The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has published a proposed rule to rescind the Trump administration’s enforcement of a Title X provision that “draws a bright line between abortion and family planning,” as the U.S. bishops’ pro-life committee chairman has described it.
Abortion
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
For the church to live in eucharistic coherence, we must be willing to challenge Catholics persisting in grave sin.
Archbishop Aquila: When the church minimizes the danger of an unworthy reception of the Eucharist, she fails to properly love those who continue to jeopardize their souls. Trading “civility” and “engagement” for eternal life is not a good trade.
Posted inFaith, News
U.S. Bishops praise parts of Biden’s stimulus plan, but say no ban on abortion funding is ‘unconscionable’
The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act heading to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature will provide relief to Americans in need amid the pandemic, but it lacks “protections for the unborn,” the U.S. bishops said.
Posted inFaith, Short Take
How not to talk about vaccines: Some bishops are choosing the culture war over the common good
Statements by some U.S. bishops on the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine for Covid-19 are proving to be a cautionary tale about confusing Catholics on what is morally permissible.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
‘Pastorally dangerous’: U.S. bishops risk causing confusion about vaccines, ethicists say
Recent statements from the Archdiocese of New Orleans and the U.S. bishops’ conference say Catholics should not take the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine if other options are available. But some Catholic ethicists and theologians say such messages are unhelpful in the face of this ongoing crisis.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
U.S. Bishops’ working group on Biden wraps up with plans to issue document on ‘eucharistic coherence’
“As with every administration, there will be areas where we agree and work closely together and areas where we will have principled disagreement and strong opposition,” Archbishop Gomez said.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
The Equality Act’s implications for abortion would be devastating for pregnant women in the workplace
By requiring abortion to be funded by states and covered by insurers as “health care,” the Equality Act would only further incentivize employers to prefer abortion for their pregnant employees over far more costly accommodations for parenting.
Posted inFaith, News Analysis
The bishops were divided on how to approach Joe Biden. It’s not the first time a dispute has gone public.
Public disagreements among the U.S. bishop are rare but not unprecedented. A contentious debate about the church and AIDS in 1987 is perhaps the situation most similar to the divisions over how to welcome President Biden.
Posted inJesuitical, Politics & Society
Podcast: Is a better abortion debate possible?
In 2019, Caitlin Flanagan wrote an essay for The Atlantic titled, ‘The Dishonesty of the Abortion Debate.’ This week, the hosts of Jesuitical, talk to Caitlin about what a more honest (and charitable) conversation might look like.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Catholic University students object to pro-life speaker Abby Johnson, citing past comments on race
Johnson was originally invited to speak on behalf of the campus pro-life group. But complaints by other students about comments she’d made on race — as well as her being at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6 — led the campus chaplain to recommend the appearance be postponed indefinitely.