Speaking to Crux during the Synod of Bishops on Synodality in Rome, Cardinal Gregory stressed the need for Catholics to have a comprehensive view of the nation's key issues.

"No political party and certainly no individual candidate that I've experienced embraces the full range of Catholic social, moral teaching" he says. "Obviously, the reverence, the respect of human life is a dominant concern."

The cardinal questioned whether Catholics should engage in single-issue voting based solely on a candidate's stance on abortion without considering their other positions.

"Yes, it is foundational, the dignity of unborn life, but does it dispense with all of the other awful proposals that are out there?" Gregory asked.

Umbrella of respect for human life

Gregory highlighted several issues that fall under what he described as the "umbrella of respect for human life". These include immigration, capital punishment, poverty, racism and mental health.

The cardinal noted that issues such as race, gender and gun violence have also come to the forefront of the election. The cardinal pointed to the ongoing violence in the US and internationally as areas voters should consider carefully.

He also mentioned economic issues including the challenge of earning a living wage, child care and racial disparity, which remain pressing concerns in American life.

Lesser of two evils

Pope Francis recently urged American Catholics to choose the lesser of two evils in the upcoming US presidential election, criticising both Donald Trump's immigration policies and Kamala Harris' support for abortion rights.

The pope condemned the refusal to welcome migrants as a "grave sin" and described abortion as an "assassination".

Francis said both candidates' policies are "against life".

"Whether it is the one who is chasing away migrants or the one who kills children, both are against life."

Sources

Catholic Herald

CathNews New Zealand

Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta accused Providence St Joseph Hospital in Eureka of discriminating against pregnant patients and violating the state's law requiring hospitals to provide necessary emergency care.

The lawsuit, filed in Humboldt County Superior Court, seeks a court order to stop the hospital from denying medically necessary abortions in the future, as well as civil penalties.

"Providence is deeply committed to the health and wellness of women and pregnant patients and provides emergency services to all who walk through our doors in accordance with state and federal law," a Providence spokesperson said in an email, adding that the hospital was reviewing the lawsuit. "We are heartbroken over Dr Nusslock's experience earlier this year."

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This is according to a report by #WeCount, a research project by the Society of Family Planning, a group that supports legal abortion.

The study is notable because it is the first full-year census of US abortion providers following the June 2022 US Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization. This sheds light on how they view trends in their industry.

The survey only considered data from licensed clinics within the health care system, researchers said and does not account for what may be illegal procedures, such as abortion pills ordered from overseas.

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The ad in question, posted by Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, includes a shot of a man kneeling and praying inside a Catholic Church with the Divine Mercy image of Christ in the background. The image included messaging supporting a November measure that would enshrine abortion access into the Ohio state constitution.

"When we face personal medical decisions, we depend on our doctors, our faith, our family, and the last thing we want is the government making those decisions for us," the ad says.

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Greg Williams, a former Greek and Latin professor at St. Joseph Seminary College, posted on his Facebook account just days following the overturning of Roe v. Wade that he would be available to fly women across state lines.

After he got his pilot license in 2009, The Guardian reported, Williams began volunteering for the Louisiana-based Pilots for Patients, a nonprofit that offers free flights for patients to travel to locations for medical treatments not otherwise available in their area.

Pilots for Patients told CNA on April 24 that the charity had nothing to do with Williams' proposal to transport women out-of-state and that the pilot made the offer on his own. Read more

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Society of Family Planning's #WeCount initiative reported on Friday that there were 5,270 fewer abortions in July and 5,400 fewer in August after the court's June 24 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organisation, which overturned Roe and freed individual states to decide abortion policy.

As the New York Times pointed out in an article on the #WeCount study, abortions declined almost to zero in states with bans, but they increased in many states where abortion remained legal.

In August, fewer than 10 abortions were performed in each of the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

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The WHPA "would enshrine into federal law abortion on demand until the moment of birth, and it would nullify state laws — new and existing - that protect unborn children and their mothers" Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, warned ahead of the vote.

The February 28 vote, with 46 for and 48 against the WHPA, needed 60 votes to proceed. It fell largely along party lines, with only one Democrat (Sen Joe Manchin of West Virginia) voting against proceeding with the bill that would override states' pro-life laws and remove restrictions on abortion up to the point of birth in some cases. No Republicans voted in support of the WHPA.

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In a 30 minute address during the two-day US bishops' general assembly, Archbishop Christophe Pierre spoke about synodality, abortion, racism and the Eucharist. He also emphasised the importance of listening to people in the church and being open to the work of the Holy Spirit.

For the bishops, he said, the synodality process should start at home by listening to each other. "The church needs this attentive listening now more than ever if she is to overcome the polarisation facing this country," he said.

"I believe that synodality is an answer to the challenges of our time and to the confrontation, which is threatening to divide this country, and which also has its echoes in the church," Archbishop Pierre said.

On abortion, Pierre said that the church "should be unapologetically pro-life". He stressed the need to look at causes and factors that lead women to seek abortions and then to reach out in practical ways to mothers in need.

Regarding the Eucharist, Pierre said people can have theological ideas about the Eucharist, which are important. But "none of these ideas compare with the reality of the eucharistic mystery, which needs to be discovered and rediscovered through the practical experience of the church, living in communion, particularly in this time of pandemic."

He also noted that there is "the temptation to treat the Eucharist as something to be offered to the privileged few rather than to seek to walk with those whose theology or discipleship is falling short. And assisting them to understand and appreciate the gift of the Eucharist, and helping them to overcome their difficulties."

During the general assembly, the US bishops voted to adopt a document about Holy Communion and who should receive the sacrament.

The vote was 222 to 8, with three abstentions.

It is an issue that was in part inspired by President Biden's election. Mr Biden, a devout Catholic, supports the right of women to have an abortion, which the Catholic Church opposes.

Rather than imposing a mandatory national policy, the document offers guidelines, so decisions about who may receive Communion will be left up to individual bishops and archbishops. Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, has clarified that Mr Biden is welcome to receive Communion at churches in the archdiocese.

Archbishop Pierre in his conclusion noted, "We will emerge from the present crises together," he said, "as the church Christ has called us to be."

Sources

• America Magazine
• CBS News