commentary

cna

commentary

cna

commentary

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Advocating for unborn children is fulfilling the Lord's command to serve him in the most vulnerable, Pope Leo XIV told those taking part in the March for Life.

"I would encourage you, especially the young people, to continue striving to ensure that life is respected in all of its stages through appropriate efforts at every level of society, including dialogue with civil and political leaders," he said in a written message released by the Vatican Jan. 22.  

"May Jesus, who promised to be with us always, accompany you today as you courageously and peacefully march on behalf of unborn children," he wrote. "By advocating for them, please know that you are fulfilling the Lord’s command to serve him in the least of our brothers and sisters." 

The March for Life is held every year in January in Washington, D.C., to march on Capitol Hill to remember the anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized abortion nationwide in 1973. While the Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022, abortion policy is now determined at the state and federal levels.

Addressing his message to all people taking part in the Jan. 23 March for Life, Pope Leo sent his "warm greetings" and expressed his "heartfelt appreciation."

He assured them "of my spiritual closeness as you gather for this eloquent public witness to affirm that 'the protection of the right to life constitutes the indispensable foundation of every other human right,'" quoting from his Jan. 9 address to members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See. 

"Indeed, 'a society is healthy and truly progresses only when it safeguards the sanctity of human life and works actively to promote it,'" he wrote.

"With these sentiments, I entrust all of you, as well as those who support you with their prayers and sacrifices, to the intercession of Mary Immaculate, patroness of the United States of  America, and I gladly impart my apostolic blessing as a pledge of abundant heavenly graces," his message concluded.

 

WASHINGTON - “As tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered for the annual March for Life this week, we were grateful to see the U.S. House of Representatives pass the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act and the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act,” announced bishop-chairmen of three committees of the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Friday. 

“Building a culture of life requires helping mothers to be able to welcome their new children,” they continued. “Too often, however, expectant and vulnerable women are essentially told that they have to choose either their child or their future. No one should have to make this ultimately false choice. The Pregnant Students’ Rights Act is needed legislation that would simply ensure that colleges and universities at least provide information about the resources, services, rights, and accommodations available for pregnant and parenting students. The Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act would help ensure that key public resources are available to pregnancy help centers, which compassionately accompany women in need with baby supplies, childcare assistance, health and parenting information, career services, and more. Amid great uncertainty and difficulty, such support can make a life-saving difference.”

The three bishops spoke as chairmen of their respective committees: Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Bishop David M. O’Connell, CM, chairman of the Committee on Catholic Education, and Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities. Bishops O’Connell and Thomas had also sent a letter to Congress on Thursday in support of the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on its own version of that bill next week.

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A mob of 20 men attacked a Protestant pastor in the eastern Indian state of Odisha (map) and forced him to eat cow dung and bow before a Hindu temple.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India condemned the attack and demanded “immediate action against the perpetrators and justice for the victim.”

Odisha, then known as Orissa, was the site of a 2008 anti-Christian pogrom in which an estimated 100 Christians were murdered, and 50,000 fled their homes.

Veteran Vatican journalist John Allen passed away from cancer yesterday at the age of 61.

Allen worked for the National Catholic Report from 1997 to 2014, when he founded Crux. American author George Weigel described Allen as “the best Anglophone Vaticanista in the business during the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI.”

Allen was also the author of several books.

A survey conducted by the Vatican Lay Employees Association found widespread dissatisfaction, with nearly 76% stating that merit and initiative are not rewarded, and over 56% reporting “injustices or humiliating behavior from superiors.”

250 of the Vatican’s employees, who number over 4,000, took part in the survey.

Msgr. Marco Sprizzi, president of the Labor Office of the Apostolic See, responded:

Technically, it is a survey conducted on a very small sample, since it involves less than 5% of employees. In any case, we take all voices seriously, even if it were the voice of just one employee who complained of a lack of attention, dialogue, or respect for the rules.