Washington D.C., Apr 25, 2015 / 02:59 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A diverse crowd of thousands of people from across the U.S. gathered in front of the US Capitol to speak and stand in defense of marriage on Saturday. “We have too long taken for granted the gift of marriage as the union of one man and one woman,” Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Ky. and President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops told CNA. The Archbishop cautioned that society’s view of seeing marriage only as “an adult friendship” looses sight of the “sacrificial love” and “one flesh union that Jesus Himself spoke of” that form the basis for marriage as an institution. “We have not cultivated the basis for sacrificial love but have, in a sense, fallen victims of a culture that tends to talk about adult choices and options,” he explained. “I think we’re returning now very much to our roots, saying that at the basis of a good, healthy civilization and society is a family, and at the basis of that family is a sacrificial love” The Archbishop gave an address at the rally before the third annual March for Marriage, joining other Christian and political leaders including Pastor Jim Garlow of Skyline Church in San Diego and Ryan Dobson, son of Dr. James Dobson, and Rev. Senator Ruben Diaz of New York City in offering a public defense of marriage. Speeches were given in both Spanish and English and translated so all participants could understand each of the speakers’ testimonies. The march  was held in commemoration of two 2013 Supreme Court cases concerning the  federal definition of marriage and states' ability to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The 2013 decisions stated that the federal government should not enforce its own definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman, but instead should respect the definitions offered by each state. On April 28, the Supreme Court will again address arguments about the nature of marriage, that will challenge bans on same-sex “marriage” on the grounds of the 14th amendment, claiming that respecting the traditional definition of marriage violates civil rights. A ruling is expected in June 2015. Washington, D.C.- A diverse crowd of thousands of people from across the U.S. gathered in front of the US Capitol to speak and stand in defense of marriage on Saturday. “We have too long taken for granted the gift of marriage as the union of one man and one woman,” Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Ky. and President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops told CNA. The Archbishop cautioned that society’s view of seeing marriage only as “an adult friendship” looses sight of the “sacrificial love” and “one flesh union that Jesus Himself spoke of” that form the basis for marriage as an institution. “We have not cultivated the basis for sacrificial love but have, in a sense, fallen victims of a culture that tends to talk about adult choices and options,” he explained. “I think we’re returning now very much to our roots, saying that at the basis of a good, healthy civilization and society is a family, and at the basis of that family is a sacrificial love” The Archbishop gave an address at the rally before the third annual March for Marriage, joining other Christian and political leaders including Pastor Jim Garlow of Skyline Church in San Diego and Ryan Dobson, son of Dr. James Dobson, and Rev. Senator Ruben Diaz of New York City in offering a public defense of marriage. Speeches were given in both Spanish and English and translated so all participants could understand each of the speakers’ testimonies. The march was held in commemoration of two 2013 Supreme Court cases concerning the  federal definition of marriage and states' ability to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The 2013 decisions stated that the federal government should not enforce its own definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman, but instead should respect the definitions offered by each state. On April 28, the Supreme Court will again address arguments about the nature of marriage, that will challenge bans on same-sex “marriage” on the grounds of the 14th amendment, claiming that respecting the traditional definition of marriage violates civil rights. A ruling is expected in June 2015.  Read more

Chicago, Ill., Apr 25, 2015 / 05:42 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As Cardinal Francis George of Chicago was laid to rest Thursday, religious and lay members of the archdiocese revered him as a caring shepherd who wouldn’t let cancer get in the way of his ... Read more

Chicago, Ill., Apr 24, 2015 / 04:23 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A strong leader, yet humble. Approachable, yet not preoccupied with a desire to be liked. A high-ranking prelate and intellectual powerhouse, yet a friend to the poor who embraced the sufferings in his own life. The late Cardinal Francis George of Chicago might seem a man of contrasts, but his life was one of different virtues lived in harmony, said his superior in the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. The oblates are an international missionary congregation of priests and brothers. As a leader in the order back in the 1970s and '80s, Cardinal George helped steer the oblates through much tumult and confusion that was rampant in the Church at the time, said the congregation’s current superior general, Fr. Louis Lougen, OMI. “(I)n those troublesome years, he helped the congregation be focused on our real strong values of religious life, consecrated life, life of prayer. The outreach to the poor through justice and peace,” Fr. Lougen told CNA. Cardinal George passed away April 17 at age 78 after a years-long bout with cancer. He was Archbishop of Chicago from 1997 until his retirement in 2014. Although he was a high-ranking U.S. Catholic prelate – in addition to heading a major archdiocese, he led the U.S. Bishops’ Conference for three years – Fr. Lougen saw Cardinal George as his “son,” noting that he was, after all, still one of the oblates. And as Fr. Lougen stood at the head of the casket where the cardinal lay in repose, he said goodbye to his spiritual son. At the April 22 vigil for men and women religious and deacons, Fr. Lougen recalled Cardinal George’s observation that “we have kind of lost or forgotten in our congregation the superior general is both a father and a brother to all of the oblates.” “Because of what he said, I discovered my fatherhood as the superior general of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. And I come tonight to bless my son, for the son came to the Father’s house.” Cardinal George was foremost a strong leader, both with the oblates and in his own archdiocese, the superior recalled. “Maybe some people thought he was hard, demanding. He never was running to be popular,” Fr. Lougen reflected. “He was never doing things so that people would like him or love him. He was doing what he really believed was right in prayer before God, and he wanted God to have the glory.” Giving God the glory – this was a theme of Cardinal George’s life that Fr. Lougan repeatedly emphasized. “It wasn’t about Francis. It was about God and the Church and Jesus, and living for that,” he said. “He tried to do what was right and he didn’t worry about whether people didn’t like him…There was a lot of courage in that, I think, a lot of courage to do what he believed his convictions, his discernment, his prayer called him to do.” But the cardinal was not only a strong leader. He was also personable and approachable, especially with the poor, Fr. Lougen said. “He didn’t blow his own trumpet…he was helping the poor in many ways, interested in the plight of the poor without making a lot of noise about it.” And although he was widely acclaimed as an astute intellectual, he was still very down-to-earth. “He really was intellectual, but a simple man, a man close to the poor, he could talk to the poor on the street, he could talk to the poor at a meeting,” Fr. Lougan said. “Among us he was a brother. He had a good sense of humor,” the superior continued. “And you could banter, banter with him. And even we would argue and discuss with him,” he added. “So he was never, ‘I’m the cardinal and you better listen to me.’ Among us, he was a brother and a good friend. Very real.” Fr. Lougan also reflected on the suffering the Cardinal George bore throughout his life. The cardinal contracted polio as a teenager, which left him with permanently damaged legs. He would go on to beat cancer in 2006, although it later returned, and he struggled with it for several years before passing away. Although he obviously suffered from the effects of both diseases, he never gave an appearance of suffering, choosing instead to help others, Fr. Lougan said. “He had the physical disability. I never heard him complain, I never heard him cry about that,” the priest explained. Rather, “he empowered, he helped other people with difficulties, with challenges, to move ahead. To go out and to see the good things in life.” The superior recalled Cardinal George’s to his chapter of the congregation in 2010. “We were talking about conversion to Christ as Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate,” he said at the vigil, and the cardinal emphasized that “when you speak of conversion to Christ, it’s conversion to Christ crucified.” “That came from his own experience of limitations in his life. Never a victim, he lived his oblation with joy, with dedication,” Fr. Lougen said.   Read more

Chicago, Ill., Apr 23, 2015 / 01:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George received everything good from God and these gifts must now be passed on by those who mourn him, said the homilist at his funeral on Thursday. “The... Read more

Washington D.C., Apr 23, 2015 / 10:19 am (CNA).- After six weeks of gridlock, members of both parties in the Senate bridged a disagreement over abortion funding in a new human trafficking bill by dividing up funding streams for the new project. “The fund really is supposed to be about shelters and housing and victims' services and also, of course, law enforcement,” said Amy Klobuchar (D- Minn.), to NPR. Klobuchar has, along with party leaders, contributed to the legislative solution after facing pressure for not bringing the funding controversy to light earlier. “When I looked back on speeches, that's all we talked about. We didn't talk about health care.” The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, which was passed 99-0 by the Senate, sets up a new fund for victims of sex trafficking to pay for counseling, care, and other necessities after rescue. Earlier in 2015, debate over a common provision against abortion caused division over the bipartisan bill.   Republican leaders wanted to apply the limits of the Hyde Amendment – a legislative provision often added to appropriations bills that bars taxpayer funding of abortion except in the case of incest, rape and danger to the mother’s life – to the whole of the human trafficking bill, barring any funding of abortion procedures under the legislation. Some Democratic lawmakers objected, saying that non-taxpayer funds should not face these restrictions. The resulting conflict lasted for six weeks, but with other decisions on the docket, lawmakers were eager to move on. Funding for human trafficking victims and survivors will now come from two sources. The first major funding base will come from fines levied against perpetrators of trafficking-related crimes, which will go towards the general fund of the U.S .Treasury. This aid can be used to cover legal aid, law enforcement, shelter, counseling and other fees for victims. Further funding for health care and medical expenses will come from tax money already allocated for Community Health Centers, which is already subject to the Hyde Amendment and thus cannot be used to sponsor abortions. Sen. John Cornyn, (R-Texas), lead sponsor of the bill and pro-life senator said he was “thrilled we were finally able to come together to break the impasse over this vital legislation.” President Barack Obama has not commented publicly on whether he will sign the bill, though press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters April 22 that the compromise was “encouraging.” The bill’s passage also opens the Senate’s schedule for another long-awaited vote: the confirmation of a new Attorney General to replace the retiring Eric H. Holder Jr. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who sets the Senate’s schedule, had said previously he would not schedule the confirmation vote for nominee Loretta Lynch until the trafficking bill was passed.    After waiting more than five months – longer than any other cabinet secretary nominee in the past 20 years – the Senate has announced that a vote will be held April 23. Currently, Lynch serves as the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Read more