Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor has joined an effort to overturn Roe v. Wade, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to do so through the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case. That’s a legal challenge focused on Mississippi’s ban on most abortions after 15 weeks. O’Connor filed a brief with a group of 24 Attorneys…Read More
Not much is popularly known about Blessed Stanley Rother, the small town Oklahoma native who was declared blessed in September 2017 by the Catholic Church. One of the newest blesseds, he became a priest and missionary at a parish in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala. He served the local Tz’utujil people at the time of the Guatemalan…Read More
Rep. Tom Cole (OK-04), Vice Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, delivered remarks on the House floor in support of the Republican motion to recommit (MTR) on H.R. 4502, which the House will vote on this this week. The motion would restore the longstanding and traditionally bipartisan Hyde and Weldon Amendments to annual appropriations.…Read More
Gov. Kevin Stitt has joined 11 other governors to file an amicus brief that argues the U.S. Supreme Court should overturn prior rulings and leave regulation of abortion up to state governments. The brief has been submitted in a Mississippi case that involves one of the most direct challenges in decades to prior U.S. Supreme…Read More
The U.S. House on Thursday rejected an effort by Rep. Tom Cole to extend a ban on federal funding of abortion, though the fight over the long-standing Hyde amendment is expected to continue in the next few months. The vote was 217 to 208 against Cole’s procedural motion. The vote was entirely along partisan lines,…Read More
Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor has joined an effort to overturn Roe v. Wade, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to do so through the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case. That’s a legal challenge focused on Mississippi’s ban on most abortions after 15 weeks. O’Connor filed a brief with a group of 24 Attorneys…Read More
Not much is popularly known about Blessed Stanley Rother, the small town Oklahoma native who was declared blessed in September 2017 by the Catholic Church. One of the newest blesseds, he became a priest and missionary at a parish in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala. He served the local Tz’utujil people at the time of the Guatemalan…Read More
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to overturn two of its landmark rulings on abortion, arguing those decisions “shackle states to a view of the facts that is decades out of date.” The high court recently agreed to hear the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, involving Mississippi’s…Read More
To mask or not to mask, that is the question. And if current trends hold, it will be answered locally, not globally, in many Catholic schools this coming year. While enhanced cleaning and social distancing of desks will persist in many places where school officials are mindful of the original virus and a recent variant…Read More
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) delivered a passionate speech on the Senate floor Monday about the protests in Cuba and the need to stand with the Cuban people against the socialist, Marxist, oppressive Cuban authoritarian government. Watch More…
Gov. Kevin Stitt plans to name Tulsa attorney John M. O’Connor as Oklahoma attorney general on Friday, multiple sources said Thursday. The decision comes after a two-month search in which the governor considered district attorneys, a judge on the Court of Civil Appeals and members of his administration. O’Connor, 66, is a Republican whose practice focuses…Read More
A biologically male runner in West Virginia must be allowed to compete as part of a girls’ cross-country team, a judge ruled Thursday, despite West Virginia’s recently passed ban on biological males competing in women’s sports. The judge issued a preliminary injunction against the ban, allowing middle schooler, Becky Pepper-Jackson, to “sign up for and…Read More
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, invoked her status as a mother and “devout Catholic” as she stated that taxpayer-funding for abortion is a “priority” for her party at a press conference Thursday. A reporter asked Pelosi why Democrats are trying to do away with longstanding protections which ensure that American taxpayers do not fund abortion.…Read More
The bishops who head the El Paso and Dallas dioceses in Texas have asked Gov. Greg Abbott to halt an order that could result in shutting down, by the end of August, Catholic Charities facilities in Texas that care for foster and migrant children, saying that doing so violates state laws protecting religious freedom. “Motivated…Read More
Pro-life lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday to defund public colleges and universities that perform abortions or offer the abortion pill to students or staff. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., the founder and chairman of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, on Wednesday introduced the Protecting Life on College Campus Act of 2021 in the Senate, while Reps. Chip…Read More
Gov. Kevin Stitt plans to name Tulsa attorney John M. O’Connor as Oklahoma attorney general on Friday, multiple sources said Thursday. The decision comes after a two-month search in which the governor considered district attorneys, a judge on the Court of Civil Appeals and members of his administration. O’Connor, 66, is a Republican whose practice focuses…Read More
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has said he plans to take action to restrict minors’ access to gender transition-related medical services, since legislation on the issue failed to pass during the regular session of the legislature. “I have another way of achieving the exact same thing, and it’s about a finished product as we speak…Read More
In a decision that could restore millions of dollars to Catholic schools, the state of California has ruled that the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) violated federal law in ways that slashed assistance for academically struggling students in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (ADLA). The 58-page “investigation report,” issued June 25 by the California…Read More
The Texas Senate approved measures restricting abortion and amending rules about critical race theory Friday, advancing two of the 11 priorities listed in Gov. Greg Abbott’s agenda for the special legislative session. Lawmakers passed S.B. 4 19-3, with one Democrat joining 18 Republicans, to tighten rules relating to access to abortion-inducing drugs such as mifepristone.…Read More
The controversy over reception of Communion by supporters of abortion is ordered to helping all Catholics to grow in communion with Christ, the Bishop of Tulsa wrote to the faithful of his diocese on Friday. “The failure to recognize Jesus as Lord is of particular pastoral concern to the Church, especially when we come to…Read More
Mandating a curriculum that teaches critical race theory in public schools is on the rise across our country’s education system. Before that, transgender curriculum, even for kindergartners, has been floated in schools across the United States. For decades, teachers unions and public school administrations have adopted curricula for their states that are anathema to parents’…Read More
Texas recently passed a new law that would allow citizens, rather than government officials, to enforce a new law that prohibits abortion as early as the sixth week of pregnancy. “The Texas Heartbeat Act is novel in approach, allowing for citizens to hold abortionists accountable through private lawsuits,” says Rebecca Parma, a senior legislative associate…Read More
A bipartisan bill to prohibit goods made by enslaved Uyghurs from entering the United States passed the Senate on Wednesday, July 14. The Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act, sponsored by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), passed the chamber by a voice vote on Wednesday. The legislation would restrict the import of all…Read More
The House Appropriations Committee on Thursday advanced a funding bill for fiscal year 2022 without including the usual prohibitions on abortion funding. According to a committee summary, the appropriations bill – which funds the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Education – provides for $253.8 billion for the 2022 fiscal year, an increase…Read More
Four Cuban-American bishops issued a statement Tuesday indicating their support for Cubans seeking recognition of their human rights, following protest’s of the island’s communist government. “We, Cuban-American bishops, join in solidarity with the Cuban people in their quest for responses to their human rights and needs. We are deeply troubled by the aggressive reaction of…Read More
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted Monday to give death row prisoner Julius Jones a longer second stage commutation hearing to better understand the details of his case. Jones was convicted of murdering Edmond man Paul Howell in 1999. Jones claims he is innocent. The board already voted to move Julius Jones to the…Read More
Oklahoma K-12 educators could have their teaching licenses suspended and schools could have their accreditation docked for teaching banned concepts about race and racism under administrative rules approved by the State Board of Education. Amid pressure from Republican state lawmakers, the board on Monday approved on a 5-1 vote emergency rules to implement a new law that prohibits the teaching…Read More
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted Monday to give death row prisoner Julius Jones a longer second stage commutation hearing to better understand the details of his case. Jones was convicted of murdering Edmond man Paul Howell in 1999. Jones claims he is innocent. The board already voted to move Julius Jones to the…Read More
Oklahoma K-12 educators could have their teaching licenses suspended and schools could have their accreditation docked for teaching banned concepts about race and racism under administrative rules approved by the State Board of Education. Amid pressure from Republican state lawmakers, the board on Monday approved on a 5-1 vote emergency rules to implement a new law that prohibits the teaching…Read More
Washington, Colorado and Oregon are now among the U.S. states that have legalized the process of converting human bodies into soil, a procedure the Catholic Church said fails to show “respect for the body of the deceased.” Meanwhile, California and New York are seeking to be next in line to allow human composting. The process…Read More
A House subcommittee on Monday advanced a draft spending bill without the usual prohibitions on abortion funding, legislation that pro-life groups warned would force taxpayers to subsidize abortion on demand. “These are bad bills. They are never going to pass the Senate,” said Tom McClusky, president of March for Life Action, to CNA on Monday.…Read More
Pressure to implement House Bill 1775 is being applied by Republican Legislators on the State Board of Education. A meeting is scheduled for Monday to consider emergency rules to implement the guidelines set by the legislation which disallows teaching history and other courses using the concept of critical race theory. HB 1775 House author Representative…Read More
Recent federal LGBT nondiscrimination guidance for employers goes far beyond the law, one legal and religious freedom expert told CNA. “This is an outrageous overreach compared to what the Supreme Court said [in Bostock v. Clayton County],” said John Bursch, senior counsel and vice president of appellate advocacy with the group Alliance Defending Freedom, in…Read More
Gov. Doug Ducey, R-AZ, signed legislation into law Friday which banned the teaching and promotion of Critical Race Theory in public schools and other state institutions. The new law states that no state agency, city, town, county or “political subdivision of this state” may “use public monies for training, orientation or therapy that presents any…Read More
Catholic leaders this week warned that proposed legislation could push billions of federal tax dollars toward funding of elective abortions. “I am deeply concerned that the proposed federal budget would eliminate the Hyde Amendment, which, for 45 years, has prohibited the use of federal funds for abortion,” Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark said in a…Read More
A recent Politico column profiled a number of abortionists and pro-abortion activists who openly admitted that they believe the pro-life movement may soon succeed in making abortion illegal throughout much of America. Pro-abortion groups have formed a network focused on what to do when abortion is driven “underground,” wrote Darius Tahir at Politico. In other…Read More
The call to end a U.S. policy that keeps migrants out because of COVID-19 fears has been a constant rallying cry among immigrant advocate circles this summer. Though it seems as if the heat and pressure mounting on the Biden administration to end it may be having some effect, advocates also fear restrictions may stay…Read More
The Vatican’s “foreign minister” said on Wednesday that the Holy See rejects the assertion in a report adopted by the European Parliament that abortion is a “human right.” Archbishop Paul Gallagher made the comment on July 7 during a visit to Portugal’s capital, Lisbon. “Obviously it’s not difficult to imagine what the position of the…Read More
Ohio state law now includes conscience protections for medical professionals, after Governor Mike DeWine (R) signed a state budget bill into law on June 30. “Governor DeWine should be commended for his commitment to dignified health care. His clear understanding that health care professionals must have the right to freedom of conscience is vital to…Read More
5,000 educators have signed a petition vowing to defy state legislation that would bar schools from teaching Critical Race Theory (CRT). The petition, created by the left-wing Zinn Education Project, singled out proposed anti-CRT legislations in 21 states, which signers vowed to violate should they become law. The creators of the petition claimed that “the…Read More
Five pro-life laws went into effect in South Dakota on Thursday. As of July 1, it is no longer legal to abort a child due to a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, and it will no longer be legal to require a surrogate to abort a child as part of her surrogacy contract. SB 183,…Read More
In a video message Bishop Barron is calling out pro-abortion politicians for refusing to “dialogue” about abortion – or support restrictions of any kind. Bishop Robert Barron, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, released a video asking pro-abortion politicians “Can We Actually Dialogue?” If politicians can’t even agree to “protecting the life…Read More
Attorney General Merrick Garland ordered a temporary stop Thursday to scheduling further federal executions. In a memo to senior officials, he said serious concerns have arisen about the arbitrariness of capital punishment, its disparate impact on people of color, and “the troubling number of exonerations” in death penalty cases. “The Department of Justice must ensure…Read More
The chair of the Senate pro-life caucus on Tuesday criticized a proposed loosening of safeguards against taxpayer funding of abortion coverage on health exchanges set up under the Affordable Care Act. “Abortion is not healthcare and taxpayers should not be subsidizing it,” stated Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), chair and founder of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus,…Read More
The chairmen of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life and international policy committees have urged the House Appropriations Committee and all members of Congress “to protect taxpayers from having to pay for the evil of abortion, and to instead use our tax dollars for the common good and welfare of all.” In a joint statement issued late…Read More
Religious freedom advocates on Monday applauded a recent Supreme Court decision, arguing it heralds a positive outlook for religious freedom cases of Catholic adoption and foster care agencies nationwide. Earlier this month, the high court ruled unanimously in favor of two foster moms and Catholic Social Services of the Philadelphia archdiocese, in the case of…Read More
On Monday, the Supreme Court turned down an opportunity to reverse a ruling that permitted students identifying as the opposite sex to use the opposite sex’s bathrooms. The Court declined to hear the case of Gavin Grimm, a Virginia female student who identifies as a boy who had sued the Gloucester County school board for…Read More