Santo Domingo, Jun 15, 2009 / 12:56 pm (CNA).- The Archbishop of Santo Domingo, Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, said last week that the country is “zealously watching” what Congress does with regard to “the right to life and the condemnation of abortion.”
The cardinal’s comments came during Corpus Christi Mass at the Quisqueya Stadium. “Dominicans will not allow international organizations to impose customs on them, such as abortion, which are not part of their culture,” he said. “If other nations, including those that are supposedly civilized, are willing to accept that things be imposed on them that are not part of the soul of their cultures, we as the Dominican people will not accept that,” the cardinal stated.
He also warned against some in the media who speak incoherently about the “permissibility of abortion” and who are ignored by the majority of Dominicans.
“Many recent polls have shown that the Dominican people love human life and want respect for human life to be enshrined in the constitutional reform,” he said.
This story can be found http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16282
Monday, June 15, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Benedict XVI cautions against Eucharist worship becoming empty
Vatican City, Jun 12, 2009 / 10:38 am (CNA).- While celebrating the feast of Corpus Christi yesterday in front of the basilica of St. John Lateran, Pope Benedict encouraged the faithful to nourish themselves with love of Christ in the Eucharist and warned of secularization within the Church.
In his homily, the Holy Father explained that though we are inadequate due to sin, we need to nourish ourselves “from the love the Lord offers us in the Eucharistic Sacrament.” Noting yesterday's feast, he said, “this evening we renew our faith in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Such faith must not be taken for granted!”
The Pope went on to warn of the risk “of insidious secularization, even inside the Church” which “could translate into a formal but empty Eucharistic worship, in celebrations lacking that involvement of the heart which finds expression in veneration and respect for the liturgy.”
"There is always a strong temptation to reduce prayer to superficial and hurried moments, allowing ourselves to be overcome by earthly activities and concerns," he cautioned.
However, reminded Benedict XVI, we must remember that in the Eucharist, “heaven comes down to earth, God's tomorrow descends into the present moment and time is, as it were, embraced by divine eternity."
During the Eucharistic procession which traditionally follows the Mass, he prayed, "we will ask the Lord in the name of the entire city: Stay with us, Jesus, make us a gift of Yourself and give us the bread that nourishes us for eternal life. Free this world from the poison of evil, from the violence and hatred that pollute people's consciences, purify it with the power of Your merciful love."
Following Mass, the Pope participated in the Eucharistic procession that traveled along Rome’s Via Merulana to the basilica of St. Mary Major. While the Holy Father knelt in prayer in a covered vehicle before the monstrance, thousands prayed and sang along the route.
This article can be found at http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16266
In his homily, the Holy Father explained that though we are inadequate due to sin, we need to nourish ourselves “from the love the Lord offers us in the Eucharistic Sacrament.” Noting yesterday's feast, he said, “this evening we renew our faith in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Such faith must not be taken for granted!”
The Pope went on to warn of the risk “of insidious secularization, even inside the Church” which “could translate into a formal but empty Eucharistic worship, in celebrations lacking that involvement of the heart which finds expression in veneration and respect for the liturgy.”
"There is always a strong temptation to reduce prayer to superficial and hurried moments, allowing ourselves to be overcome by earthly activities and concerns," he cautioned.
However, reminded Benedict XVI, we must remember that in the Eucharist, “heaven comes down to earth, God's tomorrow descends into the present moment and time is, as it were, embraced by divine eternity."
During the Eucharistic procession which traditionally follows the Mass, he prayed, "we will ask the Lord in the name of the entire city: Stay with us, Jesus, make us a gift of Yourself and give us the bread that nourishes us for eternal life. Free this world from the poison of evil, from the violence and hatred that pollute people's consciences, purify it with the power of Your merciful love."
Following Mass, the Pope participated in the Eucharistic procession that traveled along Rome’s Via Merulana to the basilica of St. Mary Major. While the Holy Father knelt in prayer in a covered vehicle before the monstrance, thousands prayed and sang along the route.
This article can be found at http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16266
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Some facts about maternal Mortality
The "Official" Figures Are Confirmed By European Experience. According to the United States Bureau of Vital Statistics and the Centers for Disease Control, the last time 1,000 women died of illegal abortions in the United States was in the year before penicillin became widely available to the public — in 1942. From this date, the number of maternal deaths due to illegal abortions declined steeply until it stabilized at about 90 to 150 per year during the decade preceding Roe v. Wade.
It is important to note that the most impressive drop in abortion mortality was prior to legalization in 1973. The United States maternal mortality rate (which accounts for all deaths due to abortion, childbirth, and ectopic pregnancies) per 100,000 live births declined almost linearly from 37.1/100,000 in 1960 to 9.9/100,000 in 1978, for an average annual decline of 1.5/100,000. The rate was 29.1 per 100,000 in 1966, the year before the first state legalized abortion and 14.6/100,000 in 1974, the year after Roe v. Wade, representing an average annual decline of 1.8/100,000. In 1987, the rate was beginning to flatten out at 6.6/100,000 as the lowest practicable level was being approached.
It is important to note that the most impressive drop in abortion mortality was prior to legalization in 1973. The United States maternal mortality rate (which accounts for all deaths due to abortion, childbirth, and ectopic pregnancies) per 100,000 live births declined almost linearly from 37.1/100,000 in 1960 to 9.9/100,000 in 1978, for an average annual decline of 1.5/100,000. The rate was 29.1 per 100,000 in 1966, the year before the first state legalized abortion and 14.6/100,000 in 1974, the year after Roe v. Wade, representing an average annual decline of 1.8/100,000. In 1987, the rate was beginning to flatten out at 6.6/100,000 as the lowest practicable level was being approached.
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