 Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee uncaps his pen to sign the Marriage Equality Act into law at the State House in Providence, R.I., May 2. Rhode Island became the 10th U.S. state to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. — CNS photo PROVIDENCE (LifeSiteNews.com) – Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee has signed a law redefining “marriage” to include homosexual couples, making Rhode Island the tenth state to accept same-sex “marriages.”
The law takes effect Aug. 1 and contains a provision allowing those who entered same-sex civil unions to convert those legal partnerships to “marriages.”
Rhode Island’s new law redefines marriage by removing all gender-specific language from the state’s marriage laws. It also adds new language that permits a person to marry any other eligible person, regardless of sex. more…
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Pentagon issued a statement recently saying that Christians in the military could be court-martialed for promoting religious beliefs.
The statement comes after the Washington Post reported in April that anti-Christian activists had met with senior Pentagon officials to press for the court martial of Christians in the military who “promote their personal religious beliefs to their subordinates or to extend preferential treatment for any religion.” more…
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WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA (LifeSiteNews) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Obama Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from enforcing its birth control mandate against a Catholic-owned for-profit lumber company.
The Catholic owners of the Seneca Hardwood Lumber Company (SHLC) will, at least for now, not be forced to provide health insurance coverage for contraception, sterilization, or abortion-causing drugs, due to their deeply-held religious beliefs against such measures. more…
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Pentagon issued a statement recently saying that Christians in the military could be court-martialed for promoting religious beliefs.
The statement comes after the Washington Post reported in April that anti-Christian activists had met with senior Pentagon officials to press for the court martial of Christians in the military who “promote their personal religious beliefs to their subordinates or to extend preferential treatment for any religion.” more…
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 Screen capture from alaska-kofc.org CatholicAnchor.org
On Friday, May 10, the Alaska Council of the Knights of Columbus will hold it’s annual banquet, featuring a keynote address from Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz titled: “Year of Faith: Defense of Liberty.”
The formal banquet is open to all members of the Knights of Columbus and their families.
The evening will include a greeting video from the Supreme Knight Carl Anderson as well as the presentation of awards for outstanding service in the areas of community, council, church, family, youth and pro-life.
The event begins with a 7 p.m. social followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m.
Preregistration is required, the dress is formal and the cost is $62 per person.
The event will be held at the Egan Center in Anchorage.
Catholic Press is invited but there is no budget for gratis meal.
For more information, call Ron Reinhardt 563-7804.
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 Mindy Goorchenko GUEST COLUMN
By MINDY GOORCHENKO
For the CatholicAnchor.org
G.K. Chesterton wrote, “If individuals have any hope of protecting their freedom, they must protect their family life.”
This quote reminds me of a seemingly minor event which occurred last autumn, when our yard, like every other yard in Alaska, had become submerged under a layer of fallen leaves.
That day, I sent my kids outside to rake the backyard. About halfway through, they began whining and complaining; they had had the day off school and had spent most of it vegetating on their rear ends. I probably would have had more sympathy if they had been in school all day. more…
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 Same-sex “marriage” activists cheer during a rally outside the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco Feb. 7, 2012, moments before a three-judge panel struck down the California ban on same-sex marriage. The case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court. — CNS photo By GEORGE WEIGEL
The Catholic Difference
The Supreme Court’s decision to hear arguments about the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8 guarantees that the debate over marriage will be at the forefront of American public life for the foreseeable future.
DOMA defines marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman for purposes of federal law (it says nothing about what states may or may not define as “marriage”). Proposition 8 was a voter-initiated correction of the California Supreme Court’s interpretation of that state’s constitution as containing a “right” to same-sex “marriage.” Irrespective of whether the U.S. Supreme Court takes a narrow approach to these cases, or tries to find a “right” to same-sex “marriage” in the U.S. Constitution that would be binding on all the states, the marriage debate will continue. more…
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 New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan listens to proceedings of the U.S. bishops’ meeting in November in Baltimore. Cardinal Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a Feb. 7 statement that the government’s new set of proposed ru les on insurance coverage of contraceptives falls short in meeting concerns of the church. — CNS photo CNA/EWTN News
Washington D.C. — The U.S. bishops said that the Obama administration’s proposed revisions to the federal contraception mandate fail to address the major religious liberty concerns they voiced last year.
While the federal government has indicated “that it is open to dialogue,” there are still “serious issues that remain” in its most recent attempt to respond to the grave concerns raised by many Americans, said Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The cardinal explained in a Feb. 7 statement that the government’s new proposals to modify the contraception mandate fall short of offering the necessary protections for religious freedom. more…
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 Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell By JOEL DAVIDSON
CatholicAnchor.org
“Religion and morality are necessary conditions of the preservation of free government,” Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell said, quoting the famous words of President George Washington.
Speaking during a Dec. 20 gathering at the Sea Galley restaurant in Anchorage, Treadwell said government is obliged to defend religious freedom and to allow for religious expression in the public sphere.
The presentation was part of a monthly Theology & Brew speaker series on faith and culture sponsored by the Anchorage Archdiocese. more…
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 Dominican Father Tony Wall speaks Dec. 10 at Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage. — Photo by Mario Bird Priest unpacks Vatican II & religious liberty
By MARIO BIRD
CatholicAnchor.org
Why are governments obligated to uphold human rights? Put another way, why are some freedoms — such as religious freedom — inviolable? Secular ideologies and the Catholic Church answer this question differently, said Dominican Father Tony Wall at a recent talk in Anchorage.
Presenting at the Dominican Forum speaker series at Holy Family Cathedral on Dec. 10, Father Wall gave a talk titled “Religious Freedom and Vatican II.”
The 87-year-old San Francisco native and past president of the Dominican School at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley traveled to Alaska in December to preach and give a parish retreat at the cathedral. His Dec. 10 talk launched into a deep discussion of human freedom, the Second Vatican Council’s seminal teaching on religious liberty. more…
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