– Tej Francis
JOS, NIGERIA
NIGERIAN LEADERS HONOR DECEASED BISHOP AS SERVANT, PEACEMAKER
(CNA) At a funeral earlier this month, Nigerian religious and political leaders paid tribute to Bishop Kevin Aje of Sokoto, well-known as a role model who worked for peace in the country. The funeral for Bishop Aje was held at Holy Family Catholic Cathedral in Sokoto. He died May 27 at the age of 85. A vigil Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Matthew Ndagoso of Kaduna and concelebrated by Cardinal John Onaiyekan of Abuja. Benin City Archbishop Augustine Akubeze, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, gave the eulogy. The funeral was attended by 16 other bishops and hundreds of priests, as well as government representatives. During the homily, Cardinal Onaiyekan praised the leadership of Aje. At the wake Mass, Monsignor Cletus Gotan of the Archdiocese of Jos gave the homily, describing the late bishop as a man who sought virtue rather than the mundane things of life.
“[The] bishop offered a life of service to the people in various capacities that have changed the lives of so many people,” Gotan said, praising Aje’s work as Education Secretary, Coordinator of JDPC, and Cathedral Administrator, as well as his contributions to civil society. Aje had retired in 2011 after serving as a priest for over 50 years and as a bishop for more than 30. During his time as bishop, he encouraged evangelization efforts among the laity and challenged voters to support leaders who favored religious liberty. Shortly after he died in May, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari sent a message of condolence to Pope Francis. He said the bishop was a “spiritual father” who built a culture of dialogue between Muslims and Christians.
PROVIDENCE, R.I.,
CATHOLIC GOVERNOR SIGNS LAW ENSHRINING ABORTION ACCESS
(CNA) Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo signed the Reproductive Privacy Act on Wednesday. The act codifies the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade into state law. The law permits unrestricted access to abortion at any time up to “fetal viability,” a disputed term with no fixed scientific meaning. Even after supposed viability, abortion will still be legal in cases where the life or health of the mother is at risk. Raimondo, a Catholic, said when signing the bill that the abortion issue was a difficult one and that “there are good and principled people on both sides of the issue.”
“But in light of all the uncertainty in Washington, and frankly, around the country in many other states, there is a great deal of anxiety that … a woman’s right to access reproductive healthcare is in danger,” said Raimondo. She described the bill as one that “preserves the status quo” in the Ocean State. The population of Rhode Island has the highest percentage of Catholics of any state in the nation. The Rhode Island Senate voted 21-17 to approve the bill. All five of the state’s Republican senators voted against it, together with 12 Democrats. In the Rhode Island House of Representatives, the vote was 45-29. In the House, one Republican voted in favor of the bill, and 21 Democrats voted against.
WASHINGTON D.C.,
PEACE CROSS CAN STAY, SUPREME COURT RULES
(CNA) The Supreme Court declared Thursday that a large, cross-shaped war memorial on public land is constitutional. In a 7-2 decision, the court ruled in the case American Legion v. American Humanist Association that the Bladensburg Peace Cross does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and can remain on public land and be maintained by public funds. The majority opinion, issued June 20, was authored by Justice Samuel Alito, who was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Stephen Breyer and Brett Kavanaugh. Justices Elena Kagan and Clarence Thomas concurred with parts of Alito’s opinion. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor were the only judes to dissent from the decision. The Supreme Court reversed a previous Fourth Circuit decision that found that the monument was unconstitutional due to its overt religious symbolism. The monument was installed in 1925 to honor local soldiers killed in World War I. Presently, the county maintains the grounds of the monument, which the American Humanist Association argued was an entanglement of government and religion.
Writing for the majority, Justice Alito issued strong criticism of the soc-called “Lemon Test” that has been used since 1972 case Lemon v. Kurtzman to determine if an action creates “excessive government entanglement with religion.” Alito wrote that the test “presents particularly daunting problems” in cases that involve religious words or symbols that are primarily for commemoratory or ceremonial reasons. The court determined that removing a longstanding monument like the Peace Cross “may no longer appear neutral, especially to the local community for which it has taken on particular meaning. A government that roams the land, tearing down monuments with religious symbolism and scrubbing away any reference to the divine will strike many as aggressively hostile to religion,” he said, adding that “Militantly secular regimes have carried out such projects in the past, and for those with a knowledge of history, the image of monuments being taken down will be evocative, disturbing, and divisive.”
Follow
