WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade in a historic decision released Friday that brings a sudden and dramatic end to nearly a half-century of nationwide legalized abortion in the U.S. The opinion, in the Mississippi abortion case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, is widely seen as the Supreme Court’s most highly anticipated and consequential ruling since Roe. It not only overturns Roe, the landmark 1973 abortion case, but also Casey v. Planned Parenthood, a 1992 decision that affirmed Roe. "Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each state from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority," the opinion states. "We now overrule these decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives." The decision does not ban or criminalize abortion, nor does it recognize an unborn child's constitutional right to life. But in one, breathtaking stroke, the court’s action sweeps away entrenched legal barriers, created and strictly enforced by the federal judiciary, that for decades have blocked states like Mississippi from heavily restricting or prohibiting the killing of unborn children in the womb. In the process, the decision ushers in a new era of abortion politics in the U.S., with the battleground now shifting to state legislatures. Those democratically elected bodies are now free to debate and regulate abortion as they see fit, as happened throughout American history before the Supreme Court federalized the issue. At the same time, the ruling marks a watershed moment for the Catholic Church and the wider pro-life movement in the United States, which have painstakingly sought Roe’s reversal since the landmark 7-2 decision was handed down on Jan. 19, 1973. The opinion was written by Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett joined the opinion. Chief Justice John Roberts filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. Associate justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan dissented. The outcome of Dobbs came as little surprise, since the final opinion substantially resembled a draft written by Alito in February that was leaked to the press on May 2. In Roe v. Wade, the court ruled that states could not ban abortion before viability, which the court determined to be 24 to 28 weeks into pregnancy. Nearly 20 years later, the court upheld Roe in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The 1992 ruling said that while states could regulate pre-viability abortions, they could not enforce an “undue burden,” defined by the court as “a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus.” Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act, the subject of the Dobbs case, directly challenged both decisions, because it bans abortion weeks after 15 weeks, well before the point of viability. "Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have inflamed debate and deepened division," the opinion states. "It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives," the opinion states. This is a developing story. Please check back with The Catholic Commentator for updates.

Congratulations to the 2022 Works of Mercy grantees: Baton Rouge Children's Advocacy Center, Gardere Initiative, Louisiana Industries for the Disabled, Inc., McLindon Family Foundation, Morning Star Rising, Inc., and Particular Council of St. Vincent de Paul!

Bishop Michael G. Duca leads a Corpus Christi procession in front of St. Joseph Cathedral on June 19. The procession on the feast day of Corpus Christi circled the block around the cathedral. The feast day also marked the beginning of a nationwide Eucharastic Revival. Pastors throughout the Diocese of Baton Rouge read a letter from the bishop discussing the spiritual impact and opportunities of the Eucharastic Revival. Photo by Richard Meek | The Catholic Commentator

Father Brent Maher, pastor of St. Agnes Church in Baton Rouge, leads a eucharastic procession following Mass on June 19, the feast of Corpus Christi. Churches throughout the Diocese of Baton Rouge celebrated the feast day with a Corpus Christi procession. Photo by Richard Meek | The Catholic Commentator

In consultation with the Clergy Personnel Board, Bishop Michael Duca makes the following appointments effective 01 July 2022.

Parishioners from Immaculate Conception Church in Baton Rouge and surrounding parishes gathered June 18 at ICC to celebrate Juneteenth. Pastor Father Tom Clark delivered a powerful and inspiring homily, one that was met with a standing ovation by the congregation. On June 19 the ICC is scheduled to host a Corpus Christi adoration, prayer service for racial healing, a rosary for peace and justice and Stations of the Cross for racial healing. Photo by Richard Meek | The Catholic Commentator ​​​​​​​

It is with great hope and excitement that on this Solemnity of Corpus Christi I announce, in union with the other Bishops of the United States, the beginning of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative that aims to renew the Church by rekindling a living relationship with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

Farewells can be hard. When we love someone who is going away, there’s always a sadness, and a particularly heart-wrenching one when that loved one is going away in death.

“A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

The memory of Father Danny Roussel, a Catholic priest of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, who died Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in Vacherie, at the age of 49, will live on because of the generosity of his mother, Judith Bourgeois. 

Hours after a relentless Texas sun had eased its suffocating grip, as darkness settled in and the clock was nearing a new day, Father Michael Alello approached the end of a 16-plus hour odyssey, one that had been in the making for months, if not a decade.

Bishop Michael G. Duca’s prayer was simple and direct during the annual Hurricane Mass, celebrated June 1 at St. Joseph Cathedral in Baton Rouge.

Recently, while listening to Catholic Community Radio, a prayer was addressed to Our Lady of Prompt Succor to spare us during this hurricane season. Who is Our Lady of Prompt Succor and why do we pray to her?

To look into the eyes of people filled with hope and joy who say, “With your help I know I can make it,” is the reward volunteers experience in the church parish conferences of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. 

This season the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as Corpus Christi, is celebrated between the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity and the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

During June we wish a “Happy Birthday” to the “wildman” of the Bible, St. John the Baptist.