Rome, Italy, Jun 23, 2014 / 10:19 am (CNA).- During his June 21 pastoral visit to the region of Calabria in southern Italy, Pope Francis stopped the car that was transporting him to see a young disabled woman and her family on the side of the road.
A video posted online by a family in the southern Italian region of Calabria depicts the encounter with the Holy Father.
The Pope passed by the highway near the family’s house as he returned from Cassano allo Jonio, where he spoke out against the mafia.
The Vatican’s news.va website reported that family members waited with banners reading, 'Please Pope stop here to see an angel who has been waiting for you', and 'Please come and bless little Roberta'.
When the Pope saw their signs, he asked for his car to stop, and immediately went to greet and bless the people.
Once the vehicle stopped, the Holy Father descended, approached the woman, who was laying on a moving stretcher, blessed her, kissed her and greeted her family and the children around her.
The young woman – Roberta – is disabled and cannot travel far from her home, because she is dependent upon a machine to breathe, according to news.va.
Her family voiced their gratitude to the Holy Father on Facebook.
“I still can't believe it, thank you Holy Father...I thank the Pope for having given us a moment of great joy,” her sister, Pamela, wrote.
“Today we can say that Christ stopped in Sibari in the vestments of Pope Francis,” added Ivan Vania, a friend who helped make the posters calling the Pope’s attention.
He added that “it was very emotional to see how Pope Francis greeted Roberta...there are gestures in life that are worth more than speeches, much more than you would think...Pope Francis is unique.”
Washington D.C., Jun 26, 2014 / 04:24 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A unanimous Supreme Court decision striking down a 35-foot buffer zone around Massachusetts abortion clinics is being praised as a victory not only for pro-life counsellors but for all women.
Jeanne Monahan, president of the March for Life, told CNA that the ruling “absolutely protects women.”
“Abortion is bad physiologically and psychologically for many, many, many women,” she continued, adding that the ruling supports counselling that “allows women to have informed consent.”
“Abortion can be the most important decision a woman makes in her life, and sometimes she rushes in there in a state of panic,” Monahan explained. “This allows her to put the brakes on, to think about it, to think about what’s actually happening inside of her.”
“So many women regret their abortions,” she lamented.
On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Eleanor McCullen and other pro-life sidewalk counsellors in McCullen v. Coakley, striking down a Massachusetts law that placed a 35-foot buffer zone around abortion clinics, including on sidewalks and public streets.
McCullen’s lawyers argued that the law unconstitutionally violated freedom of speech and penalized only those with certain views – specifically pro-life views – from offering counselling and education to those entering the clinics, even if they do so peacefully.
In the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said that the buffer zone regulations “burden substantially more speech than necessary to achieve the Commonwealth’s asserted interests” of protecting access to health care.
“Petitioners wish to converse with their fellow citizens about an important subject on the public streets and sidewalks,” he noted, specifically highlighting the significance of such public places as areas for discussion and exchange of ideas.
The decision means that “there is no abortion exception to the First Amendment, and it may very well mean the end to abortion buffer zones around the country,” Casey Mattox, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, told CNA.
Massachusetts attorney general Martha Coakle said in a June 26 press conference that the state and abortion officials were disappointed with the decision, seeing it as a blow against abortion access.
“The decision today is obviously a disappointment to us,” Coakley said, adding that she would work with law enforcement across the state to enforce portions of the law prohibiting “harassment,” such as “screaming” at abortion clinic employees, which still stand after the Supreme Court decision.
Catholic University of America law professor Mark Rienzi, who served as lead counsel in the McCullen v. Coakley case, praised the high court for affirming “a critical freedom that has been an essential part of American life since the nation’s founding.”
Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley of Boston, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, also welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision, saying the ruling “has affirmed the American tradition of basic constitutional rights for all.”
He criticized the overturned law, saying it discriminated against pro-life counsellors while exempting pro-abortion “clinic escorts.” This treatment, he continued, sought to “deny that their fellow Americans who seek to protect the unborn have the same rights as other Americans,” specifically “the right to participate in the public square and serve the vulnerable in accord with our moral convictions.”
Kristan Hawkins, executive director of Students for Life of America, called the decision “wonderful news” not only “because it upholds our crucial First Amendment rights of free speech” but also “for women considering abortion because it frees sidewalk counselors at abortion facilities to be able to offer compassionate and caring alternatives.”
In a June 26 statement, she challenged those who honestly call themselves “pro-choice” to welcome the decision, asking them to “give the woman a chance at choosing life by presenting her options she may not even know about.”
“Sidewalk counselors can't stop women from having abortions, but they can offer information, resources, and just a listening ear to those young women who feel desperate and alone,” she added.
Ashley McGuire, senior fellow at The Catholic Association, called the ruling “a double victory for the First Amendment.”
“The Supreme Court has rightly held that it is unconstitutional to grant preferential legal status to the speech of pro-abortion activists while punishing pro-life speech,” she stated, adding that this protection of free speech allows for free discussion in public places.
“This was a victory for free speech, this was a victory for religious liberty and, by the way this was a victory for women,” McGuire continued, saying that because all of the women on the Supreme Court agreed in the unanimous decision, it cannot be viewed as anti-woman.
Cebu, Philippines, Jun 23, 2014 / 04:12 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The 51st International Eucharistic Congress will be held January 2016 in the Philippines with the theme, “Jesus in us, the hope of glory.”
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila explained the theme at a press conference.
“We hope in only one person. We hope in God,” he said.
The Eucharistic Congress will take place Jan. 24-31 in the city of Cebu, with more than 15,000 international and local delegates expected to attend.
Cardinal Tagle noted God is the source of our hope, because he “has already come to us,” and this is “the greatest reason for hope.”
“We have desires,” he explained, “but desires are not hope. The people can have many desires, but they may not have hope.”
The virtue of hope referred to in the theme of the congress enriches the spiritual life of every believer, especially amidst any suffering, the cardinal continued.
“We are not hoping in someone distant. We put our hope in someone who was a refugee, someone who was betrayed, who was homeless, someone who was the target of mockery, who was killed, but who God raised to life again. He is in us and for this reason we have hope.”
“This is not about passing whims and desires, but about something deeper that defines the human being and society: hope,” he added.
“Many of our desires will not be fulfilled, but our hope will never fail. And we hope to have this strong message as we prepare for the International Eucharistic Congress through our lives, through our relationships, through the dynamism of Jesus, who is in us,” Cardinal Tagle explained.
This will be the second time the Philippines has hosted the International Eucharistic Congress. The event was first held there in 1937 in Manila.
Three years earlier, in 1934, Buenos Aires hosted the 32nd International Eucharistic Congress. Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli attended the event as the papal envoy. Five years later he was elected Pope Pius XII.
