Most Popular News Within Last 30 Days
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Vatican coin commemorates Covid vaccine
The Vatican has issued a new series of coins in honor of the worldwide campaign for Covid vaccination.The coins, issued in various Euro denominations, feature an image of a doctor and nurse administering a vaccination shot to a young person. A Vatican release indicated that the coins were issued to call attention to the efforts of Pope Francis to promote vaccination as a “moral obligation” and to “continue efforts to immunize even the poorest peoples.”
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Pope attacks efforts at ‘restoration’ in Church
Pope Francis has launched a new assault on “old-fashioned outlooks” and “restorationist groups” in his latest published interview. In a conversation with the Jesuit...3
Massachusetts bishop: Jesuit school cannot call itself Catholic
Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester has issued a decree prohibiting a Jesuit-run school from identifying itself as Catholic.Citing his authority to ensure the Catholic identity of Church-run schools—an authority recently confirmed by a new Vatican document—the bishop ruled that the Nativity School of Worcester “may no longer use the title ‘Catholic’ to describe itself.” Additionally, he said that the school will not be allowed to have Mass or other sacraments celebrated on campus, to conduct fundraising activities in the Worcester diocese, to advertise in the diocesan directory, or to retain former Bishop Daniel Reilly on its board.
Bishop McManus took action after the Nativity School ignored his directive to stop flying Gay Pride and Black Lives Matter banners. In April, noting that these banners supported causes that were at odds with Catholic moral principles, the bishop asked: “Is the school committing itself to ideologies which are contrary to Catholic teaching? If so, is it still a Catholic school?”
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Father Richard Rohr meets with Pope
Father Richard Rohr, an American Franciscan author and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation, met with Pope Francis on June 20.Father Rohr has faced criticism for his “very questionable, if not dangerous, beliefs”, his views on homosexuality, his “mushy, New Agey” writings, and his praise of the enneagram.
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Fertility doctors moving embryos to guard against legal protection
American fertility clinics and their patients are moving embryos to guard against the possibility that some states might give legal protection to embryos, the Wall Street Journal reports.Spokesmen for the lucrative assisted-reproduction industry explained that states could criminalize the destruction of frozen embryos that doctors said were not viable.
In 2019—the last year for which reliable data are available—more than 2% of the babies born in the US were the result of in vitro fertilization.
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Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade
The US Supreme Court has overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling of 1973, restoring the authority of individual states to regulate abortion.“The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion,” the Court majority ruled, rejecting the logic of the Roe and Casey decisions. “We now overrule those decision and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives.”
The landmark ruling came on a 6-3 vote, with Justice Samuel Alito writing for the majority. The final ruling closely followed the argument of a draft by Justice Alito that had leaked to the press in May. Justices Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett joined in opinion, with Chief Justice Roberts adding a concurring opinon. Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan filed a vigorous dissent.
The Court’s decision does not outlaw abortion, but allows for individual states to make their own laws regarding the practice. Pro-life leaders have emphasized the importance of political action at the state level to protect life, while pro-life jurists have argued that the courts should take the next logical step and recognize that unborn children should receive Constitutional protection.
Leaders of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) welcomed the Supreme Court ruling. “This truth was grievously denied by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized and normalized the taking of innocent human life,” said Archbishops José Gomez and William Lori—the president of the USCCB and the chairman of its pro-life committee, respectively. “We thank God today that the Court has now overturned this decision.”
Radical pro-abortion groups had vowed to wreak havoc on Catholic churches and on pregnancy-help centers if the Court overturned Roe. The Department of Homeland Security has reportedly advised Catholic churches to step up security.
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US cardinals, in separate statements, welcome Dobbs decision
In separate statements, the cardinals who lead American dioceses welcomed the Dobbs v. Jackson decision (CWN coverage), which overturned the 1973 decision Roe v. Wade. “We welcome this...8
Cardinal Dolan weighs in on abortion, guns, and the ‘throwaway culture’
“Our political system appears to be broken, as Republicans and Democrats operate in silos and see more political benefit in intransigence than consensus,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York writes in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. “The result is that both parties reject policies that would fortify what St. John Paul II referred to as a culture of life and instead embrace what Pope Francis has called a throwaway culture that extends even to human beings.”“Among Republicans, we see it in the refusal to consider even widely popular proposals that would help to increase gun safety,” Cardinal Dolan continues. “Among Democrats, we see it in the frantic drive to expand abortion, even in states where it would be impossible to expand it further.”
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Pope Francis will not celebrate public Corpus Christi Mass
For the first time since the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis will not celebrate Mass publicly on the feast of Corpus Christi, according to a Vatican announcement of his activities in June and July.The Pope will celebrate Mass for the 10th World Meeting of Families on June 25 and Mass for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul on June 29. In July, the Pontiff will make apostolic journeys to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan (July 3-7) and to Canada (July 24-30).
In its announcement, the Holy See Press Office inaccurately described the Pope’s Saturday evening Mass on June 25 as Mass for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time; it is actually the 13th Sunday.
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Cardinal Kasper rips German Synodal Path as ‘attempted coup’
Cardinal Walter Kasper has denounced the German episcopal conference’s commitment to radical changes advanced by their “Synodal Path,” saying that the German bishops must recognize that the Church cannot be “remolded and reshaped to suit the situation.”Cardinal Kasper—a noted theologian known for his liberal views, and a former president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity—said that if the German bishops failed to heed to concerns expressed by other bishops around the world, their campaign for change would be “breaking its own neck.”
Noting that the Synodal Path pledges German bishops to implement policies that conflict with current Church teaching, Cardinal Kasper remarked that the bishops, in doing so, would be renouncing their obligations. “Constitutionally,” he said, “the whole thing could only be called a coup.”
