An investigator for the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole board wrote in her report under “Investigator recommendation” that death prisoner Julius Jones be granted life in prison, either with or without the possibility of parole. Jones, 41, has spent two decades on death row for the 1999 killing of Edmond businessman Paul Howell. Jones has maintained…Read More
An investigator for the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole board wrote in her report under “Investigator recommendation” that death prisoner Julius Jones be granted life in prison, either with or without the possibility of parole. Jones, 41, has spent two decades on death row for the 1999 killing of Edmond businessman Paul Howell. Jones has maintained…Read More
The deadline for the US withdrawal from Afghanistan is just 5 days away. Lawmakers are asking questions of the Biden Administration about what is next for US involvement there. Some have expressed security concerns with the vetting system for Afghans arriving in the US. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says he’s worried about America’s safety,…Read More
Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor has requested an execution date for Julius Jones. According to the AG’s office, they’ve requested October 28th be Jones’s execution date. Advocates for Julius Jones say this request undermines public faith in the justice process. Jones is currently scheduled to have a commutation hearing on September 13th. “It is shocking–…Read More
Congressional Democrats are reportedly planning to use their $3.5 trillion “human capital” infrastructure package to create a new federal healthcare program that would work around the leadership of pro-life red states which have rejected Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion. Democrats are likely to present their proposal as a way to get “needed” healthcare coverage to Americans being…Read More
Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor has requested an execution date for Julius Jones. According to the AG’s office, they’ve requested October 28th be Jones’s execution date. Advocates for Julius Jones say this request undermines public faith in the justice process. Jones is currently scheduled to have a commutation hearing on September 13th. “It is shocking–…Read More
March for Life Action President Thomas McClusky wrote a letter to Congress Monday decrying the Biden administration’s plans to prop up the abortion industry with taxpayer funding from the upcoming $3.5 trillion spending bill. “I am writing to voice our opposition to the $3.5 trillion budget busting legislation, S. Con. Res. 14, setting forth the…Read More
Last week, McClatchy DC published an article about NARAL Pro-Choice America and its efforts to revamp its digital outreach. In the article, NARAL admits that the group has been losing the online messaging battle with pro-lifers. In Arizona and Michigan, NARAL found that focus-group participants often used pro-life language when discussing New York’s 2019 Reproductive…Read More
As millions of Catholic schoolkids returned to classes Monday, the Diocese of Arlington braced for a huge enrollment spike following its recent announcements of a 100% in-person learning policy and a ban on transgender pronouns. John Gonzales reported for the local ABC news affiliate that 17,000 kids enrolled in the northern Virginia diocese’s 41 schools…Read More
Three staff members from Catholic Charities of Oklahoma City are assisting with the processing of Afghan refugees at Fort Lee in Virginia as the crisis in Afghanistan continues to unfold. Patrick Raglow, executive director of Catholic Charities of Oklahoma City, said his agency, in partnership with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and U.S. government agencies, is providing…Read More
In her recent book, former Planned Parenthood president Leana Wen outlined how her vision of expanding mainstream health-care options at the nation’s largest abortion provider led the group to part ways with her in favor of a continued focus on abortion advocacy. Several former Planned Parenthood workers who have since become pro-life told the Register…Read More
Three staff members from Catholic Charities of Oklahoma City are assisting with the processing of Afghan refugees at Fort Lee in Virginia as the crisis in Afghanistan continues to unfold. Patrick Raglow, executive director of Catholic Charities of Oklahoma City, said his agency, in partnership with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and U.S. government agencies, is providing…Read More
Planned Parenthood of Montana filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to block four new laws restricting access to abortion in the state. The laws are set to take effect Oct. 1. They would ban abortion after 20 weeks of gestation; restrict access to abortion pills; require abortion providers to ask patients if they would like to…Read More
The Archdiocese of Boston, home to Lexington and Concord, may now be the stage for an education revolution. This fall, the archdiocese is launching Lumen Verum Academy, which will be a blended-learning high school—the first such Catholic school in the nation. This new initiative should yield important lessons for Catholic schools, and for educators more…Read More
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a 2017 Texas law which prohibits “dismemberment abortions” of live preborn children in the second trimester. The statute SB8, which has not yet been enforced, bans so-called “dilation and evacuation” (D&E) abortions on live, second-trimester infants. In the absence of the pro-life law, D&E…Read More
President Joe Biden addressed the nation on the topic of the coronavirus on Wednesday, going a step further in his battle against specific Republican governors who have pushed back against mask mandates in schools. Biden said, “For those who aren’t eligible for the vaccine yet — children under the age of 12 — masks are…Read More
An Atlanta public elementary school principal told a Catholic couple that their child would need to leave the district to avoid learning about LGBTQ+ issues at the age of five. An Atlanta couple — who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of retribution — obtained a copy of their child’s incoming teacher’s Amazon classroom wish…Read More
The archbishop of San Francisco has warned of the use of social media to promote a “new kind of fundamentalism” hostile to religious freedom in an Aug. 12 op-ed. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, together with Jim Daly, the president of the Christian group Focus on the Family, authored an op-ed in The Wall…Read More
Members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ have welcomed the restoration of the Hyde Amendment to the federal budget following a recent non-binding Senate vote, even though it may still not be included in subsequent legislation. “I’m hopeful and praying hard for this and I’m very grateful that the Senate did the right thing,”…Read More
Earlier this week, the Senate passed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill which includes a non-discrimination clause. The bill sets up a grant program but says organizations who get the money must abide by the non-discrimination clause. So-called gender identity and sexual orientation are included in this provision which may make it difficult for religious organizations…Read More
Arkansas lawmakers have overwhelmingly passed a bill that would, if enacted, prohibit Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from providing resources to public schools. Known as the “Arkansas Student Protection Act,” the bill passed the state Senate on Monday in a vote of 27-5, having previously passed the state House of Representatives by a vote…Read More
Opponents of taxpayer funding of abortion gained an encouraging victory in the U.S. Senate late Tuesday, Aug. 10, to the satisfaction of the Southern Baptist Convention’s ethics entity. During consideration of a budget resolution, senators approved in a 50-49 vote an amendment by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., that bars federal funds from being used to…Read More
A federal judge in Oklahoma City ruled Wednesday a lawsuit challenging the state’s lethal injection protocols can proceed to trial, making it likely Oklahoma’s de facto moratorium on executions will extend into a seventh year. U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot agreed in his order to consider at trial whether Oklahoma’s current three-drug protocol risks subjecting…Read More
A federal district court on Wednesday tossed out a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, filed by a former Catholic school guidance counselor fired for entering a same-sex marriage contract. Judge Richard Young of the Southern District of Indiana on Aug. 11 ruled that the former Roncalli Catholic High School counselor, Lynn Starkey, qualified as…Read More
A federal judge in Oklahoma City ruled Wednesday a lawsuit challenging the state’s lethal injection protocols can proceed to trial, making it likely Oklahoma’s de facto moratorium on executions will extend into a seventh year. U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot agreed in his order to consider at trial whether Oklahoma’s current three-drug protocol risks subjecting…Read More
A federal district court judge on Aug. 2 ruled in favor of Catholic and Christian health care organizations fighting the “transgender mandate,” a federal requirement that doctors and insurers provide or cover gender-transitioning procedures upon referral. The Biden administration in May had revived the “transgender mandate,” stating that a statutory federal ban on sex discrimination…Read More
As COVID-19 spikes, Tulsa Public Schools are set to return to in-person learning on August 19th. Superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools Dr. Deborah Gist said in a press conference today TPS wants kids in schools, but there are factors that could drive a return to remote learning. “We do not want any situation where classrooms…Read More
Catholic entities had committed tens of millions of dollars in legal settlements for their involvement in the Canadian government’s historic residential schools campaign forcibly to assimilate indigenous people, even before the rediscovery of graves and cemeteries at the former schools made headlines, renewed the grief of affected communities, and possibly inspired several church burnings. There…Read More
The Catholic bishops in Colorado have emphasized the need to respect those with conscientious objections to the COVID-19 vaccines and have provided a template letter for any Catholics with objections to mandatory vaccination. They also welcomed the City of Denver’s vaccination mandate for including a religious exemption. “In the case of the COVID-19 vaccine, we…Read More
The Wall Street Journal editorial board drew attention to a Catholic federal lawsuit targeting South Carolina’s Blaine Amendment, and made the case that the exclusion of private Catholic schools from education funding is part of a longstanding legacy of bigotry. “Blaine Amendments are a relic of 19th-century prejudice, and meant to deny public funding for…Read More
Gov. Kevin Stitt was joined Tuesday by lawmakers for a ceremonial signing of House Bill 1102, landmark legislation to sharply reduce the number of abortions within the state. HB1102, authored by Rep. Jim Olsen and Sen. Julie Daniels, classifies the performance of an abortion as “unprofessional conduct” and directs the State Board of Medical Licensure…Read More
As workplaces have begun to require COVID-19 vaccinations for employees, some Catholic institutions insist that conscience exemptions are necessary. In addition, priests should be allowed to support Catholics who conscientiously refuse COVID-19 vaccines, says one bioethicist. “It is Catholic doctrine that people’s well-founded conscientious objections are part of their religion,” said Dr. Joseph Meaney, president…Read More
We all know there is an elephant in the college classroom. Those outside the castle walls of higher education will analyze it, but can those protected by the ivory tower be ready to engage in this difficult conversation? The value of higher education has been under tremendous scrutiny over the past decade, only to be…Read More
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has funneled at least $2.7 million into a University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) project that utilizes a tissue bank with organs from aborted fetuses, according to a release from Judicial Watch Tuesday. The conservative nonprofit obtained hundreds of pages of public records requests, which detail Pitt’s interest in…Read More
More than 75 amicus briefs have been filed at the Supreme Court supporting Mississippi’s ban on most elective abortions after 15 weeks, the state’s attorney general said last week. Many of the briefs were filed by Catholic or pro-life organizations. In the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization – a critical abortion case…Read More
Leading U.S. bishops on Friday welcomed Afghan nationals to the United States who had assisted the United States’ military, diplomatic, and humanitarian operations in Afghanistan. As part of the official withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, the United States expedited the immigration process for certain Afghan nationals and their families who had helped the U.S.…Read More
A RealClear Opinion Research poll found majorities of both Republican and Democrat voters support school choice. 74% of voters support school choice, including 83% of Republicans, 70% of Democrats, and 69% of independents, according to the poll, which was conducted in June. A majority (66%) of both Republican and Democrat poll respondents also supported giving…Read More