Bishops freeze funding as Canadian Catholic charity comes under fire

Lujan, Argentina, Mar 9, 2020 / 06:18 pm (CNA).- As the Argentine president prepares to send a bill to the legislature legalizing abortion, thousands attended a pro-life Mass March 8 at the Basilica of Our Lady of Lujan.

The Mas Vida Foundation estimated  the attendance at more than 100,000 people.

The Argentine bishops’ conference organized the Mass with the theme “Yes to women, yes to life.” The main celebrant was Bishop Oscar Vicente Ojea Quintana of San Isidro, who is president of the conference.

The purpose of the event was to oppose the bill to legalize abortion to be sent by President Alberto Fernandez to the Congress, which was announced last week.

Argentine law allows abortion in cases when the mother’s life or health is in danger, or in cases of rape.

In his homily, Bishop Ojea said that “in this Eucharist we have come to celebrate and express our gratitude for the lives of so many women united in the sentiment of so many people in the world on this international women’s day.”

“We value your irreplaceable presence in families and and we celebrate the increasingly greater place you have in our society,” the prelate said, and that added that all have come to Luján to “pray for all women so their lives, their safety and their rights are respected, overcoming every kind of exclusion.”

“But in a special way, we want to celebrate and appreciate women’s closeness and commitment to life,” he said, and especially those “intelligent and brave women who commit their lives day after day, that life that sometimes makes it presence known with an unplanned pregnancy, which perhaps doesn’t come at the best time, but they are completely committed to care for this new being they have received.”

The bishop underscored that “there are millions of Argentine men and women, believers and non-believers” who “have the profound conviction that there is life from conception and that a different person than the mother is developing in her womb.” In addition he emphasized that “it is unfair and distressing to call them anti-rights or hypocrites.”  

“In reality, we value and defend the rights of each and every life, of every woman and every unborn child,” the president of the bishops’ conference said.

He stressed that “It’s not right to eliminate any human life, as our National Constitution affirms,”
and that “violence and death are the exact opposite of Jesus’ plan.”

“Life is the first right and without it no others can be given.  We claim it for everyone  at any age or in any situation that life finds itself in, and especially those who are weak, unprotected and defenseless,” he said.

At the same time Bishop Ojea said that the members of the Church “wholeheartedly deplore the cruelty of femicide and every kind of violence and discrimination against women” such as “ abuse in all its forms whether sexual, psychological or the abuse of power, whatever the environment where it occurs, the family, work, school, the street, and painfully we must also say in the Church.”

“Let us renew at this Eucharist our commitment to banish from us a culture that can foster cover up and any kind of complicit silence in face of this crime,” the bishop said.

He also called for civility in debating public policy and spoke against silencing or stigmatizing people which can only deepen the divisions in Argentine society.

The bishop asked  the clergy to support “the implementation of sex education that is truly integral” and “policies that recognize the equal dignity of men and women in society.”

Bishop Ojea expressed support for public policies to assist pregnant women, especially those in situations where there is conflict or extreme vulnerability and noted “we’re already doing it in a lot of our communities.”

A bill to legalize abortion through the first 14 weeks of gestation narrowly passed the Chamber of Deputies in 2018, but was rejected by the Senate.

[…]

The cathedral church of Mexico City, the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, in the historic center of the city, is seen here on May 29, 2024, during the closing campaign rally of the country’s victorious presidential candidate, Claudia Sheinbaum. / Credit: Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 4, 2024 / 16:22 pm (CNA).

The bishops of Mexico congratulated Claudia Sheinbaum, president-elect of the country, “for her victory at the polls” in the June 2 election.

As of the late afternoon of June 3, the preliminary results tallied by the National Electoral Institute showed Sheinbaum — candidate of the leftist alliance Let’s Keep Making History — with 59.17% of the votes. Her closest competitor, Xóchitl Gálvez — representing the Strength and Heart  coalition — had 27.84%, while Jorge Álvarez Máynez of the Citizen Movement party had 10.45% of the votes. When the final count is completed, the institute will officially certify the winner.

In a statement posted on X yesterday by the Mexican Bishops’ Conference, the prelates prayed for Sheinbaum so that “with the responsibility and wisdom that the position demands, and always seeking the common good, she may lead Mexico toward better horizons where the republic is strengthened, the rule of law is fully established, democracy allows political transition without violence, progress and justice in the entire nation are achieved more effectively, and, above all, that we may begin a period of social reconciliation in the entire country.”

Besides voting for president, Mexicans elected new federal representatives and senators as well as the governors of nine states, state legislators, and presidents of municipalities.

The bishops also congratulated the Mexican people for “exercising their civil and political rights to strengthen democracy,” noting that this was achieved “despite the obstacles and problems that arose during the electoral process, especially due to criminal violence and some authorities interfering with the law.”

The election campaign was not without violence as 37 local candidates were assassinated. In addition, the National Electoral Institute reported 5,089 incidents throughout the country on election day, most of them minor, such as people trying to vote without a voter registration document. However, 29 polling stations had to be closed due to robberies, gun violence, and ballots being burned, among other factors.

“As pastors,” the bishops wrote, “it fills us with hope to see how citizens embrace the values ​​of the common good. May this spirit continue to encourage and inspire us in building a brighter future for our beloved homeland.”

After reminding all the winners of the 2024 elections that “when they take office, they will do so for everyone,” the prelates urged that “the common good be the star that guides everyone who was elected by popular vote” as they govern their districts.

Finally, they entrusted the nation to the protection of Our Lady of Guadalupe and prayed that she would grant the people “the wisdom, serenity, and strength to accept the results of this civic celebration and to work together, government and society, in the building of a Mexico where we all recognize each other as brothers, beloved children of the same Father, and together let us forge the promising destiny of our great nation.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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The president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, announced his support for measures to legalize abortion and euthanasia in the country. / Credit: Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 5, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
The Chilean Bishops’ Conference issued a s… […]