Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco / Catholic News Agency
Washington D.C., Sep 22, 2021 / 10:00 am (CNA).
The Archbishop of San Francisco warned that an abortion bill to be voted on in Congress this week amounts to “child sacrifice… […]
Do Catholics “believe that human life begins at conception” — a formulation that’s become ubiquitous in recent weeks? Well, yes, in precisely the same sense that Catholics “believe” that the Earth is spherical, not flat; […]
null / Claudette Jerez/CNA
Washington D.C., Sep 21, 2021 / 10:15 am (CNA).
The Justice Department on Monday asked the Supreme Court to uphold Roe v. Wade, the court’s 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.The court on Monday had announc… […]
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) / Michael Candelori/Shutterstock
Washington D.C., Sep 20, 2021 / 14:49 pm (CNA).
The House this week will vote on a bill that the U.S. bishops’ conference warns would effectively impose abortion on-demand th… […]
Guaita tower, San Marino / princeztl/Shutterstock
Denver Newsroom, Sep 20, 2021 / 13:15 pm (CNA).
The tiny European nation of San Marino, where abortion has been illegal for nearly a century and a half, is set to hold a referendum on the legaliz… […]
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Washington D.C., Sep 20, 2021 / 12:02 pm (CNA).
The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will hear arguments in a critical abortion case on Dec. 1.In the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a challenge t… […]
A family participates in Poland’s March for Life and the Family in Warsaw on Sept. 19, 2021. / Family News Service
Rome Newsroom, Sep 20, 2021 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Poland’s March for Life and the Family drew 5,000 people this year, according to the event’s organizers.
The annual march took place in Warsaw on Sunday, Sept. 19. Thousands of participants took to the streets in the Polish capital brandishing the country’s red and white flag and posters with pro-life slogans.
It was Poland’s first March for Life since a landmark decision on abortion by Poland’s constitutional court came into effect earlier this year.
The Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw ruled on Oct. 22, 2020, that abortion for fetal abnormalities was unconstitutional. The ruling, which cannot be appealed, is expected to lead to a significant reduction in the number of abortions in the country.
Abortion remains legal in Poland in cases of rape or incest and in cases of risk to the mother’s life after the ruling.
Polish President Andrzej Duda met with the organizers of the march, who are affiliated with the Center for Life and the Family and the Christian Social Congress, on Sept. 19.
Duda welcomed the constitutional court’s ruling last year saying that “abortion for so-called eugenic reasons should not be allowed in Poland.”
The March for Life and the Family, which usually takes place in 140 Polish cities, was limited to Warsaw this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The organizers of this year’s scaled-down march selected “fatherhood” as a key theme of the event.
“We want to send a signal not only to the whole of Poland, but also to the whole world that there are men in Poland who take responsibility, that they do not run away from it,” Pawel Ozdoba, one of the event’s organizers said at the opening of the March for Life and the Family.
Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, the president of the Polish bishops’ conference, expressed good wishes to the participants of the march in a social media post.
The archbishop invoked two recently beatified Polish Catholic figures as examples of supporting the right to life.
Blessed Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, the Primate of Poland who led the Church’s resistance to communism, and Blessed Elżbieta Róża Czacka, a blind nun who revolutionized care for the visually impaired, were beatified the weekend prior in Warsaw.
“May Blessed Cardinal Wyszynski and Blessed Mother Czacka support you in showing that everyone has the right to life, and the family is the most precious good of humanity,” Gądecki wrote on Twitter.
A Mass was offered at the conclusion of the March in Warsaw’s Church of the Holy Cross.
“The Primate of the Millennium was so often called the ‘Father of the Nation,’ hence the connection. We wanted to show that Polish fathers are responsible,” Ozdoba said.
“A responsible and strong father and a strong man are needed not only by the family, but also by the whole society,” he said.
The Virginia March for Life in Richmond, Sept. 17, 2021. / Christine Rousselle/CNA
Richmond, Va., Sep 17, 2021 / 16:00 pm (CNA).
Pro-life Virginians took to the streets of Richmond on Friday as part of the third annual Virginia March for Life.Th… […]
Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ pro-life committee / Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Washington D.C., Sep 17, 2021 / 15:02 pm (CNA).
The U.S. bishops’ conference on Friday warned against abortion funding in a massive spending bill being considered by Congress.
“Congress can, and must, turn back from including taxpayer funding of abortion, in the Build Back Better Act,” said Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, the chair of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life committee, and Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, chair of the bishops’ domestic justice and human development committee.
“We urge all members of Congress and the Administration to work in good faith to advance important and life-saving healthcare provisions without forcing Americans to pay for the deliberate destruction of unborn human life,” they stated.
This week, House committees advanced portions of a federal spending package that could ultimately total $3.5 trillion. The package would include various policy priorities of the Biden administration and congressional Democrats, such as funding of universal pre-K, free tuition for two-year community college, investments in “green” energy, and a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants.
Included in the health care portions of the package are some proposals supported by the U.S. bishops’ conference. These include expansion of Medicaid coverage, postpartum coverage for mothers, and funding of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
“Catholic bishops have been strong advocates for proposals at both the federal and state level that ensure all people will have access to affordable healthcare,” both Naumann and Coakley said on Friday.
“However, the legislative text advanced by the two House committees also funds abortion, the deliberate destruction of our most vulnerable brothers and sisters – those in the womb. This cannot be included,” they said.
Pro-life leaders have warned that health care spending in the bill could fund abortions, unless specific pro-life language is added to the legislation to block such funding. Federal dollars could fund abortion coverage through Affordable Care Act health subsidies and through the creation of a parallel Medicaid structure for states that refused to expand Medicaid.
Some members, such as Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.), tried to insert amendments to the reconciliation bill prohibiting abortion funding; those attempts were blocked this week, in hearings of the House Ways and Means Committee and House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The budget package would need to pass through the process of “reconciliation,” the process by which budget-related items can pass the Senate with only a simple majority vote. It is being considered in addition to the normal government funding “appropriations” bills for the 2022 fiscal year.
An unborn baby at 20 weeks — well within the second trimester, when dilation and evacuation abortions are commonly performed. / Steve via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).
Denver Newsroom, Sep 17, 2021 / 14:31 pm (CNA).
Jackson Women’s Health Organization… […]
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