Maryland State House. / Credit: Jon Bilous/Shutterstock

Baltimore, Md., Sep 27, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore issued a letter to the Catholics of his archdiocese on Wednesday urging the faithful to reject Maryland’s Question 1, a ballot initiative that he labeled an “extreme step of enshrining the legality of abortion” in the state’s constitution.

Local pro-life activists in Maryland have also redoubled their efforts against Question 1 — spotlighting that the constitutional amendment, if approved by voters, would have a drastic impact on other controversial issues besides abortion — including parental rights related to their child’s procurement of abortion and minors’ “use of puberty-blocking drugs and surgical mutilation of reproductive anatomy.”

The Archdiocese of Baltimore sent Lori’s message via e-mail and posted it on its Flocknote page. The cleric first reiterated the Church’s teaching on “the most fundamental right of all, the right to life.” He also underlined: “We are called by our faith to uphold human dignity at all stages of life, from natural conception to natural death.”

The archbishop continued by outlining the stakes with the ballot measure: “Question 1 seeks to enshrine abortion in the Maryland state constitution, an action that is both unnecessary and harmful ... It is harmful because it would divert resources away from efforts that promote the well-being of women, children, and families.”

Lori added that “[r]ather than taking the extreme step of enshrining the legality of abortion in the Maryland Constitution, we should work to create a culture where no woman feels as though she must choose between the life of her child and a bright future.”

The archbishop issued his letter less than six weeks before Election Day. Meanwhile, pro-life groups in Maryland have mobilized due to the short window of time before the vote.

Maryland Right to Life posted a “Voter Alert” about Question 1 on its website. The nonprofit organization noted the broad scope of the proposal and continued with a list of other possible radical effects of the amendment — including how it “threatens parental rights to make medical decisions for our children,” “restricts free speech and religious exemptions,” and “threatens [the] existence of pregnancy resource centers.” 

The group also promoted the materials of Marylanders For Health Not Harm, a coalition decrying the “deceptive ‘Reproductive Freedom’ amendment.”

Laura Bogley, the executive director of Maryland Right to Life, quoted one of the bill’s sponsors, state Sen. Dawn Gile, who testified that the amendment “would create new and broader rights than abortion, including the right of an individual to alter one’s reproductive anatomy.” Gile’s campaign website also highlights her stance on the main issue: “I am proud to be endorsed by Planned Parenthood and Pro-Choice Maryland.”

Gile stood immediately behind Maryland Gov. Wes Moore as he signed a package of bills in May 2023 — including the one that authorized Question 1. The package also included another piece of legislation that she voted for — the so-called “Trans Health Equity Act” — which, according to an Associated Press report, “expands the number of procedures relating to gender-affirming care that are covered by the state’s Medicaid program ... [including] any medically necessary treatment consistent with current clinical standards of care prescribed by a licensed health care provider for the treatment of a condition related to the individual’s gender identity.”

Bogley also gave her own blunt assessment of the ballot measure: “The deceptive ... [amendment] is a Trojan horse, intended to trick parents into giving up their parental rights for abortion rights already fully protected in state law. ... Maryland’s abortion laws would not substantially change, but parents would lose their rights and potentially lose custody of their children if they refuse to comply with the state’s radical agenda to transition children, causing our kids permanent reproductive harm.”

Maryland is among 10 states that will have ballot initiatives on abortion in November. Nebraska has competing pro-life and pro-abortion state constitutional amendments up for voter approval. Earlier in September, Missouri’s state Supreme Court upheld the inclusion of a pro-abortion state amendment on that state’s ballot. The other states that will have ballot measures on abortion in November are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota.

Pope Francis meets with academics at KU Leuven, a Belgian Catholic research university, on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Sep 27, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

The pope addressed academics at KU Leuven, a Belgian Catholic research university, on Friday afternoon to mark the 600th anniversary of its founding.

Pope Francis arrives at Laeken Castle in Belgium on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, where he is greeted by the Belgian royal family, Queen Mathilde and King Philippe. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Sep 27, 2024 / 10:55 am (CNA).

King Philippe ascended the Belgian throne in 2013 and holds the title “Rex Catholicissimus,” or “(Most) Catholic Majesty.” 

Pope Francis sits next to Queen Mathilde and listens as King Philippe (far right) speaks during a meeting between the pope and dignitaries in the Grand Gallery of Belgium’s Laeken Castle on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Sep 27, 2024 / 09:11 am (CNA).

Speaking before approximately 300 dignitaries, the pope remarked that child abuse is “a scourge that the Church is tackling resolutely and firmly.”

Catholic Cathedral St. Peter and Paul in the Diocese of Tallinn, Estonia. / Credit: Kallerna/Wikimedia CC BY-SA 3.0

CNA Newsroom, Sep 26, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).

The Vatican made the announcement on Sept. 26, coinciding with the start of the pope’s apostolic journey to Luxembourg and Belgium.

Pope Francis arrives at Luxembourg Airport on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, the first stop in a four-day tour of Luxembourg and Belgium, two historically Christian countries in Europe, both of which are experiencing steep declines in religious adherence amid the spread of secularization. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Sep 26, 2024 / 13:45 pm (CNA).

Before flying to the neighboring country of Belgium on the afternoon of Sept. 26, the 87-year-old pope spent one day visiting the tiny but wealthy Luxembourg.

The rector of the Walsingham shrine, Father Robert Billing. The feast day of Our Lady of Walsingham was celebrated Sept. 24, 2024, in England for the first time. / Credit: The Catholic National Shrine and Basilica of Our Lady

Walsingham, England, Sep 24, 2024 / 13:55 pm (CNA).

The feast day of Our Lady of Walsingham was celebrated today for the first time in England.

St. Pio of Pietrelcina. / Credit: File:Padre Pio portrait.jpg: The original uploader was Manfredonia at Italian Wikipedia.derivative work: MisterNoxAfter Elia Stelluto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 23, 2024 / 12:53 pm (CNA).

Various historical testimonies document that the beloved St. Pio of Pietrelcina, whose feast day is celebrated Sept. 23, had the gift of xenoglossia.

Worshippers gather to pray in front of the exhumed body of mystic-saint Padre Pio in the Catholic Church of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura (St. Lawrence Outside the Walls) in Rome on Feb. 4, 2016. / Credit: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty

National Catholic Register, Sep 23, 2024 / 11:15 am (CNA).

On Sept. 23, the Church celebrates one of the most popular Catholic saints of the 20th century — St. Pio of Pietrelcina, commonly known as Padre Pio.

Fishing boats moored in Brixham harbor on March 2, 2016, in Devon, England. / Credit: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Brighton, England, Sep 20, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Last month, BBC One Scotland aired “Disclosure: Slavery at Sea,” which accuses the Scottish fishing company TN Trawlers of modern-day slavery and trafficking.