Maryland Supreme Court affirms Catholic groups don’t have to give benefits to homosexual partners

 

The Maryland Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on August 14 that Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is not required to extend marriage benefits to “married” homosexuals under state law.

As covered by LifeSiteNews and the Lepanto Institute in 2020, the suit highlighted multiple details casting doubt on CRS’s fidelity to Catholic principles, including having a senior executive vice president in a same-sex “marriage” and then-CEO Dr. Carolyn Woo claiming there was “not a clear path” as to whether Catholic organizations should or should not employ people in same-sex “marriages” for “non-ministerial” positions.

Maryland’s Democrat Attorney General Anthony Brown condemned the ruling and called on the state legislature to pass new legislation forcing religious employers to recognize homosexual unions.

For the complete story, go to LIFESITE NEWS.

The Forgotten from Fr. Michael's Newsletter

 

I looked out the side window and this same big and strong man who had a major scar on his forehead asked me for one dollar. Now, even at 7-11 one cannot buy any product for only $1.00. None at all. Before he came knocking on my window, I had looked him over and figured he was working and probably truly in need.

So, when he came beside my truck I already had a ten dollar bill folded up in my right hand. And so, in the few minutes we spoke, I learned that God had yet again, sent forth another stranger, another beggar and another reminder that this stranger, like all people, is my brother. Do I really believe that I am my brother’s keeper? How do you answer this question? How do you live out this question? How do you put your faith into action?

This man told me he is a hard working and reliable jack of many trades but a master at none. He does drywall, painting, landscaping and other types of work. But he is not fully employed daily. It is all hit and miss! When he works a full day he can make $150.00. And sometimes when he works a full day, the contractor refuses to pay him at all. And he is stuck!

After listening, I again asked him how much money he really needed and again he said $1.00. I told him to take care of himself and especially his body and mind, and to stay away from alcohol, drugs and even cigarettes. 

If you want to read the rest of the story, click here.

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BTW, Fr. Michael is a priest in the Archdiocese of Washington. 

DC FACE trial: Pro-life defense not allowed to say ‘infanticide,’ ‘abortion,’ or ‘innocent lives’

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – In a criminal trial I thought it was the job of the defense to argue in any way they thought reasonable to defend their client in court. I also thought it was the job of the jury to adjudicate the truth of the arguments offered by each side; and that it was the job of the judge to assure as much as possible that impartial jurors be selected to adjudicate whether the guilt of the defendants has been proven or not, and to impartially oversee the procedural progress of the trial. 

Such, however, does not seem to have been the understanding of the judge in the present FACE Act trial in Washington D.C. in which charges of conspiracy and violations of a federal statute – a statute dependent upon the now-overturned Roe v. Wade and designed to assure at the federal level access to abortion facilities – are being leveled against nine pro-lifers, who sought to rescue the unborn from the untimely death of abortion. 

Yesterday, while I watched Day One of the trial unfold in the courtroom, the prosecution and defense made their opening statements and heard the first several witnesses that the prosecution brought to the case. If the selection of a predominantly pro-abortion jury – in a case in which the defendants have said they acted out of their conviction that abortion is the murder of the baby – were not already an indication that the verdict is essentially predetermined in this trial, then the continual objections of the prosecution during the opening statement of the defense, and the full cooperation of the judge in sustaining them, should indicate the guided direction in which this trial is going. 

To read the rest, please go to LIFESITE NEWS. 

Pro-Life Activists Assaulted in DC

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – Abortion supporters attacked two pro-life activists sidewalk counseling outside of Planned Parenthood’s mega-abortion center in Washington, D.C. on Saturday. Despite video of the attacks, D.C. police will not press charges, the pro-life activists said.

Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU) is an anti-abortion group that allies itself with liberals on other issues, including support for Black Lives Matter what it calls “trans rights,” according to its website. Also on Saturday, members of the group also faced attacks at another location where they were handing out free supplies to help pregnant and parenting moms.

Abortion activists “assaulted” Terrisa Bukovinac and Michael Gribbin, both with PAAU, “outside the DC Planned Parenthood” on Saturday morning, according to a news release from the group.

 

To read the full story, go to LifeSite News.  

Fr. Dan Leary Update (Part 2)

 

I was informed, via the grapevine, that the real reason Fr. Dan Leary was asked to return was that he was given only a three (3) year leave of absence from the Archdiocese of Washington to do this mission work.   

Everything that I had heard or at least understood was that this was permanent.  

 Maybe Fr. Dan was hoping that it would be extended?  

Maybe it was understood that this part of the agreement was not to be discussed?

Maybe I was not told the truth on this?   

 Don't have an answer to that.  Maybe you do.

Fr. Dan Leary and Human Trafficing (not what you think) in LifeSite News

 We think of Christ on the cross here, the Christ who suffered torment, but also the Christ who rose,” Leary said. “Because of the heavy trauma, many of these girls have spiritually and emotionally died. It is work to enter into the wound of abuse, to allow a man – even a priest – who desires to spiritually help them to enter into that dark place. But these girls are also smart; they know they have to live.”

“When they fully open themselves to healing, this dark place of theirs becomes a place of the empty tomb; where death and evil lose, where the girls begin to crawl out of their caves.”

Several sisters wept and confided to me of their love for Leary. “He has awakened me – he has awakened all the Sisters – to the sacrificial love of a father,” Sr. Marilyn said. Sr. Margie Cheong, the woman who once headed all the Sisters of Mary communities throughout Central and South America, said Leary’s fatherly presence – especially as it relates to his emphasis on healing in front of the Eucharist – has transformed the entire community.

“Even if I asked [Leary] to slow down, I couldn’t do anything to stop him. It is very strange; his work ethic to help the children and the sisters seems a supernatural grace,” she said. “All of us need an hour or two to ourselves to break away, but not him. He keeps going… Many Sisters have told me that his priesthood and his spiritual direction have changed their lives.”

 

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A dozen or so priests, a bishop, and seminarians have visited Leary over the past few years to assist with the mountain of his spiritual work. “I was wiped out after a few days,” said a priest from Washington, D.C.

Fr. Dan’s work is non-stop; simply, it is a supernatural grace that sustains him. The devil is relentless, and Fr. Dan’s work in these villas is proof that with God’s supernatural grace, a single priest can be an instrument that brings large and relentless measures of love and healing.

All day long he works with kids who’ve been beaten up, and individually, he listens to them all. But here’s the thing; these kids are healing. He’s equipping them with the spiritual tools to live again and be productive members of their villages, colleges, and communities. In some measure, he is helping to rebuild the Catholic Church in Mexico through these children.

 

To read the full story, go to LIFESITE NEWS.