A bill to restrict Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from teaching or distributing materials in Alaska’s public schools is scheduled for a teleconferenced hearing in the Alaska Senate’s Education Committee on Thursday, March 3, at 3:30 p.m.
Alaska has been targeted as a “high priority” state by a leading gay rights activist group strategically looking to roll back religious liberty provisions in states that safeguard the rights of business owners, private and religious schools and other entities to operate their organizations in accord with their religious views and deeply held beliefs.
The Alaska Senate passed legislation on Feb. 26 that prevents Alaska’s public schools from contracting with abortion services providers for course materials or to provide instruction relating to human sexuality. Introduced by Sen. Mike Dunleavy of Wasilla, Senate Bill 89 also ensures a parent has the right to direct the education of his or her public school child, including the right to object to and withdraw the child from state-mandated tests, and from activities or classes on sexual matters which parents find objectionable. And the bill prohibits public schools from administering student questionnaires that inquire into personal or private family affairs of the student.
In an effort to “solicit the Christian community to pray for those individuals in authority, in particular the Governor of Alaska,” the annual Alaska Governor’s Prayer Breakfast will take place March 19 in Anchorage with Gov. Bill Walker.
Vandals damaged a gravesite headstone and monument, while stealing several items at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Wasilla last week. Cemetery Consultant Dan Belanger said he has no idea who committed the crime. “Equipment and a headstone were shot at,” Belanger told the Catholic Anchor. “One headstone was run over and damaged, and supplies/equipment were stolen from the sheds.”
Six cloistered Catholic nuns, living nearly their entire lives praying behind the walls of an Alaska monastery, have embraced a new pro-life initiative. The Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Anchorage recently completed an inaugural batch of tiny handcrafted baby booties for a local crisis pregnancy center. The center will give the miniature shoes to women facing unexpected pregnancies.
During his two-minute prayer he beseeched God to guide senators amid a world increasingly fraught by acts of terror.
“In these troubling times when misguided people use religion to commit the greatest crimes against humanity, by stabbing and murdering innocent men, women and children, in the Middle East, in Europe in Israel, in the US…may you grant, Almighty God that the members of this honorable body have the wisdom and the courage to embody the universal values of the seven commandments which you Almighty God issued to Noah and his family after the great flood, the foremost of which is not to commit murder.”
A state commission empowered to enforce ethical standards for Alaska teachers has just mandated that all state-certified educators comply with new policies on gender identification. The change happened during a Jan. 27 meeting in Anchorage.
Three years before his death on Jan. 10, Archbishop Hurley granted an extended interview with the Catholic Anchor covering his life and ministry across many decades. A previously unpublished portion of that Oct. 24, 2012 conversation touched on the archbishop’s untiring commitment to social justice.
Shocking some while bringing a knowing smile to others, late Anchorage Archbishop Francis Hurley was laid to rest in a remote Catholic cemetery, two hours drive south of Anchorage. After four days of public prayers and a televised funeral Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral, Archbishop Hurley’s funeral arrangements came to a quiet end on Jan. 23. The humble gravesite for the iconic Alaskan churchman was chosen himself, according to his long-time personal secretary Joann White.