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FORMER "JANE ROE" ANNOUNCES PLAN TO ENTER THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
by Domenico Bettinelli, Jr.
Catholic World News staff
DALLAS (CWNews.com) - Norma McCorvey, the woman who was
once the icon of the pro-abortion movement and later
renounced that status to become a pro-lifer and a
Christian, announced on Tuesday that she is planning to
enter the Catholic Church.
The former "Jane Roe" of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade
Supreme Court case that effectively legalized abortion on
demand said she has decided the join the "Mother Church of
Christianity." McCorvey was baptized into the Christian
faith in 1995 by the Rev. Flip Benham, director of
Operation Rescue, and then later met Father Frank Pavone of
Priests for Life, who became a mentor and friend and "the
catalyst to bring me into the Catholic Church."
McCorvey said she had clearly heard God tell her in prayer
that she was to come home to Him soon. Not knowing what the
ominous words meant, she consulted with Father Pavone. "I
told him of my concerns, and his advice to me was to
continue to pray and to ponder this message," she said. "I
listened to him and came to realize that what God was
actually saying to me was to 'come all the way home to Him'
in His Church."
Many Catholic pro-life leaders who knew McCorvey's mother
was Catholic encouraged her to return to that faith after
her initial conversion to Christianity. "After I came into
Christianity, I just wanted to learn the Gospel and all
that," McCorvey said. "And I did, but I also received both
the influences of the Evangelical side of the pro-life
issue and the Catholic side."
McCorvey said she expects to begin instruction in the
Catholic faith in July with Father Edward Robinson in
Dallas, and hopes to be ready to enter the Church by the
end of the year. "I will also continue to be in close
contact with Father Pavone, who now works at the Vatican
and will arrange for me to receive my Confirmation in the
city of Rome," she added. "He has told me that he is going
to inform the Pope of my decision to become a Catholic."
VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican agreed in principle Thursday to a joint
declaration with the Lutherans intended to settle a doctrinal dispute that was
at the heart of the Protestant Reformation.
With the agreement, most of the condemnations the Lutheran and Roman Catholic
churches heaped on one another when Western Christianity split in the 16th
century no longer apply, the Vatican said.
But while the Vatican said a ``high degree of agreement'' has been reached, it
said some differences on fundamental doctrine remain and these require further
study.
The Lutheran World Federation announced June 16 that its ruling council had
unanimously approved a declaration lifting the condemnations.
One of the key unresolved points regards what theologians call
``justification,'' or how man achieves salvation. For the Lutherans, it
depends on the grace of God, while Catholics maintain that good works are also
involved.
The Reformation stereotype was of Catholics earning their salvation through
the buying of papal indulgences.
``The level of agreement is high. But it does not yet allow us to affirm that
all the differences separating Catholics and Lutherans in the doctrine of
justification are simply a question of emphasis or language,'' the Vatican
said.
Cardinal Edward Cassidy, who heads the Vatican's office for relations with
other denominations, said of 44 points in the declaration, only three lacked
full agreement.
He said the formal signing of the Joint Declaration will take place this fall.
The declaration was drawn up last year by an international group of Catholic
and Lutheran theologians.
It was sent to the federation's 124 member churches, who represent 57 million
Lutherans, and the Vatican for approval.
Last year, the United States' largest Lutheran church, the 5 million-member
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, endorsed the declaration.
The ELCA is one of the federation's two largest churches. The other, the
Church of Sweden, has also endorsed the declaration.
Rome, Sep. 15 (CWNews.com) - Marriage cannot be reduced to a mere civil contract, argued Cardinal Julian Herranz in an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica .
The Spanish cardinal, who is president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, spoke to La Repubblica about a proposal to give legal recognition to "civil unions" in Italy. The proposal, advanced by Italian opposition leader Romano Prodi, has stirred a lively debate.
Cardinal Herranz reasoned that lawmakers "should always work for the common good," and observed that marriage and the family are "common goods par excellence." Therefore, he said, any political policy that strengthens family life deserves support, while anything that would weaken the family must be opposed.
Citing the message that Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) delivered to a conference on family life in June of this year, the cardinal said that the acceptance of various alternatives to marriage-- such as common-law partnerships and same-sex unions-- devalue the institution of marriage and harm the family. Marriage and the family "are not a casual sociological construction," he said, and "cannot be replaced by other forms."
In an interview published a day earlier, Cardinal Mario Francesco Pompedda had indicated that he was open to the recognition of civil unions. Although he made it clear that the measure should not be a step toward recognition for same-sex marriage, Cardinal Pompedda observed the proposal would offer some legal protection for the rights of unmarried couples.
Cardinal Herranz took a different view. "To speak about marriage and the family is one thing," he said, "and to discuss the rights of each person is another." He observed that lawmakers may legitimately take action to secure individual rights, but should never do so at the expense of marriage and the family. "We have to be very clear, and not create confusion, even in semantics," he said.
Church historian sees end to restrictions on Latin Mass
Dublin, Sep. 15 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) will take action soon to allow all Catholic priests to celebrate the Latin Mass, a Cambridge historian has predicted.
Speaking to a conference of priests in Ireland earlier this week, Eamonn Duffy said that it was "extremely likely that Pope Benedict will lift the restrictions on the celebration of the Tridentine liturgy," the Irish Independent reported.
The Tridentine ritual, which was the universal form of the Mass prior to Vatican II, is now celebrated only with the explicit permission, or "indult," of the diocesan bishop. Some Vatican-watchers speculate that Pope Benedict will announce a "universal indult," giving blanket permission for all Catholic priests to use the old ritual.
In remarks to the National Conference of Priests of Ireland, Eamonn Duffy said that he thought the Pope would make the policy change in October, during the meeting of the Synod of Bishops. The topic for Synod discussions is the Eucharist.
