bishop John Keenan of Paisley said May 5, the Catholic Herald reported.

“You have no idea of the galvanising effect your courage will have if you stand up before the British media courageously, even under attack, and be pro-life. You’re setting the seeds of the next generation.”

Thousands of pro-lifers marched about a half mile from Trafalgar Square in downtown London to Parliament Square for the march. It was the first time that the March for Life UK had been held in London; previously, it had been hosted in Birmingham.

The march was also attended by Bishop John Wilson, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Westminster.

In preparation for the March, an all night prayer vigil was held at St. Dominic’s Church – The Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary. Mass at Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church then kicked off the event on the following morning.

Attendees then listened to keynote speakers Rachel Mackenzie of Rachel’s Vineyard and Clare McCullough, a founder of the Good Counsel Network, who denounced the imposition of a protection order around a London abortion clinic last month.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Thank you to all the priests and religious that came today to March for Life <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/LifeDeservesLove?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#LifeDeservesLove</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/LifeFest18?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#LifeFest18</a> <a href=”https://t.co/CTHlkFQQFB”>pic.twitter.com/CTHlkFQQFB</a></p>&mdash; March4LifeUK (@March4LifeUK) <a href=”https://twitter.com/March4LifeUK/status/992911268943138817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>May 5, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Afterwards, a festival for life took place in De Vere Connaught Room, where workshops, children’s activities, and other Christian services were made available. Bishop John Wilson, an auxiliary of Westminster, gave the opening address and was followed by speakers like American singer Joy Villa, Bishop Keenan, and CEO of N-Gage, Christie Spurling.

At the workshops, pro-lifers could learn apologetic tips to better encounter the current culture. The topics included “how to reach out to pregnant women before the abortion industry does” and “changing the culture one conversion at a time.”

A closing prayer vigil was led by Michael Nazir-Ali, an Anglican bishop.

The March for Like UK is held in the spring to commemorate the April 27, 1968 coming into force of the Abortion Act 1967, which legalized abortion in England, Wales, and Scotland.

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Bishop confirms 15 inmates at Mexican prison visited by Pope Francis

May 8, 2018 CNA Daily News 0

Chihuahua, Mexico, May 8, 2018 / 01:55 pm (ACI Prensa).- Bishop José Guadalupe Torres Campos of Ciudad Juárez, in Chihuahua state, Mexico, conferred the Sacrament of Confirmation on 15 inmates at the prison that Pope Francis visited in 2016.

The May 4 ceremony at the Social Readaptation Center No. 3. was organized by the prison ministry of Ciudad Juarez with the support of the prosecutor’s office.

The prison ministry helps prepare inmates who want to receive the sacraments of Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation.

Relatives were permitted to attend the ceremony. The Attorney General’s Office of the State of Chihuahua assured that the ceremony was conducted “under all necessary security measures and with complete respect for freedom of worship.”

The Attorney General’s Office also stated that “this type of activity” is carried out in accordance with the Law on Prison Sentences, “which provides that every inmate must be treated with dignity by the prison staff.”

During his trip to Mexico in 2016, Pope Francis visited the prison on Feb. 17. The pope said that the inmates “have known the power of suffering and sin,” and urged them to “not forget that you have available to you the power of the resurrection, the power of divine mercy which makes all things new.”

“Now you have to face the toughest, the hardest part, but which possibly may bear the most fruit, fight from within here to work to change the situations the create more exclusion,” he said.

“Work so that this society with uses people and throws them away will not go on claiming victims,” he asked them.
 

This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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New statutes for Vatican laity, family, life office cement links with JPII Institute

May 8, 2018 CNA Daily News 2

Vatican City, May 8, 2018 / 11:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life published updated statutes Tuesday, reconfirming their connection with the re-formed Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute, established by Pope Francis in September 2017.

The statutes say the dicastery “is directly linked to the ‘Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences,’ both with headquarters and affiliated institutes, to promote a common direction in marriage, family and life studies.”

The new statutes also state a required minimum of only two lay under-secretaries, rather than the previously required three – one to head each of the three sections on laity, family and life – suggesting that the awaited appointment of a third under-secretary may be on hold.

The dicastery had two under-secretaries, Dr. Gabriella Gambino for the section on laity and Dr. Linda Ghisoni for the section on life, appointed late last year.

An additional update is the dicastery’s work to “deepen the reflection on the relationship between men and women in their respective specificity, reciprocity, complementarity and equal dignity” and to promote the participation of women in the Church and society, through valuing the “feminine genius.”

Regarding youth, the dicastery also highlighted the “particular concern of the Church for the young… in the midst of the challenges of today’s world” and stated its support for the pope’s initiatives in the area of youth ministry.

Pope Francis approved the statutes ad experimentum, which could possibly be until the completion of a new apostolic constitution outlining the structure and duties of the Roman Curia, which is being drafted by the Council of Cardinals.

The dicastery, which replaced separate pontifical councils on the family and on the laity, was established Sept. 1, 2016. It is headed by Prefect Cardinal Kevin Farrell and Secretary Fr. Alexandre Awi Mello, who was appointed in May 2017.

Cardinal Farrell has said, in reference to controversy over Pope Francis’ writings on family life, that “we need to say what our teaching is, and that’s not a yes and no answer.”

According to the statutes, which go into effect May 13, the dicastery has the task of dealing with projects related to the broad topics of the apostolate of the laity, the institution of marriage, and the family within the life of the Church, including the organization of events and the support of theological studies related to these areas.

The dicastery is responsible for the World Meeting of Families and World Youth Day.

It is to promote pastoral care of the family “in the light of the papal Magisterium”, protecting its dignity and wellbeing “based on the sacrament of marriage” and fostering “its rights and responsibility in the Church and in civil society, so that the family institution can always better fulfil its functions both in the ecclesial and in the social sphere.”

The disastery will “discern the signs of the times to value opportunities in favour of the family, take on with trust and evangelical wisdom the challenges that relate to it, and apply in today’s society and in history the plan of God for marriage and the family,” which the statutes link in particular to the World Meeting of Families.

It also “monitors the activity of Catholic institutes, associations, movements and organizations … whose purpose is to serve the good of the family.”

Regarding life issues, it promotes and supports “responsible procreation” and organizations “which help women and families to welcome and cherish life, especially in the case of difficult pregnancies and to prevent abortion.” It also supports organizations which help post-abortive women.

The dicastery supports “the protection of human life from conception to its natural end, bearing in mind the needs of the person in the various stages of evolution.”

It also studies and promotes formation in biomedicine and law based on Catholic moral doctrine and the Magisterium.

Other projects will include formation of engaged and newly married couples, and the promotion of openness to the adoption and fostering of children.

Referencing paragraphs 296-306 of Pope Francis’ 2016 apostolic exhortation on love in the family, Amoris laetitia, the statutes say the dicastery “expresses the pastoral care of the Church also in relation to so-called ‘irregular’ situations.”

The statutes also make reference to the Second Vatican Council’s constitutions Lumen gentium, on the Church, and Gaudium et spes, on the Church in the modern world.

The Pontifical Academy for Life is also connected to the dicastery, as it relates to issues connected with its competency.

Pope Francis re-founded what was previously the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family Sept. 19, 2017, making it a theological institute charged with studying marriage and the family from a scientific perspective.

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Hundreds of thousands march for life across Latin America

May 7, 2018 CNA Daily News 1

Lima, Peru, May 7, 2018 / 03:32 pm (ACI Prensa).- Huge crowds across Latin America took to the streets in recent days to call for the protection of human life from conception to natural death.

On May 5, some 400,000 Colombians in 53 cities across the country turned out for pro-life marches.

Event organizer “United for Life” told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish language sister agency, that the objectives of the march included annulling court rulings in recent years that legalized abortion in some cases and euthanasia.

“The right to life is the first right that every human being has. It cannot be manipulated, nor limited, it can only be recognized and protected by the State and society. To violate this right, or to ignore it even with rulings issued by the courts is the most serious crime,” the organization said.

It called for the creation of a government agency to assist mothers in crisis pregnancies and for “greater application of the law on palliative care, and sufficient and timely medical care for patients with serious and terminal illnesses, especially children.”

United for Life urged the Colombian congress to pass pro-life laws, enforce the constitution and prevent the courts from usurping the functions of the legislature.

In Peru, an estimated 800,000 people turned out on the streets of Lima May 5 to defend the lives of the unborn. The right to life is upheld by the nation’s constitution and civil code; however, various organizations within the country – including those financed by foreign NGOs – have been seeking for years to legalize abortion in the country. In 2014, the government decriminalized abortion in cases where the mother’s life or health were deemed to be in danger.

Participating in the Lima event were Catholics and Christians of various denominations, young people and the elderly, pregnant women, families with children and babies, and people with disabilities.

Addressing the crowd, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani of Lima urged those assembled to be “a visible believing people, as we are now… when it’s necessary, we take to the streets… in the name of all those who have gone on before us, to give to the next generation life and the family.”

In Mexico, about 22,000 people turned out for the Great March for Life April 28 in the capital, Mexico City. While abortion is banned in much of the country, it was legalized in 2007 in Mexico City for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Pro-life leaders Fernanda Del Villar and María José Berrueta of the Steps for Life (Pasos por la Vida) organization spoke at the march.

They said that the vast majority of Mexicans are pro-life and that “we are tired of not being properly represented by those we ourselves elect. We’re tired of the attempts to shut us up, to silence even our thoughts.”

The leaders called on presidential candidates to unequivocally state their position on abortion. They said the country needs leaders with values, committed to elementary principles such as respect for the life of the unborn.

The pro-life position, they said, “is in fact politically correct. It is the sentiment of millions of Mexicans.”

A March for Life was also held May 6 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with a focus on the country’s supreme court, which is currently considering a case that could legalize abortion on demand up to 12 weeks.

Currently, abortion is legal in Brazil only in cases of rape, serious fetal deformity, or if the mother’s life is deemed to be at risk.

The march for life also supported the passage of a bill to protect the lives of the unborn, which has been pending in the congress.

Archbishop Orani João Tempesta of Rio de Janerio told participants of the march, “Peace will come the moment we respect life.”

“I am here and I am participating in this march as a resistance to the culture of death, a resistance in favor of life,” he said, according to JMNoticia.
 

This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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