'God is stronger,' Pope insists as he urges outreach

Vatican City, Jun 12, 2013 / 10:19 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis asked the tens of thousands of Catholics gathered in Saint Peter’s Square to overcome divisions and the fear of evangelizing by trusting that “God is stronger.”

“Just as I said, it is enough to open a newspaper and we see that around us there is the presence of evil, the Devil is at work,” he said at the June 12 general audience.

“But I would like to say in a loud voice God is stronger, Do you believe this, that God is stronger?” he asked the thousands of pilgrims.

He asked several times for them to repeat with him, “God is stronger!”

“And you know why he is stronger?” he asked. “Because he is the Lord, the only Lord, God is stronger!”

Pope Francis delivered his reflection on “the people of God” as part of a series on the Church as depicted in the documents of the Second Vatican Council.

The Pope called on the crowd to make their lives “a light of Christ” to “bring the light of the Gospel to the whole world.”

“Let’s think of the Olympic Stadium in Rome or that of San Lorenzo in Buenos Aires,” he said.

“If on a dark night one person lights up a lamp, you can barely see it, but if each of over 70,000 spectators switches on his own light, the whole stadium lights up,” he remarked.

Pope Francis also urged the crowd not be close themselves off from the world around them.

“Jesus does not tell the Apostles and us to form an exclusive group, an elite group, Jesus says, ‘go and make disciples of all nations,’” he underscored.

“The Church’s doors must be open so that all may come and that we can go out of those doors and proclaim the Gospel,” he added.

The Pope also asked Catholics to be “yeast that ferments the dough, the salt that gives flavor and preserves from decay, and the light that brightens.”


The pontiff explained that the term means “God does not really belong to any people.”

He noted that the law of “the people of God” is “the law of love, love for God and love for our neighbor according to the new commandment that the Lord left us.”

“It is recognizing God as the only Lord of life and, at the same time, accepting the other as a true brother, overcoming divisions, rivalry, misunderstandings, selfishness,” said Pope Francis.

But according to him, the Church still has “far to go” to be able to live the law of love and we must ask God “to help us understand it.”

“When we see in the many wars between Christians in the newspapers or on TV, how can the people of God understand this?” he asked.

“Within the people of God there are so many wars and in neighborhoods, in workplaces, so many wars due to envy, jealousy!” the Pope remarked.

The pontiff underscored that even within the same family, there are “so many internal wars.”

He also spent time explaining how people become a part of “the people of God.” It is not through physical birth, he said, but through “a new birth.”

“It is through Baptism that we are introduced to this people, through faith in Christ, the gift of God which must be nurtured and tended to throughout our whole life,” the Pope taught.

The pontiff advised the pilgrims to ask themselves how they tend to the faith they have received and how they can make it grow.

The Pope then explained that the ultimate goal is full communion with the Lord.

“It’s to enter into his divine life where we will live the joy of his love without measure, that full joy,” he said.

IRS scandals raise doubts over HHS mandate judgment

Washington D.C., Jun 11, 2013 / 05:34 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The targeting of conservative, pro-life and religious non-profits by the Internal Revenue Service is drawing concern over the agency’s authority to decide exemptions to the HHS mandate.

“The HHS mandate hinges on what constitutes a religious entity,” said Ashley McGuire, a senior fellow at the Catholic Association and editor of AltCatholicah, a Catholic women’s web magazine.

McGuire explained to CNA during a May 10 interview that the IRS has “authority in determining what a religious entity is” for purposes of deciding which employers much comply with the controversial mandate.

Issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, the mandate requires employers to offer health insurance covering free contraception, sterilization and some drugs that can cause early abortions.

A wave of protest against the regulation has sparked a multi-step process to issue a revision that takes religious objections into account. As currently proposed, this revision would allow a small percentage of religious organizations to be exempt from the mandate, based on their tax status with the IRS.

Late last month, however, the IRS admitted that certain non-profit organizations’ applications for tax exempt status received increased scrutiny due to their names and political themes. Additionally, some targeted groups were required to disclose lists of donors, blog and newsletter content, and prayers used at events.

These groups included politically conservative organizations as well as pro-life groups and religious organizations and charities such as Christian Voices for Life, Family Talk Action and Samaritan’s Purse, among others.

Pointing to a recent article in the Weekly Standard, McGuire explained that in the midst of this new controversy, the IRS will become responsible for deciding whether or not organizations are forced to abide by the mandate if it violates their consciences.

She explained that the “way the regulation is written, it is the IRS that determines whether an organization qualifies for full exemption from the HHS mandate.”

“So the very enforcers at the IRS, whose own inspector general admits they systematically targeted conservative and religious groups, will now get to decide who is entitled to ladle soup into a bowl for a homeless person without violating his or her conscience,” McGuire wrote in the Weekly Standard.

In the midst of the scandal in which “religious values were indeed scrutinized by bureaucrats,” the IRS will “gain new authority to determine what constitutes religious activity and which religious employers are entitled to conscience rights,” she continued.

“If the case for repealing this unjust intrusion on the free exercise of religion was always strong, in recent weeks it’s gotten stronger still,” she added.

McGuire told CNA that the only way to ensure that the sort of political targeting that has occurred already by the IRS does not result in an infringement on religious freedoms via the contraception mandate is to either “completely repeal the mandate” or give a religious exemption to “anyone who asks for an exemption.”

Critics decry decision to remove age limits for Plan B

Washington D.C., Jun 11, 2013 / 02:07 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Citing the health and well being of young girls, critics slammed the Obama administration’s decision to allow children of any age to purchase “emergency contraception” over-the-counter.

“Irresponsibly removing the important opportunity for a health-care provider to identify and intervene in cases of abuse, and giving a potentially life-ending drug to young girls without any understanding of the medical implications unnecessarily exposes them to risk,” said Dr. Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life.

Yoest was one of numerous critics who blasted the federal government’s June 10 announcement that it would abide by a court order to make Plan B One-Step available without a prescription or identification requirements to children of any age.

The decision is a reversal of the administration’s earlier opposition to the unrestricted access for “emergency contraception.”

In December 2011, Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled a plan by a Food and Drug Administration panel to make Plan B available over the counter without age limits. Sebelius cited “significant cognitive and behavioral differences” between older adolescents and the youngest girls of reproductive age, which may affect their ability to properly use the drug.

At the time, President Barack Obama supported the decision, saying that as “the father of two daughters, I think it is important for us to make sure that we apply some common sense to various rules when it comes to over-the-counter medicine.”

In April 2013, however, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman ordered the FDA to change its policy and remove all age restrictions on over-the-counter sales of Plan B. He argued that Sebelius’ decision had been “politically motivated, scientifically unjustified and contrary to agency precedent.”

The Obama administration initially appealed Judge Korman’s ruling, arguing that he did not have the authority to determine what kinds of drugs the FDA is required to authorize, and for what ages.

However, the Department of Justice has now notified Judge Korman that it will drop its appeal if he accepts the administration’s plan for compliance, which requires Teva Women’s Health Inc. to reapply for approval of the product with a new label.

Plan B One-Step, made by Teva Women's Health, Inc., is also called the “morning-after pill” because of its ability to prevent pregnancy following a sexual encounter by inhibiting ovulation.

However, the drug’s label warns that if ovulation has already occurred, Plan B can also function by preventing implantation in the mother’s womb, thereby ending the life of the already-created human embryo.

The decision will not apply to Ella, another “emergency contraceptive” that has a different active ingredient and is only available with a prescription.

The announcement has been hailed by contraception and abortion advocates.

“This is a huge breakthrough for access to birth control and a historic moment for women’s health and equity,” said Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards in a statement. “The FDA’s decision will make emergency contraception available on store shelves, just like condoms, and women of all ages will be able to get it quickly.”

Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, also praised the decision.

Northup had previously argued that a minimum age limit and identification requirement for purchasing the drug over-the-counter amounted to “daunting and sometimes insurmountable hoops” for women to jump through.

Other organizations, however, have criticized the decision, warning that it may lead to an increase in promiscuity and sexually transmitted infections, as well as unsafe repeat use.

Opponents also argued that the new policy will undermine parents’ rights to help make medical decisions for their children.

They warned that the pill is labeled as a cancer-causing carcinogen by the World Health Organization and is also associated with increased risk of blood clots, heart attacks, strokes and ectopic pregnancies. 

Furthermore, they said, there have not been studies on the effects of taking the drug during puberty.

“We're very concerned and disappointed at the same time because what we see here is the government caving to political pressure instead of putting first the health and safety of girls (and) parental rights,” said Anna Higgins, director of the Family Research Council’s Center for Human Dignity in a statement.

Pro-life organizations also noted the drug’s potential to end an unborn human life.

Pushing unlimited abortion and contraception access “does not empower women, nor will it improve women’s health in any way,” said Father Shenan J. Boquet, president of Human Life International.

“By allowing  very young girls to purchase powerful drugs like Plan B without parental notification or medical consultation this administration is showing a complete disregard for the health of young women, who may also end up unknowingly killing their unborn children.”