(RNS) — A sociologist, writer and preacher, he touched legions of people in his classrooms and millions in countless venues around the world.
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Senior fellow at the National Catholic Bioethics Center Joseph Meaney speaks to “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. / Credit: “EWTN News Nightly”
CNA Staff, Nov 20, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).
Vietnam, a country with one of the highest abortion rates in the world, spearheaded a United Nations initiative this week on the health care needs of infants born prematurely.
While the event in honor of World Prematurity Day aimed to spotlight the need for better care for preterm infants, a bioethicist is pointing to the irony of a country grappling with widespread abortion leading the charge.
“It’s a completely mixed message,” Joseph Meaney, a senior fellow at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, told “EWTN News Nightly” on Tuesday.
Advances in neonatal intensive care have made possible the survival of smaller and younger infants. The world’s most premature surviving baby is Curtis Zy-Keith Means, who was born at 21 weeks and one day in Birmingham, Alabama.
Vietnam’s laws allow unrestricted abortion procedures up to the 22nd week of pregnancy, but enforcement against later-term abortions remains lax.
A 2023 report identified the Southeast Asian nation as having the second-highest abortion rate in the world. Hanoi’s Central Obstetrics Hospital reported in 2014 that 40% of all pregnancies in Vietnam were terminated each year.
Meaney pointed out to “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol that “in one part of the hospital, they are delivering babies … and trying to keep them alive in the neonatal intensive care units, and in other parts of the hospital, they’re killing those same babies at the same age of gestation.”
Meaney noted that studies have found that women who have undergone multiple abortions face a higher risk of premature birth and miscarriage in subsequent pregnancies.
World Prematurity Day was established in 2008 to raise awareness about the challenges of premature births, which is the leading cause of death for children under 5. It is estimated that 13.4 million babies are born prematurely every year, according to UNICEF, which called for universal access to high-quality care for preterm babies in honor of the day.
“Of course, if they’re concerned about infant mortality, the highest rate of infant mortality is killing babies through abortion,” Meaney said.
Catholics in Vietnam help manage special cemeteries for victims of abortion, including one in the Archdiocese of Hanoi in which 46,000 unborn children are buried and another in Xuan Loc Diocese where more than 53,000 are buried, according to La Croix International.
A Catholic charity called the Life Protection Group collects the remains of unborn children from state-run hospitals and private clinics, noting that the group used to gather 25-40 aborted fetuses each day to bury.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, more than 1.6 million abortions were performed in Vietnam between 2015 and 2019.
Asked by Sabol how premature births might be reduced in the U.S. and around the world, Meaney said: “One thing would be to have fewer abortions.”
As well, “actually having the hospitals help the mothers to continue their pregnancies” would help, he said.
“When they’re at risk of premature birth, the amount of days involved is very important. Just a few more days can really increase the likelihood the child will survive,” Meaney said.
“To actually have the hospitals willing to admit mothers who are in danger of premature birth” could help lower such incidences, he said.
Rabbi Jeff Salkin sits down with Rabbi Jonah Pesner and dive into the deeply rooted relationship of Judaism, politics and social justice, exploring why so many Jews align with liberal causes while maintaining a vibrant spectrum of political thought within the community.
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One of Gaza’s top Islamic scholars has issued a fatwa condemning Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack. But is it too little, too late?
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To fully understand the Iranian regime's foreign policy strategies for engaging with Trump, one must first examine the domestic situation in Iran and the strained relationship between the regime and its people.
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Pope Francis greets pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience on Nov. 20, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Vatican City, Nov 20, 2024 / 13:25 pm (CNA).
To mark 1,000 days since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, Pope Francis shared the “testimony of faith” of a Ukrainian student at his general audience on Wednesday, underscoring the power of faith, love, and hope amid the tragedy of violence.
In a letter to the Holy Father, the student, whose name was not announced, expressed the desire for the pope and all pilgrims at the Wednesday audience to know of the faith — and not just the sufferings — of the people of Ukraine.
“I thank God because, through this pain, I am learning greater love. Pain is not only a road to anger and despair; if based on faith, it is a good teacher of love,” the student wrote.
Describing the horrors of war that killed family members and thousands of other men, women, and children, the student said that if one suffers because of pain it “means that you love.”
“When you speak of our pain, when you remember our thousand days of suffering, speak of our thousand days of love, too, because only love, faith, and hope give a real meaning to our wounds,” the letter to the Holy Father read.
Visibly moved by the letter and the pope’s gesture to share the testimony of faith with hundreds of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, Olena Zelenska, wife of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, met and personally greeted the pope at the conclusion of the audience.
During the Wednesday audience, Pope Francis announced that Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, two young Italian Catholics popularly known for their vibrant faith and desire for holiness, will be canonized next year during the Church’s jubilee.
The long-anticipated announcement was confirmed by Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni that the two blesseds will be canonized on separate dates. Acutis’ canonization is scheduled during the Church’s Jubilee of Teenagers from April 25–27, 2025, and Frassati’s canonization will take place during the Jubilee of Youth from July 28–Aug. 3, 2025.
Choosing World Children’s Day, celebrated annually on Nov. 20, to make an additional surprise announcement, the pope shared that the Vatican will hold an international meeting to promote the dignity and rights of children on Feb. 3, 2025.
“It will be an occasion on how we can better protect children, especially children who live without rights, who are abused and exploited and live also in situations of war,” he said on Wednesday.
To celebrate the occasion and special announcement, the Holy Father invited several boys and girls from the Community of Sant’Egidio to come and receive his paternal blessing and take a group photo.
The Vatican has also released details of the new Pontifical Committee for the World Day of Children on Wednesday. Pope Francis has appointed Father Enzo Fortunato, OFM, the president of the newly-established committee tasked with promoting the Catholic Church’s mission to advocate for children’s rights.
“Family, church, and state exist for children, not the other way around,” the pope said in a Nov. 20 chirograph. “From birth, every human being is the subject of inalienable, inviolable, and universal rights.”
Speaking about the beauty of different personal and communal charisms found in the Church, Pope Francis stressed that Catholics need to “immediately dispel” the misunderstanding of identifying these “jewels” of the Holy Spirit as “spectacular and extraordinary gifts and capabilities.”
“Instead they are ordinary gifts that assume extraordinary value if inspired by the Holy Spirit and embodied with love in the situations of life,” he told those gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
“Such an interpretation of the charism is important,” the pope said.
(RNS) — The group, with five chapters across the U.S., believes observant Jews have a particular obligation to oppose what they see as an unjust war — and are uniquely positioned to do so.
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