Raleigh, N.C., Mar 8, 2019 / 10:59 am (CNA).- A proposed bill in North Carolina would allow more time for victims of child abuse to pursue both criminal and civil action against their abuser.
The bill, called the SAFE Child Act, has gained bipartisan … […]
Vatican City, Mar 8, 2019 / 10:25 am (CNA).- Pope Francis said Friday that global development goals need to be supported by ethical objectives stemming from personal conversion and recognition of one’s failures.
“The economic and political objectives must be supported by ethical objectives, which presuppose a change of attitude, the Bible would say a change of heart,” the pope said March 8 at the Vatican’s Clementine Hall.
“Already St. John Paul II spoke about the need to ‘encourage and sustain an ecological conversion,’” he said, referencing a 2001 catechesis of one of his predecessors. “Religions have a key role to play here.”
Francis emphasized that “for a correct transition to a sustainable future, it is necessary to recognize ‘one’s own mistakes, sins, vices or negligence,’ ‘to repent of heart, to change from within,’ to be reconciled with others, with creation and with the Creator,” as he wrote in his 2015 encyclical on the environment, Laudato si’.
“Indeed, we should all commit ourselves to promoting and implementing the development goals that are supported by our deepest religious and ethical values,” he urged. “Human development is not only an economic question or concerns only experts, but is above all a vocation, a call that requires a free and responsible response.”
The pope addressed Vatican officials, religious representatives, and members of international organizations participating in a March 7-9 conference on “Religions and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Listening to the cry of the earth and the poor.”
The conference was hosted by the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
The SDGs are 17 global goals covering social and economic development issues, including poverty, hunger, education, energy, and the environment. The goals were set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 as a part of what is called the “2030 Agenda” resolution.
In his speech to conference participants Friday, Pope Francis praised the SDGs and 2030 Agenda as “a great step forward for global dialogue, in the sign of a necessary ‘new universal solidarity.’”
“As my predecessor St. Paul VI highlighted, talking about human development means referring to all people – not just a few – and to the whole human person – not just to the material dimension,” he said.
Urging people to look for concrete answers and commitments, he noted he was pleased conference participants were seeking the input of religious persons in the discussion of the implementation of sustainable development objectives.
“In the case of religious people, we need to open the treasures of our best traditions with regard to a true and respectful dialogue on how to build the future of our planet,” he said.
The pope also underlined the importance of including in the discussion the voices of indigenous people, who he said, though a very small percentage of the world’s overall population, “take care of almost 22 percent of the earth’s surface” and “protect about 80 percent of the planet’s biodiversity.”
“Their voice and their concerns should be at the center of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and at the center of the search for new roads for a sustainable future,” he stated, adding that he and other bishops will be discussing the topic at the Synod of Bishops on the pan-amazon region, being held in October.
New York City, N.Y., Mar 8, 2019 / 03:02 am (CNA).- Controversy over a New York abortion bill resulted in a rebuke for a state senator who has been disinvited from a Huntington, N.Y. Irish-American Catholic group’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities and asked to resign as a member due to his vote for the legislation.
Monsignor Steven R. Camp, chaplain of the Ancient Order of Hibernians’ John F. Kennedy Division 4 of Suffolk County, wrote to State Sen. James Gaughran, saying his vote in favor of the bill had caused “great dismay” among division members.
“The membership is dismayed that a member of their order could vote for such a law,” said the priest, who said he was writing on behalf of the division’s leadership and membership. “This law violates all the principles the AOH has ascribed to since its founding, adherence to our Roman Catholic faith, and the security of the Irish race.”
Msgr. Camp, who is also pastor of St. Patrick’s Church in Huntington, said the senator was disinvited from marching in the parade with the Hibernians and from attending the parade grand marshal’s dinner dance.
The abortion bill, called the Reproductive Health Act, drew strong opposition from the Catholic Church and other pro-life advocates in the state.
The law allows abortions “within 24 weeks from the commencement of pregnancy, or (when) there is an absence of fetal viability, or at any time when necessary to protect a patient’s life or health.” It aimed to protect legal abortion in the event the U.S. Supreme Court overturns pro-abortion rights precedents.
The state law removes the act of abortion from the criminal code and places it in the public-health code. It strips most safeguards and regulations on abortions and allows non-doctors tonperform abortions.
In response to Msgr. Camp’s letter, Gaughran contended that the division was requiring public officials “to perform their duties in conformance with the specific religious views held by its membership.”
“Respectfully, I find this troubling and contrary to the principle that our elected officials must represent all their constituents, not just those with whom they share their religious beliefs,” he said. Gaughran said he had not renewed his membership in the division and did not consider himself an active member. He said he had made clear his support for the bill during his campaign, and voiced concern that the division had not reached out to him earlier.
Professing respect for Catholic leaders and the Hibernian division membership, he said that despite their position against Roe v. Wade, “I maintain my belief that a woman should have the right to make her own personal reproductive health care decisions.”
“To be honest, I do not see how any elected public official could faithfully uphold their fidelity to their constitutional oath while participating in an organization that requires specific votes based explicitly upon religious views or litmus tests,” he said, going on to quote John F. Kennedy’s 1960 remarks on church and state before an audience of Baptist pastors during his presidential campaign.
Gaughran’s comments echoed the claims of bill backer Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who accused President Donald Trump and the “religious right,” including Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, of “spreading falsehoods about abortion laws to inflame their base.”
Dolan, writing in a Feb. 7 blog post, said Cuomo “continues his attempt to reduce the advocacy for the human rights of the pre-born infant to a ‘Catholic issue’,” which the cardinal deemed “an insult to our allies of so many religions, or none at all.”
Quoting former Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey, Dolan said that abortion is not about “right versus left, but right versus wrong.” Dolan said “I didn’t get my pro-life belief from my religion class in a Catholic school, but from my biology and U.S. Constitution classes.”
In a Feb. 6 New York Times opinion essay, Cuomo, who is Catholic, said his decisions in his life are “based on my personal moral and religious beliefs,” but his oath of office is “to the Constitutions of the United States and of the State of New York–not to the Catholic Church.” My religion cannot demand favoritism as I execute my public duties.”
The New York Senate passed the bill by a vote of 38 to 24.
CNA sought comment from Msgr. Camp and the Diocese of Rockville Centre but did not receive a response by press time.
The Huntington-based Ancient Order of Hibernians division’s website says it has organized the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade since 1930, and claims it is the “oldest and largest” such parade on Long Island.
Ancient Order of Hibernians national vice president Danny O’Connell declined detailed comment, telling CNA that discussions about business and membership are an internal matter. He clarified that St. Patrick’s Day Parades are separate entities from the organization itself.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians in America dates back to 1836. It has tens of thousands of members nationwide. Full membership is limited to practicing Catholic men of Irish birth, ancestry or adoption, or to Catholic clergy and seminarians regardless of ancestry. The organization also has an associate membership and allows social privileges for such members not qualified for full membership.
The order’s three main principles are Friendship, Unity and Christian Charity. According to the 2016 edition of its national constitution, its purposes include to promote peace and unity for all Ireland and Irish independence; Irish heritage, culture and history; civic participation; equitable U.S. immigration law for Ireland; religious freedom; and “to protect and defend all life, born and unborn.”
The organization added the pro-life plank to its purpose in the 1970s after the U.S. Supreme Court mandated legal abortion nationwide in decisions such as Roe v. Wade.
The group’s constitution pledges “to work in harmony with the doctrines and laws of the Roman Catholic Church,” and also bars support for or opposition to “any political party or candidate” in the name of the order.
In the wake of the passage of the new abortion law, the New York State Board of the Ancient Order of Hibernians recently reaffirmed its pro-life plank, saying “All life is precious from conception to natural death.”
“We pray, civilly protest and express this stance in our actions month after month, year after year and in support of Church teachings,” the state board said on its website Feb. 2. “We have never wavered or succumbed to political or socially accepted attitudes of the times.”
“Even when a culture of death seems to be accepted by many, we show love, and support Life in all stages,” it added. “Let it be known that, our position on abortion (and all respect life issues) does not change or evolve…. The latest bill signed in New York does not change the stance we take on the subject. It never will.”
Washington D.C., Mar 8, 2019 / 12:25 am (CNA).- With the Lenten season fully in swing, Catholics are immersing themselves in 40 days of abstaining from sweets, technology, alcohol and other luxuries.
But did you know that Catholic monks once brewed be… […]
Guadalajara, Mexico, Mar 7, 2019 / 07:28 pm (CNA).- In response to the growing number of patients with kidney conditions in Guadalajara, Mexico, the Catholic charitable agency Caritas is implementing plans to set up a kidney dialysis clinic in the regi… […]
Denver, Colo., Mar 7, 2019 / 06:01 pm (CNA).- As a measure to repeal Colorado’s death penalty passed a Senate committee this week, the Colorado Catholic Conference has expressed support for the bill.
The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee 3-2 along party lines March 6. Before the bill is sent to the Senate for a full debate, the Colorado Catholic Conference encouraged the people to call or email their elected officials.
“We have always been staunch supporters of repealing the death penalty here in Colorado, and all of the bishops have spoken very publicly about the need to repeal and abolish the death penalty,” Jenny Kraska, executive director for the Colorado Catholic Conference, told CNA.
The bill’s sponsors are Sen. Angela Williams, Sen. Julie Gonzales, Rep. Jeni Arndt, and Rep. Adrienne Benavidez.
According to 9 News, Williams said the death penalty is inefficient and that the fact that each of the three people on death row in the state are African American is evidence of racial inequalities.
“It’s a barbaric practice. It’s time to remove it from the books in Colorado,” she said.
CPR reported that testimonies were also given in opposition to the repeal. Rep. Tom Sullivan had pushed for the execution of James Holmes after the 2012 Aurora Theater Shooting left dead the politician’s son, along with 12 other people.
“We have a mechanism if those people don’t want to be a part of our society, we should have the ability to take those people out of our society,” he said.
The last execution carried out in the state was in 1997.
The inmates now on death row are Nathan Dunlap, who murdered four people at a kids’ restaurant, and Sir Mario Owens and Robert Ray, who both had been involved with the death of a young couple.
In 2013, then-governor John Hickenlooper temporarily suspended the death penalty of Dunlap. Before the execution was suspended, Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver was featured in a Denver Post guest column, where he expressed the importance of human dignity.
“My faith tells me that Dunlap’s crimes were sinful because murder ignores the human dignity which comes from being created in God’s image. But I believe that justice must also respect human dignity. My faith holds out hope for the possibility that some good can come from every single human life.”
Kraska said mercy, redemption, and healing should be made available to both victims and criminals. She said prisoners should not only have the chance to change and seek repentance, but the families of victims should be able to have interactions of forgiveness with the perpetrator. If people are put to death, these opportunities are lost, she said.
“For the Catholic Church, obviously, it’s about a consistent ethic of life, and we believe that all life has intrinsic value and whether that is life in the womb, life at the end of life, or life of somebody who has committed an atrocious crime,” she told CNA.
“We don’t think it is the right of the state or anyone to kill somebody. Perpetuating violence with violence is never the answer,” she added.
Washington D.C., Mar 7, 2019 / 05:01 pm (CNA).- An Irish nun who has been working to educate girls in South Sudan for the past eleven years is among the recipients of this year’s U.S. State Department’s International Women of Courage awards… […]
Austin, Texas, Mar 7, 2019 / 04:52 pm (CNA).- The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist had a problem.
They were running out of room at their convent in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they had been based since 1997.
It was a good problem to have, the result of a boom in young vocations. But it meant that the community of 140 sisters needed to expand.
With property in both California and Texas, the sisters prayerfully considered both options, ultimately deciding that God was calling them to open a new convent in the Georgetown, Texas.
Twenty-five miles north of Austin, Georgetown is in the Hill Country of the Lone Star State.
The sisters’ presence in Texas reaches back to 2009, when eight sisters came to teach in the Diocese of Austin, invited by then-Bishop of Austin Gregory Aymond. Members of the community currently teach in four Catholic schools in Texas.
“As our presence has steadily grown, our apostolate has flourished, enabling us to expand the work to which God has called us – to praise, to bless, and to preach through catechesis, evangelization, and witness,” the sisters said in a statement.
“Through it all, our hearts have been captured by the love of so many who have made all this possible through their sacrificial goodness.”
In 2012, the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist began a $30 million capital campaign to fund the first phase of a new Religious House.
That phase was recently completed and is comprised of living space for 56 sisters, along with dining space, a gymnasium and library, and areas for education and community. Twelve sisters have moved in so far, the Dallas News reports.
The building was blessed in a Feb. 16 ceremony.
Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing, head of the diocese where the sisters are from, presided over the ceremony. He was joined by bishops from around the state of Texas: Bishops Joe Vasquez of Austin, Michael Mulvey of Corpus Christi, Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Brendan Cahill of Victoria, and Stephen Lopes of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.
The new home is named “Our Lady of Guadalupe Convent.”
“As patroness of the Americas, Our Lady of Guadalupe holds a special place in the heart of our own community as well,” the sisters explained in their statement.
“We seek her motherly protection and guidance as our Sisters take up residence, begin their studies, and continue to nurture and teach those entrusted to their care.”
The Texas convent marks the community’s first expansion beyond the Motherhouse since 1997, with more expansion projects planned.
“Never in our wildest imagination, did we ever think about being in Texas when we first started,” said Mother Assumpta Long in an interview in the Dallas News.
“I tell people that it’s such an adventure to be religious because when you worship, you never know what he has in mind… All you do is trust and you follow him, but he had it all planned. We didn’t have a clue.”
San José, Costa Rica, Mar 7, 2019 / 04:49 pm (CNA).- The offices of the Archdiocese of San José and the Costa Rican bishops’ conference were raided by police Thursday as part of an investigation of two priests accused of sex abuse.
The Judiciary Investigation Department confiscated computers and files March 7 in search of information regarding Fathers Manuel Antonio Guevara Fonseca and Mauricio Viquez Lizano, and proof of potential cover-up by Archbishop José Rafael Quiros Quiros of San Jose, according to the AP.
Viquez, 54, has been dismissed from the clerical state, the San José archdiocese announced March 4. Nine canonical complaints of sexual abuse of altar boys had been filed against him. He had been teaching at a local university, but he fled Costa Rica Jan. 7, and prosecutors in the country have issued an international arrest warrant.
Guevara, 52, was arrested earlier this month for one allegation of sexual abuse against a minor. He has been released from prison, but has strict regulations to follow and is suspended from his work at Santo Domingo de Heredia parish.
The 52 year-old priest was only kept in prison for one night, but he must check in with civil authorities once a month, cannot change addresses, and has surrendered his passport. He is also forbidden from any form of contact with the victim.
The Costa Rican bishops’ conference issued a statement a day after his arrest, seeking forgiveness for a lack of an appropriate response in other sex abuse cases, according to Q Costa Rica.
“We humbly acknowledge our mistakes and ask forgiveness for the faults that have been painfully committed by some members of our church,” the bishops said.
Washington D.C., Mar 7, 2019 / 03:30 pm (CNA).- A bipartisan group of senators have written to the Government Accountability Office asking it to examine the use of non-compete agreements by employers when dealing with low-wage workers.
In a letter sent March 7, Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Todd Young (R-IN) asked GAO comptroller general Gene Dodaro to review the practice non-compete agreements, and the effect these agreements have on the economy.
A non-compete agreement prevents or delays an employee from taking a new job either with certain competitors or in the same industry after his employment has ended. They are common in some fields as a measure to protect trade secrets and to lower turnover among employees, but the letter claims that the practice has expanded in recent years.
“We are requesting that GAO review the available research on the use of [non-compete] agreements and the impact of non-compete contracts on the nation’s workforce,” the senators wrote.
Specifically, the senators want the GAO to look at how prevalent non-compete agreements have become in lower-wage positions, and how these agreements impact the workforce and the economy as a whole.
The letter claims that 12 percent of workers earning less than $20,000 and 15 percent of workers earning between $20,000 and $40,000, have signed non-compete agreements. These employees may not know they will be subject to a non-compete agreement until after they have received a job offer, the letter explains.
Senator Rubio said on Thursday that the practice was in urgent need of review.
“It is unacceptable that non-compete agreements are being used to unnecessarily restrict entry-level workers from pursuing better employment opportunities,” Rubio said.
The senators also asked for a study of state-level measures taken steps to limit non-compete agreements, and how these have impacted local economies.
“The use of non-competes has spread from highly technical fields into less technical and lower wage work, where they might reduce wage and benefit competition among employers and restrict employee’s upward mobility–for no good reason,” said the letter.
The head of the Catholic Social Workers’ National Association said the practice of forcing employees, especially lower-wage employees, to sign non-compete agreements is contrary to America’s founding ideals and violates the rights of workers.
“According to Catholic Social Teachings, our economy must serve the people,” Kathleen Neher, co-founder and president of the CSWNA, told CNA.
“Work provides more than money, it provides a sense of community, dignity and participation in God’s creation.The basic rights of workers must be respected, which includes helping them grow and achieve their dreams,” she said.
Non-compete agreements, she said, only increase the pressures faced by lower-wage workers who, Neher said, often are people students or people with fewer academic qualifications.
“We live in America, the land of opportunity,” Neher said. “We should never place limits on possibilities for growth.”
She warned that restrictions on workers like non-compete agreements would have negative impacts on their mental health, and the economy as a whole. Workers, she explained, achieve more when given the chance to do so.
“Lower-level employment is there to teach and guide employees so they can move up the ladder of success,” she said, which would result in higher tax revenue and more money being spent in the community.
© Catholic World Report