Faith of the Fathers Report: July 2013

Thursday, July 25, 2013

The following excerpts are from CatholicCulture's Catholic World News:

An annual survey of over 1,000 Americans has found that only 24% of respondents are able to identify religious freedom as a First Amendment right.
The survey, conducted by the Newseum Institute’s First Amendment Center, also found that only 13% of women and 6% of men believe that religious freedom is the most important freedom mentioned in the First Amendment.
“The majority of Americans (62%) agree that if a religiously affiliated group receives government funding, then the government should be able to require the group to provide health-care benefits to same-sex partners of employees, even if the religious group opposes same-sex marriages or partnerships,” the survey continued.

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Only 24% of Americans aware that religious freedom is 1st Amendment right : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from LifeNews.com:

The Planned Parenthood abortion business must repay $1.4 million dollars in Texas after it was found to have participated in a massive Medicaid fraud scheme.
Last year, a former employee of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast has filed a whistleblower’s complaint with the Attorney General of Texas and the U.S. Department of Justice. The PPGC employee alleges that the abortion business engaged in an elaborate Medicaid fraud scheme.
Karen Reynolds, who worked as a “health care assistant” from 1999 to 2009 at the Lufkin, Texas, branch of the affiliate formerly known as Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas, submitted company memos and emails to support her charge that PPGC has engaged in a systemwide scheme to bilk Medicaid, Title XX, and the Women’s Health Program of tens of millions of dollars over the course of at least a decade.
Reynolds alleges bosses trained employees to bill government agencies for medical and family planning services not rendered, for services no reasonable medical personnel would provide, and – the biggest bombshell – for abortion-related services fudged to appear as if they were not.

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Texas Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz Must Repay $1.4 Million After Medicaid Fraud | LifeNews.com

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

Archbishop Joseph Marino has issued a statement expressing regret for any misunderstandings created by his remark that Christians had made a “logical and acceptable” case for using the word “Allah” in reference to God.

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Malaysia: papal envoy voices regrets for uproar over using 'Allah' : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

With registration lagging below expectations, the World Youth Day (WYD) celebration in Rio de Janeiro faces financial problems, reports John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter.
Organizers had hoped to attract at least 1 million people to WYD. But less than a month before the events, only 320,000 young people had registered.
Many young people who might have made the trip to Rio are probably being discouraged by the unrest in Brazil. Angry protests—sometimes breaking out into violence—have been organized to protest government spending priorities, including the decision to host both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.

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Rio WYD organizers face financial squeeze : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from LifeSiteNews.com:

As the U.S. Bishops’ development agency was taking heat last summer for handing out over $5 million to the abortion-supporting group CARE, they were in the midst of giving a total of $13.8 million in grants to the same pro-abortion group during 2012, according to its recently-published IRS filings.
While CARE claims it “does not fund, support or perform abortions,” in 2009 its president and CEO, Helene Gayle, appeared before a Senate committee to urge the funding of abortions abroad by overturning the Mexico City Policy. CARE also heavily distributes contraceptives, including the abortifacient “emergency contraception,” as part of its development efforts.

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Catholic Relief Services gave over $13 million to pro-abortion group in 2012 | LifeSiteNews.com

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

Two dozen members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recently signed a statement decrying police actions against pro-family protestors in France.
“Hundreds of walkers and protesters were brutalized, gassed, arbitrarily arrested and jailed for 24 hours and more,” the lawmakers stated in reference to protests in recent months. “Reports from lawyers and NGOs indicate that more than 600 individuals have been arrested and jailed.”

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Police brutality against pro-family protestors in France : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from LifeNews.com:

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a motion to intervene Monday in a lawsuit filed by a branch of the NAACP and others against an Arizona bill that prohibits gender- and race-based abortions.
Alliance Defending Freedom represents the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Steve Montenegro, and The Frederick Douglass Foundation. Also moving to intervene is Maricopa County Attorney William Montgomery, who is empowered to enforce the Arizona law.
“Every innocent life deserves to be protected, and that’s especially true of babies being targeted for death simply because of their sex or race,” said Senior Counsel Casey Mattox. “There is nothing medically necessary or constitutionally protected about an abortion that is committed on the basis of sex or race, and the NAACP should be opposed to such a practice more than anyone.”
Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP’s Maricopa County branch is suing together with the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum. Together the groups claim that the Arizona law is unconstitutional and stigmatizes minorities for their decision to have an abortion.
“It is a tragic injustice to discriminate against unborn babies because of their race or gender,” said Montenegro, primary sponsor of HB 2443. “The public must not be misled by misinformation aimed solely at dismantling a law that gives every child the equality he or she deserves.”

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NAACP Attacks Arizona Bill Prohibiting Abortions Based on Race | LifeNews.com