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Hello and welcome to today's edition of Catholic News Roundup. I'm Matthew McAuliffe.
Will not comply. America's bishops are publicly defying the Obama administration, saying the Catholic Church will not comply with the unconstitutional demands of the so-called Affordable Care Act.
Bishops in many diocesan churches across the country read a letter this past Sunday telling the faithful the Catholic Church, quote,
cannot. We will not.
comply with this unjust law."
Emphasizing that this attack on our liberty is an attempt to categorize Catholics as second-class
citizens, CatholicVote.org points out that over 100 bishops have spoken out against the
mandate and we have a link to the list on our resource page.
But while words are strong, actions are stronger.
It remains to be seen whether or not the faithful will rally behind the bishops, because solid
Catholic teaching warning against the evils of contraception and sterilization has rarely
been heard in these decades following the Second Vatican Council.
GOP healthcare plans. While Obamacare is
challenging the constitutional right to religious freedom in this country,
the healthcare plans of Republican candidates are being scrutinized as well.
Cybernet News Service reports that when it comes to replacing Obamacare,
Mitt Romney has no specific plans, only generalizing his five policies without
detailing anything in his, quote, plan that he claims will replace Obamacare,
not even on his website. On that note, Newt Gingrich points out that Romney cut
Medicaid funding for Catholic and Jewish facilities when he was governor of
Massachusetts, saying in the same breath, quote, I think Governor Romney is
extraordinarily insensitive to religious freedom in America.
and the Obama administration is clearly engaged in a war on religion."
Gingrich, a convert to the Catholic faith, told Fox News he heard the letter read by Catholic bishops
defying the Obamacare mandate this past Sunday while at mass,
saying people don't yet fully understand how much the secular state is becoming a
anti-religious instrument of coercion.
El Paso bishops sued.
Fr. Rodriguez's former parishioners say,
turn about his fair play.
And now they are suing the bishop who sued Fr. Rodriguez.
You may remember Fr. Michael Rodriguez was transferred from his El Paso parish
after publicly fighting laws favoring homosexuality
and using parishioners' donations to outfit his parish church for the traditional Latin Mass
after which he was sued by his bishop for the misappropriation of parish funds.
Members of Fr. Rodriguez's former El Paso parish pledged their donations for specific purposes,
under the condition that their money would not end up in the hands of the archdiocese.
And now that the bishop has the money, they are suing to get it back.
Both sides are gearing up for a court battle, and so far the parishioners joining the lawsuit are asking for free.
$46,000 back from Bishop Ochoa, but more parishioners are expected to try to
reclaim their donations. Stay with us. We'll be back in just a few seconds.
Catholic News Roundup is brought to you in part by New Oxford Review.org, the
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expanding the influence of America's grassroots and the cause of freedom.
U.N.'s gay agenda. The United Nations is demanding that African nations treat homosexuals as
a protected class, as its attempt to corrupt countries through a kind of gay imperialism
continues. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Moon told over 30 African leaders at the African Union summit that they need to respect human
rights as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
But it appears that Moon may not be accurately interpreting the document.
The Universal Declaration on Human Rights, since it was adopted in 1948, refers to marriage
only between men and women, saying, quote, men and women of full age, without any limitation
due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family,
end quote.
Many nations in Africa forbid homosexuality in their laws.
And it is often punishable as a criminal offense, as many speakers at this week's summit expressed growing irritation and outside interference in their country's affairs.
And finally, false witness. Abuse allegations in Ireland are spiraling out of control,
evidenced by the recent spate of false accusations being brought against nuns in the Emerald Isle.
Father Tony Flannery of the Association of Irish Priests says the current climate in Ireland makes it very difficult for clergy and religious to defend themselves against false allegations,
especially if they are brought before the redress board, which is in charge of compensating victims.
One nun was recently pressured to weaken her argument in favor of her accuser which was only later refuted by the fact that she had never even worked at the institution where the alleged abuse took place.
The sex abuse scandals in Ireland have led to the state acting with a powerful bias against the Catholic Church, exemplified by the recent closing of the Vatican Embassy in Ireland.
I'm Matthew McAuliffe, thanks for tuning in today.
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