Angelus News | May 31, 2019 | Vol. 4 No. 20

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE/BOB ROLLER
NATION
ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES/CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE, REUTERS
MANDATE FROM MOTHER CHURCH — Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory displays the papal
bull on his appointment to Washington, D.C., during his installation Mass at the Basilica of
the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington May 21. Gregory takes
over for Cardinal Donald Wuerl in a diocese shaken by the reawakening Church abuse
scandal of the last year. “Our recent sorrow and shame do not define us; rather, they
serve to chasten and strengthen us to face tomorrow with spirits undeterred,” Gregory
said in his homily.
Bishops see ‘misery’ in immigration overhaul plan
A woman, part of a convoy of Central American migrants,
reacts as she and her child are escorted into a van by National
Institute of Migration officers, after being detained at
a checkpoint on the outskirts of Tapachula, Mexico, May 19.
U.S. bishops aren’t
fans of the Trump
administration’s latest
immigration proposal,
saying it doesn’t do
enough to keep families
together.
The White House
announced plans May
17 to overhaul the
country’s immigration
system by giving
priority to those with
highly developed
work skills, while
reducing the number
of family members
someone already inside the country can bring in.
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops President Cardinal Daniel
DiNardo of Houston and Bishop Joe Vasquez of Austin, Texas, said in a
statement that while Trump is right to emphasize secure borders, he can’t
accomplish that goal “by heightening human misery and restricting access
to lawful protection in an attempt to deter vulnerable asylum-seeking
families and children.”
The proposal also plans to limit the number of asylum-seekers the United
States will accept each year.
Alabama abortion
ban signed into law
The state of Alabama became the
first in the country to effectively ban
abortion within its borders after its
governor signed House Bill 314 into
law May 15.
The law will hit doctors who perform
the procedure, though never
mothers who seek it, with a Class A
felony charge and potentially a life
prison sentence.
Alabama Catholic leaders were
quick to applaud the bill’s passage,
with Bishop Robert Baker of Birmingham
praising “the efforts of
these legislators to promote life” and
hoping that the bill starts a process
that will make abortion across
the country “no longer viewed as
anything but the horrendous and inhumane
killing of the most innocent
among us.”
Bishop Baker’s thoughts reflect
the intentions of the bill’s authors,
who want to spark a Supreme Court
challenge and potentially reverse Roe
v. Wade.
Study links faith to
happy marriage
Newly released findings from a
study on religiosity and marital happiness
indicate that “highly religious
couples in heterosexual relationships”
find more happiness within
their day-to-day relationships than
couples who are less religious.
The study was conducted by a
group of researchers, professors,
and sociologists using data from the
World Values Survey and the Family
and Gender Survey and spanned
11 countries, including the United
States and Canada.
The factor “relationship satisfaction”
that was examined actually
revealed that both secular progressive
women and conservative religious
women both value “devoted family
men” within their respective relationships.
May 31, 2019 • ANGELUS • 5