The Minnesota Catholic Conference, the self-described “public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Minnesota,” is asking Minnesota Catholics to thank their U.S. Senators for supporting “The American Dream and Promise Act of 2019.”
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by Tim Pearce and Joshua Gill The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is still standing after suffering extensive damage from a fire that consumed its roof Monday, but the building’s main structure is still in danger, according to one expert. “It’s wonderful that what has survived, survived,” professional architect and professor James McCrery told The Daily Caller News Foundation. But “it’s vital that the building is stabilized.” McCrery has designed cathedrals in the United States and is the director of traditional and classical architectural studies at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Medieval cathedrals such as Notre Dame are constructed so that the entire structure supports itself through a system of vaulted ceilings, flying buttresses and other architectural pressures. The solid construction might keep the building standing for hundreds of years, but if one part suffers damage, the rest of the structure could be compromised until it fails completely. The fire began in the middle of Notre Dame’s roof around the church’s iconic spire. The roof, covered in sheets of lead and supported by centuries-old wooden trusses, provided the “perfect environment for the rapid spread of a very violent flame,” McCrery said. French officials say the cathedral appears…
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The House version of Ohio’s heartbeat bill passed out of committee Tuesday, but not before a final round of impassioned debate. The House Health Committee heard from four final witnesses, some of whom represented religious organizations opposed to the bill. Gaby Garcia-Vera with Catholics for Choice, for instance, claimed during his testimony that the “majority of Catholics” support abortion. “Catholic teaching reveres individual conscience as the final arbiter in moral decision-making. As Catholics, we are called by our faith to follow our consciences when we make moral decisions about our lives. We also deeply respect the right of others to do the same,” he said. “Catholics support each woman’s ability to make personal choices that are right for herself and her family, including whether to become or remain pregnant, according to her own beliefs and based on her own conscience. Rather than respecting women’s consciences, as our Catholic faith compels us to do, SB 23 would allow politicians to decide whether and when a woman can access abortion care.” Elaina Ramsey, executive director of the Ohio Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, said during her testimony that the heartbeat bill “does not reflect the values of the majority of Ohioans and…
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Leaders of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis are doubling-down on their support of a bill that would provide driver’s licenses to people in the country illegally. Under House File 1500, a person would not be “required to demonstrate United States citizenship or lawful presence in the United States in order to obtain a noncompliant driver’s license or identification card.” As The Minnesota Sun previously reported, Archbishop Bernard Hebda spoke at a February press conference in favor of the bill alongside several Democratic politicians. “This legislation is an important human rights test. Will we as Minnesotans embrace our brothers and sisters and help them in a way that costs us nothing as a community? Or will we be overcome by what Pope Francis calls a ‘culture of indifference’ that fails in the duty to see the needs of others effectively?” Hebda said at the time. Hebda was recently joined in supporting the bill by Bishop Andrew Cozzens and Minnesota Catholic Conference Executive Director Jason Adkins, both of whom spoke with The Catholic Spirit about the proposal. “We believe it is very clear where Catholic principles take you in this decision,” Cozzens told The Spirit. “It is an intrinsic, moral…
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Three Tennessee Catholic bishops have come out together in opposition to the fetal heartbeat bill pending in the Tennessee General Assembly, saying that its failure would strengthen the pro-abortion industry. Bishop Richard F. Stika of the Diocese of Knoxville, Bishop J. Mark Spalding of the Diocese of Nashville and Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Memphis issued a joint statement on Feb. 26. The fetal heartbeat bill would ban abortions once a heartbeat has been detected. It passed in the State House Health Committee last week. The bishops’ letter, which is also available here, reads: We believe that the sanctity of human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception to natural death. So while we wholeheartedly support the intention of the “Heartbeat Bill” being considered by the Tennessee Legislature, we must also be prudent in how we combat the pro-abortion evil that dwells in our society. The “Heartbeat Bill” has been passed in various forms across the country and has been consistently struck down by state and federal courts alike for being unconstitutional. In these legal cases, a victory is handed to the pro-abortion plaintiffs and we must remember that every pro-abortion…
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Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN-04), a Catholic, has a rating of 100 percent from the pro-choice organization NARAL, and a corresponding zero percent from National Right to Life. According to the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Liberty, McCollum has voted with pro-choice causes 100 percent of the time. Between 2015 and 2016, McCollum voted against 15 pro-life bills in Congress, as did Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), who is Lutheran. NARAL touts McCollum’s perfect score on its website, providing a list of the dozens of pro-life bills she has opposed. While a U.S. congressman, Walz also earned a score of 100 percent from NARAL. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN-06) is currently the only Catholic Minnesotan member of Congress with a pro-life record, and has a National Right to Life score of 100 percent. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN-08) is also “steadfastly pro-life” and Catholic, but doesn’t have a voting history as a freshman member of Congress. “The 163 Catholics in the new Congress are split on abortion: almost all Republicans are pro life and almost all Democrats are abortion-rights advocates,” Catholic League President Bill Donohue said in a press release. “It is obvious that religion is not a reliable predictor of the way…
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A traditional marriage student group defended its right to exist at a Catholic university Thursday after LGBT students claimed it was a hate group. The student members of Love Saxa, a Georgetown University group that promotes healthy relationships through traditional marriage and premarital abstinence, defended themselves in a mandatory hearing against the complaints of two students,…
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Pope Francis has once again trotted into political territory, calling on the masses to not just feed and clothe but also open border doors and shelter strangers from lands far and away. His words? European nations, all the developed nations, need to welcome more migrants. Well, isn’t that special. Now what about Vatican City? Hold that…
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