Washington D.C., May 14, 2015 / 03:42 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The use of armed drones have practical and moral consequences for conflict and warfare – and the government needs to take action to address them, the U.S. Catholic bishops have said. “It is incumbent on a nation's leaders to recognize that the use of drones can lower the threshold on conflict and take appropriate steps to not succumb to their use,” wrote Bishop Oscar Cantu of Las Cruces, who chairs the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace. In a May 11 letter to U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice, the bishops said leaders should consider the “full cost” of drone warfare. “Drones provoke anxiety among populations where there are targets, inflicting psychological damage on innocent civilians who live in constant fear they may be hurt or killed and listed as ‘collateral damage.’ This fear and civilian casualties feed into increasing hostility towards the United States so that many say the use of armed drones in these targeted killings is counterproductive to establishing and sustaining longer-term security relationships with countries where drones are used,” they said. Armed drone technology has the potential for “much harm,” the bishops continued. More countries are acquiring drones and government spending on the technology is rapidly increasing. Armed drones may be used excessively due to their low initial costs, the bishops warned. This risks expanding conflict zones and increasing the likelihood for war. The use of surveillance drones by China, Japan and the Philippines have worsened tensions over disputed territories. The bishops’ letter noted the dangers of wrongly targeted drone attacks, as found in the Central Intelligence Agency’s January 2015 report that one of its drones was responsible for the inadvertent death of an American and an Italian aid worker. The bishops voiced concern that civilians killed in drone attacks are being counted as extremists. They rejected the U.S. administration’s justification of “signature strikes,” saying this means individuals are targeted by drones “not because of who they are, but because of their behavior or associations.” They called for the U.S. administration to outline a targeting criteria that distinguishes targets from innocent civilians. Such criteria can help avoid the “hostility and radicalization” that results when civilians are harmed. “As weapons technology becomes more sophisticated, the need for an internationally recognized ethical and moral framework governing their use becomes more urgent,” the bishops added. They called for U.S. leadership in restrictions on “the production, use and proliferation of drones in general, and of armed drones in targeted killings in particular.” The bishops recommended that international standards limit armed drone use to avoid targeted killings that are “assassinations” or “extrajudicial killings.” “There should be a clear and transparent line of authority and oversight regarding the use of armed drones in targeted killings, and specifically over any decision to use them in situations where there has been no declaration of war, so that in cases of humanitarian violations, the appropriate individuals and offices may be held accountable.” The bishops also criticized any automation of armed drones that involves killing.“The use of fully autonomous killer drones raises serious questions of moral accountability,” they said. The bishops' latest letter echoes the words of other Catholic leaders. Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations in Geneva, in November 2014 told a U.N. meeting on conventional weapons that leaders must address questions surrounding drones “before they become an additional source of greater destabilization when the international community needs more than ever stability, cooperation and peace.” Read more

Philadelphia, Pa., May 14, 2015 / 11:59 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia reacted Wednesday to the deadly train derailment in his city with sadness and prayers. “In the wake of this disaster, I urge all people of g... Read more

Washington D.C., May 14, 2015 / 03:20 am (CNA/EWTN News).- “Please help us, please pray for us.” These were the words of detained migrants and refugees at a Karnes, Texas facility who spoke Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio an... Read more

Washington D.C., May 13, 2015 / 06:35 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Two years after abortionist Kermit Gosnell was convicted of committing three first-degree murders at his abortion clinic, the House passed a bill Wednesday that effectively bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. “This bill is about protecting pain-capable babies and their mothers from the tragedy … of late-term abortion-on-demand," Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), the bill's sponsor, stated May 13 to reporters outside the U.S. Capitol building. "It is not a Republican issue or a Democratic issue," he added. "This is a test of our own humanity and who we are as human family." The bill bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy except in cases of rape, incest, or the life of the mother, "excluding psychological or emotional conditions." For an abortion to be obtained in cases of rape or incest, the offense must be reported to the proper authorities when a minor seeks an abortion. This clause ensures the "safety of the child that's pregnant," explained Mallory Quigley of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List. The bill helps not only children but women as well, said one of the leading co-sponsors, Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.). "It provides that the mother must get medical attention, medical care, or counseling to help them with this very difficult decision," she told CNA. The mother must receive all proper information from the physician about the age of her child, the law, and the fact that if the child is born alive from a botched abortion procedure it would receive all the normal medical care any child would receive. A second physician must be present at any late-term abortion procedure to ensure medical care for the child. The bill passed by a margin of 242-184, largely along party lines. Four Republicans voted against it, and four Democrats supported it. GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) announced that he would "welcome debate" on the legislation in the Senate. "There are 7 countries that allow on-demand abortions at 20-weeks & I don't believe the US should be in that club," he tweeted after the bill's passage. Many Christian and pro-life groups supported the bill's passage, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. An earlier version of the bill was planned for passage on Jan. 22, the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, but in an 11th hour turn a group of GOP congresswomen balked at supporting the bill over its rape exception, claiming the legislation would tarnish the party’s image among youth and women voters. Actually, risks from abortions noticeably increase after 20 weeks of pregnancy, supporters claimed, saying that threats to the well-being of the mother go up as well. Technology has allowed for a much clearer view of the viability of the pro-life argument, the bill's supporters insisted, noting that science is clear that by 20 weeks a baby feels pain. The state has a necessary interested in protecting both woman and child, they added. "Every life deserves the opportunity to reach its full potential," Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers stated on the House floor before the vote. The congresswoman has a son with Down syndrome and has been a pro-life advocate for children receiving negative pre-natal diagnoses, who suffer from significantly higher rates of abortion than other unborn children. These unborn children are the most defenseless in society and must be protected, insisted Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wisc.) in an impassioned speech on the House floor. "What do we stand for in this institution – what do we stand for in America – if we do not stand up for the most defenseless and voiceless among us?" he asked on the House floor. The bill has far-reaching implications for the 2016 presidential election, the Susan B. Anthony List said, noting that 14 Republican presidential candidates have publicly supported the legislation, providing pro-lifers an opportunity to "go on offense." Supporters said 60 percent of Americans support such a bill. Members of Congress announced last Friday that the bill would be voted on the anniversary of Gosnell's conviction. The abortionist's clinic was described as a "house of horrors" by former employees. Worker testimonies included stories of babies surviving abortion attempts having their spines cut, mothers drugged and dead babies flushed down toilets. The babies could obviously feel pain, pro-lifers said, and so can unborn babies at 20 weeks of age – that is “beyond question,” Franks stated. The White House had announced its intention to veto the previous bill in January, and is expected to veto this legislation if it passes the Senate. Read more

Washington D.C., May 13, 2015 / 03:41 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Having lost their homes, their heritage and their sense of dignity, Iraqi Christians victimized by the Islamic State feel abandoned by earthly powers, but their faith in God has only grown, an Iraqi nun told members of Congress May 13. The faith of homeless Iraqi Christians is “increasing more and more,” Sister Diana Momeka, O.P., told the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee. Many of the displaced lived in devastating conditions – families taking shelter in containers, parents without jobs and children without an education. But Sister Diana insisted the spirit of the people has not been broken by the adversity. “It's making us stronger,” she said. “We were displaced, yet we feel that the hand of God is still with us…In the midst of this darkness, this suffering, we see that God is holding us,” she explained, adding that it is a “gift of the Holy Spirit” to be able to stay and have faith through hardship. Sister Diana was part of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena, originally from Mosul in Northern Iraq. Islamist militants bombed their convent in 2009, and after the prioress sought protection from the local government and found none, Sister Diana and the community moved to Qaraqosh. The ISIS onslaught caught up to them last summer. As the Islamic State swept through parts of Iraq and Syria, establishing a strict caliphate, more than 120,000 Iraqis were displaced on the Nineveh Plain, faced with the decision to convert to Islam, stay and pay a jizya tax to ISIS, or leave immediately. The religious community moved again, this time to Kurdistan. “We were driven out of our homes in a couple of hours,” the nun described, “without any warning.” Almost no Christians are left in Mosul, Sister Diana said, except for about 100 Christian hostages of ISIS. Slated to testify before a congressional committee as part of an Iraqi delegation, Sister Diana’s application for a visa was initially denied by the local U.S. Consulate because of her status as an internally-displaced person. Amid mounting pressure, she was later able to enter the United States and testified before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee May 13 regarding “ISIS's war on religious minorities.” “I am but one, small person – a victim myself of ISIS and all of its brutality,” Sister Diana stated in written testimony before the committee. “Coming here has been difficult for me – as a religious sister I am not comfortable with the media and so much attention,” she admitted. “But I am here and I am here to ask you, to implore you for the sake of our common humanity to help us.” The Christians in Northern Iraq lost “most everything” when ISIS destroyed and desecrated churches, shrines, and other sacred sites, she said. “We lost everything that today, every Christian that's living in the region of Kurdistan, we feel we don't have dignity anymore. When you lose your home, you lose everything you have. You lose your heritage, your culture.” When monasteries that have existed for centuries have been destroyed, it is a sign that “your history is gone, you are nothing anymore,” the Iraqi nun explained. Children are growing up without proper education and whole families' lives have “changed tremendously,” she said. “We're abandoned, that's how we feel.” The local and regional authorities have been of little help to the displaced, Sister Diana said in her testimony, calling their reaction to the crisis “at best modest and slow.” The Kurdish government allowed Christian refugees to enter its borders but did not offer any more significant aid. The Church in Kurdistan has been a big help to Christians, though, providing food, shelter, and other support, she noted. Ultimately, the displaced want to return home and not to be re-settled elsewhere, witnesses at the hearing insisted. “There are many who say 'Why don't the Christians just leave Iraq and move to another country and be done with it?'“ Sister Diana stated in her testimony. “Why should we leave our country? What have we done?” “The Christians of Iraq are the first people of the land,” she said. “While our ancestors experienced all kinds of persecution, they stayed in their land, building a culture that has served humanity for the ages.” “We want nothing more than to go back to our lives; we want nothing more than to go home.”   Read more