Ss. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church

Credit: SynthEx/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Sep 17, 2024 / 16:30 pm (CNA).

A bipartisan group of 42 state attorneys general recently called for the U.S. surgeon general to add a health warning to algorithm-driven social media sites, citing the potential psychological harm that such sites can have on children and teenagers. 

“As state attorneys general, we sometimes disagree about important issues, but all of us share an abiding concern for the safety of the kids in our jurisdictions — and algorithm-driven social media platforms threaten that safety,” the coalition of attorneys general wrote in a Sept. 9 letter to congressional leaders. 

The attorneys general cited growing bodies of research that link young people’s use of these platforms to psychological harm, including depression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts in kids and teens. They also noted how platforms feature “enticing algorithmic recommendations, infinite scrolling, and a constant stream of notifications, which are designed to keep kids relentlessly engaged on the platforms, even at the expense of taking breaks, engaging in other activities, or sleeping.”

State attorneys general have taken action in recent years to hold the largest social media platforms accountable. In 2023, the attorneys general of 45 states and the District of Columbia filed a series of lawsuits against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, alleging that the company “deployed harmful and manipulative product features designed to push young users’ engagement with the Instagram platform to dangerous levels, all while representing to the public that its products are safe.”

In addition, some states, including Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Utah, have commenced litigation against TikTok for violating their state’s consumer protection laws, they noted.

“[A] surgeon general’s warning on social media platforms, though not sufficient to address the full scope of the problem, would be one consequential step toward mitigating the risk of harm to youth. A warning would not only highlight the inherent risks that social media platforms presently pose for young people but also complement other efforts to spur attention, research, and investment into the oversight of social media platforms,” the attorneys general wrote. 

“This problem will not solve itself and the social media platforms have demonstrated an unwillingness to fix the problem on their own. Therefore, we urge Congress to act by requiring warnings on algorithm-driven social media platforms, as recommended by the surgeon general.”

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has on several occasions signaled a willingness to highlight the health risks posed by social media, issuing in 2023 a 25-page advisory regarding social media usage evidence for its negative effects. 

“Children are exposed to harmful content on social media, ranging from violent and sexual content to bullying and harassment. And for too many children, social media use is compromising their sleep and valuable in-person time with family and friends,” Murthy wrote in that advisory.

“We are in the middle of a national youth mental health crisis, and I am concerned that social media is an important driver of that crisis — one that we must urgently address.”

In July, the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to advance extensive regulations that its supporters say will protect the safety and privacy of children on the internet. Under the bill, the government would impose a “duty of care” on social media platforms, meaning social media companies could be held legally liable if they are negligent in their efforts to prevent children from accessing harmful material.

Bullying and harassment, as well as sexual and violent material, are listed as harmful material covered by the legislation, known as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0). The legislation would also require platforms to work to prevent children from accessing material that could contribute to anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and various other harm.

A sign hangs above a Planned Parenthood clinic on May 18, 2018, in Chicago. / Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images

CNA Staff, Sep 17, 2024 / 15:20 pm (CNA).

A study by the pro-life group Students for Life of America (SFLA) has identified dozens of U.S. Christian colleges and universities, including multiple Catholic institutions, maintaining “some type of relationship” with the abortion industry, including the abortion giant Planned Parenthood. 

SFLA’s Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement said in its 2024 Christian Schools Project report that of the 732 Christian schools it investigated, more than 80 were found to have some sort of connection with Planned Parenthood or another abortion provider.

Those connections included “an internship opportunity that recommended or credited work at Planned Parenthood or another local abortion vendor” as well as linking to Planned Parenthood as a “health resource,” a “class resource,” or a “volunteer opportunity.”

The report counted each factor as an “infraction,” assigning grades to the schools based on the number of infractions given to each one. Nearly 30%, or 24, received a “F” rating with four or more infractions, while 15 schools received a “D” rating for three infractions, 20 received “C” for two infractions, and 24 received a “B” grade for one infraction. 

Schools were awarded an “A” grade if they had no infractions, while institutions received an A+ rating if they also offered proof of “a relationship with a local, life-affirming pregnancy help center.”

Three Catholic institutions — Boston College, Santa Clara University in California, and St. Elizabeth University in New Jersey — received “F” ratings in the report. St. John Fisher University in New York and University of Detroit Mercy in Michigan, meanwhile, received “D” ratings. 

Among the infractions identified by the report include University of Detroit Mercy listing Planned Parenthood as among “research guides” for students studying “women’s and gender studies.” 

Santa Clara University, meanwhile, suggests on its website that its health center will make referrals to Planned Parenthood, while the school last year hosted a symposium examining what it described as “anti-abortion and anti-trans laws.”

Overall, 17 Catholic institutions were found to have some connection with Planned Parenthood or to otherwise promote the abortion provider or other abortion resources. 

None of the Catholic schools on the list responded to queries from CNA regarding the report’s findings.

The Institute for Pro-Life Advancement said that U.S. Christian schools’ support for abortion has “increased annually by 10% since 2022” in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s repeal by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The institute noted that a dozen schools “removed ties to the abortion industry after initial contact with researchers in 2024.”

The study has been run since 2021, during which “54 total connections [with the abortion industry] have been severed,” the report said.

Encouragingly, in the most recent report, “Christian schools earning an ‘A+’ grade by supporting their local pregnancy help center increased by 32%.”

Bishop James Conley of Lincoln carries the Eucharist through Nebraska. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

CNA Staff, Sep 17, 2024 / 14:45 pm (CNA).

Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, recently urged Catholics to think about how they could “walk with,” pray for, and share the Catholic faith with one person over the next year as part of the ongoing National Eucharistic Revival.

In a Sept. 13 column, Conley encouraged Catholics to learn about the resources provided by the U.S. bishops as part of the program “Walk with One,” which offers practical steps to help people share the Catholic faith with one person in their life at a time. 

The “Walk with One” program is part of the current phase of the multiyear National Eucharistic Revival, the Year of Mission. The Eucharistic Revival, which began in 2021, aims to deepen and spread devotion to the Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ.

“Right now, there is someone in your life whom Jesus longs to call to himself. Who is that person? Who is that one person you know who would be much happier and content in life if he or she only knew and loved Jesus in the Eucharist?” Conley wrote. 

“Obviously, not everyone is called to spread the Gospel in foreign lands, or even to go door-to-door in his or her own community. But I think the Lord is asking each of us to step out of our comfort zone and evangelize one-to-one. Who is that one person for you? Who is that one person you can see yourself walking with over the next six months, year, or more?”

Conley encouraged Catholics to go to the Eucharistic Revival website and download the “Simple Guide,” which includes four steps: “identify, intercede, connect, invite.”

The steps are as follows:

1) Identify: Prayerfully ask God, “Who is that one person you want me to walk with?”

2) Intercede: As soon as you discern who it is, pray like crazy for that person.

3) Connect: Look for ways to walk, hang out, get coffee with this person — and then listen to this person. Let that person tell you his or her joys, hopes, and struggles, and share yours, too.

4) Invite: Follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit and invite the person to something Catholic (adoration, Bible study, Mass, confession, a talk, to pray the rosary, to listen to a podcast, read a book, or watch a powerful movie, etc.). Then talk about it.

“If you’re already down that road ‘walking with one,’ and need the next step, most parishes are just starting up OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults) classes; invite that person to attend, and go with them. You can even attend without them, to better understand the faith yourself,” Conley encouraged. 

Reflecting on the National Eucharistic Congress, the milestone Catholic event that attracted more than 50,000 people to Indianapolis in July, Conley said the “public display of faith, love, devotion, joy, and reverence” shown to Jesus in the Eucharist “will continue to bear fruit for decades to come.”

“We know that we have been given an amazing gift in the holy Eucharist. Do we allow ourselves to be amazed at such a wondrous gift? We all — myself included — need to pray for an increase in Eucharistic amazement,” the bishop wrote. 

“Whenever we receive a truly awesome gift, we naturally want to share it with others. We want to tell others about the gift. We want them to enjoy the gift, too.”

Conley noted that in his homily for the conclusion of the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis on July 21, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle preached that “the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is a gift and the fulfillment of his mission.”

“The cardinal began his homily by saying, ‘Jesus is sent to be given by the Father to others, sent to be a gift. He is not sent just to wander around and enjoy himself. He is sent to be given.’ In other words, Jesus fulfills his mission from the Father to save the world from sin by giving his life on the cross, while, at the same time, he gives himself to the world in the holy Eucharist, so that he can remain with us on earth until the end of the world. But he remains with us, to be given away,” Conley wrote.

“We want the Florida public to understand that Florida physicians are against Amendment 4 and that’s because it’s dangerous — not just for the babies that will be eliminated after they can feel pain but also for mothers and girls,” said Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie (right) in an interview with “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol on Sept. 16, 2024. / Credit: “EWTN News Nightly” screenshot

CNA Staff, Sep 17, 2024 / 12:10 pm (CNA).

A coalition of physicians has sprung into action to oppose a Florida ballot measure that would massively deregulate abortion in the state, including the removal of legal protections currently in place for the unborn.

In an interview with “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol, Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie, a founding member of Florida Physicians Against Amendment 4, discussed Amendment 4 and its ramifications.

Christie explained that Amendment 4 would allow abortion without restriction prior to the point of the baby being viable outside the womb, usually determined to be between 21 and 24 weeks’ gestation, and would allow late-term abortions in cases of risk to the mother’s health.

The amendment would make the state “a deregulated abortion regime that would equal that of North Korea,” she said.

Amendment 4 would add the following language to the Florida Constitution: “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s health care provider.” 

Christie said the measure was “deceptively written” and could allow nonphysicians to potentially perform abortions in addition to other “dangerous” outcomes. 

“Amendment 4 was written in order to basically invalidate every regulation around abortion, including commonsense health and safety regulations that protect mothers — either women or girls — when they go to access an abortion,” Christie said. 

“It would invalidate parental consent laws in Florida for minor girls,” she continued. “It would open up elective abortion until viability and then after viability for any reason of maternal health — which basically can be manipulated so that elective abortion can be had throughout 40 weeks of pregnancy.”

“It’s a brutal and dangerous amendment,” she said. 

While Amendment 4 retains a 2004 parental notification policy for minors seeking abortion, it would nullify a 2020 law that requires parental consent for minors seeking abortions. 

Florida currently protects unborn babies after six weeks through the Heartbeat Protection Act, which prohibits abortions once the unborn child has a detectable heartbeat.

Coalition has grown to over 300 Florida physicians

Christie and more than 300 other Florida doctors are participating in the Florida Physicians Against Amendment 4 effort.

“We wanted the Florida public to understand that even though the pro-abortion side likes to cite medicine and science and say that this is what’s reasonable for doctors, abortion is not health care,” Christie said of the coalition. “Doctors don’t believe that abortion is health care. We want the Florida public to understand that Florida physicians are against Amendment 4 and that’s because it’s dangerous — not just for the babies that will be eliminated after they can feel pain — but also for mothers and girls.”

The group warns that the proposal would open up abortions through all nine months of pregnancy via the maternal health exception and allow nonphysicians to determine if and when an abortion can be performed, according to its website. It would also eliminate parental consent for minors and remove maternal health and safety regulations, they noted. 

The group advocating passage of Amendment 4, Floridians Protecting Freedom, says on its website that “the overwhelming majority of Floridians think we should all have the freedom to make our own personal health care decisions without interference from politicians.” 

‘The government has to regulate important procedures’

When asked her response to that position, Christie said that “sometimes the government has to regulate important procedures.” 

“You don’t want your health decisions being made by an outfit like Planned Parenthood, without parental involvement for minor girls, without a physician involved in your health care,” she noted. “You wouldn’t want to go get a colonoscopy at a colonoscopy center that wasn’t regulated by the state Department of Health. Why would we open up abortion that way? It’s a very dangerous proposal for everyone involved.”

“Amendment 4 would make Florida an abortion destination for the entire country,” Christie said. “It would make a deregulated abortion regime in Florida that would equal that of North Korea or Cuba.”

The St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square on March 27, 2020, in New Orleans. / Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

CNA Staff, Sep 17, 2024 / 11:35 am (CNA).

The Archdiocese of New Orleans has proposed a bankruptcy settlement as part of its plan for addressing sexual abuse by clergy, offering a $62.5 million payout to victims of abuse even as the victims themselves are demanding hundreds of millions more. 

The archdiocese’s Chapter 11 plan of reorganization, filed last week in U.S. bankruptcy court, proposes a $50 million cash transfer from the archdiocese to a settlement trust, along with a $12.5 million payment from affiliated “non-debtor Catholic entities,” mostly parishes within the archdiocese itself. 

In a statement announcing the plan, Archbishop Gregory Aymond said the archdiocese’s “main priorities are to assist the abuse survivors on a path towards healing that includes fair and equitable compensation for them” while “creating a more financially sustainable archdiocesan ministry for the future.”

Acknowledging that there is “still much work to do,” Aymond said the proposal will nevertheless “allow us to move forward and begin to bring conclusion to these proceedings.”

In addition to the financial compensation, Aymond said the plan will include as-yet-undisclosed “nonmonetary covenants” that the archdiocese is “continuing to negotiate with the committee of abuse survivors.”

“These nonmonetary covenants are actions that we publicly pledge to take to continue our commitment to ensuring our parishes, schools, and ministries are safe places for all to grow in faith, be educated, and to participate in ministry,” the archbishop said.

The archdiocesan proposal is considerably less than the roughly $1 billion proposed by survivors of clergy abuse, the vast majority of which would be paid by insurers. That plan was filed at the same time as the archdiocesan plan.

Legal counsel for the abuse victims indicated to CNA that the archdiocesan proposal was insufficient.

Asked for comment on the archdiocesan plan, James Stang — a lawyer with the Los Angeles-based firm Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones that is representing the committee of abuse victims in the suit — responded: “The best comment on the archdiocese plan is the committee’s plan.” 

Stang said the bankruptcy court “will be required to approve a disclosure statement for any plan that goes out to creditors and survivors.” 

“Once approved, votes [from survivors and creditors] will be solicited and then the court will have a confirmation hearing,” he said. “The outcome of the vote may determine if the plan proponent wants to pursue confirmation.” 

“Once a plan is confirmed and depending on any appeals, the plan may go effective and funds will go to the settlement trust for distribution to survivors,” he said. 

Archdiocesan spokeswoman Sarah McDonald, meanwhile, told CNA that the archdiocese has “filed a very complete and feasible plan.” 

“With this filing and the filing of the committee’s competing plan, we will begin negotiations through the mediation process in the very near future,” she said.

The archdiocese has been working through the bankruptcy proceedings for nearly half a decade, having first applied for bankruptcy in May 2020.

Last year the archdiocese announced the “difficult and painful decision” to consolidate 11 parish communities, permanently close seven churches, and consolidate three territories in order to ensure sustainability and vitality.

In September of last year the archbishop said the archdiocese would be asking parishes, schools, and ministries for monetary contributions in order to protect their assets during the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. 

Aymond had previously said that parishes and other archdiocesan affiliates would not be affected by the bankruptcy. 

Multiple dioceses in recent years have offered tens of millions of dollars to clergy abuse victims as part of bankruptcy proceedings.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York last year proposed a plan that offered $200 million to approximately 600 survivors of abuse, the largest-ever settlement offer made in diocesan bankruptcy history. Survivors ultimately rejected the offer, deeming it insufficient. 

The Diocese of Rochester in 2022 proposed a $55 million payout to abuse survivors, though those proceedings are still underway. And the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, paid out a total of $6.3 million to abuse victims in 2020. 

The altar of St. Robert Bellarmine in Sant'Ignazio, Rome. / Credit: Carl Bunderson

Rome, Italy, Sep 17, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

St. Robert Bellarmine, whose feast is celebrated Sept. 17 on the General Roman Calendar, was a Jesuit and a cardinal who used his incredible intellect to defend Catholic teaching, largely through responses to the Church’s opponents in the aftermath of the Protestant Reformation.

In all his writings, St. Bellarmine “maintained a charitable disputation that kept the focus on the theological issues,” according to Father Mitch Pacwa, SJ.

After the Reformation, “for the most part, the Catholics and the Protestants responded to each other with vitriol,” he said. “They threatened each other — ridicule was typical of the debate.”

“And in that context, St. Robert Bellarmine never used ridicule or anger or opprobrium or reviling or any such thing. He always treated his opponents with great respect and charity. He was convinced that charity with the opponents of the Church would win them over much more readily.”

This is one of the things that made him a saint, Pacwa stated.

Father Mark Lewis, S.J., rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University and an expert in Church history, told CNA that Bellarmine lived simply, in accord with his vow of poverty.

Several religious congregations founded in the 16th century, including the Society of Jesus, were trying to present a model of a reformed priest, “one who took his vows seriously, that lived simply, followed poverty, that was willing to go on apostolic missions,” he said.

Because Jesuits, as a general rule, do not take the honor of cardinal, in his early life Bellarmine avoided being named a cardinal or bishop, Lewis said. “But when he was named one, he insisted that he would be a model of a reformed prelate.”

Bellarmine was named a cardinal in 1599 at a time when bishops were also often political lords, or the ruler of a city or town, but he supported the poor through the sale of his possessions.

The cardinal and his friend, Venerable Cesare Baronius, “wanted to show that if you are going to be a bishop, or you are going to be a cardinal, it’s at the service of the Church,” Lewis said.

“As a Jesuit, he had a vow of poverty as well as obedience. He wasn’t allowed to own anything. He was trained in asceticism, so he wasn’t looking for luxuries in this world,” Pacwa said, noting that once, when people in Rome were suffering from plague and famine, Bellarmine sold the tapestries off the walls of his apartment for money to give to the poor. “He said the walls won’t get colder, the poor will.”

Bellarmine, who was declared a doctor of the Church in 1931, is well known for having written a catechism of the faith and for his “Disputationes de Controversiis Christianae Fidei Adversus Huius Temporis Hereticos,” a book that responded to the various issues dealt with by Protestant “reformers.”

He responded to their arguments using Scripture, the Church Fathers, and tradition, Pacwa explained. “This made him an orderly thinker willing to take on the issues of his day.”

Lewis explained that what Bellarmine did, then called controversial theology, would now probably be called “dogmatic theology.” Though it probably was not seen as a dialogue in Bellarmine’s own time, Lewis argued, it was: “He was developing responses to the Protestant theology of the time.”

Before being made cardinal, Bellarmine was a scholar and teacher as well as rector of the Roman College. One of his students was St. Aloysius Gonzaga, next to whom, in the Church of St. Ignatius in Rome, Bellarmine asked to be buried.

Another friend of Bellarmine was the storied astronomer Galileo Galilei. But Bellarmine “was the kind of man who could be a friend and not necessarily agree with you,” Pacwa stated.

Galileo had put forward his unproven theory of heliocentricity, which the Church saw as contradicting Scripture, Pacwa explained. Bellarmine gave Galileo a warning, because Galileo was asserting the theory as absolute truth without citing specific scientific proof to support the claim.

According to Pacwa, “this warning was given to Galileo not as condemnation, and Galileo accepted it. Later there were rumors that Galileo had been forced to recant. And both Bellarmine and Galileo wrote that that wasn’t true, just that he had to be quiet about claiming that.”

When Galileo was later condemned, it was after Bellarmine’s death.

St. Robert Bellarmine was “indefatigable in his labor,” Pacwa asserted. “And he worked until he died,” on Sept. 17, 1621. He was canonized by Pius XI in 1930.

“Knowing a lot does not make one a saint. Not everybody has the intellectual capacity that Robert Bellarmine did. But the way he used his magnificent intellectual capacity is what made him a saint,” Pacwa claimed. “He committed his intellect to the service of God and the Church.”

This article was first published by CNA on Sept. 17, 2019, and has been updated.

Alexey Gotovsky contributed to this story.

“It has been disappointing to see how seldom a CPC designation has resulted in real consequences for those responsible for religious freedom violations,” U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Chairman Stephen Schneck told CNA. / Credit: U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Public Hearing/Screenshot

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 16, 2024 / 18:15 pm (CNA).

The United States Department of State (DOS) routinely issues condemnations of countries that fail to uphold religious freedom — but those harsh words are rarely followed by actions that lead to policy changes in those foreign governments, according to an analysis published this month. 

After the United States adopted the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the DOS has issued regular reports that designate “countries of particular concern” (CPCs). The designation is reserved for countries with “systematic, ongoing, and egregious” violations of religious liberty, such as torture and other other types of inhumane treatment, prolonged detentions, abductions and disappearances, and other flagrant denials of life, liberty, or security of persons.

Although the legislation requires the president to either sanction or take other actions against a country designated as a CPC, all five presidents since 1998 have found workarounds to avoid taking new action against most countries that are added to the list.

Out of the 164 CPC designations, there has only been one “binding agreement” entered to address a religious freedom violation and only three new sanctions issued.

An analysis published by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) concluded that “the CPC designation mechanism is far more effective at condemning religious freedom violations than promoting changes to policy.” The USCIRF is a federal commission tasked with providing policy recommendations on advancing religious liberty abroad.

The International Religious Freedom Act establishes a method for a president to enter into a “binding agreement” with countries designated as a CPC. The goal of such agreements is to phase out any religious liberty violations.

However, the United States has only pursued three binding agreements: twice with Vietnam in 2004 and 2005 and once with Uzbekistan in 2006. The United States secured an agreement with Vietnam, which addressed the problem and was removed from the CPC list. The United States never secured an agreement with Uzbekistan.

The federal government also rarely follows up a CPC designation with new sanctions. According to the analysis, only three new sanctions have been adopted because of a CPC designation, all of which were against Eritrea.

Rather than taking new action, the federal government has cited existing regulations 111 times to fulfill the presidential action requirement. On 40 occasions, the DOS granted a waiver on any action, citing national interest. In another seven cases, a waiver was granted on the basis that the waiver would further religious liberty.

“It has been disappointing to see how seldom a CPC designation has resulted in real consequences for those responsible for religious freedom violations,” USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck told CNA in a statement.

“This has to change,” said Schneck, who is a Catholic appointed to the role by President Joe Biden. “Accountability is truly in the interest of the United States. It extends the values of freedom and dignity etched in every human being and ensures our partners live up to their human right commitments, increasing stability, prosperity, and peace.”

The way in which the CPC mechanism has been used, Schneck added, “has limited our policy effectiveness to condemning violations by leaving behind many opportunities to incentivize reform.”

Some of the countries that the USCIRF has recommended for CPC designation have also been declined by the DOS in recent years. This includes Nigeria, which the DOS finally designated as a CPC in 2020 but then removed from the list in 2021.

Nina Shea, the director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom and a former commissioner of the USCIRF, has been critical of the Biden administration for removing Nigeria from the CPC designation.

“The administration prioritized climate change concerns in an all-of-government executive order which seemed to cancel out any serious policymaking on the issue of religious freedom internationally,” Shea told CNA. “Nigeria was recommended for CPC designation by USCIRF but the Biden administration lifted its designation and ignored the USCIRF recommendation, without any official explanation.”

Shea, a Catholic who served in the commission from 1999 through 2012, was originally appointed by former Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert. 

“More Christians are murdered for their faith each year in Nigeria than all other countries combined and this terror is carried out with complete government impunity,” she added. “... Entire villages have been eradicated of their Christian population. The administration has turned a willful blind eye to this horrific persecution, which is both shameful and a failure to carry out its responsibilities under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.”

Under the Biden-Harris administration, the DOS justified its removal of Nigeria by arguing that the violence is primarily rooted in conflicts over resources. Christians, Muslims, and adherents to traditional African religion have all been killed in the ongoing violence, but when adjusting for population, Christians are 6.5 times more likely to be killed, according to a report last month by The Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa.

In its analysis, the USCIRF encouraged Congress to update the list of required actions for CPC designations and the government to pursue targeted sanctions against religious liberty violators. The commission also urged the DOS to ensure that religious freedom is a priority in diplomacy and other aspects of international relations.

null / Credit: New Africa/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Sep 16, 2024 / 17:45 pm (CNA).

A new analysis by researchers at the Institute for Family Studies examines the states that are attracting and losing families, and finds that families are leaving many of the most progressive U.S. states and heading for states that are considered more conservative or politically diverse. 

Reliably blue states — i.e., states that voted for Democratic presidential candidates in both 2016 and 2020 — lost 213,000 families with children in 2021 and 2022, the researchers said. 

Meanwhile, states that voted Republican in both elections gained 181,000 families. “Purple” states that flipped between the two parties in the last presidential elections, like Arizona and Georgia, also posted gains, attracting 38,000 families. 

“Parents are not generally moving towards states with the preferred family policies of progressives. They are moving out of these states, including Democratic states, like New York, California, Massachusetts, and Oregon, all well known for their liberal family policies,” researchers Lyman Stone and Brad Wilcox wrote. 

The researchers opined that these data points suggest that despite many “blue” states implementing pro-family policies such as child tax credits and paid family leave, other negative factors in those states, such as high housing costs, are leading families to seek refuge in states that are generally considered more conservative and may not have yet implemented many government programs to help families. 

“What we are now seeing in the United States is that families with children, by the hundreds of thousands, are moving away from states with avowedly generous family policies — from refundable child tax credits to universal school lunches — and to states without these policies. California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, and Oregon, for instance, have at least two of these policies. And yet in recent years, all five of these progressive states have seen more families leave than move into them.”

The researchers used the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to determine which states gained and lost the most families during 2021–2022.

In terms of the total number of families gained, Texas had by far the highest number, with a net gain of 53,000 families between 2021–2022. Florida gained 38,000, while Georgia gained 22,000, Arizona 16,000, South Carolina 15,000, and Tennessee 13,000.

Of those six states, only one — Arizona — is not currently fully controlled at the state level by Republicans. Arizona has a divided government with a Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled House and Senate, while in all five of the other states, Republicans control the governor’s mansion as well as the Senate and House.

Looked at another way, the states with the most families moving there as a percentage of their population were Idaho at 2.3% followed by New Hampshire, Montana, South Carolina, and South Dakota. (Texas’ 53,000 family net gain only represented a 0.8% increase due to its already large population; Florida was similar at 0.9%.)

All of those states are currently Republican-controlled at the state level, though New Hampshire voted Democratic in the last presidential election. 

In contrast, the states that have lost the most families are almost all — with a few exceptions — Democratic-controlled at the state level and voted Democratic in the last presidential election. At the top in terms of percentages, New York lost 71,000 families for a decline of 1.9%. 

At 1.2%, the second-largest decline by percentage was Alaska, which has a Republican governor and a divided legislature — though in net terms, Alaska only lost 2,000 families. 

Next on the list with an identical 1.2% loss was California, which is heavily Democratic-controlled and lost 92,000 families, the largest net loss of any state. 

Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Hawaii — all reliably Democratic — were next on the list, with Louisiana placing ninth with a 0.5% decline. Louisiana is even more heavily Republican-governed than Alaska and has enacted strong pro-life protections in recent years. The state has, however, historically struggled with high poverty, crime, and fallout from natural disasters.

The authors of the analysis noted that because of the timing of the data available, much of the migration was likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when families may have fled cities for more rural areas. Later on, many of the states they moved to in the Sunbelt and Mountain West reopened for in-person instruction sooner than states on the West Coast and the Northeast. Economically, many of those states, such as Texas and Florida, also offered the lure of lower taxes and strong job growth.

The authors opined that the migration data suggest government policies designed to help families are not the most important factor when families decide where they want to live. 

“[Y]es, many of these policies are desirable to families, and some help them. But they’re not enough to offset the cavalcade of other problems, many of them government-created, that often bedevil blue states, from homelessness to high housing costs, that make them less attractive to families with children,” the researchers said. 

“No amount of tax credits will ever be more valuable to a family than safe streets and decent housing for middle-class earners … Parental leave will never outweigh a good job market.” 

In addition, they wrote, “red states have generally resisted letting their schools and sports be guided by avant-garde gender theories.”

“[T]o be frank, most parents object to policies that force their daughters to face biological males on the playing field or in the locker room,” the authors wrote.

Despite being a draw for families, many Republican-led states lag behind in terms of educational quality and health care outcomes. In some states like Mississippi with high poverty rates, however, efforts are underway to expand social safety nets in service of families. 

Families mainly in red or purple states, like North Carolina, Arizona, and Indiana, have also benefited from expanded school choice programs in recent years, which allow parents greater freedom to send their child to the school of their choosing.

Bishop Emeritus Edward Slattery of the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma, passed away at age 84 on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. / Credit: Diocese of Tulsa

CNA Staff, Sep 16, 2024 / 13:50 pm (CNA).

Edward Slattery, the bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma, passed away at age 84 on Friday following a series of debilitating strokes, diocesan officials said.

“Bishop Slattery was a man of deep faith who knew that death would bring him to his Lord,” Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma Bishop David Konderla said in a Saturday statement. “I was blessed to follow in his footsteps in the diocese and will remember him with fondness and prayer.”

Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Peter Wells, who grew up in Oklahoma and was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Tulsa in 1991, shared that he was “deeply saddened” by Slattery’s passing.

“Bishop Slattery will be fondly remembered for his many initiatives in the diocese, his compassion for the poor, and his profound spiritual guidance,” Wells said on Saturday. 

“Our heartfelt condolences go out to all those mourning his loss, particularly his family, Bishop David Konderla, the clergy, religious, and faithful of the Diocese of Tulsa. May he rest in peace.” 

Slattery was born in Chicago on Aug. 11, 1940, the grandson of Irish immigrants on the maternal and paternal sides of the family. He was the second of seven children, and his family lived in a small apartment with no air conditioning and only one bathroom, according to Tulsa World. 

Slattery was raised Catholic and felt called to the priesthood at a young age. After graduating from Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, Slattery earned a bachelor of arts and master of divinity, both from St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois. 

He was ordained a priest on April 26, 1966, for the Archdiocese of Chicago, where he served as an associate pastor at St. Jude the Apostle Parish in South Holland until 1971 while obtaining a second master’s degree from Loyola University Chicago. 

He served as the vice president of the Catholic Church Extension Society, a funding agency for American home missions, from 1971–1976, and subsequently as president until 1994. 

During his time with the extension society, Slattery was the associate pastor of St. Rose of Lima, an inner-city Hispanic parish on the South Side of Chicago beginning in 1973, and was pastor from 1976 to 1989. 

He was ordained as a bishop on Jan. 6, 1994, by Pope John Paul II and subsequently installed as the Tulsa bishop on Jan. 12. 

As bishop, Slattery oversaw the expansion of Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma in the early 2000s and helped establish an endowment-based tuition assistance program for Catholic families in need in 1999.

He also oversaw a large-scale fundraising effort that raised $17.5 million for the diocese’s 25th anniversary in 1998. Slattery worked with the Benedictines to found a new monastery in rural northeastern Oklahoma in the late 1990s and founded the Pastoral Studies Institute in Tulsa. 

“For many years I have appreciated Bishop Slattery as a friend and brother bishop,” said Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City. “He welcomed me warmly when I arrived in Oklahoma in 2011 and always encouraged my ministry here. I have appreciated the pastoral leadership he provided in the Diocese of Tulsa and nationally through the work of Catholic Extension, which he guided before coming to Oklahoma.”

Pope Francis in 2016 accepted Slattery’s resignation, which he submitted at the age of 75 as required by canon law. Slattery continued to serve as bishop emeritus after his resignation until his death last week.

In 2002, Slattery apologized for reinstating Father Kenneth Lewis to ministry in 1995 following allegations against Lewis of sexual misconduct toward young boys. Slattery returned the priest to active ministry after Lewis received psychiatric treatment, a decision Slattery later said he would not have made had he had further information. Lewis himself would eventually be accused again of sexual abuse of a boy in 2001; he would ultimately plead guilty to a felony in connection with that abuse and be sentenced to seven years in prison.

Slattery is survived by his four sisters and one brother. His funeral is set to take place at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, at Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa. 

“I give thanks to God for [Slattery’s] many years of faithful service as a priest and bishop, especially his two decades of dedication to the Diocese of Tulsa,” Wells said.

Voting booths on Election Day. / Credit: vesperstock/Shutterstock

Ann Arbor, Michigan, Sep 16, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The aggressive advocacy of abortion by Democratic Party candidates up and down the ballot this year, coupled with abortion ballot measures in 10 states, is causing pro-life groups across the political spectrum to adjust their tactics as well as expand collaborative efforts. 

At the state level throughout the country, “there are things that we are excited about and others that are very troubling,” said Americans United for Life (AUL) Chief Executive Officer John Mize in an interview with CNA.

“What we find most troubling are the ballot initiatives that are very deceptive by pro-abortion forces that have caused utter confusion in a vast swath of the American public,” Mize indicated.

In view of the current electoral panorama, Mize said his nonpartisan organization is stepping up its partnerships with other groups as part of their common objective to defend preborn lives and defeat pro-abortion measures. For example, he said, AUL has expanded its collaborative efforts with organizations such as CareNet, Heartbeat, Lifeline, and the Vitae Foundation.

Given the magnitude of the challenge the pro-life movement faces this year, National Right to Life (NRL) spokesperson Laura Echevarría said her group also welcomes increased collaborative efforts.

“We tend to be very accepting of other groups that want to work with us on issues. And we look at that commonality and we don’t get into other issues,” Echevarría observed. 

On the left, Democrats for Life and Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU) are two groups that align with most aspects of the Democratic Party’s policy agenda yet are vociferously challenging its pro-abortion stance. 

PAUU executive director Caroline Taylor Smith, a Catholic who also volunteers for Democrats for Life, told CNA her pro-life principles are compatible with progressivism. She criticized both the Democratic and Republican parties for their respective stances on abortion. 

“I am very left-leaning and progressive and agree with every progressive value except for abortion. I condemn the idea that progressives have to support child-killing. My worldview is that I’m against violence and oppression against all people. I support liberation for all people. Embryos are preborn people that should be free from violence,” she said. 

Smith said that an example of PAAU’s pro-life commitment was set by PAAU activist Lauren Handy, 30, who was convicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for occupying the Surgi-Clinic abortuary in Washington, D.C. Handy, who identifies as a “queer Catholic,” is now serving a four-year sentence. 

Allied organizations identified by PAUU’s Smith also include Pro-Life San Francisco and Rehumanize International. 

Despite their common goals, Mize acknowledged, the groups take different approaches. For example, Mize said he is skeptical about “overly aggressive tactics” such as displaying photos of aborted babies or screaming over bullhorns at women. Such tactics, he said, “add to the trauma that a woman feels when she is making a very difficult and complex decision. There’s a better way. And that is to be incremental and focused on providing alternative options to women.”

In addition, while Mize said ALU is not opposed to PAAU’s work, he said ALU is “more apt to partner with an organization like Democrats for Life, who share a lot of the same values we do in terms of the appropriate process to advance the pro-life cause.” There are also organizations like Secular Pro-Life, Mize added.

“Unfortunately, this has become far too political and it’s really not,” Mize maintains. “It’s a moral issue that isn’t defined by the politics of the party. It’s defined by the morality and character of the person.”

Echevarría and Mize agreed that the challenges for all pro-life organizations are only multiplying. Intense political battles, both said, lie in state legislatures and ballot initiatives that threaten to overturn hard-fought limitations on abortion, such as requirements for parental notification and consent.