Tag: magliano

On
Tony Magliano

Protecting unborn in a ‘throw-away culture’

What a sight! Over 25 times from the top of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., I have seen a sea of people marching to proclaim the dignity of unborn human life and how death-dealing abortion sends the unholy message that some human beings are disposable.

As I write, I plan to march with and view that sea of people once again during the 42nd annual March for Life on January 22. It’s always a moral and spiritual shot-in-the-arm for me.

We have to do more

But good as they are, the Washington March for Life and the Walk for Life West Coast in San Francisco, as well as dozens of similar events at state capitols throughout the U.S., are simply not enough.

Read More
On
Tony Magliano

A Christmas gift for suffering South Sudan

The world’s newest nation is in big trouble. After more than 20 years of civil war between the southern and northern areas of Sudan, the southern part of that country on July 9, 2011, became the independent nation of the Republic of South Sudan.

But the situation on the ground soon looked like South Sudan had not been born, but instead was still suffering intense labor pains.

The many years of war brought not only much death but also drained South Sudan of valuable resources, leaving it an extremely poor nation.

Read More
On
Tony Magliano

Millions of refugees with no place to call home

Emergency: Syria! Emergency: South Sudan! Emergency: Democratic Republic of the Congo!

These are the alarming messages being displayed on the homepage (www.unhcr.org) of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

People uprooted from their homes

According to the UNHCR, Syria has more people forcibly displaced than any country on earth. Over nine million Syrians have been uprooted from their homes due to civil war — over 2.5 million of them have fled to neighboring countries as refugees. And most distressing, more than half of the displaced are children.

In South Sudan, UNHCR reports the civil war and growing food shortages there has led to approximately 2,000 people crossing into nearby countries per day. Many of these refugees have been arriving exhausted, nutritionally weak, and in poor health.

Read More
On
Tony Magliano

Thirsting for clean water

We turn on our faucets and out comes water — clean, refreshing, plentiful, life-sustaining water. But we rarely give it a thought.

We just tend to take for granted that it will always be there. We even forget to thank God — the well-spring of life.

Lack of access to clean water

But for 768 million fellow human beings, clean plentiful water is a distant dream, according to the United Nations. For them, the water they drink, cook with, and bath in, is polluted and often disease-ridden, and must be carried long distances in many cases.

According to figures released by the United Nations Children‘s Fund in 2013, lack of access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene is a leading cause of death from diarrhea in children under five, amounting to approximately 1,400 children dying each day.

Read More
On
Tony Magliano

Giving first to those in need

Making a Difference column logo

As the Christmas song goes: “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

While Easter is the most important time of the year, Christmas ranks very close. And when we consider in the broader sense that Christmas and Easter are theologically linked, it is true to say that in many ways Christmas is indeed the most wonderful time of the year.

But first comes Advent — that time presently upon us of preparation for Christmas.

Read More
On
Tony Magliano

Earth is dangerously warming — and we’re causing it

Making a Difference column logo

I usually write a column on global warming during the height of summer heat — it’s harder for people to deny global warming when they’re sweating.

But the highly authoritative United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) recent report, “Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis” (http://www.ipcc.ch), has important warnings for us to seriously consider now.

Read More
On
Tony Magliano

Negotiating peace before the trains collide

Making a Difference column logo

“The Israelis and Palestinians are like two trains on the same track heading towards each other,” said Maryknoll Father Jack Sullivan.

Focusing on the issue of peace in Israel/Palestine for the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Father Sullivan added that the Palestinians are extremely frustrated living under Israeli occupation, and that their growing sense of hopelessness is “a disaster waiting to happen.”

Read More
On
Tony Magliano

‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me’ — Why we need immigration reform

Making a Difference column logo

Thirty-five-years ago when Annunciation House — a sanctuary and home of hospitality that has served over 100,000 refugees, homeless poor, and undocumented workers — was started in El Paso, Texas, founding director Ruben Garcia and a few friends wanted to place themselves among the poor, to see where the poor would lead them.

He said, “They took us to the undocumented — the most vulnerable.”

Read More
On
Tony Magliano

Trial exposes abortion’s horrific downward spiral

Making a Difference column logo

“This case is about a doctor who killed babies and endangered women. What we mean is that he regularly and illegally delivered live, viable babies in the third trimester of pregnancy — and then murdered these newborns by severing their spinal cords with scissors,” states a Pennsylvania grand jury report regarding the alleged procedures of Dr. Kermit Gosnell.

From his Philadelphia abortion mill euphemistically named “Women’s Medical Society,” Gosnell performed late term abortions with few questions asked. “Too young? No problem. Didn’t want to wait? Gosnell provided same-day service,” states the report.

Read More