Judge’s ruling forces Wichita diocese to cancel ‘Mass for Life’ in front of abortion clinic  

Joe Bukuras   By Joe Bukuras for CNA

October 13, 2023 Catholic News Agency News Briefs 1 Print

 

Wichita Bishop Carl Kemme celebrates that diocese’s annual “Mass for Life” in October 2022. / Credit: Diocese of Wichita

CNA Staff, Oct 13, 2023 / 10:58 am (CNA).

The Diocese of Wichita, Kansas, was forced to cancel its annual “Mass for Life” scheduled to take place in front of an abortion clinic Oct. 7 after a judge revoked its permit to close the road where the event was to take place.

Sedgwick County Chief Judge Jeffery Goering signed a temporary restraining order on Oct. 6, which, in effect, prohibited the Mass from taking place, according to the Wichita Eagle.

The diocese has said it plans to appeal the decision at a hearing before the Wichita City Council, in order to celebrate the Mass there next October.

Matthew Vainer, a spokesman for the diocese, told CNA Thursday that every year the abortion clinic, Trust Women on East Kellogg Drive in Wichita, raises objections to the Mass. This year, he said, a new office space company, the Strategic Workspace and Event Center, also weighed in with their objections.

The diocese said in an Oct. 6 statement that because more than one-third of the affected property owners objected to their street closure event, the city council must make the final decision.

“It is our hope that we have the opportunity to speak in front of the City Council as it is important to express our religious liberties by praying in public,” the diocese said.

“However, that will not happen before Saturday, October 7, the date of the Mass for Life.”

Instead of the Mass for Life, Wichita Bishop Carl Kemme led a rosary Saturday morning in front of the abortion clinic with over 100 attendees, the diocese said in a Facebook post.

“A rosary is prayed there every first Saturday of the month. Today, though, was special. It is the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary,” the post said.

Vainer told CNA that he wasn’t sure when the diocese would appeal its case to the city council.

“Anytime we can speak for the unborn and get in front of those that don’t have a voice, I think we need to do that,” he said.

“So if it’s getting in front of the city council and finding some alternative spaces to do that, we’re going to do that,” he added.

Vainer said that the diocese prefers to hold its Mass for Life in October each year because it dedicated that month to the unborn. So, the next Mass for Life is scheduled to be held next year, he added.

“But moving forward, we’re going to either find a space or make sure we’re in front of city council and make sure our voice is heard because as Catholics, we have to stand up for that,” he said.

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Federal appeals court sides with Texas bishops in privacy case

July 16, 2018 CNA Daily News 0

Austin, Texas, Jul 16, 2018 / 01:45 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A federal court of appeals sided with the Texas Catholic bishops in a July 15 ruling blocking a request from abortion groups to access the bishops’ private communications regarding abortion.

“Hitting churches with subpoenas to win the culture wars was a bad idea from the start,” said Eric Rassbach, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, which represents the Texas Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“We are glad that the Fifth Circuit recognized the deep problems with allowing lawyers to use the power of the court system to probe the private religious discussions of religious groups,” he continued. “That is especially so here, where the plaintiffs oppose the Texas Catholic bishops’ right to participate equally in public discourse.”

Whole Woman’s Health, a chain of Texas abortion facilities, filed suit against the State of Texas two years ago over a law that requires aborted fetal remains to be either buried or cremated. Previously, the remains were treated as medical waste and thrown into a landfill.

Although the bishops are not party to the lawsuit, Whole Woman’s Health attempted to acquire various communications from the Texas Conference of Catholic Bishops concerning abortion. These included private email and internal communications between bishops.

The bishops had previously offered to bury aborted fetal remains for free in Catholic cemeteries in Texas.

A trial court initially ruled that the bishops must hand over the emails and other documents. The bishops then requested emergency protection from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which last month granted temporary protection and ordered additional briefs to be submitted by June 25.

The July 15 decision permanently blocks the order for the bishops to hand over the documents.

In his concurring opinion, Circuit Judge James Ho stressed the importance of religious liberty.

“The First Amendment expressly guarantees the free exercise of religion—including the right of the Bishops to express their profound objection to the moral tragedy of abortion, by offering free burial services for fetal remains,” he said. “By contrast, nothing in the text or original understanding of the Constitution prevents a state from requiring the proper burial of fetal remains.”

The Texas bishops have emphasized the importance of being able to deliberate privately and freely.

“Children are not disposable,” said Bishop Edward J. Burns from the Diocese of Dallas, comparing the lawsuit to the policy of separating undocumented children from their parents at the U.S. border.

“We believe that life is sacred from the moment of conception. We also believe that we have a right to discuss in private how to address this issue and uphold the dignity of every human life, and that while upholding the sacredness of life may seem at odds with some people, our religious liberties and religious rights should not be eroded.”

 

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