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U.S. bishop chairmen say Equality Act would discriminate against people of faith, threaten unborn life

Posted on by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Five committee chairmen of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote a letter to members of Congress opposing the recent reintroduction of the Equality Act which is scheduled to be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives this week. The bishops warned of the threats posed by the proposed legislation to both people of faith and of no faith with respect to mandates impacting charities and their beneficiaries in need, health care and other conscience rights, taxpayer funding of abortion, freedom of speech, women’s sports and sex-specific facilities. Their letter explained:

“[E]very person is made in the image of God and should be treated accordingly, with respect and compassion. This commitment is reflected in the Church’s charitable service to all people, without regard to race, religion or any other characteristic. It means we need to honor every person’s right to gainful employment free of unjust discrimination or harassment and to the basic goods that they need to live and thrive. It also means that people of differing beliefs should be respected.”

Furthermore, the bishop chairmen asserted, “The [Equality Act] represents the imposition by Congress of novel and divisive viewpoints regarding ‘gender’ on individuals and organizations. This includes dismissing sexual difference and falsely presenting ‘gender’ as only a social construct. As Pope Francis has reflected, however, ‘biological sex and the socio-cultural role of sex (gender) can be distinguished but not separated. … It is one thing to be understanding of human weakness and the complexities of life and another to accept ideologies that attempt to sunder what are inseparable aspects of reality.’ Tragically, this Act can also be construed to include an abortion mandate, a violation of precious rights to life and conscience.”

They concluded, “Rather than affirm human dignity in ways that meaningfully exceed existing practical protections, the Equality Act would discriminate against people of faith.”

The letter was jointly signed by Bishop Michael C. Barber, SJ, of Oakland, chairman of the Committee on Catholic Education; Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty; Bishop David A. Konderla of Tulsa, chairman of the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage; and  Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

The letter is available at

usccb.org/resources/Letter_to_Congress_on_Equality_Act_Feb_23_2021.

More information and resources related to the USCCB’s stance on the Equality Act may be found at usccb.org/equality-act.

U.N. nuncio praises nations for recognizing rights of indigenous peoples

Posted on by Catholic News Service

The Vatican’s nuncio to the United Nations called it welcome news that several nations around the world “have taken active steps to recognize the right to autonomy or self-government of indigenous peoples.”

Such “concrete actions provide a mutually beneficial framework for the engagement between the state government and the indigenous people,” said Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Vatican’s permanent observer to the United Nations, in remarks Oct. 11.

“They also contribute to the recognition and realization of the rights of indigenous peoples, their extraordinary cultural and spiritual patrimony, and their valuable contribution to broader society and the common good,” he added.

His statement was issued in reaction to a recent report from the “special rapporteur” on the rights of indigenous peoples. His remarks were addressed to the Third Committee of the 74th session of the U.N. General Assembly for its agenda item on the “Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” They were delivered by Msgr. Fredrik Hansen, first secretary at the Vatican’s U.N. permanent observer mission.

Quoting Pope Francis, the archbishop said: “It is essential to show special care for indigenous communities and their cultural traditions. They are not merely one minority among others, but should be the principal dialogue partners, especially when large projects affecting their land are proposed.”

Indigenous peoples are the ones who can “care best for their own patrimonial land and living traditions,” Archbishop Auza said, but in some places they “are under tremendous pressures to sell their ancestral land.”

“Or, in some cases,” he continued, “they are forced by outside interests to abandon their homes without their ‘free, prior and informed consent,’ as called for in the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”

Formal recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples to autonomy or self-government “greatly contributes to promoting and pursuing” objectives of this U.N. declaration, Archbishop Auza said.

This includes the right of indigenous peoples “to maintain and strengthen” their “distinct political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions,” he said, as well as the right “to participate fully, if they so choose, in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the state.”

Noting that 2019 is the International Year of Indigenous Languages, the archbishop also said the preservation of these languages is important not only for the indigenous peoples but also for the cultural heritage of the whole human family.

In declaring the yearlong observance, the U.N. General Assembly resolution called “on the international community to advance efforts ‘to preserve, promote and revitalize’ indigenous languages, so often in danger of extinction,” Archbishop Auza said.

The U.N. Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples acknowledged, he stated, that “indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures.”

 

U.N. declares special day to remember victims of violence against religion

Posted on by Catholic News Service

The U.N. General Assembly has adopted a resolution establishing Aug. 22 as the Day to Commemorate Victims of Violence Based on Religion.

The resolution invites all member states, relevant organizations, civil society, individuals and the private sector to observe the international day and show appropriate support for victims of religiously motivated violence.

In the wake of recent religiously motivated terrorist attacks, the resolution notes a serious concern for “continuing acts of intolerance and violence based on religion or belief against individuals, including against persons belonging to religious communities and religious minorities around the world, and at the increasing number and intensity of such incidents.”

Poland initiated work toward the commemorative day, but united with Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan and the United States to co-draft the resolution.

Ultimately, 88 U.N. member states voted to co-sponsor the resolution.

“The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, which is commonly referred to as the right to freedom of religion or belief, is a universal right of every human being and the cornerstone of many other rights,” Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Jacek Czaputowicz said in his keynote speech before the vote.

In response, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in Washington issued a statement praising the resolution.

“We applaud the U.N. General Assembly for adopting this resolution, which acknowledges and honors victims of violence based on religion or belief around the world,” said Tenzin Dorjee, chair of the commission. “But we must not stop at condemnation. Like-minded governments must also increasingly work together to hold perpetrators accountable, whether they are state or nonstate actors responsible for the abuses.”

The Vatican, too, commented on the resolution after its adoption in a statement released by its Permanent Observer Mission to the U.N. The statement recalled the recent religiously motivated violence in Sri Lanka, New Zealand, California and Burkina Faso.

“This resolution and the international day it establishes is an opportunity for the international community to focus on the victims and to strengthen efforts to eradicate such violence and acts of terrorism targeting persons because of their religion or belief,” it said.

The Vatican also reminded the U.N. that religion and belief cannot be blamed for these acts. They are, rather, deviations from religious practices and must be condemned.

— Elizabeth Bachmann

Two sides of one coin

Posted on by Deacon Pete Gummere

A few years ago, I bumped into an old friend. He is one of the many Catholics who have left the Church, disagreeing with one or more teachings. One of his issues is the Catholic Church’s stance on abortion. “You know, if the Church proclaimed its own teachings on social justice with the same vigor that it teaches on abortion, there would be more Catholics. They preach on abortion about 10 times more than on social justice,” he asserted.

His speculation was not consistent with my own experience. Our teachings on the sanctity of human life and social justice are so closely related that they could be thought of as two sides of one coin, both revolving around the inherent dignity of the human person.

When the Church teaches on a matter of social justice, the starting point is the dignity of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God. Hence, all humans are equal in their inherent dignity. This is based in the Second Commandment to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

Consequently, it is wrong to demean such an image and likeness of God – our neighbor. Acts of violence against others are likewise wrong, and except for legitimate acts of defense, are forbidden by the Fifth Commandment.

Aside from murder and overt violence, the most egregious forms of abuse of another are slavery and physical and sexual violence. Each represents extreme degradation of another human being. Likewise, emotional abuse constitutes serious injury to another’s wellbeing.

Acts of economic exploitation such as paying wages that provide less-than-reasonable support for the worker along with discrimination in employment decisions, oppressive working conditions and other acts of discrimination in economic or social matters likewise demean a human person and violate the laws of justice.

It is a serious offense against God to mistreat any part of creation with contempt or lack of respect. Environ-mental pollution by chemicals resulting from inadequate controls can have serious health consequences. Frequently, such pollution impacts the poor to a disproportionate degree. One need not look beyond current problems in Lake Champlain or perfluooctanoic acid (PFOA) contamination of the groundwater in the North Bennington area to have some sense of the harm that can be done. Such pollution disrupts the balance of the world created by God.

Tolerating unsafe working conditions results in workers being harmed. Outrageous medical practices such as occurred in the Vermont Eugenics Project or the notorious Tuskegee Project reveal a calloused attitude toward other human beings. Such practices violate the precepts of justice and human dignity.

The common theme in these situations involves a bigger, stronger, physically, socially or economically more powerful person exercising unjust and unfettered control over another, thereby inflicting suffering and violating the precepts of justice. The same dynamics of a bigger, stronger, more powerful person causing harm to others also surface in such areas as embryonic and fetal experimentation and illicit repro-ductive technologies. Many Catholic advocates for social justice are motivated by the mandate in Matthew’s Gospel: “Whatever you do for the least of these my brothers and sisters, you do unto me” (Mt 25: 40). The unborn, the terminally ill and the elderly are clearly among the most vulnerable and the “least of my brothers and sisters.”

The command to love our neighbor as ourselves does not include an exception for those circumstances in which we have power over others. It is in those very circumstances when the virtue of loving our neighbor as ourselves becomes particularly compelling and particularly meritorious.

Absolute respect for all human life and treating all persons with profound dignity are two sides of the same coin: Respecting human dignity in all its particulars!

— Deacon Pete Gummere is a bioethicist and adjunct faculty at Pontifical College Josephinum and Theology Instructor at St. Therese Digital Academy. He serves at Corpus Christi Parish in the St. Johnsbury area.

—Originally published in the Summer 2019 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.

Two dozen couples celebrate wedding anniversaries at cathedral Mass

Posted on by Cori Urban

Diane and Frank Vanecek, parishioners of St. John the Evangelist Church in Northfield, began their marriage 50 years ago at a Mass in Independence, Ohio, so they thought it fitting to begin the celebration of their golden wedding anniversary at a Mass, the annual World Marriage Day Mass at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Burlington.

They were one of 23 couples from throughout the Diocese of Burlington to participate in the special Mass Feb. 4 with Msgr. John McDermott, diocesan administrator, as principal celebrant.

“It’s fitting to come here to Mass to celebrate 50 years of marriage and all the blessings we have received,” Diane Vanecek said: a “wonderful” daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren; good health, and a “wonderful” life.

She wore a locket her husband gave her that she wore at her wedding, showing the photos of them inside. “What keeps us together … is God,” she said.

Theresa and Marcel Begnoche of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin March Church in Swanton are celebrating 60 years of marriage. The parents of six, grandparents of 10 and great grandparents of six were married at St. Louis Church in Highgate Center.

They credited their long marriage to their reliance on their faith and their French-Canadian family values. “My father used to say you’re put on this earth to love and serve the Lord,” Mrs. Begnoche said. “Our faith helped us very much through the years.”

The celebration of World Marriage Day, part of National Marriage Week, is an opportunity to support and promote marriage and the family, the domestic Church.

In his homily, Msgr. McDermott said the gathering was a way to celebrate and honor the couples who had been married from 25 to 65 years and are a witness to love and stability.

In the midst of need, struggles and illness, Jesus can provide comfort and healing, he said.

And the witness of married couples can bring Christ to those who are suffering or have fallen away from the practice of their faith; do this through a way of life and through prayer, he added. “And invite them back to know the healing Christ alone can provide.”

Msgr. McDermott offered prayers that the promises the couple made on their wedding day would remain strong and that they would continue to be witnesses of the love of Christ made manifest in their love for each other.

“Our world needs witness of love and sacrifice,” he said.

He offered a blessing for all married couples at the end of Mass.

“All of us at the diocesan offices offer our congratulations to all married couples. Let their love bear witness to God’s faithful love and a little bit of heaven on Earth through their marriage covenant,” said Deacon Armand Auclair, diocesan coordinator of the Office of Marriage and Family Life for the Diocese of Burlington.

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Two alums of Atlanta Catholic high school are part of Team USA in Tokyo

Posted on by Catholic News Service

Gunnar Bentz, a graduate of St. Pius X High School in Atlanta and an Olympic athlete, is described by his former swim coach Scott Carter as a “quiet professional.”

Bentz “was never the most vocal guy on the team; he just led by example,” said Carter, the school’s head coach for swimming and diving.

Whenever Bentz did something in the water, it was just to make sure he was at the peak of performance, the coach told The Georgia Bulletin, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

Bentz and former classmate Daniel Haugh went to Tokyo to compete in the Summer Games July 23-Aug. 8. They both graduated from St. Pius X High School in 2014.

For Bentz, the Games ended July 27 with his seventh-place win in the men’s 200-meter butterfly, but as the website swimswam.com reported, he leaves Tokyo “as the highest-placing American man in the 200 butterfly.”

Bentz, 25, also announced his retirement from swimming after his final event.

Haugh is a hammer thrower, and his events are still to come: the Aug. 1 qualifying round and the Aug. 4 final.

Ryan McClay, science teacher at St. Pius X, coached Haugh in track. He remembers seeing Haugh practicing his hammer-throwing form while standing in line for lunch.

“He was always practicing,” said McClay. “He was just that dedicated to his craft. He obviously had talent based on how quickly he picked it up, but I suspect it’s his dedication that made him an Olympian.”

While at St. Pius X, Haugh won the individual state championship in the hammer throw, weight throw and discus and helped the Golden Lions head to the overall AAA state championship in 2013.

After graduating from the Atlanta Catholic high school, Haugh attended the University of Alabama. There, he became a two-time All American and holds the university’s record in the weight and hammer throw.

He transferred his senior year to Kennesaw State University. In 2018 and 2019, Haugh was the U.S. track and field champion. In spring 2019, he won the NCAA championship.

Haugh, 26, won second place in the hammer throw June 20, with a throw of 79.39 meters, or 260.46 feet, earning a spot on the U.S. team competing in Tokyo. This is his first appearance in the Olympics.

“His focus will definitely help him,” said McClay after watching Haugh compete in the trials. “That sort of focus on ability to perform under pressure will serve him well this year in Tokyo. I’m really looking forward to watching him.”

The Tokyo games were Bentz’s second appearance in the Olympics. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, he won a gold medal as a member of the 4×200 freestyle relay team.

“In the last Olympics, he went as a relay swimmer,” Carter said prior to the beginning of this year’s Games. “The fact that now he’s going at the chance to get an individual medal is going to be a huge motivator for him.”

While in Rio, Bentz and three other U.S. swimmers made headlines for their involvement in an altercation at a gas station. Bentz was questioned by police and released. He apologized for his part in the incident, and after four-month suspension from competition, he was able to put it all behind him.

While attending St. Pius X High School, Bentz was a two-time All American and still holds the state record in the 200-meter individual medley and the 100-meter butterfly. In his senior year, the school earned its first boys’ state swim and dive championship.

After high school, Bentz attended the University of Georgia. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business management and aerospace studies and holds the university’s records in the 200-meter butterfly and 200-meter individual medley.

“I feel blessed that he did swim at St. Pius,” said Carter. “To see what he’s become today as an adult makes me really, really proud.”

—Samantha Smith