Fighting the ban, Mike and Catherine "Kitty" Burke (pictured) turned to liberty group Becket Law who have filed a federal lawsuit on their behalf.

The lawsuit seeks to prohibit Massachusetts from using LGBTQ accommodations to decline issuing foster care licences to religious applicants.

It also asks for the Burkes' application to be granted and for them to receive "nominal and compensatory damages" from the defendants.

Catholic beliefs and the State

The lawsuit specifically claims the State of Massachusetts restricted the Catholic couple from fostering children in the State. This decision was based on the Burkes' adherence to Catholic teachings on gender, sexuality and marriage.

"After months of interviews and training, and after years of heartbreak, we were on the verge of finally becoming parents," the Burkes say.

"We were absolutely devastated to learn that Massachusetts would rather children sleep in the hallways of hospitals than let us welcome children in need into our home."

The lawsuit claims the State listed only one reason for denying the Burkes' foster care application: they "would not be affirming to a child who identified as LGBTQIA."

The lawsuit goes on to say: "As faithful Catholics, the Burkes believe that all children should be loved and supported, and they would never reject a child placed in their home.

"They also believe that children should not undergo procedures that attempt to change their God-given sex, and they uphold Catholic beliefs about marriage and sexuality."

The lawsuit names several defendants, including the Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary and the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Children & Families.

It also includes a copy of the State's letter telling the Catholic couple their application to be foster parents had been denied.

The letter says to be licensed as a foster/adoptive parent, applicants must demonstrate their ability "to the satisfaction of the Department".

Quoting the State regulations for Standards for Licensure as a Foster/Pre-adoptive Parent, the letter reads:

"(d) to promote the physical, mental and emotional well-being of a child placed in his or her care, including supporting and respecting a child's sexual orientation or gender identity

"(e) to respect and make efforts to support the integrity of a child's racial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious background"

The CF Foster Child Bill of Rights also says every child "shall be treated with respect by DCF staff, foster parents and providers without regard to race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion and/or disability".

The Massachusetts Health and Human Services and the Massachusetts Department of Children & Families have not responded to requests for comment.

Source

• Fox News

"Same-sex feelings and love are not an aberration, but a variant of human sexuality," he says. Homosexuals have a right to church support and blessing.

Dieser (pictured), who is the spokesman on abuse issues for the German bishops' conference, says the current state of Church teaching does not do justice to certain realities when it comes to sexuality.

"The thinking is too simple."

The Church can no longer signal to homosexual people that their feelings are unnatural and that they have to be celibate, he says.

"Homosexuality is — as science shows — not a glitch, not an illness, not an expression of any kind of deficit, and by the way it's not a consequence of original sin, either," the bishop said.

If two lesbians approached him to have a child baptised, he would do it, he says.

"Where is the problem?" he wonders.

Dieser also defended the Synodal Path taken by the church in Germany and its demands for reform.

"The Synodal Path is, after all, a consequence of the uncovering of sexual abuse scandals. And reliable scientific studies show that these scandals have systemic causes in the church," he says.

This week, he and other German bishops will be at the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis and other Vatican officials for their "ad limina" visits. These are periodic visits to report on the status of their dioceses.

He says the bishops also hope to present Francis with the papers that received too little approval from the bishops at the last plenary assembly of the Synodal Path.

He says the aim is to ask Francis for a further development of the Church's teaching.

Rome needs to respond to the proposals and suggestions of the Catholic Church in Germany, because the Vatican had ignored reform proposals from Catholic dioceses of West Germany in the 1970s, says Dieser.

To not respond "would be a failure of authority in the church. We must not ignore the voice of the people of God", he explains.

Source

• National Catholic Reporter

It went on to flourish under the tutelage of Bob Santamaria.

Abbott was and is on a mission from God. Or is he? Let's look at his position on same-sex marriage.

He opposes it. This year, he's on a non-stop bender to stop those of the same sex from marrying in the way he married Margie or the way godless me married my equally godless husband.

He's even allowed his family to be torn asunder while he campaigns. His daughter Frances is taking the side of her aunt Christine Forster, Abbott's sister and a same-sex marriage proponent.

This year, he's talked about the institution of marriage and said his opposition is not about religion but about tradition.

But last year was different. He gave a speech in Queensland to honour the memory of his former headmaster Greg Jordan. In it, he talked about the threats to religion if same-sex marriage was legalised.

"Some of the institutions and the values that have most helped to shape and to define Western civilisation - Christianity, the church and the crown - now tend to be those most frequently under fire ... the traditional concept of marriage won't be maintained by a claim that the church's right to free speech is under threat - though it is.

"It will only be maintained by preserving or by rebuilding the old consensus that, ideally at least, marriage is an exclusive union entered into for life by one man with one woman in the expectation of children."

The church matters desperately to Abbott when it comes to same-sex marriage - but not when it comes to climate change.

Last week, when Tony Abbott gave a speech called titled "daring to doubt" to the Global Warming Policy Foundation in Britain, he said: "In most countries, far more people die in cold snaps than in heatwaves, so a gradual lift in global temperatures, especially if it is accompanied by more prosperity and more capacity to adapt to change, might even be beneficial." Continue reading

• Jenna Price is a Fairfax columnist, and an academic at the University of Technology, Sydney.

This announcement came from Pope Francis at the end of the Jubilee of Mercy - a holy year dedicated to forgiveness.

When the holy year concluded on Nov. 20, Pope Francis made permanent the permission that he had provisionally given priests to forgive the sin of "procuring abortion" through the sacrament of reconciliation, more commonly known as "confession."

Numerous questions were raised following the pope's decision: Could priests not forgive abortions already? Or, is the pope softening the Church's stance on abortion?

As a Catholic academic who studies the diversity of global Catholicism, I believe the pope's actions are significant: The pope is ratifying a practice that is already in place in much of the Catholic world; he is also broadening the possibilities for Catholic priests to show care for the laity under their charge.

Abortion in Catholic canon law

The first thing to appreciate is that abortion has a complex place not just in broader Catholic understandings of sin, but in the Church's complex legal codes.

It is also important to understand that in context of abortion the sin is "procuring abortion" - not just "abortion."

It includes, potentially, not just the one who carries out the abortion, but also the woman who obtains the abortion (if she does so as a conscious act, freely, knowing that it is wrong or sinful) and others who aid and abet the process.

Throughout Catholic history there has been periodic debate over when "ensoulment" of the fetus occurs.

For example, and most famously, St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the foremost shapers of Catholic doctrine in the period following the Middle Ages, argued that ensoulment actually occurs for boys at 40 days after conception, and at 80 days for girls.

Nonetheless, abortion itself has been routinely condemned, from early Christian councils in A.D. 305 to the present day.

In 1588 Pope Sixtus V attached the penalty of excommunication to abortion in his "Papal Bull," an official letter from the pope. Pope St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have also all emphasized abortion as among the gravest of sins. Continue reading

Sources

• Article by Mathew Schmalz, Associate Professor of Religion, College of the Holy Cross, writing in The Conversation
• Image: Newsline

On March 21, Sr Jane Dominic Laurel, a Nashville Dominican sister, told students at Charlotte Catholic High School that studies have shown that gays and lesbians are not born with same-sex attractions.

She also reportedly said that children in single-parent homes have a greater chance of becoming homosexual.

The sister also suggested there were correlations between masturbation and homosexuality, according to students who were at her talk at the North Carolina school.

The president of Aquinas College, where Sr Jane Dominic teaches, said in a statement that her fellow Dominican went too far in parts of her talk.

Sr Mary Sarah wrote that Sr Jane Dominic "spoke clearly on matters of faith and morals", and called her qualified to do so as a theologian trained at a Pontifical University - a school established or approved by the Vatican.

But, the president wrote, "her deviation into realms of sociology and anthropology was beyond the scope of her expertise".

Sr Mary Sarah acknowledged the harm the remarks had caused.

Sr Jane Dominic's remarks led some students to launch a petition that denounced her address as "offensive".

That prompted a counter-petition defending the Dominican as a faithful presenter of Catholic teaching.

On April 2, the school and the diocese held a meeting that drew nearly 1000 parents.

Most who rose to speak objected to Sr Jane Dominic's comments or to the school's failure to warn them in advance that she would lecture students on such sensitive topics.

Charlotte Catholic promised to better scrutinise future speakers and better communicate with parents ahead of time, said a diocesan spokesman.

But he said in a statement to Lifesitenews that nothing in the sister's talk opposed Catholic teaching and she would be welcome to speak in the diocese in future.

The school's chaplain said he invited Sr Jane Dominic to give an address because he felt students at Charlotte Catholic had been poorly catechised and were suffering from spiritual darkness, particularly around the issue of sexuality.

Sources

• Charlotte Observer
• Huffington Post
• Lifesitenews
• Image: Bizpac Review

These are some of the findings of a world-wide poll commissioned in 12 countries, the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and the Philippines, by the US Spanish-language network, Univision.

The poll also shows that Catholics in developing countries are more likely to support the Church's position on matters, than their European and American counterparts.

Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific did not feature in the results.

New Zealand and the South Pacific countries suffering the additional indignity of even being left of Univision's world map.

What is distinctive today, is not that there are disagreements but that they centre on similar topics, Catholic theologian Lawrence Cunningham told the Washington Post.

"Even if you look in the North American church of my youth, Polish Catholics and Irish Catholics and Italian Catholics weren't focused on the same issues. They had their own views on family," Cunningham said.

"I don't think [today] it's an issue of disagreement. It's more: ‘Whoa, we're finding a lot of people from across the Catholic world talking about the same kinds of issues and we better face up to them.' "

Among its findings the poll discovered:

• 78% of Catholics across all countries surveyed support the use of contraceptives
• More than 90 percent of Catholics in Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Spain and France support the use of contraception. Those less inclined to support it were in the Philippines (68 percent), Congo (44 percent) and Uganda (43 percent). In the United States, 79 percent of Catholics support using contraception.
• 19% of Catholics in the European countries and 30% in the Latin American countries surveyed agree with church teaching that divorcees who remarry outside the church should not receive Communion, compared with 75% in the most Catholic African countries
• Catholics are split over the question of whether women and married me should be allowed to be priests, 30% of Catholics in the European countries and 36% in the United States agree with the church ban on female priests, compared with 80% in Africa and 76% in the Philippines, the country with the largest Catholic population in Asia
• 40% of Catholics in the United States oppose gay marriage, compared with 99% in Africa
• 65% thought abortion should be allowed, 8% in all cases and 57% some of the time, such as when the mother's life is in danger.
• 66% of Catholics opposed same-sex marriage and majorities in 8 of the 12 countries agreeing with the Church teaching
• 87% think Pope Francis is doing a good job

To prepare for an Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October this year, Pope Francis is currently looking for feedback from Catholics around the whole world.

Last week, as reported in CathNews, initial findings to the Vatican survey from Germany and Switzerland found Catholics labelled the Church's teaching on sexual morality as "heartless" and the German bishops calling the results "sobering".

Cardinal Seán O'Malley of Boston, who serves on the eight-member Council of Cardinals that is advising Pope Francis on curial reform, told The Boston Globe he does not think Pope Francis will change Catholic teaching on controversial matters.

"I don't see the Pope as changing doctrine," he said.

"The Church needs to be faithful to the Gospel and to Christ's teaching."

Cardinal O'Malley says Pope Francis is softening the tone of Church teaching, but not the substance of it. O'Malley believes Francis' stress on mercy and simplicity is having a huge effect.

Sources

• Washington Post
• Time
• The Guardian
• CathNews
• Boston Globe
• Image: Univision Survey

The accusation is in a lawsuit in which the archdiocese contests the administration's intention to force it to allow sterilisations, contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs for church employees under its staff insurance plan.

Continue reading

When the Italian Jesuit Father Luigi Taparelli D'Azeglio (1793-1862) coined the term "social justice" in the middle of the 19th century, he probably could not have foreseen its mention in an 1894 curial document and a 1904 encyclical, nor the importance attached to it by Pope Pius XI (1922-39) and subsequent pontiffs, culminating in the authoritative teaching on social justice in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992).

After the Catechism's promulgation, Blessed John Paul II (1978-2005) continued to speak about social justice. In a 1993 audience devoted to priests and politics, he said that "Jesus formulated the precept of mutual love, which implies respect for every person and his rights. It implies rules of social justice aiming at recognizing what is each person's due and at harmoniously sharing earthly goods among individuals, families and groups."

John Paul taught that as priests follow the "precept of mutual love" which "implies rules of social justice," they must do so in different ways from the laity. Strongly affirming the teaching of the 1971 Synod of Bishops, which was devoted in part to justice in the world, John Paul said that in circumstances in which there legitimately exist different political, social and economic options, priests like all citizens have a right to make their own personal choices. But since political options are by nature contingent and never in an entirely adequate and perennial way interpret the Gospel, the priest, who is the witness of things to come, must keep a certain distance from any political office or involvement.

Quoting the Catechism, Blessed John Paul added that "it is not the role of the pastors of the Church to intervene directly in the political structuring and organization of social life. This task is part of the vocation of the lay faithful, acting on their own initiative with their fellow citizens." Continue reading

Sources

• The Catholic World Report
• Image: Wikimedia Commons

The group called Catholics for Choice says its billboard and newspaper advertising campaign gives "an authentically Catholic message".

The "Good Catholics Use Condoms" advertisements show a smiling couple with the wording: "We believe in God. We believe that sex is sacred. We believe in caring for each other. We believe in using condoms."

But the chairman of the Kenyan Episcopal Conference, Cardinal John Njue, said the advertisements "deliberately ridicule the Catholic teaching on responsible sexual behaviour across all ages".

He assured all Catholics and "all who may be misguided by these adverts that the propagators of the message, who are anonymous, are not an authority in the Catholic Church and are therefore speaking for themselves and on their own behalf".

Catholics for Choice has a long record of opposing Catholic teaching in the US, especially on sexuality and abortion, since it was formed in 1973.

According to Wikipedia, its multi-million dollar budget is largely funded by secular foundations such as the Ford Foundation, Buffett Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and Playboy Foundation.

Its president, Jon O'Brien, said it launched its campaign in Kenya after pressure from religious groups forced the government to drop an advertising campaign promoting condom use in marriage in March.

"The ad was based on good science," said O'Brien; "more than 1.6 million people are living with HIV in Kenya, and condoms are an evidence-based method for preventing the spread of HIV.

"The aim of the campaign," he said, "is to ensure that Catholics know that despite what the bishops say, Catholics can in good conscience use condoms. Catholics in Kenya are no different. They can take the steps to protect themselves and their partners against HIV."

Sources:

BBC

God Discussion

Kenya Episcopal Conference

Image: Capital FM

Asked if they believe the pope is infallible when he teaches on matters of morality or faith, only 40 per cent of the total sample (and 45 per cent of those who said they attend Mass weekly) said yes.

A total of 79 per cent (62 per cent of weekly Mass attenders) favoured the use of artificial methods of birth control.

And 78 per cent (66 per cent of weekly Mass attenders) said they are more likely to follow their own conscience than papal teachings on difficult moral questions.

The poll found 69 per cent (61 per cent of weekly Mass attenders) believe the next pope should allow priests to marry; and a similar proportion (57 per cent of weekly Mass attenders) believe he should allow women to become priests.

Legalised abortion was opposed by 56 per cent (70 per cent of weekly Mass attenders); and a similar proportion (67 per cent of weekly Mass attenders) opposed the death penalty.

A majority of 53 per cent (44 per cent of weekly Mass attenders) said they believe the Catholic Church is out of touch with the needs of Catholics.

The New York Times/CBS News poll was based on telephone interviews, in English and Spanish, with 580 adult Catholics.

Three-quarters of those polled said they thought it was a good idea for Pope Benedict to resign. Most wanted the next pope to be "someone younger, with new ideas". A majority said they wanted the next pope to make the Church's teachings more liberal.

Sixty-two per cent said they were in favour of legalising marriage for same-sex couples. Catholics approved of same-sex marriage at a higher rate than Americans as a whole, among whom 53 per cent approved.

Source:

New York Times

Image: Another Voice-Greenleaf

The Pope said it is the duty of diocesan bishops and parish priests to see that the faithful "are not led into error of misunderstanding" through charitable initiatives.

He said bishops and parish priests "are to prevent publicity being given through parish or diocesan structures to initiatives which, while presenting themselves as charitable, propose choices or methods at odds with the Church's teaching".

In a motu proprio — a letter written on his own initiative — Pope Benedict said: "I intend to provide an organic legislative framework for the better overall ordering of the various organised ecclesial forms of the service of charity."

He gave these rules:

• A charitable group may call itself "Catholic" only with the written consent of Church authorities. If a particular outfit is deemed to be no longer "in conformity with the Church's teaching", the bishop should make that known and take steps to prevent it from using the title "Catholic".

• Personnel must "share, or at least respect" the Catholic identity of Church-affiliated charitable organisations, and must also "give an example of Christian life" beyond their professional competence.

• A Catholic charity may not take money "from groups or institutions that pursue ends contrary to the Church's teaching".

"Above all it's important to remember that practical actions are never enough," the Pope said. "Charity must express a genuine love for people, a love animated by a personal encounter with Christ."

He cautioned that Catholic charities must avoid becoming "just another form of organised social assistance".

The Pope gave specific praise to Caritas, saying this international agency has earned the esteem and trust of people around the world for its "generous and consistent witness of faith and ability to respond to the needs of the poor".

He said every bishop should encourage the creation of a local Caritas service or a similar body in every parish.

Sources:

The Holy See

Catholic News Agency

National Catholic Reporter

Image: Reuters

Pozolo, a senior at the University of Notre Dame, is one of many students who find themselves struggling to accept some of the Catholic church's beliefs.

These students are not alone. A recent USA Today article, examined the survey "Catholics in America: Persistence and change in the Catholic landscape."

The survey examined the beliefs and practices of 1,442 U.S. Catholic adults. The research was led by Catholic University sociologist William D'Antonio, and provided detailed information about specific beliefs.

According to the article, the survey found that 86% of those surveyed believed "you can disagree with aspects of the church's teachings and still remain loyal to the church."

Continue reading: Catholic students struggle with ‘outdated and inflexible' traditions

Source - Image: HelloQuizzy