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Cardinal Boycotting Boston College Commencement to Protest Irish Prime Minister’s Support for Abortion

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Photo Credit: Barry ChinCardinal Sean P. O’Malley, the archbishop of the Boston Archdiocese, said today he would not attend Boston College’s commencement because the scheduled speaker, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, supports controversial abortion-rights legislation in his country.

In a statement released this afternoon, O’Malley said the Catholic Bishops of the United States have urged Catholic institutions not to honor government officials whose views on the issue are inconsistent with the teachings of the Catholic church.

The Irish legislation would permit abortions if there is a real and substantial threat to the mother’s life, including from suicide.

“Since the university has not withdrawn the invitation and because the Taoiseach [prime minister] has not seen fit to decline, I shall not attend the graduation,’’ O’Malley said in a statement. “It is my ardent hope that Boston College will work to redress the confusion, disappointment and harm caused by not adhering to the Bishops’ directives.’’

He added, “although I shall not be present to impart the final benediction, I assure the graduates that they are in my prayers on this important day in their lives, and I pray that their studies will prepare them to be heralds of the Church’s Social Gospel and ‘men and women for others,’ especially for the most vulnerable in our midst.’’

Read more from this story HERE.

Lesbian Teacher Fired From Catholic School, Files Discrimination Complaint (+video)

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Photo Credit: NCinDCA diocese in Ohio is under siege — receiving numerous threatening calls as well as heated online criticism — and a veteran teacher is out of a job because of publicly revealing a lesbian relationship in violation of the Catholic school’s morality code.

But the firing has raised a fervent debate over tolerance both online and in the Columbus, Ohio, community where the incident took place.

Physical education teacher Carla Hale, 57, was fired in March after her name appeared in her mother’s obituary, which also noted Hale’s longtime lesbian partner.

Hale was summoned to a meeting with school administrators after she returned from her mother’s funeral.

At the meeting, she received a copy of her mother’s obituary that she and her brother had written. In addition, administrators gave Hale an anonymous letter from a parent calling the presence of a lesbian teacher at the school disgrace.

Read more from this story HERE.

Naked Feminist Protesters Drench Catholic Archbishop as He Prays

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A group of naked women bum-rushed Belgian Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard while he was speaking in Brussels and doused him with water from bottles shaped like the Virgin Mary on Tuesday.

The women were reportedly feminist protesters from the Ukranian-based FEMEN group, which is known for organizing topless protests against the Catholic Church and others.

According to AFP, the four protesters charged the archbishop during “a debate on blasphemy and freedom of expression held at the Brussels’ Free University (ULB) campus Tuesday evening, baring their breasts and squirting water at Archbishop Andre Leonard as they accused him of homophobia.”

Photos of the event show Leonard patiently sitting quietly with his eyes closed and hands folded in prayer as the women empty bottles of water on his head and clothes.

Read more from this story HERE. [warning: most readers will find the photos offensive]

Gay Students Organize Campaign to Kick out Catholic Priest for Saying Homosexuality, Abortion Sinful

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Photo Credit: Life Site News

Catholic students at George Washington University are rallying to the support of their beloved priest after two gay seniors launched a campaign to kick him out of his post at the university’s Newman Center for preaching that homosexuality and abortion are sinful.

The GW Hatchet, a campus newspaper, reported this week that seniors Damian Legacy and Blake Bergen are spearheading the campaign. The story has since been picked up by numerous other news outlets.

The students say that they will file a formal complaint with the university, release a video featuring ten other students who share their opinion, and hold prayer vigils until the priest is removed from his post. They are also demanding that the university’s Student Association defund the Newman Center, which receives $10,000 a year.

In their letter of complaint the pair will reportedly cite studies showing how being around “homophobic” behavior can lead to loss of appetite and problems sleeping.

The students complain that Fr. Greg Shaffer has spoken out against gay “marriage” and abortion, and has counseled homosexual Catholic students to embrace celibacy. They said they were disturbed when Fr. Shaffer quoted the Book of Romans and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Read more from this story HERE.

Catholic University Won't Allow Catholic Students to Form Catholic Group

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Photo Credit: SCUMATT

Roman Catholic, Jesuit-affiliated Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington has refused to recognize the Knights of Columbus as an official student group because — wait for it — the Knights of Columbus is a Catholic organization.

Gonzaga administrators notified the students who had sought the school’s official seal of approval last month, reports The Cardinal Newman Society’s Catholic Education Daily.

“The Knights of Columbus, by their very nature, is a men’s organization in which only Catholics may participate via membership,” reads a letter written by Sue Weitz, vice president for student life. “These criteria are inconsistent with the policy and practice of student organization recognition at Gonzaga University.”

Right here seems like a sufficiently good place to observe that Gonzaga is under the umbrella of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) — a men’s organization in which only Catholic men may participate via membership.

Anyway, Weitz’s letter went on to explain that she feels “strongly” about Gonzaga’s “commitment to non-discrimination and inclusivity” and is troubled by the fact that “all members of a student Knights of Columbus group must be Catholic.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Pope Francis Washes Feet Of Incarcerated Juveniles

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of a dozen inmates at a juvenile detention center in a Holy Thursday ritual that he celebrated for years as archbishop and is continuing now that he is pope. Two of the 12 were young women, a remarkable choice given that the rite re-enacts Jesus’ washing of the feet of his male disciples.

The Mass was held in the Casal del Marmo facility in Rome, where 46 young men and women currently are detained. Many of them are Gypsies or North African migrants, and the 12 selected for the foot-washing rite included Orthodox and Muslim detainees as well, news reports said.

Because the inmates were mostly minors — the facility houses inmates aged 14-to-21 — the Vatican and Italian Justice Ministry limited media access inside. But Vatican Radio carried the Mass live, and Francis told the detainees that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion in a gesture of love and service.

“This is a symbol, it is a sign — washing your feet means I am at your service,” Francis told the youngsters. “Help one another. This is what Jesus teaches us. This is what I do. And I do it with my heart. I do this with my heart because it is my duty, as a priest and bishop I must be at your service.”

Later, the Vatican released a limited video of the ritual, showing Francis washing black feet, white feet, male feet, female feet and even a foot with tattoos. Kneeling on the stone floor as the 12 youngsters sat above him, the 76-year-old Francis poured water from a silver chalice over each foot, dried it with a simple cotton towel and then bent over to kiss each one.

Read more from this story HERE.

Pope Francis Appears For First Angelus

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Photo Credit: Telegraph.co.uk

“Thank you for your welcome, and for your prayers,” the first pope from Latin America said from a window of the papal apartment high above the square. “Pray for me,” he added.

Dozens of flags from Francis’s native Argentina were waving in the crowd as the former cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio recited the traditional Sunday Angelus prayer, the first of his papacy.

The occasion has traditionally been a moment to comment on international issues, but Francis instead used the occasion to emphasise his Italian roots.

The former Buenos Aires archbishop, whose father emigrated from Italy’s northwestern Piedmont region, said he chose to name himself after St Francis of Assisi because of his “spiritual ties with this land”. Earlier the pontiff was treated like a rock star on a visit to a parish church. Around 1,000 people thronged a narrow passageway outside the Church of Saint Anna, his local parish church just inside the Vatican gates, as he arrived for mass.

In dramatic contrast with the reserved style of his predecessors, he walked along a hastily constructed barrier reaching deep into the crowd, shaking hands, laughing and joking.

Read more from this story HERE.

“Catholic” Joe Biden To Lead U.S. Delegation To Greet Staunchly Pro-Life Pope Francis

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Photo Credit: LifeNews

Never mind that Vice President Joe Biden has been rebuked by his own bishop over his pro-abortion views, he will lead the U.S. delegation to the installation of Pope Francis, the White House said today.

Biden is the first Catholic to serve as vice president and he will represent the United States at the installation Mass for Pope Francis on March 19, Vatican spokesman the Rev. Tom Rosica confirmed today.

Biden’s own bishop has had to correct the pro-abortion politician on his misstating the pro-life teachings of the Catholic Church.

In the interview with the Delaware News Journal, Biden continued to misrepresent the position of the Catholic Church on abortion in a way that has gotten him in trouble.

“But throughout the church’s history, we’ve argued between whether or not it is wrong in every circumstance and the degree of wrong. Catholics have this notion, it’s almost a gradation,” Biden claimed.

Read more from this story HERE.

Catholic Bishops Oppose Revisions To Contraception Mandate

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Photo Credit: DougtoneThe U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said Thursday that it remains opposed to the Obama administration’s contraception mandate, arguing Catholic institutions will have “second-class status” under the policy despite recent tweaks to its rules.

The USCCB said the policy will require Catholic institutions to have a hand in healthcare coverage they find immoral.

“Because the stakes are so high, we will not cease from our effort to assure that healthcare for all does not mean freedom for few,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the USCCB, said in a statement.

The group was initially noncommittal last week after the Obama administration released new regulations on the contraception mandate and its “accommodations” for religious-affiliated institutions, such as Catholic hospitals and universities.

But on Thursday, the bishops said last week’s rules ensure that employees of a religious institution would automatically receive contraception coverage through their insurance companies.

Read more from this story HERE.

The Undecided: Interview With Black Catholic Woman, Changing Mind on Obama (+video)

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[Mary] Roberts straddles several demographic categories the campaigns want to win over: She is a practicing Catholic — and since 1972, no president has won office without taking the nation’s Catholic vote. She is over 65 — and seniors vote with greater regularity than any other age group. She is African-American — and while African-Americans came out in record numbers to vote for Barack Obama in the last election, some experts question whether they will turn out again in the numbers the president needs to win.

Roberts has always been an Independent. She says she votes the person, not the party.

The moderate views of Republican hopeful Mitt Romney resonate with her. She thinks his business experience could better guide the economy. But lately, she has seen ads saying Romney’s company, Bain Capital, sent jobs overseas. “That makes me nervous.”

She says she’s also bothered by the way conservatives often talk about the poor: as if they deserve to be just that. She doesn’t buy the assertion that the government should stay out of people’s lives, at least financially. Or that unfettered competition between corporations will allow Americans who work hard enough to share in this country’s riches.

Roberts voted for Obama in 2008. She admired his fearless rhetoric about change. Today, she’s torn. She says his actions haven’t been bold enough. “I hurt because I’m on the fence about him, just hurt.” Read more from this story HERE.