Washington D.C., Jan 19, 2016 / 04:44 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on an immigration enforcement case will affect many immigrants in the U.S., and the Los Angeles archbishop says the court should rule on the side of humani... Read more

Washington D.C., Jan 18, 2016 / 04:48 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Catholic University of America may have closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but around 700 students, faculty, and staff observed the holiday by serving their Washington, D.C. community. “Seeing Christ’s face in other people and serving them has an effect on you,” said Catholic University senior Joey Dichoso, who led a team of students in serving meals to the homeless at the So Others Might Eat dining room, located up the street from the U.S. Capitol. Dichoso drew inspiration from having previously served with the Missionaries of Charity. They “see Christ in the poor,” he told CNA in a Jan. 18 interview. “If you can see [Christ] especially in those that are rejected by society or those that are deemed unbeautiful by society, if you can see Christ in them, then it helps you see Christ in other people.” The Catholic University of America has observed the MLK Day of Service since 2006. The number of volunteers has grown from 26 in its first year to around 700 in 2016. Volunteers, including John Garvey, the university's president, served at more than 20 locations in the city, from cleaning up parks and memorials to serving at homeless shelters and charities. “The MLK Day of Service shows the power of community,” stated Emmjolee Mendoza Waters, the associate director of community service in CUA’s office of campus ministry. “The change we can make in that one day is significant. We get a chance to see what good we can do with our God-given talents.” Some students volunteered to clean and organize clothes and food at the Jordan House in Northeast Washington, which provides psychiatric care and support for homeless men and women. Jennifer Stanton, a senior, was participating in the service day for the first time. She hadn’t visited the Jordan House before, but learned of its mission before she arrived Monday morning. “I know what I’m doing and I know who I’m doing it for,” she told CNA. Martin Luther King, Jr. “set a very great example for service,” she added. “MLK Day was created to be a service day,” said Isaiah Burroughs, a freshman politics major from nearby Fort Washington, Md. who was also serving at the Jordan House. Gene Thornton, a senior crisis counselor at the house, was pleased that the students volunteered their time on their day off. “Yeah, it definitely means a lot for them to come out, just to kind of spend some of their personal time, things of that nature, just to give back,” he told CNA. A few blocks away, 11 students helped serve meals to the homeless at the So Others Might Eat kitchen. They had set up the dining room, served coffee and food, and talked with the homeless. Some played the piano for them. “A lot of times when you’re walking around the city, especially in D.C., and you see homeless people, some people may be quick just to keep walking or to throw a couple of dollars their way,” Dichoso, who led the volunteer group, said. He referenced his time as a mission worker in Jamaica, and previous MLK Days of Service, to emphasize that it is important “to really encounter that person as a human being and ask them how they’re doing.” “Really the encounter part is making a friend,” he said. How is the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. reflected in the service day? Dichoso referred to a talk given the students just before they departed campus by Thomasine Johnson of the university staff, who had lived through the civil rights movement. “All people of all colors deserve to be treated equally and they have a dignity,” he said of King’s legacy, “that all peoples have dignity really ties into service. Seeing the dignity in every human person.” “That dignity in Christ is in all of us,” he concluded. Read more

Washington D.C., Jan 16, 2017 / 03:39 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Martin Luther King Day is a time to promote racial harmony in America and honor the slain civil rights leader who was “inspired by the teachings of Christ,” said the head of the Knights of Peter Claver. “Considering that so many 'church-going folks' were supporting segregation and Jim Crow laws during the civil rights movement, it is wonderful that King dedicated his life to employing Christ's teachings to resist and counter the very social sins of prejudice, racial discrimination and segregation,” Supreme Knight F. DeKarlos Blackmon told CNA. He said Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. a Baptist minister, was “a man of faith and deep conviction” who studied Catholic theology and was “particularly impressed” with St. Augustine. King’s famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” cited St. Augustine's saying “An unjust law is no law at all.” From 2010-2016, Blackmon headed the Knights of Peter Claver, a New Orleans-based Catholic fraternal order present in about 39 states and in South America. It takes as its model the Spanish Jesuit priest St. Peter Claver, who ministered to slaves in Colombia in the 1600s. Its membership is significantly African-American but the order is open to all practicing Catholics without regard to race or ethnicity. The organization was founded in Mobile, Ala. in 1909 by four priests of the Josephite Fathers and three Catholic laymen to serve African-Americans and other racial minorities. Its founders were concerned the Catholic Church would lose black individuals to fraternal and secular organizations, at a time when local racism kept many out of the Knights of Columbus. The order has six divisions: the Ladies of Peter Claver, two separate junior divisions for young men and young women, the Fourth Degree Knights and the Fourth Degree Ladies of Grace. The Knights of Peter Claver and the Ladies Auxiliary opposed segregation and worked to transform how communities and cities thought about race, equality and justice, Blackmon said. They worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Urban League. The order's leadership and members were “intimately involved” in the civil rights movement. Civil rights attorney A.P. Tureaud, a national secretary and national advocate of the order, worked with future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall to help overturn legal segregation. The now demolished Claver Building in New Orleans, which was the Knights’ headquarters from 1951 to 1974, hosted early meetings “that ultimately launched the civil rights movement,” Blackmon added. Today, members of the order organize Martin Luther King Day activities like Masses of Unity, prayer services, days of unity, and programs commemorating King's vision in addition to their other charitable works. Blackmon said King challenged America “to live out its creed that all men are created equal.” He said the observance is an opportunity for American Catholics to remember King's life and work and to realize the challenge to work towards Jesus’ prayer that the Catholic Church “may all be as one.” He said African-American Catholics should use the day to remember those who have accomplished “something for the larger community and the greater good.” He mentioned African-American Catholic bishops like the late New Orleans auxiliary Bishop Harold Perry and Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, former president of the U.S. bishops’ conference. Blackmon praised the rise of African-Americans in professions like law, medicine, higher education and politics. “We have realized numerous African-American and Hispanic cabinet officials, legislators, and federal judges. We have realized a black president in the White House,” he said. However, he added, “there is still yet more to be effected.” “By the grace of almighty God, by the arduous work of our hands, by the standing up to be a witness to the saving power of God, we will overcome prejudice, racism, intolerance, bias, narrow-mindedness, and chauvinism,” he said. He said Christians must be “ever mindful of our role in not only welcoming, but also embracing and helping ‘the stranger’ among us.” The Knights of Peter Claver aim to serve God and the Catholic Church. They assist the needy, the sick, and disabled, while developing their members through fellowship, recreational activities, scholarships, and charitable work. Their website is www.kofpc.org.This article was originally published on CNA Jan. 20, 2013 with the headline, 'MLK was Christ-inspired, says head Knight of Peter Claver'   Read more

Washington D.C., Jan 18, 2016 / 01:39 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Martin Luther King Day is a time to promote racial harmony in America and honor the slain civil rights leader who was “inspired by the teachings of Christ,” says the head of the Knights of Peter Claver. “Considering that so many 'church-going folks' were supporting segregation and Jim Crow laws during the civil rights movement, it is wonderful that King dedicated his life to employing Christ's teachings to resist and counter the very social sins of prejudice, racial discrimination and segregation,” Supreme Knight F. DeKarlos Blackmon told CNA. He said Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. a Baptist minister, was “a man of faith and deep conviction” who studied Catholic theology and was “particularly impressed” with St. Augustine. King’s famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” cited St. Augustine's saying “An unjust law is no law at all.” Since 2010, Blackmon has headed the Knights of Peter Claver, a New Orleans-based Catholic fraternal order present in about 39 states and in South America. It takes as its model the Spanish Jesuit priest St. Peter Claver, who ministered to slaves in Colombia in the 1600s. Its membership is significantly African-American but the order is open to all practicing Catholics without regard to race or ethnicity. The organization was founded in Mobile, Ala. in 1909 by four priests of the Josephite Fathers and three Catholic laymen to serve African-Americans and other racial minorities. Its founders were concerned the Catholic Church would lose black individuals to fraternal and secular organizations, at a time when local racism kept many out of the Knights of Columbus. The order has six divisions: the Ladies of Peter Claver, two separate junior divisions for young men and young women, the Fourth Degree Knights and the Fourth Degree Ladies of Grace. The Knights of Peter Claver and the Ladies Auxiliary opposed segregation and worked to transform how communities and cities thought about race, equality and justice, Blackmon said. They worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Urban League.   The order's leadership and members were “intimately involved” in the civil rights movement. Civil rights attorney A.P. Tureaud, a national secretary and national advocate of the order, worked with future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall to help overturn legal segregation. The now demolished Claver Building in New Orleans, which was the Knights’ headquarters from 1951 to 1974, hosted early meetings “that ultimately launched the civil rights movement,” Blackmon added. Today, members of the order organize Martin Luther King Day activities like Masses of Unity, prayer services, days of unity, and programs commemorating King's vision in addition to their other charitable works. Blackmon said King challenged America “to live out its creed that all men are created equal.” He said the observance is an opportunity for American Catholics to remember King's life and work and to realize the challenge to work towards Jesus’ prayer that the Catholic Church “may all be as one.” He said African-American Catholics should use the day to remember those who have accomplished “something for the larger community and the greater good.” He mentioned African-American Catholic bishops like the late New Orleans auxiliary Bishop Harold Perry and Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, former president of the U.S. bishops’ conference. Blackmon praised the rise of African-Americans in professions like law, medicine, higher education and politics. “We have realized numerous African-American and Hispanic cabinet officials, legislators, and federal judges. We have realized a black president in the White House,” he said. However, he added, “there is still yet more to be effected.” “By the grace of almighty God, by the arduous work of our hands, by the standing up to be a witness to the saving power of God, we will overcome prejudice, racism, intolerance, bias, narrow-mindedness, and chauvinism,” he said. He said Christians must be “ever mindful of our role in not only welcoming, but also embracing and helping ‘the stranger’ among us.” The Knights of Peter Claver aim to serve God and the Catholic Church. They assist the needy, the sick, and disabled, while developing their members through fellowship, recreational activities, scholarships, and charitable work. Their website is www.kofpc.org.This article was originally published on CNA Jan. 20, 2013 with the headline, 'MLK was Christ-inspired, says head Knight of Peter Claver'   Read more

Washington D.C., Jan 18, 2016 / 11:30 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Religious freedom advocates voiced gratitude and joy at the release of Christian pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen who had been held in an Iranian prison since 2012. Abedini was among the three American citizens freed as part of the U.S.-Iran prisoner exchange over the weekend.  “This is a major victory. We are incredibly grateful to the more than 1.1 million people who have joined us in fighting across the globe for Pastor Saeed’s freedom,” said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), in a Jan. 16 statement. The ACLJ had for years been advocating for Pastor Abedini’s freedom from Iran by organizing prayer vigils, collecting signatures for petitions, and sending letters to the United Nations and Congress.  Born and raised as a Muslim in Iran, Abedini converted to Christianity in 2000, becoming an American citizen in 2010 following his marriage to his wife Naghmeh, who is also an American citizen. After his conversion to Christianity, Abedini began working with house churches in Iran which, though technically legal, drew complaints from the government. He then agreed to shift his work towards non-religious humanitarian efforts. While visiting non-religious orphanages in September 2012, Pastor Abedini was arrested on charges of threatening national security. He was sentenced to eight years in prison; he served over three. Religious freedom advocates had argued that the arrest was actually due to his Christian faith. During the time that he served in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison, the pastor was beaten and denied proper medical treatment, according to reports.  “This has been an answer to prayer,” Naghmeh Abedini said of her husband’s release. “This is a critical time for me and my family. We look forward to Saeed's return and want to thank the millions of people who have stood with us in prayer during this most difficult time.”  Naghmeh had spoken numerous times about the toll that her husband’s imprisonment had been taking on their family. She lives in Idaho with the couple’s two young children. In November 2015, Naghmeh ended her public advocacy for her husband’s freedom, citing marital problems and abuse, which she said got even worse during his imprisonment as they were able to communicate via Skype.  In two emails to her supporters she said she had suffered “physical, emotional, psychological, and sexual abuse (through Saeed’s addiction to pornography)” at the hands of her husband, Christianity Today reported. However, when she learned that her husband would be one of the men freed in the prisoner exchange, she took to Twitter to thank President Obama “for all the hard work and support in bringing Saeed home” after a phone call with the White House. In addition to Abedini, Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, who was arrested a year and a half ago, and U.S. Marine veteran Amir Hekmati, who was arrested in 2011 while visiting his grandmother, were also released, along with Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, who chose to remain in Iran. A student named Matthew Trevithick, was also released and had already left the country, but not as a part of the exchange deal.  In return for their freedom, the U.S. pardoned or commuted the sentences of seven men – six dual citizens and one Iranian citizen.  Former FBI agent and CIA contractor, Robert Levinson, who went missing in Iran in 2007 was also brought up during negotiations, though Iran has denied detaining him. According to Secretary of State John Kerry on Twitter, “Iran has agreed to deepen our coordination as we work to locate Robert Levinson.” These releases were the result of more than a year of secret talks between the U.S. and Iran in the midst of the nuclear deal struck between the two countries. Kerry said that the exchange was “accelerated” by the deal, CNN reported.  Read more

New York City, N.Y., Jan 18, 2016 / 10:21 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Timothy Dolan has marked the upcoming anniversary of Roe v. Wade with a reflection encouraging the pro-life movement to remember the importance of mercy and to see the opportunity to reach those who do not identify as pro-life. The Archbishop of New York said the pro-life cause backs “an essential moral vision that lifts up every human person.” “Genuine progress must be progress for all, beginning with those most vulnerable who cannot speak for themselves,” he said in a Jan. 14 message. “May God bless our efforts to uphold human life!” The cardinal cited Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium. There, the Pope said the defense of the unborn is “closely linked to the defense of each and every other human right … It is not ‘progressive’ to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life.” Cardinal Dolan heads the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-life Activities. His statement comes ahead of the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that mandated permissive abortion laws nationwide. “Abortion itself, despite the endorsement of our highest legal tribunal and many political and cultural elites, is as controversial as ever,” the cardinal said. “Most Americans oppose a policy allowing legal abortion for virtually any reason – though many still do not realize that this is what the Supreme Court gave us.” Most Americans want to protect unborn children later in pregnancy, most want limits and regulations on abortion, and most want to bar taxpayer funding for abortion. The cardinal noted that despite this, some are reluctant to adopt the pro-life mantle. “Yet many who support important goals of the pro-life movement do not identify as ‘pro-life,’ a fact which should lead us to examine how we present our pro-life vision to others.” Cardinal Dolan said most Americans are “open to hearing a message of reverence for life,” and so pro-life advocates “must always strive to be better messengers.” “A cause that teaches the inexpressibly great value of each and every human being cannot show disdain or disrespect for any fellow human being,” he explained. “We should celebrate human freedom, always reminding others that this freedom is ours so we can freely choose the good – and that to enjoy this freedom, each of us must first of all be allowed to live.” The cardinal said it is “wrenching” to mark the anniversary of legalized abortion so soon after Christmas. Citing the Church’s Year of Mercy, Cardinal Dolan said that God’s love is infinite. He added: “this same love is a source of unbounded mercy and forgiveness for all who have fallen short of God's plans for us.” Cardinal Dolan also criticized the “powerful and well-financed lobby” that backs abortion and tries to depict it as basic health care. He charged that Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers hold that “abortion must be celebrated as a positive good for women and society, and those who cannot in conscience provide it are to be condemned for practicing substandard medicine and waging a ‘war on women’.” He objected to the lack of conscience protections for those opposed to abortion, including the failure of President Obama and other national Democratic leaders who were unwilling to support the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act. In the cardinal’s view, there is an opportunity for pro-life advocates to reach most Americans. “They do not see the unborn child as an illness or a tumor. They are repelled when they see the callousness of the abortion industry, as in the recent undercover videos of Planned Parenthood officials calmly discussing the harvesting of body parts,” he said. “They do not want to be pushed into actively promoting and paying for abortion. They do not want doctors and nurses who are sensitive to the value of life at its most vulnerable to be driven from the healing professions” The Cardinal invited Catholics in particular to take part in the 9 Days for Life campaign of prayer and action Jan. 16-24. He also noted the Church’s ministry Project Rachel, which offers mercy and reconciliation for people who have been involved in an abortion. “I invite all who are concerned about the tragedy of abortion to recommit themselves to this vision of life and love, a vision that excludes no one,” he said. Read more

Washington D.C., Jan 17, 2016 / 04:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- An increasingly violent wave of anti-Semitic words and acts in France threatens the very existence of Jewish communities there, one human rights advocacy group warned in a new report. The attacks are “a harbinger of societal breakdown,” said Susan Corke of Human Rights First. “Left unchecked, antisemitism leads to the persecution of other minorities, and to an overall increase in repression and intolerance.” Reported anti-Semitic hate crimes in France have more than doubled from 423 in 2014 to 851 in 2015, according to numbers cited in the report “Breaking the Cycle of Violence: Countering Antisemitism and Extremism in France” released Jan. 7 by the group Human Rights First and authored by Corke. “These incidents are increasingly violent,” the report stated. Jews only comprise one percent of France's population, but over half of the reported hate crimes in France were anti-Semitic in 2014. And anti-Semitism was almost exclusively responsible for the 30 percent increase in “racist acts” between 2013 and 2014, according to numbers cited in the report from the French Ministry of the Interior. And over 80 percent of incidents are not reported, according to one European Union survey. Most incidents are verbal threats and insults made against Jews, but they also include physical assaults as well as graffiti and vandalism against Jewish stores and synagogues. The most notable acts of violence in recent years were a 2012 shooting at a Jewish school in Toulouse that killed four and was linked to Islamic extremism and anti-Semitism, and the shooting of four hostages at a kosher supermarket in Paris in January of 2015. Jews have a long history in France having settled there since the 6th century and enjoying citizenship since the time of Napoleon. Yet today’s hate crimes seem to have a chilling effect. The number of French Jews emigrating to Israel spiked to 3,295 in 2013 and more than doubled to 7,230 in 2014, according to the Jewish Agency for Israel which monitors the numbers of Jewish immigrants from France. Previously the annual figure was around one to two thousand. Jews who stay in France are more afraid to wear public symbols and identifications of their faith. Parents are transferring their children from public schools to private schools to escape discrimination and harassment, and many teachers have reported critical or outright anti-Semitic responses from students when they teach about the Holocaust or Jewish history. The commissioner of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, told CNA/EWTN News last March of the fear in the Jewish communities that she witnessed during a visit to France. Many Jewish parents “don’t see a Jewish future” for their children there, she said. The government has stationed security outside of Jewish buildings and synagogues to protect them from vandalism and violence. The decline of the situation is largely due to two major factors: the rise of the far-right National Front political party, and the resentment of disenfranchised immigrant and minority groups, the report said. The National Front has soared into the mainstream of French politics recently, winning first place in the 2014 elections and the first round of the 2015 regional elections in November. The party “rallies its supporters around animosity towards Muslims, Roma, foreigners, and migrants,” the report stated, and although leaders have tried to cleanse it of anti-Semitic and Holocaust-denying rhetoric, its platform “still contains positions on ritual animal slaughter and public subsidies that are discriminatory against Jews as well as Muslims.” Many members of its base still hold anti-Semitic views. In two French surveys – a 2014 report on tolerance submitted to the French government, and a report by a French think tank – over half of the respondents who supported the National Front espoused anti-Semitism. Outside of the party, many immigrants and descendants of immigrants have been unable to assimilate into the societal mainstream and may harbor resentment toward Jews who they mistakenly see as controlling wealth and power. “French Muslims, immigrants, and French citizens of Middle Eastern, North African, or Sub-Saharan African heritage, especially those living and attending school in marginalized areas, experience prejudice and suffer from hate crimes as well as official and private discrimination,” the report noted. Many young people in these communities suffer a lack of education and social mobility and are exposed to extremist views on the internet that “bombard” them with anti-Semitism. Some of the most common anti-Semitic beliefs are that the Jews control too much power or too much wealth, the report noted, and some of the other less common attitudes are that the Jews “use the Holocaust to their advantage,” and are more loyal to the state of Israel than France. The discrimination is concentrated more among the elderly, poor, less educated, and more religious, the report added, and is more likely to occur during heightened Israeli-Palestinian conflict and right after terror attacks or well-publicized anti-Semitic hate crimes. However, even some French “observant Catholics” have shown anti-Semitic attitudes, according to a 2014 survey by a French think tank FONDAPOL cited in the report. Twenty-two percent of practicing Catholics surveyed said there too many Jews in France, while 16 percent of all those surveyed answered that way. According to the report, the U.S. must speak out against the rise of anti-Semitism but should also refrain from aggravating the marginalization that many groups currently experience in France. In part, “official statements should avoid fueling a ‘clash of civilizations’ narrative between Jewish and Muslim communities and instead urge tolerance and inclusion,” the report recommended. Read more