Damage at the Major Theological Seminary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Vorzel, Ukraine. / Caritas-Spes Zhytomyr.
Vorzel, Ukraine, May 11, 2022 / 04:25 am (CNA).
A Catholic charity announced this week that it would fund the restoration of a Uk… […]
Vandalism at St. John XXIII parish in Fort Collins, Colo., May 7, 2022. / Eileen Pulse
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 10, 2022 / 18:50 pm (CNA).
The publication of a leaked draft opinion in a pivotal Supreme Court abortion case on May 2 trigger… […]
null / Andrea Piacquadio via Pexels
Lima, Peru, May 10, 2022 / 15:55 pm (CNA).
The Peruvian Congress on Thursday passed Bill 904, which supports the right of parents to educate their children according to their values and principles.The bill wa… […]
Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Denver Newsroom, May 10, 2022 / 14:50 pm (CNA).
In response to threats of violence from pro-abortion activists, the U.S. bishops’ conference is inviting Catholics around the country to join in fasting and praying the rosary on… […]
Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot leads the city’s Pride Parade as Grand Marshal, June 30, 2019. / Vashon Jordan Jr. via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 10, 2022 / 13:42 pm (CNA).
Catholic and pro-life leaders are condemning the Chicago’s mayor’s “call to arms” in response to the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting that justices will overturn Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide in 1973.
“To my friends in the LGBTQ+ community—the Supreme Court is coming for us next. This moment has to be a call to arms,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a Democrat in a same-sex marriage, tweeted on Monday. “We will not surrender our rights without a fight—a fight to victory!”
Catholic and pro-life leaders expressed concern with Lightfoot’s wording at a time when abortion activists are threatening Supreme Court justices and attacking Catholic churches and pro-life pregnancy centers.
“It is seriously concerning to see politicians like Mayor Lightfoot use incendiary language with violent undertones at a time when certain Supreme Court justices need additional security and churches and pregnancy centers are under actual attack by the abortion movement,” Ashley McGuire, a senior fellow with The Catholic Association, told CNA.
She added, “Efforts to intimidate jurists and frighten pro-lifers will not prevail, but they are reckless and must be condemned.”
The March for Life Chicago — which unites thousands of Midwesterners every year to promote life — expressed concern about Lightfoot’s wording amid the ongoing violence.
“The March for Life Chicago condemns Mayor Lightfoot’s ‘call to arms,’ especially following a Molotov cocktail being thrown into a pro-life organization’s office just 150 miles from Chicago,” the group told CNA. “The March for Life Chicago calls upon Mayor Lightfoot, civic leaders, and all Midwesterners to peacefully build a society where preborn children and their parents are protected from the violence of abortion.”
Amy Gehrke, the executive director of Illinois Right to Life, also called out the mayor.
“At a time when violence in the city of Chicago is spiraling out of control, it is mind-boggling that Mayor Lightfoot is putting more taxpayer money towards the violence of abortion,” she told CNA. “It is also mind-boggling that, with violence against pro-life advocates rising sharply, that Mayor Lightfoot would use irresponsible and incendiary language such as issuing a ‘call to arms.’”
On Monday, Lightfoot and the Chicago Department of Public Health announced an allocation of $500,000 for supporting “access to reproductive healthcare for Chicagoans and patients seeking safe, legal care from neighboring states that have or ultimately will ban abortion if the Supreme Court decides to strike down Roe v. Wade.”
“Through this investment, my administration is reaffirming our commitment to ensure safe access for anyone seeking safe reproductive healthcare,” Lightfoot said. “That includes access to transportation, lodging, care, and, if necessary, safe and legal access to an abortion procedure.”
Gehrke responded, “By welcoming women to Chicago for abortions Mayor Lightfoot is putting the women of our neighboring states at risk.”
“Talk of threats to the LGBTQ community and others is a straw man,” she concluded. “Abortion advocates know when they talk about the real issue — the deliberate killing of preborn children and the harm it causes their mothers — they lose.”
The mayor’s press office did not respond with comment by time of publication to expand on the meaning of Lightfoot’s remarks. When Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado’s third congressional district called Lightfoot an “insurrectionist” in response to her “call to arms” tweet, Lightfoot responded, “Excuse me. Insurrection is your thing. Not ours.”
In response to the Supreme Court draft opinion, which the court noted “does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case,” some Democrats such as President Joe Biden have claimed that overturning Roe would threaten LGBTQ and contraception “rights.”
The draft opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, takes pains to say otherwise.
“To ensure that our decision is not misunderstood or mischaracterized, we emphasize that our decision concerns the constitutional right to abortion and no other right,” Alito writes. “Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedent that do not concern abortion.”
“Roe’s defenders characterize the abortion right as similar to the rights recognized in past decisions involving matters such as intimate sexual relations, contraception, and marriage, but abortion is fundamentally different, as both Roe and Casey acknowledged, because it destroys what those decisions called ‘fetal life’ and what the law now before us describes as an ‘unborn human being,’” the draft reads.
The opening night of an exhibition of art by Ukrainian refugee children at St. James’ Cathedral in Riga, Latvia, May 8, 2022. / Archdiocese of Riga.
Riga, Latvia, May 10, 2022 / 11:00 am (CNA).
An exhibition of artwork made by Ukrainian refugee children was opened Sunday at the complex of St. James’ Cathedral in Riga. Hosted by Archbishop Zbigņev Stankevičs, the event was attended by several ambassadors to Latvia.
“This initiative of [the] Catholic Church of Latvia managed to unite Latvian society – government bodies, businesses and private citizens in the name of children, love and support for one another,” the Archbishop of Riga told CNA.
“It was amazing that we also hosted an international audience – 14 Ambassadors in Latvia,” Archbishop Stankevičs added.
The archbishop gave an opening speech at the May 8 event. Among those in attendence were his auxiliary, Bishop Andris Kravalis; Father Roman Sapuzhak of the Greek-Catholic parish in Riga; and Olexandr Mischenko, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Latvia.
“In spite of all horrors that those children went through those works have no feeling of revenge, fear or hatred in them. They are full of kindness and hope,” Archbishop Stankevičs said during his opening speech.
Mischenko thanked the Catholic Church in Latvia for its warm welcome and heartfelt support for the children, who had lost so much.
Gabriella Cabiere, an art historian who is curating the exhibition, spoke about Ukraine’s future and the artistic talent of the children.
The opening night included a live concert to give the children and their families “an evening to remember and for a few hours to take their minds off of the horrors happening in their homeland,” the Archdiocese of Riga said.
The exhibit includes art made since March by more than 200 children who have come to Latvia following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The works “show so much pain but also tenacity, spirit and hope. Those works of art are talking to us and bringing real life, unadulterated emotions of children that went through horror,” a representative of the Riga archdiocese said.
The artworks include tanks and experiences of the war, but also homes and pets that were left behind.
“Those families are in a great need of our help not only physical but also emotional. They need to know that they are not alone in this war but that the whole world is behind them and with them. Those children are the future of their country,” the archdiocese reflected.
The opening was a “special moment” for the archdiocese because the Church had extended an invitation to the diplomatic corps in Riga “and received an overwhelming response, now they’re coming together to show unity of support to Ukrainian people.”
The exhibit is being supported by the administration of Latvian president Egils Levits; Latvian National Opera; Latvia Puppet Theatre; Riga Cinema; as well as several local restaurants and shops. These businesses and institutions donated presents given to the artist children.
“Latvian businesses came together to show succour to Ukrainian people and especially most vulnerable – the children. The whole county showed unity in supporting Ukrainian people,” the Riga archdiocese said.
The exhibit has been organized by Caritas Latvija and the Church in the country. It will remain open until May 23 with free admission. Donations will be used to maintain the children’s art studio.
null / Steve Pepple/Shutterstock.
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 10, 2022 / 05:14 am (CNA).
The offices of Oregon Right to Life in Salem, Oregon, were set on fire late Sunday night, the organization announced Monday.”In the late evening on Sund… […]
An icon of Titus Brandsma in Bolsward, the Netherlands. / Anthony Johnson/EWTN.
Amersfoort, Netherlands, May 10, 2022 / 10:11 am (CNA).
More than 60 journalists have petitioned Pope Francis to make Titus Brandsma an official patron saint of jou… […]
St. Peter’s Basilica, pictured on March 19, 2013. / Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk.
Vatican City, May 10, 2022 / 09:05 am (CNA).
In a speech to dicastery leaders on Monday, a bishop said that the new Vatican constitution gives value to Catholic bish… […]
The Catholic University of Erbil in Ankawa, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Credit: Aid to the Church in Need. / null
Königstein, Germany, May 10, 2022 / 08:00 am (CNA).
A Catholic charity said on Monday that there are “signs of hope” for Iraq… […]
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