Dolan affirms pro-life vision

In his first year as chairman of the bishops’ conference Pro-Life Committee, Cardinal Timothy Dolan called on the pro-life movement to “examine how we present our pro-life vision to others”.

“A cause that teaches the inexpressibly great value of every human being cannot show disdain or disrespect for any fellow human being,” Dolan said. “We should celebrate human freedom, always reminding others that this freedom is ours so we can freely choose the good – and that to enjoy this freedom, each of us must first of all be allowed to live. And especially in this Year of Mercy, we recall with Pope Francis that each human life is created by a God whose love is infinite.”

In Chicago, Archbishop Blase Cupich and hundreds of other pro-life activists braved sub-zero temperatures and extreme wind chill to attend that city’s annual rally. “The womb should not be their tomb,” Cupich said of the victims of abortion. “We should make room at the table for them, each and every child.”

A black Protestant minister  echoed the theme of the “Black Lives Matter” movement. “Black lives matter,” said the Revd Corey Brooks. “All lives matter. And I’m here to say: Babies’ lives matter!” Abortion rates in minority communities are consistently higher than in white communities.

Two US bishops who were forced from office last year after they mishandled charges of clergy sex abuse have taken pastoral assignments in other dioceses, according to the National Catholic Reporter. Bishop Robert Finn, former Bishop of Kansas City-St Joseph, is serving as chaplain to the School Sisters of Christ the King in Lincoln, Nebraska. Archbishop John Nienstedt, former Archbishop of St Paul, Minnesota, will be serving as an associate pastor at St Philip Church in Battle Creek, Michigan.