Tag: supreme

On
Patrick Hardyman

Supreme Court ignores principles in ‘Declaration of Independence’

Patrick Hardyman

On September 21, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which had earlier passed in the Senate by a vote of 85-14 and in the House of Representatives by a vote of 342-67.

DOMA had two major effects, “No state (or other political subdivision within the United States) need treat a relationship between persons of the same sex as a marriage, even if the relationship is considered a marriage in another state and secondly the federal government may not treat same sex relationships as marriages for any purpose, even if concluded or recognized by one of the states.”

Voters approve amendments

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Fr. Robert Barron

We’ve been here before

Recently, I had the privilege of spending four hours in the Sistine Chapel with my Word on Fire team. Toward the end of our filming, the director of the Vatican Museums, who had accompanied us throughout the process, asked whether I wanted to see the “room of tears.”

This is the little antechamber, just off of the Sistine Chapel, where the newly-elected pope changes into his white cassock. Understandably, tears flow in that room, once the poor man realizes the weight of his office.

Papal memorabilia

Inside, there were documents and other memorabilia, but what got my attention was a row of albs, chasubles, and copes worn by various popes.

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Kevin Wondrash

Diocese of Madison applauds court ruling

The Diocese of Madison issued the following statement in regard to the Supreme Court decision regarding contraception in employee health insurance coverage.

MADISON — The Supreme Court ruling on Monday, June 30, is a positive step toward recognizing the truth that the God-given freedom of religion and freedom of conscience cannot be disregarded by the government in its attempt to force its own beliefs on people of faith.

It must be recognized that the freedoms of religion and conscience can never be relegated to a church, synagogue, or mosque, and that they are the rights of every individual, conferred by God.

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Kevin Wondrash

City considers buffer zone around clinics

MADISON — The city of Madison is considering a proposal to impose a buffer zone of 160 feet around abortion clinics in the city.

“This buffer zone is quite severe — over four times the size of the controversial Massachusetts buffer zone being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court — and it would effectively end all sidewalk counseling at the Planned Parenthood abortion center on Orin Rd.,” said Pro-Life Wisconsin in a statement.

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Statement from U.S. Bishops on Supreme Court marriage decisions

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court decisions June 26 striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act and refusing to rule on the merits of a challenge to California’s Proposition 8 mark a “tragic day for marriage and our nation,” said Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, chair of the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage.

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John Huebscher

Judges on board deserve our thanks

Eye on the Capitol by John Huebscher

It is difficult to think of a scandal as a good thing. But the scandal triggered by violations of election and lobby laws 10 years ago, that led to reforming state regulation of both activities, had a positive effect.

One such reform merged the State Elections Board and the State Ethics Board into a new Government Accountability Board (GAB) with different membership. This has proven to be a very good thing.

Most members of the former Elections Board were designees of partisan leadership in the legislature. Board members did their best, but they had limited powers and were often expected to represent the interests of partisan leaders who appointed them.

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On
George Weigel

It’s not just an issue in Pakistan and China

The Catholic Difference by George Weigel

Thirty-some years ago, I spent a fair amount of time on religious freedom issues: which meant, in those simpler days, trying to pry Lithuanian priests and nuns out of Perm Camp 36 and other GULAG islands.

Had you told me in 1982 that one of my “clients,” the Jesuit Sigitas Tamkevicius, would be archbishop of Kaunas in a free Lithuania in 2012, I would have thought you a bit optimistic.

If you had also told me, back then, that there would eventually be serious religious freedom problems in the United States, I would have thought you a bit mad.

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