Editorials

Inclusion of a reference to “reproductive rights” in a United Nations resolution on combating the coronavirus has the Vatican up in arms. Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, called the resolution “deeply concerning and divisive” in remarks he made Sept. 11 after the UN General Assembly in New York endorsed the resolution, entitled “Comprehensive and coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The House of Repre­sentatives passed a massive new COVID­­19 relief legislation as a follow up to the CARES Act in May. However, unlike the CARES Act, the House bill entirely excluded private and parochial school students and teachers from its K–12 aid provisions.

The Hyde Amend­ment is such important life-saving legislation that it has passed in Congress every year since 1976 as an attachment to spending bills with bipartisan support. Named for the late Rep. Henry Hyde (D-IL), who sponsored the amend­­ment, it bars taxpayer funding of elective abortion.

Catholic schools across the country are welcoming back students for in-person instruction this month that will involve stringent safety protocols while also offering continued options for virtual learning that Catholic schools across the nation so adeptly adopted in March as COVID-19 spread.

Last week, in some caucus meetings at the Democratic National Convention, the words “under God” were omitted in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. That did not sit well with the Knights of Colum­bus who were instrumental in getting the words “under God” added to the Pledge of Allegiance.