News Briefs

Analysis: Where Biden’s VP shortlist stands on abortion

July 28, 2020 CNA Daily News 0

Washington D.C., Jul 28, 2020 / 03:00 am (CNA).- As Election Day nears, one big question remains outstanding: Who will be joining Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket?

Former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic Party’s nominee for president, committed to selecting a woman for his running mate back in March. That is about all that can be certain about who Biden plans on selecting.

Normally, the selection of a running mate is intended to court a certain segment of the electorate–see: Lyndon Baines Johnson and southern voters; Mike Pence and conservative Christians; and even Biden himself, who was selected to appeal to blue collar workers. With the 2020 election, however, the stakes for selecting a running mate are likely higher.

If Biden were to be elected president, he would be sworn in at 78 years old–the oldest first-term president in American history. During a December 2019 debate, Biden refused to comment on whether or not he would run for a second term, saying, “I’m not even elected to one term yet, and let’s see where we are. Let’s see what happens.”

Because of his age, Biden’s choice of a running mate has been framed as a near lock to run for the presidency in four years if Biden wins in 2020. And his running mate is likely to play a major role in shaping policy during a Biden presidency, especially because Biden himself played an active role in the Obama administration.

If Biden wins the presidency, his administration is expected to roll back Republican administrative efforts to limit federal funding for domestic and international abortion, as well as changes to Title X policy, and to make other changes to abortion policy at the federal level.

On the issue of abortion, CNA examined the voting histories and public policy stances of some names expected to be on Biden’s shortlist.

Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA)

Rep. Karen Bass, a five-term member of the House of Representatives, has been one of the lesser-known names to surface as a contender during veepstakes. She is on the House Judiciary Committee and is the chair of the Congressional Black Congress.

Bass has a 100% rating from NARAL, a national organization that supports expanded abortion access. She also has a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

In 2013, Bass received the International Family Planning Hero award from Planned Parenthood and the United Nations. She was praised as a “true hero for women’s health and rights” by former Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards.

“Her leadership has been crucial to ensuring that women in the United States and all over the world can decide whether and when to have children, and that they have access to a wide range of reproductive health services. Thanks to her support for international family planning, and others like her, the United States is able to improve the lives of millions of women and girls, and put women’s health and rights at the top of its global development agenda,” Richards said.

Rep. Val Demings (D-FL)

Rep. Val Demings was elected to Congress in 2016. Before she was elected, she served as the first-ever female chief of police of the Orlando Police Department. She serves on the House Judiciary, Intelligence, and Homeland Security Committees.

Since arriving in Congress, Demings has had 100% ratings from Planned Parenthood Federation of America and NARAL. On the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision in 2020, Demings tweeted a call to “redouble our resistance against attempts” to pass pro-life legislation.

“Women’s health is not negotiable. Women’s bodies belong to no one but themselves,” said Demings.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA)

Sen. Kamala Harris is arguably Biden’s frontrunner, and has been in the vice presidential conversation since she suspended her own presidential campaign in December.

Harris is a staunch supporter of legal protection for abortion. As California attorney general, she drew the ire of the state Catholic conference by sponsoring a bill compelling pro-life pregnancy centers advertise for “free or low-cost” abortion services. That law was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2018.

More recently, Harris has confronted Biden over his own record on abortion – challenging the former vice president for not being “pro-choice” enough for the modern Democratic party. And her confrontation has been effective: Harris has been among a group of politicians widely seen to have pushed Biden to the left on abortion.

During the July 31 debate last year, Harris lambasted Biden’s long support for the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for abortion services. She accused Biden of “withhold(ing) resources to poor women to have access to reproductive health care, including women who were the victims of rape and incest.”

In response, Biden, who opposed Roe vs. Wade early in his career,   told Harris that he believes abortion to be a constitutional right. Biden promised that, as president, “I in fact will move as president to see to that the Congress legislates [a right to abortion into] the law.”

Amb. Susan Rice

Ambassador Susan Rice served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 2009 until June 2013, and then served as President Barack Obama’s National Security Advisor for the remainder of his term. She has never actually run for office, although she did briefly ponder the idea of challenging Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) for her Senate seat.

Rice’s name has been put forward as a potential Biden VP. As she has never run for office, she has made few public statements on domestic social issues. Rice was motivated to challenge Collins after her vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has been a vocal proponent of abortion, and has 100% ratings from both Planned Parenthood Federation of America and NARAL. She wore a Planned Parenthood scarf to President Donald Trump’s inauguration as a show of protest and as a show of support for the nation’s largest abortion provider.

Warren published the “Congressional Plan to Protect Choice,” a slew of proposals of pro-abortion legislation. These proposed legislation included “federal laws to preempt state efforts that functionally limit access to reproductive health care,” which would effectively prevent states from passing pro-life policies; and legislation that would mandate abortion coverage in health plans.

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It is uncertain just when exactly Biden intends on announcing his selection of a running mate. The Democratic National Convention kicks off on August 17, so the announcement will happen sometime before then, likely after August 1.

 

 

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Florida Catholic church rebuilding after arson attack

July 27, 2020 CNA Daily News 1

CNA Staff, Jul 27, 2020 / 05:00 pm (CNA).- The Catholic community at Queen of Peace Parish in Ocala, Florida is rebuilding after the church was set on fire earlier this month.

In addition to the physical restoration, Fr. Patrick O’Doherty, the church’s pastor, said the community is keeping the faith.

“Evil never attacks evil. The church is something very good. I take the attack on the church as a sign that we’re doing the right thing here,” he said in a video posted recently to YouTube by the Diocese of Orlando.

On the morning of July 11, a man crashed a minivan through the front door of Queen of Peace Catholic Church. He then set the church aflame while parishioners inside prepared for morning Mass.

Police arrested Stephen Anthony Shields, 24, of Dunnellon, Florida later that day. He has been charged with attempted murder, arson, burglary, and evading arrest.

According to local media, Shields told police he has been diagnosed with schizophrenia but is not currently taking prescribed medication. He said that he awoke on Saturday morning with a “mission,” and that he purchased the gas at a nearby gas station, according to Ocala-News.

In the diocese’s video, O’Doherty thanked God that no one was injured in the incident. He recalled his experience that morning.

“This white van came towards me, did a U-turn, jumped the pavement, and crashed into…the two front doors of the church. He’d gotten inside the narthex, put 10 gallons of gasoline on the floor, set it on fire and came out, and I was face-to-face with him,” the priest said. “He jumped into his car, and off he sped.”

Last week, the parish posted an update on the restoration process on Facebook. Current work includes the disassembly of the organ pipes and the early stages of demolishing the narthex. The full restoration is expected to take 8-10 weeks.

 

Progress on restoration.
Total time is estimated to be 8-10 weeks.
 
Photos courtesy of Mike Boisvert (Knight of Columbus)

Posted by Queen of Peace Catholic Church – Ocala, FL on Thursday, July 23, 2020

 

O’Doherty said artwork on the church walls was damaged and will be replaced.

The church was housing several relics – from St. Therese, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. John of the Cross – which were among the few things that did not burn in the fire.

Bishop John Noonan of Orlando said Catholics should see this as a reminder of God’s providence, prompting us to greater trust.

“The good Lord always works miracles. Certain things in life show us that we’re not in charge,” he said in the diocese’s video. “The Lord is in charge, and these are the moments where we have to realize there’s a greater power than we are.”

He also stressed the need to imitate Christ in forgiving those who have harmed us, saying, “The whole message of the Gospel is redemption, forgiveness. If we don’t have forgiveness in our hearts, then what are we filling our hearts with?”

With attacks on Catholic churches and statues across the country, the bishop stressed the need for trust amid uncertainty.

“At the moment, all of us are apprehensive about many things,” he said. “It’s like the disciples in the boat, in the middle of a storm. They wake Jesus up and say, ‘Aren’t you concerned about our safety? What shall we do?’ And Jesus’ response is, ‘Don’t you have faith?’”

“The question today is: Where is the good news?” Noonan continued. “The good news is in the Gospel. The good news is Jesus Christ. And unless we hear the good news, then we are lost.”
 

 

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In India, Catholic bishop accused of rape asks Supreme Court to intervene

July 27, 2020 CNA Daily News 0

CNA Staff, Jul 27, 2020 / 04:08 pm (CNA).- After several failures to secure dismissal of charges in lower courts, a Catholic bishop whom a nun has accused of rape has asked India’s Supreme Court to dismiss the case.

Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jullundur has been charged with raping a nun repeatedly over the course of two years, allegations he denies.

His effort to dismiss the charges was rejected in a trial court in March, then again in the Kerala High Court July 7. The court agreed with prosecutors that there was evidence to proceed, The Tribune of India reports.

Mulakkal claims he was falsely accused after he questioned alleged financial irregularities of the victim’s convent.

Bishop Mulakkal was arrested in September 2018 amid protests calling for a police investigation of the allegation. He was subsequently released on bail. The bishop was charged in April 2019 with rape, unnatural sex, wrongful confinement, and criminal intimidation. He faces imprisonment of 10 years to life if found guilty.

He was temporarily removed from the administration of his diocese shortly before his arrest.

The bishop’s charges stem from a member of the Missionaries of Jesus who has said he raped her during his May 2014 visit to her convent in Kuravilangad, in Kerala. In a 72-page complaint to police, filed in June 2018, she alleged that the bishop sexually abused her more than a dozen times over two years.

The Missionaries of Jesus is based in the Jullundur diocese, and Bishop Mulakkal is its patron.

The bishop has also claimed the allegations were made in retaliation against him because he has acted against the nun’s sexual misconduct. He said the nun was alleged to be having an affair with her cousin’s husband.

A witness in the case against the bishop, who is also a member of the Missionaries of Jesus, told investigators Sept. 9, 2018 that from 2015 to 2017 she participated in sexual video chats with the bishop, having been pressured by him, and that he groped and kissed her April 30, 2017, at a convent in Kannur.

The trial was originally set for Nov. 11, 2019, then delayed three weeks. It was then deferred again to Jan. 6 because Mulakkal requested more time for the case.

The bishop skipped a hearing on July 1 at district court in Kottayam, claiming that his house was in a coronavirus containment zone. The prosecutor said this was not true and accused Mulakkal of deliberately delaying the case.

On July 14, officials announced that the bishop had tested positive for coronavirus and was displaying symptoms.

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