in this issue:
hot button issues: ALL AD IN USA TODAY / STEM CELL RESEARCH
activism: VICTORY FOR FREE SPEECH
birth control: PART OF THE PACKAGE
in memoriam: JOHN DOWNS
morning-after abortion pill: AMA ENDORSES
on the duties of bishops: HYDE / NOVAK
on the duties of public figures: BURKE / MEAGHER / RATZINGER
vox populi: ABORTION AND COMMUNION
reflection for prayer: EZEKIEL 34:11-12
hot button issues
ALL AD IN USA TODAY: Full-page ad was placed because “there should be no doubt that protecting the body and blood of Christ in the form of the Eucharist and enforcing the Church’s teachings on the sanctity of all human life are paramount concerns for the bishops,” according to American Life League’s Judie Brown.
(Reading: “American Life League unveils latest Crusade ad,” American Life League news release, 6/16/04)
STEM CELL RESEARCH: Petition from 58 senators “demanding that President Bush approve of and provide federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research” misses the key point that “human embryonic stem cell research is unethical. One can never do evil, even if good might come from it.”
(Reading: “Human embryonic stem cell harvesting is wrong ? dead wrong,” American Life League news release, 6/14/04)
activism
VICTORY FOR FREE SPEECH: After Osbourne Park High School administrators in Manassas, Va., told senior Heather Holbrook she could not wear her pro-life shirt to school, Heather’s family contacted the Thomas More Law Center. The school told Heather’s mom that the “abortion is homicide” message was offensive. Attorneys from the law center quickly set the school straight, and within two days Heather had assurance from the school district in writing that she could indeed wear the shirt to class.
(Contact: To purchase ALL’s “abortion is homicide” shirt, please visit American Life League’s pro-life store)
(Reading: “Virginia school backs down,” LifeSiteNews.com, 6/11/04)
birth control
PART OF THE PACKAGE: Planned Parenthood’s Alan Guttmacher Institute notes that more and more American employees are paying for birth control as part of their healthcare coverage at work. A new study notes, “In 2002, 86% of employer-purchased plans typically covered the full range of contraceptive methods, compared with just 28% in 1993; the proportion of plans covering no method at all plummeted from 28% to only 2%.” Guttmacher is not satisfied, as “there is more to be done.”
(Reading: “Contraceptive insurance coverage has improved dramatically,” Alan Guttmacher Institute news release, 6/15/04)
in memoriam
JOHN DOWNS: It is with sadness that Communique notes the passing of John Downs. John, who lived as a quadriplegic for more than four decades, has been described by friends as a “victim soul.” John touched many with his booklet, “Suffering: A Key to the Meaning of Life.” You can learn more about the life and faith of this extraordinary man by visiting his web site.
morning-after abortion pill
AMA ENDORSES: An American Medical Association resolution calls on the Food and Drug Administration to allow so-called emergency contraception to be sold over the counter without a doctor’s prescription. “The overwhelming data is that it is safe, effective and usable across age groups,” said Vivian Dickerson, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
COMMENT: The truth, however, is that there is very little data showing how these drugs might affect teenagers. Also, AMA and ACOG refuse to acknowledge that the morning-after pill regimen is abortifacient.
(Reading: “AMA opposes stance on morning-after pill,” Associated Press, 6/15/04)
on the duties of bishops
HYDE: “I am greatly disappointed,” Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) told columnist Thomas Roeser, “with the failure of much of the church hierarchy to take an unequivocal stand on abortion.” Hyde added that “If the church doesn’t come out strong and condemn those who want to receive Holy Communion while not in the state of sanctifying grace, then the church has lost its moral authority, and that is tragic.”
(Reading: “Hyde stands firmly with Catholic Church,” Chicago Sun-Times, 6/12/04)
NOVAK: Columnist Michael Novak writes, “when matters snowball until it is no longer a case of the single political leader, but 20, then 30, then 60 [Catholic officeholders espousing pro-abortion positions], Catholic teaching on abortion as in intrinsic evil appears vacuous. The people in the pews start to believe that the bishops are not serious about ‘old’ Catholic teaching. Faithful Catholics who know better see that the courage of their bishops is on empty.”
(Reading: “In and out of communion,” National Review online, 6/15/04)
on the duties of public figures
BURKE: Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis has written an article explaining his decision to forbid pro-abortion public figures from receiving Communion in his former diocese of La Crosse, Wis.: “For the Catholic politician to receive Communion when he or she has publicly violated the moral law in a grave matter like procured abortion risks leading others into thinking that they can accept procured abortion with a right conscience. In such a case, if the Catholic politician does not recognize the lack of the proper disposition to receive Communion, then the church herself must refuse the sacrament, in order to safeguard the worthy reception of the sacrament and to prevent a serious scandal among the faithful.”
(Reading: “Catholic politicians and bishops,” America magazine, 6/7/04)
MEAGHER: Archbishop Anthony Meagher of Kingston, Ontario writes: “It is never appropriate for Catholic leaders to claim that acceptance of such denial of human dignity ? for example, abortion on demand ? is a sign of Canada?s tolerance and goodness. It is not; it is simply cowardice.”
(Reading: “Lines from a rocking chair,” Journey, 6-7/04)
RATZINGER: Catholic World News is reporting that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has entered the debate about withholding Communion from pro-abortion public figures: “In an official letter to the US bishops, which has not been made public, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith writes that Catholics who are ‘living in grave sin’ or who ‘reject the doctrine of the Church,’ should abstain from the Eucharist.”
(Reading: “Ratzinger joins US debate on withholding Eucharist,” Catholic World News, 6/17/04)
vox populi
ABORTION AND COMMUNION: “In a Time poll conducted two weeks ago, three-quarters of Catholics said they disagree with the bishops who would deny the Eucharist to politicians who disagree with the church on abortion, and nearly 70% said the Catholic Church should not be trying to influence either the positions that Catholic politicians take on the issues or the way that Catholics vote. That held true even among majorities of Catholics who consider themselves very religious and who attend Mass at least once a week.”
(Reading: “Battling the bishops,” Time, 6/13/04)
reflection for prayer
EZEKIEL 34:11-12: Thus says the Lord God: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark.