In this week’s edition:

• Wins and losses for Catholic causes in last week’s election.

• Neveah Crain’s family won’t let abortion ban take the blame

• Catholic brotherhood in Spain deemed guilty of discrimination by not admitting a woman

• Surrogacy ruling in Argentina draws praise from local bishops

• and more!

Catholics turn out for Trump, abortion rights results, and traditional marriage gets tossed aside

Summary: In the recent election, president-elect Trump won the Catholic vote by a notable margin; some states expanded abortion access while others restricted it; and three states repealed the traditional definition of marriage.

Details:

• Donald Trump won the Catholic vote by 18 points, but more notable was his performance with Latinos.

• Trump won Latino Catholics by 7%, despite the demographic generally favoring Democrats.

• He also logged the best Republican performance with Hispanics/Latinos at 46%.

• Meanwhile, FL, NE, and SD saw pro-life laws take victories.

• MT, MO, MD, CO and AZ added constitutional rights to/protections for abortion.

• CA, CO and HI are set to remove from their constitutions the definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman.

Why we care: While we can’t claim to be perfectly satisfied with the results of the election given that none of the major candidates perfectly represented the Catholic position, we will admit to being pleased with the broad national outcome, especially when compared to the alternative. The victory does feel somewhat hollow when juxtaposed with the ethical evils electorally enshrined. We’re all for subsidiarity, but not when it comes to this. We’re hesitant to call for a federal mandate or ban on anything, but it’s certainly deserved in the case of abolishing abortion and encouraging procreative, stable marriages that serve for the good of society.

Neveah Crain’s family say hospitals, not abortion ban, to blame for her death.

Summary: Crain’s parents expressed frustration over their daughter’s death being used for politics, saying the hospitals are to blame.

Details:

• You may already be familiar with Neveah Crain’s story, but the short version is that she was pregnant, suffered a miscarriage, visited two ERs, failed to receive adequate care a subsequently died.

• Critics of the abortion ban in TX and those in similar states say that “Pregnant women have become essentially untouchables” due to “confusion and fear about the potential legal repercussions”

•  Pro-life groups contend that state law is being falsely represented and doctors have no reason to not treat pregnant women in emergencies.

• Crain’s parents agree with the latter and say they “…want them [the hospitals] to pay for what they did to [their] daughter.”

Why we care: It’s certainly possible that doctors are acting in good faith, but we’re willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that pro-abortion propaganda, lack of education in legal matters, and a fear of malpractice suits in an overly-litigious society. We’d bet that these factors are largely - if not entirely - to blame for this situation and the one involving Amber Thurman. The irony, if course, is that these doctors seem slated to receive a malpractice suit all the same. We’d hate to think that any of these doctors are acting out of malicious intent, trying to sneak an abortion past the state AG; if that’s the case they certainly need our prayers. What this says to us is that there needs to be a concerted effort to inform medical staff of the actual law to prevent more tragedies like this.

Enjoying our newsletter while drinking your morning coffee? Why not support the pro-life movement, a veteran-owned business, and this newsletter while you’re at it? Be sure to check out North Arrow Coffee Co. for your caffeine supply, and use code HOLYSCROLLERS for 10% off your order!

479 year-old Spanish Catholic association of men must admit woman, Spanish court rules

Summary: The Pontifical, Royal, and Venerable Slavery of the Most Holy Christ of La Laguna violated the nondiscrimination law by refusing a woman’s application, Spain’s Constitutional Court ruled.

Details:

• The brotherhood was founded in 1545 with the purpose of being an association of men.

• María Teresita Laborda Sanz submitted an application in 2008, which was naturally declined.

• In 2021 the court ruled that the brotherhood was protected in denying her application given that they are a religious organization.

• The court has since changed its tune, claiming the statues “isn’t protected by the religious autonomy of said association to the extent that the prohibition of women from being part of the association is not based on any reason of a religious or moral nature.”

• Local legal experts have expressed concern, calling the ruling “bad news”.

Why we care: While this situation doesn’t affect most of us in any direct sense, it seems to us to be a bubbling over of the anti-religious sentiment that has been stirring largely beneath the surface, only occasionally rearing its ugly head. We’ve been fortunate in our nation to have a SCOTUS that has largely sided with religious freedom in the past, but this is a good reminder that even a country like Spain with constitutional religious freedom can flip the script. We ought to take nothing for granted, staunchly and proactively defending our religious liberties while praying for our Catholic brethren across the globe who are denied those same rights.

Argentine bishops laud surrogacy ruling upholding role, importance of birth mother

Summary: The Argentine Supreme Court ruled against a couple that wished to be on record as the “parents” instead of the surrogate with whom they had contracted.

Details:

• A homosexual couple had used a surrogate for a child and then took legal action to try to have a new birth certificate issued which named them as the parents.

• The court found against the men, going so far as to request legislative regulation of surrogacy which it says treats “poor women and children…as objects of desire.”

• The court’s statement also says that “the mother is the one who gives birth, regardless of the subjective self-representations and private wishes of third parties.”

• The anti-trafficking team of the National Commission for Justice and Peace of the Argentine bishops praised the ruling as “timely and necessary”.

• A lawyer noted that “This ruling puts an end to a series of court rulings that have occurred throughout the country, generally very favorable to surrogacy….”

Why we care: What a phenomenal development! We love seeing nations align themselves with the Catholic teaching on surrogacy, which we see as not just a religious issue but also one of ethics and human dignity. It’s encouraging to see more and more people take this practice head-on and to see such promising results, but we also know there is significant work to be done. Between the resulting deaths of countless embryos and the commodification of human life, surrogacy is yet another blight that we must work and pray to erase.

Other Stories

• Happy Birthday! The Archbasilica of St. John Lateran just turned 1700 (but doesn’t look a day over 1500).

• New Orleans Archdiocese to release files of priests implicated in sexual abuse allegations.

• Remember the bishop who banned certain hymns? He’s walked that back and called for a “synodal process of…discernment".

• Parish manager convicted of stealing almost $1million from her church could see 41 months to 20 years in Federal prison.

• Thinking about donating organs? Can we, as Catholics, even do that?

• For the first time in 5 years Notre Dame’s bells sound out.

• Bishops and activist fight back against proposed decriminalization of abortion in Mexico city.

• What drives someone to be a consecrated virgin? Celeste reveals all in an interview.

• What can we do when someone we love has cancer?

Quote of the Week

What’s going on:

• Did you know November is Black Catholic History Month?

• Notable feast days:

Enjoying our newsletter? Share it with your friends!

Were you forwarded this email and want to subscribe? Click here!