By Carol Zimmermann
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Although the 2021 March for Life was far different from the previous 47 annual marches to protest the Supreme Court’s decision legalizing abortion, organizers and rally speakers stressed that the smaller, and primarily virtual crowd, delivered the very same message.
It was simply “more somber and prayerful,” said Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life Defense and Education Fund, in the livestreamed broadcast of a group of pro-life leaders making their way to the Supreme Court after the virtual rally.
“We are symbolically marching,” she said of the group representing those who would have marched in normal circumstances, adding that this was a “unique moment to build a culture of life.”
The usual in-person march that typically draws crowds by the busloads was already going to be scaled back as many groups canceled their plans to come to Washington during the pandemic.

On Jan. 15, organizers officially announced the event would primarily be virtual, saying that increased security pressures for law enforcement officers around the U.S. Capitol – since the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol and threats of subsequent violence by domestic terrorist groups – made it impossible to ensure security for march participants.
The message for participants, not muffled by coats, winter gear and crowds moving up and down to stay warm as in previous years, was a resounding cry to continue the fight for the unborn and to advocate for anti-abortion legislation.
The virtual rally was free of usual placards, but it included advertisements from various sponsor groups.
It also did not have the back and forth heated discussions that sometimes occur on the sidewalks or at the Supreme Court with those on both sides of the issue, but snippets of this discussion came up in the comments section for those watching the event on the YouTube link.
The comments section also revealed where many of the viewers were from with comments such as “marching with you” from Louisiana, California and Poland.
The rally began and ended with song and prayer with songs performed by Matthew West, a Christian recording artist and songwriter. The opening prayer was said by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and the closing prayer was said by Cissie Graham Lynch, granddaughter of the well-known Southern Baptist minister, Rev. Billy Graham.
The archbishop prayed for God’s blessing on the “pro-life movement in this nation,” and noted that even though its members were separated by distance, they were united by their use of their talents in building a culture of life.
He also prayed for pregnant women and for those who have been “wounded by abortion,” stressing the need to “walk with them in their time of need.”
The rally did not have the usual array of dozens of speakers from Congress but did include a handful of them addressing participants in pretaped messages. Two Democrats were among these speakers: Rep. Angie Hatton of Kentucky, who is the House minority whip, and state Sen. Mike Gabbard of Hawaii.
Hatton said there needs to be a bipartisan effort to end abortion, not just by outlawing the practice but eliminating the need for women to seek abortions by providing better health care, child care, adoption and social services. She said she is asking pro-life Republicans to also work for “pro-babies and moms’ legislation.”
Gabbard urged virtual rallygoers to recognize they are “on a mission together” and to do their best to preserve life “with love and compassion.”
Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, who is a regular on the stage during March for Life rallies, pointed out that over the years there have been “significant pro-life setbacks – but pro-lifers absolutely refused to quit or go away.” He said that same spirit continues today as the movement faces “enormous challenges.”
Smith directed his comments to President Joe Biden and stressed that the unborn need the president of the United States “to be their friend and advocate, not another powerful adversary.”
Referring to Biden’s remarks at his inauguration that “the dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer,” Smith said those words can only have true meaning if the lives of unborn children are “must be included, and their precious lives must be protected.
Each year many people at the March for Life say they are impressed by the overwhelming youth presence at the march and rally. This year, Elizabeth Eller, student body president at Christendom College, a Catholic college in Front Royal, Virginia, directly addressed younger viewers, urging them to do everything they can for the pro-life movement.
“We can be the generation that sees an end to abortion,” she said.
Tim Tebow, a former professional football quarterback, told his story about how his mother, when she was pregnant with him, had been advised to have an abortion to save her life but she chose not to.
He urged virtual marchers to be willing to “suffer for and with the unborn.”
“We’ve got to do a better job of being all pro-life all the time,” he said. With a pep talk of sorts to the crowd, he added: “This is a hard fight and it might get even harder but stay in it.”
The rally and march, even in a different format, were not meant to be the end of any advocacy work.
As Mancini said in her closing remarks, the fight would continue in other marches to state capitols and in the work every day by people in the pro-life movement.

(Follow Zimmermann on Twitter: @carolmaczim)

By Karen Pulfer Focht
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (CNS) – As a child, Sheila Stiles Jewell played outside of the public housing where her family lived in Memphis. She felt one with nature weaving clover and catching bumblebees, not realizing that she was really feeding her curiosity for science and the natural world.
During the days of segregation, the Catholic Church recruited her family, living at Lemoyne Owen Gardens at the time, to receive a Catholic education. It was a noble act that she credits with much of her success today.

Working into her 70s, Jewell is a research geneticist at the U.S. NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Milford, Connecticut. NOAA Fisheries is an office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Science has made my faith stronger,” she said. “The DNA structure is amazing. It is beautiful and is evidence of what God can do and has done. Look around you, it is just wonderful!”
Women from her generation are underrepresented in the field of science.
Jewell would like to see more African American females enter the field of science. She speaks at schools and brings her sea creatures to show the students hoping to spark an interest within them.
“My faith has been an important part of how I persisted and persevered. I can’t imagine how I could have done it without my faith,” she said. Jewell still comes home often to be with family and together they attend Mass at St. Augustine Church in South Memphis.
She remembers the times as a child in the segregated South, when she went to Mass at a white church, she had to stand in the back, sit in the balcony at the movies, and drink out of separate drinking fountains.
“We came from humble beginnings,” she recalled. Her mother, a teacher, was her first role model. She instilled in Jewell that an education was the key to a successful life. “We couldn’t always realize our dreams because of segregation, but that did not keep us from striving to be somebody,” she said.
The people in the public housing where she lived always looked out for the children. “We were sheltered and protected, it was a village.” They were always encouraged to go to church.
Jewell studied science at Father Bertrand High School, where she was valedictorian. It was there that Sister Mary Kilian, a Sister of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, encouraged her to go to college and major in biology.
She attended Xavier University in New Orleans, the only historically Black Catholic university in the U.S., and then accepted an internship in Milford. She was apprehensive about leaving all she knew.
That summer, her advisers convinced her to go on a 30-hour Greyhound bus ride to pursue new opportunities. Because she was Black, she rode in the back of the bus and even though the North was not officially segregated like Memphis at the time, there was nowhere to stay. Housing was not open to Blacks in the 1960s. Her advisers found a family for her to stay with.
She was the first permanent African American female employee in Department of Interior in the Milford marine biological laboratory, where she has had a 56-year career and is still working today.
“I had a passion for genetics. Early in my career, there were no role models in this male-dominated field,” she said. She studies shellfish, such as oysters, clams, scallops and mussels, and working on restoring this population through genetics and breeding for better survival and growth.
Women’s rights and civil rights have helped and brought a lot of improvement, though there are still some barriers today, she said.
She loves working with young people, “reaching out and reaching back,” she said. “If you have a dream, follow it, do what it takes, don’t be discouraged, don’t give up.”
Jewell was a trailblazer. This past fall she was inducted into the Memphis Catholic High School Hall of Fame.
For so many years, she drew on her faith. “If it were not for my faith, I would not have been as successful as I have been. God has been beside me throughout this journey. I could not have made this journey alone. I am so thankful for my faith, my family and my friends.”
When it has been difficult to persevere, “my faith has made a difference,” she added.

By Carol Zimmermann
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Long before she burst into the public spotlight delivering her inauguration poem, Amanda Gorman got a standing ovation from fellow parishioners of St. Brigid Church in Los Angeles for reciting a poem she wrote about the parish.
And on Jan. 20, at the inauguration ceremony of President Joe Biden, parishioners watching this young woman on their TV screens – addressing political leaders and the nation at large about courageously rebuilding the country – applauded her all the more.

Floy Hawkins, former director of religious education at the parish for over 20 years, said her phone did not stop ringing after the inauguration, with friends asking if she saw, heard or knew about Gorman’s role.
“You see her? Look at that little girl!” fellow parishioners were saying because as Hawkins put it: “We still see her in a very endearing way.”
And even though they were thrilled for Gorman, parishioners of the historically Black church didn’t see her performance as a “solo act,” because Gorman has always been at the parish with her twin sister, Gabrielle, and her mom. Hawkins felt that sense of family when cameras followed Gorman joining her mother when she finished her delivery.
St. Brigid’s pastor, Josephite Father Kenneth Keke, also didn’t just see Gorman in that moment but felt she represented the entire parish in South Central Los Angeles – which is predominantly African American but now also has a growing number of Latinos, Filipinos and white parishioners too.
“We are a community; everyone here is important,” the priest said. “Whatever belongs to the parish belongs to everyone; in our parish, the success of anyone is the success of all.”
It’s also the pride of all.
“Parishioners are very much proud of her,” the priest, from Nigeria, told Catholic News Service Jan. 22, adding that he personally knew she would go far. “She is a very, very intelligent young lady. The first time I saw her, I knew that one day she was going to be very important.”
This pride is displayed on the parish website with photos of Gorman and the words: “We celebrate and congratulate Amanda Gorman: 2021 inauguration poet. Youngest in history.”
Hawkins told CNS that when she saw Gorman approach the podium and begin speaking, she was “in awe … to see such a young African American female be at such a pinnacle point of the world.” She also said it humbled her “from a spiritual perspective of God’s graces and mercies,” since she knew the national youth poet laureate from Gorman’s middle school days.
As adolescents, Gorman and her sister, went through a two-year training program at the parish and then received the sacraments of baptism, first Communion and confirmation on the same day.
When she graduated from high school to attend Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Gorman received a scholarship donation from the parish. The pastor said she always returned to the church when she visited home.
In recent months, he hasn’t seen Gorman, who graduated last year, but he also hasn’t seen many of his parishioners due to coronavirus Mass restrictions.
Hawkins, in her role at the parish which numbered 750 families prior to the pandemic, was impressed by the Gorman sisters from the start, saying they were brilliant intellectually and socially with quiet but confident personalities.
She also remembered Amanda’s speech impairment that caused difficulty in saying certain letters, which the poet has overcome and spoken about. Hawkins once overhead a student asking Amanda why she talked the way she did, and Amanda replied that it was just her East Coast accent.
“I was so happy when I learned she had acknowledged publicly that she had a speech impediment, what a release for her,” Hawkins said.
Gorman, who had been writing and developing her own style since she was a young girl, was named the Youth Poet Laureate of Los Angeles at 16, and it was around that time she wrote the St. Brigid’s poem that she recited at the end of a Mass commemorating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The parish assistant choir director, knowing of Gorman’s work, had asked her to consider doing it.
That Gorman stepped up to the plate, then and now, is something Hawkins admires. When she saw her on the Capitol stage in her yellow coat and red headband, she knew Gorman had taken “ownership of the opportunity.”
“Sometimes people ask you to do something and you say: ‘Oh, I don’t know if I could do it,’” she said.
“I don’t get the sense that was her response when the first lady invited her to speak at the inauguration,” Hawkins added. “I believe she immediately said yes, as we are encouraged to say: ‘Yes Lord.’”
Hawkins prayed for Gorman before the poet introduced herself to the country as the “skinny Black girl, descended from slaves and raised by a single mother” who can “dream of becoming president only to find herself reciting for one.”
But as she listened to the 22-year-old’s strong, clear voice she said to herself: “Glory be to God. … Look what you have done in the world!” And she felt the strong connection too – that the poet’s description of finding light in dark times was something the people of St. Brigid’s knew all too well.
What a time for our Catholic faith and our African American culture, she thought.
She also was pleased that Gorman, named the National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017, “didn’t minimize or dismiss” the insurrection at the Capitol just two weeks before but spoke of not losing hope when terrible things happen.
Her poem, “The Hill We Climb,” speaks in part of a country “bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free” and adds: “We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation.”
It ends with the promise of rebirth and reconciliation, saying: “Our people diverse and beautiful will emerge, battered and beautiful … For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”
Father Keke said the poem reflected “what we preach here at St. Brigid’s” about liberation and redemption. Her words on unity had a strong spiritual connection, the priest added.
The parish is planning to celebrate Gorman’s achievement in some small way soon and in a bigger way once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
“She is definitely a light, an inspiration to us all,” said Hawkins, who said the current buzz around Gorman simply validates who she is and will take her further than she ever imagined. She also has no doubt Gorman will continue to courageously move forward, but not alone.
“She takes God with her,” she said.

WASHINGTON (CNS) – Hank Aaron, who was baseball’s home run king for 33 years, overcame racism to make his mark in the game he loved. Aaron died Jan. 22 at age 86.
Aaron, who became a Catholic while playing for the Milwaukee Braves, joined the Baptist faith later in life.
He never hit 50 home runs in a season, much less 60 or even 70 as other sluggers did; in his best season, he knocked 47 homers out of the park in 1971, when he was 37 years old. But it was his consistency that allowed him to amass 755 round-trippers over 23 seasons playing for the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, and – after he had set the record – back to Milwaukee to play for the Brewers.

Aaron was not flashy or a self-promoter, either. But he was durable. After his rookie season in 1954, he played at least 150 games a season every year through 1968; this included seven years when the season was just 154 games. When he dipped to 147 games played in 1969, Aaron still socked 44 homers.
He had eight seasons of at least 40 home runs, 15 seasons in which he hit at least 30 – one of only two players to do so in the major leagues’ 152-year history, and 19 straight seasons in which “The Hammer” clouted at least 24.
Aaron and his first wife, Barbara, were received into the Catholic faith in 1959.
According to a Catholic News Service article from that May, they were baptized at St. Benedict the Moor Church in Milwaukee, along with their children, 3-year-old Gayle and 2-year-old Henry Jr. A third child, Larry, was baptized at birth.
“Mrs. Aaron said the Aarons first became interested in joining the church when their twins were born at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Milwaukee,” the article said. Both Larry and his twin were baptized, but the unnamed twin died.
The Aarons began their “instructions” in Catholicism shortly before Christmas 1958, and completed them when the Braves returned to Milwaukee from spring training, according to the story. “Mrs. Aaron said there are no other Catholics among family relatives,” it added.
In a 1991 interview, Aaron credited Father Michael Sablica, a priest of the Milwaukee Archdiocese, for helping him grow as a person in the 1950s, when baseball often reflected the prejudice and racism of society, especially that of the South.
“Father Sablica and I have been good friends for a very long time,” Aaron said. “He taught me what life was all about. But he was more than just a religious friend of mine, he was a friend because he talked as if he was not a priest sometimes. … He was just good people.” The priest was active in the civil rights movement, and encouraged Aaron to be more vocal about the things that he believed in but had yet to speak about publicly.
Aaron was known to frequently read Thomas a Kempis’ “The Imitation of Christ,” which he kept in his locker. He and Barbara divorced in 1971, and Aaron remarried in 1973.
A native of Mobile, Alabama, Aaron had to confront racism anew when the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966. The on-field verbal abuse, hate mail and death threats fueled his desire to break Ruth’s 714-homer record – he ended the 1973 season with 713, which set up a torrent of abuse in the offseason – but also made him vow not to let home runs be his only business.
“I feel like it’s my responsibility to speak out on social issues, because after all, if I had not been a baseball player, I would probably be in the same position as a lot of my Black brothers, and so I feel like it’s my obligation to do these things,” Aaron said.
Aaron continued to speak out about racism and equity after his playing days ended in 1976.
A right-handed hitter, Aaron played briefly in the Negro Leagues before being signed by the Milwaukee Braves. In his early pro days, he hit cross-handed, meaning he put his left hand above his right when he was holding the bat, before a coach corrected Aaron’s swing.
Aaron was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, the first year he was eligible. In addition to his career home run totals, he led the National League in home runs, runs batted in and doubles four times each, slugging average and runs scored three times each, and batting average and hits twice each.

By Most Reverend José H. Gomez
LOS ANGELES – My prayers are with our new President and his family today.
I am praying that God grant him wisdom and courage to lead this great nation and that God help him to meet the tests of these times, to heal the wounds caused by this pandemic, to ease our intense political and cultural divisions, and to bring people together with renewed dedication to America’s founding purposes, to be one nation under God committed to liberty and equality for all.
Catholic bishops are not partisan players in our nation’s politics. We are pastors responsible for the souls of millions of Americans and we are advocates for the needs of all our neighbors. In every community across the country, Catholic parishes, schools, hospitals, and ministries form an essential culture of compassion and care, serving women, children, and the elderly, the poor and sick, the imprisoned, the migrant, and the marginalized, no matter what their race or religion.

When we speak on issues in American public life, we try to guide consciences, and we offer principles. These principles are rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the social teachings of his Church. Jesus Christ revealed God’s plan of love for creation and revealed the truth about the human person, who is created in God’s image, endowed with God-given dignity, rights and responsibilities, and called to a transcendent destiny.
Based on these truths, which are reflected in the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights, the bishops and Catholic faithful carry out Christ’s commandment to love God and love our neighbors by working for an America that protects human dignity, expands equality and opportunities for every person, and is open-hearted towards the suffering and weak.
For many years now, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has tried to help Catholics and others of good will in their reflections on political issues through a publication we call Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. The most recent edition addresses a wide range of concerns. Among them: abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, immigration, racism, poverty, care for the environment, criminal justice reform, economic development, and international peace.
On these and other issues, our duty to love and our moral principles lead us to prudential judgments and positions that do not align neatly with the political categories of left or right or the platforms of our two major political parties. We work with every President and every Congress. On some issues we find ourselves more on the side of Democrats, while on others we find ourselves standing with Republicans. Our priorities are never partisan. We are Catholics first, seeking only to follow Jesus Christ faithfully and to advance his vision for human fraternity and community.
I look forward to working with President Biden and his administration, and the new Congress. As with every administration, there will be areas where we agree and work closely together and areas where we will have principled disagreement and strong opposition.
Working with President Biden will be unique, however, as he is our first president in 60 years to profess the Catholic faith. In a time of growing and aggressive secularism in American culture, when religious believers face many challenges, it will be refreshing to engage with a President who clearly understands, in a deep and personal way, the importance of religious faith and institutions. Mr. Biden’s piety and personal story, his moving witness to how his faith has brought him solace in times of darkness and tragedy, his longstanding commitment to the Gospel’s priority for the poor — all of this I find hopeful and inspiring.
At the same time, as pastors, the nation’s bishops are given the duty of proclaiming the Gospel in all its truth and power, in season and out of season, even when that teaching is inconvenient or when the Gospel’s truths run contrary to the directions of the wider society and culture. So, I must point out that our new President has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender. Of deep concern is the liberty of the church and the freedom of believers to live according to their consciences.
Our commitments on issues of human sexuality and the family, as with our commitments in every other area — such as abolishing the death penalty or seeking a health care system and economy that truly serves the human person — are guided by Christ’s great commandment to love and to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters, especially the most vulnerable.
For the nation’s bishops, the continued injustice of abortion remains the “preeminent priority.” Preeminent does not mean “only.” We have deep concerns about many threats to human life and dignity in our society. But as Pope Francis teaches, we cannot stay silent when nearly a million unborn lives are being cast aside in our country year after year through abortion.
Abortion is a direct attack on life that also wounds the woman and undermines the family. It is not only a private matter, it raises troubling and fundamental questions of fraternity, solidarity, and inclusion in the human community. It is also a matter of social justice. We cannot ignore the reality that abortion rates are much higher among the poor and minorities, and that the procedure is regularly used to eliminate children who would be born with disabilities.
Rather than impose further expansions of abortion and contraception, as he has promised, I am hopeful that the new President and his administration will work with the church and others of good will. My hope is that we can begin a dialogue to address the complicated cultural and economic factors that are driving abortion and discouraging families. My hope, too, is that we can work together to finally put in place a coherent family policy in this country, one that acknowledges the crucial importance of strong marriages and parenting to the well-being of children and the stability of communities. If the President, with full respect for the church’s religious freedom, were to engage in this conversation, it would go a long way toward restoring the civil balance and healing our country’s needs.
President Biden’s call for national healing and unity is welcome on all levels. It is urgently needed as we confront the trauma in our country caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the social isolation that has only worsened the intense and long-simmering divisions among our fellow citizens.
As believers, we understand that healing is a gift that we can only receive from the hand of God. We know, too, that real reconciliation requires patient listening to those who disagree with us and a willingness to forgive and move beyond desires for reprisal. Christian love calls us to love our enemies and bless those who oppose us, and to treat others with the same compassion that we want for ourselves.
We are all under the watchful eye of God, who alone knows and can judge the intentions of our hearts. I pray that God will give our new President, and all of us, the grace to seek the common good with all sincerity.
I entrust all our hopes and anxieties in this new moment to the tender heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Christ and the patroness of this exceptional nation. May she guide us in the ways of peace and obtain for us wisdom and the grace of a true patriotism and love of country.

(Archbishop José H. Gomez is the Archbishop of Los Angeles and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He released this statement on Jan. 20 through the USCCB.)

By Most Reverend José H. Gomez
LOS ANGELES – My prayers are with our new President and his family today.
I am praying that God grant him wisdom and courage to lead this great nation and that God help him to meet the tests of these times, to heal the wounds caused by this pandemic, to ease our intense political and cultural divisions, and to bring people together with renewed dedication to America’s founding purposes, to be one nation under God committed to liberty and equality for all.

Catholic bishops are not partisan players in our nation’s politics. We are pastors responsible for the souls of millions of Americans and we are advocates for the needs of all our neighbors. In every community across the country, Catholic parishes, schools, hospitals, and ministries form an essential culture of compassion and care, serving women, children, and the elderly, the poor and sick, the imprisoned, the migrant, and the marginalized, no matter what their race or religion.
When we speak on issues in American public life, we try to guide consciences, and we offer principles. These principles are rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the social teachings of his Church. Jesus Christ revealed God’s plan of love for creation and revealed the truth about the human person, who is created in God’s image, endowed with God-given dignity, rights and responsibilities, and called to a transcendent destiny.
Based on these truths, which are reflected in the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights, the bishops and Catholic faithful carry out Christ’s commandment to love God and love our neighbors by working for an America that protects human dignity, expands equality and opportunities for every person, and is open-hearted towards the suffering and weak.
For many years now, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has tried to help Catholics and others of good will in their reflections on political issues through a publication we call Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. The most recent edition addresses a wide range of concerns. Among them: abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, immigration, racism, poverty, care for the environment, criminal justice reform, economic development, and international peace.
On these and other issues, our duty to love and our moral principles lead us to prudential judgments and positions that do not align neatly with the political categories of left or right or the platforms of our two major political parties. We work with every President and every Congress. On some issues we find ourselves more on the side of Democrats, while on others we find ourselves standing with Republicans. Our priorities are never partisan. We are Catholics first, seeking only to follow Jesus Christ faithfully and to advance his vision for human fraternity and community.
I look forward to working with President Biden and his administration, and the new Congress. As with every administration, there will be areas where we agree and work closely together and areas where we will have principled disagreement and strong opposition.
Working with President Biden will be unique, however, as he is our first president in 60 years to profess the Catholic faith. In a time of growing and aggressive secularism in American culture, when religious believers face many challenges, it will be refreshing to engage with a President who clearly understands, in a deep and personal way, the importance of religious faith and institutions. Mr. Biden’s piety and personal story, his moving witness to how his faith has brought him solace in times of darkness and tragedy, his longstanding commitment to the Gospel’s priority for the poor — all of this I find hopeful and inspiring.
At the same time, as pastors, the nation’s bishops are given the duty of proclaiming the Gospel in all its truth and power, in season and out of season, even when that teaching is inconvenient or when the Gospel’s truths run contrary to the directions of the wider society and culture. So, I must point out that our new President has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender. Of deep concern is the liberty of the church and the freedom of believers to live according to their consciences.
Our commitments on issues of human sexuality and the family, as with our commitments in every other area — such as abolishing the death penalty or seeking a health care system and economy that truly serves the human person — are guided by Christ’s great commandment to love and to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters, especially the most vulnerable.
For the nation’s bishops, the continued injustice of abortion remains the “preeminent priority.” Preeminent does not mean “only.” We have deep concerns about many threats to human life and dignity in our society. But as Pope Francis teaches, we cannot stay silent when nearly a million unborn lives are being cast aside in our country year after year through abortion.
Abortion is a direct attack on life that also wounds the woman and undermines the family. It is not only a private matter, it raises troubling and fundamental questions of fraternity, solidarity, and inclusion in the human community. It is also a matter of social justice. We cannot ignore the reality that abortion rates are much higher among the poor and minorities, and that the procedure is regularly used to eliminate children who would be born with disabilities.
Rather than impose further expansions of abortion and contraception, as he has promised, I am hopeful that the new President and his administration will work with the church and others of good will. My hope is that we can begin a dialogue to address the complicated cultural and economic factors that are driving abortion and discouraging families. My hope, too, is that we can work together to finally put in place a coherent family policy in this country, one that acknowledges the crucial importance of strong marriages and parenting to the well-being of children and the stability of communities. If the President, with full respect for the church’s religious freedom, were to engage in this conversation, it would go a long way toward restoring the civil balance and healing our country’s needs.
President Biden’s call for national healing and unity is welcome on all levels. It is urgently needed as we confront the trauma in our country caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the social isolation that has only worsened the intense and long-simmering divisions among our fellow citizens.
As believers, we understand that healing is a gift that we can only receive from the hand of God. We know, too, that real reconciliation requires patient listening to those who disagree with us and a willingness to forgive and move beyond desires for reprisal. Christian love calls us to love our enemies and bless those who oppose us, and to treat others with the same compassion that we want for ourselves.
We are all under the watchful eye of God, who alone knows and can judge the intentions of our hearts. I pray that God will give our new President, and all of us, the grace to seek the common good with all sincerity.
I entrust all our hopes and anxieties in this new moment to the tender heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Christ and the patroness of this exceptional nation. May she guide us in the ways of peace and obtain for us wisdom and the grace of a true patriotism and love of country.

(Archbishop José H. Gomez is the Archbishop of Los Angeles and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He released this statement on Jan. 20 through the USCCB.)

By Maria Wiering
ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) – Despite the pandemic-related dearth of holiday parties and typical social engagements that – for many – stuff the weeks before Christmas, Jolene Gerads said she’s feeling a special excitement about this year’s Advent.
There’s more time, more space, more energy, she said.
In the past, she, her husband, Robert, and their four boys, ages 9 and under, spent the holidays traveling to different parts of the state to celebrate with both sides of the family. That meant that many traditions they started on the First Sunday of Advent – such as the Jesse Tree – petered out as Christmas drew near, and never saw completion.
For the Geradses, this year’s quieter season of preparation at home means potential for greater focus and fewer distractions ahead of Christmas.
Catholics across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis may relate. With the COVID-19 pandemic upending daily routines and now some long-held pre-Christmas traditions, some are embracing the space created – both in their calendars and their minds – by fewer social obligations, an eliminated commute and more time at home. The First Sunday of Advent was Nov. 29.
Busy Advents of the past pushed the Geradses to exchange their stationary Jesse Tree – which follows salvation history through tracing Jesus’ family tree, often through ornaments on a real tree – for a book with a similar idea, “Jonathan’s Journey,” which could accompany them on Christmas travels.
The Jesse Tree didn’t work for her family, Gerads explained, because she never tied it to something already in their routine. Her successful Advent traditions, such as prayer around the wreath, are tied to things her family already does, like sharing meals.
This year, the Geradses plan to turn off the lights right before dinner and light the Advent wreath in darkness, said Jolene, 34.
Other families noted rooting some of their children’s Advent traditions in practicing selfless behavior. One common practice is putting a piece of straw in an empty manger each time a child makes a sacrifice, making a home for Jesus in their hearts as they make one for him in the creche.
Gerads admires a friend’s tradition, where family members write down their sacrifices on paper and put them in a designated “stocking for Jesus.” On Christmas Eve, the stocking is emptied and their selfless deeds are read aloud.
“There’s a lot of neat ways to dig into the season, since we have this extra time,” she told The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Gerads is optimistic about this year’s Advent because the family observed an exceptional Lent, she said. When Masses were first suspended in March due to COVID-19, her family decided to “make a rich Lent” for themselves, and doubled down on their intentionality for the season.
“We had nothing else to rely on,” she said of that Lent. “We didn’t have our normal ‘crutches'” such as external Bible studies or prayer groups. “We knew that this is what we have to work with right now, so let’s make it as rich as possible.”
Observing Advent as a family – and the liturgical seasons year-round – helps to instill faith in children, but it’s also important for adults, Gerads said.
Following the liturgical calendar makes their faith “not just a Sunday thing, not just a nighttime prayer thing,” she said. “It’s how we do life.”
“We need to be so much more intentional about bringing the beauty of the faith, and the church and the traditions of the church and the liturgical year … to our children, and into ourselves,” she added. “When you enter into it fully, the Lord can give so much grace through it.”
For Catholics who live alone, virtual Advent resources abound, many with opportunities to connect online for faith-sharing.
Advent during “Covidtide,” as some have termed the pandemic, allows families to enter a type of “family cocoon” or period of dormancy, said Anne Nicklaus, 57, whose family belongs to Our Lady of Peace Parish in Minneapolis.
“Like the plants that go to sleep in the winter, something is happening, and they are becoming recreated and renewed for something much greater in the spring,” she said. “And I think that can happen in their families. But it can’t happen if it’s crowded out with other things. In other words, we have to say no to something to make space for that greater thing that can happen.”
The Nicklauses also focus on the penitential aspect of Advent, which, she noted, is made easier this year with the COVID-19-related restrictions.
“Advent is a time of sacrifice,” she said, “but we are making room for something better.”

(Wiering is editor of The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.)

By Rhina Guidos
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Horns blared near the White House just before noon Nov. 7 as major U.S. news organizations projected Democrat Joe Biden will be the 46th president of the United States, making him the second Catholic in the country’s history to be elected to the nation’s highest office.
“Congratulations to our second Catholic President and our first female VP of African and Indian roots!” tweeted Bishop John E. Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, shortly after organizations such as The Associated Press, The New York Times and Fox News announced Biden and running mate Kamala Harris had won the race.
The projection came following the announcement from Pennsylvania officials that Biden had won the state’s cache of 20 electoral votes, putting him over the 270 electoral-vote-threshold needed to secure a victory. Running mate Harris becomes the country’s first female vice president-elect.

Though President Donald Trump’s campaign launched legal battles over votes in some electorally rich states and made allegations of fraud in vote counting, even the president’s supporters, such as Fox News, said in a newscast after the race was called that they hadn’t seen evidence of widespread fraud.
Among Catholics, news agency AP VoteCast showed they were split between the two candidates, with 50% of Catholics backing Trump and 49% Biden, with most of the support coming from Latino Catholics, the second largest ethnic group in the church, who overwhelmingly cast votes for Biden.
Some Catholics said they could not support the Biden-Harris ticket because both support legalized abortion.
In reaction to announcement of the Biden win, Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee, said the president-elect and his vice president “support radical abortion policies.” She expressed regret their administration is expected to roll back “protective legislation such as the Hyde Amendment” and support taxpayer funding of abortion.
But many Catholic organizations and even some bishops were tweeting or released statements of support for Biden shortly after news of his win.
Sister Simone Campbell, a Sister of Social Service, who is head of the Catholic social justice lobby group Network, said Catholics had responded to the president’s divisiveness and voted for a range of issues.
“Catholics are not single-issue voters,” she said in a statement. “Our community looked at the entirety of Donald Trump’s divisive and harmful record and chose to elect leaders who will govern with empathy and concern for the most marginalized. Catholics rejected racism, hatred and division and embraced the politics championed by Pope Francis – a politics of love and inclusion.”
Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island, also tweeted best wishes.
“Congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden! We join in praying sincerely for his health and safety and that of his family,” Bishop Tobin wrote. “With the grace of Almighty God to assist and guide him, may he strive always to govern our nation with wisdom, compassion and moral integrity.”
Faith-based organizations that closely work with the Catholic Church on immigration issues, such as Hope Border Institute in El Paso, voiced support for a new administration and urged the presumptive president-elect to pass comprehensive immigration reform, to stop the building of the border wall, end a policy that keeps asylum-seekers to the U.S. in Mexico as they wait for their cases to be settled in U.S. immigration courts and end family separations among migrants.
In a letter the organization released Nov. 7, signed by Jesuit Father Sean Carroll, executive director of the Kino Border Initiative, Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director or Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, and Dylan Corbett, the institute’s executive director, they asked that special attention be given to immigrant issues along the border.
“What we need now is moral leadership to bring us together and reject hate in all forms. As a fellow Catholic, we urge you to embrace the oppressed and vulnerable in our midst, who we believe are no less than the Christ knocking at our door,” the letter said.
Biden was set to address the nation the evening of Nov. 7.
Trump has not yet conceded the race. Instead, his campaign released a statement.
“The simple fact is this election is far from over. Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states,” his campaign said in a statement released Nov. 7. “Beginning Monday, our campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated.”
Trump had claimed victory a few hours after Election Day, telling voters at 2 a.m. on Nov. 4, “Frankly, we did win this election,” saying “we want all voting to stop,” prompting protests even from fellow Republicans who said that it wasn’t his place to make that call and that all votes needed to be counted.
When he prematurely announced victory, the president also mentioned that “we’ll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court,” over the election.
But even supporters of the president and members of his party protested the comments. Mail-in votes postmarked by Election Day are accepted in several states and many are typically counted in the hours or day after the election, making it unclear what the president was referring to or what legal challenge he could possibly raise.
By midday Nov. 4, Trump’s 2020 campaign manager, Bill Stepien, said the campaign had officially filed a lawsuit in the Michigan Court of Claims to halt counting of ballots until it is granted “meaningful access” to the numerous counting locations “to observe the opening of ballots and the counting process, as guaranteed by Michigan law.
The “presidential race in the state remains extremely tight as we always knew it would be,” he said.
Later in the day, the campaign filed lawsuits in Pennsylvania and Georgia and also announced it would ask for a recount in Wisconsin. Republican lawyers had already legally challenged how Pennsylvania and Nevada handled absentee votes.

(Carol Zimmermann contributed to this story.)