Europe

CNA Staff, Apr 15, 2020 / 04:01 pm (CNA).- Poland’s parliament will consider a citizen-initiated bill to ban abortion in cases where the unborn child has a severe abnormality, though it is unclear whether the bill has enough support to become law.

About 830,000 citizens signed the petition for the citizen’s bill which is now set for an April 16 vote in the lower house of Poland’s parliament. The bill would bar abortion in cases where the unborn child has an abnormality. It is the most common reason for abortion in Poland, and sometimes used in cases where the child is not expected to survive.

The Catholic bishops made a general statement on abortion restrictions.

“The Polish Bishops’ Conference supports all initiatives aimed at protecting human life from conception to natural death,” Fr. Pawel Rytel-Andrianik, spokesman for the Polish bishops’ conference, said on Twitter April 15.

Polish law allows abortion only in cases of rape, incest, threat to the mother’s life, or fetal abnormality. About 700-1,800 legal abortions take place in Poland each year.

President Andrzej Duda, who is allied with the Law and Justice party, has said that he backs further restrictions on abortion and would sign such restrictions into law.

“I believe that killing disabled children is simply murder,” he told the Catholic news outlet Niedziela, according to Reuters.

While the Law and Justice party-led conservative coalition controls parliament and tends to support pro-life causes, the ruling party appears reluctant to back the bill.

Law and Justice spokesman Radoslaw Fogiel said lawmakers are divided on the citizen abortion bill and party discipline is not implemented on such matters.

Polls suggest Duda is on track to win the presidential elections held May 10, but there are uncertainties because of the situation under the new coronavirus. Efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus include holding the election by mail ballot, but minority parties object that the fact the election will take place at all gives unfair advantages to the incumbent party.

A previous citizen’s bill to ban all abortions in Poland failed to pass parliament in 2015, as did later parliamentary proposals. Foes of a 2016 bill to further restrict abortions rallied about 100,000 protesters across the country.

Abortion proponents’ efforts to make abortion law more permissive have also failed. Many women who seek abortions go abroad to countries with more permissive abortion law.

Another citizen’s bill up for consideration would ban sex education and make it a criminal offense to promote or approve sexual intercourse or other sexual activity by a minor.

Backers say it will combat sexual abuse of minors and discourage promiscuity.

Authors of the “Stop Pedophilia” bill said sex educators often “groom and familiarize children with homosexuality,” Reuters reports. “The organizations and activists most involved in the promotion of sexual ‘education’ in our country are the LGBT lobby,” they charged in a document to parliament accompanying the proposed law. Sex education lessons, they charged, are used “by the LGBT lobby to achieve radical political goals,” including adoption by same-sex couples.

Schools in Poland do not often offer sex education, but teach students to prepare for family life. Last year the Law and Justice party condemned a local push for sex education in Warsaw, where opposing political parties hold control.

More than 200,000 people participated in Marches for Life and Family in 130 cities across Poland in June 2019 in protest of sex education in schools.

The Catholic Church in Poland supported the marches, and the Polish bishops’ conference thanked the faithful for participating in the marches at their June plenary meeting. According to the bishops’ press office, the bishops warned against “the promotion of ideologies inimical to natural law and Christian values and against the attempts at introducing such ideologies to schools under the guise of sexual education.”

Critics of the sex education ban objected to linking sex educators with pedophiles and said it would encourage persecution of homosexuals.

While Polish critics of the citizens’ bills claimed backers were pushing them forward under cover of the coronavirus pandemic, Elzbieta Witek said they are citizen’s initiatives which must be considered under the law, the Associated Press reports.

“I know that they are controversial,” Witek said. “But in a democratic state — and Poland is such a state — citizens’ projects must be subjected to proceedings in the Polish parliament, because that’s the law.”

Draginja Nadazdin, the director of Amnesty International in Poland, called both citizen bills “draconian.”

“Attempting to pass these recklessly retrogressive laws at any time would be shameful, but to rush them through under the cover of the COVID-19 crisis is unconscionable,” she said.

Amnesty International, a human rights organization, enjoyed significant Catholic support until it adopted a pro-abortion rights policy in 2007, prompting many Catholics and other pro-life advocates to resign. Now it is part of abortion advocacy worldwide, backed by funders like billionaire financier George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, which also seeks change on abortion in Poland and other strongly Catholic countries.

In August 2016, CNA broke the news that documents allegedly hacked from the Open Society Foundations and posted to the site DCLeaks.com included a strategy proposal targeting the Republic of Ireland’s pro-life constitutional protections for the unborn child by backing several pro-abortion rights groups, including Amnesty Ireland.

The foundations’ strategy suggested that a pro-abortion rights victory in Ireland “could impact other strongly Catholic countries in Europe, such as Poland, and provide much needed proof that change is possible, even in highly conservative places.”

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Paris, France, Apr 14, 2020 / 11:01 pm (CNA).- For Fr. Pierre Amar, Notre-Dame de Paris has always been a masterpiece, “the very example of supreme beauty,” but now the Marian cathedral is also “a great burnt victim.”

One year … […]

Rome, Italy, Apr 14, 2020 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- A pastor at a church in Rome offered Easter Mass from the roof of the church so nearby parishioners could participate from their balconies and windows during the coronavirus lockdown in Italy.

Making the Ma… […]

CNA Staff, Apr 14, 2020 / 08:10 am (CNA).- French President Emmanuel Macron has echoed Pope Francis’ call for debt relief for the world’s poorest countries amid the coronavirus crisis. 

In a televised address April 13, Macron appealed… […]

London, England, Apr 7, 2020 / 08:30 am (CNA).- The Archbishop of Westminster led calls for prayers for Britain’s Prime Minister on Monday after Boris Johnson was admitted to an intensive care unit. 

Johnson tested positive for coronavirus 11 days ago and was taken to St. Thomas’ Hospital, London, on Sunday for worsening symptoms.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols issued an appeal for prayers for the Prime Minister in a tweet April 6.

“Prime Minister Boris Johnson has a personal fight on his hands against the vicious coronavirus and needs our prayers. Let us pray for him, all who are suffering and our NHS workers caring for them,” wrote the cardinal, who is president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.

In comments to CNA, Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury said: “Seeing the Prime Minister stricken and incapacitated by the very threat we are presently battling surely reminds us of how we are all in this struggle together.”

“We are all praying for Boris Johnson at this time. As Christians, it is the communion of the saints which reminds us how our lives are so bound together. A doctrine which is shining through these days of isolation and confinement in a common struggle.”

The official account of the Catholic National Shrine and Basilica of Our Lady at Walsingham echoed Cardinal Nichols’ call for prayer, tweeting Monday: “We need to pray for our Prime Minister.”

Johnson announced that he had tested positive for the virus March 27. He went into self-isolation but continued working. On April 5, he was admitted to St. Thomas’ Hospital suffering from “persistent symptoms.”

Downing Street said in a statement April 6: “Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the Prime Minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the intensive care unit at the hospital.”

“The PM is receiving excellent care, and thanks all NHS staff for their hard work and dedication.”

The Prime Minister’s spokesman said April 7: “The Prime Minister has been stable overnight and remains in good spirits. He is receiving standard oxygen treatment and breathing without any other assistance.”

“He has not required mechanical ventilation or non-invasive respiratory support.”

The Department of Health said April 6 that 5,373 of those hospitalized in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus had died as of 5pm local time on April 5.

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Paris, France, Apr 7, 2020 / 07:00 am (CNA).- One year after the world watched the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris burn, the Archbishop of Paris will display the relic of Christ’s crown of thorns for veneration during a Good Friday broadcast.

&… […]

Turin, Italy, Apr 6, 2020 / 04:00 am (CNA).- Catholics around the world will be invited to pray virtually before the Turin Shroud on Holy Saturday as the world struggles to contain the coronavirus pandemic, Church officials have said.

The Shroud, which bears the image of a crucified man and has been venerated for centuries as Christ’s burial cloth, will be displayed via livestream at 5pm local time April 11. 

Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia will preside over a liturgy from the chapel of Turin cathedral where the Shroud is kept in a climate-controlled vault. It will be broadcast live on television and social media. 

The archbishop said he was responding to thousands of requests from people asking to venerate the Shroud amid a global crisis that has so far claimed nearly 70,000 lives. 

“Thanks to television and social networks,” he said, “this time of contemplation will make available to everyone throughout the world the image of the sacred cloth, which reminds us of the Lord’s passion and death, but also opens our hearts to faith in His resurrection.”

He said he hoped that the ceremony would give strength to those suffering amid the pandemic. 

“Yes, the love with which Jesus gave us his life and which we celebrate during Holy Week is stronger than any suffering, every illness, every contagion, every trial and discouragement,” he said. “Nothing and no one can ever separate us from this love, because it is faithful forever and unites us to him with an indissoluble bond.”

Turin is located in northwest Italy, not far from the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, which has led to nearly 16,000 deaths and a nationwide lockdown since March 10. 

Archbishop Nosiglia announced last year that the Shroud would be displayed in December 2020 when Turin hosts an annual meeting organized by the Taizé Community. This would be the fifth time that the Shroud has gone on public display since the year 2000. 

The last time the Shroud was presented to the public was in 2015. Pope Francis prayed before the relic during a visit to Turin on June 21 that year. Afterwards, he described it as an icon of Christ’s love. 

“The Shroud,” the pope said, “attracts people to the face and tortured body of Jesus and, at the same time, urges us on toward every person who is suffering and unjustly persecuted.” 

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Rome, Italy, Apr 3, 2020 / 10:01 am (CNA).- The bishop at the epicenter of Italy’s coronavirus outbreak has said churches are serving as makeshift mortuaries as there are so many dead bodies “you do not know where to put them anymore.&rdquo… […]

Rome, Italy, Apr 2, 2020 / 02:00 pm (CNA).- Bishops throughout Italy visited cemeteries last week to pray and offer Mass for the souls of those who died after contracting the coronavirus. Among the 13,915 coronavirus deaths in Italy, at least 87 have b… […]

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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