Washington D.C., Oct 12, 2016 / 05:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In a leaked email hacked from a private account, the chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign appears to discuss with a progressive figure whether it is possible to “plant the seeds of the revolution” against the U.S. bishops and their stances. The email exchange, entitled “Catholic Spring,” also suggests that two organizations – Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Catholics United – were created for such a purpose. “There needs to be a Catholic Spring, in which Catholics themselves demand the end of a middle ages dictatorship and the beginning of a little democracy and respect for gender equality in the Catholic church,” wrote Sandy Newman, president of progressive organization Voices for Progress, in the first of two emails in the February 2012 exchange. The recipient of the email, John Podesta, is Catholic and a graduate of Georgetown University. He currently serves as the head of Hillary Clinton’s campaign for presidency. Previously, Podesta served as president and CEO of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress, and as the chief of staff for President Bill Clinton.  The emails were released by anti-secrecy site Wikileaks as part of an ongoing leak of emails hacked from Podesta’s email account. Podesta has echoed rumors that Russian intelligence officials were responsible for the hack, and has further alleged that some of the emails may not be authentic.  In the exchange between Newman and Podesta, the former began by asking if contraceptive coverage and the then-newly announced HHS mandate could be used as a wedge issue to place between Catholics and the bishops.  The U.S. Bishops’ Conference, numerous Catholic institutions, and other employers of faith have challenged the mandate since its inception in 2011. They have argued that the regulation’s requirement that employers provide and pay for contraceptive and abortion-inducing drugs and procedures violates their deeply-held religious beliefs. In the email, Newman went on to say, “Of course, this idea may just reveal my total lack of understanding of the Catholic church… Even if the idea isn't crazy, I don't qualify to be involved and I have not thought at all about how one would ‘plant the seeds of the revolution,’ or who would plant them. Just wondering…”  Podesta responded to the inquiry by saying, “We created Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good to organize for a moment like this. But I think it lacks the leadership to do so now. Likewise Catholics United. Like most Spring movements, I think this one will have to be bottom up.” At the time of these emails, Catholics United was headed by executive director James M. Salt. Salt also serves on the board of directors of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. In 2012, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good was headed by Alexia Kelley. Since then, she has served as the senior advisor and deputy director in the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, as well as the HHS Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. She currently serves as president and CEO of Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities, a Catholic grant-making organization.  Christopher Hale, the current executive director of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, told CNA that “the emails that were written in 2011… do not reflect the mission of the organization.”  “I’ve think we’ve proven during my time here that we are a strong messenger for the full social magisterium of the Catholic Church. We fought against the HHS mandate, we fought against Planned Parenthood when the tapes were released in 2015. We fought time and again for the dignity of the unborn child.” “We try our best to challenge both parties to be more consistent in their values so we take pride in getting criticism from both the left and the right,” he said, adding that they have criticized the Democratic party for a “politics of exclusion” particularly on the issue of life. “If our job is to be a front group in for the Democratic party, then we’re doing a pretty terrible job at it.”  “I think John’s email from 2011 doesn’t reflect our work day in and day out.”  Hale acknowledged that in the past, the organization has received funding from philanthropist and liberal activist George Soros, but added that the organization has not received a grant from Soros in 10 years. Hale also noted that the organization has changed its emphasis in recent years, speaking out more against abortion currently than it has in the past.  Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good promotes tenets of the Catholic faith including a respect for life, preferential option for the poor, peace, and stewardship of creation. During the 2016 election, members of the organization have published numerous prominent articles criticizing Republican candidate Donald Trump and the Republican ticket, and have routinely denounced many of the Trump campaign’s positions.  The group has also criticized Democratic stances on issues such as abortion, however, it generally refrains from directly naming or criticizing Hillary Clinton.  Asked about this imbalance, Hale told CNA that the organization criticizes both parties and campaigns.  “We’re not letting Clinton off the hook,” he stated, adding that the organization has “relationships with both campaigns” and has also brought up their concerns directly to the campaigns.  Catholics in the Alliance for the Common Good is also affiliated with Pennsylvania advocacy organization Keystone Catholics, which was the recipient of a $75,000 grant from the Catholics United Education Fund, dedicated to “pushing forward an LGBT equality agenda within the Catholic Church, in Pennsylvania and throughout the United States.” Catholics United did not respond to CNA’s request for comment.  In the leaked email, Podesta also suggested Newman consult Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former Lt. Governor of Maryland and daughter of Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy Townsend has also served on the board of the National Catholic Reporter, and gave a 2008 keynote address to the national conference of Call to Action, which dissents from Church teaching on issues of sexuality and women’s ordination. In the speech, she further criticized the bishops' teachings on same-sex “marriage,” stem cell research, abortion, and called the election of President Barack Obama “a wonderful rebuke to the hierarchy.”Kevin Jones contributed to this report. Read more

Washington D.C., Oct 12, 2016 / 12:09 pm (Church Pop).- A priest from West Virginia recently won a quarter of a million dollars on the trivia TV show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and pledged to donate the money to a Catholic elementary school. Fr. Bill Matheny had been trying to get on the trivia show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire for 17 years. This last summer, he finally fulfilled his dream, promising that he’d donate his winnings to St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School in St. Alban, West Virginia, which he attended as a child. Using all three of his lifelines, he successfully won $250,000 before the show ran out of time. He returned the next day to go for $500,000. Though he was leaning toward a particular answer, he wasn’t confident enough to go for it and decided to walk away with the $250,000. After making that decision, the show revealed that his guess would have been correct. “If I were playing only for myself, I would’ve gone for it,” the priest told his local TV station in West Virginia. “It seemed like that logical answer but I watch the show enough to know that when someone gets to this level what seems logical is not always the right answer. So I was concerned. If it were me, I would’ve risked it because I could’ve lived with $50,000 but for the school I couldn’t jeopardize $200,000.” Though the show was recorded last summer, it was showed on TV in September.   Here's a video of the priest correctly answering the $50k, $100k, and $250k questions: And here's the priest on the $500,000 question the next day:This post originally appeared on Churchpop.com Read more

Washington D.C., Oct 12, 2016 / 03:15 am (CNA).- In a country long entrenched in a two-party political system, Mike Maturen faces an uphill battle. He’s the 2016 presidential candidate for the little-known American Solidarity Party, which holds views rooted in Catholic social thought. But while Maturen’s name won’t even be on the ballot in most states – he’s running a write-in campaign in several locations – he thinks this November is the time for Americans to voice their dissatisfaction with Republicans and Democrats alike, and create a better option. Founded in 2011 as the Christian Democracy Party USA, the party later changed its name to better reflect its principles of Catholic Social Teaching. “The party itself is a secular party that is informed by faith,” Maturen says. While its members come from various religious backgrounds, and some with no faith background at all, the party’s platform is based upon three pillars of Catholic social thought: solidarity, subsidiarity and distributism. The American Solidarity Party does not find that it fits comfortably into “conservative” or “liberal” camps. Its platform is staunchly pro-life, but adds that this conviction must also include opposition to the death penalty, as well as social services for mothers in need. Its beliefs on marriage and religious liberty would be considered conservative, while its views on the environment, health care and immigration would be considered more liberal. Maturen himself was raised Catholic, but left the Church in college and spent years as an evangelical Protestant and later an evangelical Episcopalian before returning to the Catholic Church in 2002. His story has appeared on the EWTN show, The Journey Home. A few months ago, the party had just 200 members. Now it has 1200, in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. That’s still incredibly small by political party standards, but Maturen believes that dissatisfaction over the current election cycle is driving interest in third party candidates. “(W)e will be a force to be reckoned with in the future,” he says. CNA spoke to Maturen about the American Solidarity Party and its goal of creating a platform based upon Catholic Social Teaching. His comments are below:  Can you give a brief overview of your basic platform? Would you consider yourself conservative, liberal, or something else?   Politically, I lean to the conservative side, having spent most of my adult years as a conservative Republican. However, after meditating upon my religious faith and my political beliefs, I realized that the two didn't always match up. I decided to research further what the Church teaches about the various issues our country deals with. It was then that I discovered the richness of Catholic Social Teaching. I began to work to align my politics with my faith. In that process, I discovered the American Solidarity Party. Our platform is based on Catholic Social Teaching. We could best be described as "centrist" as a party...but not centrist by today's definition… Politically, we would be considered center-right on social issues and center-left on economic issues. We believe in the economic concept of distributism as taught by GK Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc. We also believe in solidarity (we are all in this together) and subsidiarity, which teaches that problems are best solved where they reside – at the most local level possible. Higher levels of government should only intervene if asked, or if necessary.  For instance, national security issues are best handled at the Federal level, while education issues are best handled at the local/parental level.The American Solidarity Party calls itself a "whole life party." What does that mean, and how does it differ from the two major parties today?   The term "whole life" is a short descriptive of believing in the sanctity and dignity of human life from conception to natural death...the WHOLE life. We subscribe to what is often referred to as a “consistent life ethic.” When describing the positions of the two major parties, I like to use the analogy of a bowling alley. The Republican Party by and large has settled into the extreme right, while the Democrats have largely settled into the extreme left. We call these in bowling “the gutters.” Republicans are pro-life in that they are anti-abortion, but often they forget that life does not end when the umbilical cord is cut. The Democrats only seem to care about the babies AFTER they are born. Until then, they are free to sacrifice the unborn on the altar of convenience. Once the baby is born, the left is very good at providing for their care, with a social safety net, etc. We like to think that we take the best of both parties. We need to ensure that the unborn are protected. I believe that we need to have a constitutional or legal definition of personhood for the unborn. That will ensure their right to life. Once that baby is born, we need to be certain that tools are in place for their proper care, to include medical, social, etc. We also believe that a social safety net for the elderly, impoverished and disabled is a key component to the pro-life stance. Finally, we also believe that part of the consistent life ethic is to oppose euthanasia, assisted suicide, embryonic stem cell research and the death penalty.Your economic plan involves the distributism model. Can you explain a little more about what this would practically look like?  There really are several ways this can be implemented, either fully or incrementally. The core of distributism is to bring the economic engine closer to home. Rather than having a huge portion of our economy wrapped up in the hands and control of a few major corporations, we believe that it is the small business – the mom and pop shops – that drive the economy best. We would propose to re-write regulations to favor the small businesses and family farms, rather than the major corporations that also just so happen to be the major donors to our government officials. Regulations, taxes, etc all need to be re-thought and revamped.How would you assess the state of the country right now? What are its most pressing needs? I think our country is still among the greatest in the world. However, our society has become coarse. The current election cycle and the antics of the two major party candidates is really what is driving the growth of third parties and independents. The vulgarity, coarseness and pure venom of this presidential election is disgusting. Our politics should reflect our national ethic. What is missing today are the qualities of statesmanship and diplomacy. We can no longer have a national discussion without it devolving into insults, lies and mudslinging. While these things have always existed in politics, it has risen to a level never before seen. It is time to change the face of American politics and bring a fresh new perspective. We intend to be a catalyst for that change. Our pressing needs are many and varied. We need to reform immigration. We need to have a healthcare system that is fair and just. We need for taxes to be fair and equitable. We need to ensure that a social safety net is in place to care for those among us who are unable to care for themselves. We need to replace our current culture of death with a culture of life. We can do this by guaranteeing the right to life for ALL human beings, born and unborn. We believe in a hope for a future of peace, following the Just War theory. We also believe that we need to care for our shared home, the earth.After economic issues, terrorism is the topic that ranks highest in voter concern this election. What is your plan to deal with ISIS? ISIS is a tough pill to swallow. Our constant intervention in the affairs of other countries has led, at least partially, to the creation of ISIS. We do not believe in preemptive strikes. However, we do believe in a secure nation. If attacked, we will defend ourselves, and do so with force. We also need to use diplomacy to reduce the conditions that allow for ISIS to exist. Working with the leadership of the countries where ISIS lives and works, we can help to reduce this threat to not just the United States, but to nations in every corner of the world...and we can do so without interventionism and foreign entanglements, which the Founding Fathers warned us about.Have you seen growth in your party over this past year?   Yes. We really only got started at gaining ballot access in July. We have grown from a handful of members in a few states to members in all 50 states plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. We have caught the attention of media, large and small...including mentions in publications from Ireland, Italy and the UK. While still comparatively small, we will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.What would you say to voters who are disillusioned by their choices in this election?   There is a better way. Don't be stuck in the rut of the two party system. Voting for the lesser of two evils is STILL voting for evil, and only perpetuates the mindset that has gotten us to this point in our political history. The only wasted vote is a vote that is not cast. Do not listen to the apologists of the two-party system that a vote for a minor party candidate is a vote for Hillary, or a vote for Donald. These things are simply not true. A vote for Mike Maturen is a vote for Mike Maturen. The American Solidarity Party offers people of goodwill an opportunity to vote with a clear conscience. Take advantage of that opportunity, and help us to reshape the face of American politics.   Read more

Detroit, Mich., Oct 12, 2016 / 12:59 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Seeking God’s forgiveness for generations of failures in the Church, the Archdiocese of Detroit held a Mass of Pardon asking God for grace and mercy. “Repent and believe in the Good... Read more

Denver, Colo., Oct 11, 2016 / 04:49 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A Colorado ballot proposal to legalize assisted suicide relies too much on fear and anxiety and ignores the ways better hospice care can provide for the terminally ill, a local hospice leader has said. “Hospice is the antidote to physician assisted suicide because it’s a highly specialized area of medicine that focuses on education, symptom management and compassionate support,” said Kevin Lundy, CEO at the Colorado-based Divine Mercy Supportive Care. He warned that the promotion of assisted suicide ignores realities at the end of life. “People are amazingly resilient and every terminal illness situation is completely different based on the individual responses to the disease and the treatment they're receiving,” Lundy said. “People facing end of life can be inspiring, more honest than any time in their lives and completely selfless,” he added. “Their pain truly is manageable, but fear and anxieties have a tendency to impact ‘others’ who strive to alleviate all suffering for their loved ones.” This year, Colorado voters will weigh the ballot proposal Proposition 106, known as the Colorado End-of-Life Options Act. It would allow an adult at least 18 years of age with a terminal illness to request a lethal prescription from his or her physician. The person must be deemed mentally competent and two physicians must diagnosis the person as having of six months or fewer to live. The measure also requires that such adults self-administer the drug, called secobarbital, which is also used for lethal injections in some states. Lundy objected that the proposed law would require physicians “to lie on death certificates” and not recognize suicide as a cause of death. The law requires physicians to list a patient’s underlying condition, not suicide. The ballot measure would have a broader impact, given trends in society and government, he predicted. The Affordable Care Act of 2010, for instance, stops federal funding for individuals over age 80. “When you begin to look at cost as a primary driver of care, then you find yourself operating in an environment where those without perceived value (by government or insurance companies, or others) are pressured into taking the cheaper way out,” Lundy commented. He worried that legal assisted suicide could lead to a situation where hospices are forced to allow assisted suicide procedures or lose funding from government or private insurance. There could be legal action from patients who believe a refusal to provide assisted suicide violates their rights. Lundy emphasized that Divine Mercy Care would never provide assisted suicide services, as it violates Catholic ethics and religion. “Our hospice agency cares for individuals regardless of their financial abilities and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future,” he said. Depression can be a problem for people with a terminal illness, especially where they suffer a lack of faith or support from a “loving” community or hospice program, Lundy reported. “Sometimes people are suddenly aware they’re going to die and need time to process that reality. Other times, they are afraid of being alone or leaving their loved ones alone,” he said. “Because dying has become a taboo subject in our culture, depression accompanies fear, anxiety and uncertainty.” According to Lundy, a “loving and faith-based approach” like that of Divine Mercy Care can help diminish these fears and anxieties. The hospice often witnesses depression “transition into joy, acceptance and a celebration of life.” Education about hospice would better help people with terminal illnesses, Lundy said. Only about half of individuals eligible for hospice benefits under Medicare are aware of it, with minority communities in particular lacking knowledge. “Many people still believe that hospice is simply too expensive or that they have to leave their homes to be cared for,” he said. “In fact, it’s all provided at no cost to the patient, or the patients’ family, and it is provided wherever the person resides.” Read more

New York City, N.Y., Oct 11, 2016 / 03:57 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Today is International Day of the Girl Child, declared by the United Nations as a day to raise awareness of programs and services that are needed to empower girls around the world, particul... Read more