Catholic News 2
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump's endorsement of legislation to restrict and reshape legal immigration is based on some shaky assumptions, such as the idea that low-wage green-card holders are flooding in to take jobs from Americans....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fake news or fib?...
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- The Nebraska State Patrol has for years forced female recruits to submit to invasive, medically unnecessary pelvic exams performed by a male doctor before they can be hired, according to a new federal lawsuit that has prompted a criminal investigation....
EL ALTO, Bolivia (AP) -- Mariana Limachi left the hospital in this high Andes city in tears after a doctor told her she needed a C-section because the umbilical cord was wrapped around her 8-month fetus....
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A second body was found in the rubble of a collapsed school building in Minneapolis after an explosion killed a school employee and injured several others, fire officials said Wednesday night....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ousted White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci had high hopes for improved relationships with reporters, according to a memo posted online Wednesday....
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) -- With his job on the line, President Michel Temer eked out a victory in a congressional vote over a bribery charge against him that has fueled angst and anger across Latin America's largest nation....
Melbourne, Australia, Aug 2, 2017 / 02:11 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholics and Christian leaders from several denominations have joined forces in the Australian state of Victoria to decry a bill in favor of assisted suicide, expected to be proposed and voted on later this year.“Euthanasia and assisted suicide represent the abandonment of those who are in greatest need of our care and support,” read the letter, which was printed in The Herald Sun July 31.The statement was written by leaders from the Greek and Coptic Orthodox churches, as well as Anglicans, Lutherans, and Catholics, including Anglican Archbishop Philip Freier, Orthodox Bishop Ezekiel of Dervis, and Catholic Archbishop Denis Hart.The bill is expected to be introduced to Victoria's parliament later this year, and is among the more strict in terms of protocol.An expert panel chaired by the former president of the Australian Medical Association, Brian Owler, included 68 safeguards in his recommendations for ...
Melbourne, Australia, Aug 2, 2017 / 02:11 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholics and Christian leaders from several denominations have joined forces in the Australian state of Victoria to decry a bill in favor of assisted suicide, expected to be proposed and voted on later this year.
“Euthanasia and assisted suicide represent the abandonment of those who are in greatest need of our care and support,” read the letter, which was printed in The Herald Sun July 31.
The statement was written by leaders from the Greek and Coptic Orthodox churches, as well as Anglicans, Lutherans, and Catholics, including Anglican Archbishop Philip Freier, Orthodox Bishop Ezekiel of Dervis, and Catholic Archbishop Denis Hart.
The bill is expected to be introduced to Victoria's parliament later this year, and is among the more strict in terms of protocol.
An expert panel chaired by the former president of the Australian Medical Association, Brian Owler, included 68 safeguards in his recommendations for the bill, making it one of the most conservative proposals in the world.
If the legislation is passed, assisted suicide would be a three-step process in the state of Victoria, with at least 10 days between the initial and final request. It would begin with a vocal request, a written request, and end with a final verbal request.
Despite this, no “'safeguards' will ever guarantee that deaths under the proposed laws will be completely voluntary,” the Christian leaders said in their statement Monday. “There will always be a risk of error, fraud or coercion.”
“When euthanasia or assisted suicide is an ever-present – even if unspoken – option, how long will it be before the option becomes an expectation?”
In their letter, the leaders appealed to members of their faith, citing the 2.8 million Christians in Victoria, including 1.4 million Catholics and 530 thousand Anglicans, according to a 2016 statistic.
Last year, a cross-party committee of Victoria's Members of Parliament recommended that a law be drafted to legalize assisted suicide, and a debate is expected to follow the bills introduction later this year.
With an exception to the Victoria's Green party, all Victorian MP's will not have to vote along party lines, but may vote according to their conscience.
St. Louis, Mo., Aug 2, 2017 / 03:20 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Service to the poor on the peripheries of society was a theme of the 2017 Knights of Columbus States Dinner held Tuesday evening in St. Louis.“I stand before you in deep gratitude for your love and concern for hearing the cry of the poor,” Fr. Gerard Hammond, M.M. told those in attendance at the States Dinner at the annual Knights of Columbus international convention Aug. 1.“May we always embrace those who need our mercy and compassion.”Fr. Hammond, a Maryknoll missionary to North Korea, received the Gaudium et Spes Award from Supreme Knight Carl Anderson at the dinner.The award, named after Vatican II's pastoral constitution on the Church in the modern world, is the highest honor bestowed by the Knights of Columbus and is given to persons “for their exemplary contributions to the realization of the message of faith and service in the spirit of Christ.”St. Theresa of Calcutta was the fir...
St. Louis, Mo., Aug 2, 2017 / 03:20 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Service to the poor on the peripheries of society was a theme of the 2017 Knights of Columbus States Dinner held Tuesday evening in St. Louis.
“I stand before you in deep gratitude for your love and concern for hearing the cry of the poor,” Fr. Gerard Hammond, M.M. told those in attendance at the States Dinner at the annual Knights of Columbus international convention Aug. 1.
“May we always embrace those who need our mercy and compassion.”
Fr. Hammond, a Maryknoll missionary to North Korea, received the Gaudium et Spes Award from Supreme Knight Carl Anderson at the dinner.
The award, named after Vatican II's pastoral constitution on the Church in the modern world, is the highest honor bestowed by the Knights of Columbus and is given to persons “for their exemplary contributions to the realization of the message of faith and service in the spirit of Christ.”
St. Theresa of Calcutta was the first person to receive the award in 1992. On the award medal is an image of Venerable Fr. Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, comforting a widow and an orphan.
The Knights of Columbus is a worldwide Catholic men’s organization founded in 1882 by Fr. McGivney “to strengthen the faith of Catholic men” and to “protect their families,” in the words of Supreme Knight and CEO Carl Anderson. Since its founding it has grown into an international organization with over 1.9 million members.
This week, around 2,000 Knights from North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe meet in St. Louis for the 135th international convention. The theme of this year’s convention is “Convinced of God’s Love and Power.”
Fr. Hammond received his award for his missionary work in North Korea. He has made 50 trips into the country since 1995 to treat patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.
Although he is not allowed by the North Korean government to proselytize, he still tries carry out his priestly mission through serving the sick as an “apostle of peace” and to bring “hope for the voiceless.”
Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, introducing Fr. Hammond at the dinner, said that in the spirit of Gaudium et Spes, Fr. Hammond “has taken upon himself the ‘griefs and anxieties’ of those who are ‘poor and afflicted,’ as he seeks to share with them, through compassionate action, the ‘joys and hopes’ of faith in Jesus Christ.”
Fr. Hammond has “exemplified the call of Pope Francis to go to the peripheries,” Archbishop Lori said.
“God’s heart has a special place for the poor, so much so that he himself ‘became poor’,” the archbishop said. “The entire history of our redemption is marked by the presence of the poor.”
Later on Tuesday evening, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, Archbishop Emeritus of Krakow and former personal secretary to Pope St. John Paul II, praised the Knights for spreading the messages of mercy and the Gospel all over the world.
“The Knights of Columbus embraced the message of Divine Mercy proclaimed by the Pope from Kraków, and they proclaim this message in a world affected by various forms of injustice and violence,” he said in his remarks at the dinner.
Pope Francis has taught us to see to see “the other,” our neighbor,” as a “gift,” Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. bishops' conference, said on Tuesday at the dinner.
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, he said that the two men who passed by the wounded man were “looking to self-interest, looking to other things.” The Good Samaritan, however, “tosses aside any consideration except love of neighbor. His help and generosity is excessive.”
Furthermore, he said, Christ teaches that “there is no more boundary when it comes to ‘who are you neighbor to’?” The Knights of Columbus live this teaching out, he said, helping everyone – the immigrant, the refugee, or the Christian displaced from their home.
Cardinal DiNardo also urged those in attendance to join in solidarity with Eastern Rite Catholics who are fasting before the Great Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. He asked Latin rite Catholics to pray and fast for persecuted Christians in the days leading up to the Assumption.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Vatican sent a message to the convention assuring those in attendance of the “good wishes” and prayers of Pope Francis.
“The Holy Father has often observed that in our own day a new world war is being fought piecemeal, as an ungodly thirst for power and domination, whether economic, political, or military, is leading to untold violence, injustice and suffering in our human family,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, said in his written message delivered at the opening business session of the convention.
Pope Francis, he said, “has asked Christians everywhere, truly convinced of the infinite power of God’s love, to reject this mentality and to combat the growth of a global culture of indifference that discards the least of our brothers and sisters.”
Cardinal Parolin asked the Knights to “respond generously to this challenge” through working for the “sanctification of the world from within” in their lay vocation.
He also noted Pope Francis’ appreciation for the Knights upholding “the sanctity of marriage and the dignity and beauty of family life,” as well as the organization’s aid to persecuted Christians in the Middle East.
Caracas, Venezuela, Aug 2, 2017 / 04:42 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Jorge Urosa of Caracas has warned President Nicolás Maduro and the high command of the armed forces that they will be accountable to God for the deaths of Venezuelans killed by military personnel and Chavista groups during demonstrations against the country’s contentious Constituent Assembly."In the name of God, stop the repression!" exclaimed the cardinal, adding that "there are citizens who were murdered and wounded by Venezuelan military personnel and, presumably, by armed forces that act illegally and criminally. This is totally intolerable and cries out to heaven."In statements made to the local press, the cardinal referred to the violent repression of protests against the country’s July 30 election for a 545-member Constituent Assembly. The newly appointed assembly will be responsible for reforming the country’s 1999 constitution. Its first sitting is scheduled fo...
Caracas, Venezuela, Aug 2, 2017 / 04:42 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Jorge Urosa of Caracas has warned President Nicolás Maduro and the high command of the armed forces that they will be accountable to God for the deaths of Venezuelans killed by military personnel and Chavista groups during demonstrations against the country’s contentious Constituent Assembly.
"In the name of God, stop the repression!" exclaimed the cardinal, adding that "there are citizens who were murdered and wounded by Venezuelan military personnel and, presumably, by armed forces that act illegally and criminally. This is totally intolerable and cries out to heaven."
In statements made to the local press, the cardinal referred to the violent repression of protests against the country’s July 30 election for a 545-member Constituent Assembly. The newly appointed assembly will be responsible for reforming the country’s 1999 constitution. Its first sitting is scheduled for Thursday.
According to the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, more than 8 million voters – or 41 percent of the eligible population – participated in the election. However, the Democratic Election Bureau, which opposes the Maduro government, reported that only 2.4 million votes, or 12 percent of the voters, were cast in the ballot box, and a quarter of those votes were void.
The country’s opposition-controlled legislature, the National Assembly, has stated that it will oppose "all measures and actions to depose the Constituent Assembly," and states that the country owes “no obedience” to any constitutional changes.
The governments of the United States, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Canada, Brazil, as well as the European Union, announced that they will not recognize the Constituent Assembly promoted by Maduro.
Following the election, at least 10 people have died in protests against the regime, though other sources report higher numbers of dead. Over 100 people have been confirmed to have been killed in protests against the Maduro government since April, according to Venezuela’s Attorney General, Luisa Ortega Díaz.
The Venezuelan bishops have repeatedly spoken out against the ballot measure, and called to a peaceful resolution to the country’s economic and political problems.
Cardinal Urosa spoke out against the killings, saying that those in charge of the Venezuelan government who are responsible for soldiers attacking Venezuelan citizens “must give an account before God, our Lord, and before the laws.”
He also criticized the electoral process promoted by the regime despite strong opposition from the population.
"With these results, the Constituent Assembly can not be erected with the superpower to repeal the State and the Constitution of 1999. It is an illegitimate process with a comically absurd foundation that detracts from the electoral power of citizens. You can not impose a fraudulent and illegitimate and totally invalid instrument when the people did not vote,” the cardinal said.
On Wednesday Smartmatic, the company in charge of the electronic voting system used in Venezuela’s Sunday elections, stated that "in the past elections of the National Constituent Assembly there was manipulation of participation data."
"The difference between the number announced (by the Government) and the one that the system gives is at least one million voters,” the organization said.
At a press conference from London, Smartmatic Executive Director Antonio Mugica said that for the time being they could not specify the exact amount of the voter discrepancy, but that "an audit would allow them to know the exact amount of participation."
Smartmatic is a multinational firm that has provided the technological platform of voting and services for the elections in the South American country since 2004.
Venezuela's electoral commission has dismissed Smartmatic's claim as “irresponsible” and “unfounded.”
The Venezuelan bishops' conference has tweeted asking that the “Blessed Virgin, Mother of Coromoto, heavenly Patron of Venezuela, may liberate our country from the clutches of communism and socialism.”
Previously, the Venezuelan bishops have repeatedly spoken out against the ballot measure, and called to a peaceful resolution to the country’s economic and political problems.
Venezuela faces high inflation and shortages of necessities like food, housing, and medical supplies, following dropping oil prices in recent years.
The bishops have also asked the laity to “pray for Venezuela.” In another prayer posted to Twitter, the bishops ask that the people of Venezuela be “identified with the respect for the human person, liberty, justice and a commitment to the common good.”
They also restated the importance of love for all, solidarity of the poor, and the necessity of “working for reconciliation and peace.”
