NCR Today is the group blog of NCR. Each member of our diverse team of bloggers writes on different topics, including the politics of the church and secular society (and the interaction between the two), culture, management of the church and more.
It is impossible not to admire the long hours and tough negotiating that went into the Ryan-DeLauro Bill that aims to reduce abortions. And, it is equally impossible to think that sometime in the near future, a majority of Americans, including a majority of American Catholics, will come to believe that contraception is a bad thing.
St. Francis of Assisi was wont to pray for nights on end, “Who are you, God, and who am I?” He was unable to find satisfying answers to these questions in the culture and institutions of his times.
One Sunday he was listening to a sermon in which the preacher quoted Jesus telling his followers to take nothing for their journey, to rely upon the kindness of strangers – in short, to embrace poverty as a spiritual way. Francis was galvanized. He left Mass overjoyed and committed the passages to memory, saying: “This is what I want. This is what I long for.”
Francis had noticed that whenever and wherever he encountered poverty and simplicity in his life, then his heart would warmly glow, his insides would light up with smiles. The scripture passage validated this important inner experience. His enthusiasm enkindled and his creative energies given direction, he went on to create a band of brothers who lived simply and in solidarity with the poor.
The Diocese of Scranton, Pa., finds itself $274,000 short of its annual appeal's $5.3 million goal, according to a report in The Scranton Times.
More than 50 U.S. organizations Thursday urged the U.S. government to "strictly prohibit any U.S. cooperation with or assistance to the Indonesian Special Forces (Kopassus)' in a letter sent Thursday to President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and members of Congress. The letter was coordinated by the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN).
Activists claim Christian executed in NKorea
Bush's Catholic Outreach Director Assesses Obama's Catholic Outreach
More comments on abortion reduction bill introduced today.
For the third consecutive Congressional sessions, Mr. Ryan and Ms. DeLauro have introduced a bill aimed at trying to bridge the schism over this divisive issue. With the legislation now garnering increased support from both supporters and opponents of abortion rights, Mr. Ryan said it is an “idea whose time has come.”
Can the great divide be breached?
Democratic Reps. Tim Ryan and Rosa DeLauro reintroduced their bill aimed at preventing unintended pregnancies and "reducing the need for abortion" today. Many faith-based advocates are urging the White House to consider the bill as part of an abortion reduction plan.
The son of a good friend of mine took his own life recently. He had suffered much mental anguish before he acted. We are left with gaping holes in our hearts. Adding to the pain, my friend also lost his wife to illness only last May.
In discussion of the clergy sex abuse crisis the term "culture" is often used in reference to the clergy or, more specifically, the hierarchy.
The term crops up again in the deposition of Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Raymond E. Goedert of Chicago. The deposition was taken by Atty. Jeffrey Anderson on November 13, 2007, and was released Tuesday, July 21, as part of a settlement of a Chicago case.
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON -- Health care is a matter of human life and dignity, a bishop wrote in a July 17 letter to Congress on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
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