Sunday, January 26, 2020

The 3 - January 26, 2020

On this week's edition of The 3, highlighting three stories of relevance to the Christian community, there is are two pro-life stories: one involves the first President of the United States to address the March for Life in Washington in the almost-50-year history of the event.  Plus, a Federal agency has deemed a California law forcing insurance plans to cover abortion is a violation of Federal law.  And, the Church of England has provided comments relative to so-called "mixed-sex" civil partnerships.

Trump becomes first President in history to address March for Life in person

In 47 years, up until this past Friday, no American President had addressed the March for Life in person.  Not Reagan, not either Bush.  But, as WORLD Magazine reports:
President Donald Trump on Friday became the first sitting president to address in person the annual gathering of pro-life advocates in the nation’s capital. He touted his administration’s pro-life policies such as withholding Title X family planning funding from abortion centers and protecting conscience rights for pro-life doctors and nurses.
The article included several phrases from the speech: “Every child is a precious and sacred gift from God...,” “Unborn children have never had a stronger defender in the White House...,” as well as, “And as the Bible tells us, each person is wonderfully made.”

WhiteHouse.gov published the transcript of the speech, and the speech is available through the White House YouTube channel.  The President also shared, according to the transcript:
We are protecting pro-life students’ right to free speech on college campuses. (Applause.) And if universities want federal taxpayer dollars, then they must uphold your First Amendment right to speak your mind. And if they don’t, they pay a very big financial penalty, which they will not be willing to pay. (Applause.)
Sadly, the far-left is actively working to erase our God-given rights, shut down faith-based charities, ban religious believers from the public square, and silence Americans who believe in the sanctity of life.
Administration determines California law violates Federal law by forcing organizations, including churches, to fund abortion

A division of a Federal agency, the Department of Health and Human Services has determined the state of California broke the law by requiring insurance plans in the state to cover abortion, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom website.  It points out that: "The federal Weldon Amendment prohibits states which receive federal funding from compelling healthcare plans to fund abortion."

ADF had filed lawsuits against this legislation on behalf of four churches in the state who were being coerced to pay for abortion in their insurance plans.  Friday, it was announced that the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights had made the determination that the California law did indeed violate Federal law.  ADF Legal Counsel Denise Harle said:
“No one should force a church or any other employer to participate in funding abortion. For years, California’s Department of Managed Health Care has demonstrated hostility to churches by forcing them to pay for elective abortions. The agency has unconstitutionally targeted religious organizations, repeatedly collaborated with pro-abortion advocates, and failed to follow the appropriate administrative procedures to institute its unprecedented mandate. We commend the Trump administration and HHS’s Office for Civil Rights for investigating and taking corrective action against the state of California for its flawed policies, persistent violation of federal law, and its willful disregard for the civil rights and conscience rights of its citizens.”
Church of England declares support of sex between a man and woman, and only in marriage

Substitutes for marriage are certainly a trend, it seems, and in the United Kingdom, couples who cohabit can actually enter into a legal arrangement, called a "civil partnership," akin to what homosexuals sought after in this country prior to the U.S. Supreme Court's recognition of counterfeit homosexual marriage as something called, "marriage." 

Now, according to The Guardian website, bishops in the Church of England, while apparently not explicitly condemning any sort of civil partnership - homosexual or heterosexual - bishops did say that sexual activity should only be pursued in the context of one-man, one-woman marriage.  The website reports:
Bishops have issued pastoral guidance in response to the recent introduction to mixed-sex civil partnerships, which says: “For Christians, marriage – that is, the lifelong union between a man and a woman, contracted with the making of vows – remains the proper context for sexual activity.”
The church “seeks to uphold that standard” in its approach to civil partnerships, and “to affirm the value of committed, sexually abstinent friendships” within such partnerships.
It adds: “Sexual relationships outside heterosexual marriage are regarded as falling short of God’s purpose for human beings.”
The Church's director of director of mission and public affairs, the Rev. Dr. Malcolm Brown, is quoted as saying: “Civil partnership is not the same as marriage, which is founded on the taking of solemn public vows and is recognised in the church’s teaching as the only proper context for sexual relationships." He added, “So, as with same-sex civil partnerships, there is no formal service or blessing but clergy will, as always, be encouraged to respond pastorally to couples wishing to formalise their relationship in this way.” The bishops did say, according to the article that members of the clergy in the Church of England “should not provide services of blessing for those who register a civil partnership."

No comments: