VIDEO REPORT: Changes coming to Cumberland

Last week, I covered a town meeting in Cumberland regarding the future of parishes in the area. A proposal will be presented to Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien that would unite the parishes into a new faith community with a new name and a single pastoral staff.  Cumberland’s St. Mary, St. Patrick and Ss. Peter and Paul and Cresaptown’s St. Ambrose would continue offering weekend Masses under the plan, while St. Patrick in Mount Savage would become a “station” for funerals, weddings and special liturgies – but no regular Masses.

Much more will be coming in a story in The Catholic Review.  In the meantime, check out this video I put together on the meeting.

5/3 Update:  Click here for the full report on the Cumberland town meeting.

BREAKING NEWS: Federal Court strikes down Baltimore pregnancy center sign law

Major news out of Baltimore.  A federal court just struck down a Baltimore law that required the posting of specific signs at pro-life pregnancy centers .

Here’s a clip from a story I just finished for The Catholic Review:

U.S. District Court Judge Marvin J. Garbis ruled Jan. 28 in Baltimore that it is unconstitutional to require pro-life pregnancy centers to post signs with language mandated by the government.

The ruling was a major victory for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, which had challenged a Baltimore City law passed in 2009 requiring the posting of signs at pro-life pregnancy centers stating that they do not provide abortion and birth control.

The archdiocese argued that such signs were a violation of First Amendment rights and that the law unfairly targeted pro-life pregnancy centers while no such signs were required of pro-choice centers indicating which services they don’t provide.

“The Court holds that the Ordinance violates the Freedom of Speech Clause of Article I of the Constitution of the United States and is unenforceable,” Judge Garbis wrote. “Whether a provider of pregnancy-related services is ‘pro-life’ or ‘pro-choice,’ it is for the provider – not the government – to decide when and how to discuss abortion and birth-control methods.”

Judge Garbis said the government cannot, consistent with the First Amendment, “require a ‘pro life’ pregnancy-related service center to post a sign as would be required by the Ordinance.”

Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, who had actively campaigned against the law when it was being considered by the Baltimore City Council, called the ruling a “clear victory both for pregnant women in need of assistance and for First Amendment principles we treasure in a free society.”

In a written statement following the ruling, the archbishop said crisis pregnancy centers were an “integral part” of the archdiocese’s efforts to help women looking for help carrying their babies to term.

“In Baltimore, these centers assist thousands of women every year who are trying to embrace the gift of life in their unborn children,” Archbishop O’Brien said. “And this ruling allows the important and compassionate work of these pro-life pregnancy centers to continue without interference from Baltimore City which sought to target these centers because they are pro-life.”

The archbishop added that “The ruling also upholds the constitutional rights under the First Amendment that protect private citizens such as those who work and volunteer in pregnancy centers from having to convey a government-mandated message.”

David W. Kinkopf, an attorney with Gallagher, Evelius and Jones who represented Archbishop O’Brien at an Aug. 4 hearing in Baltimore on the issue, said the ruling was a “great victory” for pro-life pregnancy centers and the Freedom of Speech.

Kinkopf noted that the ruling holds that because the city was regulating “core-protected speech” and not merely “commercial speech,” there was heightened scrutiny under the First Amendment.

“We think the judge got it right when he basically said there’s no place for the government to single specific speakers out for unfair speech regulation,” Kinkopf said. “The kind of speech these pregnancy centers are engaged in is not commercial speech -it’s deeply personal, moral and very important speech that deserves the full protection of the First Amendment.”

Click here to read the rest.  The Catholic Review will have much more on this story.

BIG NEWS! Federal Court rules in favor of Archdiocese of Baltimore on pregnancy center sign law

This story just broke in Baltimore.  I’m working on it now, but here’s a quick snip from a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Marvin J. Garbis.

The judge ruled today that it is UNCONSTITUTIONAL to require pro-life pregnancy centers to post signs with language mandated by the government. The Archdiocese of Baltimore had challenged a Baltimore City law passed in 2009 that required the posting of such signs.

Stay tuned. Much, much more to come!

The Court holds that the Ordinance violates the Freedom of Speech Clause of Article I of the Constitution of the United States and is unenforceable. Whether a provider of pregnancy-related services is “pro-life” or “pro-choice,” it is for the provider–not the government–to decide when and how to discuss abortion and birth-control methods. The Government cannot, consistent with the First Amendment, require a “pro life” pregnancy-related service center to post a sign as would be required by the Ordinance.

- Marvin J. Garbis, United States District Judge

 UPDATED: Here’s a link to the complete story.

 

Archbishop O’Brien will participate in Irish visitation

Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien

Baltimore Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien is heading to Rome and Ireland early this year as part of an Apostolic Visitation of Irish seminaries called by Pope Benedict XVI in his March 19, 2010 pastoral letter to the people of Ireland.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York is leading the visitation of seminaries and, with the approval of the pope, invited the Baltimore archbishop to assist.

Catholic News Service reported in November that the visitation of seminaries was expected to make sure screening policies and educational programs to improve child protection were in place in the wake of the child sex abuse crisis in Ireland.

The visitation is part of a larger effort that will also involve four archdioceses and religious orders. British Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, retired archbishop of Westminster, will conduct the visitation of the Archdiocese of Armagh; Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston will conduct the visitation of the Archdiocese of Dublin; Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto will conduct the visitation of the Archdiocese of Cashel; and Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa, Ontario, will visit the Archdiocese of Tuam.

Four visitators, including two nuns and two priests, will investigate religious houses in Ireland.

From the archdiocesan news release:

The Visitation will examine all aspects of priestly formation and is pastoral in nature, “intended to assist the local Church on her path of renewal,” the Holy Father wrote.

Archbishop O’Brien will accompany Archbishop Dolan and the other members of the Visitation team to Rome later this month to visit the Pontifical Irish College. The first week of February, the team will travel to Ireland to visit St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth; Saint Malachy’s College, Belfast; All Hallows College, Dublin; Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy, Dublin.

“This is a collaborative effort involving the Bishops of Ireland in an attempt to review the past and present formation programs at the Irish seminaries in an effort to contribute to their spiritual health and growth, as well as an increase in priestly vocations,” Archbishop O’Brien said.

The team will conduct one-on-one interviews with present and recent students, faculty and staff. Separate Apostolic Visitations of the four Metropolitan Archdioceses and Religious Houses in Ireland are also being conducted by separate visitation teams. The visitations are expected to be completed by Easter 2011.

According to the Archdiocese of Dublin, “When the Visitation is complete, the Holy See, after reviewing all the material submitted by the Visitators and offering suggestions for the spiritual renewal of the Archdioceses, Seminaries and Religious Houses, will issue a comprehensive summary of the results of the Visitation.”

Archbishop O’Brien led the Apostolic Visitation of U.S. Seminaries and houses of priestly formation in 2005.