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Cardinal urges that amid coronavirus the poor be released from ‘tomb’ of loans, debt

April 2, 2020 CNA Daily News 1

Rome, Italy, Apr 2, 2020 / 12:45 pm (CNA).- The coronavirus crisis is an opportunity for the wealthy, and wealthy countries, to forgive the debt of poor persons and countries, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples preached Sunday.

“Where are the tombs of society right now? Where are we lifeless?” Cardinal Luis Tagle asked during his homily in a Mass said March 29 at the Pontificio Collegio Filippino in Rome, reflecting on Christ’s raizing of Lazarus to life.

“Where do we smell, where is our stench?” he continued. “There are many people who are losing their jobs, especially the daily wage earners. And that lack of resources and the poverty could be one tomb right now of many poor people. Could those who can afford it, go to those tombs and release the poor people who owe them money? Release them from their loans, release them from their debts.”

“And we even appeal to rich countries, at this moment, can you forgive the debts of the poor countries, so that they could use their dwindling resources to support their communities, rather than to pay the interest that you impose on poor countries? Could the coronavirus 19 crisis lead to a jubilee, forgiveness of debt, so that those who are in the tombs of indebtedness could find life? Untie them, release them,” he exhorted.

Cardinal Tagle said that the day’s Mass points to that fact that Christ “will triumph over death.”

“Let me reflect on this part of the Gospel: this illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God. Jesus said this when he had been told of the sickness of Lazarus … Can we say the same thing now?  Can we with Jesus say, this coronavirus pandemic is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God? Even when we see the rising number of dead people. And we are in solidarity with those who are grieving, grieving. But Jesus is inviting us to faith.”

He recalled the resurrection of the dead, prophesied by Ezekiel, and asked, “how do we find life in the midst of signs of death?”

“Who will open our eyes to see signs of life when there are so many signs of death? It is God, Jesus, but we need faith. I thnk one good thing about this Covid-19 virus – I say again with all sympathy to those who are grieving – but with the eys of faith we see also life. Many of us think that if we pay the highest premium of insurance? No. your insurance cannot ensure everlasting life.”

“This virus is making us aware that all our successes and inventions, good as they are in themselves, they do not guarantee life. So people are now turning to faith, to God,” the cardinal reflected.

Cardinal Tagle noted that Christ went to Lazarus’ family “to express solidarity, sympathy, but beyond that, Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus. And in the creed, we say he went the place of the dead. This going to the tomb of Lazarus is a prefiguration of his own entry to the place of the dead. We even say he descended into hell, the place of the dead, in order to restore life, commnion with God; the place of isolation becomes a place of communion.”

Martha, he recalled, was embarrased to let Christ go to Lazarus’ tomb, saying there would be a stench.
“But Jesus can stand our stench. Jesus says I can handle that; where is he buried? Don’t worry. And he goes to the tomb and calls him out back to life.”

“My brothers and sisters, what are your tombs?” Cardinal Tagle asked. “Where do we stench? Where do we smell?”

After discussing debt forgiveness, the cardinal likened spending on armaments to a tomb: “Many countries spend so much country for arms, for weapons, for their national security, can we stop wars please? Could we stop producing weapons please? Could we get out of that tomb and spend the money for real security?

“Now we we realize we don’t have enough masks, when there are more than enough bullets. We don’t have enough supplies of ventilators, but we have millions of pesos, dollars, euros, spent on one plane that could attack people. Could we have this permanent ceasefire, and in the name of the poor, let us release money for real security, education, housing, food?”

Cardinal Tagle exhorted: “Those of us who have been living more than four days in the tombs of anger, jealousy, lack of forgiveness, por favor, get out of that. And start talking, untie your mouth, but not for gossip, but for a word of love, a word of forgiveness. Time is short. We don’t know how long life will last. So get out of that tomb, meet your friends, meet people and utter words of forgiveness, understanding. Untie your heart, let it beat again. Let the heart of stone now be a heart of flesh, let it live.”

“And like Jesus, weep, because we love. And if we with Jesus visit our tombs and the tombs of other people, bringing life because of faith, we hope his tears would become tears of rejoicing. And Lazarus will sing again. It is true. This illness is for the glory of God. For today, please share with your families and your loved ones, your tombs, and see how Jesus is leading you out of the tomb, leading us to life.”

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Damage to miraculous crucifix during pope’s blessing ‘not serious’

April 2, 2020 CNA Daily News 0

Rome, Italy, Apr 2, 2020 / 10:48 am (CNA).- The 16th-century crucifix which was present in St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’ Urbi et Orbi blessing last week was reportedly damaged by rain, but the priest in charge of the church where the cross traditionally hangs said it has not been seriously harmed.

Fr. Enrico Maria Casini, who is in charge of San Marcello al Corso in Rome, told CNA April 2 the damage to the miraculous crucifix from rain “is not serious,” from what he understands, and is expected to be returned to the church for Easter.

According to a Vatican source, the crucifix was not as badly damaged as some initially suggested and will be on public display again during the pope’s Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica April 5, as well as during the pope’s other Holy Week liturgies.

The wooden crucifix was moved from San Marcello al Corso to the Vatican March 25. Pope Francis prayed before the crucifix during his extraordinary Urbi et Orbi blessing in St. Peter’s Square March 27 for an end to the coronavirus pandemic.

During the holy hour and blessing, which was broadcast live, rain could be seen running down Christ’s body on the crucifix.

One Italian report characterized damage to the crucifix as including swollen wood, peeling paint, and eroding plasters.

The crucifix was venerated as miraculous by Romans after it was the only religious image to survive unscathed from a fire that completely gutted San Marcello al Corso May 23, 1519.

Fewer than three years later, Rome was devastated by the “black plague.”

Upon the request of Rome’s Catholics, the crucifix was taken in procession from the convent of the Servants of Mary in Via del Corso to St. Peter’s Square, stopping in each quarter of Rome.
 
The procession continued 16 days, August 4-20, 1522. When the crucifix was returned to San Marcello, the plague had disappeared from Rome.

The crucifix has since processed to St. Peter’s Square every Roman Holy Year – around every 50 years – and the crucifix has engraved on its back the names of each pope to have witnessed those processions. The last name engraved is that of St. John Paul II, who embraced the crucifix during the “Day of Forgiveness” during the Jubilee Year 2000.

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Pro-life leaders: N Ireland legal abortion thwarts protection for vulnerable

April 1, 2020 CNA Daily News 2

CNA Staff, Apr 1, 2020 / 07:01 pm (CNA).- As the British Parliament’s permissive abortion law takes effect in Northern Ireland, pro-life leaders strongly criticized the law, pointing to the coronavirus response as proof of the need to protect the lives of the most vulnerable.

“Every unborn baby matters regardless of age or ability, gender or background. He or she has the right to be protected in a community where everyone belongs and deserves our respect,” the Catholic bishops of Northern Ireland said March 31. “Every woman faced with an unplanned pregnancy matters too. She has a right to be cared for within a community where she is protected from any pressure to abort her baby.”

“As the number of deaths caused by Coronavirus continues to rise, news reporters frequently remind us that behind the statistics are real people. Their lives matter regardless of age or ability, gender or background,” said the bishops, noting the heavy government investment in treating patients and protecting medical staff.

“Against this background, we are saddened and dismayed at the Government’s decision to introduce extreme regulations for the delivery of abortion services in Northern Ireland,” they said, citing an “overwhelming will” among the people of the region to “protect the life of every human being.’

Previously, Northern Ireland’s laws only permitted abortion in cases where a woman’s life is at risk, or where there is a permanent or serious risk to her mental or physical health. Backers of the law said it had saved over 100,000 lives by avoiding the permissive law that took effect in other parts of the United Kingdom in 1967.

The new law and accompanying regulations took effect March 31. They mean no explicit legal protections for unborn children up to 12 weeks into pregnancy, compared to legal abortion allowed up to 24 weeks in other parts of the U.K. In some respects the law is more permissive than the rest of the U.K.

Doctors, registered nurses, and registered midwives may perform abortions under the rules. In situations where pregnancy is believed to risk a woman’s physical or mental health, abortion is legal up to 24 weeks. There is no time limit where the pregnancy is deemed a risk to the life of the mother or in cases where the unborn child is deemed to have a fatal abnormality or a substantial risk of severe mental or physical impairment.

The Northern Ireland pro-life group Precious Life has focused on the responses to the government’s late 2019 consultation on the new abortion law. About 79% of respondents voiced opposition to any abortion in Northern Ireland.

Bernadette Smyth, director of Precious Life, said, “thousands of pro-life people throughout Northern Ireland responded in total opposition to a change in the law.”

“Yet, we have seen this week, that the U.K. Government are willing to ignore the results of its own consultation because they are so bloodthirsty and devoted to destroying and killing human lives through abortion in Northern Ireland, even at a time of unprecedented national crisis,” Smyth continued. “People are outraged, upset and hugely frustrated that their democratic voice has been ignored.”

“It is horrifying to learn that one of the most permissive, extreme and inhumane abortion regimes in Europe will be introduced to Northern Ireland by the British Government,” she said. “This is in spite of the fact that our elected representatives returned to Stormont in January and at a time when the U.K. has been brought to its knees by the Coronavirus pandemic.”

“And right in the middle of a national crisis, when people in Northern Ireland and across the world are uniting under the shared understanding that all human life is precious and must be protected, the British Government are still intent on killing and destroying innocent and vulnerable human life in Northern Ireland,” she said.

The Catholic bishops too said the consultation process had been “utterly ignored.”

While Precious Life is circulating petitions asking legislators to repeal the abortion provisions, the bishops said members of the Northern Ireland assembly have some influence. However, their remarks suggested repeal would be very difficult.

Politicians and others opposed to the regulations should not “meekly acquiesce to their promulgation,” they said. Where the regulations exceed the 2019 Act of Parliament, legislators can repeal them.

The traditionally Protestant and pro-U.K. Democratic Unionist Party also criticized the new abortion law.

Paul Givan, DUP Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly said they were “the most extreme, radical, abortion laws anywhere in Europe.”

“It is a travesty that this has been allowed to happen,” he said, objecting that the laws were introduced despite the return of devolved government to Stormont.

While abortion is typically a devolved issue of local control, the British Parliament legislation was passed during an absence of a local government. The parties of the Northern Ireland Assembly could have blocked the law from taking effect, but failed to reach any governing agreement due to a dispute between the two leading governing parties, the DUP and the second-largest party, the nationalist Sinn Fein. The nationalist Social Democratic Labour Party also walked out of a final critical meeting.

Besides the Catholic bishops, leaders in the Church of Ireland, the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, and the Irish Council of Churches had called on the Northern Ireland Assembly to reconvene to block the abortion legislation.

The nationalist parties traditionally draw support from Northern Ireland’s Catholics. Sinn Fein has turned towards backing legal abortion, while some SDLP leaders have made comments welcoming the changes.

Caoimhe Archibald, a Sinn Féin MLA, said it was “only right and proper that woman can access abortion services without having to travel, that they are free to be able to have healthcare in a modern and compassionate way”.

Among the nationalist critics of the new regime is Peadar Tóibín, leader of the new political party Aontú.

“The right to life is a human right. It is the most important human right that anyone of us have. With out the right to life no other human right can be guaranteed,” he said April 1.

“The current crisis has seen society radically change its behavior, to protect the lives of the most vulnerable. This is something that we in Aontú have always understood,” he said. Sometimes we all have to limit our personal choice and autonomy to protect the lives of others. The slogan ‘my body, my choice’ rings particularly hollow now when we realize that in reality we are all in this together.”

Tóibín cited the Sinn Féin Mayor of Belfast’s statement in response to the coronavirus pandemic that “Every Life Matters.”

“The hypocrisy is breathtaking,” he said. “The abortion law that Sinn Féin helped introduce will directly end thousands of live.”

Tóibín was deputy whip of Sinn Fein’s delegation to the Republic of Ireland legislative body known as the Dail, and still holds a seat in that body. However, he was pushed out from the party over his support for the unborn and opposition to legal abortion. Like the nationalist party Sinn Fein, Aontú competes in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.

He charged that the Westminster-based Parliament, Sinn Féin and the SDLP leadership had “forced abortion on demand into the north of Ireland against the wishes of the people.”

“I say forced, because every opinion poll in the north stated that the majority of men and women sought that the issue of abortion would be decided, not in London but in the north of Ireland. It was not just public opinion that held this view. Legally it was a devolved matter. It was for the elected representatives of the north to decide,” he said.

He objected that Sinn Féin had rejected its nationalist stand against British legislation in Ireland and had instead “openly lobbied for Westminster to legislate for abortion on demand in the north.”

“For the first time in 200 years of republicanism, its leadership went cap in hand to London and demanded that it legislate for Ireland over the heads and against the will of the people,” he charged.

Across all Ireland, pro-life advocates have voiced concern about possible changes to government policy to allow at-home abortions using abortion pills during the coronavirus pandemic.

Pressure to legalize abortion in Northern Ireland increased after a 2018 referendum effectively legalized abortion in the Republic of Ireland by a vote of over 66% in favor of removing constitutional protections recognizing the unborn baby’s right to life as equal to the mother’s.

The new law also requires the recognition of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland.

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Democratic Unionists lament introduction of elective abortion in N Ireland

March 31, 2020 CNA Daily News 1

CNA Staff, Mar 31, 2020 / 11:48 am (CNA).- Politicians of the Democratic Unionist Party, the leading pro-life party in Northern Ireland, along with other pro-life leaders, are lamenting that new laws permitting elective abortion in the region came into force Tuesday.

Paul Givan, a DUP member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, said March 31 that “here in Northern Ireland they have the most extreme, radical, abortion laws anywhere in Europe. It is a travesty that this has been allowed to happen.”

DUP leader Arlene Foster called it a “sad day.”

Jim Allister, the Traditional Unionist Voice’s sole member of the legislative assembly, said: “From today, what should be the safest place for an unborn, namely its mother’s womb, can become on a whim one of the most dangerous places – because we are going now to have utterly unfettered, uncontrolled abortion up to 12 weeks.”

The Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2020 also allow abortions up to 24 weeks “in cases where the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or girl, greater than the risk of terminating the pregnancy.”

Abortion access is permitted with no time limit in cases of severe fetal impairment and fatal fetal abnormalities.

Previously, abortion was legally permitted in the region only if the mother’s life was at risk or if there was risk of long term or permanent, serious damage to her mental or physical health.

Both Lives Matter, a pro-life movement in the region, commented that “tragically, too many abortions happen because sadly women fear life and choose death. It is more important than ever before that those of us who recognise and value both lives in every pregnancy, offer better than abortion. Women and girls deserve access to all the practical, material and emotional services they need to choose life.”

Clare Bailey, the Green Party in Northern Ireland leader, welcomed the new regulation, saying that “access to abortion is a positive move.”

Sinn Féin has supported the liberalization of abortion law.

Northern Ireland’s new law allows doctors, registered nurses, and registered midwives to perform abortions.

Though in England, Wales, and Scotland, two medical professionals must certify in all cases that there were lawful grounds for abortion, in Northern Ireland only one medical professional is needed for certification in elective abortions or in cases of immediate necessity where there is a risk to the life of the mother.

The lower threshold in Northern Ireland was adopted at least in part because “it is likely that there will be a more significant number of people raising conscientious objections than in other parts of the UK.”

Consientious objection is allowed for direct participation in abortion, but not for ancillary, administrative, or managerial tasks associated with the procedure, because that “would have consequences on a practical level and would therefore undermine the effective provision of abortion services in Northern Ireland.”

Buffer zones have not been set up around locations where abortions are procured, barring protest in the locations’ immediate vicinity. The government has decided to wait and see what the situation will be, keeping the matter under review so it can “respond to any challenges as needed at the time.”

The new framework was adopted to implement Westminster’s Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019, which decriminalized abortion in Northern Ireland and placed a moratorium on abortion-related criminal prosecutions, and obliged the UK government to create legal access to abortion in the region by March 31.

It was passed while the Northern Ireland Assembly was suspended, though the legislature resumed meeting in January.

Northern Ireland rejected the Abortion Act 1967, which legalized abortion in England, Wales, and Scotland, and bills to legalize abortion in cases of fatal fetal abnormality, rape, or incest failed in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2016.

John Hayes, the Conservative MP for South Holland and The Deepings, said ahead of the regulations’ introduction that the process was “overriding devolution.”

“It seems likely this will be interpreted as the UK Government imposing its will on a reluctant part of the Kingdom which is doubtless disdainfully regarded by Whitehall’s liberal elite as antediluvian,” he wrote earlier this month.

The amendment to the NI EF Act obliging the government to provide for legal abortion in Northern Ireland was introduced by Stella Creasy, a Labour MP who represents a London constituency.

In October 2019, the High Court in Belfast had ruled that the region’s ban on the abortion of unborn children with fatal abnormalities violated the UK’s human rights commitments.

Northern Irish women had been able to procure free National Health Service abortions in England, Scotland, and Wales since November 2017.

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