The Church of St. Luke

Lahore, Pakistan, Dec 13, 2018 / 12:40 pm (EWTN News/CNA).- A Pakistani official announced this week a new "Minorities Empowerment Package" and the creation of a taskforce to ensure the rights of religious minorities in the province of Punjab.

Columbus, Ohio, Dec 13, 2018 / 06:40 pm (EWTN News/CNA).- The Ohio Senate has passed a modified bill to ban abortions when the unborn child has a detectable heartbeat, and backers could have enough votes to override a promised veto from Gov. John Kasich.

Canberra, Australia, Dec 13, 2018 / 05:51 pm (EWTN News/CNA).- Amid competing claims of religious freedom rights and LBGT rights, the Australian prime minister said Thursday the government will next year introduce a bill to protect against discrimination based on religious belief or activity.

New York City, N.Y., Dec 13, 2018 / 05:21 am (EWTN News/CNA).- As rent prices increase in New York City, so does its homeless population, affecting not only adults throughout the city but children as well. 

Washington D.C., Dec 13, 2018 / 04:21 pm (EWTN News/CNA).- A bill was introduced Monday in the US House of Representatives to require that the State Department include "reproductive rights" in its annual human rights report.

WASHINGTON— The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Subcommittee on the Church in Africa has approved 33 grants totaling $1 million in funding to support pastoral projects for episcopal conferences and dioceses across the African continent. The grants were approved at the Subcommittee's meeting on November 11 in Baltimore.

Projects slated to receive funding through the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa include the following:

● Strengthening the availability and accessibility of Natural Family Planning services in Uganda
● Creation of a continent-wide platform of Catholic student action movements, through the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM)
● Ongoing leadership and child-protection formation of local clergy in Zambia
● Integration of Catholic social teaching during priestly formation in the African Great Lakes region

"The Solidarity Fund enriches the Church in both Africa and the United States by building relationships of mutual solidarity through pastoral support for our sisters and brothers in Africa,” said Cardinal Joseph Tobin, CSsR, of Newark, chairman of the Subcommittee on the Church in Africa. “I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of the faithful who give generously to the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa and who continue to pray for our universal Church."

The Subcommittee on the Church in Africa oversees the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa as part of the USCCB Committee on National Collections. It allocates revenue received from the Solidarity Fund, which is a voluntary collection, as pastoral grants to episcopal conferences and their regional associations in Africa. To learn more about the work of the Subcommittee visit www.usccb.org/africa.
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Keywords: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, CSsR, Subcommittee on the Church in Africa, Solidarity Fund, Committee on National Collections, Natural Family Planning, Uganda, Zambia, Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa, Madagascar.

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Media Contact:
Judy Keane
202-541-3200

 

Detroit, Mich., Dec 13, 2018 / 01:14 pm (EWTN News/CNA).- Michigan has passed a bill that would continue to prohibit doctors from prescribing abortion-inducing drugs through a teleconference call, permanently extending a ban that first took effect in 2012. 

WASHINGTON— The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America awarded over $3.2 milllion in funding for 173 grants to support the pastoral work of the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean, and nearly $800,000 toward seven grants for recovery and reconstruction projects in areas devastated by earthquakes in Haiti and Mexico and Hurricanes Matthew, Maria, and Irma. The grants were approved at the Subcommittee's meeting on November 10, 2018, in Baltimore.

The Subcommittee approved funding for several projects in many countries of the region. For example, projects supporting lay formation and leadership were funded in Cuba and Ecuador; evangelization and catechesis projects were supported in Uruguay and El Salvador. Other projects were funded to support to indigenous populations in Brazil and Venezuela.

The Subcommittee also approved grants to support youth ministry and travel for delegates from various Latin American countries, including Haiti, Peru and Cuba, to participate in World Youth Day in Panama City, Panama, January 22-27, 2019.

“The Collection for the Church in America has an immeasurable impact on people throughout the region, particularly among the most vulnerable,” said Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Anchorage, Chairman for the Committee on National Collections. “I sincerely thank the Catholics of the United States for their generosity to, and solidarity with, our sisters and brothers in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

Pastoral grants are funded by the annual Collection for the Church in Latin America, taken in many dioceses across the United States on the fourth Sunday in January. The emergency and reconstruction grants were awarded from various special collections called by the USCCB.

The Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America oversees the collection and an annual grant program as part of the USCCB Committee on National Collections. It allocates revenue received from the Collection for the Church in Latin America as grants across Latin America and the Caribbean. More information about the Collection for the Church in Latin America and the many grants it funds, the latest list of the approved projects, as well as resources to promote it across the country, can be found at www.usccb.org/latin-america.

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Keywords: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Archbishop Paul D. Etienne, Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America, Caribbean, Haiti, Mexico, Hurricanes Matthew, Maria, Irma, Peru, Cuba, World Youth Day, Panama.
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Media Contact:
Judy Keane
202-541-3200

 

Chicago, Ill., Dec 12, 2018 / 06:58 pm (EWTN News/CNA).- This year, for Father Esequiel Sanchez, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe brings up terrifying memories - and a huge reason to be thankful.

Nashville, Tenn., Dec 12, 2018 / 06:38 pm (EWTN News/CNA).- As Tennessee has seen an increase in pro-life legislation in recent years, the only abortion clinic in Nashville temporarily ceased its abortion services last week.