News - Editorials RSS Feed

What a contrast in emotions! In President Trump’s State of the Union address last week, he honored the important role women play in society, pointing to the fact that there are more women serving in Congress now than at any time in the nation’s history.

No sooner had the ink dried on Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signing an abortion bill into law, effectively giving license to kill a child up to the moment of birth, than other states followed suit on such insanity. Last week, Democrats in the Virginia statehouse presented a bill to repeal restrictions on abortion, allowing terminations up until the moment of birth. Democratic Delegate Kathy Tran introduced the Repeal Act, which would allow a doctor to perform an abortion when a woman is dilating, moments before birth. It received support from Gov. Ralph Northam (D), a pediatrician, no less. Thankfully, the rest of the delegates came to their senses, and the measure failed to be voted out of subcommittee.

A new poll released on the eve of the annual March for Life finds that millennials, the largest group of American voters, are not in lock step with politicians on abortion on demand and their support of Roe v. Wade. Long considered a top issue for the younger generation, a Students for Life poll found that millennials are equally divided, 39 percent to 39 percent, in their support and opposition to abortion.

Sunday begins a special week in the Paterson Diocese and across the nation. It’s the start of Catholic Schools Week as schools celebrate their achievements with their faith community and the community at-large through event-filled days that offer an inside look at the innovative and cutting-edge educational opportunity they offer in an atmosphere of love and caring for every student.

An analysis by the Pew Research Center shows that the new, 116th Congress is slightly more diverse when it comes to religious affiliations than the prior Congress.

Omaha attorney Brian Buescher, a Catholic and member of the Knights of Columbus, was nominated by President Trump to serve on the U.S. District Court in Nebraska. But when the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on his nomination, U. S. Senators Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Kamala Harris of California, both Democrats, asked Buescher if he was willing to end his longtime membership in the Knights of Columbus if confirmed because in their view, the organization holds “extreme beliefs,” which they felt would cloud his ability to fairly judge cases.

On Jan. 14, thousands of Catholics across the country will join in prayer for “9 Days for Life.” The prayer campaign, sponsored by the Committee on Pro Life Activities of the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, leads up to the annual Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children on Jan. 22. The novena and day of prayer are a time of recollection and reparation in observation of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade — the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal throughout the United States.

This was a joyous Christmas season for Christians in Iraq. Just a day after Iraq celebrated the one-year anniversary of its victory over the Islamic State terrorist army, President Trump signed into law the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act (H.R. 390) Dec. 11. It’s designed to provide dedicated U.S. support directly to the Christian victims of ISIS’ campaign of genocide.

More than two thousand years ago, a baby was born in Bethlehem — and since that sacred day that baby’s life has impacted the world as no other life has. This Christmas Day can be a special time for us if we celebrate the birthday of Christ by giving him the gift he wants most from us — finding him in the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the homeless, the sick, the addicted and the imprisoned.

Catholic Relief Services was founded in 1943 by the Catholic Bishops of the United States to serve World War II survivors in Europe. Since then, it has expanded in size to reach more than 130 million people in more than 100 countries on five continents.

All of us over the years can recall at some point in our life the difference a religious made in our life, be it in a Catholic school, a religious education program or at our home parish. They were the ones who shaped our faith. Today, many of them are in their senior years, still active in their communities. But their communities are struggling to provide for them in their retirement years.

J. is facing some tough times. His trade is carpentry, but work has not been steady of late. M., his wife, is pregnant, and he knows the child is not his. But he loves his wife and has made up his mind to do what is best for her and the baby and for them as a family.

Today, Americans of all faiths will gather with family members at the table to celebrate a Thanksgiving feast, giving thanks to God for all they have been blessed with in their lives. Unfortunately, as with other religious-based holidays, our secular society has tried to turn Thanksgiving Day into just a day about football games, stuffing ourselves with turkey and pumpkin pie and ingraining in our minds that the Christmas gift-buying season is in full swing with several stores open today — rather than focusing on the true meaning this day has from its humble beginnings in Plymouth, Mass.

Another victory for our religious liberty and conscience rights was won last week when the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Treasury, and Labor released two updated rules concerning conscience protections for organizations and individuals in relation to the Obamacare contraception mandate.

“What are you fighting for?” is the catch phrase used by the University of Notre Dame in its public service announcements that air on NBC-TV during home games of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. Each one highlights the efforts of the Notre Dame community in making the world a better place. And that catch phrase, “What are you fighting for?” most certainly portrays the efforts by students at the University of Notre Dame to block pornography sites on the university’s Wi-Fi networks

A new study, “Fiscal Effects of School Vouchers,” authored by Martin Lueken, reports that voucher programs across the country have saved taxpayers billions of dollars. He analyzed 16 voucher programs in nine states plus the District of Columbia. The conclusion: voucher programs have generated a “cumulative net savings to state and local budgets worth $3.2 billion from when they were launched to FY 2015.” This equates to $3,400 in savings per voucher recipient. In 2015 alone, voucher programs have saved taxpayers a whopping $408.5 million.

One of the most important stories never told by the mainstream media was that of Dr. Kermit Gosnell. In May 2013, a jury found Gosnell guilty in the murder of three babies that had been born alive at his Philadelphia abortion clinic. He was also convicted of involuntary manslaughter, 21 felony counts of illegal late-term abortion, and 211 counts of violating an informed-consent law.

In a few weeks, we will be able to exercise one of our most cherished rights as citizens of our nation, our right to vote. This is a mid-term election year with all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives up for election as are the six-year terms for 34 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate.

In the midst of the current Synod of Bishops on the topic of “Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment,” Pope Francis will canonize Blessed Pope Paul VI and Blessed Archbishop Oscar Romero on Oct. 14.

October is Respect Life Month and in this week leading to the celebration of Respect Life Sunday, Oct. 7, it was a boost to the pro-life movement to see the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cut its ties with a company whose business is to procure aborted baby parts for research.