Catholics in North Texas unite in prayer for Pope Francis amid health crisis, reflect on his legacy
In Texas, many Catholics are praying for the pope's health and reflecting on his legacy.
"Everyone is accompanying him in prayers. Definitely, the students on campus here have a strong connection to Rome," said Susan Hanssen, a history professor at the University of Dallas, a Catholic college.
As Pope Francis remains hospitalized, critically ill from pneumonia and kidney issues, students and faculty at the University of Dallas are sending their prayers of healing.
"We have noon Mass on campus, we have a 5 o'clock Mass on campus. It's packed with students who are praying for the pope," Hanssen said.
The pope's condition has Hanssen reflecting on his legacy. She thinks the first pope from "the New World" will be remembered for his faith.
"There have been many controversies, but I think at the heart of Pope Francis' papacy is really his Marian devotion," Hanssen said.
For Christopher Malloy, who leads the university's theology department, it's Pope Francis' nontraditional stances he'll remember most.
"He has been very concerned for the poor and for areas that maybe you don't traditionally expect the church to be worried about. Pollution, employment," Malloy said.
And Malloy says that's led to confusion among Catholics.
"I would say 15 years ago people were pretty clear on what the church believed about x, y, or z and now people are not clear," he said.
The pope's health remains day to day, and there won't be a conclave election for a new pope while Francis is alive, but Hanssen says everyone will be paying close attention.
"I think Catholics across the world, including Catholics in Dallas, will be following the conclave very closely," she said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kettering Health Cyberattack: Here's what is being done for patients with sensitive info on dark web
Kettering Health has announced that they have resumed normal operations after key services were knocked out by a cyberattack for nearly three weeks. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] They say they are working to identify what data was impacted in the cyberattack. 'Our investigation is ongoing, and we will directly notify any impacted individuals,' Kettering Health said in their press release. 'Notifications may include fraud protection resources, such as identity theft or credit monitoring.' >>RELATED: Kettering Health officials acknowledge impacts of cyber attack are 'extremely frustrating' TRENDING STORIES: New evidence raises more questions in search for father accused of killing 3 daughters Brand new aviation video shows man throwing wood at deputies, causing wrong-way crash on I-75 'Long and difficult process,' Pastor speaks on restoration efforts after fire at Catholic church Kettering Health says services such as surgery, imaging, retail pharmacy and physician office visits are back to normal. MyChart, which was restored Monday, is functional for patients. According to an update from the network, patients are now able to view upcoming appointments, schedule appointments, view prescription lists, message their providers and view test results. >>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Kettering Health cyberattack; Hacker group claims responsibility, sensitive info put on dark web Kettering Health says their cyber security and employee security training will 'effectively mitigate future risks.' News Center 7 will continue to follow this story. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Catholic employers can't be forced to provide gender-affirming care, federal judge in ND rules
The Quentin Burdick federal courthouse in Fargo, North Dakota. (Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor) A North Dakota federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission cannot force a group of Catholic employers to administer or pay for gender-affirming medical care. The case concerns two rules published by the federal agencies. The Department of Health and Human Services rule bars businesses that provide federally funded health programs from withholding medical care to someone just because they are transgender. Doing so would violate an anti-discrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the rule states. The lawsuit also challenged a similar rule published by the EEOC implementing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlaws workplace discrimination for employers with more than 15 employees. The rule holds that such employers cannot refuse to cover medical services to a transgender staff member that they would otherwise cover for other employees. Federal judge in North Dakota rules in favor of Catholic employers on abortion protections The Catholic Benefits Association — which represents Catholic employers — filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in North Dakota alleging the rules will force its members to violate their religious beliefs. The association said the rules could require Catholic hospitals to perform gender-affirming surgeries or a Catholic ministry to cover an employee's hormone replacement therapy, for example. The Catholic church teaches that providing gender-affirming care to transgender people is immoral, the association states in its complaint. The Department of Health and Human Services and EEOC defended the rules as necessary to protect Americans from gender-based discrimination, and further argued that the policies won't harm religious exercise because employers can ask for religious exemptions from the rules on a case-by-case basis. U.S. District Court Judge Peter Welte found these options insufficient because they do not guarantee exemptions to religious organizations, leaving them 'unable to predict their legal exposure.' Welte in an order last week sided largely with the Catholic Benefits Association. Welte found that the rules violate broad protections for religious exercise established in the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. That act states that the government can only limit religious exercise in service of a 'compelling government interest,' and must make every effort to be as minimally restrictive as possible. Welte said that the Department of Health and Human Services and EEOC rules don't meet these standards. The policies force Catholic organizations to decide between going against their beliefs and being subject to discrimination investigations and lawsuits, he wrote in the order. He ruled that the Department of Health and Human Services cannot interpret the Affordable Care Act in a way that requires the Catholic Benefits Association to administer or provide insurance coverage for gender-affirming procedures. He similarly found that the EEOC cannot interpret Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require the association to provide insurance coverage for gender-transition procedures. The lawsuit also challenged other protections in the rules related to abortion and fertility treatments, though Welte dismissed those claims. The Catholic Benefits Association filed the lawsuit as a successor to a previous case it joined with other Catholic groups against the Department of Health and Human Services and the EEOC. Welte also sided with the plaintiffs in that case, though an appellate court in 2022 found the Catholic Benefits Association didn't have standing to be part of the suit. In another case involving the Catholic Benefits Association, North Dakota U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor in April ruled that the association is exempt from provisions in two separate EEOC policies — one meant to shield workers from LGBTQ-based workplace harassment, and another that sought to protect workers' access to abortion and fertility treatments. Other federal judges have since issued rulings vacating parts of both rules nationwide. A federal judge in Texas in May vacated portions of the workplace harassment rule that pertain to sexual harassment and gender identity. Later that month, a federal judge in Louisiana struck down the abortion access protections. The decisions come as President Donald Trump's administration is rolling back services and legal protections, including by restricting access to gender-affirming care for minors and implementing a blanket ban on transgender people serving in the military. Trump signed an executive order in January establishing a two-gender policy for the federal government. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Yahoo
NY state Senate approves doctor-assisted suicide bill, sends it to Hochul's desk for approval
ALBANY – State Senate Democrats passed highly controversial legislation that would allow terminally ill people to take their own lives with the help of doctors in a razor-thin vote Monday — leaving it up to Gov. Kathy Hochul whether to sign it into law. 'This is one of the great social reforms of our state,' state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D-Manhattan), the bill's sponsor in the upper chamber, touted at a press conference earlier in the day Monday — putting the measure on the same tier as the legalization of gay marriage. 'This is about personal autonomy, this is about liberty, this is about exercising one's own freedom to control one's body,' Hoylman-Sigal continued. The measure passed 35 to 27, with six Democrats – Senators April Baskin, Siela Bynoe, Cordelle Cleare, Monica Martinez, Roxanne Persaud, and Sam Sutton – voting against it. 'The governor will review the legislation,' a spokesperson for Hochul said. The bill's passage follows a years-long campaign that was fought tooth and nail by a diverse group of critics, including disability rights activists and the Catholic church, as well as many black and Orthodox Jewish communities. 'The Governor still has the opportunity to uphold New York's commitment to suicide prevention, protect vulnerable communities, and affirm that every life—regardless of disability, age, or diagnosis—is worthy of care, dignity, and protection,' The New York Alliance Against Assisted Suicide wrote in a statement following the vote. A Catholic group slammed the bill's passing as 'a dark day for New York' and also called on Hochul to refuse to sign it. 'For the first time in its history, New York is on the verge of authorizing doctors to help their patients commit suicide. Make no mistake – this is only the beginning, and the only person standing between New York and the assisted suicide nightmare unfolding in Canada is Governor Hochul,' Dennis Poust, Executive Director of the New York State Catholic Conference, wrote in a statement. Ahead of the vote, the nearly three-hour debate on the Senate floor got emotional, with several lawmakers holding back tears as they explained their votes. Syracuse-area state Sen. Rachel May (D-Onondaga) shared the story of her late husband, who was receiving morphine in the final stages of his battle with cancer, which he eventually succumbed to at 32 years old. 'I don't know if the last largest dose he took also took his life, but I know that he died in peace,' May said. 'It isn't about controlling the disease or controlling the pain, it's about having control at the end of your life,' she said before voting in favor. Critics fear the legislation lacks critical safeguards over how doctors approve patients looking to receive the prescription for a lethal cocktail of drugs, such as a statutory waiting period, establishing clear chain of custody for the pills, mandating the doctor and recipient meet in-person, and requiring a disclosure that someone indeed used the drugs to take their own life. Under the bill, recipients would need approval from two doctors and a sign-off from two independent witnesses, after which they would receive a prescription for drugs they could use to take their life at a time of their choosing. Doctors also do not have to conduct a mental health screening for each patient, but may refer a patient for one under the legislation. 'I don't think requesting end-of-life medication when an individual is suffering and in pain and dying suggests a mental health condition, if anything, I think it's quite rational,' Hoylman-Sigal said. Hoylman vowed the bill would not lead to such 'unintended consequences.' 'It was a professional organization that provided us crucial guidance, that helped us develop the state-of-the-art safeguards in this legislation that gave my colleagues and the general public, I believe, the assurance that there will not be unintended consequences,' he said. The legislation is referred to by its supporters as the 'Medical Aid in Dying' bill. 'The option of medical aid in dying provides comfort, allowing those who are dying to live their time more fully and peacefully until the end. I am profoundly grateful to Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins for giving her conference the space to have this important and emotional discussion,' Corinne Carey, Senior Campaign Director of Compassion and Choices, the main group driving the effort to pass the bill, wrote in a statement.
