When Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a GOP presidential hopeful, said in July that, if Roe v. Wade were ever overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the issue of abortion would then bounce back to be decided by the individual states, he evoked challenges from many in the pro-life movement.

Perry based this stance on his interpretation of the 10th Amendment, which states that all powers not specifically named as belonging to the federal government are granted to the states.

“You either have to believe in the 10th Amendment or you don’t,” Perry said at the time. “You can’t believe in the 10th Amendment for a few issues and then [for] something that doesn’t suit you say, ‘We’d rather not have states...READ MORE

WASHINGTON (EWTN News) — A new study shows that infant baptisms in the Catholic Church have been declining year by year along with the birth rate in the U.S.

The numbers “are generally moving in step with the overall fertility rate, which has also been falling, more so since the recession in 2008,” said researchers from Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate on Aug. 24.

Results show that although the numbers of those entering the Catholic Church are almost high enough to keep up with the number of Catholics who pass away each year, this may not always be the case if current trends continue.

The survey noted that in each of the past three years, the...READ MORE

ROME (CNA) — The president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Archbishop Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, recently told CNA that the original definition of motherhood as a gift from God must be rediscovered.

Archbishop Carrasco said, “The reaction to the news of becoming a mother should return to being what it has always been, a reaction of joy” that leads us to say “Congratulations.” He added that the response to a mother should not be “‘I’m so sorry’ like we say to people who get sick.”

He recalled that it was Blessed John Paul II who was inspired 25 years ago to create the pontifical academy which is dedicated to the defense of human life. “He was the first to realize that the Church needed...READ MORE

WASHINGTON (EWTN News) — The White House’s clarification that Vice President Joseph Biden opposes China’s “repugnant” one-child policy is welcome but will “ring hollow” unless the vice president or president publicly condemns the policy, House Speaker John Boehner’s office said Aug. 24.

“If the Obama administration truly opposes the one-child policy and truly cares about undoing the damage the vice president’s comments have caused, the vice president himself — or his boss, the president of the United States — should personally go on record immediately and unequivocally right the wrong,” Boehner’s press office said.

The U.S. should also stop its contributions to the United Nations...READ MORE

A ‘True’ Jesuit Passes Away - Therese Rita, Zeal

Full Fathom Five - Calah Alexander, VirtuousPla.net

Catholic Church Seeks To Ban Women . . . Forever!!! - LarryD, Acts of the Apostasy

Diocese of Phoenix Statement: No More Altar Girls at Phoenix’s Cathedral - California Catholic Daily

Converts to Catholicism Continuing to Decline; What to Do - Msgr. Charles Pope, Archdiocese of Washington

Clergy Banned from 9/11 New York City Ceremony - Bill Donohue, Catholic League

Bishop Jenky: State of Illinois At War with Catholic Church - Thomas Peters, Catholic Vote/American Papist

Uphold Conscience Protection: Religious Freedom’s Contribution to the American Experience and Threats to its...READ MORE

From the bestseller lists to the talk shows, the heralds of atheism trumpet their victories over Christianity and religion. Their case complete and their ultimate victory assured, they already look to the future of an atheistic culture and world, once the final bastions of faith fall to the relentless and inevitable advance of science and technology.

To them, the struggle for the minds of modern man is now just a matter of time. The conflict raging for the last 500 years is over. All the crucial victories are won. And, religion retreats reeling from these devastating defeats in disgrace. Defeated, disorganized and discouraged, Christianity’s credibility is crushed completely in the eyes...READ MORE

BOSTON — The Archdiocese of Boston today posted an online database of priests and deacons accused of the sexual abuse of minors, a landmark decision that signaled Cardinal Sean O’Malley’s ongoing effort to break with the practices of episcopal negligence and secrecy that produced the 2002 scandal, forcing the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law, his predecessor.

“In total, 159 names of accused clerics of the Boston Archdiocese are included on the lists being published today. Of these, 22 represent cases that are still in process canonically, with the priest on administrative leave and having no public ministry. It is my wish and goal that these remaining cases be processed as expeditiously...READ MORE

The lesson of the U.S. S&P downgrade is: “At some point, you can’t continue to spend money you don’t have, especially if you have no plan to ever pay it back.” So says Gregory S. Jeffrey — a donor-development consultant who has worked primarily with Catholic organizations, and the author of the recent book Why Enough Is Never Enough: Overcoming Worries About Money: A Catholic Perspective (Our Sunday Visitor) — readily admitting that a farmer on his porch would tell you the same.

And yet, we do.

Odds are you’re doing it today as we near the end of another month, as the kids are going back to school with all the supplies and attire that entails, as property taxes are due, as Christmas...READ MORE