In This Issue:
- PRI in the Media
- Destroying the Faith
- Caving to China
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- Fertility Crisis Makes the News
- Marriage on the Decline
- Communist China
- Infiltrating U.S. Classrooms
- Missing Minister Ousted
- Visiting North Korea
- Hidden Death Toll
- UN Misdeeds
- Feminist Backlash
- Science Gone Mad
- Redefining Brain Death
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- Baby Loss Certificates
- Constitutional Amendment in Colombia
- Free IVF
- Pro-Life on the Home Front
- Extremism in Maine
- Bypassing Pro-Life Laws
- Ballot-Initiative Battle
- Good News
- Successful Surgery
PRI in the Media
Destroying the Faith: PRI President Steven Mosher joins Steve Bannon on Bannon’s War Room to discuss the Chinese Communist Party’s grip over the Catholic Church in China. Watch now to hear about the state of the Church in China and the pope’s confirmation of the new bishop of Shanghai.
Caving to China: Mr. Mosher shares how the implementation of the Sino-Vatican Agreement is handing more control to Chinese authorities. This was seen most recently with the pope’s approval of Bishop Joseph Shen Bin, who has recognizable ties to the CCP.
Deepening Depopulation
Fertility Crisis Makes the News: The New York Times, known for its left-leaning bias, finally acknowledged the coming global demographic crisis caused by low fertility rates. The piece, titled “How a Vast Demographic Shift Will Reshape the World,” looks at how the working-age segment of populations around the world will change drastically over the next few decades.
“We at the Population Research Institute have been warning about the coming demographic collapse for literally decades,” says Mr. Mosher. “Birth rates are falling farther and faster than anyone thought possible, especially in Asia. The number of children the average woman in Singapore will have is 0.8. And China is on track to follow. The most populous country in the world may have a smaller population than the U.S. by the end of this century.”
Marriage on the Decline: Marriage rates are declining among non-Catholics and Catholics alike in America. W. Bradford Wilcox, the director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, stated that over one-third of young adults in their 20s today will never marry. Wilcox and several other individuals who find the statistics concerning discuss what the government and Church could do to promote marriage.
“Christian churches need to do more—much more—to encourage young couples to get married and stay married,” says Mr. Mosher. “Popular woke culture encourages the opposite: pointless couples without commitment or children.”
Communist China
Infiltrating U.S. Classrooms: A grassroots nonprofit claims to have found disturbing evidence of Chinese funds going toward American K-12 education. In a detailed report, Parents Defending Education assert that the Chinese Communist Party is using Chinese language and culture programs as propaganda in the classroom.
Missing Minister Ousted: China reportedly removed foreign minister Qin Gang from his position after he went missing for a month. Qin has not made a public appearance since June 25, and no adequate explanation has been provided for his dismissal. Qin’s predecessor, Wang Yi, will reclaim the office of foreign minister.
“It’s not just the CCP’s foreign minister who has gone missing,” says Mr. Mosher. “A group of senior military officers have been removed after an apparent coup attempt. These include: Lt. Gen. Wang Shaojun (right), a former head of the Central Security Bureau that guards Xi is dead. Wu Guohua (吴国华), deputy commander of the CCP’s Rocket Force, allegedly committed suicide on Jul 6. Li Yuchao (李玉超), commander of Rocket Force, taken away during a meeting on Jun 26. Wei Fenghe (魏凤和), former commander of Rocket Force, and former Minister of National Defense, under investigation. Zhang Zhenzhong(张振中), former deputy commander of the Rocket Force and current Deputy Chief of Staff of the Central Military Commission Joint Staff Department, under investigation. Liu Guangbin (刘光斌), deputy commander of the Rocket Force, under investigation. Shang Hong (尚宏), the deputy commander of the Strategic Support Force and the commander of the Space Force, qualification as a representative to the National People’s Congress revoked in Oct 2022, and has not appeared in public again. If you are ‘under investigation’ in China, you are as good as dead.”
Visiting North Korea: China will join Russia in sending high-level delegations to North Korea to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War. The visit marks the highest-level Chinese delegation to visit North Korea since before COVID.
Hidden Death Toll: A populous province in China posted and later deleted statistics proving the hidden reality of the national COVID death toll. Statistics released by the province of Zhejiang show that 171,000 cremations occurred during the first quarter of 2023, the period after China lifted COVID restrictions. About 72,000 fewer cremations were reported in the first quarter of 2022. The staggering increase makes one question the total COVID death toll touted by CCP officials—only 83,700 deaths in the entire country.
“None of the statistics published by the CCP are accurate,” says Mr. Mosher. “They are all ‘adjusted’ to make the Party look good. A million and half people died from Covid in the first three months of this year.”
UN Misdeeds
Feminist Backlash: Hungarian President Katalin Novák recently faced backlash for pro-family comments at an international feminist conference. Novák talked about some of Hungary’s policies that promote both family life and economic prosperity, leading subsequent speakers to outright attack her speech. The conference, which collaborated with UN Women and other pro-abortion organizations, also hosted several events on abortion.
Science Gone Mad
Redefining Brain Death: The Uniform Law Commission, a nonprofit organization that drafts model legislation, is discussing whether to broaden the definition of brain death. The committee is looking at a proposal to change the current standard of “irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain” to counting permanent comas or “loss of brainstem reflexes” as brain death. The USCCB and a Catholic bioethics group voiced criticism of the proposal, stating in a joint letter that it “would replace the standard of whole brain death with one of partial brain death.”
Pro-Life Around the World
Baby Loss Certificates: The UK government is introducing an optional certificate that officially recognizes the loss of an unborn baby before 24 weeks. The move is meant to help mothers dealing with miscarriages. While the new certificate is a welcome public recognition of human life in the womb, the initiative clearly contradicts the disregard for unborn children evidenced by rising abortion rates in the UK.
Constitutional Amendment in Colombia: Enough signatures have been gathered to start the process of adding a pro-life amendment to the Colombian constitution. The amendment would add the phrase “from conception” to the current constitutional article that states “the right to life is inviolable.” If the 2 million collected signatures are validated, the amendment will be debated by Congress, which may approve it for a referendum.
Free IVF: Ireland joined other members of the European Union in covering the cost of IVF. The Health Service Executive will pay for one round of IVF for eligible couples, which will cost the government an estimated 10 million euros per year. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly called the new policy a “first step,” implying that Ireland hopes to expand future access to IVF and other reproductive technologies deemed immoral by the Church.
Pro-Life on the Home Front
Extremism in Maine: Maine Governor Janet Mills signed one of the nation’s most pro-abortion policies into law on July 19. The legislation permits abortion up until birth based only on the discretion of a doctor. The law states, “After viability, an abortion may be performed only when it is necessary in the professional judgment of a physician.” Not defining “necessary” leaves the word open to subjective interpretations, essentially allowing doctors to allow abortion for many reasons.
Bypassing Pro-Life Laws: The Biden administration reportedly plans to bypass state laws that ban or restrict abortion. The administration hopes to categorize abortion as a civil right by expanding the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), thus overriding any state policies. The new rule has met opposition from at least 18 attorney generals, who are requesting that the Biden administration hold back on executing the new law.
Ballot-Initiative Battle: Ohio is emerging as a battleground on the pro-life front as pro-abortion groups seek to enshrine abortion in the state Constitution. The amendment states that “every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including…abortion.” Voters will decide the issue on the Ohio ballot this coming November.
Good News
Successful Surgery: A young pro-life couple refused multiple doctors’ recommendations to abort a baby girl with a rare birth defect, choosing instead to fight for her life. Baby Bella was born prematurely with encephalocele, a sac-like protrusion of the brain on the back of the skull. Bella successfully underwent her first surgery, which her devout Catholic parents attributed to an outpouring of prayers for their child.
Quote of the Week
“We can say that whenever a man and a woman fall in love, God offers them a gift; that gift is marriage. It is a marvelous gift, which contains the power of God’s own love: strong, enduring, faithful, ready to start over after every failure or moment of weakness.”
~ Pope Francis, source
