The Illinois political landscape changed dramatically with yesterday's general election, as Democrat J.B. Pritzker will take office as governor in January. Perhaps just as important, however, will be the huge influx of new faces to the legislature due to a vast retirement of lawmakers whose seats were often won by Democrats. The so-called “blue wave” washed over the Illinois General Assembly yesterday, as both the House and Senate will each have more than ...
The six Catholic dioceses of Illinois issued the following statements regarding a lawsuit filed today by attorneys Jeff Anderson and Marc Pearlman on behalf of alleged sexual abuse victim-survivors from some Illinois dioceses. The Catholic Conference of Illinois was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. We have no comment and refer questions to the respective dioceses. Archdiocese of Chicago statement may be found here. Diocese of Rockford statement
Oct. 15, 2018 show Manya Brachear, religion reporter for the Chicago Tribune, joins Bob to talk about her career covering the Catholic Church in Chicago as she moves to the East Coast. Next, Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League, talks about the new Carafem abortion clinic that has opened in Skokie and is known for its bold advertising of abortion. Then, Ryan Gruenenfelder, director of advocacy and outreach for AARP Illinois, discusses the organization's recent ...
CCI Radio Hour: Sept. 17, 2018
Sept. 17, 2018 show Matt Dietrich, spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Elections, joins Bob to talk about the upcoming November general election in light of the hacking two years ago of the agency's database. Then, Anthony Granado with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office of Domestic Social Development talks about the status of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps, as lawmakers debate whether to increase current work requirements and tighten ...
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced in a press release that she would contact all of the Catholic dioceses in the state as a follow-up to the release this week of the Pennsylvania grand jury report outlining sexual abuse allegations against more than 300 priests in that state over 70 years and affecting more than 1,000 victims. "The Catholic Church has a moral obligation to provide its parishioners and the public a complete and accurate accounting of ...
CCI Radio Hour: Aug. 20, 2018
Aug. 20, 2018 show Rob Griffin, associate director of research at the Washington, D.C.-based Public Religion Research Institute, joins Bob to talk about recent results of a public opinion poll indicating the tide may be turning slightly in favor of religious freedom.Then, Fr. Charles Bouchard, Senior Director of Theology and Ethics at the Catholic Health Association, joins Bob to talk about the recent New York Times article for which he was interviewed in which Catholic health care was ...
Less than a week after a Pennsylvania grand jury issued a report outlining a litany of sex abuse allegations against priests during the past 70 years, Pope Francis today released a letter in response, writing, "we showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them." In the letter that is translated into multiple languages on the Vatican's website, Pope Francis writes, "With shame and repentance, we acknowledge as an ecclesial community that we were not where we ...
Several of Illinois' Catholic bishops recently released statements regarding sex abuse allegations made public earlier this week in a Pennsylvania grand jury report, following on the heels of news of credible claims made against retired Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C. The Pennsylvania grand jury report details allegations going back 70 years involving more than 300 priests and more than 1,000 victims. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York in June announced that after being notified of allegations against ...
Pope Francis orders change in Catechism making death penalty "inadmissible"
Pope Francis today nixed the death penalty in all cases by ordering a revision in the Catechism of the Catholic Church that states the final punishment is "inadmissible." The change in paragraph 2267 also updates the language to describe the death penalty as an “attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.” Pope Francis has spoken out against capital punishment before, noting in October 2017 that the ...
CCI Radio Hour: July 16, 2018
July 16, 2018 show The nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court kicks off the show, as Chicago attorney Jim Geoly joins Bob to talk about the Senate confirmation process. Next, state Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, discusses the impact of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding crisis pregnancy centers and how it may set a precedent for a similar Illinois case currently in the courts. Then, Greg Bishop, a journalist for the Illinois News Network, joins ...
