null / Shutterstock

CNA Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Montana’s Catholic bishops have issued a joint letter denouncing a proposed pro-abortion constitutional amendment they say would pave the way for late-term abortions, partial-birth abortions, and an elimination of the state’s parental notification requirement for minors in Montana.

In their May 3 letter, the bishops called the initiative an attack on the “recognition of the infinite dignity enjoyed by all persons” that fails to respect “life as a precious gift from God and recognize our sacred duty to nurture and protect every human life.”

“This recognition of the infinite dignity enjoyed by all persons informs our understanding of the basic rights and protections to which all human beings are entitled,” the letter stated. “When those rights are threatened, the Church must speak up with clarity and boldness.”

The statement — signed by Bishop Austin Vetter of Helena and Bishop Jeffrey Fleming and Bishop Emeritus Michael Warfel of Great Falls-Billings — urged Catholics in the state to refrain from signing the petition and to pray for the initiative’s defeat.

The proposed amendment, officially called Constitutional Initiative 128 (CI-128), would “provide a right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion,” according to the language approved by Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, and would “prohibit the government from denying or burdening the right to abortion before fetal viability,” which is generally interpreted to mean at about 22 weeks.

Jacobsen on April 5 authorized supporters of the initiative to begin collecting the more than 60,000 signatures of registered voters required to place the measure on the Nov. 5 ballot.

In a separate video statement, the bishops emphasized that the proposed amendment would eliminate the existing requirement for parents to be notified before a minor has an abortion.  Fleming said this move would foster a “culture of secrecy” and “undermine families.”

Montana’s initiative comes as pro-abortion groups in more than a dozen states seek to have measures placed on the November ballot.

null / Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Thousands of pro-life activists participated in the Ireland March for Life on Monday, marching from St. Stephen’s Green in central Dublin to the Irish Parliament.

The Irish Catholic, a Dublin-based news source, reported that thousands of pro-lifers attended the march. Video of the event posted online shows large crowds of pro-life activists, many of whom appear high school and college age, holding balloons, banners, and signs with pro-life messages. 

The crowds appear joyful with many marchers smiling and cheering. 

Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, head of the Irish Episcopal Conference, participated in the march along with several other Catholic leaders. He called the event “uplifting and positive” in “contrast to the dismal, negative messages of aggression, violence, and death that threaten to overwhelm us at times.” 

Ahead of Ireland’s elections, speakers urged march attendees to “think pro-life” this year. 

This comes just days after Ireland passed a “Safe Access Zones” bill that mandated 100-meter (about 300 feet) zones around abortion provider entrances and exits in which “certain conduct aimed at impeding access or influencing decisions in relation to termination of pregnancy services will be prohibited.” 

Eilís Mulroy, one of the march organizers and speakers, urged Irish citizens to prioritize voting for pro-life candidates and parties amid abortion rates he said are currently “soaring” and having a “devastating” effect on Irish society.

Abortion became legal in Ireland in 2018 and is currently allowed until 12 weeks of pregnancy. Before 2018, Ireland’s eighth amendment allowed abortions only in cases in which the mother’s life was in danger. 

A commission set up to review legislation introduced after the 2018 referendum passed is considering eliminating a three-day waiting period, removing criminal penalties for medical professionals performing abortions, and changing the legal definition of fatal fetal anomalies.

According to Irish news source Offaly Independent, Ireland saw an all-time high of 9,218 abortions in 2023. This is up from 8,876 abortions in 2022 and approximately 7,000 abortions each year from 2019 through 2021. In total, there have been approximately 38,018 babies killed by abortion in Ireland since the procedure was legalized in 2018. 

Shortly before the march, Martin and several other bishops and priests celebrated a Mass at nearby Newman University Church. 

Bishop Kevin Doran of the Diocese of Elphin, chairman of the Irish bishops’ Council for Life, gave the homily in which he said: “We are called — in whatever we do or whatever we say — to be witnesses to the love of God made present in Jesus Christ. For us, that inevitably means bearing witness to the inherent value of every human life.”

Alluding to the Safe Access Zones law, Doran added that “nothing — no law, no public policy, and no peer pressure from neighbors or colleagues can remove our right and indeed our responsibility to advocate publicly for those who are most vulnerable, especially at the beginning and at the end of life.”

Children look on during a procession at the General Assembly that was held in Mingende in the Kundiawa Diocese in 2022. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Catholic Bishops' Conference of Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands

CNA Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Children and youth will be central to Pope Francis’ visit to Papua New Guinea from Sept. 6–9, according to Father Giorgio Licini, secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Solomon Islands.   

Licini, who is on the organizing committee of the Holy Father’s 2024 visit, said young people are central in the planning of the papal trip to Papua New Guinea. In the Catholic Church, “the level of participation by laity and youth is high,” he said. “Everything is ‘young’ in PNG: church, country, modern civilization.” 

“It was only in early October 2023 that our bishops’ conference was told that the pope still had a great desire to visit Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea in Oceania,” Licini told CNA. 

As part of his apostolic journey, Pope Francis is expected to visit a safe house for young girls in Vanimo and then, in the nearby village of Baro, greet missionaries, staff, and students of a school he helped develop. In Port Moresby, the Holy Father intends to meet with children supported by the archdiocese’s ministries for the care of street children. 

“The youth here greatly suffer for lack of education and employment opportunities. The breakdown of the family adds to neglect, poverty, and micro-criminality,” Licini explained. “Besides education and health, nowadays the social services of the Catholic Church focus on family life, child protection and promotion, domestic violence, and sorcery accusations related [to] violence, corruption awareness, and justice, peace, and reconciliation, mainly in [areas affected by tribal violence].” 

The last appointment of the papal visit in Papua New Guinea will be a youth festival at the city stadium in Port Moresby.

Isabella Saleu, a young laywoman working for Caritas Papua New Guinea — the justice, peace, relief, and development agency of the Catholic Church in the country — said she looks forward to the youth festival planned with the pope and believes his visit will be a “spiritually enriching experience” that will reinforce the Catholic identity in the country.

“The world needs us young people and all the enthusiasm we have to make it better, safer, happier and more Christ-like,” Saleu told CNA. “Over the years, the Church has not only evangelized but [also] has contributed immensely to delivering basic services by providing schools and institutions, hospitals, clinics and aid posts, safe houses, and facilities for pastoral and social services.” 

“Considering also the recent fateful events of ‘Black Wednesday’ on Jan. 10 that resulted in deaths and hospitalization, as the country came to a standstill when thugs took over the streets of the capital city Port Moresby who looted and burned down shops and caused the city to tremble in fear as police ceased duties, we hope that the papal visit raises our spirits to continue to move forward as a nation,” she added. 

To date, over 98% of Papua New Guinea citizens identify as Christian. Catholicism represents the largest Christian denomination in the country with an estimated 4 million people — about 25% of the total population. 

Pope Francis’ visit to Papua New Guinea will be his first trip to the country as part of his 11-day Asia Pacific apostolic journey in September. Pope John Paul II visited Papua New Guinea in 1984 and 1995.

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks to the media on May 26, 2022, in New York City. / Credit: Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 7, 2024 / 18:00 pm (CNA).

A New York Supreme Court judge ruled that a referendum to enshrine a right to abortion in the state’s constitution cannot appear on the ballot in November because the state did not follow the proper procedure — but the state plans to appeal the decision. 

The proposed “Equal Rights” amendment would have established broad rights to “reproductive health care” by prohibiting discrimination based on “pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive health care and autonomy.” 

Although the text avoids use of the word “abortion,” the proposal was widely seen as creating a constitutional protection for women to access abortion.

In a ruling on Tuesday, Judge Daniel J. Doyle ordered that the referendum be removed from the Nov. 5 ballot because lawmakers did not follow the procedure laid out in the state constitution.

According to the New York Constitution, lawmakers must submit proposed amendments to the attorney general for review before they can adopt the language. The attorney general must respond within 20 days of the submission, but if the attorney general does not respond in that time frame, the lawmakers can proceed without that official’s input. 

Even though the lawmakers referred the language to the attorney general, the lawmakers voted on the referendum on the same day that they referred it to the attorney general. They had not received a response, nor had they waited 20 days. According to the judge’s ruling, this vote was in violation of the New York Constitution because it bypassed the proper procedure.

“The constitution is the supreme will of the people,” Doyle said in his ruling. 

“This court cannot condone the actions taken by the Legislature in derogation of the expressed will of the people,” Doyle continued. “The Legislature’s vote … prior to receiving the opinion of the attorney general frustrated the deliberative process intended by the people in [the state constitution].”

New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a post on X that she intends to appeal the ruling.

“In New York, the Equal Rights Amendment was advanced to protect people’s fundamental rights like reproductive freedom and access to abortion care,” James said. “The decision to strike the ERA from the ballot in November is disappointing, and we’re appealing to defend New Yorkers’ rights.”

If the judge’s decision stands, it would force lawmakers to start the amendment process from the beginning. To approve an amendment to the constitution in New York, both chambers of the Legislature must approve the proposed language two years in a row — and then it can be placed on the ballot for a vote by the public. 

Current abortion laws in New York allow women to abort their preborn children through the 24th week of pregnancy. 

It’s unclear whether the proposed amendment would have extended this limit until birth. The language would have also promised equal protection under the law and prohibit any person, corporation, institution, or government agency from discriminating against a person covered under the law.

The proposed amendment would have also prohibited discrimination based on a person’s “sexual orientation, gender identity, [and] gender expression.”

Voters in various states are slated to vote on abortion-related referendums in November. In some states, petitioners are still working to get proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot.

In conjunction with her efforts to get abortion on the New York ballot, James is also suing pro-life pregnancy centers that offer resources to pregnant women without providing abortions. In her lawsuit, she accused these centers of providing false information about abortion pill reversal drugs.

New Swiss Guards prepare to be sworn in on May 6, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Elizabeth Alva/EWTN

ACI Prensa Staff, May 7, 2024 / 17:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis received the Vatican’s Swiss Guard Corps on the occasion of the swearing-in of the new guards on May 6.

After participating in a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, 34 new recruits and their families were received by Pope Francis at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace. At 5 p.m. local time, the young men pledged their loyalty and absolute resolve to serve the successor of Peter.

‘Thank you for your generous service’

Addressing the new recruits and their families, the Holy Father expressed his gratitude for their presence and their “daily service, always generous and diligent.”

The pope especially greeted Commander Christoph Graf, as well as the guard chaplain, whom he referred to as “an excellent Benedictine.”

After expressing his gratitude, the pontiff noted that among the guards there is “a positive and respectful atmosphere in the barracks, a courteous behavior with your superiors and guests, despite the sometimes long periods of intense and exhausting service.”

“You demonstrate a high level of motivation and willingness to serve, and also — this pleases me greatly — good relations among yourselves: You go on excursions together, you spend holidays together, you go out together often. And that’s very good,” he remarked.

Pope Francis  pointed out that “relationship is the key experience for us Christians: Jesus revealed and witnessed to us that God is love, he is in himself a relationship, and in this mystery we find the goal and the fullness of our existence.”

‘The great family of the Swiss Guard’

For Pope Francis, “good relationships are the path to our human and Christian growth and maturation.”

He reiterated that much of what characterizes our personality we have learned through relationships with our loved ones and noted that “life in the great family of the Swiss Guard, for at least two years of service, is such an important and formative period.”

The Holy Father assured them that “it is not just a period of work but a time of life and relationship” and highlighted that “this diversity and intensity of community and relationships among you in your daily barracks environment is an essential and qualifying aspect.”

The pope encouraged the new Swiss Guards to “actively cultivate community life.”

He lamented that many young people spend their free time alone with their cellphone or computer and therefore urged them to go “against the flow.”

“It’s better to use your free time for common activities, to get to know Rome, for moments of fraternity in which to relate and share, to play sports... these experiences build your inner self and will accompany you throughout your life,” the Holy Father said. 

Oath of the new Swiss Guards

Following an ancient tradition, on the afternoon of May 6, 34 new recruits of the Swiss Guard took their oath to serve the pope and the Church at the St. Damasus Cloister in the Vatican. 

The ceremony takes place on the day that commemorates the death of 189 Swiss soldiers in defense of Pope Clement VII in 1527 during the Sack of Rome.

Through their oath, the new Swiss Guards expressed their loyalty and absolute resolve to serve Peter’s successor.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Demonstrators hold pro-life placards during an anti-abortion protest in Paris on Jan. 16, 2022. Abortion in France is legal until 14 weeks after conception. / Credit: STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 7, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).

United States abortion law is “far more permissive than the vast majority of the world,” according to a study recently released by the pro-life research group the Charlotte Lozier Institute. 

Released on April 30, the study found that out of the nearly 200 members of the United Nations (U.N.), the U.S. is one of only eight with no federal limit on abortion. The study also found that the U.S. is one of just 15 countries to allow abortion past 15 weeks of pregnancy, the point at which a baby can feel pain.

This comes as the Biden administration has been criticizing pro-life state laws limiting abortion as “extreme” and “bizarre” while pushing for a federal law enshrining unrestricted abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.

Mia Steupert, a research associate at Charlotte Lozier Institute, told CNA that “while pro-abortion activists disparage heartbeat protection laws, like in Florida, they turn a blind eye to the real global extremism in our own country.”

She pointed out that seven states plus Washington, D.C., allow abortion for any reason up to the ninth month of pregnancy. U.S. abortion law makes it “a global outlier in a shared category with human rights abusers like China and Vietnam,” Steupert said.

“We should be an international leader when it comes to the human right to life, but instead we are one of eight countries in the United Nations that allows abortion on demand without any gestational limits.”

What did the study find? 

The Lozier Institute’s study found that with no federal limit on abortion, the U.S. is more permissive than over 95% of all U.N. member nations and on the same level as communist China and Vietnam. 

According to the study, the “clear norm among countries that permit elective abortion is to limit abortion to before 20 weeks’ gestation, and elective abortion is more commonly limited to 12 weeks (the first trimester).”

Gestational age marks the duration of a pregnancy, measured from the first day of the mother’s last menstrual period, which occurs about two weeks before conception. 

According to the study, only 70 U.N. countries allow abortion “on demand,” that is, for any reason. Of these, only the U.S., China, Vietnam, Australia, Canada, Guinea-Bissau, Mexico, and South Korea have no national limitation on abortion. 

Of the 70 countries allowing abortion on demand, more than three-quarters — 55 nations — limit abortion to the first 15 weeks of gestation. Over half — 45 nations — do not allow abortion past 12 weeks. 

The remaining 139 U.N. countries protect all unborn life at all stages of pregnancy and only allow abortion for specific reasons, ranging from the life of the mother to socioeconomic difficulties. 

Based on these findings, the Lozier Institute concluded that a national 15-week abortion limit would “move the United States away from the fringe, ultra-permissive end of the spectrum.” 

Prioritize a culture of life

Steupert told CNA that the study shows Americans need to prioritize creating a “culture of life” by supporting pregnancy resource centers, alternatives to abortion programs, and giving aid to mothers in need. 

She said that the report demonstrates that with no federal abortion restrictions, the U.S. “has some of the most extreme abortion laws in the world.” 

“This reality,” she said, “should alarm Americans and motivate them to protect life and push back against the radical, pro-abortion lobby that has infested our culture.”

In 2023 there were more than 275,000 child pornography websites on the internet, with approximately 11,000 photos generated by AI in just one month. / Credit: Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash

ACI Prensa Staff, May 7, 2024 / 16:30 pm (CNA).

“What dangers does artificial intelligence (AI) present for the safety of children in digital environments?” was the topic addressed by a conference organized by the S.O.S Il Telefono Azzurro Foundation and the Italian Embassy at the Holy See as part of the National Day against Pedophilia and Child Pornography, which is observed in Italy every May 5.

According to its website, Il Telefono Azzuro (“The Blue Telephone”) “offers a hotline service, managed by 114 Children’s Emergency, through which it is possible to report illicit or potentially harmful content for children and adolescents.”

Disturbing statistics were reported at the event: In 2023 there were more than 275,000 child pornography websites on the internet with approximately 11,000 photos generated by AI in just one month. However, these figures could be even higher, Vatican News noted, given that this new phenomenon “is difficult to quantify concretely.”

The conference, titled “The Dignity of Children in the Digital World,” was held at the Borromeo Palace in Rome. Ernesto Caffo, president of Telefono Azzurro, noted that children and adolescents are increasingly exposed to platforms that contain tools “that can lead to risky behavior.”

For Caffo, this represents a new and important challenge, because it impacts all the control mechanisms that have been implemented in recent years. Although new technologies can be wonderful tools, any weak points can also “be a source of increasing risks for new generations,” he said.

This serious situation, said the president of the Italian foundation — whose mission is to protect children and adolescents from any abuse and violence — must be addressed at the highest international level, such as at the next G7 summit, in order to present proposals on the issue.

Caffo also highlighted the important role of Pope Francis, who can contribute to the effort by addressing the issue of “the dignity of the person as a key element to which we all must be committed.”

Cardinal Seán O’Malley, archbishop of Boston and president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, pointed out during his talk that technological advances require and demand “a balance between technological progress and human values.” 

O’Malley emphasized that Pope Francis has stated on several occasions that “technology must serve to improve human life, and not the other way around.”

“The Church’s commitment to new technologies, particularly AI, is rooted in its mission to protect people, in line with the Gospel,” the cardinal said.

He further added that the Catholic Church is “actively contributing to the global conversation on the responsible use of AI, in line with human values and ethical standards.”

Carla Garlatti, who heads an Italian government agency for the protection of children and adolescents, said it is possible to promote initiatives and tools to control the access of children and adolescents to platforms with inappropriate content.

However, jurist Guido Scorza stated that controls are “difficult to apply at this time” because young people tend to use content designed for older persons.

Lastly, Father Hans Zollner, dean of the Pontifical Gregorian University’s Institute of Anthropology, warned of the risk of smartphones, which “make us [believe] we have everything under control, but that’s not the case.”

Zollner also reiterated Pope Francis’ call for “creating and adopting an international treaty on AI,” a crucial issue for the future of humanity.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis listens as Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody speaks during a press conference at the Broward County Courthouse on Aug. 18, 2022, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. / Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

CNA Staff, May 7, 2024 / 16:00 pm (CNA).

The attorney general of Florida on Tuesday announced a lawsuit against the Biden administration over new federal rules requiring insurers to cover gender-based surgeries and medical procedures. 

The lawsuit, filed on Monday in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, is meant to halt the White House’s attempt to “force the state to pay for puberty blockers and gender-transition surgery for children,” Attorney General Ashley Moody said in a press release.

The administration’s recently promulgated rule, filed in the Federal Register on Monday and set to go into effect in July, amends the nondiscrimination clause in Section 1557 of the federal Affordable Care Act by expanding the definition of “sex” to include “gender identity,” among other new additions. 

The change means that any insurer or physician receiving federal financial assistance must cover or provide sex-reassignment surgeries and therapies on the grounds that refusal to do so would constitute discrimination based on sex.

Florida is among the numerous states that in recent months and years have passed bans on extremist gender surgeries and drug prescriptions for minors. Moody in her press release said Florida state law “protect[s] our children from dangerous, irreversible gender-transition drugs and surgeries.”

But, she argued, the Biden administration is “trying to go around our child-protection law to force the state to pay for puberty blockers and gender-transition surgery for children.” 

“These rules trample states’ power to protect their own citizens and we will not stand by as Biden tries, yet again, to use the force of the federal government to unlawfully stifle Florida’s effort to protect children,” Moody said. 

Moody said the state was asking the court to “vacate the 2024 rules,” issue a permanent injunction against them, order that the rules “are contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious,” and several other requests. 

The attorney general’s office said they were joined by several other parties in the suit, including the Catholic Medical Association.

In addition to its revision of federal medical rules, the Biden administration last month issued a major revision to federal Title IX education rules that implements similar transgender-reflated requirements. 

The new education policy redefines the prohibition on sex discrimination for schools and education programs that receive federal funding, directing that the rules apply to any form of discrimination that is based on a person’s self-purported “gender identity.”

Those revisions could jeopardize state laws that restrict women’s sports and women’s locker rooms to only women, legal scholars told CNA last month.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. / Credit: Albert H. Teich/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 7, 2024 / 15:30 pm (CNA).

A federal grant program that provides security funding for houses of worship and other nonprofits will receive $400 million more than it had the previous year amid rising threats, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

“The fear, the trauma, when synagogues and other houses of worship have to be evacuated … stays with the congregants and people who go the next day wonder, ‘Is it going to happen again? Am I safe?’” Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said in a Sunday news conference announcing the increased funding.

“So this is vicious, aimed of course at synagogues above all, but also at mosques and churches and temples, and it has to stop,” he added. 

The Nonprofit Security Grant Program was created in 2004. Although all nonprofit organizations are eligible for funding, nearly all of the money is allocated to religious institutions.

The program received $305 million in federal funding last year, but with the $400 million addition it will receive more than $700 million in 2024.

The money can be used to set up security cameras, build fences, strengthen windows, and hire security guards, among other things. 

The deadline to apply is May 21.

“You don’t have to have been threatened [to apply for funding],” Schumer said on Sunday. “Just the fact that so many people who go to a house of worship are worried that that house of worship may be a target is enough.”

Schumer said applicants should receive funding “within a period of months” after they apply, with the senator noting that the money is already available for distribution. 

He also said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will assist small houses of worship with filling out the grant applications if they require assistance.

Schumer cited numbers from the Anti-Defamation League, which says there was a significant rise in antisemitic incidents in 2023, jumping to more than 8,800 from about 3,700 in 2022.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, meanwhile, says anti-Muslim incidents have been on the rise, citing more than 8,000 incidents in 2023, which it said constituted “a 56% jump over the previous year.”

In both cases, the organizations attribute the rise to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Catholic churches have also experienced security concerns ever since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, allowing states and the federal government to restrict abortion. 

Dozens of Catholic churches have been subject to vandalism, which has included the beheading of statues and satanic graffiti, among other attacks.

In December, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) urged lawmakers to include more funding for security for houses of worship. 

The USCCB says there have been more than 300 acts of destruction at Catholic churches since May 2020.

According to the USCCB’s annual religious liberty report published in January of this year, the top threat to religious liberty in the U.S. includes “attacks against houses of worship, especially in relation to the Israel-Hamas conflict.”

Bishop Robert Barron. CNA file photo. / null

CNA Staff, May 7, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis this week urged Catholics to join a rally to oppose a proposed constitutional amendment that they say “fails to protect Minnesotans from discrimination based on religion, could constitutionally mandate legal abortion up to the moment of birth, and promotes harmful gender ideology.”

The proposed amendment, sponsored by St. Paul Rep. Kaohly Her of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), adds several protected categories to the state’s constitution, in part saying the state cannot discriminate against a person on the basis of sex.

Within the category of sex, the proposal includes “making and effectuating decisions about all matters relating to one’s own pregnancy​ or decision whether to become or remain pregnant,” as well as “gender identity or gender expression” and “sexual orientation.”

Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, speaking in a May 6 video message on behalf of the state’s bishops, warned that the proposal constitutes “an imposition of the sexual revolution on the people of our state.”

The so-called right to abortion, which the Church has always opposed, would become in Minnesota law “so fundamental that we can’t even legislate against it,” Barron said. In addition, he noted that the proposal lacks the possibility of conscientious objection, meaning churches, schools, and health care institutions guided by faith could be mandated to endorse practices or speech that violate their beliefs. 

“All are welcome” to attend a rally in the Rotunda of the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul on Wednesday, May 8, at 3 p.m. The rally will “feature inspiring speakers who will exhort those assembled to prayer and action, and offer prayers for unity, understanding, and religious freedom.” The St. Paul and Minneapolis Archdiocese asked those wanting to participate in the rally to register online.

“In a state where diversity is celebrated, we must stand united in safeguarding the rights of individuals to practice their beliefs freely and without fear,” the archdiocese said in an announcement. 

“Specifically, we will be coming together to pray for and urge legislators to oppose the so-called ‘Equal Rights Amendment’ that fails to protect Minnesotans from discrimination based on religion, could constitutionally mandate legal abortion up to the moment of birth, and promotes harmful gender ideology.”

The proposed language was passed by Minnesota’s House Rules and Legislative Administration committee on May 6, MPR News reported. The proposal heads next to a vote of the full House and, if approved, would need to be reconciled with a companion Senate bill, which does not include the language related to pregnancy.

The proposed amendment must be submitted to the people at the 2026 general election, and if ratified by a simple majority, the amendment will be effective Jan. 1, 2027. 

Abortion is already legal up to birth in Minnesota following the 2023 passage of the Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act, which enshrined a constitutional right to “reproductive freedom,” ensuring the right to abortion in Minnesota up to birth for any reason, as well as the right to contraception and sterilization.