St. Mary's Church

La defensa del exprofesor acusado de abusos en el Caso Gaztelueta, ha demandado a Mons. José Antonio Satué, Delegado (juez) del proceso canónico instado por el Papa Francisco contra Juan Martínez, por intromisión contra el derecho fundamental al honor.

El Papa Francisco ha enviado un mensaje de condolencias tras los recientes atentados con bombas que dejaron varios fallecidos en dos campos de refugiados ubicados en el este de la República Democrática del Congo (RDC).

La Justicia de Chile rechazó el pedido de sobreseimiento presentado por la defensa del P. Felipe Berríos, investigado por varias causas de delitos sexuales.

El Obispo de Francistown (Botswana), Mons. Anthony Rebello, de 74 años, falleció el pasado 4 de mayo tras participar en una caminata de 20 kilómetros rezando el Rosario con una comunidad local.

El hombre arrestado por el robo de una cruz pectoral legada por el difunto Papa Benedicto XVI a una parroquia de su Baviera natal, en Alemania, se enfrenta ahora a una condena en prisión.

Del 12 al 19 de mayo la Iglesia Católica en Colombia celebrará la Semana de la Familia 2024, y para ello se ha preparado una guía que ayude a los miembros del hogar a construir una espiritualidad “auténticamente cristiana”.

Con un acto presidido por el Arzobispo de Paraná, Mons. Juan Alberto Puiggari, este martes 7 de mayo se realizó la apertura de la fase diocesana en las causas de canonización de un seminarista y 2 jóvenes laicos de la Arquidiócesis.

El Monasterio y Santuario de Santa María de la Cruz y Santa Juana es un lugar cargado de historia en el que se documentan apariciones de la Virgen María y donde además vivió una monja extraordinaria actualmente en proceso de canonización.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 7, 2024 / 18:00 pm (CNA).

A New York Supreme Court judge ruled that a referendum to enshrine a right to abortion in the state’s constitution cannot appear on the ballot in November because the state did not follow the proper procedure — but the state plans to appeal the decision. 

The proposed “Equal Rights” amendment would have established broad rights to “reproductive health care” by prohibiting discrimination based on “pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive health care and autonomy.” 

Although the text avoids use of the word “abortion,” the proposal was widely seen as creating a constitutional protection for women to access abortion.

In a ruling on Tuesday, Judge Daniel J. Doyle ordered that the referendum be removed from the Nov. 5 ballot because lawmakers did not follow the procedure laid out in the state constitution.

According to the New York Constitution, lawmakers must submit proposed amendments to the attorney general for review before they can adopt the language. The attorney general must respond within 20 days of the submission, but if the attorney general does not respond in that time frame, the lawmakers can proceed without that official’s input. 

Even though the lawmakers referred the language to the attorney general, the lawmakers voted on the referendum on the same day that they referred it to the attorney general. They had not received a response, nor had they waited 20 days. According to the judge’s ruling, this vote was in violation of the New York Constitution because it bypassed the proper procedure.

“The constitution is the supreme will of the people,” Doyle said in his ruling. 

“This court cannot condone the actions taken by the Legislature in derogation of the expressed will of the people,” Doyle continued. “The Legislature’s vote … prior to receiving the opinion of the attorney general frustrated the deliberative process intended by the people in [the state constitution].”

New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a post on X that she intends to appeal the ruling.

“In New York, the Equal Rights Amendment was advanced to protect people’s fundamental rights like reproductive freedom and access to abortion care,” James said. “The decision to strike the ERA from the ballot in November is disappointing, and we’re appealing to defend New Yorkers’ rights.”

If the judge’s decision stands, it would force lawmakers to start the amendment process from the beginning. To approve an amendment to the constitution in New York, both chambers of the Legislature must approve the proposed language two years in a row — and then it can be placed on the ballot for a vote by the public. 

Current abortion laws in New York allow women to abort their preborn children through the 24th week of pregnancy. 

It’s unclear whether the proposed amendment would have extended this limit until birth. The language would have also promised equal protection under the law and prohibit any person, corporation, institution, or government agency from discriminating against a person covered under the law.

The proposed amendment would have also prohibited discrimination based on a person’s “sexual orientation, gender identity, [and] gender expression.”

Voters in various states are slated to vote on abortion-related referendums in November. In some states, petitioners are still working to get proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot.

In conjunction with her efforts to get abortion on the New York ballot, James is also suing pro-life pregnancy centers that offer resources to pregnant women without providing abortions. In her lawsuit, she accused these centers of providing false information about abortion pill reversal drugs.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 7, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).

United States abortion law is “far more permissive than the vast majority of the world,” according to a study recently released by the pro-life research group the Charlotte Lozier Institute. 

Released on April 30, the study found that out of the nearly 200 members of the United Nations (U.N.), the U.S. is one of only eight with no federal limit on abortion. The study also found that the U.S. is one of just 15 countries to allow abortion past 15 weeks of pregnancy, the point at which a baby can feel pain.

This comes as the Biden administration has been criticizing pro-life state laws limiting abortion as “extreme” and “bizarre” while pushing for a federal law enshrining unrestricted abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.

Mia Steupert, a research associate at Charlotte Lozier Institute, told CNA that “while pro-abortion activists disparage heartbeat protection laws, like in Florida, they turn a blind eye to the real global extremism in our own country.”

She pointed out that seven states plus Washington, D.C., allow abortion for any reason up to the ninth month of pregnancy. U.S. abortion law makes it “a global outlier in a shared category with human rights abusers like China and Vietnam,” Steupert said.

“We should be an international leader when it comes to the human right to life, but instead we are one of eight countries in the United Nations that allows abortion on demand without any gestational limits.”

What did the study find? 

The Lozier Institute’s study found that with no federal limit on abortion, the U.S. is more permissive than over 95% of all U.N. member nations and on the same level as communist China and Vietnam. 

According to the study, the “clear norm among countries that permit elective abortion is to limit abortion to before 20 weeks’ gestation, and elective abortion is more commonly limited to 12 weeks (the first trimester).”

Gestational age marks the duration of a pregnancy, measured from the first day of the mother’s last menstrual period, which occurs about two weeks before conception. 

According to the study, only 70 U.N. countries allow abortion “on demand,” that is, for any reason. Of these, only the U.S., China, Vietnam, Australia, Canada, Guinea-Bissau, Mexico, and South Korea have no national limitation on abortion. 

Of the 70 countries allowing abortion on demand, more than three-quarters — 55 nations — limit abortion to the first 15 weeks of gestation. Over half — 45 nations — do not allow abortion past 12 weeks. 

The remaining 139 U.N. countries protect all unborn life at all stages of pregnancy and only allow abortion for specific reasons, ranging from the life of the mother to socioeconomic difficulties. 

Based on these findings, the Lozier Institute concluded that a national 15-week abortion limit would “move the United States away from the fringe, ultra-permissive end of the spectrum.” 

Prioritize a culture of life

Steupert told CNA that the study shows Americans need to prioritize creating a “culture of life” by supporting pregnancy resource centers, alternatives to abortion programs, and giving aid to mothers in need. 

She said that the report demonstrates that with no federal abortion restrictions, the U.S. “has some of the most extreme abortion laws in the world.” 

“This reality,” she said, “should alarm Americans and motivate them to protect life and push back against the radical, pro-abortion lobby that has infested our culture.”