The Catholic Monitor

‘Fear Not, Little Flock’ BY The Editors March 9-15, 2008 Issue | Posted 3/4/08 at 3:10 PM More than one in four American adults have left the faith in which they were brought up. So says exhaustive research from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, based on interviews with 35,000 Americans aged 18 and up. The survey also found that Protestantism will soon lose its status as the majority religion. It can only barely claim it now. Only 51% of religious Americans now declare they are members of one of the Protestant denominations, a significant drop from the 60% range 20 years ago. The new Protestant world looks like this: A little more than 1 in 4 Protestants belongs to an evangelical church. Less than 1 in 5 belongs to a mainline Protestant Church. In mainline Protestant churches, half are age 50 and older. The new Catholic world looks like this: Of Catholics age 70 and over, 85% are white. Of Catholics age 30 and under, about half are Hispanic. Among Catholics, only 40% are age 5...

McCain and Pro-Lifers BY The Editors March 2-8, 2008 Issue | Posted 2/26/08 at 1:23 PM John McCain hasn’t been very popular in some quarters. It seems that his party doesn’t like him nearly as much as Barack Obama and even Hillary Clinton are liked by their party. Conservative talk-show hosts have even complained loudly that they would vote for his opponent rather than him because it would be bad for conservatism to have him at the head of the GOP and running the country. When facing a choice like this, it is refreshing to be Catholic. What’s good for conservatism or bad for conservatism doesn’t matter to us — “convervatism” is against Church teaching as often as it’s for it. As Catholics, we only care about the common good — and the pre-eminent issue affecting the common good is abortion. It’s important to note why it’s the preeminent issue. Here are three reasons. First, in justice abortion must be opposed. As the bishops recently put it, “There are some things we must never do, as i...

Pope Expected to Hold Catholic Colleges Accountable on Pro-Abortion Speakers Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- When he visits the United States next month, Pope Benedict XVI is expected to hold Catholic colleges accountable that have invited pro-abortion speakers to campus. The pontiff has requested an audience with more than 200 top officials from Catholic universities and he is expected to make it clear they need to follow Church teachings. The Catholic college officials will gather at Catholic University of America where some say the Pope will remind them they shouldn't be giving a platform to politicians and others who back abortions. For pro-life advocates who have complained about the rash of recent pro-abortion speakers on campus -- such as Hillary Clinton at St. Mary's University and St. Peter’s College hosting Barack Obama -- news of a possible rebuke from Pope Benedict is welcome. Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, a leading watchdog in monitorin...

Pope: Enough with slaughters in Iraq By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI issued one of his strongest appeals for peace in Iraq on Sunday, days after the body of the kidnapped Chaldean Catholic archbishop was found near the northern city of Mosul. The pope also denounced the 5-year-long Iraq war, saying it had provoked the complete breakup of Iraqi civilian life. "Enough with the slaughters. Enough with the violence. Enough with the hatred in Iraq!" Benedict said to applause at the end of his Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square. On Thursday, the body of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was found near Mosul. He had been abducted on Feb. 29. Benedict has called Rahho's death an "inhuman act of violence" that offended human dignity. On Sunday, Benedict praised Rahho for his loyalty to Christ and his refusal to abandon his flock despite many threats and difficulties. He recalled Rahho's death as the Catholic Church op...