According to what has been learned from sources who are members of the Focolari movement, which has been confirmed by members of Cardinal Angelo Becciu’s staff, around 5:30pm, Pope Francis arrived in the chapel of Cardinal Becciu’s private apartments in the building that houses the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and celebrated the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.
In addition to the Cardinal and the sisters who assist him, members of the Focolari movement were also present.
This was a private engagement on the Pope’s part and there is as of yet no official confirmation.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has called for a “reset” of the relationship between the EU and the UK to resolve issues stemming from the Northern Ireland Protocol.
<p class="no_name">The Taoiseach lamented the deterioration of diplomatic relations between the bloc and the UK following rows over Brexit and the supply of Covid-19 vaccines.</p>
<p class="no_name">The Northern Ireland Protocol, designed to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland post-Brexit, has caused unrest among both unionists and loyalists, who have called for it to be scrapped.</p>
<p class="no_name">In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Martin said he has told the EU the bloc’s relationship must be “constructive”.</p>
<p class="no_name">He said: “I think we need to reset the relationship.</p>
<p class="no_name">“I’ve made it very clear to our <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_organisation=European+Union">European Union</a> partners that the British-Irish relationship is a unique one, historically rooted.</p>
<h4 class="crosshead">‘Joint custodians’</h4><p class="no_name">“We’re both joint custodians of the (Good Friday) Agreement and nothing can come between us in respect of making sure that we work constructively together.</p>
<p class="no_name">“That’s our aim and our objective as a Government – to maintain a constructive relationship with Britain.”</p>
<p class="no_name">The Taoiseach said he has argued that “the only future has to be a constructive UK-EU relationship”.</p>
<p class="no_name">The relationship, already damaged by Brexit, deteriorated further due to the EU’s brief suspension of the Northern Ireland Protocol in a row over vaccines.</p>
<p class="no_name">The UK also suspended elements of the protocol unilaterally, by suspending customs checks on goods travelling between Britain and Northern Ireland, a move dubbed “silly” by the Taoiseach.</p>
<p class="no_name">The premier said the EU has already done a lot to “facilitate the uniqueness” of the protocol, but acknowledged there is “work to be done... to see what we can fine-tune”.</p>
<h4 class="crosshead">Tackle</h4><p class="no_name">He called for the use of special committees to tackle difficulties arising from the protocol, which have been provided for under the Withdrawal Agreement.</p>
<p class="no_name">He said: “We’ve got to try to work those committees to see, can we deal with those issues and make life as easy as possible for businesses.”</p>
<p class="no_name">Despite these setbacks, the Taoiseach believes the relationship can get back on track.</p>
<p class="no_name">“I think it makes sense for Britain that it really works on its relationship with the EU. The EU is ready to engage,” he said.</p>
<p class="no_name">He told the paper that UK officials have been more constructive in recent weeks.</p>
<p class="no_name">The move towards a “win-win” deal on the supply of Covid-19 vaccines across <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_location=Europe">Europe</a> and the UK is a “very important” sign, he added. –PA</p>
Member States of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) are set to benefit from the implementation of two European Union (EU) funded projects: The Biodiversity Support Programme for ACP Coastal Environments (BioSPACE) and the Integrated Landscape Approaches and Investments in Sustainable Land Management in the OECS (ILM).
BioSPACE contributes to the sustainable development of Small Island Developing States and coastal countries within the African Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). It also supports the SAMOA Pathway through improving the management and sustainable use of coastal and marine resources.
Dr. Didacus Jules, Director General of the Organisation of East Caribbean States (OECS).
The ILM project, which complements BioSPACE and officially commenced in 2020, aims to optimize the contribution of land to agriculture, food security, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the preservation of ecosystems and the essential services they provide. The project will contribute to climate-smart and sustainable agriculture farming systems and enhancement of cross-sector approaches to land use planning and management. It will also support National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans. In addition, it will contribute to curbing deforestation and forest degradation by reducing deforestation and forest degradation emissions, and strengthen ecosystem management in general.
The first joint Project Steering Committee Meeting of the OECS Environmental Sustainability Division for the BioSPACE and ILM projects was held on 10 March 2021, with key decision-makers within the sector along with officials of the OECS Commission and the EU participating.
Addressing the virtual meeting participants, Director General of the OECS, Dr. Didacus Jules, highlighted the importance of these projects to the sustainability of the Caribbean Region’s ecosystems.
He noted that, “One must bear in mind that in many instances, biodiversity and diverse ecosystems contribute to our social well being and our economic prosperity through the services they provide. Consider further that the loss of such diversity in nature because of the impacts of climate change and other natural and human induced hazards threatens the existence of flora and fauna species and causes loss of ecosystem functions.” He added that, “The Caribbean, has been identified as one of the 34 top global biodiversity hotspots due to the real threats of biodiversity loss and extinction and given the unique flora and fauna of the region.
This means that urgent measures must be employed to mitigate further loss of biodiversity treasure” EU Ambassador to Barbados, The Eastern Caribbean States, the OECS and CARICOM/CARIFORUM, Małgorzata Wasilewska, emphasized the importance of such initiatives, giving a stark reminder that, “When scientific studies tell us that we have wiped out 60% of the planet’s biodiversity during the last 50 years only, this should be more than a wake up call.” However, she reminded that, “There is hope, but to keep this hope alive, any effort counts – at personal local, national or global level.” In underlining the EU continued championing of climate change action and adaptation in the Caribbean Region, its strong partnership with the OECS, Ambassador Wasilewska reaffirmed,
“The European Union continues to trust the good work of the OECS and it renewed commitment, through projects such as these, to ensure an even more resilient region. These two projects are well transmitting our message, whether you consider your countries, as being small island states or large ocean states, we need to do a lot of work to preserve them. The European Union is a trustful partner to count on in this endeavour.
The Biodiversity Support Programme for ACP Coastal Environments (BioSPACE) and the Integrated Landscape Approaches and Investments in Sustainable Land Management in the OECS (ILM) will run for five years.
WASHINGTON (CNS) — That President Joe Biden is the second Catholic U.S. president is less in dispute among Americans than the practice of his faith, according to a poll released March 30 by the Pew Research Center.
Fifty-eight percent of Americans identified Biden as Catholic in the poll, with 63% of Democrats and Americans who lean Democratic, and 55% of Republicans and those who lean Republican, saying as much. Only 6% thought Biden is Protestant, and 31% replied they weren’t sure.
But a cleave has developed between Catholics who identify with one of the two major political parties. Among Catholic Democrats, 89% say Biden is at least somewhat religious, with 51% saying he is “very” religious. But 63% of Catholic Republicans say Biden is either “not too religious” or “not at all religious.”
In the poll, “insulting comments” about Biden as a “fake Catholic” or a “Catholic in name only” were uttered by “a handful of Republicans,” Pew said in the third paragraph of its report, “Most Democrats and Republicans Know Biden Is Catholic, but They Differ Sharply About How Religious He Is.”
Moreover, 55% of Catholic Republicans said “Biden’s views about abortion should disqualify him from receiving Communion in the Catholic Church,” the poll found. Biden supports legal abortion and has said the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade should be “the law of the land.” But only 11% of Catholic Dems share that view, with 87% saying Biden’s political views should not result in a ban on him receiving Communion.
The poll was conducted March 1-7 among 12,055 U.S. adults in Pew’s online American Trends Panel, including 2,492 who identified themselves as Catholic. The margin of error for the full poll is plus or minus 1.5 percentage points, and 3.4 percentage points for Catholic respondents.
When asked about a generic politician’s abortion views, 67% of Catholics said a view contrary to church teaching should not render the pol ineligible for Communion, while 29% said the politician should be barred from the Eucharist. Republicans agreed with Democrats, but only by the narrowest of margins, 50%-49%.
The numbers who say a politician should be denied Communion shrink for positions on other issues that have at times run up against church teaching: 19% on homosexuality; 18% on the death penalty — here, a larger percentage of Catholic Republicans (19%) than Democrats (17%) said this should bar a politician from Communion; and 9% on immigration.
Pew said 71% of Catholic Democrats said politicians should be able to continue receiving Communion even if they disagree with the church on a variety of issues.
Biden has made references to his faith fairly frequently, including his Jan. 20 inaugural address — given just hours after going to Mass in Washington accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris and Senate and House leaders from both parties. He also referenced his faith in his Nov. 7 victory speech.
Pew found that 61% of Americans said Biden talks “about the right amount” about his religion. Fourteen percent said he talks about it too much, while 21% said he talks about it too little. The two groups with the highest percentages that said Biden talks too little about his faith were evangelicals, 39%, and Republicans, 33%. The two groups that said he talks too much about religion are atheists and agnostics, 28%, and — again — members of the GOP, 20%.
Biden’s Catholicism did not come into play so much when he was vice president, serving with President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017. This is holding true for Harris. A plurality of 46% in the Pew poll said they believe Harris is somewhat or very religious, while 41% said is not very, or not at all, religious.
When asked about her religious affiliation, “not sure” was the most popular response at 65%, followed by Protestant at 12%, “nothing in particular” at 6%, and Catholic at 5%. Harris identifies as Baptist, which was not a choice offered in the poll.
Tibet, famously called the roof of the world, a state in the Himalayas neighbored by India and China has for long been in a state of the tussle with Beijing. China lays the claim over the entire Tibet and calls it its own territory; however, Tibet has always strived for an independent existence. This is among the many conflicts currently brewing in South Asia, probably the worse as far as the power imbalance is concerned.
The water tower of Asia has for long witnessed the cold and dark nights under the communist regime of China. The process of democratization is merely a ghost only if that ghost exists. This makes it imperative for the powers across the globe to play their role in fostering a dialogue between Beijing and Tibet, and only recently we have seen some improvement on that front and some progress will hopefully be on its way.
Tibetan people have struggled under the mighty and brutal fist of Beijing and since the independence of China, we have been demanding our separate homeland. The division of Tibet into smaller units and segregating them from mainland Tibet is a typical example of engineering.
Tibet as known today is only a fraction of the historical mainland of Tibet. The Chinese have created a façade by giving the autonomous region of Tibet, which is what is left of Tibet after its repeated geographical divisions, an autonomy nonexistent in practice. People in Tibet demand the unification of all the parts, which were historically part of Tibet, and post that want complete political, economic and religious freedom.
People in Tibet have tried to resist the imperialistic control of communist China in Tibet and have always raised their demand for independent Tibet. The inspiration to the people of Tibet comes mainly from outer Mongolia and Bhutan, both countries are doing quite well in managing their affairs and their foreign policy. The other countries in the region enjoy the power over their own destiny while in the case of Tibet, the destiny of people is being meddled with and is mostly in the hands of Han Chinese, who have never been sympathetic to the people of Tibet.
The gross human violation in Tibet is not a new story and is not hidden from anyone despite the media ban and propagandistic approach adopted by the Chinese government to have control of one’s destiny is the luxury Tibetans don’t have. Young People are abducted from the tribal regions of Tibet and are inducted into PLA (People’s Liberation Army), who are then sent to various regions of mainland China wherein they go through the process of political re-engineering; approximately half a million people have already been inducted in PLA from Tibet tribal regions and they are being engineered to serve the agenda of communist China.
One of the major internationally recognized research organization has stated the conditions being equally worse as that in Syria. The excruciating pain shivers the spine when one sees that people are not even allowed to decide on the number of children they can have. The free and fair process of governance in Tibet is just a mirage and the reality, just the opposite.
The dilapidated condition of Tibetans is mostly being ignored and not reported, however, the reports which come out as Tibetans flee from Tibet in search of a peaceful asylum are very disturbing. The missing list of people from Lhasa and adjoining areas is growing and no political rival is left unmonitored. The accounts of the torture being administered to politically active workers in Tibet has seen no parallel.
The fear of losing identity is among the worst fears any community can encounter. The cultural identity and the religious identity of the people of Tibet is among the worst hit. Tibet and China are culturally diverse and have very little to nothing in common. The Chinese however are trying to impose their culture in Tibet, which would subsequently mean the lost Tibetan culture.
The freedom of religious expression is even more hit. The interference in the elections for Dalai Lama by China is not only protested against but the proxy Dalai Lama, which has been put in place in Tibet, is not even revered by the people of Tibet. Tibetans have a strong notion of being separated from their religion and fears of Chinese Buddhism taking over Tibetan Buddhism under the protection of communist China. This is one of the grave situations as far as the freedom to profess and practise religion is concerned.
The world needs to come together to solve this issue of gross human rights violation among other conflicts. USA, UK and India have been actively involved in resolving the long-pending issue of Tibetans. The USA and allied parties have actively participated in resolving the issues around the globe and the same needs to be done in the case of Tibet.
The democratic powers across the globe should come forth to rescue Tibet from this situation. The bills must be passed in their respective parliaments to put pressure on the Chinese govt. to secure rights for Tibetan people. Tibetans are peace and progress loving people, however, that has to come along with meaningful freedom.
The Tibetan Support and Policy Act of 2020 passed by the US Congress this year is a landmark victory for the People of Tibet and their struggle. This bill acknowledges the struggle of the people of Tibet against the brutal and oppressive Chinese occupation and is in solidarity with six million Tibetans who are suffering inside Tibet.
Washington has always fought the non-democratic forces and stands firm hand in hand with the Tibetan brothers and sisters and their freedom struggle. Washington DC has always supported the justice of the Tibetan people and will continue to pursue and support the cause. This is also the recognition of the legacy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his earnest efforts towards justice for Tibetan brothers. This will be a major boost to the Tibetan freedom struggle and is thus of historic importance.
It is not an easy task to fight evil and rise up against the fascist and dictatorial regimes. The manifestation of fascism as a democratic country won’t be tolerated and has to be fought against. We Tibetans are fighting for our rightful cause and in this regard, we have knocked at the doors of conscience of every major global player. Getting the laws enacted is a gigantic task that too when it is against one of the most brutal powers of the world.
We took to lobbying for enacting the bill as a law for recognizing the govt in exile for Tibet and giving Tibetans the right for their own representation in the world; all the Tibetan associations in America including the Tibetan Youth Congress, SFT and so on are involved in getting the justice for Tibet. Tibet has to be on the agenda of every Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s business meeting for the world to know the importance of this grave matter.
We the Tibetan diaspora want to be the representatives of Tibet which have been largely ignored on the world stage until recently. We have been trying hard to get the bill passed despite knowing the fate of the Hing Kong and Xinxiang bills. We got the major breakthrough when the Tibet bill was taken out of all other major bills. This would mean a lot of focus on the agenda of Tibet.
The Xinxiang bill didn’t get out from the Senate Foreign relation committee. We managed to get the bill out of the staff members and the senators agreed to attach it to the Appropriation Bill. That is how it got passed. Thanks to his Holiness the Dalai Lama and all the monasteries who prayed for the Tibet cause. It wouldn’t be fair if we overlook the struggle and the hardship His Holiness the Dalai Lama went through.
Policy Bill of 2020
The Tibet Policy Act Bill 2002 and Tibet Support and Policy Bill of 2020 are actually one. The latter one is actually the improvement, amendment, and addition to the previous bill. The 2002 bill addresses the situation inside Tibet as occupied Tibet, gross human rights violations, and the appointment of a special coordinator to help in pursuing dialogue between the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Chinese representatives.
The bill also calls for the opening of a US office in Lhasa that will help in providing funds, scholarships and other things, this will help the Tibetans to develop an understanding and get a formal education in developing fields of science which would further strengthen the existence and survival of independent Tibet.
In addition, the Tibet Support and Policy Bill of 2020 strongly call for the religious freedom of the Tibetan people i.e. securing the religious freedom for the people of Tibet. The Chinese government should not interfere in the reincarnation process, if they, sanctions will be imposed on them.
On the environmental matters, Tibet being a “water tower of Asia” and anyone who invests in Tibet must follow the US guidelines on development, etc. The bill specifically says that the US consulate should be allowed to open in Lhasa (Capital City of Autonomous Region of Tibet). If the Chinese government doesn’t allow that, they cannot open any consulate in America. So, this is a very strong condition.
And one great legacy of His Holiness is the democratic system or democratization of the exile Tibetans. It also acknowledges that Tibetan people participating in elections in 30 plus countries to elect a member of parliament in Sikyong and it also clearly says that the CTA reflects and represents the aspirations of the Tibetans in the diaspora and Sikyong is the President of CTA. For the first time, CTA is legally acknowledged by the US Congress and now through this law, by the US government. I am glad that the Tibetan Policy and Support Act is a major political statement for Tibet.
The Chinese stand and Chinese Foreign Ministry stand on Tibetans government-in-exile is that of a separatist organization insisted ‘no one should support it; no one should meet with their officials’. This bill counters the Chinese stand and the bill acknowledges the CTA and the Tibetan freedom movement thereby sending a message all over the world. The fact that Washington DC is acknowledging the Tibetan movement so; it is a huge political statement, particularly, to the Tibetans inside Tibet.
Yes, this bill will be read and heard all over the world particularly by Beijing and I am glad that six million Tibetans inside Tibet will get to hear the positive development and support for Tibet. So, it recognizes the Tibet Issue as an international issue. I am glad that the next Sikyong will have an easier path and will get enough time to focus more on political activities. He/she can double the funding or alleviate the legal recognition of CTA by other governments around the world. A lot can be done. I just feel I have fulfilled my task politically.
I am very grateful to Speaker Nancy Pelosi who has been a rock-solid supporter of Tibet and a good friend of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I am thankful to all others who contributed immensely towards the cause of recognizing Tibet as a human rights issue and as a territorial occupation.
*The author is President of the Tibetan-government-in-exile, called as Central Tibetan Administration.
MANILA, Philippines — The number of Filipinos who believe that religion is “very important” in their lives has gone down by 10 percentage points – from the record high of 83% recorded in December 2019 to 73% as shown by a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) from Nov. 21 to 25, 2020.
The results of the previous survey were released in April 2020, but the poll was done in December 2019 — or before the COVID-19 pandemic affected normalcy and ushered in a massive economic crisis in the whole world.
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Still, the latest figure is higher than the 69% recorded in June 2019, the SWS noted.
“The national Social Weather Survey of November 21-25, 2020, found 73% of adult Filipinos saying religion is very important in their lives, 9% somewhat important, 3% not very important, and 15% not at all important,” SWS said in its report released Wednesday.
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“The view that religion is very important has been dominant in all SWS surveys since SWS began to track these responses in December 2015. The latest figure of 73% is 10 points below the record-high 83% in December 2019 but 4 points above the 69% in June 2019,” it added.
But aside from the decrease in the number of people who deem religion as “very important,” the SWS also found out that people who consider faith as something not important grew.
In 2019, 7% said that religion is “not at all important.” Fast forward to 2020, and the figure for the same category rose to 15%.
Moreover, participation in religious activities has been declining at a continuous rate: for 2020, 46% of the respondents said that they attended religious services weekly, 34% said they did it monthly, and 27% said occasionally.
But SWS said that when they started this survey, the percentage of respondents who attended religious services was at 66%.
“Weekly attendance at religious services, averaged over the entire year, began at a majority 66% when SWS first surveyed it in 1991. It fell to 58% in 1994, the next year with data, and mostly stayed somewhat above 50% until 2012, except in 2008 when it fell to a minority 47%,” the SWS said.
“It fell to an average 46% in 2013 and has since then stayed at less than half,” it added. “The 44% annual average weekly attendance at religious services in 2019 is the lowest since the 46% yearly average in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017.”
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Most of the decreases in perception of importance are attributed to Christian beliefs, like among Catholics (down from 84% to 71%), and other Christians (78% to 71%).
Almost no change was recorded among Filipino Muslims, with 93% saying that religion was “very important” compared to 94% in 2019.
Meanwhile, belief that religion is “important” increased among Iglesia ni Cristo members, from 69% to 88%.
Mindanao, where most of the country’s Muslims live, had the highest regard for religion at 88%.
“The percentage of those who regard religion as very important is highest in Mindanao (88%), followed by Metro Manila and Balance Luzon (70% each), and the Visayas (64%),” the SWS said.
“Compared to December 2019, those who say religion is very important fell in the Visayas (down from 85%), in Balance Luzon (down from 82%), and in Metro Manila (down from 81%). They hardly changed in Mindanao, moving from 85% in December 2019 to 88% in November 2020,” it added.
The Philippines has been beset with several calamities since 2020, starting from the eruption of the Taal Volcano, the COVID-19 crisis, and successive storms between October and November that wrecked havoc over Luzon and parts of Visayas and Mindanao.
According to numbers from 2020, the country’s gross domestic product was at its worst since statisticians and economists tracked the number, contracting by 9.5% on a year-on-year basis.
This SWS survey was also done during the first time use of face-to-face interviews despite the COVID-19 pandemic: 1,500 adults were interviewed, segregated in terms of population density, with 600 coming from Balance Luzon and 300 each from Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.
The SWS maintains sampling error margins of ±2.5% for national percentages, ±4% for Balance Luzon, and ±6% for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
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Most Americans know President Joe Biden is Roman Catholic but there are stark differences — especially based on political party — in how they believe he should live out his faith, a new study shows.
About 6 in 10 U.S. adults (58%) recognize Biden is Catholic, including 63% of those who are Democrats or lean Democratic and 55% of Republicans or Republican leaners. Most others surveyed said they were unsure of his religious affiliation.
The findings were released Tuesday (March 30) in a Pew Research Center report looking at Americans’ views about the faiths of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
The survey of more than 12,000 U.S. adults revealed a political divide in agreement on just how religious the two top officeholders are.
More than 8 in 10 Democrats (88%) say Biden is at least “somewhat” religious — including 45% who describe him as “very” religious — while almost two-thirds (63%) of Republicans say he is “not too” or “not at all” religious.
Two-thirds of Catholics (66%) and atheists and agnostics (66%) know Biden is Catholic, compared with three-quarters of Jews (75%) and about half or fewer of Black Protestants (46%) and people who describe their faith as “nothing in particular” (43%).
While most respondents were familiar with the president’s faith, they were less so about the religious identity of Harris.
Two-thirds of American adults (65%) said they are not sure of Harris’ religion, while only 12% said she is Protestant. The vice president identifies as a Baptist.
About half of Americans say Harris is “somewhat religious” (38%) or “very religious” (8%), with the other half saying she is “not too religious” (28%) or “not at all religious” (23%).
Equal shares of people in both parties say they do not know her religion (64% each) but, as with Biden, far more Democrats are likely to see her as at least somewhat religious (69%) than Republicans are (19%).
Among religious groups, the view that Harris is a religious person is most common among Black Protestants (78%) and least among white evangelical Protestants (20%). There was a similar finding for Biden: 87% of Black Protestants said he was at least somewhat religious, but just 35% of white evangelicals said so.
The findings line up with previous studies that show Black Protestants tend to vote Democratic while white evangelicals lean Republican.
Overall, 64% of U.S. adults say Biden is “very” or “somewhat” religious, an increase from 55% who described him that way in February 2020. There has been a notable increase in the share of Americans who now say Biden is “very” religious.
“But virtually all of this increase has happened among Democrats; among members of Biden’s own party, 13% described him very religious early last year, compared with 45% today,” notesGregory A. Smith, Pew’s associate director for research and author of the report on the new findings.
He noted members of the president’s party may have heard him mention his faith both on the campaign trail, such as at the Democratic National Convention, and since his election, including during inaugural ceremonies.
The partisan difference in views about Biden continued when respondents were asked about how much the president discusses his faith. Eight in 10 Democrats (79%) said he mentions his religious faith and prayer “about the right amount,” while fewer than half of Republicans (42%) came to the same conclusion.
Even among Biden’s fellow Catholics, partisanship permeates views of Biden’s religion. Nine in 10 Democratic and Democratic-leaning Catholics say they think Biden is at least somewhat religious, including half who say he is “very” religious. Among Republican and Republican-leaning Catholics, by contrast, a 56% majority say Biden is “not too” or “not at all” religious. And while 8 in 10 Catholic Democrats say they think Biden discusses his faith “about the right amount,” barely half as many Catholic Republicans say the same (42%).
Catholic respondents aligned with the two major political parties show especially stark differences in whether the president should be disqualified from receiving Communion in the Catholic Church.
While 55% of Catholic Republicans think the president’s views on abortion should disqualify him from Communion, 87% of Catholic Democrats disagree. About two-thirds of U.S. Catholics overall (67%) say the president should be allowed to receive Communion.
The survey of 12,055 U.S. adults, including 2,492 Catholics, was conducted March 1-7 and has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 1.5 percentage points. The margin of error for subgroups, such as Black Protestants, Catholics and Jews, ranged from 1.9 percentage points to 9.8 percentage points.
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — A small but growing conversation about human nature and capacity is taking root in Slovakia, challenging common notions about migration and minorities, as well as fostering greater participation and mutual support. Over the last several years, the Bahá’í community of Slovakia has been contributing to discussions on these issues and creating spaces in which thinking about migration can advance.
“A common assumption in many societies is that migrants are a burden for a country to bear”, says Venus Jahanpour of Slovakia’s Bahá’í Office of External Affairs.
“It’s understandable that people who arrive in a new land may require support with settling and tending to various needs, especially if they are fleeing conflict and oppression,” says Mrs. Jahanpour. “But there is more to their lives.
“With a different view of human nature—that human beings can show great capacity for selfless service and generosity—people are able to transcend notions of identity that create divisions between them and see each other as a fellow being.”
The Office has found that conversations with this as a starting point have illuminated various aspects of the issue and strengthened cooperation and collaboration among social actors such as government, human-rights organizations, and religious communities.
At a recent conference on civic engagement organized by the Human Rights League of Slovakia, Mrs. Jahanpour described the implications of these ideas for good governance. “When people arrive in a country, they are full hope and come in anticipation of a better life. They have fresh perspectives and a strong desire to contribute to the advancement of their new home, but they need to be engaged as equals as early as possible. There is an important window early on where spaces need to be created for discussion and mutual learning among those newly arrived and their fellow compatriots.”
Slideshow 4 imagesPhotographs taken before the current health crisis. In exploring questions around fostering greater participation and mutual support among migrants and minorities, the Bahá’ís of Slovakia are drawing on their experience in working with people of diverse backgrounds in community-building efforts.
In her comments shared with the Bahá’í World News Service about the empowerment of individuals and communities, Alena Holka Chudzik—the moderator of the conference and representative of the Center for Research on Ethnicity and Culture—points to the experience of the Bahá’í community, stating: “Through their strong involvement in local communities, Bahá’ís play a crucial role in engaging very diverse people in local activities, interactions, and relationships… The sense of social responsibility we have noticed in the Bahá’ís can be a great driver of the inclusion of migrants.
“I feel that their focus on what unites us as human beings is what creates a unique space for inclusion of migrants… The idea that each individual matters and has a great potential to make a difference is something that should be more present in the debate on migration and inclusion of migrants.”
Monika Kuchtova, member of Slovakia’s Bahá’í community adds, “There is a tendency to divide people into categories such as ‘native’ and ‘foreigner,’ ‘majority’ and ‘minority.’ But when people come together to examine the root cause of prejudice and explore ways to serve their society, these divisions fall away and we become one people. Like a garden, we come to see the beauty in our diversity.”
I set my alarm Thursday morning so I’d be up and online at 8:15 sharp, when Vermonters in my age group became eligible for the coronavirus vaccine. I had registered in advance, logged on to the state site the night before — to make sure everything worked — and was ready to book the first available spot.
Prior digital disappointment should have prepared me for the glitch that turned my attempted sign-up for a long-awaited jab into a COVID-19 test on Pine Street. I asked my partner whether I should cancel it and try again. “You’re yelling,” he scolded as I worried aloud how restarting might affect my spot in the queue. Then I was crying — or, more accurately, whimpering, in an overdue expression of frustration, powerlessness and grief.
It was “PPP” PTSD — a flashback to the stress of applying for Seven Days‘ first Paycheck Protection Program loan, a year ago this week. At first, nobody knew a thing about the federal rescue effort to help businesses retain their employees during the pandemic. But what I’d heard about it sounded like exactly what we needed: money to help us make payroll so we could continue to report and publish the paper; cash that, if spent correctly, would convert from a loan to a grant. To learn as much possible, I went to webinars, pestered bankers and bureaucrats, and hired a law firm in Louisiana with expertise in assisting victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The law was still being written the night before the PPP portal went live, on Friday, April 3, 2020. Seven Days had already laid off seven employees and instituted deep pay cuts across the company. The rumor was: Demand for the federal funds would far exceed the supply. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything more in my life.
Armed with equations and codes, employee counts and reports, newly hired business manager Marcy Carton and I bumbled through the online application. No one was there to answer our questions. We just did the best we could, and $443,547 showed up in our bank account on Monday, April 19.
Eight weeks later, the money was gone, spent on wages, rent, health insurance and utilities. Five of the seven laid-off employees had returned to work.
At the end of the year, Marcy and I went through the equally nerve-racking process of applying for loan forgiveness. Then came the question of whether the PPP funds would be counted as taxable income; the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service made that decision in the final days of 2020. For a gal who is loath to borrow money — and “can pinch a penny until it yodels,” as I was once described in print — the experience has been rough-and-tumble, terms not typically associated with finance.
Seven Days remains standing, a bit bruised but still swinging. Our second PPP loan was thankfully easier to secure. My first vaccine is Friday.
Here’s to more predictability, user-friendly web portals and, hopefully, prosperity in the months ahead.
