Month: October 2020

Denver Newsroom, Oct 2, 2020 / 05:26 pm (CNA).- As change on the US Supreme Court puts the future of legal abortion in doubt, some political leaders in New Jersey are seeking to strengthen and expand legal abortion through proposed state legislation.

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CNA Staff, Oct 2, 2020 / 04:09 pm (CNA).- Father John Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, has tested positive for coronavirus, the university said in an email to students Oct. 2.

Jenkins had been voluntarily self-quarantining since att… […]

CNA Staff, Oct 2, 2020 / 03:30 pm (CNA).-  

The campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden will launch an ad campaign in swing states this month touting the candidate’s Catholic faith in both television commercials and a spot that will run on Catholic radio stations.

The ads do not mention the candidate’s support for pro-abortion legislation and abortion funding, even while bishops in those states have emphasized that abortion policy is a preeminent issue in the presidential contest.

A radio ad that will run on Catholic radio stations features a woman who is a parishioner at the parish to which Biden belongs in Delaware. The woman, Bernadette, notes that Biden is a long-time parishioner, and that she has known the former vice president for years and sees him at Sunday Mass when he is in Delaware.

“You can tell how important Joe’s faith is to him. It’s what motivates everything: Joe’s beliefs, his values, the kind of president Joe would be.” Bernadette says in the ad.

“Joe Biden knows what it means to be your brother’s keeper….to care for those around you, and lift up those who are suffering,” she adds.

Biden has made his Catholic faith a part of his campaign messaging in recent weeks, as the candidate tries to reach Catholic voters in swing states, whose votes could be crucial for either candidate in close states. The candidate has mentioned on the campaign trail his having met the pope, relying on his faith in times of crisis, and having been formed by Catholic education.

The former vice president has not discussed aspects of his policy agenda that are out of step with Catholic doctrine, most especially his support for federally funding abortion, providing foreign aid to abortion providing organizations, and for legislation that would codify protections for abortion into federal law. This week Biden lamented the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, expressing concern that abortion rights could be at risk if Barrett is confirmed to the Supreme Court.

The U.S. bishops have said that ending legal protection for abortion is the “preeminent priority” in politics because of the gravity of abortion. Pope Francis has argued that legal protection for the unborn is a necessary predicate to a just society.

The radio ads are expected to run in Wisconsin and Florida, two states Biden’s opponent, President Donald Trump, won narrowly in 2016.

They will reportedly be carried on affiliates of the Relevant Radio Network, which could not be reached for comment.

The network’s website says that while the station does not endorse political candidates, “under federal law, Relevant Radio must accept political advertising from all legally qualified candidates for Federal office. This includes all candidates for President, Vice-President, U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate who meet certain benchmarks. We reject advertising from candidates for all other offices, including gubernatorial and state house, state senate and/or general assembly candidates, regardless of political affiliation or stance on issues.”

The network also rejects “all political advertising requests coming from any individual or group outside of a federal candidate or his/her authorized committee and all political ‘issue’ advertisements,” the site says.

In Wisconsin, Bishop Donald Hying wrote last month that with regard to voting “procured abortion surpasses all other moral issues in its urgency, but clearly is not the only issue we face.”

“Some 62,237,640 human lives have been snuffed out in the United States since the Supreme Court made abortion the law of the land in 1973,” Hying wrote.

“The United States bishops have declared abortion as the preeminent moral issue because no other fundamental moral evil has destroyed more human lives. There is no other evil extolled in either party’s platform or candidate’s policies that matches a party’s or candidate’s promotion of the intrinsic evil of the direct and deliberate taking of so many human lives — now nearly a million each year in the United States alone,” the bishop added.

“I cannot ignore that disturbing fact and so, personally, I cannot vote for a presidential candidate who advocates for the continued legalization of abortion,” Hying wrote.

“If a candidate is fundamentally wrong on such a basic and preeminent human rights issue of grave consequence to the most innocent in our society and to our own future, how can I trust the candidate to make moral and prudent decisions on many other important social justice issues pertaining to the common good?” he asked.

In Florida, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami wrote last month that “abortion is a grave violation of the most fundamental human right — the right to life that is inherent in all human beings, and that grounds every other right we possess. That some Catholics in public life promote positions on human life that are not coherent with their Catholic faith is a scandal and while they may claim to be ‘practicing’ Catholics, it is obvious that they need to practice a whole lot more — until they get it right.”

Political advocacy group CatholicVote said Thursday it plans to run ads on Catholic radio stations raising objections to Biden’s record on religious liberty, Catholic education, abortion, and other issues.

“This ad campaign treats Catholics as chumps, and has all the makings of a massive swindle that will dramatically backfire.  We’re already getting calls from Catholics outraged that a pro-abortion Catholic like Joe Biden has the gall to go on Catholic radio and brag about his faith,” CatholicVote president Brian Burch told CNA.

“Joe Biden has pledged to gut religious schools, strip away fundamental religious freedoms, and for the first time in American history, force taxpayers to directly pay for abortion. Look no further than the unprecedented assault on the Little Sisters of the Poor that Joe Biden has pledged to restart if elected,” Burch added.

Biden is also planning a television ad aimed at Catholics, which will air in swing states and features Biden speaking about his faith to America magazine editor Fr. Matt Malone, SJ.

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CNA Staff, Oct 2, 2020 / 03:13 pm (CNA).- Though there are many affronts to life, from conception to death, the violence of abortion is the most direct attack on life, Bishop Joseph Hanefeldt of Grand Island wrote on Thursday.

“Abortion is a direct attack on human life, and its permanence in our culture is destroying our society. The litmus test for one’s participation in public office in this country is now determined by their position on abortion. Anyone who stands in the way of unlimited and unregulated taxpayer funded access to abortion is now being silenced and systematically persecuted,” the bishop wrote in his Oct. 1 statement on Respect Life Month.

“While there are many issues that merit our attention and support, abortion most directly attacks life itself. Abortion on demand has been the preeminent evil in our culture since it was legalized in 1973. To support those who champion abortion rights is to now blindly open the door for advancing widespread religious persecution.”

“There are those who prioritize unlimited, unregulated, taxpayer funded abortion on demand … To support such people because one agrees with them on other issues is to disregard the deepest flaw of moral character: the willful affront to the sovereignty of God as the Lord and giver of life,” Bishop Hanefeldt taught.

“When Catholics who are hailed as ‘devout’ members of the Church do everything in their power to perpetuate the evil of abortion and support those who champion it, what kind of moral integrity is that? The priority of the inviolable right to life from the moment of conception must never be compromised. The availability of every other human right presumes first the right to exist,” he reflected.

The Church in the US observes October as Respect Life Month, highlighting the teaching of St. John Paul II in his 1995 encyclical on the value and inviolability of human life, Evangelium vitae.

Bishop Hanefeldt offered his statement “regarding this challenge to live the Gospel of Life” because of “the great unrest in our society in these days.”

“There are many challenges to the dignity of the human person in our society today … Violence seems to be the common answer for everything: the violence of abortion, the violence of human trafficking, violence against immigrants, the violence of racism, the violence of suicide and assisted suicide, the violence of rioting and the destruction of property, the violence of Planned Parenthood selling aborted fetal body parts for profit, violence from those who will not tolerate the freedom of religion. Living the Gospel of Life challenges us to present a different way of living to our violent, broken world.”

To live consistently the gospel of life “requires a deeper conversion, beginning within our own hearts. We must repent of any disregard we may have had for the dignity of others. We must adhere to the gospel of life at all times,” he emphasized.

“We must advocate for the dignity of the human person in the culture in which we live, whenever it is violated. This advocacy takes place when we get involved. It happens when we step up to offer our own talents and resources for the poor, the homeless, the marginalized, the immigrant, the weak and defenseless, and the unborn. This advocacy fosters the good ordering of society,” he taught.

While “no violation of human dignity can be disregarded … Catholics must know that not all issues are weighted equally,” he said.

One must follow one’s conscience, “but our consciences must be properly formed. Setting aside the wisdom of the Church’s teachings cannot simply be claimed as a matter of personal conscience.”

The bishop noted that he and his fellows in the American episcopate wrote in their new introductory letter to Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship that “The threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life itself, because it takes place within the sanctuary of the family, and because of the number of lives destroyed. At the same time, we cannot dismiss or ignore other serious threats to human life and dignity such as racism, the environmental crisis, poverty and the death penalty.”

He said that “Recently, there has been some objection to this language that ‘abortion remains our preeminent priority,’ arguing that it places too much emphasis on this one particular issue. My response to this objection is this: While Catholics debate where abortion should be ranked in the hierarchy of issues, there is NO dispute among those who oppose God’s design for marriage and family life. Abortion is THE preeminent non-negotiable issue for those in this country who are attacking traditional family values. If you do not think it should be the Church’s preeminent priority, watch what proponents of abortion on demand will do to ensure that this evil never goes away!”

The legalization of abortion is “an unspeakable offense against the ‘Lord and giver of life,’ yet we have grown numb to the magnitude of this evil,” Bishop Hanefeldt lamented.

He added that “abortion is so essential to the agenda of those who oppose traditional family values that they force taxpayers to pay for this evil act, which is an affront to their religious liberty. This is anything but the just ordering of society!”

The bishop affirmed that “Our world is suffering from so many evils. Our salvation is in Jesus Christ and not in politics, yet as citizens we must participate in the political process.”

“Forces in opposition to traditional family values have one unrelenting goal that will not be compromised. Legalized abortion is bringing about the fall of this nation! Far from being ‘one nation under God,’ we have become a nation in chaos. In this time of chastisement, let us live the gospel of life by entering into fasting and prayer, doing penance for God’s mercy upon this land!”

Bishop Hanefeldt concluded: “If you are tired of the abortion debate, its supporters are not! Evil triumphs while we argue about moral exigency.”

“Turn off the blogs, the social media, the news and Twitter,” he exhorted. “Instead, as a Church and as a nation, let us get on our knees and pray for God’s mercy to save our souls, guilty of the tragic disregard for his sovereignty and the sanctity of human life, made in his image and likeness!”

Bishop Hanefeldt has company among the US bishops in emphasizing the preeminence of the right to life in recent weeks.

Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chair of the US bishops’ pro-life committee, made the same observation last month, and Bishop Alfred Schlert of Allentown wrote in a Sept. 9 pastoral letter that “a Catholic voter is to approach the ballot box with the defense of innocent human life uppermost in his/her mind and conscience,” and that Catholic voters should consider whether their vote would constitute cooperation “with a candidate’s promotion of the grave sins of abortion and euthanasia.”

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