Chicago, Ill., Aug 30, 2009 / 02:17 pm (CNA).- Working to promote the dignity of human life has become more difficult in the past year but those doing the work — particularly diocesan pro-life directors — must not get discouraged. They must persevere.
That was the message conveyed by Philadelphia’s Cardinal Justin Rigali and echoed by Cardinal George at an annual conference for pro-life directors sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The Archdiocese of Chicago’s Respect Life Office hosted this year’s event held Aug. 10-13 at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel in downtown Chicago.
“Your work of respecting, protecting, loving and serving life is often misunderstood in today’s culture. Yet it is work that is desperately needed,” Cardinal Rigali told attendees during the homily at Mass on Aug. 10. The cardinal serves as chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee for Pro-life Activities.
Citing the witness of St. Lawrence, who was martyred for the faith in the mid-200s and whose feast was commemorated Aug. 11, Cardinal Rigali told attendees that they too must exhibit joy in the face of adversity.
“We too, dear friends, must remember to remain cheerful witnesses to the truth about human life,” no matter what suffering may be involved, he said.
The pro-life directors must turn to Christ and prayer to remain persistent and enthusiastic in the face of increasing resistance to the church’s message, he said.
“In a world where Christian values are so often challenged and repudiated, we encounter increasing hostility in our efforts to uphold and guard these values. This is especially true in your pro-life work,” he said.
The Catholic teaching on life continues to meet with more resistance than other church teachings.
“Those of us in the pro-life movement know how the attacks against life have increased rapidly in the past year. There are greater challenges in the effort to restore legal protection for the unborn as we deal with an administration and Congress that supports socalled abortion rights.”
But we must not lose heart in the face of opposition, Cardinal Rigali said, because these values are rooted in God and his love for all human beings.
“We go forward in the name of the Lord, Jesus. And life will be victorious.”
More than 90 people representing 43 dioceses attended the conference. They listened to lectures and panels on topics such as physician-assisted suicide, abortion reduction and youth and priest outreach.
The conference is a time for those who work in the pro-life community to learn the latest developments in the ever-changing arena of sanctity of life issues.
Larry and Marge Theriault of Glenview said they try to attend this conference every year because they always get so much out of it.
“Being among all of these beautiful people is a blessing,” said Marge Theriault. “It would just be awful to miss this.”
The couple chairs the right-to-life committee for the Knights of Columbus Illinois State Council. Even though she and her husband have been working in the pro-life movement since 1969, Marge said they keep returning to this conference because “there is always more to learn.”
During the conference, the USCCB Secretariat of Pro-life Activities awarded the “People of Life” award to Vicki Thorn, founder of the national post-abortion healing program Project Rachel, Sister Hanna Klaus, developer of the Teen STAR international pregnancy prevention program, and to Virginia McCaskey, matriarch of the Chicago Bears’ family. McCaskey is well known for her philanthropy, which includes support of the archdiocese’s Chastity Education Initiative.
While she rarely accepts personal awards for her philanthropic work, the mother and grandmother told attendees, “I accept this on behalf of all the little old ladies who sent [FOCA] post cards, and write checks, and pray rosaries, and listen to Relevant Radio and who usually struggle to get to daily Mass.”
She also encouraged attendees to keep up the work that they do. “I salute you,” she said.
This post can be found at http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16956
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Abortion promoters assail Nicaragua for protecting unborn children
Managua, Nicaragua, Aug 28, 2009 / 09:24 pm (CNA).- Ipas, one of the world’s largest abortion advocacy groups, has joined critics of Nicaragua’s decision to further restrict abortion. The group characterizes the decision as a violation of women’s human rights, but the country’s lawmakers say they are simply recognizing the right to life from “the moment of conception.”
Nicaraguan lawmakers recently decided that “therapeutic” abortion violates the country’s understanding of its international obligations.
Ipas, which distributes the early-term abortion device known as a manual vacuum aspirator, claimed that the decision was unconstitutional and a “setback” for human rights.
The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM), which reported on Ipas’ activities, has noted that Nicaragua is party to the American Convention on Human Rights. Article 4 of the convention says that life shall be protected by law “from the moment of conception.”
Lawmakers also justified their decision on the grounds that the new law makes the country’s penal code more consistent with its constitutional framework. After the death penalty was abolished, the framework was amended to explicitly recognize the right to life of every citizen.
According to C-FAM, Ipas defines “therapeutic abortion” in a way that justifies the lawmakers’ concerns. The former law reportedly allowed a loophole that allowed access to abortion to continually expand. Ipas categorizes cases of “therapeutic” abortion as those which save “the life and health of the mother” and also those in pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.
In Ipas’ view, the abortion legislation “excludes many women who need it to save their lives,” while the Nicaraguan government insists the ban does not prohibit life-saving procedures.
The Ipas reports hold that the abortion ban violates medical professionals’ right to free exercise, arguing that the ban “forces doctors to violate ethical principles of their profession to prevent an abortion while endangering the life or health of women.”
The Association of Nicaraguan Doctors has argued against this claim, saying that there is no situation in current medical practice where human life from the moment of conception should be “intentionally destroyed by abortion in order to save the life of the mother.”
“A physician must do everything possible to save the lives of both patients – mother and child. Death should never be inflicted on any of them.”
Critics of the Ipas reports also charge that they ignore the two most successful methods of reducing maternal mortality: increasing the prevalence of skilled attendants at birth and improving the availability of optimum pre- and post-natal health care for mothers and their children.
This story can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16971
Nicaraguan lawmakers recently decided that “therapeutic” abortion violates the country’s understanding of its international obligations.
Ipas, which distributes the early-term abortion device known as a manual vacuum aspirator, claimed that the decision was unconstitutional and a “setback” for human rights.
The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM), which reported on Ipas’ activities, has noted that Nicaragua is party to the American Convention on Human Rights. Article 4 of the convention says that life shall be protected by law “from the moment of conception.”
Lawmakers also justified their decision on the grounds that the new law makes the country’s penal code more consistent with its constitutional framework. After the death penalty was abolished, the framework was amended to explicitly recognize the right to life of every citizen.
According to C-FAM, Ipas defines “therapeutic abortion” in a way that justifies the lawmakers’ concerns. The former law reportedly allowed a loophole that allowed access to abortion to continually expand. Ipas categorizes cases of “therapeutic” abortion as those which save “the life and health of the mother” and also those in pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.
In Ipas’ view, the abortion legislation “excludes many women who need it to save their lives,” while the Nicaraguan government insists the ban does not prohibit life-saving procedures.
The Ipas reports hold that the abortion ban violates medical professionals’ right to free exercise, arguing that the ban “forces doctors to violate ethical principles of their profession to prevent an abortion while endangering the life or health of women.”
The Association of Nicaraguan Doctors has argued against this claim, saying that there is no situation in current medical practice where human life from the moment of conception should be “intentionally destroyed by abortion in order to save the life of the mother.”
“A physician must do everything possible to save the lives of both patients – mother and child. Death should never be inflicted on any of them.”
Critics of the Ipas reports also charge that they ignore the two most successful methods of reducing maternal mortality: increasing the prevalence of skilled attendants at birth and improving the availability of optimum pre- and post-natal health care for mothers and their children.
This story can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16971
St. Louis Archbishop Reminds Troubled Saint Louis University of His Authority on Moral Issues
ST. LOUIS, Missouri (LifeSiteNews.com) - In an interview with the online newspaper of the Jesuit-run Saint Louis University (SLU), which has had a history of conflict with Church moral teaching, Archbishop Carlson has reminded the school that he will follow his pastoral obligation to guide the school on matters of faith and morals.
"For good or for bad, as archbishop, I am responsible for addressing morality in our time," Carlson told The University Times last week. "For me not to speak would be as violent to faith as you could be…"
The prelate also stressed the importance of fruitful dialogue when disagreement arises.
"If you said, 'I don't agree with you,' I'd say let's talk about it. And then we're building bridges," he said. "The young people who go to SLU are blessed with people who can extend those bridges. That's why I think the university setting can be so stimulating."
Archbishop Carlson has a strong reputation as a defender of the Church's teaching on the sacredness of life: it was he who famously ordered former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle in 2003 to cease calling himself Catholic because of his pro-abortion views.
According to the newspaper, Carlson said he sought to establish a good relationship with SLU president Fr. Lawrence Biondi, S.J., a sentiment Biondi reciprocated.
Carlson's predecessor, Archbishop Raymond Burke, had urged the school in 2008 to discipline its basketball coach for publicly stating support for abortion and embryonic stem-cell research. The school, under the leadership of Biondi at the time, responded that the coach's words expressed his own personal views and evidently declined to take disciplinary action.
Late last year, while the debate over California's true marriage amendment raged across the country, a group of SLU students joined a local rally on the steps of the St. Louis Courthouse to protest the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.
This article can be found at: http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=34339&wf=rsscol
"For good or for bad, as archbishop, I am responsible for addressing morality in our time," Carlson told The University Times last week. "For me not to speak would be as violent to faith as you could be…"
The prelate also stressed the importance of fruitful dialogue when disagreement arises.
"If you said, 'I don't agree with you,' I'd say let's talk about it. And then we're building bridges," he said. "The young people who go to SLU are blessed with people who can extend those bridges. That's why I think the university setting can be so stimulating."
Archbishop Carlson has a strong reputation as a defender of the Church's teaching on the sacredness of life: it was he who famously ordered former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle in 2003 to cease calling himself Catholic because of his pro-abortion views.
According to the newspaper, Carlson said he sought to establish a good relationship with SLU president Fr. Lawrence Biondi, S.J., a sentiment Biondi reciprocated.
Carlson's predecessor, Archbishop Raymond Burke, had urged the school in 2008 to discipline its basketball coach for publicly stating support for abortion and embryonic stem-cell research. The school, under the leadership of Biondi at the time, responded that the coach's words expressed his own personal views and evidently declined to take disciplinary action.
Late last year, while the debate over California's true marriage amendment raged across the country, a group of SLU students joined a local rally on the steps of the St. Louis Courthouse to protest the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.
This article can be found at: http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=34339&wf=rsscol
Monday, August 24, 2009
Denver archbishop: Health care reform that funds abortion is not common ground
Archbishop Charles ChaputDenver, Colo., Aug 24, 2009 / 02:08 pm (CNA).- "Common ground" is a phrase the President Obama and some of his supporters have been using to describe their efforts to work for health care reform. But Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver is taking them to task for abusing the Catholic concept, calling any labeling of the current reform proposals as common ground "a lie."
In his weekly column for the Denver Catholic Register—to be published online this afternoon—Archbishop Chaput tackles the health care debate by recalling an editorial in the British Catholic newspaper The Tablet that insisted the U.S. bishops must back Obama's reform effort.
The editorial also claims that America’s bishops "have so far concentrated on a specifically Catholic issue – making sure state-funded health care does not include abortion – rather than the more general principle of the common good."
This diatribe against the bishops raises some interesting observations, says Chaput.
"First, it proves once again that people don’t need to actually live in the United States to have unhelpful and badly informed opinions about our domestic issues. Second, some of the same pious voices that once criticized U.S. Catholics for supporting a previous president now sound very much like acolytes of a new president. Third, abortion is not, and has never been, a 'specifically Catholic issue,' and the editors know it. And fourth, the growing misuse of Catholic 'common ground' and 'common good' language in the current health-care debate can only stem from one of two sources: ignorance or cynicism."
"No system that allows or helps fund – no matter how subtly or indirectly -- the killing of unborn children, or discrimination against the elderly and persons with special needs, can bill itself as 'common ground,' Archbishop Chaput insists, adding that, "Doing so is a lie."
As lawmakers and President Obama push to have their health care reform bill passed by the fall, Chaput writes that they are disregarding the experiences of concerned parents in their haste.
The Denver archbishop relates an email that he received from a mother on the East Coast who has a daughter with Downs Syndrome. Three-year-old Magdalena has to see doctors on a regular basis and "‘consumes’ a lot of health care," her mother told the archbishop.
What worries Magdalena's parents the most is: "On paper, maybe these procedures and visits seem excessive. She is, after all, only 3 years old. We worry that more bureaucrats in the decision chain will increase the likelihood that someone, somewhere, will say, 'Is all of this really necessary? After all, what is the marginal benefit to society for treating this person?'"
The best way to make policy decisions, her parents say, is to make them "as close as possible to the people who will be affected by them."
But when it comes down to it, Magdalena's mom—who can't seem to forget the comment President Obama made about the Special Olympics—just doesn't "trust them to mold policy that accounts for my daughter in all of her humanity or puts 'value' on her life.
Last March, the president joked about his poor bowling score with Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show" saying that it's "like the Special Olympics or something."
Admitting that leaders occasionally make gaffes, Archbishop Chaput writes that "what’s most striking about the young mother’s email -- and I believe warranted -- is the parental distrust behind her words."
"In fact, I’ve heard from enough intelligent, worried parents of children with special needs here in Colorado to know that many feel the current health-care proposals pressed by Washington are troubling and untrustworthy," he adds.
Insisting that health care reform is vital, the Denver prelate urges "Congress and the White House want to genuinely serve the health-care needs of the American public."
Lawmakers need to "slow down and listen to people’s concerns more honestly -- and learn what the 'common good' really means," Chaput says.
Archbishop Chaput's full column can be read at: http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/2420
This story can be found at http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16918
In his weekly column for the Denver Catholic Register—to be published online this afternoon—Archbishop Chaput tackles the health care debate by recalling an editorial in the British Catholic newspaper The Tablet that insisted the U.S. bishops must back Obama's reform effort.
The editorial also claims that America’s bishops "have so far concentrated on a specifically Catholic issue – making sure state-funded health care does not include abortion – rather than the more general principle of the common good."
This diatribe against the bishops raises some interesting observations, says Chaput.
"First, it proves once again that people don’t need to actually live in the United States to have unhelpful and badly informed opinions about our domestic issues. Second, some of the same pious voices that once criticized U.S. Catholics for supporting a previous president now sound very much like acolytes of a new president. Third, abortion is not, and has never been, a 'specifically Catholic issue,' and the editors know it. And fourth, the growing misuse of Catholic 'common ground' and 'common good' language in the current health-care debate can only stem from one of two sources: ignorance or cynicism."
"No system that allows or helps fund – no matter how subtly or indirectly -- the killing of unborn children, or discrimination against the elderly and persons with special needs, can bill itself as 'common ground,' Archbishop Chaput insists, adding that, "Doing so is a lie."
As lawmakers and President Obama push to have their health care reform bill passed by the fall, Chaput writes that they are disregarding the experiences of concerned parents in their haste.
The Denver archbishop relates an email that he received from a mother on the East Coast who has a daughter with Downs Syndrome. Three-year-old Magdalena has to see doctors on a regular basis and "‘consumes’ a lot of health care," her mother told the archbishop.
What worries Magdalena's parents the most is: "On paper, maybe these procedures and visits seem excessive. She is, after all, only 3 years old. We worry that more bureaucrats in the decision chain will increase the likelihood that someone, somewhere, will say, 'Is all of this really necessary? After all, what is the marginal benefit to society for treating this person?'"
The best way to make policy decisions, her parents say, is to make them "as close as possible to the people who will be affected by them."
But when it comes down to it, Magdalena's mom—who can't seem to forget the comment President Obama made about the Special Olympics—just doesn't "trust them to mold policy that accounts for my daughter in all of her humanity or puts 'value' on her life.
Last March, the president joked about his poor bowling score with Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show" saying that it's "like the Special Olympics or something."
Admitting that leaders occasionally make gaffes, Archbishop Chaput writes that "what’s most striking about the young mother’s email -- and I believe warranted -- is the parental distrust behind her words."
"In fact, I’ve heard from enough intelligent, worried parents of children with special needs here in Colorado to know that many feel the current health-care proposals pressed by Washington are troubling and untrustworthy," he adds.
Insisting that health care reform is vital, the Denver prelate urges "Congress and the White House want to genuinely serve the health-care needs of the American public."
Lawmakers need to "slow down and listen to people’s concerns more honestly -- and learn what the 'common good' really means," Chaput says.
Archbishop Chaput's full column can be read at: http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/2420
This story can be found at http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16918
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Gynecologists in Spain plan to choose jail before performing an abortion
Madrid, Spain, Aug 20, 2009 / 01:55 pm (CNA).- Dr. Esteban Rodriguez, spokesman for the organization Right to Life (Derecho a Vivir) in Spain, responded yesterday to comments by the country’s Minister of Justice, Francisco Caamano, who said there was no room for a conscience clause in the new law on abortion.
“We are willing to go to jail rather than following a criminal law, Rodriguez said, “and we are willing to commit the supposed crime of disobedience before the crime of abortion.”
“We will not kill our patients, nor will we commit a crime against the public health deliberately harming the heath of women, no matter how much the Minister of Justice threatens us and abuses his power,” the doctor said.
“We doctors are not soldiers, nor policemen, nor executioners. There is no civil disobedience in the refusal to kill a human being, but rather the fulfilling of our professional obligation,” he added.
If the government carries out the threat by the Minister of Justice to penalize conscientious objectors as disobedient, Rodriguez said that a “new category of victims of the laws on abortion and the regulation of conscience will be created in the gynecologists who wish to carry out their moral obligations in the face of an imposed ideology.”
After recalling that the statute in the Spanish constitution allowing conscientious objection must be respected, Rodriguez expressed his surprise that the law would shield from prison some doctors who have been convicted of performing illegal abortions, while punishing with prison those doctors who have fought to defend the lives of their patients and the health of women.
“We recommend they think about creating a new level of officials at the ministries of Justice and Equality: fetal executioners,” Dr. Rodriguez remarked.
“We find the totalitarian intentions of the Ministry of Justice, in conjunction with those of Equality, to be highly troubling. If the former Minister of Justice stirred things up with officials in the judiciary, this one is going to accomplish the same thing with medical professionals,” he warned.
This article can be found at http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16894
“We are willing to go to jail rather than following a criminal law, Rodriguez said, “and we are willing to commit the supposed crime of disobedience before the crime of abortion.”
“We will not kill our patients, nor will we commit a crime against the public health deliberately harming the heath of women, no matter how much the Minister of Justice threatens us and abuses his power,” the doctor said.
“We doctors are not soldiers, nor policemen, nor executioners. There is no civil disobedience in the refusal to kill a human being, but rather the fulfilling of our professional obligation,” he added.
If the government carries out the threat by the Minister of Justice to penalize conscientious objectors as disobedient, Rodriguez said that a “new category of victims of the laws on abortion and the regulation of conscience will be created in the gynecologists who wish to carry out their moral obligations in the face of an imposed ideology.”
After recalling that the statute in the Spanish constitution allowing conscientious objection must be respected, Rodriguez expressed his surprise that the law would shield from prison some doctors who have been convicted of performing illegal abortions, while punishing with prison those doctors who have fought to defend the lives of their patients and the health of women.
“We recommend they think about creating a new level of officials at the ministries of Justice and Equality: fetal executioners,” Dr. Rodriguez remarked.
“We find the totalitarian intentions of the Ministry of Justice, in conjunction with those of Equality, to be highly troubling. If the former Minister of Justice stirred things up with officials in the judiciary, this one is going to accomplish the same thing with medical professionals,” he warned.
This article can be found at http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16894
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
NIGERIA: Pro-Life State Rejects Reproductive Rights Bill
IMO, June 19, 2009 (CISA) -The State of Imo in Nigeria marked a pro-life victory when the legislature rejected the Reproductive Rights Bill last week by a vote of 13 to one.
The national Nigerian newspaper This Day described the victory as a “victory of the superior Imo cultural values over the new global Western Cultural Revolution" and “yet another triumph of reason… a triumph of democracy and the popular will.”
The Reproductive Rights Bill that claimed to deal with women's reproductive health would have effectively legalized abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy if it was passed.
Large crowds ranging from school children, religious sisters, civil servants marched to the Imo State House of Assembly and protested the Bill last Monday morning.
The demonstrators overflowed outside the building, holding signs reading, "Children are our values, Reproductive right is abortion," and "Imo mothers love children."
However, advocates of the Bill had defended it by saying that it never mentioned abortion and was aimed solely at promoting the health of Imo women.
But, clauses in the Bill stated, "control of fertility, timing, number, and spacing of their children," and "choice of methods of fertility control and family planning," all of which have been consistently interpreted in countries where abortion is legal as giving women the right to both abortion and contraceptives.
The people of Imo also rejected the Bill because of its prominent sponsors the US based International Project Assistance Services (IPAS), a major abortion lobbying group that has been quietly promoting and selling handheld abortion devices and drugs for years.
Imo a state, whose rich heritage, culture and religious traditions welcomes life and respects the lives of unborn children has rejected several attempts to legalize abortion, with the most recent being in 2006.
This story can be found at http://www.cisanewsafrica.org/story.asp?ID=3974
The national Nigerian newspaper This Day described the victory as a “victory of the superior Imo cultural values over the new global Western Cultural Revolution" and “yet another triumph of reason… a triumph of democracy and the popular will.”
The Reproductive Rights Bill that claimed to deal with women's reproductive health would have effectively legalized abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy if it was passed.
Large crowds ranging from school children, religious sisters, civil servants marched to the Imo State House of Assembly and protested the Bill last Monday morning.
The demonstrators overflowed outside the building, holding signs reading, "Children are our values, Reproductive right is abortion," and "Imo mothers love children."
However, advocates of the Bill had defended it by saying that it never mentioned abortion and was aimed solely at promoting the health of Imo women.
But, clauses in the Bill stated, "control of fertility, timing, number, and spacing of their children," and "choice of methods of fertility control and family planning," all of which have been consistently interpreted in countries where abortion is legal as giving women the right to both abortion and contraceptives.
The people of Imo also rejected the Bill because of its prominent sponsors the US based International Project Assistance Services (IPAS), a major abortion lobbying group that has been quietly promoting and selling handheld abortion devices and drugs for years.
Imo a state, whose rich heritage, culture and religious traditions welcomes life and respects the lives of unborn children has rejected several attempts to legalize abortion, with the most recent being in 2006.
This story can be found at http://www.cisanewsafrica.org/story.asp?ID=3974
Monday, August 17, 2009
Uruguayan bishop warn against law that would allow homosexual adoption
Montevideo, Uruguay, Aug 17, 2009 / 04:44 pm (CNA).- Archbishop Nicolas Cotugno of Montevideo, the president of the Bishops’ Conference of Uruguay, issued a statement last week warning that a new law intended to allow homosexual couples to adopt children would have serious consequences for society, especially for the young.
“The adoption of children by homosexual couples is not a question of religion, philosophy or sociology. It has to do with respect for human nature itself,” he said. “To accept the adoption of children by homosexual couples is to go against human nature itself, and consequently, it is to go against the fundamental rights of the human being as a person.”
In his statement, Archbishop Cotugno recalled the 2003 document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which stated that to legally recognize homosexual unions and make them equal to marriage would not only mean the approval of a deviant form of behavior but also the obscuring of fundamental values that are part of humanity’s common heritage.
The archbishop also pointed out that in such adoptions, the interests of the child are made secondary to those of the adoptive parents and that the children are made into instruments at the service of the desires and wishes of others rather than being given what they truly need.
Children “cannot be used as instruments by certain groups or persons for [the purpose of] demanding rights,” he added, nor can adoption be made subject to political expediency. Adoption by homosexual couples is discrimination against children, “because they could be adopted by natural parents,” the archbishop stated.
“Those who freely chose a life of homosexual relations have assumed a life style that is unconnected to procreation and to the ability to be parents. If you reject the cause you cannot lay claim its natural effect. Notwithstanding, to accept adoption by homosexual couples would be to grant those who opted for the life style of not being parents the right to be such, thus prioritizing their interests over those of the child. And this is inadmissible from every point of view,” the archbishop said, underscoring that his statements were not in reference to homosexuals as persons, who as such “deserve the highest respect.”
Children are the poorest, most vulnerable and neediest members of society,” Archbishop Cotugno said, “and they deserve special care and protection. It is the duty of the human family and of society itself to defend them and promote them in accord with their fundamental rights and with the demands proper of human nature,” he said.
This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16865
“The adoption of children by homosexual couples is not a question of religion, philosophy or sociology. It has to do with respect for human nature itself,” he said. “To accept the adoption of children by homosexual couples is to go against human nature itself, and consequently, it is to go against the fundamental rights of the human being as a person.”
In his statement, Archbishop Cotugno recalled the 2003 document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which stated that to legally recognize homosexual unions and make them equal to marriage would not only mean the approval of a deviant form of behavior but also the obscuring of fundamental values that are part of humanity’s common heritage.
The archbishop also pointed out that in such adoptions, the interests of the child are made secondary to those of the adoptive parents and that the children are made into instruments at the service of the desires and wishes of others rather than being given what they truly need.
Children “cannot be used as instruments by certain groups or persons for [the purpose of] demanding rights,” he added, nor can adoption be made subject to political expediency. Adoption by homosexual couples is discrimination against children, “because they could be adopted by natural parents,” the archbishop stated.
“Those who freely chose a life of homosexual relations have assumed a life style that is unconnected to procreation and to the ability to be parents. If you reject the cause you cannot lay claim its natural effect. Notwithstanding, to accept adoption by homosexual couples would be to grant those who opted for the life style of not being parents the right to be such, thus prioritizing their interests over those of the child. And this is inadmissible from every point of view,” the archbishop said, underscoring that his statements were not in reference to homosexuals as persons, who as such “deserve the highest respect.”
Children are the poorest, most vulnerable and neediest members of society,” Archbishop Cotugno said, “and they deserve special care and protection. It is the duty of the human family and of society itself to defend them and promote them in accord with their fundamental rights and with the demands proper of human nature,” he said.
This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16865
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Planned Parenthood affiliate overcharged $629,000 to Medicaid
Audit finds Planned Parenthood affiliate overcharged $629,000 to Medicaid
Spokane, Wash., Aug 13, 2009 / 08:44 pm (CNA).- An audit has uncovered information that Planned Parenthood of the Inland Northwest has required unnecessary office visits by its poorest patients, securing over half a million dollars in excess payments from Medicaid.
The audit has also discovered questionable billing procedures and unauthorized staff prescribing and dispensing birth control pills, Doug Porter, Washington’s Medicaid director, told the Spokesman-Review.
The excess taxpayer-funded Medicaid payments total $629,143, out of a total of about $7.7 million in payments. Interest of one percent per month will begin accruing on August 20 if the clinic does not repay the state.
The audit was launched after staff with the Washington Department of Social and Health Services became suspicious of the frequency of clinic visits by Medicaid patients.
“Most birth control clinics will see a woman and usually determine what method of birth control is best and then they will prescribe six months to a year right then and there,” Porter explained.
However, Medicaid patients were coming to Planned Parenthood every month.
Auditors reviewed 333 procedures performed from March 2004 to February 2007. Audit sample findings were then applied to all 267,815 procedures to calculate the overpayment.
Porter told the Spokesman-Review he could not disclose whether he had referred the findings to Medicaid fraud investigators with the Washington Attorney General’s Office.
Planned Parenthood is considering appealing the latest audit’s findings. In a written statement, the organization said the audit was “routine” and would not affect patient services.
Porter told the Spokesman Review that the overbilling is considered significant.
“What we hope is that $630,000 is enough tuition to be smarter about how they operate and do business,” he said. “It’s indicative of sloppy billing practices for sure, but it’s not egregious.”
Porter also noted concerns about audit findings that drug prescriptions were being charged by unauthorized staff.
“That’s a quality-of-care issue,” he said. “You can’t have a receptionist handing out pills.”
Planned Parenthood clinics in other states are also under investigation after being exposed by student investigator Lila Rose of Live Action Films for not reporting suspected cases of statutory rape, as required by state law.
you can find this story at http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16842
Spokane, Wash., Aug 13, 2009 / 08:44 pm (CNA).- An audit has uncovered information that Planned Parenthood of the Inland Northwest has required unnecessary office visits by its poorest patients, securing over half a million dollars in excess payments from Medicaid.
The audit has also discovered questionable billing procedures and unauthorized staff prescribing and dispensing birth control pills, Doug Porter, Washington’s Medicaid director, told the Spokesman-Review.
The excess taxpayer-funded Medicaid payments total $629,143, out of a total of about $7.7 million in payments. Interest of one percent per month will begin accruing on August 20 if the clinic does not repay the state.
The audit was launched after staff with the Washington Department of Social and Health Services became suspicious of the frequency of clinic visits by Medicaid patients.
“Most birth control clinics will see a woman and usually determine what method of birth control is best and then they will prescribe six months to a year right then and there,” Porter explained.
However, Medicaid patients were coming to Planned Parenthood every month.
Auditors reviewed 333 procedures performed from March 2004 to February 2007. Audit sample findings were then applied to all 267,815 procedures to calculate the overpayment.
Porter told the Spokesman-Review he could not disclose whether he had referred the findings to Medicaid fraud investigators with the Washington Attorney General’s Office.
Planned Parenthood is considering appealing the latest audit’s findings. In a written statement, the organization said the audit was “routine” and would not affect patient services.
Porter told the Spokesman Review that the overbilling is considered significant.
“What we hope is that $630,000 is enough tuition to be smarter about how they operate and do business,” he said. “It’s indicative of sloppy billing practices for sure, but it’s not egregious.”
Porter also noted concerns about audit findings that drug prescriptions were being charged by unauthorized staff.
“That’s a quality-of-care issue,” he said. “You can’t have a receptionist handing out pills.”
Planned Parenthood clinics in other states are also under investigation after being exposed by student investigator Lila Rose of Live Action Films for not reporting suspected cases of statutory rape, as required by state law.
you can find this story at http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16842
Monday, August 10, 2009
Abortion ship
'Abortion Ship' suspends voyages due to changes in Dutch law
Amsterdam, Netherlands, Aug 10, 2009 / 02:29 pm (CNA).- The ship “Aurora,” sponsored by the abortion organization “Women on Waves,” which provides abortions in international waters off countries where the practice is illegal, will remain docked due to changes in Dutch law.
The Aurora, under the direction of 43 year-old feminist Rebecca Gomperts, was about to set out on a new voyage, when the Dutch Congress passed a law modifying the conditions under which a vessel may sail under the country’s flag.
The abortion ship had been sailing under the Dutch flag as it anchored off the coast of countries where abortion was illegal, in order to offer the abortion drug RU-486 to women.
Gomperts, who also belongs to Greenpeace, recently announced that a new voyage to the coasts of Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Nicaragua would have to be suspended due the change in Dutch law that vessels involved in activities that violate the laws of other countries could no longer fly the country’s flag.
Without the flag, the ship no longer has immunity and could therefore be seized by the military or coast guard forces of the country in question.
Despite a report in the British daily, “The Independent,” officials at the South American offices of Greenpeace have denied any kind of relationship with Women on Waves and said their organization “is devoted to environmental issues, and therefore the termination of pregnancies is not a part of our campaigns.”
This story can be found at http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16803
Amsterdam, Netherlands, Aug 10, 2009 / 02:29 pm (CNA).- The ship “Aurora,” sponsored by the abortion organization “Women on Waves,” which provides abortions in international waters off countries where the practice is illegal, will remain docked due to changes in Dutch law.
The Aurora, under the direction of 43 year-old feminist Rebecca Gomperts, was about to set out on a new voyage, when the Dutch Congress passed a law modifying the conditions under which a vessel may sail under the country’s flag.
The abortion ship had been sailing under the Dutch flag as it anchored off the coast of countries where abortion was illegal, in order to offer the abortion drug RU-486 to women.
Gomperts, who also belongs to Greenpeace, recently announced that a new voyage to the coasts of Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Nicaragua would have to be suspended due the change in Dutch law that vessels involved in activities that violate the laws of other countries could no longer fly the country’s flag.
Without the flag, the ship no longer has immunity and could therefore be seized by the military or coast guard forces of the country in question.
Despite a report in the British daily, “The Independent,” officials at the South American offices of Greenpeace have denied any kind of relationship with Women on Waves and said their organization “is devoted to environmental issues, and therefore the termination of pregnancies is not a part of our campaigns.”
This story can be found at http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16803
Friday, August 7, 2009
death with dignity
A parishioner of mine said that he would never want to live as a “vegetable.” He wants to "die with dignity." Why should we keep people alive if they are unresponsive or just don't want to live any more? Shouldn't this be their choice?
To begin with, nobody should be referred to as a “vegetable.” We derive our dignity from being made in the image and likeness of God. Whether we are old or young, born or unborn, healthy or in a coma, we do not lose this most fundamental quality.
A “death with dignity” means different things to different people. All people desire a dignified death for themselves and for their loved ones. However, when a person's fear of death is exceeded by his fear of pain or loss of control, he is in a state of continuous mortal terror and may see death as a blessed release from his current situation. Such a person necessarily defines his degree of dignity by purely physical or emotional criteria.
By contrast, the Catholic Church perceives a loss of spiritual dignity when a person loses his focus on God and instead desires only a release from an existence that he or others may find pointless and wasteful.
True compassion demands that all of us love and support one another regardless of our functional capacity or appearance, and prepare the dying for their ultimate meeting with God. This is the true definition of living with dignity, even when in the last stages of dying.
Of course, severe pain suffered for too long can destroy the strongest of people. This is why the Catholic Church teaches that it is not proper to expect heroic virtue from all people, and that pain killers may be used, even if they lead to semi lucidity or quicker death in some cases (see Question 28 for elaboration on the licit use of pain killers).
A certain degree of pain at the end of life allows us to follow Christ all the way to the Cross. In one way, it seems inconsistent for Christians to be willing to suffer various indignities and inconveniences in the name of Christ over a period of decades during their lives, and then shy away from complete participation in the ultimate suffering of Our Lord at the point of death.
From a “slippery slope” point of view, euthanasia is much like other evils. We have seen in nations like Holland and the United States that it began with only the hardest of the hard cases, and now people who simply do not want to live are being euthanized, along with handicapped infants who have no say in whether they live or die. Our lives belong to God, and only He has the right to end them [Romans 14:7-8].1
1. See also the Catechism of the Catholic Church [¶2280]: "It is God Who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for His honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.” Also see Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980. The complete texts of the Catechism and the Declaration on Euthanasia are on Human Life International's Library Compact Disc.
To begin with, nobody should be referred to as a “vegetable.” We derive our dignity from being made in the image and likeness of God. Whether we are old or young, born or unborn, healthy or in a coma, we do not lose this most fundamental quality.
A “death with dignity” means different things to different people. All people desire a dignified death for themselves and for their loved ones. However, when a person's fear of death is exceeded by his fear of pain or loss of control, he is in a state of continuous mortal terror and may see death as a blessed release from his current situation. Such a person necessarily defines his degree of dignity by purely physical or emotional criteria.
By contrast, the Catholic Church perceives a loss of spiritual dignity when a person loses his focus on God and instead desires only a release from an existence that he or others may find pointless and wasteful.
True compassion demands that all of us love and support one another regardless of our functional capacity or appearance, and prepare the dying for their ultimate meeting with God. This is the true definition of living with dignity, even when in the last stages of dying.
Of course, severe pain suffered for too long can destroy the strongest of people. This is why the Catholic Church teaches that it is not proper to expect heroic virtue from all people, and that pain killers may be used, even if they lead to semi lucidity or quicker death in some cases (see Question 28 for elaboration on the licit use of pain killers).
A certain degree of pain at the end of life allows us to follow Christ all the way to the Cross. In one way, it seems inconsistent for Christians to be willing to suffer various indignities and inconveniences in the name of Christ over a period of decades during their lives, and then shy away from complete participation in the ultimate suffering of Our Lord at the point of death.
From a “slippery slope” point of view, euthanasia is much like other evils. We have seen in nations like Holland and the United States that it began with only the hardest of the hard cases, and now people who simply do not want to live are being euthanized, along with handicapped infants who have no say in whether they live or die. Our lives belong to God, and only He has the right to end them [Romans 14:7-8].1
1. See also the Catechism of the Catholic Church [¶2280]: "It is God Who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for His honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.” Also see Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980. The complete texts of the Catechism and the Declaration on Euthanasia are on Human Life International's Library Compact Disc.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Infertile couple
There is an infertile married couple in my parish. They have been trying to have children for several years now, with no success. Are there any resources I might refer them to in order to help them?
This is a situation that must be handled with the utmost delicacy and compassion. While millions of women deliberately kill their unborn children through abortion, infertile couples echo Rachel’s cry: “Give me children or I will die!” [Genesis 30:1]. Nobody who has not experienced it can understand the depths of the couple’s longing to see a part of each other reflected in a child they yearn to give life to, a future citizen of this world and of Heaven, and their thirst to participate in the great adventure and great challenge of raising a child. Truly, an infertile couple feels as if their life is not complete as they experience the monthly hope and disappointment that seems to become more and more inevitable.
Infertility is usually diagnosed if a couple cannot conceive over a period of one year or suffers three or more consecutive miscarriages. An inability to conceive might be caused by one or more of the following: Failure of the wife to ovulate, low sperm count, endometriosis, a blocked Fallopian tube, the impacts of previous abortions or prolonged use of certain birth control methods, bad nutrition or sleeping habits, or environmental factors.
One might begin by asking if the couple is using a method of natural family planning (NFP) that includes charting the wife’s cycles, such as the sympto-thermal method or the Creighton method. If they are not using one of these methods, they might want to learn how, because NFP can be used to achieve as well as avoid pregnancy. The Couple to Couple League (www.ccli.org) has thousands of teaching couples around the world who can do two-on-two instruction to help them learn the symptom-thermal method.
If this is not possible, another resource is Dr. Thomas Hilgers' NaProTechnology (Natural Procreative Technology), which uses fertility care, not fertility control, as its primary approach. Its basic concept is to carefully monitor, chart and use various hormonal events during the menstrual cycle in order to provide information that the woman and qualified physicians can use to identify problems that might be interfering with the wife’s fertility.1
1. See the NaProTechnology Web site at www.naprotechnology.com for more information on this method.
This is a situation that must be handled with the utmost delicacy and compassion. While millions of women deliberately kill their unborn children through abortion, infertile couples echo Rachel’s cry: “Give me children or I will die!” [Genesis 30:1]. Nobody who has not experienced it can understand the depths of the couple’s longing to see a part of each other reflected in a child they yearn to give life to, a future citizen of this world and of Heaven, and their thirst to participate in the great adventure and great challenge of raising a child. Truly, an infertile couple feels as if their life is not complete as they experience the monthly hope and disappointment that seems to become more and more inevitable.
Infertility is usually diagnosed if a couple cannot conceive over a period of one year or suffers three or more consecutive miscarriages. An inability to conceive might be caused by one or more of the following: Failure of the wife to ovulate, low sperm count, endometriosis, a blocked Fallopian tube, the impacts of previous abortions or prolonged use of certain birth control methods, bad nutrition or sleeping habits, or environmental factors.
One might begin by asking if the couple is using a method of natural family planning (NFP) that includes charting the wife’s cycles, such as the sympto-thermal method or the Creighton method. If they are not using one of these methods, they might want to learn how, because NFP can be used to achieve as well as avoid pregnancy. The Couple to Couple League (www.ccli.org) has thousands of teaching couples around the world who can do two-on-two instruction to help them learn the symptom-thermal method.
If this is not possible, another resource is Dr. Thomas Hilgers' NaProTechnology (Natural Procreative Technology), which uses fertility care, not fertility control, as its primary approach. Its basic concept is to carefully monitor, chart and use various hormonal events during the menstrual cycle in order to provide information that the woman and qualified physicians can use to identify problems that might be interfering with the wife’s fertility.1
1. See the NaProTechnology Web site at www.naprotechnology.com for more information on this method.
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