Nairobi, Kenya, Sep 2, 2015 / 04:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Women are the key to reconciliation in both the family and society. This was the message given to women from nearly twenty countries across Africa who convened this week in Nairobi, Kenya for ... Read more
Nairobi, Kenya, Sep 2, 2015 / 04:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Women are the key to reconciliation in both the family and society. This was the message given to women from nearly twenty countries across Africa who convened this week in Nairobi, Kenya for ... Read more
Manzini, Swaziland, Sep 2, 2015 / 12:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The bishop of the small, southern African kingdom of Swaziland has called for prayer and reflection in response to a road accident that killed as many as 65 young girls preparing for the country’s Reed Dance festival. “We mourn the death of so many young girls,” Bishop Jose Ponce de Leon of Manzini said Aug. 29. “Each one of us had been entrusted by God with the safety and dignity of these young people,” he continued. “Aside from those directly responsible for Friday's accident, we need to ask ourselves if there was anything more we could have done to prevent it. Why do we wait until something like this happens before we take every single life seriously?” The girls were riding in an open flatbed truck to cut reeds for the annual dance festival that celebrates Swaziland’s Queen Mother – and where the country's polygamous king chooses a new wife. The truck carrying the girls smashed into a van along the Mbabane-Manzini highway on Friday. Bishop Ponce de Leon cited the Prophet Jeremiah’s words: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamenting and weeping bitterly: it is Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they are no more.” He asked the faithful of Swaziland to dedicate a week of prayer for those who died. “Let us also pray for their families and friends that ‘the God of all consolation’ (2 Cor 1:3) gives them peace and strength,” he said in a statement. The bishop also encouraged reflection and solidarity. “I call on you all to be close to the families of these children and to support them in every possible way,” he said. Bishop Ponce de Leon voiced thanks for the prayers and messages of solidarity that other Catholic leaders, including the Southern African Bishops’ Conference, had sent in reaction to the accident. Swaziland’s government said only 13 girls had died in the accident, the Associated Press reports. The Swaziland Solidarity Network, which put the death toll at 65, accused the government of undercounting the fatalities. The human rights group rejected the government’s use of open flatbed trucks to transport large numbers of dancers to the festival. The Reed Dance, which has been criticized as sexist by human rights groups, brings about 40,000 colorfully dressed, unmarried, and childless girls in beaded skirts to the royal residence. They bring reeds to reinforce the residence’s windbreak. Swaziland’s King Mswati III, who has more than a dozen wives, traditionally chooses a new bride from the dancers. Photo credit: www.shutterstock.com. Read more
Vatican City, Sep 1, 2015 / 02:46 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- On the first World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, the preacher to the papal household said that St. Francis of Assisi is a key model in showing the link between faith in God and care for our common home. Saint Francis “is living proof of the contribution that faith in God can give to the common effort for the protection of creation,” Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap., said Sept. 1 during his homily for a Liturgy of the Word presided over by Pope Francis, which was celebrated at St. Peter's Basilica. “His love for creatures is a direct consequence of his faith in the universal paternity of God.” The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation was instituted by Pope Francis last month to coincide with the Eastern Orthodox Church’s day of celebration for creation, which has taken place this day since since 1989. Although Pope Francis presided over the celebration, Fr. Cantalamessa (who has been preacher to the Papal Household since he was appointed by St. John Paul II in 1980) gave the homily.The liturgy began with the Canticle of the Three Young Men from the book of Daniel, and the Christian prayer in union with creation found at the conclusion of Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical Laudato Si'. There was then a first reading, from Genesis 1; a responsorial, Psalm 148; a second reading, from Laudato Si'; an Alleluia; and a Gospel reading, from Matthew 6. Fr. Cantalamessa delivered his homily following the proclamation of the Gospel. One of the greatest sins against creation, the Capuchin Franciscan priest said, is not listening to God’s voice, but “condemning it irretrievably, Saint Paul would say, to vanity, to insignificance.” The priest turned to God’s first commandment to man and woman, do “fill the earth and subdue it,” as well as his charge that man would have dominion over the earth. Often these passages are interpreted with a secular mindset in which the word “dominate” is taken out of the biblical context, he said, portraying a “political sovereign exploiting his subjects” rather than a father who guards and preserves his creatures. “There is an evident parallel: as God is dominant over man, so man should be dominant over the rest of creation, that is, responsible for it and guarding it,” the priest said. “Faith in God the creator and in man made in God's image is therefore not a threat, but rather a guarantee for creation, and the strongest of all. He says that man is not absolute master of other creatures: he must account for what he received.” A demonstratation that man's abuse of creation does not follow the biblical vision is that today’s pollution map doesn't coincide with the spread of the biblical region, but rather that “of a wild industrialization, turned only to profit, and with that the corruption that closes the mouth of all protests and resists all powers.” Instead, the Bible brings to light a natural hierarchy which can be seen throughout nature, the priest observed. This is a hierarchy, he said, is “for life, not against it,” and can be violated in various ways, such as when some spend ostentatious amounts on their pets and allow millions of children to “die of hunger and disease underneath their eyes.” What St. Francis of Assisi shows us is a way to radically change our relationship with creation, in which we replace possession with contemplation, the preacher said. Saint Francis, Fr. Cantalamessa noted, “found a different way to praise things, which is to contemplate, rather than owning them. He can rejoice in all things, because he has given up on owning any.” “Possession excludes, contemplation includes; possession divides, contemplation multiplies,” he said, explaining that while only one person can own a lake or park, thus excluding others, when these things are left for contemplation, thousands can enjoy them without taking away from anyone else. He also spoke pointed to the Gospel passage which was read, in which Christ says not to worry about what we will eat or drink, or what tomorrow will bring. This passage, the priest observed, might seem contradictory to Laudato Si', in which Pope Francis encouraged others to be concerned about the future of the planet. Rather than being in contradiction, the Gospel passage “puts the axe to the root - the same axe to the very same root at which Pope Francis puts his encyclical,” when it states at the beginning that “you cannot serve both man and wealth,” Fr. Cantalamessa said. The preacher added that no-one can truly serve the cause of protecting creation without having the courage “of pointing the finger against the exaggerated accumulation of wealth in the hands of the few and against the money that measures them.” Although Christ never condemned wealth in itself, what he did condemn was dishonest wealth, gained at the expense of others as a result of corruption and which is deaf to the needs of the poor. What the Gospel passage says and what Pope Francis says in Laudato Si' have the same undertone, namely, not to be concerned with our own tomorrow, but with the tomorrow “of those who will come after” us. The example of St. Francis of Assisi, he said, shows that a religious attitude toward creation is not something far-fetched, but is based on something concrete. He noted how the saint at one point said, “I don't want to be a thief of alms,” meaning he was receiving more than he needed, and was thus taking away from others. “Today this rule could have a very useful application for the future of the earth,” Fr. Cantalamessa said, explaining that while St. Francis didn’t have the global, planetary vision of the world’s ecological problem, he had a local, immediate vision. St. Francis of Assisi “thought about what he could do and possibly his brother friars. Also in this he teaches us something,” the priest said, pointing to the popular slogan, “Think globally, act locally.” “What sense does it have, for example, to pick on those who pollute the atmosphere, oceans, and forests, if I don't hesitate to throw a plastic bag in the bank of a riverbed that will remain there for centuries unless someone retrieves it?” he asked. Like peace, protecting creation is something “handcrafted” that begins with ourselves, he said, quoting a phrase of Pope Francis. He concluded by saying that if St. Francis of Assisi were alive today, he might add another verse to his famous prayer, this time praising God “for all those who work to protect our sister mother Earth, scientists, politicians, heads of all religious and men of good will.” “Praise be, my Lord, for him who, together in my name, has also taken my message and today is bringing it to the whole world!” Read more
Washington D.C., Sep 1, 2015 / 11:07 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Under fire after a series of recent sting videos, Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s (PPFA) CEO Cecile Richards wrote a letter to Congress last week addressing the issues raised in the videos, which call into question Planned Parenthood’s procurement of fetal tissue for research. In a follow-up letter to Congress, the Center for Medical Progress – the non-profit group that released the sting videos – said Planned Parenthood’s letter corroborates their initial claims that the organization is illegally selling fetal tissue at a profit and altering abortion procedures in order to obtain intact specimens. In Planned Parenthood’s letter to Congress, Richards reveals that a California Planned Parenthood affiliate currently “receives a modest reimbursement of $60 per tissue specimen from the TPO.” According to Richards, “that affiliate also has a separate relationship with the University of California.” Richards also argues that the reimbursement for tissue falls under the exceptions in the law that allow “for actual expenses (e.g. storage, processing, transportation, etc.) of the tissue. If an affiliate chooses to accept reimbursement for allowable expenses, it must be able to demonstrate the reimbursement represents its actual costs.” However, the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) questions whether $60 per specimen can lawfully be considered a modest and legal reimbursement: “Thus, if ABR (a tissue procurement organization) harvests a liver and a thymus, a common fetal tissue order, from an 18-week fetus aborted at the San Diego clinic, Planned Parenthood receives a total payment of $120 from that case,” CMP wrote. “It stretches credulity to believe that ABR’s technician harvesting two organs from a fetus costs Planned Parenthood $120 – this is a new revenue stream off of fetal tissue with no real cost to Planned Parenthood, and thus a criminal profit.” In a recent article in the Daily Signal, former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson discussed the fetal tissue procurement process during her employment, which ended in 2009. At the time, Johnson said her clinic participated in a fetal research program which reimbursed Planned Parenthood $200 per baby. “The researchers provided the Styrofoam box and dry ice to Planned Parenthood. Literally the only cost we had was shipping the box. And that was about $20 every time we shipped,” Johnson told The Daily Signal. “So Planned Parenthood is getting $200 per specimen, and we’re taking all the specimens, putting them in one box and shipping it off for $20. The different fetal body parts are not shipped individually.” The Center for Medical Progress also argues that in her letter to Congress, Richards admits that Planned Parenthood makes adjustments to abortion procedures in order to obtain intact specimens for reimbursement. Richards' letter states: “In performing the selected method, a physician may need to make multiple adjustments to the method as the surgery proceeds. These adjustments are clinical judgments – not a change of method – made by the physician as the abortion proceeds and are always intended to achieve the woman’s desired result as safely as possible. The key point, as the 1988 blue-ribbon commission recognized, is that there be no change that would impact the safety or well-being of the patient.” The Center for Medical Progress also notes that Richards seems to conflate “the 2nd-trimester abortion methods of dilation and evacuation (D&E) and intact dilation and extraction (IDX), the latter known legally as ‘partialbirth abortion’ and prohibited by 18 U.S.C. 1531.” When listing possible methods of abortion in her letter, Richards does not mention IDX as a possible method. She “seems to refer to both as ‘dilation and extraction,’” CMP wrote. “PPFA Senior Director of Medical Services, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, clearly described a partial-birth abortion according to the federal law during the lunch meeting CMP investigators had with her on July 25, 2014.” After the release of several of the sting videos, Planned Parenthood’s main defense has been that the videos were “heavily edited” and therefore misleading. Planned Parenthood paid Fusion GPS, a political opposition-research company, to investigate and provide analysis of the videos. Fusion GPS’s analysis “did not reveal widespread evidence of substantive video manipulation” and “shows no evidence of audio manipulation.” While it identified cuts in the tape, the Center for Medical Progress maintains that these cuts were made during bathroom breaks of their actors and were made to protect their privacy. “Of course, CMP is ready to provide original recording files to law enforcement and to Congress to the extent we are lawfully able to. Our attorneys are working diligently to resolve pending legal questions regarding the disclosure of these recording files to government investigators, including by seeking clarification of an unconstitutional prior restraint TRO imposed on CMP in federal litigation brought by Planned Parenthood’s proxy, the National Abortion Federation,” CMP wrote in their letter. Four committees in the Senate and House are currently investigating the recent allegations against Planned Parenthood, and several states have decided to cut funding to the organization in wake of the video sting. The Center for Medical Progress said they will continue to advocate for a thorough investigation of Planned Parenthood by each investigation, and they will cooperate fully with the federal government toward that end. “The reduction of any human being, man, woman, or child, to a commodity, or to only the commercial sum of their parts, is offensive to the public and contrary to our foundational values as a people,” CMP wrote. "It would be unconscionable to allow Planned Parenthood to hold themselves above the law and human decency, with their barbaric abortion practice subsidized by half-a-billion taxpayer dollars each year.” Read more
Vatican City, Sep 1, 2015 / 06:33 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a new set of pastoral guidelines for the upcoming Holy Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has made some significant moves, allowing all priests to forgive the sin of abortion and granting SSPX priests the faculty to forgive sins. “One of the serious problems of our time is clearly the changed relationship with respect to life,” the Pope said in a Sept. 1 letter addressed to Archbishop Rino Fisichela, president of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, charged with organizing the jubilee. In today’s society, “a widespread and insensitive mentality” has become an obstacle to welcoming new life, with many who don’t fully understand the deep harm done by the “tragedy of abortion,” he said. However, Francis also noted that there are many women who, despite thinking abortion is wrong, feel that they have no other choice. “I am well aware of the pressure that has led them to this decision. I know that it is an existential and moral ordeal. I have met so many women who bear in their heart the scar of this agonizing and painful decision,” he said. A woman who obtains an abortion automatically incurs a "latae sententiae" excommunication, along with those who assisted her in the process. Because of this excommunication, the sin of abortion can normally only be absolved by a bishop, or certain priests appointed by him. For specific occasions such as Advent or Lent, some bishops extend this faculty to all priests within their diocese. In the U.S., the faculty to absolve abortion has already been delegated to all priests. However, Pope Francis is taking it to a universal level. He said that the forgiveness of God can’t be denied to a person who has sincerely repented, especially when the person comes to the Sacrament of Confession in order to be genuinely reconciled with the Father. Because of this, Francis said, he has allowed all priests for the Jubilee of Mercy “to absolve of the sin of abortion those who have procured it and who, with contrite heart, seek forgiveness for it.” In another significant move, Francis has also allowed priests from the Society of St Pius X to “validly and licitly” hear confessions during the Holy Year. “This Jubilee Year of Mercy excludes no one,” the Pope said in his letter, explaining several bishops have informed him of the society’s “good faith and sacramental practice,” albeit combined with an “uneasy situation from the pastoral standpoint.” The Society of St. Pius X was founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970 to form priests, as a response to what he described as errors that had crept into the Church following the Second Vatican Council. Its relations with the Holy See became strained in 1988 when Archbishop Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without the permission of Pope John Paul II. The illicit consecration resulted in the excommunication of the five bishops; the excommunications were lifted in 2009 by Benedict XVI, and since then, negotiations between the Society and the Vatican to re-establish full communion have continued. In his letter, Francis expressed his confidence that solutions to recovering full communion with the priests and superiors of the Society could be found in the near future. In the meantime, “motivated by the need to respond to the good of these faithful, through my own disposition,” he declared that those who approach priests of the Society for confession during the jubilee “shall validly and licitly receive the absolution of their sins.” Pope Francis also turned to those who, due to reasons of age, illness or incarceration, will not be able to walk through the Holy Door in order to obtain the plenary indulgence connected with the jubilee. Each of the four major basilicas in Rome has a holy door, which are normally sealed shut from the inside so that they cannot be opened. The doors are only opened during jubilee years so that pilgrims can enter through them in order to gain the indulgence. In May, it was announced that as part of the Holy Year for Mercy, holy doors will for the first time be designated in dioceses, and will be located either in the cathedral or in a church of special significance or a shrine of particular importance for pilgrimages. For the elderly and sick, often confined to their homes, the Pope said that living their illness and suffering with “joyful hope” and attending Mass, receiving communion and participating in community prayer, “even through the various means of communication,” is a way that they can receive the jubilee indulgence. In regards to prisoners, Francis said that they will be able to obtain the indulgence in the chapels of the prisons. He said that directing their thoughts and prayers to God each time they cross the door of their cell would signify their passage through the Holy Door, “because the mercy of God is able to transform hearts, and is also able to transform bars into an experience of freedom.” The Pope also pointed to how a jubilee indulgence can be obtained for the deceased, and encouraged faithful to pray to the Saints for them during Mass, that “the merciful Face of the Father” free them of the remainder of every fault. Francis then turned to the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, explaining that the experience of mercy “becomes visible in the witness of concrete signs as Jesus himself taught us.” Therefore, each time that someone personally performs one or more of the 13 works of mercy, such as feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, burying the dead, willingly forgiving offenses, comforting the afflicted or praying for the living and dead, that person will “surely obtain the Jubilee Indulgence.” For all those who will celebrate and experience the grace of the jubilee either as pilgrims in Rome or in their individual dioceses, Francis prayed that the indulgence would be “a genuine experience of God’s mercy” for each one. He affirmed that in order to receive the indulgence one must make a pilgrimage to the Holy Door, either in Rome or in their diocese, “as a sign of the deep desire for true conversion.” In addition to the cathedrals and shrines where the Holy Door of Mercy will be opened, the Pope also designated that the indulgence could be attained in the churches traditionally identified as Jubilee Churches. He stressed the importance of remembering that the reception of the indulgence must be linked “first and foremost to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist with a reflection on mercy.” It will be necessary, he said, “to accompany these celebrations with the profession of faith and with prayer for me and for the intentions that I bear in my heart for the good of the Church and of the entire world.” Read more
Cotonou, Benin, Sep 1, 2015 / 06:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The African cardinal who heads the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship has high hopes for the Church on his continent – he believes that it can bring about the renewal of the fa... Read more
Vatican City, Sep 1, 2015 / 03:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- When Benedict XVI said Mass on Sunday for the annual meeting of his former students, his homily focused on how God's Word frees us from the forgetfulness of a world that no longer even thinks about God. “The truth, love, and goodness which come from God render man pure; and truth, love, and goodness are encountered in the Word, which frees us from 'forgetfulness' in a world which no longer thinks of God,” the emeritus Pope said Aug. 30 while saying Mass for the Ratzinger Schuelerkreis at the chapel of the Teutonic Cemetery in the Vatican. The Ratzinger Schuelerkreis has gathered annually to discuss topics in theology and the life of the Church since 1978, shortly after their mentor was pulled from academia to become a bishop. Ratzinger participated in the Schuelerkreis until his abdication as Bishop of Rome; since then, he has come only for the concluding day of the meeting to say Mass for the group. In his homily, which was delivered in German, Benedict recalled that three years ago the group had heard the same passage from the Gospel of Mark which was proclaimed in the Mass, and that Cardinal Christoph Schonborn had asked, “Shouldn’t we be purified from the outside and not only from the inside? Does evil come solely from the inside, or from outside as well?” Calling it a very interesting question, Benedict replied to it in his homily, saying the answer must draw from the whole of the Gospel. He asked whether the evil that attacks the Church comes from the world, and suggested: “We could say that we should respond with an exterior hygiene to the many maladies and, at times, epidemics which threaten us.” Such an attitude is necessary, he said, so that death cannot prevail; yet he also maintained that it is insufficient, because the “epidemic of heart” is interior, and it is this interior disease which “leads to corruption and to other dirty things, those that lead man to think only of himself and not of the good.” “What makes man pure?” Benedict asked. “What is the true strength for purification? How do we reach a cleanness of the heart?” He then explained that Christ told his followers they are pure because of the word he announced to them, and so it is the truth, love, and goodness of God which make man pure. “The Word is much more than words, because it is through words that we encounter the Word himself,” Benedict explained. “The Word is Jesus Christ himself, and we encounter the Word in those who reflect him, who show the face of God and who reflect his mildness, his humility of heart, his simplicity, his affection, his sincerity.” “May the Lord grant us this ‘cleanness of heart’ though the Truth, which comes from God: this is the strength of purification,” Benedict concluded. The emeritus Pope was speaking to a group of some 70 persons: both the original Schuelerkreis of his former students, and a younger group of scholars who studied his work after he was consecrated a bishop. This year's theme for discussion at the Schuelerkreis was “speaking about God in the contemporary world.” Though Benedict was not present at the discussions, he is, in a sense, “always present among us, as we are in his footsteps, and as he always chooses the topic of discussion of our annual gathering,” Fr. Stephan Horn, who organizes the annual meetings, told CNA. He added that the former Bishop of Rome “was very lucid, and spoke for some time with each of us.” The Schuelerkreis met this year at Castel Gandolfo Aug. 28-29, and was addressed by Msgr. Tomas Halik, a Czech priest and philosopher who has contributed to dialogue with non-believers. The group moved to the Vatican Aug. 30 for the Mass with Benedict. Msgr. Halik told CNA he was “particularly impressed by the members of the Young Schuelerkreis: in them I saw the spirit of the young Ratzinger.” In his lectures, Msgr. Halik said that “many say that Christianity is living a decay, while others say that it is completely dead … in my view, we are living the afternoon of Christianity; that is, Christianity is now having a siesta, a little rest.” Following this afternoon, Msgr. Halik believes there will be a new day: recounting the traditional understanding of the day as beginning in the evening, he said that the stars which appear while Vespers are said “are the beginning of a new day; so, there will be a new day for Christianity.” He added that many non-believers “are in fact seekers, and the Church’s task is now that of accompanying these seekers.” The priest's understanding was shared by the Schuelerkreis. Fr. Horn recounted that the group considered the crisis of current society, but found that there are reasons for optimism even within the crisis. Following the Mass with Benedict, there was a ceremony to inaugurate the Pope Benedict Hall. It was announced that the Teutonic College will in November open a library dedicated to the former Roman Pontiff, cared for by the Ratzinger Foundation. Read more
Washington D.C., Sep 1, 2015 / 12:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Congress has only one month to reauthorize the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Many human rights activists and religious leaders have stressed its importance, and the nation's bishops suggest the commission would help the U.S. fulfill Pope Francis’ call to protect religious minorities. “Protecting religious freedom is critical to the health of societies,” said the U.S. bishops’ Aug. 26 letter to Congress. They noted that about a quarter of the world’s countries still face high levels of religious hostilities. “Christians and members of other minority groups are seeking refuge from violence in Syria and Iraq. Religious minorities are jailed on blasphemy and apostasy charges in Pakistan, Burma, and Sudan, just to note a few countries where vulnerable persons can be killed with impunity,” said the letter. It also noted the violence the radical Islamist group Boko Haram has inflicted on both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. “All these cases are indicative of a worldwide pandemic of religious intolerance that is threatening the stability of so many countries,” the letter added. Bishop Oscar Cantu of Las Cruces signed the letter as chairman of the U.S. bishops’ international justice and peace committee. The letter called for the reauthorization of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; the human rights monitoring body’s current authorization expires Sept. 30. The letter cited Pope Francis’ Aug. 5 message to the Knights of Columbus, in which the Pope called for a global response to violence against minority religious communities. The Pope called for prayers “for the conversion of hearts, an end to fanatical violence and intolerance, and a general recognition of those fundamental human rights which are not granted by the state, but from the hand of the Creator, whom all believers invoke as a God of peace.” The U.S. bishops said religious freedom appears to be “more imperiled globally.” The religious freedom commission’s reauthorization would allow it to continue its work in “raising the profile of those who are discriminated against, harassed and even killed for their faith.” They said the commission has a vital role in promoting human rights by monitoring and promoting religious freedom. The religious freedom commission dates back to 1998. It monitors the state of freedom of religion and freedom of thought, conscience, or belief as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international agreements. The commission makes independent policy recommendations to the president, the Secretary of State, and Congress. In December 2014, Congress passed a nine-month extension reauthorizing the commission. In a separate letter from the International Religious Freedom Roundtable, many other civic and religious leaders voiced support for the commission’s reauthorization and stressed the commission’s importance. The commission has been “a consistent and reliable voice for people around the globe who desire nothing more than to peacefully worship and live out their faith according to the dictates of their conscience,” said the letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s chairman Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and ranking member Ben Cardin (D-Md.). It urged the approval of S. 1798, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Reauthorization Act of 2015. Signers of the letter included many Christian organizations, as well as Jewish, Sikh, Baha’i and humanist organizations. Individual scholars, religious leaders, and human rights advocates also asked the senators to work for “the swift passage” of the USCIRF reauthorization act. “While there is very little we agree on theologically, or politically, we all agree on the importance of international religious freedom. It strengthens cultures and provides the foundation for stable democracies and their components, including civil society, economic growth, and social harmony,” the roundtable letter said. The letter characterized religious freedom as “the ultimate counter-terrorism weapon” that preemptively undermines religious extremism. “Religious freedom is a principle upon which our country was founded, and its promotion is a significant factor in U.S. national security and related global interests,” the letter added. The letter said attacks on religious freedom are “systemic and growing.” The Pew Research Center has reported that in 2013, 77 percent of the world’s population lived in countries with “a high or very high overall level of restriction on religion,” compared to 68 percent in 2007. The roundtable letter criticized a separate bill, the Further Independence of Religion for Security and Tolerance Freedom Act of 2015, on the grounds it has provisions that risk undermining USCIRF’s work. Read more
Washington D.C., Aug 31, 2015 / 09:19 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Most Americans have a favorable view of Pope Francis and think he has a message for all the country's citizens, but most also know little about him and aren’t sure news reports about him are accurate, a new survey reports. “On his trip to the United States, not only will Pope Francis get to know the American people, but the American people will also get to know him,” Supreme Knight Carl Anderson of the Knights of Columbus said Aug. 26. “The Pope is popular among Americans, and especially among Catholics, and there is a hunger for his message, with the vast majority of Americans understanding that he brings a message for all of us.” The Knights of Columbus-Marist Poll surveyed Americans about the Pope ahead of his visit in late September. Almost 60 percent of respondents said they had a favorable or very favorable view of Pope Francis. This is about the same rating Benedict XVI had before his 2008 visit to the U.S. Ten percent of respondents voiced an unfavorable view of the Pope, while about 32 percent said they were unsure, or had not heard of the Pope. Among all Catholic respondents, 77 percent viewed Pope Francis favorably. Practicing Catholics were most favorable, with 83 percent rating him favorably or very favorably. Respondents approved of the Pope’s role as a spiritual and a world leader. They rated him highly for his work on inter-religious relations, and thought he was someone who cares about people like them. The Pope will visit the U.S. Sept. 22-27, with stops in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Philadelphia. He will address Congress and the United Nations, and say the closing Mass for the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. However, almost three quarters of Americans say they know little or nothing about the Pope’s U.S. visit. About 55 percent of practicing Catholic respondents said the same. At the same time, 72 percent of Americans said the Pope has a message for all Americans, as did 90 percent of practicing Catholics. The survey found that about 63 percent of Americans said they rarely or never follow news about the Pope. By contrast, 67 percent of practicing Catholics and 60 percent of all Catholics said they follow news stories about him. Over half of Americans and 60 percent of practicing Catholics said they think reporters’ own points of view shape news about Pope Francis. Only about 35 percent of each group said papal news is “mostly accurate.” Overall, the survey’s respondents were sceptical toward both major news outlets and Catholic media. Only about 40 percent of survey respondents trusted these news sources for accurate news about the Pope. However, about 70 percent of practicing Catholics said they trusted Catholic media outlets for accurate reports on Pope Francis’ visit. About 66 percent of Americans approved of the Catholic Church, including 95 percent of practicing Catholics and 90 percent of Catholics overall. Poll respondents tended to approve of the Church’s contribution to people and communities in the U.S. The survey’s sponsor, the Knights of Columbus, are a Catholic fraternal organization with almost 1.9 million members worldwide. The survey was conducted by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The survey of 1,027 U.S. adults and 222 U.S. Catholics was taken Aug. 4-17. It claims a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points for the overall result. and 6.6 percentage points for the Catholic result. The results also draw on an April 2015 survey of 3,002 U.S. adults and 702 U.S. Catholics. Read more
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