WASHINGTON (CNS) - In his new encyclical, "Fratelli Tutti, on Fraternity and Social Friendship," Pope Francis reminds the faith- ful that "God's plan for humanity has implications for every aspect of our lives," said the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. These aspects range from how we treat one another in our personal relationships, to how we organize and operate our societies and economies," said Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles in a statement Oct. 4, the day the encyclical was released. He called the pope's teaching "profound and beautiful," and said that like 'Laudato Si'' before it, 'Fratelli Tutti' is an im- portant contribution to the church's rich tradition of social doctrine." In analyzing conditions in the world today, the Holy Father provides us with a powerful and urgent vision for the moral renewal of politics and political and economic institutions from the local level to the global level, calling us to build a common future that truly serves the good of the hu- man person," Archbishop Gomez said. For the church, the pope is challenging us to over- come the individualism in our culture and to serve our neighbors in love," he said, "seeing Jesus Christ in every person, and seek- ing a society of justice and mercy, compassion and mutual concern." Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich said "Fratelli Tutti" is "destined to be a defin- ing document and body of teaching for the pontificate of Pope Francis." He called it a powerful document in which the pope "again reminds us why he is considered a preeminent moral teacher - and in an extraordinarily critical and fraught moment in human history." Washington Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory said he believes the pope's new en- cyclical "has come to us at precisely the right time." Pope Francis repeatedly speaks to the renewal of common good' language and 'common good' ac- tions," the archbishop said.
Colorado observes its first Cabrini Day
DENVER (CNS) - St. Frances Xavier Cabrini's "Christ- like love for others is an inspiring example for all of us to this day," said a statement from the Archdiocese of Denver issued in advance of Colorado's new Cabrini Day honoring the patron of immigrants Oct. 5. In February, the Colorado House approved a measure to do away with the state's observance of Columbus Day, a federal holiday on the second Monday of Octo- ber, and instead create the Cabrini observance. The Colorado Senate followed suit in early March, and Gov. Jared Polis signed the bill into law. We commend the state Legislature for creating the first state holiday honoring a woman, and for choos- ing an incredible Catholic saint," the archdiocese said. Popularly known as Mother Cabrini, the saint is revered for her devotion to children, immigrants and the destitute.
Catholics decry Cuomo order to close schools
ALBANY, N.Y. (CNS) - New York Gov. Andrew Cuo- mo's order closing all schools in "hot zones" where cases of COVID-19 seem to be increasing is "a broad- brush approach that penalizes all schools, children and families needlessly," said the New York State Catholic Conference. "We strongly urge that any action taken addresses actual problem schools where there is a sustained high rate of infection," the conference said in an Oct. 5 statement issued on behalf of the New York Archdiocese and the Brooklyn Diocese. "The Catholic schools throughout our state and, particular in the densely populated New York City metropolitan area, have rightly been held up as a model for safety in these uncertain times," the statement said.
Catholic activists applaud death penalty stance
WASHINGTON (CNS) - Pope Francis tackled several issues in his new encyclical, but the section devoted to ending capital punishment was particularly cheered by U.S. Catholics who oppose the death penalty. The pope reiterated how St. John Paul II had de- scribed the death penalty as "inadequate from a moral standpoint and no longer necessary from that of penal justice," but then went further by adding: "There can be no stepping back from this position." Today we state clearly that 'the death penalty is inadmissible,'" he wrote, quoting from the revised Catechism of the Catholic Church, and adding: "The church is firmly committed to calling for its abolition worldwide." Sister Helen Prejean, a Sister of St. Joseph of Medai- lle and longtime anti-death penalty activist, said in a tweet Oct. 4, the day the encyclical was issued at the Vatican, that she was pleased with the pope's "ringing proclamation of the inviolable dignity of all human life, even the life of murderers." She also said she was "heartened by the church's un- equivocal opposition to governments' use of the death penalty in all instances."
Bishops offer good wishes, prayers for Trumps
WASHINGTON (CNS) - Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, president of the U.S. Conference of Catho- lic Bishops said he was praying for President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, adding, "May God grant them full healing and may he keep their family safe and healthy." Let us keep praying for all who are suffering be- cause of the novel coronavirus, especially the sick and dying and their families, and all those who have lost loved ones," he said in a statement late Oct. 4. May God give them hope and comfort, and may he bring an end to this pandemic."
Pope Francis' teaching in new encyclical called 'profound and beautiful'
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OCTOBER 9, 2020 THE CATHOLIC FREE PRESS
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Bishops to vote for religious liberty chair
WASHINGTON (CNS) - The U.S. Catholic bishops will vote for the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee for Religious Liberty and a chairman-elect for each of seven other standing committees before the USCCB convenes its annual fall general assembly, which is being held virtually Nov. 16-17. In August, after consultation with the Vatican, the USCCB's bishop-members voted to approve the con- vocation of this year's November meeting in a virtual format in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Pandemic stimulus bill excludes Catholic schools
WASHINGTON (CNS) - The chairman of the U.S. bish- ops' education committee said Oct. 1 "it is unconscio- nable" the HEROES Act stimulus bill proposed in the House is excluding Catholic school students and their families. The bill includes $225 billion for education, including $182 billion for K-12 schools, but "provides no equitable services for students in nonpublic schools and maintains language that prohibits any funds from being used to provide financial assistance to nonpublic school children," said a news release about the mea- sure from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "This has the effect of excluding virtually any aid to students, families and teachers in nonpublic schools," the release stated. In his statement, Bishop Michael C. Barber of Oak- land, California, chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Catholic Education, noted the COVID-19 pandemic has affected all Americans, including those whose children are enrolled in Catholic and nonpublic schools. It is unconscionable that this latest aid pro- posal would exclude these American children and the schools they attend from emergency aid that would ease the financial burdens they have borne as a result of the pandemic," he said.
Supreme Court's new term is busy on many levels
BY CAROL ZIMMERMANN
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON (CNS) - Although the Supreme Court began its new term Oct. 5, it is hardly business as usual since the court only has eight members on the bench and it is con- tinuing to hear oral argu- ments by teleconference due to heath concerns. The nation's high court moves right into action though with two high profile cases in November: a religious freedom excep- tion to anti-discrimination laws and a review, for the third time, of the Afford- able Care Act, the nation's health care law. The court also could be called upon to decide elec- tion disputes if the presi- dential race is close. And hovering over all of its current work is the ongoing Senate prepara- tion to move forward with President Donald Trump's nomination of federal ap- peals court Judge Amy Coney Barrett to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Gins- burg, who died Sept. 18. Cases not on the docket this term also have the court's attention. For ex- ample, the court has been asked by the Trump ad- ministration and several states to issue an emergen- cy stay of a federal district court ruling this summer that suspended the in-per- son requirement during the pandemic for women who want to receive the abortion-inducing drug, mifepristone. And the court also has gained some notice for what it isn't taking up. On the first day of its new term, the justices declined to take a case from Kim Davis, the for- mer Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples. The court's deci- sion lets the lower court ruling stand, allowing a lawsuit filed against her to proceed. Justice Clarence Thom- as, joined by Justice Sam- uel Alito, agreed with the court's decision but also showed displeasure say- ing: "Davis may have been one of the first victims of this court's cavalier treatment of religion in its Obergefell decision, but she will not be the last." Obergefell was the court's 2015 decision that struck down state bans on same- sex marriage. Back to the court's fall schedule, on Nov. 4, it will hear oral arguments in Fulton v. Philadelphia, a religious freedom case that centers on a Catholic social services agency that had been excluded from Philadelphia's foster care program for not accepting same-sex couples as foster parents. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference and a few Catholic Charities agencies joined more than 30 other religious groups, states and a group of Congress members filed amicus briefs urging the court to protect the faith-based fos- ter care program under its First Amendment religious exercise rights. At a September webinar sponsored by Georgetown University's law school, Paul Clementi, a partner at the Washington law firm of Kirkland & Ellis, who was solicitor general of the United States from 2005 to 2008, said the court has a lot of "off ramps" with this case, allowing it to address parts of the issue. He pointed out that Catholic Social Services of the Philadelphia Arch- diocese was not seek- ing damages but simply wanted to take part in the program on its own terms. He also said the court may find a way for Philadelphia to give the faith-based agency an exemption to the anti- discrimination law. The ACA, which became law in 2010 and was fully implemented in 2015, has been before the nation's high court twice before, in 2012 and 2015, and survived, but this time its fate is more uncertain par- ticularly with the possible confirmation of Barrett. This case goes back to the court's 2012 decision that upheld the law's indi- vidual coverage require- ment under Congress' taxing power and the 2017 tax law that zeroed out that tax penalty. Without that tax in place the state leaders claim the ACA's coverage requirement is unconstitutional. As a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, Barrett has not heard any cases dealing with the ACA. But court watchers have been quick to bring up her 2017 paper in the Notre Dame Law School journal where she criticized Chief Justice John Roberts' majority opinion in the 2012 ruling, saying he "pushed the Af- fordable Care Act beyond its plausible meaning to save the statute."
CNS PHOTO DENNIS CALLAHAN, ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN FRANCISCO
San Francisco Rosary Rally
People in San Francisco participate in a rosary rally Oct. 3. The event drew about 700 people to the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption for an outdoor Mass.
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