Links for 09/22/15 | National Catholic Reporter

Links for 09/22/15 | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: It is no surprise that Cardinal Dolan would jump in on this compromise. I wonder if those to his right will jump in with him.  Paid family leave likely has more of an impact, mostly on those who would never consider an abortion unless something was wrong with the pregnancy, than a 20 week ban. Of course, the 20 week pain reaction shows the need to give pain management to the unborn to be aborted rather than banning the abortion - which can only constitutionally be done by recognizing them as legal citizens under the Congress' 14th Amendment enforcement powers - a formula that forecloses other abortion ban options.  Pain management will make parents think before they act.  Also important would be to ban all but induction abortions during the second trimester and to have Catholic hospitals join in performing them (to baptize the born child - which has no real chance of survival at that stage.  Again, this would also discourage the procedure unless it was medically essential (and sometimes it is).



I suspect that the HIV drug controversy is a ploy to harvest insurace money from public and private sources.  If it is meant to drive the uninsured poor out of care, then that is unacceptable.  It is certainly unacceptable in the international markets.  This drug is so old it should be generic.  I suspect that once the new owner realizes he is pricing himself out of a competive market, he will quietly drop this ploy.



It is good to see the Pope's defenders are hard at work against the right wingers and their hyperbole.  Hopefully they will take up these issues when it is just Obama behind them.



I doubt free market Catholics go to Mass week in and week out.  They likely watch the TV talk shows instead,  as do many liberal activists.  Bravo to the Pope for scheduling this visit around the most useful of readings, as this Pope preaches the Scriptures - as all other priests should.