Seminarians for Life

Pro-life groups laud decision to block embryonic stem cell research

2010-08-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

Washington D.C., Aug 23, 2010 / 06:19 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pro-life groups lauded the decision of a federal court ruling on Monday which prevents the Obama administration from carrying out its embryonic stem cell research policy. One legal fund reacted by saying, the “American people should not be forced to pay for experiments – prohibited by federal law – that destroy human life.”

The ruling comes after the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued new guidelines last year that permitted federal funding for research on stem cell lines that had already been created.

On August 23, however, a federal judge concluded that the policy likely violates a federal law known as the “Dickey/Wicker Amendment.” The amendment has been part of the annual appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services every year since 1996.

The amendment bars federal funding for the creation of a human embryo for research purposes as well as for research in which a human embryo or embryos are “destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death.”

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth temporarily blocked the Obama administration on Monday from using federal dollars to fund expanded human embryonic stem cell research while a lawsuit against the NIH policy – filed last year by the Christian Medical Association (CMA) and Nightlight Christian Adoptions – proceeds.

Pro-life groups praised the ruling on Monday.

The Alliance Defense Fund, which helped represent CMA and Nightlight, saying that the “American people should not be forced to pay for experiments – prohibited by federal law – that destroy human life.”

“The court is simply enforcing an existing law passed by Congress that prevents Americans from paying another penny for needless research on human embryos,” continued ADF Senior Legal Counsel Steven H. Aden. “No one should be allowed to decide that an innocent life is worthless.”

“Experimentation on embryonic stem cells isn’t even necessary because adult stem cell research has been enormously successful,” Aden said. “In economic times like we are in now, it doesn’t make sense for the federal government to use precious taxpayer dollars for this illegal and unethical purpose.”

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins also weighed in on the ruling Monday, saying that the judge's decision was “a stinging rebuke to the Obama Administration and its attempt to circumvent sound science and federal law, which clearly prohibits federal funding for research that involves the destruction of human embryos.”

“Rather than fund additional embryo-destructive research, the government should focus its resources on adult stem cells that are already improving health and saving the lives of patients with cancer, heart disease, diabetes, spinal cord injury and many other conditions,” he added. “There is great potential in this country for stem cell research and treatments for many diseases, while maintaining ethical standards.”

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pro-life-groups-laud-decision-to-block-embryonic-stem-cell-research/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

Abortion Practitioner James Pendergraft Loses Florida License a Fourth Time

2010-08-15T17:52:00.000-07:00

Orlando, FL (LifeNews.com) -- Embattled Florida abortion practitioner James Pendergraft recently saw his medical license suspended for a fourth time by the Florida Board of Medicine. On Saturday, the board suspended his license for one year and placed it on probation for three years after that.

Pendergraft, who has subjected women to botched legal abortions, was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and take a course on record keeping.

The medical board suspended his license after it found Pendergraft had allowed an unlicensed employee to order and administer drugs even though she was unqualified and had a known history of drug abuse. Pendergraft also was disciplined for prescribing steroids to her for unknown reasons.

"This is a case that should outrage everyone," said Operation Rescue president Troy Newman, who brought the suspension to the attention of LifeNews.com.

"Here is a proven quack that has served three previous license suspensions, yet continues to offend," he said. "Even a stint in prison hasn't helped Pendergraft amend his ways. Nevertheless, the Board will allow this man to continue the practice of medicine after he serves his fourth suspension. It is irresponsible to place women at repeated risk from this guy."

According to news reports, Aaron Liberman, the chairman of the Department of Health Management and Informatics at the University of Central Florida, agreed with Newman in objecting to the leniency the board showed the abortion practitioner.

"I think it's a wake-up call for us all when we have an individual who is allowed to practice medicine in a way that draws question as to both his credibility and capability," he said.

Pendergraft faced previous suspensions, one as recently as January, 2010, for botched legal abortions and illegal late-term abortions, and dispensing drugs without a license.

The first suspension was the result of a complaint filed April 14, 2008, that states Pendergraft illegally prescribed controlled substances without proper DEA licensing. The board also said Pendergraft committed medical malpractice in a botched abortion of a 19-week-old unborn child in February 2006.

The botched abortion saw Pendergraft inadequately dilating a patient's cervix for a D&E abortion. He then ruptured her uterus and shoved the unborn child's body into the abdominal cavity.

The mother was rushed to the hospital where she received an emergency hysterectomy along with the removal of the dead unborn child, who was missing an arm after the abortion attempt. OR indicates the arm was later found at Pendergraft’s EPOC abortion clinic.

The pro-life group maintains that Pendergraft's not reporting that he had removed the arm caused a delay in her care at the hospital as surgeons futilely attempted to locate the missing appendage.

The Board ruled on Saturday that Pendergraft's two active suspensions would run concurrently.

Pendergraft owns five abortion clinics in Florida. While on suspension, his abortion centers continue to operate with other abortion practitioners, at least one of which has had his own problems with the law.

Newman says abortion practitioner Randall Whitney has had his license suspended twice and placed on probation for violations according to the Florida Health Department.

"Pendergraft's clinics are a menace to the public. They should be closed, and perhaps if he was in another state, they would be. It is simply outrageous that these people who have proven that they cannot comport themselves within the law are allowed the opportunity to continue to prey on an unsuspecting public," he said.

"The Florida Board of Medicine seriously dropped the ball by not revoking Pendergraft and forcing the closure of his clinics," he concluded.

Last year, a Florida appeals court upheld the suspension of Pendergraft's license.

He was fined $10,000 and had his licensed revoked for one year over an illegal late-term abortion he did in 2005. The Florida Board of Medicine handed down the decision in December 2007.

this can be found at: http://www.lifenews.com/state5339.html

Kenya Residents Support New Pro-Abortion Constitution, Polling Results Show

2010-07-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

Nairobi, Kenya (LifeNews.com) -- Two new polls released today reveal Kenya residents plan to support the proposed constitution on an August 4 vote. The constitution has become an international debate as the Obama administration has come under heavy criticism for spending as much as $23 million to support it.

The polling firm Synovate conducted a survey with more than 6,000 Kenyans and found 58 percent of those interviewed say they plan to vote for the constitution while just 22 percent said no and the rest were undecided or said they would not vote.

The poll also found just three percent of those surveyed worried violence would break out if the constitution is defeated, as happened the last time Kenyans rejected one at the polls. That appears to undermine some of the arguments government officials are using to request a Yes vote.

"The numbers are quite low, which therefore means that there is that level of tolerance of each other's position," said George Waititu, the managing director of the polling firm, told AP.

The new poll also found abortion is the main reason Kenyans cited for potentially voting no -- with 62 percent of those saying they will oppose the constitution naming abortion as the top reason.

Meanwhile, AP indicates a second poll conducted by the firm Infotrack with 1,200 people found 65 percent of Kenyans planned to vote Yes on the constitution and 25 percent said they would vote no, while the rest remained undecided.

Rev. Peter Karanja, the secretary general of the National Council of Churches of Kenya, told the Associated Press he thinks the numerous polls are part of the Yes campaign's plan to pressure Kenyans to vote Yes. AP notes Infotrack is believed to be owned and operated by associates of Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

"We really haven't had objective polls published," Karanja said. "Even some of the companies that conduct polls have more than a casual relationship with some of the key politicians who would want to manipulate opinions. We have been on the campaign trail all over Kenya ... and our impressions do not appear to relate in any way with the kind of figures we see published."

The results of the new surveys track with a prior poll conducted by Synovate in June showing 57 percent of Kenyans will support the pro-abortion constitution while 20 percent said they would vote No.

Although the draft contains language advocating the right to life for unborn children, it contains a section with a health exception that essentially opens the nation to unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy for any reason.

Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues director Marie Smith told LifeNews.com, “Regrettably, this final draft contains some of the most deceptive and dangerous language on abortion ever seen in a constitution."

"It presents constitutional protection for the unborn child by acknowledging in section 26 on Right to Life that 'Every person has the right to life' and that 'The life of a person begins at conception,'" she explained. “However, the next statement completely reverses protection for the unborn by allowing abortion when in the 'opinion of a trained health professional, there is need for emergency treatment, or the life or health of the mother is in danger, or if permitted by any other written law.'”

Smith continues, “The reversal of previous policy on abortion- which required the opinion of two medical doctors who agreed that abortion was necessary for the life of the mother— will likely open the door to abortion on demand if the broad US definition of health is used in Kenya.”

Before the revised constitution can come into force, it must be approved by popular vote.

If Kenyans vote for the new constitution it won't be because they suddenly support abortion.

A poll conducted March 21–26 by Synovate, formerly known as Steadman, shows the citizens of Kenya are overwhelmingly pro-life.

“Thinking about abortion, which of the following is closest to your view?” the firm asked respondents.

Some 69 percent of Kenya residents are against legalizing abortions while just 9 percent support it. Another 16 percent say it doesn't matter while 6 percent said they had no opinion.

Answering the question, “When do you believe human life begins?” 77 percent of Kenyans stated that life begins at conception, while 19 percent stated that human life begins at the time of birth.

Scott Fischbach, the director of MCCL Go, an international pro-life outreach, provided the polling results to LifeNews.com.

"Currently, advocates of abortion are using the issue of maternal mortality and illegal abortions to argue for legalization of the procedure. However, the answer to illegal abortions and high maternal mortality rates is very simple: provide hope, opportunity and support for pregnant women by insuring a clean water supply, clean blood supply and adequate health care," he said.

"Kenya is a pro-life country and ought not to head toward an abortion-on-demand policy in its new Constitution," he added.

American lawmakers are seeking an investigation into the Obama administration to determine whether it violated federal law that says taxpayer dollars can't be used to lobby for abortion in other nations

this can be found at: http://www.lifenews.com/int1604.html

Obama Ambassador to Kenya Openly Endorses Proposed Pro-Abortion Constitution

2010-07-23T14:17:00.000-07:00

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- After initially saying the Obama administration is not technically supporting the proposed pro-abortion constitution in Kenya and insisting it is merely supporting the voting process itself, United States Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger is now openly supporting it.

The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation issued a new report today saying Ranneberger has announced "his support for the proposed new constitution saying the document caters the needs of all Kenyans."

Ranneberger said the Obama administration will respect the outcome of the vote on the pro-abortion constitution on August 4, but he is now "under heavy criticism from the 'No' camp for his open support for the proposed law."

The envoy said, "We have made it clear that a new constitution is absolutely essential for the future, security and prosperity of this great nation."

"As our Vice President said during his recent visit, the country will only attract foreign investments unless the country deals with issues of corruption. This will only come about with a new constitution in place," Ranneberger added, applying economic pressure to Kenyans to approve the document.

"I therefore urge all Kenyans to take advantage of this opportunity. Kenya is poised at the most important moment of change since independence." he said.

Ranneberger said he will not be drawn into a political war of words with the No camp and the Kenyan elected officials and church leaders who are heading up its campaign against the constitution.

Nor will he respond to charges from pro-life Congressman Chris Smith and other members of Congress who have charged the Obama administration is illegally funding groups that are promoting the Yes vote, to the tune of $23 million.

"I have neither responded to the Congressmen nor to the opponents of the draft law nor do I plan to," he said.

Meanwhile, Kenya Catholic Church leaders say there is still time to remove the pro-abortion provisions from the document before it receives a vote next month.

"We, the Catholic bishops, have sought advice on legal and medical issues regarding the right to life, and are convinced that the constitution will result in liberalisation of abortion laws," said a statement from conference chairman John Cardinal Njue, according to AllAfrica.

They said they did not agree with political leaders who support the constitution and say it should be passed and then changed later.

They said they did not believe that a document that is fundamentally flawed should be passed "only with a vague hope that it will be amended later, especially when the process of amendment is more difficult after than before."

As LifeNews.com reported earlier this month, the United States embassy in Kenya issued a statement saying the administration of President Barack Obama is not spending taxpayer dollars funding a campaign to support a pro-abortion Constitution Kenya voters will consider at the polls next month.

But Smith, one of three U.S. lawmakers who have requested an investigation into U.S. activities leading up to the referendum, tells LifeNews.com he has evidence the Obama administration is funding the Yes campaign.

Smith says Obama is doing so by providing taxpayer dollars for the Yes campaign via organizations that are actively supporting it on the ground in Kenya.

“There is no doubt that the Obama Administration is funding the ‘yes’ campaign in Kenya,” he said. “By funding NGOs charged with obtaining ‘yes’ votes, the Administration has crossed the line."

"Directly supporting efforts to register ‘yes’ voters and ‘get out the yes vote’ means the U.S. government is running a political campaign in Kenya. U.S. taxpayer funds should not be used to support one side or the other," he added.

As part of ongoing discussions with the Office of the Inspector General of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Representatives Smith and Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and California Rep. Darrell Issa received a chart listing USAID funding recipients and a summary of their agreements.

Two organizations are receiving over $150,000 form the U.S. government to “contribute to an ‘overrepresentation’ of the Yes voters,” and five organizations have been charged with registering a total of 100,000 “for a Yes vote” at the referendum.

Other Kenyan groups are being given funding for similar Yes vote efforts, Smith said.

Smith said these Obama administration-funded grants for organizations actively involved in persuading Kenyan voters to adopt a constitution that will legalize abortions is inappropriate.

“The draft constitution, with its controversial provisions expanding access to abortion, is a matter for the Kenyan people to consider and decide,” Smith said. “The Obama Administration should immediately withdraw all U.S. taxpayer funding used to buy votes and influence the outcome on the referendum.”

While Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have lent their support to the voting process, they have carefully couched their language in terms of supporting the constitutional review process rather than urging support for the document itself.

The proposed new Kenyan constitution concerns pro-life and church groups both locally and around the world because provisions in it would overturn the current legal protections women and unborn children enjoy and would essentially authorize unlimited abortions despite the pro-life cultural views of most Kenyans.

The United States embassy in Nairobi said it is not providing financial support for the Yes campaign for the August 4 vote on the proposed constitution.

“These claims are categorically false, and those making such allegations are lying,” the statement said, according to APA News. “The US Government is supporting the constitutional review process as the centerpiece of the broad reform agenda agreed to following the post-election crisis."

That mirrors language coming last week from a representative of Biden.

After publishing a news story compiling the developments over the last two months that LifeNews.com has chronicled, Fox News received a response from Biden's office.

"Requests for comment sent to the vice president’s office were not initially returned, but following the original publication of this story, Biden's press secretary, in an e-mail, stressed that while in Kenya the vice president reiterated that it is up the people to decide about their country's constitution," the television news station indicated.

That came after Biden told prominent Kenya government officials that passage will "allow money to flow" to the African nation.

"The United States strongly supports the process of constitutional reform. ... Dare to reach for transformative change, the kind of change that might come around only once in a lifetime," he said. "If you make these changes, I promise you, new foreign private investment will come in like you've never seen."

Whether the Obama administration is directly supporting the constitution is a critical question because lobbying for or against abortion is prohibited under a provision of federal law known as the Siljander Amendment annually included in the State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Act.

The amendment reads, “None of the funds made available under this Act may be used to lobby for or against abortion,” and violations are subject to civil and criminal penalties under the Antideficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. § 1341."

Obama himself has promoted the new constitution in an interview in early June with the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC).

He called voting for the document a "singular opportunity to put the government of Kenya on solid footing" and urged Kenyans to"take advantage of the moment."

Obama tried to couch his language in neutral impartiality, saying "Regardless of whether they vote Yes or No I just want to make sure that they participate,' but he extolled the virtues of the document to the KBC saying it will promote human rights.

And in May, US Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger called on the African nation's political leaders to rally the people to pass the referendum.

Ranneberger issued a statement praising the Kenya parliament for passing the proposed constitution and urging President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to rally support for it.

He also suggested the Obama administration would fund a national campaign to persuade the people to adopt the document.

Although the draft contains language advocating the right to life for unborn children, it contains a section with a health exception that essentially opens the nation to unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy for any reason.

Joseph Meaney of Human Life International weighed in on the constitution saying it violates the views of most Kenyans who are pro-life.

"Kenyans are pro-life," he said. "When we see the new articles added to the constitution and approved by parliament under heavy pressure from Western elites, we are seeing an assault on the very heart of the Kenyan people."

"Perhaps the greatest insult is that this attack is happening under the banner of 'improving women's health'. The only ones who believe that killing an unborn child is good for a woman's health are those who will profit from the slaughter, Western powers who are pouring untold millions of dollars into measures to keep Africa's children from being born," he told LifeNews.com.

"This is nothing but population control, an imperialist assault intended to rob Africa of its future by eliminating her children. It is a disgrace," he said.

A poll conducted March 21–26 by the polling firm Synovate, formerly known as Steadman, shows the citizens of Kenya are overwhelmingly pro-life.

“Thinking about abortion, which of the following is closest to your view?” the firm asked respondents.

Some 69 percent of Kenya residents are against legalizing abortions while just 9 percent support it. Another 16 percent say it doesn't matter while 6 percent said they had no opinion.

Answering the question, “When do you believe human life begins?” 77 percent of Kenyans stated that life begins at conception, while 19 percent stated that human life begins at the time of birth.

Respondents were also asked about their views concerning the new Kenyan Constitution and the question found only 19 percent support it as currently written, while a majority, 52 percent, want Parliament to revise the document before passage.

Scott Fischbach, the director of MMCL Go, an international pro-life outreach, provided the polling results to LifeNews.com.

"Currently, advocates of abortion are using the issue of maternal mortality and illegal abortions to argue for legalization of the procedure. However, the answer to illegal abortions and high maternal mortality rates is very simple: provide hope, opportunity and support for pregnant women by insuring a clean water supply, clean blood supply and adequate health care," he said.

"Kenya is a pro-life country and ought not to head toward an abortion-on-demand policy in its new Constitution," he added

This can be found at http://www.lifenews.com/int1602.html

Abortion clinic in Colombia closed for trafficking children

2010-07-16T20:22:00.000-07:00

Bogotá, Colombia, Jul 16, 2010 / 05:47 pm (CNA).- A top health official in Colombia said this week that three abortion clinics in the capital city of Bogota have been closed, with the latest case involving the trafficking of children.

The district Secretary of Health, Hector Zambrano told Colombian radio that the latest clinic, shut down last weekend, “was not equipped to provide ultrasounds,” and “was hiding illicit activity such as illegal abortions and trafficking of minors.”

He added that the clinic also “employed unlicensed medical personnel.”

Zambrano noted that so far this year, officials have closed down three clinics, thanks to help from nearby residents.

In 2006, Colombia’s Constitutional Court legalized abortion in the country allowing it in three cases: rape, fetal deformation or to save the life of the mother

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/abortion-clinic-in-colombia-closed-for-trafficking-children/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

CHA declines comment on potential federal funding of abortion

2010-07-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

Washington D.C., Jul 16, 2010 / 12:46 am (CNA).- Responding to reports that new federal high-risk insurance pool programs are covering abortions, the Catholic Health Association (CHA) said it would not comment on the issue. The organization referred inquiries to the federal government.

The CHA backed recent federal health care legislation over the objection of the U.S. Catholic bishops and other pro-life groups who said its abortion funding restrictions were insufficient. CHA president Sr. Carol Keehan also received one of the pens President Barack Obama used to sign the bill.

In a Thursday phone call, CNA spoke with Fred Caesar, special assistant to Sr. Keehan.

Asked CHA’s reaction to claims that high-risk insurance pools in Pennsylvania and New Mexico are covering abortions, Caesar referred CNA to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) statement on the issue.

When asked if he could comment on several questions, including what CHA will do if it is proven that abortion funding restrictions are not airtight, Caesar said he could not.

“We’ll pass,” he said.

The National Right to Life Committee has reported that Pennsylvania’s high-risk insurance pool program, created by the federal health care legislation passed earlier this year, says that it does not cover “elective abortions.” However, “elective abortion” is not defined and Pennsylvania law allows legal abortion if a physician believes that is “necessary” based on “all factors (physical, emotional, psychological, familial and the woman's age) relevant to the well-being of the woman.”

The New Mexico Medical Insurance Pool initially reported it would cover “elective termination of pregnancy.” This policy was changed following media attention.

HHS issued a statement on the issue saying “abortions will not be covered in the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan except in the cases of rape or incest, or where the life of the woman would be endangered.”

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/cha-declines-comment-on-potential-federal-funding-of-abortion/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

Illinois professor fired for giving Catholic teaching on homosexuality

2010-07-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

Champaign, Ill., Jul 9, 2010 / 06:20 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The University of Illinois has fired an adjunct professor for teaching in a class on Catholicism that homosexual acts violate natural moral law.

Dr. Kenneth Howell was informed that he could no longer teach in the university's department of religion. The decision came after a student complained that Howell's statements were “hate speech.”

In response to his firing, Howell wrote a letter to friends explaining the events surrounding his dismissal.

Howell said in the letter, which was obtained by CNA, that he first came to teach at the St. John's Catholic Newman Center in 1998. At the time, courses on the Catholic faith were taught through the Newman Center, he explained, but in 2000, an agreement was made with the University of Illinois' department of religion, and he became an adjunct professor in the department and taught classes on Catholicism.

“Since the Fall of 2001, I have been regularly teaching two courses in the department of religion,” Howell explained. One of the classes, “Introduction to Catholicism,” includes an explanation of Natural Moral Law as affirmed by the Church as well as an application of Natural Law Theory to a disputed social issue.

“Most of those semesters, my chosen topic was the moral status of homosexual acts,” he explained.

Howell said he taught the Catholic Church's position on homosexuality. He summed it up by saying, “A homosexual orientation is not morally wrong just as no moral guilt can be assigned to any inclination that a person has. However, based on natural moral law, the Church believes that homosexual acts are contrary to human nature and therefore morally wrong.”

To show how homosexual behavior would be considered under competing moral systems, Howell sent an e-mail to the students contrasting utilitarianism with natural moral law. “I tried to show them that under utilitarianism, homosexual acts would not be considered immoral whereas under natural moral law they would,” Howell said. “This is because natural moral law, unlike utilitarianism, judges morality on the basis of the acts themselves.”

A complaint about Howell's statement was sent in a May 13 e-mail to Robert McKim, head of the religion department. The e-mail was sent by a student who was not in Howell's class, but said he was writing on behalf of a friend who was in the class and wished to remain anonymous. The e-mail complained about Howell's statements on homosexuality, calling them “hate speech.”

"Teaching a student about the tenets of a religion is one thing," said the e-mail, according to The News-Gazette. "Declaring that homosexual acts violate the natural laws of man is another. The courses at this institution should be geared to contribute to the public discourse and promote independent thought; not limit one's worldview and ostracize people of a certain sexual orientation."

Howell said that at the end of the semester, he was called into Robert McKim's office and told that he would no longer be permitted to teach for the department. Howell objected that to dismiss him for teaching the Catholic position in a class on Catholicism was a violation of academic freedom and first amendment rights. “This made no difference,” he said. “After that conversation and a couple of emails, Professor McKim insisted that this decision to dismiss me stood firm.”

According to the local paper The News-Gazette, Howell said he has had students disagree with him in the past, but never in such a manner.

"My responsibility on teaching a class on Catholicism is to teach what the Catholic Church teaches," he said. "I have always made it very, very clear to my students they are never required to believe what I'm teaching and they'll never be judged on that."

The News-Gazette reported that Howell also said he was open with students about his own beliefs as a practicing Catholic. "It's not a violation of academic freedom to advocate a position, if one does it as an appeal on rational grounds and it's pertinent to the subject," he said.

Later, Howell said, Msgr. Gregory Ketcham, the current Director of the St. John’s Catholic Newman Center, informed him that the Center would not be able to continue employing him since there was no longer any teaching for him to do.

“I suggested that we work together to have courses on Catholicism taught at the Newman Center that could be accredited by a Catholic university and that could be transferred into the University of Illinois for credit,” Howell said. “In this way, the students whom we had been called to serve could continue to be instructed in the Catholic Faith.”

However, Monsignor Ketcham said that he had no interest in such a plan, according to Howell.

Howell is currently working with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) to seek legal redress.

David French, senior counsel for the ADF said in a written statement, "A university cannot censor professors' speech – including classroom speech related to the topic of the class – merely because some students find that speech 'offensive.' Professors have the freedom to challenge students and to educate them by exposing them to different views. The Alliance Defense Fund is working with Professor Howell because the defense of academic freedom is essential on the university campus."

this can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/illinois-professor-fired-for-giving-catholic-teaching-on-homosexuality/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

Argentinean bishop condemns mid term abortion, stresses that Church 'cannot remain silent'

2010-06-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jun 17, 2010 / 06:22 pm (CNA).- An Argentinian Bishop condemned a court ruling allowing a local woman who was five months pregnant to undergo an abortion, stressing that the “Church cannot remain silent because her vocation is to defend man against everything that degrades him.”

The abortion was carried out last weekend in a hospital in Mar del Plata after doctors said the child had no chance of surviving after birth.

In a statement, Bishop Juan Alberto Puiggari of Mar del Plata in Argentina condemned the act questioned if the dramatic nature of the situation led those involved to forget that an innocent human life was at stake.

“Can the gravity of the case justify the deliberate taking of an innocent human life at the beginning of its existence? Should the pressure that such difficult circumstances cause exempt us from defending the first of all human rights, which is life, and reminding administrators and health care workers of the grave responsibility they have to care for that life?” the bishop asked.

“The great contradiction of today’s culture is that on the one hand we proclaim human rights but on the other we violate the rights of the most defenseless,” Bishop Puiggari said, adding that the country’s Constitution establishes the protection of life from the moment of conception.

“As a Church we are aware of the suffering of a mother who finds herself in such a painful and dramatic situation, but we also know that the consequence of an abortion is a wound in the heart that is difficult to heal.”

“We must not judge anyone, and much less on the basis of the faith,” the bishop qualified. “But it is good to remember that the administration of justice is only just when it is exercised in conformity with the truth and the moral good.”

Reaffirming the inalienable right to life, Bishop Puiggari said women who are in crisis pregnancies need a commitment from society to reach out them and provide them the means they need to face their difficulties and overcome them.

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/argentinean-bishop-condemns-mid-term-abortion-stresses-that-church-cannot-remain-silent/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

PRAYER REQUEST: 5.10.10 - Letter from HLI Philippiness

2010-05-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

Easter greetings!

At the outset, I would like to request for the most wanted prayers for the coming national elections here in the Philippines on Monday, May 10, 2010 from 7am to 6pm.

50.4 million registered voters (49.6% of the voters are from the ages of 18-27) are expected to vote for a new president, a vice president, 12 senators, 222 congressmen.plus thousands of local spots from governors to mayors.

Of the nine candidates for president, only four are expected to survive the race or with the real fighting chances.They are Manuel Villar, Benigno Aquino II, Joseph Ejercito Estrada and Gilbert Teodoro Jr.

While prayer vigils are being offered in many parts of the country today and tomorrow, we hope that HLI Central thru your most able leadership Father, will able to convey this very important and equally urgent intentions for a peaceful and successful national

elections. And top of all, that a pro-life president and a predominantly pro-life senate and congress will emerge next week.

May the best man with lightest political baggage and with a pro-life stand win the highest political position in the country on Monday.

Pope: The sick are integral part of God's beautiful mosaic

2010-05-03T18:38:00.000-07:00

Turin, Italy, May 3, 2010 / 07:07 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- During the Pope's visit to Turin on Sunday to venerate the Shroud and confirm the people of the city in the faith, the Holy Father stopped to see the sick and residents of the Little House of Divine Providence, founded by St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo. He reminded the sick of their important contribution and highlighted the new life that "flowers" from Christ's passion.

The encounter was the last of the day and took place just after the Pope venerated the Shroud at the Cathedral of Turin, where he taught that the Icon "speaks to us," through blood, of the darkness and the light of Holy Saturday.

Remembering the founder of the "Little House" and the three religious families that have been born from it, the Holy Father expressed his gratitude to the sick as "the precious treasure of this house and of this work."

St. Cottolengo worked with the conviction that "the poor are Jesus, not his image," said Pope Benedict, remembering also that he referred to the poor as "our patrons." Moved by a love of Christ and man, he worked in "complete devotion to the service of the smallest and forgotten," recounted the Holy Father.

Speaking to the sick, the Pope said, "you carry out an important task: living your sufferings in union with Christ crucified and risen, you participate in the mystery of his suffering for the salvation of the world.

"Offering our pain to God through Christ," he taught, "we can collaborate in the victory of good over evil, because God makes our offering, our act of love, fruitful."

He implored the residents not to feel "foreign to the destiny of the world," but to see themselves as "precious pieces of a beautiful mosaic that God, as a great artist, is forming day by day.”

Christ died on the cross, said the Pope, so that "from that wood, from that sign of death, life could flower in all of its splendor.

"This House,” Benedict XVI said, referring to their residence, “is one of the mature fruits born of the Cross and the Resurrection of Christ, and it manifests that suffering, evil (and) death don't have the last word, because from death and suffering life can rise again."

Pope Benedict closed with a prayer, asking the Christ "illuminate our daily pilgrimage with the light of his Face; illuminate our life, the present and the future, the sorrow and the joy, the worry and the hope of all of humanity."

From the Little House of Divine Providence the Holy Father went to the airport for his return to Rome.

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope_the_sick_are_integral_part_of_gods_beautiful_mosaic/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

Mexican woman raped at age 13 explains why she never considered abortion

2010-04-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

Mexico City, Mexico, Apr 23, 2010 / 05:59 pm (CNA).- Liana Rebolledo is a 33-year-old Mexican woman. In a recent television interview she recounted that after she was raped at the age of 13 and became pregnant, she never considered aborting her daughter, who is now 20.

In an interview on the Telestai network, Rebolledo explained how difficult it was to experience the trauma of a rape. “I had my daughter at 13” and it was her life that “saved me.”

“In my case abortion was never an option, it was never considered. It was a difficult situation but she was the one who gave me the will to keep living,” Rebolledo said.

Rebolledo added that getting past the rape was “a process more difficult than you can imagine. You always think it could happen to anyone else, but not to you … I didn’t understand. At that age you don’t understand why you are experiencing such a situation.”

After revealing that she tried to commit suicide because of the rape, and not because of the pregnancy, Rebolledo said, “The doctor told me, don’t worry, you won’t be able to continue the pregnancy, your womb is very young, you have lost a lot of weight, it is going to be a high-risk pregnancy.” The doctor also said, “your life is in danger so I will talk to your mom.”

But Rebolledo said, hearing the heartbeat of her baby was crucial. “I realized I had something with me, something mine, that belonged to me.” She knew that she “was not going to be alone.”

“There was something that said to me: ‘Now I have someone to live for’.”

Sometimes, she said, people say to her, “You gave life to such a special person. I reply: She gave life to me because after what I experienced, I should have ended up psychologically harmed. I don’t know how I would have ended up, but I wouldn’t be here today telling you what the life of my daughter has meant to me.”

“I came from a dysfunctional home where there was a lot of domestic violence. There was no foundation and we were not raised with values or faith,” she said. Rebolledo then added that what gave her strength during the pregnancy was “the fact of knowing that I had to fight for that life and I had to protect her and care for her so that what happened to me would not happened to her”

“I didn’t want her to suffer the emotional abandonment that I did.”

“I don’t regret anything,” she continued. “She is the only thing that brings me consolation.” “Today I think, how is it possible that people think these little ones don’t have the right to live? They bring you so much joy, they are full of life, they are with you in the most difficult moments.”

“I don’t think abortion is an option. If you don’t want the child, you can give him up for adoption,” she said. “Pregnancy is not the problem. The problem is, what is going on that is leading such little girls to end up pregnant at such a young age.”

Speaking about her pro-life activism and volunteer work, Rebolledo said she goes to abortion clinics “on Saturdays and I try to speak to the women to make them see that there is a solution, there is hope, there is a way. In all the times I have gone, I have only seen one case of rape.”

Rebolledo encouraged girls in similar situations to believe in themselves. “You can find a way to move forward. Have faith and hope that you can do it. Visualize your goal. When you have these little ones at your side, you can do it, they support you. At the end of the day you realize everything was worth it.”

“If I had to go through it again, I would do it just to be able to meet her,” she said, referring to her daughter.

this can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/mexican_woman_raped_at_age_13_explains_why_she_never_considered_abortion/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

After distorted interview, Brazilian archbishop reaffirms Catholic teaching on abortion

2010-04-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

Recife, Brazil, Apr 17, 2010 / 07:16 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After an interview with a Brazilian newspaper appeared to indicate he supported abortion, Archbishop of Olanda y Recife Fernando Saburido has said there was “a misunderstanding” and that he may have been insufficiently clear. He said he fully adheres to Catholic teaching that life is a “gift from God.”

Last year the then-archbishop of his diocese, Jose Cardoso-Sobrinho, said that anyone who performed or facilitated an abortion would incur an automatic excommunication. Archbishop Sobrinho's remarks came in response to the case of an abortion performed on a nine-year-old pregnant with twins after being raped by her mother’s companion.

Recently a forced abortion was performed on a 10-year-old girl, who became pregnant after being raped by her stepfather.

Archbishop Saburido responded to the new case by reiterating Catholic teaching that life must be defended at all points. However, during an interview with a local Brazilian newspaper, Diario de Pernambuco, he appeared to imply that abortion was permitted if deemed necessary by a physician.

In a statement provided to CNA, Archbishop Saburido said there was a “misunderstanding.”

“I adhere, in fullness; to the teaching of our Holy Church which defends life and does not admit, under any circumstances, its destruction because it is a gift from God that only He can take away,” he explained.

Noting that there are some specific cases in Brazil in which abortion is not penalized, he said: “With the Church, I believe that this law is contrary to the basic principles of Christian ethics and cannot be accepted, because it is a law that kills.”

He said he disagreed with the case of the pregnant girl, saying he believes it to be “anti-Christian for taking away a life that could have perfectly been saved.”

“A family willing to adopt the baby would have not been missing, providing affection and dignity,” he continued.

He said his comments to the press corps on April 10 would verify his position against abortion in any circumstances.

“In the specific case of the Diario de Pernambuco, I believe the interview was biased, with repetitive questions, and I admit I may have not been sufficiently clear, leaving room for doubts that I want to clarify by means of this statement,” he continued.

“I believe that all those who know me and know my history, will never have doubts regarding my love for the Church and my fidelity to her Magisterium,” Archbishop Saburido’s statement concluded.

This can be seen at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/after_distorted_interview_brazilian_archbishop_reaffirms_catholic_teaching_on_abortion/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

Woman rejects pressure from employer to have abortion

2010-04-12T14:06:00.001-07:00

Gerona, Spain, Apr 12, 2010 / 12:11 pm (CNA/Europa Press).- A criminal court in the Spanish city of Gerona has sentenced a restaurant owner to 19 months in prison and ordered him to pay over $6,000 for pressuring a waitress to undergo an abortion in order to keep her job. The woman refused and decided to keep her baby.

According to the court, the restaurant owner insisted the waitress have an abortion after learning she was pregnant.

Europa Press reported that the ruling said the woman was “about to interrupt” her pregnancy but that after “many doubts,” she decided to carry her child to term. When her employment contract was not renewed, she was presented with a pink slip without severance pay.

After assistance from a local union, she was given severance pay in the amount of approximately $2,500. The union also provided the woman’s legal defense and called the ruling a “model sentence” in the fight against workplace harassment.

The court praised the woman's “high level of maturity” in response to the harassment, noting that the owner failed to adopt necessary measures to support her and was guilty of making the woman move heavy boxes, creating a “hostile” working environment.

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/woman_rejects_pressure_from_employer_to_have_an_abortion/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

ACP: Schools should not affirm students' perceived sexual orientation

2010-04-10T11:25:00.000-07:00

Gainesville, Fla., Apr 10, 2010 / 08:02 am (CNA).- In a recent letter sent to school superintendents throughout the country, the American College of Pediatricians (ACP) cautioned that it is “not a school’s role to 'affirm' a student’s perceived personal sexual orientation.” The ACP also said that “rigorous studies” show that children and adolescents who initially experience gender confusion or same sex attraction no longer do so by the age of 25.

On March 31, ACP president Dr. Tom Benton wrote to schools across the U.S., saying that he and his staff are “increasingly concerned” that “many cases and efforts to help students who exhibit same sex attractions and/or gender confusion are based on incomplete or inaccurate information.”

“Adolescence is a time of upheaval and impermanence,” Benton wrote. “Adolescents experience confusion about many things, including sexual orientation and gender identity, and they are particularly vulnerable to environmental influences.”

“Rigorous studies demonstrate that most adolescents who initially experience same-sex attraction, or are sexually confused, no longer experience such attractions by age 25,” he added. In one study, Benton said as many as 26% of 12-year-olds reported being unsure of their sexual orientation but only 2-3% of adults actually identify themselves as homosexual. “Therefore, the majority of sexually-questioning youth ultimately adopt a heterosexual identity,” Benton deduced.

“Even children with Gender Identity Disorder (when a child desires to be the opposite sex) will typically lose this desire by puberty, if the behavior is not reinforced,” he told the school superintendents.

Benton wrote that researchers “also maintain that when parents or others allow or encourage a child to behave and be treated as the opposite sex, the confusion is reinforced and the child is conditioned for a life of unnecessary pain and suffering. Even when motivated by noble intentions, schools can ironically play a detrimental role if they reinforce this disorder.”

Furthermore, “in dealing with adolescents experiencing same-sex attraction,” Benton advised, “it is essential to understand there is no scientific evidence that an individual is born 'gay' or 'transgender.' Instead, the best available research points to multiple factors - primarily social and familial – that predispose children and adolescents to homosexual attraction and/or gender confusion. It is also critical to understand that these conditions can respond well to therapy.”

Benton cited a recently released “landmark” survey by the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) which compiled analysis of 125 years of scientific studies and clinical experience dealing with homosexuality.

According to Benton, the NARTH report, titled “What Research Shows,” makes three significant observations. The first is that “individuals with unwanted same sex attraction often can be successfully treated,” and the second is that “there is no undue risk to patients from embarking on such therapy.” The third observation, wrote the ACP president, is that “as a group, homosexual experience significantly higher levels of mental and physical health problems compared to heterosexuals.”

“Among adolescents who claim a 'gay' identity,” Benton noted, “the health risks include higher rates of sexually transmitted infections, alcoholism, substance abuse, anxiety, depression and suicide. Encouragingly, the longer students delay self-labeling as 'gay,' the less likely they are to experience these health risks. In fact, for each year an adolescent delays, the risk of suicide alone decreases by 20%.”

“In light of these facts,” he warned, “it is clear that when well-intentioned but misinformed school personnel encourage students to 'comeout as gay' and be 'affirmed,' there is a serious risk of erroneously labeling students (who may merely be experiencing transient sexual confusion and/or engaging in sexual experimentation).”

“Premature labeling may then lead some adolescents into harmful homosexual behaviors that they otherwise would not pursue.”

Drawing his letter to a close, the ACP president said, it “is the school’s legitimate role to provide a safe environment for respectful self-expression for all students.” However, it “is not the school’s role to diagnose and attempt to treat any student’s medical condition, and certainly not a school’s role to 'affirm' a student’s perceived personal sexual orientation,” he added. “It is critical to the health of your students that you and your staff rely on accurate information regarding sexual orientation and gender confusion issues.”

Welcoming the facts cited in the letter, Christine de Vollmer, president of Alliance for the Family, said on Friday that it “is wonderful to have this made absolutely clear, and so much well-meaning but ill-placed ‘acceptance’ put into proper perspective.”

De Vollmer serves as leader of ALAFA (Alianza Latino Americano para la Familia), which has created a 12-year curriculum for students called Alive to the World to provide “clear guidelines for understanding and accompanying children and adolescents through the various psychological stages to maturity.”

this can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/acp_schools_should_not_affirm_students_perceived_sexual_orientation/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

Planned Parenthood head thanks religious sisters for ‘critical support’ of health care bill

2010-03-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

Washington D.C., Mar 27, 2010 / 07:28 am (CNA).- Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards has praised the Catholic religious sisters who endorsed the Senate health care bill, claiming they deserve gratitude for making “a critical demonstration of support” for a bill that significantly increased coverage of “reproductive health care.”

Writing for the Huffington Post Wednesday in her capacity as president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Richards claimed that it was Catholic nuns who “most importantly broke with the bishops and the Vatican to announce their support for health care reform.”

“This brave and important move, demonstrating that they cared as much about the health care of families in America as they did about church hierarchy, was a critical demonstration of support.”

The group NETWORK claimed in a March 17 letter to the House of Representatives that it represented 59,000 women religious across the U.S. It urged members of Congress to support the bill.

Their statement was uncritically reported by the Associated Press. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and others working to pass the legislation invoked the sisters’ endorsement for support.

On March 18 U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) spokeswoman Sr. Mary Ann Walsh said NETWORK “grossly overstated” their numbers.

“The letter had 55 signatories, some individuals, some groups of three to five persons. One endorser signed twice,” she added. “There are 793 religious communities in the United States,” Sr. Walsh said.

Another group of women religious, the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR), issued a statement saying it represented 10,000 sisters and supported the U.S. bishops’ criticisms of the Senate health care bill.

In her Huffington Post essay, Richards said in the last days of the debate over the health care bill, Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and the USCCB “threatened to bring down health care completely over their narrow demands.”

“Bart Stupak may not ask the nuns for advice, as he recently announced to the press, but maybe next time she should,” Richards jabbed.

She praised Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) for fighting against an “abortion ban” in the House Energy and Commerce Committee Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) gathered 41 signatures of members who pledged to vote against any final bill with the “Stupak ban.”

“These women stood in the way of plenty of men in Congress who were ready to cut a deal, whether with Bart Stupak or the National Conference of Catholic Bishops,” she continued.

Richards said Planned Parenthood was “committed” to changing the “egregious” Nelson language in the bill that President Obama signed into law on Tuesday. She claimed the bill unjustly treats abortion coverage differently than all other health care.

However, she also said the bill was a “huge victory for women’s reproductive health” because it significantly increased insurance coverage of “reproductive health care, including family planning.”

“Reproductive health care” and “women’s rights” are euphemisms common among abortion advocates.

Richards, the daughter of former Democratic Texas governor Ann Richards, noted that some in Congress opposed her agenda.

“The simple and discouraging truth is that we have an anti-choice House of Representatives,” she claimed.

She lamented that 64 Democrats voted in favor of the Stupak Amendment and that there are “too many” Republicans and Democrats in Congress opposed to “women’s rights.”

“We need more than health care; we need women and men elected to office who will stand up for our health and our rights, even when it's hard. So here's to the women leaders in Congress -- and to the nuns -- and to the women everywhere who were counting on them. They need our gratitude and our support,” Richards’ Huffington Post essay concluded.

This can be found at. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/planned_parenthood_head_thanks_religious_sisters_for_critical_support_of_health_care_bill/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

We Stood with Stupak: He Didn't Stand for Life.

2010-03-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

By Jennifer Hartline
3/22/2010
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Is there anyone who will simply stand for LIFE, period, no matter the cost, no matter the fallout, no matter the sweet deal they're offered? Is there anyone who will not compromise?
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Catholic Online) - I have had some time to recover from what occurred on Sunday evening, but I still feel sick to my stomach. I always knew there was a chance that Bart Stupak would change his vote for some reason other than securing his amendment, but I honestly thought he would hold his ground and not waver in his defense of unborn children. Senator Nelson's betrayal last year was very upsetting, but this... this is just so painful.

The trouble is, we citizens have no choice but to believe in our politicians. We must risk trusting them to be true to their word, to their principles, to the promises they've made. You and I cannot walk down to the front of that Chamber and cast a vote, so we must rally behind our Reps and Senators and ask everyone who shares our values to do the same. "Stand with Stupak!" we cried. "Let him know we're with him and we appreciate all he's doing!" He's the only thing left standing between life and federally-funded death right now! And so, it seemed, he was.

Does this make us fools now? Well, it sure makes me feel a little foolish, but I realize this morning that I did what I had to do, and what I will do again when there's a candidate who says he will stand up for the unborn. We have no choice but to take the chance, knowing there's always the possibility that we will be betrayed. Again, you and I cannot cast a legislative vote. Our votes come later.

What happened Sunday night sure felt like betrayal. Not with a kiss, but with a slap across the face and a knife to the heart. I never expected Stupak to do what he did, especially not at the very.last.minute. It makes absolutely no sense to me that he would put his faith in an order that almost everyone else agrees isn't worth the paper it's printed on (particularly given the man who signed it.) Executive Orders cannot trump statutory law. Surely Stupak knows this. Surely he understands how easily the order can be rescinded and challenged in court. He must understand all that because every one of his colleagues does.

So, what gives? I wondered if it went something like this: Stupak began to realize that Pelosi would have the votes she needed without him and his group and the bill would pass for sure. He scrambled to find some way of mitigating the damage, lessening the power of the Senate language, putting up some kind of sandbag against the tide. An Executive Order requiring Hyde be upheld... it was the last-ditch effort and he went for it. A somewhat noble scenario, I suppose, but I still would rather have had him just stick to voting NO.

Then I watched as the vote happened, and I saw that the final count was only 219. Stupak and his group made a difference, alright. In the wrong direction! The noble scenario I imagined went right out the window. The final blow came when I watched him on CSPAN as the Republicans put forth the Motion to Recommit. Stupak stood up and turned on his pro-life Republican colleagues in a way that left my jaw in my lap. He called the motion an attempt to politicize unborn life rather than protect it. He said it was Democrats who have stood up for the protection of unborn children, Democrats who have stood up for the principle of life, and he slammed his friends on the other side for attempting to derail the health care bill yet again.

He looked and sounded like a true party - line Democrat; no longer a champion of the voiceless and powerless and innocent. Just a politician who had made a deal. It was crushing to watch. Gone was the smiling, steady, principled man I've been watching all these months, and there instead was a man who seemed very defensive, angry, and defiant.

Once again, someone we trusted has let us down. And once again, cynicism and resentment grows where optimism and hope once lived. I wonder if there really is anyone left in Washington who has honor and will not relinquish it for the right deal. Is there anyone who will simply stand for LIFE, period, no matter the cost, no matter the fallout, no matter the sweet deal they're offered? When it's not politically expedient to do so, is there anyone who will not compromise?

It's good to remember that the only man who ever lived that way was our Savior. In Him, there is honor without compromise; in Him there is no risk of betrayal; in Him there is steadfast hope; in Him, there is LIFE.

In each of us, is the possibility of Judas. I know for certain I have betrayed Him over and over. I know for certain I have broken the trust of people who love me and believed in me. I know I have caused others to regret having supported me in some way.

It just seems like Judas is alive and well everywhere in Washington. It seems he shows himself every day, with every deal that's made. Sunday night, however, was a truly heartbreaking appearance, with devastating consequences. And we, the electorate have very significant choices to make in the future. When next we have the opportunity to vote, we must start voting more carefully and more bravely.

But we also must risk trusting again. We have to believe, again and again, that those we send to that awesome Chamber will find the courage to be true. We will surely be let down again. But cynicism will be a greater threat to our cause than Judas. We can be sorrowful and even rightfully angry, but we will have to take a chance again on someone who says, "I'll stand and fight with you." We'll have to rally ourselves again, lend our support again, then watch with guarded hope to see what happens.

And when our hopes are dashed once more, we have to simply start all over again. Dust off the cynicism and resentment, and remember that He who sits on the throne is still in control. "We trust in the name of the Lord our God." "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him."

I'm not sorry I stood with Stupak. I'm sorry he didn't stand for Life.

This can be found at. http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=35889&wf=rsscol

Planned Parenthood distributes sexually explicit brochures at Girl Scout meeting

2010-03-14T17:51:00.000-07:00

New York City, N.Y., Mar 14, 2010 / 05:47 pm (CNA).- Early this week, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts hosted a panel in which Planned Parenthood was allowed to distribute brochures containing sexually explicit material to the young girls. The panel served as part of the annual U.N. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

According to the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM), the brochures titled, “Happy, Healthy and Hot,” are aimed at young people with HIV and give graphic details on sex, encouraging a casual approach to sexual experimentation. The brightly colored pamphlets feature silhouettes of young people and state, “Many people think sex is just about vaginal or anal intercourse… But, there are lots of different ways to have sex and lots of different types of sex. There is no right or wrong way to have sex. Just have fun, explore and be yourself!”

The pamphlet continues by encouraging adolescents to “Improve your sex life by getting to know your own body. Play with yourself! Masturbation is a great way to find out more about your body and what you find sexually stimulating. Mix things up by using different kinds of touch from very soft to hard. Talk about or act out your fantasies. Talk dirty to (your sexual partner).”

C-FAM also reports that the CSW event also held a young women's caucus that was co-moderated by the Girl Scouts and the YMCA. Part of the caucus included an “Intergenerational conversation” that addressed “reproductive health” as well as a recent Girl Scout project aimed “at securing the right of women, men and adolescents aged between ten and twenty-five, to better reproductive and sexual health.”  

Several leaders of U.N. organizations also released a joint statement at the CSW this week called the “U.N. Adolescent Girls Task Force” which encourages U.N. agencies to support initiatives “that empower … adolescent girls, particularly those aged 10 to 14 years.” One aspect of this “empowerment” is providing these young girls with “life-skills based sexuality education, HIV prevention, and sexual and reproductive health.”

According to C-FAM's Friday Fax, Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women of America argued that Planned Parenthood’s initiatives are motivated with the intent of increasing their revenue. “Governments and NGOs should be aware of Planned Parenthood’s insidious plan to work with U.N. agencies and girls’ organizations in order to profit from encouraging kids to be sexually active,” Wright stated.

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/planned_parenthood_distributes_sexually_explicit_brochures_at_girl_scout_meeting/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

What are Dems saying

2010-03-12T18:19:00.001-08:00

in an article found at http://ow.ly/1irMs we see the following quote.

"What are Democratic leaders saying? “If you pass the Stupak amendment, more children will be born, and therefore it will cost us millions more. That’s one of the arguments I’ve been hearing,” Stupak says. “Money is their hang-up. Is this how we now value life in America? If money is the issue — come on, we can find room in the budget. This is life we’re talking about.”"

Archbishop Chaput suggests ‘Dos and Don’ts’ for pro-life advocates

2010-03-09T19:59:00.000-08:00

Cleveland, Ohio, Mar 9, 2010 / 10:24 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Calling pro-life advocates and all Christians to courage and virtue, Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput provided a list of “dos and don’ts” for the pro-life movement on Tuesday evening. He urged an end to divisions and false oppositions, encouraging pro-lifers to be joyous and hopeful witnesses through public action and new technologies.

Delivering the keynote speech for Cleveland Right to Life's symposium "Bringing America Back to Life" on March 9, the archbishop said pro-life unity is a sign of God’s Spirit, while division is the sign of “Someone very different.”

“As a bishop, I've been baffled by the energy wasted on internal pro-life bickering. We can never allow our differences to become personal.”

“Don’t create or accept false oppositions,” he added, criticizing efforts to drop the legal fight to end abortion by seeking “common ground.”

In his view, Americans have not taken such gradualist approaches to reducing injustices such as racism or sexual assault.

“We make sexual assault illegal -- even though we know it will sometimes still tragically occur -- because it’s gravely evil. It’s an act of violence, and the law should proscribe it.”

If abortion is really an “intimate act of violence,” an end to it is necessary through law. Pro-lifers cannot be satisfied with “mere ‘reductions’ in the body count,” he continued, adding that a legal approach combined with support for pregnant women is needed.

“Don't hate the adversary,” Archbishop Chaput reminded his audience, saying that few supporters of abortion understand the “full gravity” of the act.

“Our enemy is the Evil One, not other human beings,” he explained. “We need to trust in the power of love; the true power of God.”

As positive advice, he urged his audience to become “martyrs,” that is, witnesses about human dignity in their daily actions.

“But public witness can be costly. We need to be ready to pay a price for our convictions. We may never be asked to bleed for what we believe. But we do see character assassination, contempt and calumny against good people every day in our public media. We need to prepare for that. Nothing, not even our good name, should stop us from doing what we know to be right.”

The Archbishop of Denver likened simplistic political slogans to viruses transmitted so quickly a person cannot respond to them intelligently.

He criticized a common complaint against those who “impose” their morals on others, explaining that all law is the public expression of moral conviction. The central question in public debate is which moral convictions of which people shall guide the laws.

“If you and I as citizens don’t do the shaping, then somebody else will,” he cautioned. “That’s the nature of a democracy.”

Citizens who fail to bring their moral beliefs into the public conversation and work for their advancement help ensure the defeat of those beliefs.

Efforts to wall off religious beliefs from political behavior are illogical and encourage self-deceit, the archbishop warned.

“God sees that our duplicity is really a kind of cowardice; and that our lack of courage does a lot more damage than simply compromising our own integrity. It also undermines the courage of other good people who really do try to publicly witness to what they believe. And that compounds a sin of dishonesty with a sin of injustice.”

“We can’t build a just society, and at the same time legally sanctify the destruction of generations of unborn human life. The rights of the poor and the rights of the unborn child flow from exactly the same human dignity guaranteed by the God who created us.”

“Do keep hope alive,” he continued, explaining that joy is not self-deception but the acknowledgment that God truly is on the side of “human life and dignity.”

“Nothing is more inspiring than happy warriors,” Archbishop Chaput commented. “I've never in my life seen a joy-filled pro-abortion event. And I've always found that instructive.”

He also encouraged the use of the “best means” for the pro-life message, especially new technologies.

“Many of the traditional, mainline media are losing influence. But blogs, social networks, and YouTube channels are thriving. They offer huge pro-life opportunities.”

His final exhortation reiterated that cultural renewal, not grasping power, is the real goal.

“Culture can be changed in small but powerful ways. But achieving that change demands from each of us a lifelong commitment to education; to studying and really understanding the issues that face us in science, medicine, technology and law; to deepening the character formation of our children and ourselves; and ultimately, to personal action and personal witness in the public square. Nobody will do these things for us.”

No defense of the human person, no matter how small, is “unfruitful or forgotten,” he commented. God loves the “ordinary, simple, everyday people” who keep His Word and are faithful to His commandments in leavening the world with goodness.

“If you speak up for the unborn child in this life, someone will speak up for you in the next, when we meet God face to face.”

He closed his comments by quoting an “unofficial motto” of the Texas Rangers: “No man in the wrong can stand up against a fella that’s in the right, and keeps a-comin.”

“Courage and humility, justice and perseverance, do have power. Good does win. And the sanctity of human life will endure,” Archbishop Chaput said.

If people remember that God so loved the world that He gave His only son, he noted, “then the odds look pretty good, and it’s worth fighting for what’s right.”

this can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/archbishop_chaput_suggests_dos_and_donts_for_pro-life_advocates/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

We must pray without tiring, for the salvation of mankind does not depend on material success; nor on sciences that cloud the intellect. Neither does

2010-03-01T12:57:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK, NY (LifeSiteNews.com) - Following a period of relative silence since his installation last year, New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan eagerly took an opportunity to set forth Church teaching on controversial points, including the forbidding of public honors for pro-abortion politicians, in a recent interview with NY1. The bishop also asserted that his outspokenness on such issues was simply part of his job as shepherd and teacher of the faith.

When NY1 News reporter Roma Torre asked whether a pro-abortion Catholic should be invited to a "Catholic event" such as the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, Dolan's response was unequivocal.

"Actually, Roma, I don't think we should invite anybody that would take a stance [in favor of] abortion, because this is not a Catholic issue," he replied.

The archbishop later clarified that his answer pertained to giving public honors to such persons.

"In our mind, being opposed to abortion, is a civil rights issue, it's a natural law issue, it's not a Catholic issue," Dolan continued. "We'd be uncomfortable in anybody that would, say, promote a stand that would be for bigotry, or against civil rights, because that's contrary not only to the teaching of the Church but to what we would call civil rights and the natural law."

The archbishop said that a pro-abortion Catholic such as New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo would be "welcome" to a Catholic event - but "there's a difference between everybody being welcome, and providing somebody who is dramatically, radically, publically at odds with the Church on a particularly given issue to have a place of prominence and to receive an award."

When the University of Notre Dame announced last year that the pro-abortion President Obama would offer the commencement address and receive an honorary law degree at the school, the New York archbishop condemned the invitation as a "big mistake."

Dolan, who has earned a reputation for outspokenness promoting Catholic orthodoxy on life and family issues, explained that his goal is not to "look for headlines." It was because of his office as teacher, he said, that he "won't duck the tough issues."

"It's not like I sit down and say: How can I grab some headlines, how can I really cause a splash," Dolan said. "You just try to do your work, and sometimes things get attention. ...

"If people ask me, I feel obliged as a teacher, as the official teacher of the Archdiocese of New York, to try my best to give the Church's wisdom here."

Dolan noted that he was "grateful" that the New York legislature struck down a same-sex "marriage" bill last year. He also affirmed that the St. Patrick's Day Parade should continue disallowing a gay pride banner, which would conflict with the parade's "strong Christian identity."

But, he said, it would be a mistake to understand the Church's stance against such matters as mere naysaying.

Instead, he said: "the Church in a way is one big yes: one big yes to human life, one big yes to anything that advances, lifts up, enlightens, liberates legitimate human identity. We're in the 'yes' business, not the 'no' business.

"So I get frustrated sometimes, when that's interpreted as being 'anti-gay,' that's where we kinda cringe," he continued, "because believe it or not, we get attacked from the other extreme for defending the rights of gays and for the strong Church teaching that every single human being ... is a child of God, deserving of dignity and respect."

Dolan called the late John Cardinal O'Connor of New York, who was outspokenly pro-life, his "hero" - and acknowledged that his office calls for a "prophetic" voice, although he prefers using a persuasive tone when possible.

"There's always a little bit of tension between those two," said Dolan. "But occasions might call that I'll have to be prophetic. I'm sure there's gonna be times ... that I'm gonna have to be a bit of a pitbull. In general, I like to be an Irish Setter."

this can be found at: http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=35609&wf=rsscol

U.K. Passes Sex-Ed Bill Forcing Schools to Promote Homosexuality, Abortion

2010-02-25T15:45:00.000-08:00

Under the bill, all schools will be required to give children information on homosexual relationships as well as artificial contraception and abortion.

LONDON, England (LifeSiteNews.com) – The House of Commons voted 68 to 177 last night to pass third reading of the government´s sex-education bill in a vote that pro-life and pro-family advocates have called "deplorable."

Under the bill, schools, both religious and secular, will be required to give children information on homosexual relationships as well as artificial contraception and abortion. The government has confirmed that these programs will specifically include information for children on how to obtain abortions and contraceptives.

Under current rules, parents have the right to withdraw their child from sex and relationship education (SRE) classes up until the age of 19. But the bill will lower that to 15, ensuring that students receive at least one year of sex-education. The BBC notes that currently, only 0.04 per cent of parents use the opt-out.

The bill now goes to the House of Lords.

While the bill has been called "controversial," the controversy in the media has focused on a promise made by the government, with an amendment, that religious schools could teach the new sex-ed curriculum according to their religious "ethos."

After an outcry by the homosexualist lobby and secular humanist organizations, the bill´s principle supporters, the government quickly backpedalled, assuring the public that the amendment was not an opt-out for faith schools.

This week, while his department issued a public statement to confirm, Children´s Minister Ed Balls told media that the amendment will not change the requirement of Catholic and Anglican schools to promote abortion, contraception, "civil partnerships" and homosexuality as "normal and harmless."

Even with the amendment, Balls told the BBC, religious schools "must explain civil partnership. They must give a balanced view on abortion, they must give both sides of the argument, they must explain how to access an abortion, the same is true on contraception as well."

The BBC reports that with 1/3 of Britain´s schools being faith schools, the government is aware that the support and cooperation of both the Church of England and the Catholic Church is crucial to the success of the programs.

This support has been assured by the Catholic Education Service (CES), which helped draft the bill and has defended it against criticisms from parent groups and pro-family advocates. CES claimed credit for the tabling of the faith schools amendment that pro-life and family groups have called "worthless" and Ed Balls himself said would change nothing.

On a BBC radio program Balls specifically thanked Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster, the head of the Catholic bishops´ conference of England and Wales, and the Catholic Education Service for their support of his bill.

"To have the support of the Catholic Church and Archbishop Nichols in these changes is, I think, very, very important, is a huge step forward."

Paul Tully, general secretary of the Society for the Protection of Unborn children, which has lobbied heavily against the bill, said last night, "This is a dire result for school-children and for unborn children who are in the firing-line of this bill."

Tully said that Balls had made it clear that the government´s intention was to force all schools, regardless of religious "ethos," to teach children how to use and where to obtain birth control and abortions.

"These are the key ´advertising´ messages that the pro-abortion lobby is fighting to have promoted throughout the education system – where children can be influenced and corrupted without parental guidance or protection."

SPUC has been heavily critical of the involvement of CES, saying that the bishops´ education group has been complicit in creating anti-life and anti-Catholic legislation, that will usher in a new "totalitarianism," suppressing religious freedoms.

Greg Hurst, writing in the opinion pages of the Times, added that the sex-education bill was all about boosting Labour´s reputation in time for the upcoming general elections, in which Gordon Brown´s Labour party is widely expected to lose. The point of such legislation, Hurst wrote today, is to continue the already massive socialist re-adjustment of Britain.

"Labour politicians want to entrench a change in social attitudes regardless of who wins. Leaving behind a more liberal Britain would be part of Labour´s legacy of achievements. If there were to be a change of government, their successors would have to live with such changes or risk looking reactionary by unpicking them one by one."

A media release from the Department of Children Schools and Families (DCF) described the kind of cooperation that is expected from Britain´s faith schools, citing a Catholic school in Bedford as a good example.

St. Thomas More school, the DCF said, has developed a "successful balance" between the "faith ethos" and the sex education curriculum. The school teaches that restricting sex to marriage is "the ideal" but it "explicitly recognises the reality that some young people may choose to be sexually active" and will need contraception and abortion.

"The school nurse provides students with clear accurate information" on contraception and "details of local services." These include "pregnancy options" that include abortion, which is "discussed in a non-judgemental way."

Paul Tully remarked, "Many people will be especially appalled that both the National Society of the Church of England and the education service of the Catholic Bishops´ Conference have endorsed the provisions of the bill. Mr. Balls made much of the support for the bill by Archbishop Nichols, and we have called upon the Archbishop, and other faith leaders to reconsider their support even at this late stage."

This can be found at: http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=35567&wf=rsscol

Pro-life doctors challenge proposed New Zealand abortion guidelines

2010-02-21T16:49:00.000-08:00

Aukland, New Zealand, Feb 21, 2010 / 06:09 pm (CNA).- Pro-life doctors have gone to court to challenge new medical guidelines that require doctors to advise patients who have doubts about continuing a pregnancy that abortion is one of their options.

One of the doctors challenging the guidelines is believed to be Mary English, who is a General Practitioner from Wellington and the wife of Deputy Prime Minister Bill English. According to The New Zealand Herald, Dr. English is a Catholic whose opposition to abortion is widely known. She and her husband have six children.

The doctors filed an application in the country’s High Court concerning the New Zealand Medical Council guidelines, which are titled “Beliefs and Medical Practice.”

The current guidelines note that the law allows doctors to conscientiously refuse to provide a service or give advice on contraception, sterilization or “other reproductive health services.”

The proposed guideline reads:

"While the council recognizes that you are entitled to hold your own beliefs, it remains your responsibility to ensure that a pregnant woman who comes to you for medical care and expresses doubt about continuing with the pregnancy is provided with or is offered access to objective information or assistance to enable her to make informed decisions on all available options for her pregnancy, including termination."

According to The New Zealand Herald, the final version of the document is not available. A spokesman for the Medical Council said changes have been made since the release of the draft but the final text cannot be provided because of the ongoing court action.

The case marks the first time the issue of personal beliefs and abortion has been addressed in Medical Council guidelines. The action follows a similar move in Britain.

Guidelines also cover areas where spiritual, cultural or religious beliefs could conflict with what the Council considers to be patients’ rights. The rules say doctors should set aside their own beliefs where necessary and must make the care of the patient their first concern.

Under New Zealand law, abortions can be performed only if two certifying consultants agree certain factors are present. According to the Herald, these factors include cases of incest or if the mental or physical well-being of the mother or unborn child is at risk.

The country’s Abortion Supervisory Committee appoints the consultants who authorize abortions to take place. Pro-life groups and a High Court judge have questioned the legality of many of these authorized abortions.

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pro-life_doctors_challenge_proposed_new_zealand_abortion_guidelines/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

IPPF Africa Conference Pushes Abortion and Youth Sex

2010-02-18T12:29:00.000-08:00

By Terrence McKeegan, J.D.

(NEW YORK – C-FAM) Last week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) hosted the 4th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights. Plenary speakers included a United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary General, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, the Executive Director of UNAIDS, the Chief of the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) Africa Section, and the director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Liaison Office, as well as Dr. Jacqueline Sharpe, IPPF's President.

Major conference themes included promoting sexual education and sexual rights for young people, establishing closer links between “sexual rights” and “reproductive health rights,” transforming traditional cultural and religious norms about human sexuality, and advocating for legal abortion on demand throughout Africa.

Organizers focused on youth participation, hosting a “Youth Sexuality Institute” immediately prior to the conference, as well as homosexual lifestyle promotion. The steering committee report called for a “strong focus on issues of sexual pleasure/positive sexuality” and “strong involvement and engagement of LGBTIS” [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Intersex individuals].

Papers presented at the conference included “A Boy Can't Marry Another Boy: Adolescents [sic] boys talk about gay boys and men,” “'Good Catholics Use Condoms,” “Heterosexual anal sex in the age of HIV,” “MSM [men who have sex with men], Sex and the Internet in Nigeria,” and “Sexuality Life-Size: Body Mapping With Young Women and Men from the LGBTQI [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Queer, Intersex] Community in Kenya.” 

Abortion advocacy was another conference theme. The Center for Reproductive Rights launched the second volume of “Legal Grounds: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in Africa Commonwealth Courts,” an advocacy guide pushing abortion liberalization and alternative sexual lifestyles in Africa.  

Despite the controversial topics, the conference had the apparent support of the host government. Ethiopian President Girma Wolde-Giorgis stressed in his keynote speech that “education curricula had to be opened up to include sexuality education to enable young people to know their bodies at an early age and to take responsible choices and decisions on issues related to sexual health.”

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Minister of Health for Ethiopia, was the “Patron” of the conference. Ghebreyesus was recently elected as Chairman of the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, an enormous public/private partnership with over $18 billion dollars in committed funding. The Global Fund was the third largest worldwide donor of condoms in 2005-2006, behind UNFPA and the United States Agency for International Development.

Financial sponsors included the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC) – a group backed by several European governments and American foundations whose roots are with the population control movement – and Nigeria's Action Health Incorporated, which promotes "comprehensive" youth sexual education.

Ethiopia has been praised by the global pro-abortion lobby for liberalizing its laws on abortion in 2006, with the ostensible goal of lowering rates of maternal mortality. Despite having liberalized its laws, Ethiopia has among the worst rates of maternal mortality on the African continent, according to World Health Organization statistics.

this can be found at: http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1575

Same-sex ´marriage´ Law Forces D.C. Catholic Charities to Close Adoption Program

2010-02-17T18:30:00.000-08:00

Catholic News Agency (www.catholicnewsagency.com)

The D.C. City Council´s law recognizing same-sex "marriage" required religious entities which serve the general public to provide services to homosexual couples, even if doing so violated their religious beliefs..

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNA) - Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington announced today that it is shutting down its foster care and public adoption program. The District of Columbia said the charity would be ineligible for service because of the new law recognizing same-sex "marriage."

"Although Catholic Charities has an 80-year legacy of high quality service to the vulnerable in our nation´s capital, the D.C. Government informed Catholic Charities that the agency would be ineligible to serve as a foster care provider due to the impending D.C. same-sex marriage law," the organization said in a statement.
The Catholic Charities affiliate transitioned its foster and adoption program to the National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) on Feb. 1. The transition includes seven staff, 43 children and their biological families, and 35 foster families. The transition was scheduled to coincide with the expiration of the current contract between Catholic Charities and D.C.´s Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA).

"Foster care has been an important ministry for us for many decades. We worked very hard to be able to continue to provide these services in the District," said Ed Orzechowski, president and CEO of Catholic Charities D.C.

"We regret that our efforts to avoid this outcome were not successful."

Orzechowski expressed gratitude to the staff and foster families involved in the program.

The D.C. City Council´s law recognizing same-sex "marriage" required religious entities which serve the general public to provide services to homosexual couples, even if doing so violated their religious beliefs. Exemptions were allowed only for performing marriages or for those entities which do not serve the public.

The archdiocese and legal experts criticized the exemptions for being too narrow.

D.C. law also now requires partners with the city to provide benefits for same-sex couples. This also poses a problem for Catholic Charities, though the Washington Post reports that the organization is optimistic it can structure benefits in a way that would allow it to remain in partnerships with the city.

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, slammed the District´s actions.

"Archbishop Donald Wuerl is a man of principle and prudence: he did not want to end the foster-care program, but he was left with no realistic option," Donohue said Wednesday. "District lawmakers could have granted the kind of religious exemptions that would have ensured a continuation of services, but instead they sought to create a Catch-22 situation for the archdiocese.

"Surely they knew that Archbishop Wuerl was not going to negotiate Catholic Church teachings on marriage, yet that hardly mattered to them. The real losers are the children who were served by the Catholic Church."

Those who characterized the Catholic Church´s actions on the issue as neglectful of the children, Donohue claimed, were "phonies."

"Archbishop Wuerl isn't about to allow the state to run roughshod over Catholic doctrine, and that is why he is being forced to drop the foster-care program."

CNA sought comment from Archbishop of Louisville Joseph E. Kurtz, chairman of the U.S. Bishops´ Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage. He was unavailable for an interview.

Catholic Charities of Boston was forced to close its adoption services in 2006 because it would no longer place children with homosexual couples, as required by state law. Laws have also forced Catholic adoption societies in Britain either to close or to disaffiliate from the Church

This can be found at: http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=35456&wf=rsscol

A new human being is created at conception

2010-02-14T16:34:00.000-08:00

From the instant the male gamete (sperm) fuses with the female gamete (egg), a unique human being with his or her own DNA, different from those of his mother and father, is present. After fertilization, there are 46 chromosomes (or 47 in the case of Down Syndrome) where there were two sets of 23 chromosomes before. The resulting being is genetically human and alive, and therefore, by standard biological definition, a human being. From fertilization to natural death, there exists an unbroken and smooth continuum of human development during which the person needs only oxygen, water, and nutrients to live and develop physically.

Proposed textbook implies abortion opposition is wrong, N. Carolina bishops warn

2010-02-13T18:17:00.000-08:00

Charlotte, N.C., Feb 13, 2010 / 05:04 pm (CNA).- A proposed school textbook that describes Roe v. Wade as a ruling against government oppression of rights should be opposed by Catholics, the bishops of North Carolina have said. They argue the text implies that opposition to abortion is wrong.

Bishop of Raleigh Michael F. Burbidge and Bishop of Charlotte Peter J. Jugis reported the problem with the textbook in a Feb. 11 letter to Catholics.

They said the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is considering a proposal for a revised textbook on Civics and Economics. The proposed text asserts that Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that mandated permissive abortion laws nationwide, is an example of the Supreme Court upholding rights “against oppressive government.”

If the text is approved, the bishops warned, children will be taught the textbook’s interpretation is the correct one.

“The implication of this proposed text is that opposition to Roe v. Wade is wrong,” the bishops said. “As a voice united on behalf of the unborn who have a right to life, a fundamental human right, we oppose this draft statement.”

They asked Catholics to inform the Department of Public Instruction of their opposition and to ask that any reference to Roe v. Wade be removed from the text.

After supplying contact information, the bishops provided a sample opposition letter that calls the proposed text “reprehensible.”

“As a teaching objective that explains individual liberties, I cannot fathom how removing the right to life for someone who does not possess the power to fight for that right is an example of oppressive government,” the sample letter reads.

The deadline for feedback is Monday, Feb. 15.

“We are grateful for all you do to support the unborn and the formation of our children in the values that support and defend life,” the bishops’ letter concluded.

this can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/proposed_textbook_implies_abortion_opposition_is_wrong_n._carolina_bishops_warn/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

Pro-abortion NARAL report suggests pro-life efforts are succeeding

2010-02-12T17:58:00.000-08:00

Washington D.C., Feb 12, 2010 / 08:07 pm (CNA).- A pro-abortion group’s 2009 report giving a “D” grade to the United States on abortion suggests pro-life progress at the state level. The report’s description of a murdered late-term abortionist as a hero may even be a sign of desperation, pro-life leaders say.

NARAL Pro-Choice America’s report, “Who Decides: The Status of Women's Reproductive Rights in the United States,” laments the decreasing number of abortion providers in the country. It claims various states enacted 29 pro-life laws but only passed 21 “pro-choice” bills.

According to the report’s analysis of governors and state legislators, states are pro-life by a 2 to 1 margin.

Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, told CNSNews.com that the report shows the failure of efforts to make abortion acceptable.

"They can't take the stigma out of abortion, even if the legality of it is protected," Fr. Pavone commented. "As a result, they face a shortage of practitioners."

The news about individual states’ actions and sympathies also shows the importance of fighting abortion at the state level, he added.

NARAL President Nancy Keenan in her introduction to the report blamed “restrictive laws and outbreaks of violence” for the diminishing numbers of abortion providers. She characterized pro-lifers as “opponents of freedom” who are trying to “construct roadblocks on our path to progress.”

She cited the debate over health care legislation as an example.

Keenan lauded President Barack Obama for his abortion policies and personnel decisions, specifically mentioning Dawn Johnsen. Johnsen, a former NARAL legal counsel, is nominated to become the head of the influential Office of Legal Counsel but she has yet to be confirmed.

She also praised the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Within days of taking office, she said, President Obama “began to undo eight years of damage” to NARAL’s cause.

"He repealed the global gag rule, fixed the birth-control price crisis, re-funded the U.N. population program, and took steps to repeal Bush's eleventh-hour attack on reproductive rights, the Federal Refusal Rule,” Keenan continued.

The “refusal rule” proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would have clarified the rights of health care providers to decline to participate in services to which they object in conscience. The rule would have helped protect individuals and institutions in the medical field who object to abortion.

Federal restrictions on partial-birth abortion and the Stupak-Pitts Amendment against federal abortion funding in health care were also criticized in the report.

NARAL praised California for passing a law that would permit some abortions even if Roe v. Wade were overturned. The group also praised New Mexico’s state funding of family planning for low-income women, including “emergency contraception.”

The abortion advocacy group criticized states that barred state funding of abortions or required parental and spousal notification for abortions. It also objected to Virginia’s provision of a “Choose Life” license plates for car owners.

NARAL’s report was dedicated to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass), crediting him with writing a 1994 law restricting pro-life activists’ access to abortion clinics.

A second dedication of the report was made NARAL to the deceased late-term abortionist George Tiller, who was murdered at his church last year by a mentally disturbed man who opposed Tiller’s practice.

NARAL claimed that Tiller “compassionately and heroically served women from all across the country in order to ensure their right to reproductive-health services.” The report praised him for “kindness, courtesy, justice, love and respect.”

Before his death Tiller was acquitted on charges of performing illegal abortions. His abortion practice was under investigation by Kansas authorities at the time of his death.

Fr. Pavone said the dedication was consistent with NARAL’s efforts to portray abortionists as “heroes” while depicting pro-life activists as “dangerous or fanatical.”

"With the pro-abortion movement continuing to decline in this country, they are becoming desperate for heroes," Judie Brown, president of the American Life League, told CNSNews.com. "Any organization that advocates for women's health would be opposed to abortions and all its consequences."

This story can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pro-abortion_naral_report_suggests_pro-life_efforts_are_succeeding/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

Pro-family organizations denounce homosexual agenda in Chilean schools

2010-02-09T20:16:00.000-08:00

Santiago, Chile, Feb 9, 2010 / 10:51 pm (CNA).- Responding to a call by Archbishop Cristian Caro of Puerto Montt in Chile, numerous family organizations are urging a campaign to halt the distribution of pro-homosexual material in public schools.

Recently the “Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation” (MHIL), which drives one of the most anti-Catholic agendas in Chile, began a campaign financed by same-sex groups in Spain and the Socialist government in Holland to introduce manuals into public schools that present homosexual conduct as normal.

Portrayed as an “anti-discrimination” text, the manual describes homosexual acts as totally acceptable for minors. Public schools in various parts of Chile are already distributing them, most recently in Puerto Montt.

However, Archbishop Cristian Caro said recently that the manuals produced by the MHIL promote “a ideology-based vision of sexuality that is completely foreign to the humanist and Christian understanding, which is based on divine revelation and contained in Scripture.”

For this reason, he said, the manual “should not be distributed to children and young people” because it will only further deteriorate the quality of sexual education students are receiving, which is already deficient.

Pro-family groups are calling on the mayor of Puerto Pontt and city council members to revoke a norm allowing the manuals to be distributed in public schools.

this can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pro-family_organizations_denounce_homosexual_agenda_in_chilean_schools/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

New morning-after pill is more powerful, can act as abortifacient

2010-01-29T09:38:00.000-08:00

A new morning-after pill that is available for free by prescription in Great Britain may be available over the counter as soon as 2012. EllaOne provides “protection” from pregnancy for five days-- two days more than the current morning-after pill.

According to a document published by the European Medicine Agency, EllaOne has three “mechanisms of action”: the “ability to block, disrupt or delay ovulation,” the “ability to block or delay ovulation even after the onset of the LH surge,” and “ability to delay maturation of the endometrium likely resulting in prevention of implantation.” By preventing the implantation of a fertilized egg, EllaOne acts as an abortifacient and takes a human life.

This can be found at: http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5292

New Washington state bill could have 'chilling effect' on pregnancy centers

2010-01-26T19:24:00.000-08:00

Olympia, Wash., Jan 26, 2010 / 07:35 pm (CNA).- NARAL Pro-Choice Washington and Planned Parenthood are supporting legislation that could have a “chilling effect” on faith-based pregnancy centers in the state of Washington, says a pro-life nurse who will testify against the bill in an upcoming legislative hearing.

The new Washington State bill, “Concerning Limited Service Pregnancy Centers” (HB 2837/SB 6452), will be heard in the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee on Jan. 27.

Paula Cullen, RN, founding director of Life Services of Spokane, plans to testify on Jan. 27 and told CNA on Monday that the new bills “attempt to regulate pregnancy centers” and would have “a very chilling effect on their ability to help women.”

Explaining some of the details of the legislation and how it would affect pregnancy centers in the state of Washington, Cullen said that if passed, it would require them to “provide reproductive health care according to standards set by Planned Parenthood” and groups like it.

According to Cullen, the bill would also require increased administrative regulations that could paralyze their efforts. An example of this, Cullen explained that pregnancy centers might be forced to post signs on their front doors and throughout their facilities saying that they do not provide abortions or any family planning services that Planned Parenthood and the like provide.

“That is a deterrent to any woman who's considering her options,” said Cullen. “We already disclose what we do and don't do through forms that we have women read and sign.”

NARAL Pro-Choice Washington's support for the bill was confirmed in a Jan. 13 press release that alleged, “Women who have sought help from such centers have gone there believing they were going to receive medical care and unbiased pregnancy options counseling from licensed professionals. Instead, they often received false or misleading information about abortion, pregnancy, contraception, or sexually transmitted infections, had their requested medical records withheld, and were denied needed referrals for reproductive health care.”

Washington state Rep. Judy Clibborn (D-Wash.) also explained in the press release that the new legislation “isn't about burdening the centers. It's about establishing standards for transparency and accuracy for high quality care.”

Cullen countered these claims by noting there is a difference between pregnancy resource centers and pregnancy medical centers and that each comply with state law and medical accuracy standards.

“The medical pregnancy centers always work under the supervision and direction of a licensed physician,” Cullen stressed. “That is always the case.” Further legislative requirements for standards of accuracy are “unnecessary,” the pro-life nurse said.

The Attorney General's Office has also estimated the bill will cost Washington taxpayers more than a half million over the next four years.

Jim Thomas, Director of Adult Faith Formation for Catholic Social Teaching and Family Life for the Archdiocese of Seattle, sent CNA a statement which described another requirement of the new legislation.

Pregnancy centers would be expected to “inform a woman that she is about to receive an over the counter pregnancy test and allow her to self-administer it.” Failure to do this would be considered a violation of the Consumer Protection Act, which could bring about lawsuits against pregnancy centers where damages up to $10,000 could be awarded. “Many clinics may have to close as a result of a lawsuit,” said the statement.

According to a press release from pregnancy center supporters, in 2009, pregnancy resource centers and medical clinics in the state of Washington served over 60,000 women at no charge and provided support and social services for over 34,000. In addition, pregnancy centers had over 22 social service agencies in Washington State refer clients to them and provided free services to men, women and teenagers totaling a value of over $15 million.

“It will be critical for legislators to learn for themselves about the tremendous contribution of pregnancy centers in their districts,” said Cullen in Monday's press release.“They will find that these entities have been serving their communities for years without complaint and play a critical role in providing a web of support to women facing unplanned pregnancies. This proposed regulation is not only unnecessary and unwarranted, but also a slap in the face to these charities that have been working so hard for so long.”

Pregnancy centers have existed in Washington State for 25 years and have relied primarily on donations and volunteers.

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/new_washington_state_bill_could_have_chilling_effect_on_pregnancy_centers/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

Mexican cardinal: Church cannot only be concerned with 'the afterlife'

2010-01-26T13:16:00.000-08:00

Mexico City, Mexico, Jan 26, 2010 / 02:58 pm (CNA).- In a direct reference to political groups supporting same-sex “marriage,” Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, the Archbishop of Mexico City, recalled that the mission of the Church is not limited to teaching about “the afterlife,” but that she must also address “today's problems and situations.”

During his homily on Sunday, the cardinal underscored that “the Gospel must be applied to the present-day situations of the here and now.” He continued saying that the voice of the Church is not limited simply to speaking about “the afterlife.”

“The Church is the body of Christ and is the privileged place for proclaiming the Gospel,” Cardinal Rivera said. He then encouraged the faithful to live and apply the Gospel of Christ to the public square, as “the mission of Jesus and of the Church is to be a spark of light, liberation, kindness and grace.”

“The Gospel must be read in light of present-day problems and situations, so that the spark of divine light, kindness and grace will be ignited for us. Only then will it truly be good news,” he added.

The cardinal criticized those who wish to limit the Church’s voice and work. “We sometimes hear the nonsense that the Church should just worry about the afterlife, but we must see Jesus through the eyes of the present, with all of today’s problems and situations.”

In this sense, the cardinal concluded, Mexican Catholics “continue to feel sorrow for the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Haiti, and we must continue collaborating so that our aid will reach those in need.”

this can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/mexican_cardinal_church_must_address_current_issues_not_only_the_afterlife/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

Brazilian President Seeks to Secure Abortion as 'Right,' Ban Crucifixes in Government Buildings

2010-01-25T17:51:00.000-08:00

BRAZILIA (LifeSiteNews.com) - Brazilian President Luiz Lula da Silva has introduced a massive legislative reform package in the last year of his term that would secure abortion as a "human right," impose socialist and homosexualist ideology in the schools and media, and ban crucifixes from government facilities, among other measures.

The legislative program, which is called the Third National Program for Human Rights (PNDH-3), would establish a level of control over the media and private property that is being called a nonviolent "coup d'etat" and a socialist party "dictatorship." It has elicited widespread protest from institutions ranging from the Catholic Church to military leaders, the agricultural sector, and even members of the president's own cabinet.

The leadership of the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops (CNBB) has issued a declaration "reaffirming its position, manifested many times, in defense of life and the family, and against the decriminalization of abortion, against marriage between people of the same sex and the right of adoption of children by homosexual couples."

The CNBB leadership "also rejects the creation of 'mechanisms to impede the display of religious symbols in public establishments of the Union,' because it regards such an intolerant measure as ignoring our historical roots."

A Socialist Party Dictatorship?

If the Brazilian Labor Party succeeds in imposing the legislative package contained in the PNDH-3, it will receive broad powers to shut down media outlets that disagree with its ideology, impose its pro-abortion and homosexualist political agenda on the entire country, and undermine the rights of private property. The extensive powers proposed by the government have led at least one prominent Brazilian commentator to speak of a party "dictatorship."

For example, the Program treats the killing of unborn children as a "human right," to be protected by the state. Directive 9 includes "supporting the approval of legislation that decriminalizes abortion, considering the autonomy of women to make decisions concerning their bodies."

It also orders the creation of "campaigns and educational actions to deconstruct the stereotypes related to sex professionals."

Education and Culture in Human Rights," the fifth "axis" in the Program, directs that children from "infancy" (early childhood) must be taught the government's concept of "human rights," which includes "the study of themes of gender and sexual orientation" for the purpose of "combating prejudice, which is sometimes rooted in the family itself."

Directive 10 strikes a decisive blow against the Brazilian tradition of displaying crucifixes in public facilities, mandating the creation of "mechanisms to impede the display of religious symbols in public establishments of the Union (Brazil)."

It also proposes to "carry out campaigns and educational activities to deconstruct the stereotypes related to ... sexual identity and orientation."

The Program's Directive 19 requires the creation of curricula "for all of the levels and forms of teaching for basic education," for "promoting the recognition and/or respect for the diversities of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity…"

The Program's educational directives will have an even greater impact given the fact that the government recently passed a constitutional amendment requiring that all children be sent to school at the age of four.

Broad Control over the Media and Private Property

Directive 22 of the PNDH-3 would establish state control over broadcast media content, requiring radio and TV stations to show "respect for Human Rights in services of radio broadcasting (radio and television) that have [government] concessions, permission, or authorization, as a condition for the awarding or renewal [of their licenses], foreseeing administrative penalties such as warnings, fines, suspension of programming and cancellation, in accordance with the gravity of the violations committed."

It also directs the creation of "incentives" for "regular investigations that may identify forms, circumstances, and characteristics of violations of Human Rights in the media."

Directive 8 also proposes the use of the media as a mouthpiece of the government's "human rights" indoctrination program for young people, directing the "informing of children and adolescents regarding their rights, by means of joint efforts in schools, print media, television, radio, and internet."

Regarding private property, PNDH-3 proposes that a special "legal framework" be created for the "mediation of urban property conflicts" which will "guarantee the required legal process and the social function of property." It uses similar language for rural property conflicts. According the conservative Spanish publication El Pais, this language is almost identical to that of Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez, who speaks of the concept of "social property."

The Program has caused consternation and provoked threats of resignation from senior military leaders for proposing the creation of a "Truth Commission" to examine crimes committed by the military regime of the 1960s and 70s. Military leaders are exempt from prosecution from such crimes according to current Brazilian laws. Lula has calmed fears among military leaders by agreeing to apply the commission to all violations of "human rights," which presumably includes the terroristic activities of the socialist opposition during the same period.

Controversy Erupts in Brazil

Although President Lula has quieted fears of a socialist witchhunt against its former military enemies, the plan continues to provoke outrage and fierce opposition within Brazil.

Reinaldo Azevedo, blogging for the widely-read news magazine Veja, says that the proposals would constitute a "dictatorship" run by associates of president Luiz Lula, calls it a bloodless "coup d'etat," and compares the regime it proposes to that of Hugo Chavez, who is gradually eliminating civil liberties in Venezuela.

Azevedo also writes that the proposals would "extinguish private property in the country and the cities" and avers that "the Military Regime instituted in 1964 was more explicit and more modest" in its intentions.

Dimas Lara Resende, Secretary-General of the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops, has commented that "next we will have to demolish the statue of Christ the Redeemer."

Broadcast media and agricultural associations have also raised their voices against the proposals.

The President of the National Confederation of Agriculture, Senator Katia Abreu, has reportedly said that the creation of mediation programs in cases in which people invade private property will encourage rural violence and prejudice the rights of property owners. Andre Meloni Nassar, Director General of the Institute for Studies of Commerce and International Businesses writes that the Program is a "funeral for agribusiness."

Even Lula's Minister of Agrigulture, Reinhold Stephanes, has rejected the idea, expressing fears that such measures will "increase the insecurity in the country" and "strengthen radical organizations."

Although Lula has himself expressed concern about some of the material in the Program, he appears determined to defend it, although it threatens to undermine his strong popularity in his last year of office.

This story can be found at: http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=35290&page=2

The Presidents continue support to kill babies

2010-01-22T20:06:00.000-08:00

This is the statement that the President made supporting all abortion.

Today we recognize the 37th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, which affirms every woman’s fundamental constitutional right to choose whether to have an abortion, as well as each American’s right to privacy from government intrusion. I have, and continue to, support these constitutional rights.

I also remain committed to working with people of good will to prevent unintended pregnancies, support pregnant women and families, and strengthen the adoption system.

Today and every day, we must strive to ensure that all women have limitless opportunities to fulfill their dreams.

This statement can be found at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/statement-president-37th-anniversary-supreme-court-decision-roe-v-wade

Kenyan bishops will oppose new national constitution unless it protects life from conception

2010-01-22T07:52:00.000-08:00

The bishops of Kenya have announced that they will oppose a new constitution being considered by the nation’s lawmakers unless it explicitly protects the right to life from conception to natural death.

“A constitution that does not protect life in all its phases is irremediably faulty and ceases to demand any recognition,” the bishops said in a statement. “We strongly feel that we cannot be party to any legislation that supports a culture of death. Life begins at conception and ends with natural death, and any attempt to deny this truth is wrong and misleading.”

25% of Kenya’s 37.2 million people are Catholics; approximately half are Protestants and 10% are Muslims, while 10% hold indigenous beliefs

This could be found at: http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5224

Good videos

2010-01-19T06:59:00.000-08:00

There was a video on the March for Life in Dallas that is on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALIy2kICzO4&feature=player_embedded
Watch what is being said at the end.

Also you can watch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPREbOO1BgU&feature=player_embedded##

Both are very good

Super Bowl pro-life ad to feature Tim Tebow and mother

2010-01-18T19:27:00.000-08:00

Colorado Springs, Colo., Jan 18, 2010 / 07:18 pm (CNA).- A pro-life ad featuring college football star Tim Tebow and his mother will be aired during the Super Bowl broadcast on CBS. The 30-second ad, sponsored by Focus on the Family, intends to encourage respect for life.

Tebow’s parents served as Christian missionaries in the Philippines. His mother, Pam, had contracted a life-threatening infection while pregnant with him, but she refused medical advice to abort her unborn son.

The Super Bowl ad will tell their story, Focus on the Family says. Its theme will be “Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life.”

In the past, Tebow has said he believes his mother’s story has helped women decide not to abort their children.

The Tebows said they agreed to appear in the commercial because they feel very strongly about the life issue.

Jim Daly, president and CEO of Focus on the Family, said the partnership with the Tebows comes at a moment in the culture when families “need to be inspired.”

"Tim and Pam share our respect for life and our passion for helping families thrive," Daly commented. "They live what we see every day – that the desire for family closeness is written on the hearts of every generation. Focus on the Family is about nurturing that desire and strengthening families by empowering them with the tools they need to live lives rooted in morals and values."

He reported that the funding for the ad comes from a handful of “very generous” donors who specifically contributed funds for the project. No money from Focus on the Family’s general fund was used, the organization adds.

"Now that the ad has been shot, we're excited to tell people it's coming, because the Tebows' story is such an important one for our culture to hear," Daly said. "You won't want to miss it."

Last year CatholicVote.org created a pro-life ad using the image of President Barack Obama on the theme “Life: Imagine the Potential.”

The group had submitted the ad for NBC’s Super Bowl broadcast but it was rejected on the grounds that the network does not show ads involving “political advocacy or issues.” CatholicVote.org denied there was anything objectionable in the ad.

Despite NBC’s refusal to air the ad, titled “Imagine,” hundreds of thousands of people still viewed the 30-second spot on YouTube.

This can be seen at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/super_bowl_pro-life_ad_to_feature_tim_tebow_and_mother/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

'Right to abortion' enslaves women, expert warns

2010-01-16T11:24:00.000-08:00

Madrid, Spain, Jan 16, 2010 / 01:08 am (CNA).- Iñigo Urien Azpitarte, an expert on violence against women warned this week that the “right to abortion” championed by feminists and abortion supporters ends up enslaving women because they are turned into instruments of sexual gratification.

“If the woman can abort without restrictions, the man is free of any responsibility as father,” leaving the “woman as his tool of sexual gratification in a position of ‘non-equality’,” Azpitarte said.

Speaking with the organization “Professionals for Ethics,” he added that women also can come out on the losing end if they decide to keep the child, because the father will say she chose not to exercise her “right to an abortion.” He can then easily escape responsibility for the child's future.

In these sense, he explained, access to “abortion on demand” has affected relations between men and women. “It is not uncommon to hear young people, and not-so-young people, say that they are in favor of abortion because they do not like to use condoms. Thus, if a man thinks that abortion is an easily accessible option for a woman, he will easily feel disconnected from her and leave her with an unwanted pregnancy - since she can easily obtain an abortion.”

“While it is true that some women can resist pressure and refuse to abort, the legalization of abortion creates a vicious circle from which many others cannot escape,” he said.

The right to abortion is one of those legal notions thought to be “liberating” that actually jeopardizes women, putting them in a situation of profound inequality, Azpitarte stated before criticizing the Socialist government in Spain for not supporting pregnant women.

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/right_to_abortion_enslaves_women_expert_warns/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

Authentic sex education supports marriage and family, Pope says

2010-01-15T13:46:00.000-08:00

Pope Benedict XVI said that young people must be given “a lofty vision of human love and sexuality,” during a January 14 meeting with Italian politicians. He decried a approach to sexuality that “tends to devalue” the beauty of married love.

In an annual meeting with the political leaders of Rome and the surrounding Lazio region, the Holy Father called for government support of families, “especially large families,” noting that strong families are essential to a healthy society. He also urged careful consideration of plans for effective health-care policies that will provide for the needy.

Regarding sex education, the Pope told the group: “In pronouncing her No’s, the Church really is saying ‘Yes’ to life, to love lived in the truth of the giving of self to the other, to the love that opens up to life and does not close itself in a narcissistic view of the couple.”

This can be found at: http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5173

California abortionist accused of gross negligence in woman’s death

2010-01-12T07:27:00.000-08:00

San Diego, Calif., Jan 12, 2010 / 03:31 am (CNA).- After the death of a 30-year-old woman who underwent an abortion, a previously disciplined California abortionist has been accused of gross negligence, incompetence and other legal violations. A judge has ordered him to stop performing abortions until his medical license is reviewed, while critics say their complaints were not addressed.

After a Jan. 7 hearing in San Diego, Administrative Law Judge James Ahler ordered Dr. Andrew Rutland to limit his practice to procedures other than abortion and delivering babies, the California Catholic Daily reports.

At a clinic in San Gabriel in August 2009, a woman named Ying Chen went into full cardiac arrest after a second-trimester abortion by Rutland on July 28, 2009. She died six days later at a nearby hospital.

Medical board records said she had been injected with the “dangerous” narcotic painkiller Demerol and the local anesthetic lidocaine. Her heart stopped beating and a later autopsy found that she died from lidocaine toxicity.

Judge Ahler said Rutland’s decision to perform the abortion at the San Gabriel clinic, which did not have adequate equipment to handle medical emergencies, “casts doubt on his professional judgment.”

The judge issued a ruling prohibiting Rutland from performing surgical procedures of any kind. However, he rejected the request by medical board representative Deputy Attorney General Douglas Lee that the doctor’s license should be immediately revoked.

Luis Mendoza, a pro-life advocate who conducts sidewalk counseling outside the Chula Vista clinic where Rutland operates, said that the medical board could have saved the woman’s life had it acted promptly on complaints filed about Rutland’s activities at the abortion facility.

“We complained that he was violating the terms of his probation by practicing medicine in the Chula Vista clinic without another doctor being present,” he said in an e-mail to San Diego-area pro-lifers. “Rutland overdosed the poor woman on July 28th. Four months after our complaint. A cease and desist order should have been issued against Rutland before the woman was killed.”

Mendoza reported he had received a call from the medical board in November, eight months after the original complaint. The board said that the investigation had been completed and the results had been forwarded to the attorney general.

At the time of Ying Chen’s death, Rutland was on five years of probation by the California Medical Board.

In 2002 he surrendered his medical license after investigations into the death of two newborns shortly after they had been delivered by Rutland, the California Catholic Daily reports. He was also accused of performing unnecessary hysterectomies, lying to patients, and having sexual relations with a patient in his office.

His license was later reinstated on the condition that he not practice medicine unless he was under the supervision of another qualified physician. Some of his former patients were outraged when he was reinstated, the Orange County Register reported.

One of the infants who died in his care, Jillian Broussard, had her spinal cord injured by forceps during her 1999 delivery. She died a week later.

Jillian’s father, Scott Broussard, said he and his wife were very disappointed that Rutland was allowed to practice again. The doctor had insisted Jillian had suffered a stroke.

Broussard told the Register the new allegation “doesn’t surprise me at all.”

“There’s the making of a mistake, but then there’s the way that it was made and the reaction by him afterward. He was not a man of honor or integrity… The responsibility for this death is on the medical board, to be shared with Dr. Rutland. They’re supposed to protect the public and they have failed.”

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/california_abortionist_accused_of_gross_negligence_in_womans_death/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

True Environmentalists Are Pro-Life, Says Pope

2010-01-11T17:21:00.000-08:00

Affirms Ecology Issue Should Be Set in Larger Framework

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 11, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says efforts to protect the environment cannot be opposed to human life and safeguarding the dignity of the person.

The Pope took up this theme today when he delivered his traditional New Year address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See.

The Holy Father's address for 2010 centered on the issue of respect for creation and the environment, the same theme he highlighted in his Jan. 1 World Day of Peace message.

He noted not humanity in this new year "continues to be marked by the dramatic crisis of the global economy and consequently a serious and widespread social instability."

The "deeper causes" of this situation, the Pontiff contended, "are to be found in a current self-centered and materialistic way of thinking which fails to acknowledge the limitations inherent in every creature."

This same way of thinking, Benedict XVI proposed, also endangers creation.

He explained: "Each of us could probably cite an example of the damage that this has caused to the environment the world over. I will offer an example, from any number of others, taken from the recent history of Europe. Twenty years ago, after the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the materialistic and atheistic regimes which had for several decades dominated a part of this continent, was it not easy to assess the great harm which an economic system lacking any reference to the truth about man had done not only to the dignity and freedom of individuals and peoples, but to nature itself, by polluting soil, water and air? The denial of God distorts the freedom of the human person, yet it also devastates creation.

"It follows that the protection of creation is not principally a response to an aesthetic need, but much more to a moral need, in as much as nature expresses a plan of love and truth which is prior to us and which comes from God."

The Pope said because of this, he shares the "growing concern" caused by "economic and political resistance to combatting the degradation of the environment."

"The issue is all the more important in that the very future of some nations is at stake, particularly some island states," he said.

Great challenges

Nevertheless, the Bishop of Rome affirmed that concern and commitment for the environment "should be situated within the larger framework of the great challenges now facing mankind."

"If we wish to build true peace," he said, "how can we separate, or even set at odds, the protection of the environment and the protection of human life, including the life of the unborn? It is in man’s respect for himself that his sense of responsibility for creation is shown."

Citing St. Thomas Aquinas, the Holy Father said that "man represents all that is most noble in the universe."

"Furthermore," he affirmed, "as I noted during the recent FAO World Summit on Food Security, 'the world has enough food for all its inhabitants' provided that selfishness does not lead some to hoard the goods which are intended for all."

This can be found at: http://www.zenit.org/rssenglish-28022

2009 study confirms abortion-breast cancer link

2010-01-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

Bethesda, Md., Jan 7, 2010 / 07:40 am (CNA).- An April 2009 study co-authored by a researcher who has previously denied an abortion-breast cancer link shows a statistically significant increase in breast cancer risk among women who have had abortions or who use oral contraceptives. The study by researchers including Jessica Dolle of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research contained a table reporting a statistically significant 40 percent risk increase for women who have had abortions. According to the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer (CABC), the study listed abortion as among “known and suspected risk factors.”

The CABC says that one co-author of the study, U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) researcher Dr. Louise Brinton, had organized a 2003 NCI workshop on the abortion-breast cancer link. That workshop reportedly said the non-existence of an abortion-breast cancer link was “well established.”

CNA contacted Dr. Brinton for comment but did not receive a reply by publication time.

Dr. Joel Brind, who is a CBCP advisor and president of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute and a professor of endocrinology at Baruch College at City University of New York, said that the study’s findings on abortion were not new.

Rather, they repeated the “modest but significant” findings of the 1990s which found a breast cancer risk factor increase of between 20 and 50 percent.

However, he said Dr. Brinton’s participation in the study was significant because the NCI has “firmly maintained” a position denying an abortion-breast cancer link since 2003.

The study, titled “Risk factors for triple-negative breast cancer in women under the age of 45 years,” was published in the American Association for Cancer Research’s (AACR) medical journal “Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.”

Researchers also found a significant link between the use of oral contraceptives and a particularly aggressive cancer known as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Brind said that according to the study, women who start oral contraceptives before the age of 18 multiply their risk of TNBC by 3.7 times. Those who were users of oral contraceptives within one to five years before the study showed a risk 4.2 times the average.

TNBC is associated with high mortality. Brind suggested that oral contraceptives may function not merely as a secondary carcinogen. Rather, the synthetic estrogen-progestin combination or its metabolic byproducts may be a primary cause of the cell mutations that lead to cancer formation.

CBCP president Karen Malec criticized that the NCI, the American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and other cancer organizations for not issuing nationwide warnings to women on the basis of the study.

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/2009_study_confirms_abortion-breast_cancer_link/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

Planned Parenthood to Build a ‘Super Center’ in Minority Community in Houston

2010-01-06T19:29:00.000-08:00

HOUSTON, TX (Catholic online) – I remember when Wal-Mart began to build its “Supercenters”. There were protests around the country. Most of those opposing the construction were concerned about the impact such centers would have on local businesses and the families and communities which depend upon them. The plans for the Centers have usually survived the protests and court challenges. However, the protests continue.

Now, in Houston Texas, a new kind of “Supercenter” is to be built. However, the product which will be sold as a commodity in this “Supercenter” will include the killing of children in the womb. In fact, there is a whole wing which will be dedicated to providing late term abortions. CNS News reports:

“A coalition of pro-life advocates and religious leaders plan to gather in Houston on Jan. 18 to oppose what is expected to be the largest abortion clinic in the country. Planned Parenthood is renovating a former bank, turning it into a 78,000 square foot facility that will include a surgical wing equipped to provide late-term abortions.

“It’s an abortion super center,” Lou Engle, founder of the pro-life group The Call to Conscience, which is organizing the rally, told CNSNews.com. Joining Engle at the “prayer march” will be Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, and Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. Religious leaders expected to attend include Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of Hope Christian Church; Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention; Star Parker, president of the Coalition for Urban Renewal and Education; and Abby Johnson, the former director of a Planned Parenthood clinic.

“Engle compared the fight for the rights of the unborn to another critical movement in America. “As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, ‘It is time to subpoena the conscience of America,’” he said. Engle said he believes the clinic was strategically located in a part of Houston that is surrounded by black and Hispanic neighborhoods. “We want to say that it’s not right to have an abortion super center that targets the minority community,” Engle said. He says Planned Parenthood actively markets its services, including abortion, to low-income, minority women.”

Planned Parenthood is built on a lie. They have dressed themselves up as a “Health Care Provider” while they include taking the lives of innocent children in the womb as a “reproductive service.” They have insinuated themselves into the global delivery of “medical services” and receive massive government funding, some of which they use to kill. That funding is increasing under the current Administration.

There is nothing “reproductive” about abortion. It is certainly not a service to the child, the mother, the father or society. Nor is it ever “health care”. It is feticide. Funding it is morally repugnant. Planned Parenthood is the leading institutional champion of a culture which has redefined “choice” to include killing the young and “freedom” to include the commission of unspeakable horrors against an entire class of people.

They charge women, many of whom have been deceived and are themselves the second victims, for killing their own children. The “medical professionals” who perform the violent acts do so through surgical strikes, brutal suction or, what they euphemistically now call a “medication abortion” which is the use of a chemical weapon.

Planned Parenthood is anything but a good neighbor wherever they open up for business. Every person alive today began their human life in that sanctuary of life, the womb. No one with any integrity or genuine moral sensibility is claiming any longer that the child in the womb, whom we now surgically operate on and whom we can see clearly in 4D images, is not a human being.In fact they are our first neighbors and Planned Parenthood helps to kill them.

The argument being made to attempt to justify this killing is the perverse idea that “freedom” enables the one with more power to engage a so called “medical professional” to reach in the sanctuary of the womb and take the life. The fundamental human right to life of that child is completely disregarded. We would not make the same argument about a one year old child living outside of the womb, in the nursery. There is no moral distinction between what Planned Parenthood does, killing a child in the womb, and killing one year old children who are not wanted.

The manufactured time thresholds of “viability”, as interpreted under the inane structure forced upon us by the Roe and Doe decisions keep getting pushed back. They have been exposed for the sham they always were. Technology now reveals the truth about our smallest neighbors.We routinely operate on them. Medical Science confirms what our consciences haveknown all along. Abortion is killing innocent children.

Our positive (civil) law has rejected the Natural Law prohibition against this intentional homicide. We use Orwellian doublespeak to try and hide the evil. There is never a need for abortion. There is a need to help the mother who is carrying her child by providing her with the truth and with all the support that she deserves.

There is a need to defend our youngest neighbor during the pregnancy against those who mean him or her harm. There is a need to then help him or her after birth throughout the continuum of life. However, there is never a “need”, nor a moral justification, for taking innocent human life.

For this evil organization to choose a minority community in which to build a new killing “Supercenter” makes the construction even more reprehensible.

The protest on January 18 should be the first of many persistent, protracted protests. I know Rev. Sam Rodriquez and Bishop Harry Jackson personally. I have the highest respect for them. They are men of great integrity with tremendous leadership gifts and respect within their communities. They know what is really going on here.

The selection of this location simply confirms what many have long suspected about Planned Parenthood. After all, its founder, Margaret Sanger, was a known racist and a proponent of eugenics. The exposes of Planned Parenthood activities in minority communities in the last twenty months led Dr Alveda King to call for an investigation by the US Attorney General for Civil Rights violations!

We encourage our readers to pray for those who will gather in Houston next week and support their efforts. Houston is not the only place where Planned Parenthood intends to expand its evil business empire hiding behind the law of Non profit organizations. In the current economic recession this evil organization seems to be in an expansion mode. I was recently informed that they are planning to build a new facility on 515 Newtown Road, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Local residents are gathering on June 16, 2009 to conduct a similar protest of that construction.

In Houston, Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Rochelle Tafolla made light of the planned protests telling a local reporter "They'll try to stop our contractors, but fortunately [the contractors] know what's going on -- they say 'Hey, it's a bad economy and I'm working; what are you doing?'" God help us all when such a mindset is in charge.

If the Wal-Mart Supercenters raised concerns about the impact on local communities and the families living therein, how much more this new kind of “Supercenter” - where innocent human lives will be taken - must bring a massive response and resistance.

Montana Supreme Court issues weak decision on physician-assisted suicide

2010-01-04T14:23:00.000-08:00

Helena, Mont., Jan 4, 2010 / 02:56 pm (CNA).- In its final decision of 2009, the Supreme Court of Montana denied victory to pro-euthanasia group “Compassion & Choices” on its quest for a right to “aid in dying” based on the Montana State Constitution.

In a split decision issued on December 31, the Supreme Court rejected the existence of a right to physician-assisted suicide and focused on issues of statutory construction to determine that Montana state law has no public policy against “aid in dying” because the final death causing act lies in the patient's hands, explained the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.

In reaction, the EPC said in their statement that “the bright spot in the decision is that it does not give physicians the ‘right’ to prescribe a lethal dose, but only suggests that circumstances may exist to give them a defense to prosecution for homicide.”

Nevertheless, according to EPC, the decision “ignores the practical realities of ensuring patient safety from over-eager heirs, new ‘best friends’ and others who might benefit from the patient's death. For example, physicians who malpractice and who want to hide their mistakes can now say: ‘It was what the patient wanted.’ The evidence against the physician dies with the patient. If the patient has no family or other advocate, who will know?”

Eileen Geller, hospice RN and president of True Compassion Advocates, stated in a press release that “in practice, this means that while assisted suicide is still not legal in Montana, the Court has nevertheless stripped vulnerable patients of important legal protections. The ruling is a recipe for elder abuse and for the victimization of ill people.”

According to Geller, “the Montana Supreme Court expressly declined to hold that a constitutional right to physician-assisted suicide exists under the Montana constitution. The Montana legislature must now step up to the plate, re-affirm over a hundred years of Montana public policy, and protect elderly, ill, and Montanans with disabilities.”

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/montana_supreme_court_issues_weak_decision_on_physicianassisted_suicide/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

Pondering Abortion on the Feast of the Holy Innocents

2009-12-28T12:44:00.000-08:00

We know well that Holy Innocents continue to be killed in our world through abortion. The Feast of the Holy Innocents is an often over-looked feast on the Church’s Calendar coming is the busy week of the Christmas Octave. And yet there is something very astonishing and even dangerous to consider on this feast.

I’ll explain what I mean by dangerous in a moment. But for now consider some biblical facts with me.

1.When God was drawing close to liberating his chosen people from slavery in Egypt there occurred the order to murder of the all the baby boys among the Hebrews. It is almost as though Satan sensed that God was up to something good and Satan raged through Pharaoh in murderous anger and fear. Thankfully the actual numbers were reduced since the Egyptian midwives engaged in civil disobedience, refusing to allow the practice to continue.
2.At the time of Jesus, when God was preparing to liberate his People from sin, there also occured the murder of innocent baby boys. Here too it was almost as though the Devil sensed that God was up to something good and he once again raged, this time through Herod in murderous anger and fear. Thankfully too this infanticide also ended at some point.
3.Notice the pattern. When God prepared a great liberation the Devil went after the babies. In our time, on a scale as never before, the Devil is going after our babies in murderous anger and fear. What is he afraid of? Is God planning something big in the near future? Is there a great liberation at hand? Is there a great advancement of evangelization and conversion in the offing? We can only speculate. But patterns are patterns and Scripture has a way of repeating its patterns and echoing down through the centuries.
Why is this a dangerous reflection? Because I want to make it clear that abortion, the killing of the innocents in our age, is NOT and never can be considered something good, or a “positive sign.” Such a speculation as this might cause some to wrongly conclude that abortion is part of God’s plan or something we should see “positively.” We should not. It must be fought. It is of Satan. I want to conclude by reminding you that the great liberation that followed the past infanticides did not occur until AFTER those murderous rages were stopped. Hence, to follow the pattern established in Scripture and to see a potentially great and liberating act of God we must first see an end to the slaughter. Work and pray to end abortion. May the Holy Innocents pray for us!

By: Msgr. Charles Pope This can be found at http://blog.adw.org/2009/12/pondering-abortion-on-the-feast-of-the-holy-innocents/

Population control abuses had the full support of the establishment

2009-12-22T15:40:00.000-08:00

The U.S. government made foreign aid contingent on Third World countries’ adoption of population control programs and did not flinch when the reports of abuse rolled in. Private groups and individuals from the Ford Foundation to the Rockefellers poured money into reducing the population of developing countries. As the two most populous countries in the world, China and India were especially targeted. In China, the official one-child policy overseen by Xinzhong Qian required women to abort second children or be sterilized, and millions were forced to do so—by the open requirement of Chinese law. In India, desperate poor women by the millions were denied government aid unless they agreed to be sterilized, again openly and publicly so, by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s government. Even today, some Indian states deny government benefits to families with more than two children and offer payments to poor families to be sterilized. The most prominent population control organizations in the world then and now, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), supported such programs, and they were blessed by the highest level of the international establishment years after their abuses first became publicly known. “[I]t is not surprising that both the IPPF and UNFPA decided to help China implement the one-child policy,” wrote Connelly. “UNFPA even awarded Qian with the first United Nations Population Award, complete with diploma, gold medal, and a monetary prize of $12,500. Indira Gandhi was the co-winner. When the honorees came to New York to receive their awards, [United Nations] Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar congratulated them: ‘Considering the fact that China and India contain over 40% of humanity, we must all record our deep appreciation of the way in which their governments have marshaled the resources necessary to implement population policies on a massive scale.’” Qian was forced to resign his post shortly after receiving his UN award due to pressure from Chinese women’s groups.

Project Rachel to tackle extreme abortion rates in Eastern Europe

2009-12-20T17:15:00.000-08:00

Rome, Italy, Dec 19, 2009 / 02:18 pm (CNA).- Project Rachel is working to expand its ministry into Romania and Ukraine, where women report having had between 13 and 30 abortions. Speaking with CNA in Rome, Vicki Thorn, Executive Director of Project Rachel, described how the priestly vocation is fundamental to discovering and offering new opportunities for post-abortion healing.

Vicki Thorn is a veteran in the field of post-abortion healing, having been involved in the ministry for 25 years. Recently she has been traveling to Europe to address the issue of abortion in eastern European nations, especially Romania and the Ukraine.

"Eastern Europe has had huge numbers of abortions, in part because of communism, (but it's due to) all kinds of things. Doctors and priests see that this is a big issue because people are coming forward and they're talking. The doctors are saying that there are women with 13 to 30 abortions," she told CNA.

"I don't even know what you do with that. I've done this for 25 years, and I'm like, whew, I don't even know how we come at this question."

"In Russia the average woman according to their statistics has had nine abortions, but my own experience of talking to the physicians in Romania and Ukraine is that we're talking 13 to 30."

Thorn said that there was a doctor in Romania who told her of a woman that had solicited 70 abortions. "Do you think that's possible?" the doctor had asked Thorn.

"Maybe what she's saying is the '70 times 7' in the Bible," she replied to him, "perhaps she was saying, 'I've had so many abortions, you wouldn't believe it.'"

"So, this is a psychological issue. We're looking at countries with huge depression factors in women, alcoholism, fertility questions follow this, and it's the priests who see this in the beginning.

"When the bishops called for a post abortion healing ministry in the States, right after abortion was legalized, in their first pastoral plan, it was because they were confessors and they knew the problem. Nobody else knew it, it took me seven years to find experts, but the bishops knew because they were priests who had heard confessions."

Thorn also recounted that she first discovered the gravity of the situation in Romania when she was giving a conference on post-abortion healing through Project Rachel last year in Rome. There was a Greek Orthodox bishop in the assembly who stood up and exclaimed, "We need this!"

According to Thorn, the Greek Orthodox bishop said that at the time his Church's method of bringing about healing was to give a penance of seven years without the Eucharist.

"We have to tell people in other countries that there is a means of doing this," said Thorn.

Project Rachel is described on its website as "a network of professional counselors and priests, all trained to provide one-on-one spiritual and psychological care for those who are suffering because of an abortion."

Thorn explained to CNA that the outreach goes beyond what you'd imagine. "Just last night one of the priests here, when he heard what I did, said, 'Oh, that's some of the most moving ministry I've ever done.'”

"So, this awareness of the woman who believes she's committed the unforgivable sin; that when you reject the creation, you've rejected the creator, then to be forgiven and to be set free... that's what priests are called to do.

"This is a ministry not only for women and for men ... but also for priests. It affirms who they are, it is the essence of their call to be priests.”

When asked if the ministry has a place only within the Catholic Church, Thorn responded, "When I was in Romania, I was with the Orthodox, with the Greek Catholics and the Roman Catholics.

"Any place there's a sacramental model, Project Rachel fits,"she said.

The next step in the process of branching out to other Eastern European nations, Thorn told CNA, would be a Project Rachel seminar including leaders from these nations, "probably in Poland, and probably in the next year."

The idea is to bring leaders to the seminar from a number of Eastern bloc countries and send them home well informed. "Then we'll take it from there," said Thorn.

Part of the education would be taken care of through the manual on post-abortion healing (of which Thorn was the primary author), recently revised by the U.S. Bishops' Conference, to share knowledge with bishops' conferences abroad and lead them to offer the ministry in their areas. "If that happens, they can translate it top-down to the priests, and then if we get religious women involved we have the means to provide care wherever."

"If we could get communities of religious to take this as a charism... that will then allow Eastern Europe and Latin America to move very quickly."

Thorn told CNA that she's also seeing, "a lot of interest in mental health professionals,” but that “really the Church is the ideal place to do this. We have the means.”

"When I started doing Project Rachel, it was clear to me. We have clergy, we have mental health professionals, we have all these people within the Church that can provide care in this network and it's a holistic response.

"We have the opportunity and the means to do this any place in the world," she added.

Vicki Thorn has just released a book on the introduction of a ministry for post-abortion syndrome within the Church, called, “Project Rachel: The Face of Compassion.” The book is currently available in Italian from the Vatican Press, and she hopes to have an English version out soon.

This can be found at. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/project_rachel_to_tackle_extreme_abortion_rates_in_eastern_europe/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

Abortion clinic escort strikes Planned Parenthood investigator Lila Rose

2009-12-19T07:42:00.000-08:00

San Jose, Calif., Dec 19, 2009 / 03:37 am (CNA).- Legal charges are pending against a male Planned Parenthood escort who struck pro-life activist Lila Rose on the hands on Thursday outside an abortion clinic. She warned that the surprising attack should not help create a “double standard” that hinders clinic protesters’ free speech rights.

Rose, the president of Live Action Films who has led undercover investigations into the abortion provider, was not injured in the attack.

She was on a public sidewalk outside a Planned Parenthood affiliate in San Jose, California with a group of about 20 students and three adults to pray and provide information to women who might be open to alternatives to abortion, a statement from Live Action says.

Shortly before noon on Thursday, she interacted with a uniformed male Planned Parenthood escort.

According to Rose, she spoke to the escort from the public sidewalk and asked him if he was familiar with the abortion procedure.

The escort then approached her rapidly from the Planned Parenthood parking lot and said, “You idiot. You've caused so much trouble. You piece of crap."

Rose asked if she could show him a picture of what abortion “really does to a baby.” The escort then struck Rose on the hand, knocking literature and a Bible to the ground.

According to Live Action Films, the police report said Rose stepped further back on the sidewalk and the escort stepped toward her.

He was visibly shaking and said “It’s a woman’s choice!”

To this, Rose responded “What about the baby’s choice?”

The escort said “It’s not a baby!” and turned and walked away.

Police were called and interviewed Rose and several witnesses. She suffered no injuries in the attack, but charges of assault and battery are pending.

In a Friday e-mail Rose told CNA that she was “very surprised” at what happened. She said the escort appeared to recognize her, which has not happened before at a clinic.

“Unborn children face much, much worse...they are violently denied their very lives, and they are totally defenseless,” she added.

Rose emphasized that pro-lifers have the right to free speech on public sidewalks.

“If this right is infringed upon by threatening physical contact, the law must intervene and the guilty party must accept the consequences.”

Saying that pro-life sidewalk counselors are subjected to “the most rigorous scrutiny,” she warned that a double standard could be created if threatening physical contact against sidewalk counselors is allowed.

Rose also reported “good news”: a woman who thought she was pregnant and was considering abortion turned around. One of the parents and their daughter at the clinic then drove the woman and her friend to a crisis pregnancy center.

She told CNA that her organization has not heard anything from Planned Parenthood.

Live Action in a statement said it maintains a “strong commitment to non-violent public discourse.”

“We expect Planned Parenthood will respond to their escort's attack by publicly disavowing the use of violence,” the statement said.

this can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/abortion_clinic_escort_strikes_planned_parenthood_investigator_lila_rose/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

Holy See delegation pushes for 'authentic human ecology' at Copenhagen Conference

2009-12-18T18:34:00.000-08:00

Copenhagen, Denmark, Dec 18, 2009 / 07:46 pm (CNA).- Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the head of the Vatican delegation to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, addressed the High-Level Segment of the conference on Thursday. His message underscored the inefficacy of the current economic and development models, promoted the efforts of the Church and others to raise awareness to safeguard an "authentic human ecology" and pledged continued Vatican support for all initiatives that protect creation.

Migliore began his address by asking aloud what the reasons might be for the delay in adopting "common binding measures and adequate budgets for an effective mitigation and adaptation to ongoing climate change."

He attributed the lethargy to a mixture of the complexity of the issue, conflicting national interests, difficulty in quantifying individual responsibility and overbearing energy policy. All of these considerations, he continued, converge on the central element of "the necessity of a new and deeper reflection on the meaning of the economy and its purposes, and a profound and far-reaching revision of the model for development, to correct the malfunctions and distortions."

Earth's ecological health and man's moral and cultural well-being require it, he said.

"With realism, trust and hope we must assume the new responsibilities which call us to the scene of a world in need of a deep cultural renewal and a rediscovery of fundamental values on which to build a better future," said Migliore, calling for action to curb "deeply interlinked" moral crises evident in humanity today.

If the structures in place cannot provide us with an informed direction to discover and respond with in a timely manner to the "tangible reality of climate change," he stated, "reason and the innate sense of shared responsibility of the people once again must prevail."

The nuncio then pointed out that "an impressive series of initiatives" has already been started by individuals, groups, local authorities "to give form to the two cornerstones of the response to climate change: adaptation and mitigation."

However, technical solutions aren't enough, Migliore underscored. The response to climate change must include more projects that inform, educate, and develop a sense of responsibility in all people towards "environmentally sound patterns of development and stewardship of creation."

Migliore called the evidence of the success of such initiatives in the world a "widespread ecological conversion."

Through awareness, he said, a solidarity will arise that will ensure our future.

He then highlighted the Holy See's "significant efforts to take a lead in environmental protection," giving the examples of the Vatican City's greater reliance on renewable energy sources and advocacy and education programs that promote environmental responsibility by all types of Church institutions.

"We must safeguard creation - soil, water and air - as a gift entrusted to everyone, but we must also and above all prevent mankind from destroying itself," stated Migliore in defense of efforts to change currently unsustainable production and consumption models.

"The degradation of nature is directly connected to the culture that shapes human coexistence: when the human ecology is respected within society, the environmental ecology will benefit. The way humanity treats the environment influences the way it treats itself."

Echoing the sentiments of the Holy Father in his encyclical Caritas in Veritate and his recent message for the World Day of Peace, Migliore said, "Environment and climate change entail a shared responsibility toward all humanity, especially the poor and future generations.

"There is an inseparable link between the protection of creation, education and an ethical approach to the economy and development. The Holy See hopes that the process in question can ever more appreciate this link and, with this outlook, continues to give its full cooperation."

this can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/holy_see_delegation_pushes_for_authentic_human_ecology_at_copenhagen_conference/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

Low birthrate, family breakdowns show dangers of secularism, Pope tells bishops of Belarus

2009-12-17T16:32:00.000-08:00

Pope Benedict XVI met on December 17 with the Catholic bishops of Belarus, who were in Rome for their ad limina visit. The Pontiff told the bishops that their priority should be “to underline the power of faith: a faith rooted in solid tradition.” That strong faith, he said, would be an antidote to “the temptations of secularization, hedonism, and relativism-- signs of which are the problems of the falling birthrate, the fragility of families, and the illusion of finding fortune outside the homeland.” The Pope observed that the Orthodox Church in Belarus will make common cause with Catholics in this fight against secularism

this can be found at. http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=4947

The Re-Birth of Population Control

2009-12-14T10:19:00.000-08:00

ROME, DEC. 13, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Copenhagen climate summit has brought with it an outpouring of opinions on environmental issues. Among these is a disturbing return to the Malthusian position of seeing population control as the solution to the world's problems.

A planetary law imposing China's one-child policy on all nations is what is needed, according to an opinion article by Diane Francis, published Dec. 8 in the Canadian newspaper, the National Post.

Francis predicted this would reduce the current world population of 6.5 billion down to 3.43 billion by 2075. While more extreme than most, Francis is hardly alone in advocating population control.

Just prior to the Copenhagen summit, Britain's Optimum Population Trust launched a carbon offset scheme, reported the Guardian newspaper on Dec. 3.

As explained by John Vidal, the paper's environment editor, this allows rich consumers to offset their jet-set lifestyle by paying for contraception in poorer countries.

According to Vidal, the trust's calculations show that the 10 metric tons of carbon emitted by a return flight from London to Sydney could be offset by preventing the birth of one child in a country such as Kenya.

It seems neo-colonialism is still alive in the attitudes of some environmental activists who don't see any problem in urging developing nations to curb their population so that the carbon emissions of richer countries can be offset.

The launch of the scheme followed a report published in August by the trust titled: "Fewer Emitters, Lower Emissions, Less Cost: Reducing Future Carbon Emissions by Investing in Family Planning."

The conclusions of the study stated: "The cost/ benefit analysis found that family planning is considerably cheaper than many low carbon technologies."

"Based on the study's findings, it is proposed that family planning methods should be a primary tool in the optimum strategy for reducing carbon emissions," the report advocated.

Disaster predictions
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) joined the Malthusian chorus with the publication of its State of World Population 2009 Report.

Greater access to "reproductive health" was constantly urged by the report. This U.N. term is understood to include access to condoms, contraceptives and abortion.

"We have now reached a point where humanity is approaching the brink of disaster," stated Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, UNFPA's executive director at the London launch of the report Nov. 18.

The report was greeted in the press with titles such as "UN: Fight Climate Change With Free Condoms," (The Associated Press, Nov. 18).

"Birth Control: The Most Effective Way of Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions," trumpeted the Nov. 19 headline in the London Times newspaper in its coverage of the report.

Confusingly, alongside the call for reproductive health in developing nations were other statements that contradicted the thesis that less people in poorer countries would bring the world back from the precipice of environmental disaster.

"The dominant responsibility for the current build-up of greenhouse gases lies with developed countries," the report admitted.

"The linkages between population and climate change are in most cases complex and indirect," it also conceded.
A better guide to the issue of population and the environment came in a special report published by The Economist magazine in its Oct. 31 issue.

In the editorial that accompanied the report the magazine pointed out that the trend to lower fertility in developing countries is already advanced. "Today's fall in fertility is both very large and very fast," it said.

Immoral
We can limit the human impact on the environment in three ways the editorial maintained: population policy, technology and governance. Regarding population there is not much more to be done the magazine argued. Only "Chinese-style coercion" could bring about a speedier reduction in fertility.

Notably, for a publication that in no way espouses religion, the editorial also added that: "Forcing poor people to have fewer children than they want because the rich consume too many of the world's resources would be immoral."

The report itself proposed that the way to deal with carbon emissions and environmental concerns is not to try and reduce fertility but to alter economic growth so that it is less polluting and to make it less resource-intensive.

British sociologist Fran Furedi explored the return of Malthusianism in a piece written for the Web site Spiked. His Dec. 7 commentary harshly attacked the proposals of the Optimum Population Trust for being "a zombie-like Malthusian organization devoted to the cause of human depletion."

"Throughout most of history, human life has been valued in and of itself; it has been seen as possessing a special quality that could not be reduced to quantities to be measured by misanthropic accountants," he observed.

Furedi based his comments on a humanist perspective and not on a religious foundation. There is a unique quality to human life he argued. He also wondered why other humanists were not interested in defending human life and standing up for ideals developed in the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.

Losing faith
"A world that can place an equal sign between a baby and carbon is one that has lost its faith in humanity," Furedi lamented.

Another interesting commentary was published on Dec. 9 by the Australian Web site, On Line Opinion. It was written by Farida Akhter from Bangladesh. According to the article, she is the executive director of an organization that works with communities in Bangladesh and she also runs a feminist publishing house.

Akhter reflected on the UNFPA's State of World Population report and argued that it is a simplistic approach to consider that women can solve environmental problems simply by reducing their fertility.

Targeting the developing nations simply doesn't make sense, she affirmed. Citing data from the UNFPA report she stated that the world's richest half-billion people are responsible for 50% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions.

So, she continued, even if we reduce population growth in the poorest countries their contribution to the reduction of carbon emissions or consumption of resources will be not be significant.

"Let's not make women the target for contraceptives in the name of solving climate change," she concluded.
A sentiment shared by Jennie Bristow, editor of the British publication, the Abortion Review.
She also wrote an article for Spiked on the topic of population and ecology, on Oct. 6.
Bristow defended abortion and contraception, but also pointed out that history is full of examples where these practices have been imposed upon women by authorities who wanted to decide how many children should be born.

Respect
Her essay was critical of the pro-life position, yet she also argued that: "Serious questions have to be asked about how genuine the commitment to free choice is among those who ultimately would like women to choose not to have children, or more than a certain number of children."

We do indeed have a responsibility towards the environment pointed out Benedict XVI in his June 29 encyclical "Caritas in Veritate."

What is at stake, however, is something more than just ecological issues, the Pope added. Respect for nature also includes a respect for human life. "Our duties towards the environment are linked to our duties towards the human person, considered in himself and in relation to others," the encyclical argued (No. 51).

If the two become opposed, then "herein lies a grave contradiction in our mentality and practice today," the Pontiff continued. A contradiction being proposed by not a few voices in the debate over how to approach environmental issues today.

this can be found at: http://www.zenit.org/article-27826?l=english

Cardinal Bertone calls for religious freedom and respect for human rights in Arab countries

2009-12-12T13:32:00.000-08:00

Rome, Italy, Dec 12, 2009 / 02:59 am (CNA).- In what constitutes the first interview for a documentary on the Vatican produced by the Al Jazeera network in collaboration with the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, encouraged the fostering of religious freedom and respect for human rights in Arab countries, especially in the Middle East.

According to L'Osservatore Romano, Cardinal Bertone explained that dialogue between Catholics and Muslims is an "important factor for peace and respect.” He also encouraged "a peaceful coexistence of all with all," explaining that the Church "defends the rights of all: the right to live, the right to education, the right of association, the rights of all minorities."

In that sense, he said, "it is necessary to ensure freedom to worship for everyone, dialoguing and working together to help those who are most in need." "The Church,” he added, "promotes the welfare of peoples regardless of their religion." Given that fact, he urged the defense of minorities, especially Christians "who are in Muslim countries,” a task that "we must pursue together."

Cardinal Bertone went on to discuss his telephone conversation with the Patriarch of Baghdad, Cardinal Emmanuel Delly, after the terrible attacks that hit the offices of the Chaldean Patriarchate, among other areas.

Addressing the people of the Middle East, the Cardinal urged "Arab Christians to stay, because they play a positive role, although some may make mistakes." This is an issue that is often raised when policy makers from the region visit the Vatican, he said.

The Al Jazeera Documentary

The new documentary, which is intended to show the reality of the Vatican to the Muslim world and will be broadcast by Al Jazeera in six months, also includes interviews with several cardinals. Among those prelates are: Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue; Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture; Claudio Maria Celli, President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Academy for Vita.

According Kenawi Mohamed, Cardinal Bertone's interviewer, "the decision to make the documentary stems from the desire to make known the universal reality of the Catholic Church and the Vatican to the Arab and Muslim world, in particular the Vatican, an independent entity guided by the pope, who is both a spiritual leader and head of state."

Kenawi said the documentary, which has been well received by members of the Roman Curia, "can serve to help the Arab world better understand the figure of the pope and the role of the Holy See in the current international scenario.”

this can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=18038&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29

Archbishop encourages 'sexual responsibility' to combat AIDS in El Salvador

2009-12-09T19:17:00.000-08:00

San Salvador, El Salvador, Dec 9, 2009 / 10:01 am (CNA).- With many AIDS prevention campaigns relying solely on condom use, Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas of San Salvador has asked the government to promote “sexual responsibility” as the most effect form of preventing the spread of the disease.

“Certain international agencies are regularly promoting campaigns encouraging condom use, but not even one study exists which proves its effectiveness against this disease,” the archbishop explained in a dialogue with the press.

Archbishop Escobar noted that, “in the African countries where they have distributed the most prophylactics, the virus has spread the most.” Therefore, he recommended programs which emphasize “fidelity between spouses, and abstinence between singles.”

“It is the life lived in accordance to that which is moral which really combats the disease,” the prelate stated. He also noted that the campaigns which emphasize condom use “may provoke greater premature sexual activity.”

“It has been shown that condoms do not offer complete security against the transmission of the virus while experts acknowledge that condoms fail more than 20% of the time.” The archbishop recalled that the Catholic Church insists that “the prevention of AIDS requires the responsibility of the carriers, that the youth postpone their sexual relations, that couples remain faithful to each other, and that dangerous or immoral habits must be changed.”

Official statistics state that 22,210 cases of AIDS have been reported in El Salvador since 1984.

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Population control history has been full of abuse:

2009-12-06T18:39:00.001-08:00

Since its beginnings in the 19th Century and especially
since its exponential growth after World War II, the
global population control movement has inflicted documented
human rights abuses on millions of women
worldwide. During the overpopulation hysteria of
the 1960s and 1970s and into the 1980s, nations from
Mexico to India implemented coercive population control
policies that forcibly sterilized millions of women,
forced millions more to have abortions, and also forcibly
sterilized millions of men. Some of these abuses
routinely continue to this day, particularly in China.
Columbia University History Professor Matthew Connelly
wrote in Fatal Misconception: The Struggle to Control
World Population, “The great tragedy of population
control, the fatal misconception, was to think that one
could know other people’s interests better than they
knew it themselves.”1 In the case of the global population
control movement, it was and is wealthy, elite,
white Western people deciding how many children less
fortunate people should have. Connelly details the racist
agenda of the founders of the modern population
control movement, which wanted to reduce the number
of “racially inferior” human beings. Just a few examples
of the resulting systematic human rights abuses are below.

Planned Parenthood struggling financially, Harvard study finds

2009-12-05T07:48:00.000-08:00

Washington D.C., Dec 5, 2009 / 01:46 am (CNA).- Last week, InsiderCatholic.com issued a story referring to a Harvard Business School case study which outlined some of Planned Parenthood's recent financial difficulties. According to Mauricio Roman's article, Planned Parenthood has recently consolidated its affiliates, pushed for more cost effective procedures such as chemical abortions versus in-clinic abortions, and has tried to increase its sale of emergency contraceptive kits.

The Harvard case study, released in April of 2009, claims that "tough economic times, a hostile political environment" and inability to raise philanthropic dollars are among the reasons for Planned Parenthood's financial difficulties, despite the fact that the non-profit organization claimed $85 million in profits in 2008.

"Planned Parenthood may call itself a non-profit but the numbers don't lie: abortion is a big business," said Colin Mason, Director of Media Production for the Population Research Institute to CNA.

"Planned Parenthood talks the talk on 'wanting to reduce abortions' but that is actually the last thing they want. Why would they? Abortions are their bread and butter. When rates drop, Planned Parenthood feels the heat, as we're seeing now."

When asked if their financial difficulties are among the reasons that Planned Parenthood is working so hard to ensure federally-funded abortions in the new health care reform, Mason told CNA that "it is likely that this particularly strong push is a result of their slashed revenues."

"As abortion becomes more and more unpopular, Planned Parenthood suffers. Federal funding ensures a reliable budget."

Mason continued to tell CNA that "Planned Parenthood is beginning to have an odor of disreputability, and is losing funding at the state and local level as a result. They are shrouded in scandals that seem to pop up at every turn, from their proven practice of covering up statutory rape, to their willingness to accept racist donations."

"It is telling," said Mason, "that major companies like Target, who used to give to Planned Parenthood, have ceased. Planned Parenthood is beginning to develop a 'creep factor,' which takes its toll on revenue and patronage."

Ultimately, Mason believes that "Americans are becoming more and more uncomfortable with the entire idea of abortion and that is one of the biggest reasons why America’s biggest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, is starting to see a massive fall-off."

"It is our hope," Mason told CNA, "that, just as the ovens of Auschwitz stand empty now as a public memorial to millions of slain Jews, so someday Planned Parenthood’s clinics will stand empty to remind us of the countless babies sacrificed in the name of 'choice'."

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New Uruguayan president-elect means pro-life battle is compromised, leader warns

2009-12-03T08:36:00.000-08:00

Montevideo, Uruguay, Dec 3, 2009 / 11:10 am (CNA).- Following the announcement that Uruguay's left-wing candidate won the country's recent presidential election, pro-life leader Alvaro Fernandez warned that “the ballot for life in Uruguay is frankly compromised,” as the newly elected leader has said he would not oppose a possible legalization of abortion, as did his predecessor, outgoing President Tabare Vasquez.

In an interview with CNA, Fernandez explained that president-elect Jose Mujica was a member of the Tupamaros during the 1970s, a Marxist group that resorted to violence to bring about social change in Uruguay. His wife, who was also a member, is also “clearly supportive of the legalization of abortion.”

Fernandez said the differences between the various presidential candidates “were notable, not only for exterior reasons or because of their different political styles, but also because of deep philosophical differences.”

For example, he said, former president and candidate of the National Party, Luis Lacalle, “had promised he would veto any law on abortion that was passed by Parliament. Mr. Mujica promised he wouldn’t put any obstacles against the law on abortion.”

In order to warn the fellow Uruguayans of the importance of the November 29 elections, Fernandez explained, Uruguayan pro-lifers took the streets on November 23 to protest the legalization of abortion, with some 3,500 participating.

“What is certain and sure is that the pro-life battle in Uruguay is frankly compromised,” Fernandez said, adding that pro-lifers “would continue fighting like always. We will do everything we can to achieve the impossible. We are counting on the prayers of all, and, much to the dismay of Mr. Mujica, on the help of Divine Providence.”

Carlos Polo, the director of the Office for Latin America of the Population Research Institute, told CNA, “While it is true that candidate Mujica said he supported abortion, President Mujica does not necessarily have to come down on the side of his personal convictions. He won by a very small margin and almost half of the country does not concur with his positions.” For this reason, Polo warned, “Mujica must govern everyone and not only a particular social or political group, as there is a growing social tendency in Uruguay against the legalization of abortion.”

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Vatican daily reminds Obama that U.S. is increasingly pro-life

2009-11-30T11:53:00.000-08:00

Vatican City, Nov 30, 2009 / 11:46 am (CNA).- L’Osservatore Romano (LOR) published an article last week reminding U.S. President Barack Obama that the number of Americans who oppose abortion continues to be on the rise. This was recently demonstrated by the nearly 200,000 signatures to the "Manhattan Declaration," a document drafted by various Christian leaders in defense of life, marriage, the family and religious freedom.

LOR said: "The political and spiritual weight of the Manhattan Declaration is thus evident" as "this is a crucial moment for the Obama administration since the president's credibility is at risk over promises made during the campaign season, considering the not-so-encouraging results of the latest polls on the president's popularity."

In recent days "the spotlight is on health care reform," which is currently being debated in the Senate, with a bill that is "quite different from the one approved only weeks ago by the House of Representatives." That bill prohibited the use of federal funds for abortion and established conscience protections through the Stupak amendment, which was lauded by the U.S. bishops.

LOR pointed out that the difference in between the two bills cannot be considered an accident. “In fact it was Obama himself, in a recent interview, who said that the Stupak Amendment introduced unbalanced language in the health care reform and that "women's choices" should not be restricted.

Thus, LOR argued, Obama is moving between two contrary positions: that of keeping his campaign promises "not to use federal funds for abortion and that the right to conscientious objection be respected," and that of "influential pro-choice groups who demand an ultimate liberalization of abortion practices."

After noting that the Manhattan Declaration clearly defends life and opposes abortion, LOR explained that "polls in recent months show that the number of those who are pro-life continues to rise and is now larger than the number of Americans” who think unrestricted abortions should be allowed during the course of pregnancy.

LOR said the change in public opinion in the U.S. is made evident by the Manhattan Declaration, which reads: "no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence. It is our duty to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness, both in season and out of season. May God help us not to fail in that duty.”

Among the signers of the declaration are "Jonah Paffhausen, primate of the Orthodox Church in America, and Robert Duncan, Anglican Primate of North America, as well as the Rev. William Owens, president of the Coalition of African American Pastors. Signers such as these could make Obama campaign staffers recalculate,” LOR said.

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The need for hope

2009-11-29T18:22:00.001-08:00

“The contemporary world needs hope above all; this is true for developing peoples but especially for developed peoples. Increasingly, we realise that we are in the same boat and that we can save ourselves together. With the collapse of so many false certainties, we are becoming especially aware of how we need reliable hope and that this is found only in Christ, who according to the Letter to the Hebrews Jesus “is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (13:8). The Lord Jesus came in the past, comes in the present, and shall come in the future. He embraces all of time’s dimensions. Because he died and rose, he is the ‘Living’, and whilst he shared our human precariousness, he is always there, offering us God’s stability. He is “flesh” like us, and “rock” like God. Anyone who yearns for freedom, justice, and peace can stand erect and raise his head because in Christ redemption is at hand (cf Lk, 21:28).”

EU commission strikes down British religious freedom exemptions from anti-discrimination law

2009-11-26T12:30:00.000-08:00

London, England, Nov 26, 2009 / 01:06 pm (CNA).- The European Union has compelled the British government to remove religious freedom exemptions from an anti-discrimination bill. The move will forbid church bodies from declining to employ homosexual staff. The National Secular Society had argued that the exemptions went further than was permitted under an EU directive and created “illegal discrimination against homosexuals,” the Observer reports.

The EU commission agreed, ruling that the exemptions are “broader than that permitted by the directive.”

The British government must now redraft anti-discrimination laws. The new proposals would allow religious organizations to decline to employ homosexuals only if their job involves actively promoting or practicing a religion.

The prior law allowed religious groups to refuse to employ homosexuals “so as to avoid conflicting with the strongly held religious convictions of a significant number of the religion's followers.”

Homosexual activist Peter Tatchell claimed that the ruling was “a significant victory for gay equality” and a “serious setback” for religious employers who had been granted exemption. According to the Guardian, he said the move was a “big embarrassment” for the British government, which he claimed has “consistently sought to appease religious homophobes.”

The Christian charity, Care was critical of the decision, the Guardian says.

“If evangelical churches cannot be sure that they can employ practicing evangelicals with respect to sexual ethics, how will they be able to continue?” the organization asked.

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Law on homosexual unions in Mexico City is a 'legal monstrosity,' expert says

2009-11-24T18:04:00.000-08:00

Mexico City, Mexico, Nov 24, 2009 / 04:56 pm (CNA).- The president of the College of Catholic Lawyers of Mexico, Armando Martinez, criticized a proposed measure this week that would make homosexual unions equal to marriage. Martinez said the new measure being promoted by the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) is a “legal monstrosity,” and that the existing civil union laws could be modified to address such issues as social security.

Overhauling the country’s laws for the sake of rights that are “supposedly” not recognized is “a huge lie,” he said adding that the only thing that would be created is a legal contradiction between the Federal District and the states. Martinez slammed lawmakers for being “scatterbrains” and for allowing themselves to be the spokesmen for “small-minded intellectuals” who are promoting such measures.

“It is untrue that reforming the Civil Code would give homosexuals rights in the area of social security, since in order for that to happen federal law must be changed,” he pointed out.

Martinez also criticized lawmakers in Mexico City for being out of touch with the Mexican people, as 17 states have enacted constitutional reform in support of “the culture of life.” If they are so sure their agenda is what the people want, he added, then they should hold a referendum and allow voters to participate in the decision of whether or not to legalize homosexual unions

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South Korean obstetricians demand enforcement of abortion law

2009-11-22T19:03:00.000-08:00

Seoul, South Korea, Nov 22, 2009 / 08:34 pm (CNA).- Despite South Korea’s prohibition on abortion, some 350,000 abortions still take place annually. Now a group of obstetricians is working to enforce the law, even if the former abortionists among their membership must implicate themselves in their own illegal acts. The number of abortions in South Korea is only 100,000 fewer than the 450,000 babies usually born each year.

The Korean group of obstetricians called Gynob has launched a movement against abortion, Joon Ang Daily reports. Their spokeswoman, practicing obstetrician Choi Anna, said she intends to advocate against abortion until the practice is entirely wiped out though she has reportedly received death threats from other private obstetricians who say her activities are bad for business.

“Our group has made it clear that we as obstetricians won’t rely on abortion for a living anymore,” Anna said.

The 43-year-old Anna admits to having once profited from abortions at her hospital. She told the Joon Ang Daily that Korean society’s tacit consent to abortion has prompted many obstetricians to secretly provide the procedure.

“The country is now suffering from a low birthrate,” Anna said, attributing it to a past population control policy that encouraged abortion. “The government seems to be reluctant now to clamp down. But we believe when doctors halt abortions, births could increase by more than 100,000 in one to two years.

“If this movement becomes successful, obstetricians won’t have to provide abortions for a living,” she added.

Gynob is planning to send questionnaires on abortion to all government institutions, including the presidential Blue House, and to related research centers.

If the Health Ministry does not launch an investigation into the conducting of abortions for profit, Anna said, her group will try to have the ministry indicted for neglecting its duties.

Members of Gynob are considering implicating themselves for illegal abortions because abortion has a five-year statute of limitation.

“My fellow doctor Shim Sang-deok says our movement may bear fruit after he is imprisoned,” Anna said.

Many practicing obstetricians provide abortions because they are profitable, while delivering babies and providing gynecological treatment are not big moneymakers, Anna explained.

“Doctors performing abortions say they are ashamed to tell their families what they do,” she told the Joon Ang Daily. “When I opened my hospital seven years ago, I wanted to treat patients suffering from sterility, my expertise, but a major portion of my patients were those wanting abortions. I washed my hands countless times after abortion surgeries.”

She said abortion is the “easiest choice” for pregnant Korean women regardless of their wealth, religion or education.

“But post-abortion trauma is gigantic,” Anna added.

Korean law defines abortion as artificially ending the life of an unborn child aged 23 weeks or younger. It allows exceptions if a mother’s life is in jeopardy if she gives birth and in case where women are victims of rape or incest or have infectious or genetically-based mental illnesses.

Both abortionists and the women who seek abortions are subject to prison terms of up to two years, but few have ever been punished, the Joon Ang Daily reports.

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Vatican Alerts Doctors to Anti-Life Mindset

2009-11-20T18:24:00.000-08:00

ROME, NOV. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- There is an urgency today to educate society in the culture of life, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone told a gathering of Italian physicians.

Benedict XVI's secretary of state said this last week during a homily he gave to members of the National Council of Italian Catholic Medical Associations, held in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace.

Addressing the challenges of modernity, the cardinal noted that "medicine itself, which by its nature should tend to the defense and care of human life, in some of its sectors lends itself increasingly to carry out acts against the person."

The secretary of state affirmed an "urgency to educate in the culture of life."

"Witnessed on one hand is the elimination of nascent human lives or those that are close to their end; on the other, it is increasingly difficult for conscience to distinguish good from evil in what affects the very fundamental value of human life," he explained.

Cardinal Bertone reminded his listeners that "the activity of the Catholic doctor is revealed useful not only for the purpose of physical health, but also, in a certain sense, for the moral and spiritual health of the patient."

This is true, he said, because "body and spirit are so united in man that one influences the other, and your main task is to watch over and promote life in its integral realization."

Reductions

Referring to the encyclical "Caritas in Veritate," the secretary of state criticized the material and mechanical concept of human life," which reduces love without truth to "an empty shell to be filled arbitrarily" and can entail negative effects for integral human development.

According to the cardinal, to educate in the culture of life it is necessary "to be able to contemplate in every human being the reflection of the beauty and love of God."

"Without God, man no longer perceives himself as 'mysteriously other' in relation to the various earthly creatures, and is considered as one of many living beings, as an organism that, at best, has reached a very high level of perfection," he said.

Referring to the encyclical "Evangelium Vitae" of John Paul II, Cardinal Bertone pointed out that it is "precisely in the distance between God and man" where "the motive is found that leads to losing the value of human life with the consequent presumption of being able to manage it, ignoring the Creator."

In this context, the secretary of state denounced abortion and deaths due to hunger: "There are lives that aren't news and whose loss does not cause shock.

"There are sacrosanct battles to save the life of those sentenced to death and also to safeguard the right to life of those who have committed serious crimes, while the death of innocents is considered legal and just, with laws approved by majorities in civil Parliaments."

"Emotion, ideologies, and political reasons," he added, "substitute in practice the correctly illumined conscience."

this can be found at: http://www.zenit.org/rssenglish-27621

Planned Parenthood 'runs on fear,' former clinic director charges

2009-11-17T19:35:00.000-08:00

Denver, Colo., Nov 17, 2009 / 07:02 am (CNA).- Abby Johnson, former Bryan, Texas Planned Parenthood director spoke with CNA on Monday about the restraining order her former employer filed against her following her Oct. 6 resignation. Johnson noted that while she was a little surprised by the injunction, she also knows that Planned Parenthood “runs on fear.”

Johnson, who had worked at the Bryan clinic for eight years, left Planned Parenthood on what she describes as “good terms” after witnessing an ultrasound of an abortion.

“I made a decision that day,” she told CNA. “I went home and talked to my husband about it.”

Following her resignation, Johnson joined up with members of the Coalition of Life. Shortly after, Planned Parenthood's lawyers filed a restraining order against their former employee citing their concern that she would share confidential information about the clinic as well as its patients.

Johnson noted that Planned Parenthood's attempt was unsuccessful and that their claims “had no evidence.”

“Alluding to the fact that I would release patient information is very offensive. I cared about them when I worked there, and I still do.” Johnson added that she would never do anything to violate their privacy. “It's absolutely ridiculous!”

The former clinic director went even further in denouncing Planned Parenthood, calling it “an organization that frequently threatens people who go against them.” During her tenure at the clinic, Johnson said that she saw her former employer “continually threaten” its opponents.

“If you're against them, they are going to try to sue you,” she told CNA.

Though Johnson admitted she was slightly surprised the organization filed an injunction, she figured they might go after her.

“Planned Parenthood is an organization that runs of fear. They are scared of what they do know, and they are scared of what they don't know.”

Now that Johnson has resigned from her position, she said she's not sure what is in store for her. Currently she has several talks lined up to discuss pro-life issues on the benefits of ultrasound and how important it is for women.

She added that she and her husband are “spending a lot of time in prayer to decide what we'll do next. Everyday something new pops up. Something that we didn't expect.”

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Well-formed conscience imperative to defense of life, says Holy Father

2009-11-16T11:19:00.000-08:00

Vatican City, Nov 16, 2009 / 12:31 pm (CNA).- At the conclusion of their visit to Rome, Pope Benedict addressed members of Brazil’s National Conference of Bishops, inviting them to continue their evangelization efforts and emphasizing that the well-formed conscience brings about the absolute good of humanity.

Integral to that human good, and to the formation and exercise of conscience, is the defense of life, which is “not just a Christian prerogative” the Pope continued. “The 'people of life' are happy to share their commitment with others in such a way that they may become ever more numerous and the new culture of love and solidarity may grow, for the true good of human civilization,” he told the bishops.

In face of the “growing wave of violence and contempt for human beings” in today’s culture, Benedict XVI encouraged the prelates to speak "to people's hearts" and "to unite their efforts,” reminding the people that they are not merely a human product but “a gift of God welcomed in the loving intimacy between man and woman.”

Essentially, “the conviction - founded on proper reason and the certainty of faith - that human life, from conception to natural death, belongs to God and not to man, gives life that sacred character and individual dignity which justify the only correct legal and moral attitude: one of profound respect," the Pope added.

The Holy Father closed by inviting the bishops to do God’s work, “not with the sadness of those who see only shortcomings and dangers, but with the firm trust of those who know they can be sure of Christ's victory.”

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Breast cancer-abortion link highlighted by Chinese study

2009-11-13T11:19:00.000-08:00

Shenyang, China, Nov 13, 2009 / 07:31 am (CNA).- Chinese researchers claim to have found a 17 percent increased breast cancer risk among women who have had induced abortions.

Peng Xing and other researchers in the Department of Oncology at the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University enrolled in their study 1,417 patients diagnosed with breast cancer and 1,587 women without a prior breast cancer.

The researchers’ findings indicated that induced abortion increased a woman’s risk of breast cancer by a “statistically significant” rate of 17 percent.

According to the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer (CABC), U.S. researchers have said that Chinese studies on a link between abortion and breast cancer exclude “report bias” because abortion isn’t stigmatized in China and Chinese women are considered reliable reporters for their abortions.

The CABC said a Turkish study published earlier this year reported a 66 percent increased breast cancer risk among women who have had abortions.

Karen Malec, CABC president, said the Chinese and Turkish studies are relevant to the debate in the U.S. over government-funded abortion.

“Government-funded abortion means more dead American women from breast cancer," she charged.

The CABC claimed that both studies show “honest research” in contrast to U.S. and Western governmental agencies or organizations that the coalition believes are “tethered to abortion ideology and politics.”

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Spanish bishop encourages women who have aborted to receive Sacrament of Reconciliation

2009-11-12T19:41:00.000-08:00

Madrid, Spain, Nov 12, 2009 / 07:52 pm (CNA/Europa Press).- The secretary general of the Spanish bishops' conference, Auxiliary Bishop Juan Antonio Martinez Camino of Madrid, encouraged women who have aborted to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

During a breakfast in the Spanish capital, Bishop Martinez Camino said the Church reaches out to women who are feeling tempted to have an abortion or have already experienced this tragedy.

He then stressed that God’s mercy awaits those tormented by abortion. “Those who have not gone to confession are encouraged to do so because God wants to offer them a solution and deep peace,” he said. The Church “defends the rights of the innocents,” and is “conscious of the problem that [abortion] entails.”

“She is not merciless towards those who fall into sin,” he continued.

Bishop Martinez Camino warned lawmakers that support of the proposed law on abortion would constitute “public sin” and would place them in an “objective state of sin.” While “the Church cannot judge their subjectivity,” he added, those who “directly collaborate” in an abortion incur excommunication.

The bishop said lawmakers and voters must consider the issue of life above their own political party platforms and party leaders. Those who affirm that an innocent life can be taken find themselves “in contradiction with Divine and Catholic law,” he added.

He then praised health care workers and others who have exercised their right to conscientious objection “with civic and moral courage,” and he warned against the “grave manipulation” of portraying abortion as a medical procedure, as “abortion is never a cure because pregnancy is not a disease.”

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Italy's Bishops Irate over Crucifix Ban by European Court

2009-11-12T15:44:00.000-08:00

VATICAN CITY (Zenit.org) - Italy's bishops are saying the European Court of Human Rights is guilty of a partial and ideological outlook with its Tuesday decision that crucifixes in public school are a violation of freedom.

The Vatican and the Italian government expressed dismay with Tuesday's decision and Italian bishops expressed their own perplexity.

The court ruled in favor of an Italian citizen of Finnish origin who complained in 2002 that the state school where her two children studied violated their freedom by displaying crucifixes.

The school's administration refused to remove them, contending that the crucifix is part of Italian cultural patrimony; Italian courts subsequently backed this claim.

Now, the Strasbourg-based European court has asked the Italian government to compensate the woman with €5,000 ($7,300).

Judge Nicola Lettieri, who defends Italy in Strasbourg, assured that the Italian government will appeal the decision.

Obligation

The Italian bishops' conference said the decision "causes distress and many perplexities."

"It ignores or neglects the multiple meaning of the crucifix, which not only is a religious symbol, but also a cultural sign," a communiqué from the conference stated. "It does not take into account the fact that, in reality, in the Italian experience, the display of the crucifix in public places is in harmony with the recognition of the principles of Catholicism as part of the historical patrimony of the Italian people, confirmed by the Concordat of 1984."

The bishops cautioned that the ruling "runs the risk of artificially severing the national identity from its spiritual and cultural origins."

The episcopal conference statement maintained that the decision goes beyond a separation of Church and state, and becomes "hostility toward any form of political and cultural relevance of religion."

For his part, jurist Giuseppe Dalla Torre, rector of the LUMSA University of Rome, told the bishops' SIR news agency that the court's argument is "mistaken reasoning based on an assumption that the crucifix might oblige a profession of faith. However, the crucifix is a passive symbol, that is, it does not oblige anyone in conscience."

This can be found at: http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=34759

Contraception in History

2009-11-10T18:43:00.000-08:00

Historically, Christians always have condemned contraceptive sex. The two forms mentioned in the Bible, and sterilization, are condemned without exception (Gen. 38:9-10, Deut. 23:1). The Fathers of the Church recognized that in natural law the purpose of sexual intercourse is procreation; contraceptive sex, which deliberately blocks that natural purpose, is therefore a violation of natural law.

Every church in Christendom condemned contraception until 1930, when, at its decennial Lambeth Conference, Anglicanism gave permission for the use of contraception in a few extraordinary cases. Soon all Protestant denominations had adopted the secularist position on contraception. Today not one stands with the Catholic Church to maintain the ancient Christian faith on this issue.

How badly things have decayed may be seen by comparing the current state of non-Catholic churches, where most pastors counsel young couples to decide before they are married what form of contraception they use, with these quotations from the Fathers, who condemned contraception in general as well as in particular forms of it (sterilization, oral contraceptives, , and orally-consummated sex).

Many Protestants, perhaps beginning to see the inevitable connection between contraception and divorce and between contraception and abortion, are now returning to the historic Christian position and are rejecting contraceptive sexual practices.

Letter of Barnabas

"Moreover, he [Moses] has rightly detested the weasel [Lev. 11 :29]. For he means, 'Thou shalt not be like to those whom we hear of as committing wickedness with the mouth with the body through uncleanness [orally consummated sex]; nor shalt thou be joined to those impure women who commit iniquity with the mouth with the body through uncleanness"' ( 10:8 [A.D. 74]).

Clement of Alexandria

"Because of its divine institution for the propagation of man, the seed is not to be vainly ejaculated, nor is it to be damaged, nor is it to be wasted" ( 2:10:91:2 [A.D. 191]).

Clement of Alexandria

"To have coitus other than to procreate children is to do injury to nature" (ibid. 2:10:95:3).

Hippolytus

"[Christian women with male concubines], on account of their prominent ancestry and great property, the so-called faithful want no children from slaves or lowborn commoners, they use drugs of sterility [oral contraceptives] or bind themselves tightly in order to expel a fetus which has already been engendered [abortion]" ( 9:12 [A.D. 225]).

Lactantius

"[Some] complain of the scantiness of their means, and allege that they have not enough for bringing up more children, as though, in truth, their means were in [their] power . . . or God did not daily make the rich poor and the poor rich. Wherefore, if any one on any account of poverty shall be unable to bring up children, it is better to abstain from relations with his wife" ( 6:20 [A.D. 3o7]).

Lactantius

"God gave us eyes not to see and desire pleasure, but to see acts to be performed for the needs of life; so too, the genital ['generating'] part of the body, as the name itself teaches, has been received by us for no other purpose than the generation of offspring" (ibid. 6:23:18).

Council of Nicaea I

"[I]f anyone in sound health has castrated [sterilized] himself, it behooves that such a one, if enrolled among the clergy, should cease [from his ministry], and that from henceforth no such person should be promoted. But, as it is evident that this is said of those who willfully do the thing and presume to castrate themselves, so if any have been made eunuchs by barbarians, or by their masters, and should otherwise be found worthy, such men this canon admits to the clergy" (canon l [A.D. 325]).

Epiphanius

"They [certain Egyptian heretics] exercise genital acts, yet prevent the conceiving of children. Not in order to produce offspring, but to satisfy lust, are they eager for corruption" ( 26:5:2 [A.D. 375]).

John Chrysostom

"[I]n truth, all men know that they who are under the power of this disease [the sin of covetousness] are wearied even of their father's old age [wishing him to die so they can inherit]; and that which is sweet, and universally desirable, the having of children, they esteem grievous and unwelcome. Many at least with this view have even paid money to be childless, and have mutilated nature, not only killing the newborn, but even acting to prevent their beginning to live [sterilization]" ( 28:5 [A.D. 391]).

John Chrysostom

"[T]he man who has mutilated [sterilized] himself, in fact, is subject even to a curse, as Paul says, 'I would that they who trouble you would cut the whole thing off' [Gal. 5 :12]. And very reasonably, for such a person is venturing on the deeds of murderers, and giving occasion to them that slander God's creation, and opens the mouths of the Manicheans, and is guilty of the same unlawful acts as they that mutilate themselves among the Greeks. For to cut off our members has been from the beginning a work of demonical agency, and satanic device, that they may bring up a bad report upon the works of God, that they may mar this living creature, that imputing all not to the choice, but to the nature of our members, the more part of them may sin in security as being irresponsible, and doubly harm this living creature, both by mutilating the members and be impeding the forwardness of the free choice in behalf of good deeds" (ibid. 62:3).

John Chrysostom

"Why do you sow where the field is eager to destroy the fruit, where there are medicines of sterility [oral contraceptives], where there is murder before birth? You do not even let a harlot remain only a harlot, but you make her a murderess as well.... Indeed, it is something worse than murder, and I do not know what to call it; for she does not kill what is formed but prevents its formation. What then? Do you condemn the gift of God and fight with his [natural] laws? . . . Yet such turpitude . . . the matter still seems indifferent to many men—even to many men having wives. In this indifference of the married men there is greater evil filth; for then poisons are prepared, not against the womb of a prostitute, but against your injured wife. Against her are these innumerable tricks" ( 24 [A.D. 391]).

John Chrysostom

"Observe how bitterly he [Paul] speaks against their deceivers . . . 'I would that they which trouble you would cut the whole thing off' [Gal. 5:12] .... On this account he curses them, and his meaning is as follows: 'For them I have no concern, "A man that is heretical after the first and second admonition." If they will, let them not only be circumcised but mutilated' [Titus 3:10]. Where then are those who dare to mutilate [sterilize] themselves, seeing that they drawn down the apostolic curse, and accuse the workmanship of God, and take part with the Manichees?" ( 5:12 [A.D. 395]).

Jerome

"But I wonder why he [the heretic Jovinianus] set Judah and Tamar before us for an example, unless perchance even harlots give him pleasure; or Onan, who was slain because he grudged his brother seed. Does he imagine that we approve of any sexual intercourse except for the procreation of children?" ( 1: 19 [A.D. 393]).

Jerome

"You may see a number of women who are widows before they are wives. Others, indeed, will drink sterility [oral contraceptives] and murder a man not yet born, [and some commit abortion]" ( 22:13 [A.D. 396]).

Augustine

"You [Manicheans] make your auditors adulterers of their wives when they take care lest the women with whom they copulate conceive. They take wives according to the laws of matrimony by tablets announcing that the marriage is contracted to procreate children; and then, fearing because of your [religious] law [against childbearing] . . . they copulate in a shameful union only to satisfy lust for their wives. They are unwilling to have children, on whose account alone marriages are made. How is it, then, that you are not those prohibiting marriage, as the apostle predicted of you so long ago [1 Tim. 4:1-4], when you try to take from marriage what marriage is? When this is taken away, husbands are shameful lovers, wives are harlots, bridal chambers are brothels, fathers-in-law are pimps" ( 15:7 [A.D. 400]).

Augustine

"For thus the eternal law, that is, the will of God creator of all creatures, taking counsel for the conservation of natural order, not to serve lust, but to see to the preservation of the race, permits the delight of mortal flesh to be released from the control of reason in copulation only to propagate progeny" (ibid., 22:30).

Augustine

"For necessary sexual intercourse for begetting [children] is alone worthy of marriage. But that which goes beyond this necessity no longer follows reason but lust. And yet it pertains to the character of marriage . . . to yield it to the partner lest by fornication the other sin damnably [through adultery].... [T]hey [must] not turn away from them the mercy of God . . . by changing the natural use into that which is against nature, which is more damnable when it is done in the case of husband or wife. For, whereas that natural use, when it pass beyond the compact of marriage, that is, beyond the necessity of begetting [children], is pardonable in the case of a wife, damnable in the case of a harlot; that which is against nature is execrable when done in the case of a harlot, but more execrable in the case of a wife. Of so great power is the ordinance of the Creator, and the order of creation, that . . . when the man shall wish to use a body part of the wife not allowed for this purpose [orally or anally consummated sex], the wife is more shameful, if she suffer it to take place in her own case, than if in the case of another woman" ( 11-12 [A.D. 401]).

Augustine

"This proves that you [Manicheans] approve of having a wife, not for the procreation of children, but for the gratification of passion. In marriage, as the marriage law declares, the man and woman come together for the procreation of children. Therefore, whoever makes the procreation of children a greater sin than copulation, forbids marriage and makes the woman not a wife but a mistress, who for some gifts presented to her is joined to the man to gratify his passion" ( 18:65 [A.D. 388]).

Augustine

"I am supposing, then, although you are not lying [with your wife] for the sake of procreating offspring, you are not for the sake of lust obstructing their procreation by an evil prayer or an evil deed. Those who do this, although they are called husband and wife, are not; nor do they retain any reality of marriage, but with a respectable name cover a shame. Sometimes this lustful cruelty, or cruel lust, comes to this, that they even procure poisons of sterility [oral contraceptives] . . . Assuredly if both husband and wife are like this, they are not married, and if they were like this from the beginning they come together not joined in matrimony but in seduction. If both are not like this, I dare to say that either the wife is in a fashion the harlot of her husband or he is an adulterer with his own wife" ( 1:15:17 [A.D. 419]).

Caesarius

"Who is he who cannot warn that no woman may take a potion [an oral contraceptive or an abortifacient] so that she is unable to conceive or condemns in herself the nature which God willed to be fecund? As often as she could have conceived or given birth, of that many homicides she will be held guilty, and, unless she undergoes suitable penance, she will be damned by eternal death in hell. If a women does not wish to have children, let her enter into a religious agreement with her husband; for chastity is the sole sterility of a Christian woman" ( 1:12 [A.D. 522]).

This can be found at: http://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/FKBCONTR.HTM

Spiritual healing

2009-11-08T17:00:00.000-08:00

From a interview with Vicki Thorn. Thorn says there is more awareness today about the long-term negative effects of abortion than when she began her ministry. Yet there is still "huge denial in the psychotherapeutic community" regarding links between abortion and harmful behaviors such as depression, eating disorders and suicidal tendencies.

Although every woman who has had an abortion is "a mother who has lost a child," the circumstances can affect the way a woman grieves. For example, a woman who has had an abortion because a doctor told her something was wrong with the baby "will be a wreck immediately....The woman who has a late-term abortion will probably grieve right away, too, because she bonded more."

Regarding RU-486, known as the "abortion pill," Thorn says, "We have some potential for serious post-traumatic stress disorder there.... You can't be sitting at home, have all this blood, and then pass the baby, and think you're not going to be traumatized by it!"

Thorn refers to women who have had abortions as "aborted women." She says they need to understand some of the things that can trigger painful emotions. For example, an aborted woman might believe that God can't forgive her. Attending a wedding or graduation of someone who is the same age her aborted baby would have been can cause anguish. Early menopause for a woman with no living children is another reminder.

Most aborted women who contact Project Rachel "want to start with a priest," says Thorn. These women feel the urge for forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Some believe they have committed an unforgivable sin and think they are excommunicated (see "Ask a Franciscan").

The woman is given the names of several priests nearby who have been trained in this healing ministry. If a woman has a special problem such as depression or an eating disorder, she may be referred to a priest who is also a therapist. Thorn tells women, "Trust the Holy Spirit to get you to the right person."

In order to protect the priests and the women, "The priest list is highly confidential," explains Thorn. For example, if it is known that a specific parish priest is trained in Project Rachel, people might think that every woman making an appointment with him has had an abortion. In addition, some people might mistakenly think that a priest involved in Project Rachel is pro-abortion.

Thorn believes aborted women feel isolated and have a strong drive to heal: "They think they're crazy because where in the media do you see that there's a problem afterward?" She tells them, "If you give God permission to heal you, God is going to honor your request." When they are healed, these women "are such a gift to the Church because they understand the Church's teaching on abortion. They may even come to understand the Church's teaching on contraception."

Many women were pressured into having abortions, either directly or indirectly, she explains. Thus, it's important that they make the decision to seek healing on their own, without pressure. And that may be many years after an abortion. "The day that she's ready to heal, God is going to put somebody or some book or some Web site there," she says. "It's about bereavement. It's about grieving. It's about establishing a relationship with that lost child. The real gift of our faith tradition is the Communion of Saints, because you can talk about that child as an intercessor for the family."

this can be found at: http://www.americancatholic.org/messenger/jan2002/feature2.asp

Church cannot remain silent when human life is in danger, says Peruvian bishop

2009-11-04T15:17:00.000-08:00

Ayaviri, Peru, Nov 4, 2009 / 02:09 am (CNA).- Bishop Kay Martin Schmalhausen of Ayaviri, Peru reminded the faithful this week that the Church cannot remain silent when human life is attacked, because “it is her duty to raise her voice when it comes to fundamental issues about man.”

Amidst the recent debate in Peru over the legalization of abortion, Bishop Schmalhausen explained that the Church cannot remain silent “when it comes to the fundamental issues of man, when the good of a people or of humanity itself, its present and its future, is in danger.”

“Nobody, no man, no human authority has power over another man to decide the life of another,” the bishop said. “At the root of all debate over allowing abortion and relativizing the primordial right to life of every unborn child is the logic of Cain who, hidden though always culpable, kills his brother.”

On an issue as delicate as this one, the Church is speaking in defense of all of her children, especially all women, Bishop Schmalhausen continued. More than anyone, “the Church understands the joys and sufferings of families, the joys and tragedies of young people,” and especially of women who are pregnant and even women who have experienced abortion, he said.

“Any society that justifies killing its own will end up corrupting itself and will be guilty of the threatening spread of a culture of death,” the bishop stated. It is well known that the strategy of pro-abortion groups at the national and international level is to see that the first legislative concessions to abortion lead to a wider liberalization of the practice, to make it institutionalized in third world countries,” he said.

Bishop Schmalhausen called for improved policies aimed at assisting pregnant mothers and families in difficult situations to prevent them from suffering from the tragedy of abortion.

He praised and encouraged efforts by the Church to reach out to women through assistance centers and other projects aimed at preventing abortion and helping women who are suffering from post-abortion stress syndrome.

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17575

Honduran Congress prohibits morning-after pill

2009-11-03T19:13:00.000-08:00

Tegucigalpa, Nov 3, 2009 / 07:26 pm (CNA).- A new law has taken effect in Honduras prohibiting the consumption and marketing of the morning-after pill in the Central American country.

The law was passed by the Honduran Congress at the beginning of the year with backing from the Medical College of Honduras, which pointed out that the pill has an abortifacient effect making it unconstitutional.

The Honduran Congress argued that the drug would “gravely endanger the health of the Honduran population, especially women who are able to get pregnant.”

Lawmakers pointed to a 2008 report by the Medical College of Honduras that warned of the drug’s anti-implantation effect, making it an abortifacient. The new law prohibits “the promotion, consumption, sale and purchasing of the emergency contraceptive pill, as well as its distribution, whether for sale or free-of-charge.”

Commenting on the historic decision, which is similar to measures taken by other countries in the region, Carlos Polo, Latin American director of the Population Research Institute, told CNA that this decision is “a milestone for another Latin American country” saying that Honduras has freed itself from the pressures of pharmaceutical companies and feminist organizations.

“In Latin America, where abortion is illegal, the only option left for the promoters of this pill was to misinform the people by denying the so-called ‘third effect.’ Now we see that pressure and misinformation can last a while but in the end, deceit fails on its own. We will certainly see the morning-after pill eradicated from Latin America, thus freeing ourselves from an inoperative and costly method that has grave adverse effects for women,” Polo said.

This can be found at http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17573

Planned Parenthood Director Quits After Watching Abortion on Ultrasound

2009-11-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

Fox News report at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571215,00.html

The former director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in southeast Texas says she had a "change of heart" after watching an abortion last month — and she quit her job and joined a pro-life group in praying outside the facility.

Abby Johnson, 29, used to escort women from their cars to the clinic in the eight years she volunteered and worked for Planned Parenthood in Bryan, Texas. But she says she knew it was time to leave after she watched a fetus "crumple" as it was vacuumed out of a patient's uterus in September.

'When I was working at Planned Parenthood I was extremely pro-choice," Johnson told FoxNews.com. But after seeing the internal workings of the procedure for the first time on an ultrasound monitor, "I would say there was a definite conversion in my heart ... a spiritual conversion."

Johnson said she became disillusioned with her job after her bosses pressured her for months to increase profits by performing more and more abortions, which cost patients between $505 and $695.

"Every meeting that we had was, 'We don't have enough money, we don't have enough money — we've got to keep these abortions coming,'" Johnson told FoxNews.com. "It's a very lucrative business and that's why they want to increase numbers."

A spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood told FoxNews.com that it offers a range of services at it 850 health centers nationwide, providing pregnancy tests, vaccinations and women's health services, "including wellness exams, breast and cervical cancer screenings, contraception, and STD testing and treatment."

"Planned Parenthood's focus is on prevention," wrote Diane Quest, the group's National Media Director. "Nationwide, more than 90% of the health care Planned Parenthood affiliates provide is preventive in nature," explaining that a "core component the organization's mission is to help women plan healthy pregnancies and prevent unintended pregnancies."

But Johnson said her bosses told her to change her "priorities" and focus on abortions, which she said made money for the office at a time when the recession has left them hurting.

"For them there's not a lot of money in education," she said. "There's as not as much money in family planning as there is abortion."

Without a doctor in residence, she said, her clinic offered abortions only two days a month, but the doctor could perform 30 to 40 procedures on each day he was there. Johnson estimated that each abortion could net the branch about $350, adding up to more than $10,000 a month.

"The majority of the money was going to the facility," she said.

Johnson said she never got any orders to increase profits in e-mails or letters, and had no way to prove her allegations about practices at the Bryan branch. She told FoxNews.com that pressure came in personal interactions with her regional manager from the larger Houston office.

But she said she got involved with the clinic "to help women and ... [do] the right thing," and the idea of raking in cash seemed to go against what she felt was the mission of the 93-year-old organization.

"Ideally my goal as the facility's director is that your abortion numbers don't increase," because "you're providing so much family planning and so much education that there is not a demand for abortion services.

"But that was not their goal," she said.

A spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood refused to answer questions about Johnson's accusations, but released a statement noting that a district court had issued a temporary restraining order against the former branch director and against the Coalition for Life, an anti-abortion group with which Johnson is now affiliated.

"We regret being forced to turn to the courts to protect the safety and confidentiality of our clients and staff, however, in this instance it is absolutely necessary," said spokeswoman Rochelle Tafolla.

It is unclear what made Planned Parenthood seek the restraining order. Johnson said she did not intend to release any sensitive information about her former patients at the clinic.

A hearing is set for Nov. 10 to determine whether a judge will order an injunction against Johnson and the Coalition for Life, which has led protests outside the clinic and joined her in a prayer vigil there last month.

Johnson hasn't found a job since she quit on Oct. 6, but she said she's enjoying the time off to be with her 3-year-old daughter.

"It's been great just to spend some time at home and get a break," she said

Lawyer says resources should be used to build daycare centers in Mexico rather than to promote abortion

2009-11-02T18:15:00.000-08:00

Mexico City, Mexico, Nov 2, 2009 / 02:53 pm (CNA).- Constitutional lawyer Ingrid Tapia called on the Mexico City government last week to set aside public resources for the building of daycare centers instead of promoting abortion.

Speaking to Matutino Express, Tapia, who is a member of the Center for the Comprehensive Study and Formation of Women, underscored that human life exists from the moment of conception and that “abortion is a crime in 31 entities of the country.”

Tapia noted that 16 Mexican states have passed laws defending human life and that according to recent polls, 80 percent of Mexicans respect life.

She also said that women who seek abortions “do not do so in order to exercise a right, but rather because they are living in conditions of misery and deprivation.” For this reason she called for improvement of the country’s social and health policies.

Referring to groups that promote abortion, Tapia said, “Instead of promoting a law to see how women can get rid of their children, there ought to be a law creating more daycare centers.”

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17558

Omaha physician travels overseas to train doctors in natural reproductive technology

2009-10-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

Omaha, Neb., Oct 31, 2009 / 02:49 pm (CNA).- During a recent trip to Nigeria and Poland, a local doctor witnessed enthusiasm for the natural reproductive technology he created in Omaha. Dr. Thomas Hilgers, an obstetrician/gynecologist and director of the Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha, traveled to Lagos, Africa, and Lublin, Poland, in September to finish training more than a dozen physicians and medical professionals in NaProTECHNOLOGY. NaproTECHNOLOGY (Natural Procreative Technology) is a women's health science that monitors and maintains a woman's reproductive and gynecological health.

Seven physicians in Lagos and eight in Lublin are now certified to serve as natural family planning medical consultants using the Creighton Model FertilityCare System, which was developed at the Pope Paul VI Institute.

It was the first time the institute took its medical consultant training beyond the U.S. border, although 97 practitioners are active in several foreign countries. These practitioners, however, all traveled to the United States to receive their training.

To date, the institute has trained more than 400 active FertilityCare practitioners.

NaProTECHNOLOGY provides medical and surgical treatments that works completely with the reproductive system.

"There was a lot of enthusiasm in both places," Hilgers said. "The doctors that we graduated in Africa and Poland are so excited about their new training and what they can do with NaProTECHNOLOGY."

The trip was part of an outreach to medical professionals in parts of the world that haven't been exposed to the institute's work. For years, the institute has trained educators from other parts of the world to adopt and teach its programs, including the Creighton Model FertilityCare education programs.

"We embarked on this recent trip because of the inability of doctors in Lagos and Lublin to come to the United States for training," Hilgers said.

The women's science uses the FertilityCare System to monitor the occurrence of hormonal events during the menstrual cycle, and provides information that can be interpreted by a woman and physicians specifically trained in the system.

The science works with the procreative and gynecologic systems. When these systems function abnormally, NaProTECHNOLOGY identifies the problems and works with the menstrual and fertility cycles that correct the condition and sustain the procreative potential.

Hilgers said the visit to Poland was timely because of a debate in the Polish Parliament to make in vitro fertilization illegal. His science is being held as the alternative to the in vitro fertilization program, he said.

"IVF doesn't care what's wrong with you, but NaProTECHNOLOGY does," Hilgers said. "Although there is no cure for infertility yet, there can be a cure and it's important that we find one. The only way we're going to get there is through NaProTECHNOLOGY because we look at the underlying problems and we treat those."

In vitro fertilization is "one great big human experiment" that's been going on for 30 years, said Hilgers, a clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Creighton University School of Medicine.

"We've had defective babies born as a result of it. We've had millions of embryos destroyed or lost as a result of it, and we have between 4,000 and 5,000 embryos stored in freezers because of it. There's also this move to do embryonic stem cell research and cloning because of it," he said. "We've never had a national debate over it, and I think that's pretty sad."

NaProTECHNOLOGY provides a different way of approaching things, and with it comes a different level of respect, he said.

"There needs to be a national debate on these issues because there are ways to do this that are more effective," Hilgers said. "With NaProTECHNOLOGY, the underlying causes get treated or at least the ones we know about, and that's really important."

This can be found at http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17516

Cardinal Cipriani reminds State of duty to protect life from moment of conception

2009-10-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

The Archbishop of Lima, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, reminded the Peruvian State this week of its duty to protect human life, "because the human person is the center of all of society." During Mass celebrating the solemnity of the Lord of Miracles, Cardinal Cipriani reaffirmed that all life "is sacred from the first moment of conception" and that no person is the result of chance, but rather "the fruit of a thought of God." "Nobody has been born by chance," he exclaimed, "each one of us is the result of God's love."

Amidst debate in Peru on the legalization of abortion in cases of rape and fetal deformation as well as the morning-after pill, the cardinal said that the Peruvian people are "noble" and that the unborn do not deserve to be in danger in the womb, which ought to be a place of "warmth, tenderness, care and love."

Cardinal Cipriani urged Peruvians to draw close to the Lord and to leave behind the corruption and abuse of today's society. "the Holy Father Benedict XVI reminds us- following the example of John Paul II- that he who allows Christ in loses nothings, nothing that makes life free and beautiful. A friendship with the Lord of Miracles opens the doors of life," he said

The Archbishop of Lima, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, reminded the Peruvian State this week of it.

This can be found at Http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17528

African Synod concludes discussion, endorses 57 propositions

2009-10-26T15:47:00.000-07:00

The Synod of Bishops for Africa concluded its deliberations on Saturday, October 24, voting to approve 57 propositions to be presented to Pope Benedict XVI as the basis for an apostolic exhortation.
At the final meeting of the Synod assembly, Cardinal Theodore-Adrien Sarr of Dakar, Senegal, speaking for the Synod members, thanked the Pontiff for his "paternal concern, respect and diligence." Pope Benedict in turn praised the Synod delegates for rising to the challenge posed by their topic. He observed that in discussing the often difficult conditions facing the peoples of Africa, "the temptation could have been to politicize the them, to speak less as pastors and more as politicians, and thus in a sphere which is not our own." A companion danger, he added, was "precisely in order to escape this temptation, we should retreat into a purely spiritual world, an abstract, beautiful but unrealistic world."
On Sunday, Pope Benedict presided at a Mass in St. Peter's basilica to mark the form closing of the Synod. In his homily the Pontiff said: "The reconciled Church is a powerful leaven of reconciliation in single countries and in the whole African continent." He exhorted the African bishops who had participated in the assembly: "Start down the road of new evangelization with the courage that comes from the Holy Spirit."
Among the propositions endorsed by the assembly, the Synod issued:
- a "heartfelt appeal to all those who are at war" to stop the bloodshed, and to those responsible to stop all activities that destabilize the societies of Africa;
- a clear rejection of the "unacceptable" Article 14 of the Maputo Protocol, which "trivializes the seriousness of the crime of abortion and devalues the role of childbearing," and a plea to the people of Africa generally to protect marriage, the family, and life against "the ideology of divorce and a new relativistic ethic;"
- a statement of concern for the 15 million migrants living in Africa-- some in their own countries, others in new lands;
- a condemnation of "all acts of violence against women, such as the battering of wives, the disinheritance of daughters, the oppression of widows in the name of tradition, forced marriages, female genital mutilation, trafficking in women and several other abuses such as sex slavery and sex tourism;"
- a call for justice and fair treatment for those afflicted with AIDS, an end to discrimination against AIDS victims, and the provision of medicines that are available in the Western world.

This can be found at: http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=4411

Constitutional Court in Peru admits abortifacient effect of morning-after pill

2009-10-24T05:23:00.000-07:00

Lima, Peru, Oct 23, 2009 / 11:22 pm (CNA).- Peru’s Constitutional Court has ruled against the distribution of the “morning-after pill” at public health care facilities because the abortifacient effect of the drug has not been ruled out.
According to the public relations office of the Court, the justices hold that “the inexistence of the abortifacient effect, the inhibition of the implantation of the fertilized ovum in the endometrium, has not been demonstrated.”
The court accepted the arguments of various NGOs after evaluating the arguments presented by national and international institutions and found that supporters of the pill could not prove that it does not affect the right to life of the unborn, which is protected by the Peruvian Constitution.
The court's ruling bans the free distribution of the morning-after pill in public health care facilities, however the drug can still be sold in pharmacies as long as consumers are provided with information on the drug’s potential abortifacient nature.
According to Carlos Polo, director of the Office for Latin America of the Population Research Institute (PRI), the court “has acted correctly because it put things into proper perspective. The promoters and sellers of the pill needed to show that the anti-implantation effect did not exist and they could not do so.”
PRI is one the organizations cited in the court’s ruling.
“The ruling reproduces the complete texts of the literature that accompanies the drug in various countries where the anti-implantation effect is accepted. It cites the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is a point of reference for pharmacology worldwide. This simple affirmation is something the previous Ministers of Health simply refused to accept—starting with Pilar Mazzetti—for obvious ideological reasons and for the benefit of the pharmaceutical laboratory that owns the brand Postinor,” Polo said.
The ruling coincides with similar rulings in Ecuador, Argentina and recently in Chile,” he added

This can be found at http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17478

Clergy warn against human rights charter

2009-10-23T15:16:00.000-07:00

Sydney's Cardinal George Pell led a delegation of about 20 church leaders to Canberra to raise concerns about a national charter of human rights, warning the Rudd government it could curtail religious freedoms and give judges the power to shape laws on issues such as gay marriage, said The Australian.

The leaders, representing major churches including the Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist and Pentecostal, warned that a charter of rights could restrict the ability to hire people of faith in churches, schools and welfare bodies.

Cardinal Pell said a charter of rights would be used against religious schools, hospitals and charities by other people who did not like religious freedom and thought it should not be a human right.

"If these protections are to be revised, it should be done by MPs answerable to the people, not by judges or human rights commissars," Cardinal Pell writes in The Australian today.

Anglican Archbishop Peter Jensen did not attend the meeting with Attorney-General Robert McClelland on Wednesday because of a synod meeting but said he staunchly backed the delegation's views.

"We strongly support human rights, but we don't think a charter such as this is necessary or even effective in protecting the rights of the most vulnerable people in our community. It may in all likelihood make things worse, particularly in the area of religious freedom," he said.
Opposition legal affairs spokesman George Brandis warned if rights such as the right to found a family were enshrined in a charter, as recommended, it could allow the courts to shape laws on issues such as gay marriage and adoption.

This can be found at: http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=17249

The racial aspect of abortion

2009-10-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

When we look at abortion and its statiscis, abortion is a racist institution. That's not to say that all of those who support abortion are racists. Looking at many of the founders and locations of where abortions take place there is a racial motive. It has everything to do with the simple, undeniable reality that in the United States, abortion kills minority children at more than 3 times the rate of non-Hispanic, white children.

According to the most recent census data, black women make up 12.3% of the female population in America, but account for 35% of all U.S. abortions – that according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The Guttmacher Institute (AGI) puts the percentage of black abortions at 37% of the U.S. total. Similarly, AGI tells us that Hispanic women account for 22% of all U.S. abortions, though they make up just 12.5% of the female population. Compare those numbers to non-Hispanic, white women, who make up 62.6% of America's female population, but account for only 34% of all U.S. abortions.

Looking at the location of the majority of Planned Parenthood's abortion clinics, they are located in communities with minority populations that exceed the city or state averages. This can merely be seen as an extension of the eugenic principles that seem to have driven Planned Parenthood's founder, Margaret Sanger, a founder who is documented as saying, "We do not want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population." This statement, was written in a 1939 letter to a colleague. The facts of what abortion has done and how it is being used as a racial weapon is seen in its Statistics and what it has done to the culture.

Bill on 'hate crimes' ignores hatred towards traditional marriage backers, Tony Perkins says

2009-10-22T18:18:00.000-07:00

Washington D.C., Oct 22, 2009 / 06:15 pm (CNA).- The advance of a bill that would create penalties to punish “hate crimes” comes at a time of increasing intolerance towards those who support the traditional definition of marriage and reject homosexual activism, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins noted on Wednesday, causing him to ask, “Where's the protection for them?”

In his e-mail newsletter, Perkins urged his readers to voice opposition to the hate crimes bill currently under consideration in the Senate, saying it was “not an inconsequential vote.”

“Expanding hate crimes puts America in lock-step with the stated agenda of homosexual activists,” he wrote, predicting that its backers will then turn to the Employment Non-discrimination Act, the repeal of the ban on open homosexuality in the military and the Defense of Marriage Act.

He reported that more than 100,000 people have signed a petition opposing the hate crimes measure as a violation of the First Amendment. The measure is attached to a military spending bill.

Perkins noted the threats and harassment supporters of traditional marriage face.

“We get reports almost daily from donors who have given to pro-marriage campaigns in the states and are being awakened in the middle of the night by harassing phone calls and death threats. Where's the protection for them? Where are those blowing the trumpet of tolerance?"

He recounted that Family Research Council Senior Vice President Tom McClusky recently received a threatening voicemail from someone complaining about “homophobic comments” and saying that being an “intolerant bigot” would cause a reaction.

“You reap what you sow and when you start spreadin' hate against other people, that's exactly what you're gonna get back. And, you know, who knows what effect that could have on you, or your family, or your office, you know, on G Street?” the caller continued, naming the Washington, D.C. street on which the Family Research Council’s offices are located.

“Uh, just a bit of advice for ya. You should really learn, really-stop bein' such a redneck piece of s**t,” the caller’s voicemail continued, according to Perkins.

“While Congress is busy giving preferential treatment to homosexuals, maybe it's time to point out the kind of calls we receive from the side of 'tolerance,'” Perkins said

this can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17470

Archdiocese laments feminist praise for 30,000 legal abortions performed in Mexico City

2009-10-21T20:53:00.001-07:00

Mexico City, Mexico, Oct 21, 2009 / 03:47 pm (CNA).- The Archdiocese of Mexico City has criticized the so-called “success” celebrated by abortion supporters in the country after it was announced that 30,000 abortions have been performed in the capital since the practice was legalized.

The archdiocesan newspaper, “Desde la Fe,” published the statistics that were released by the Mexico City Institute of Women.

“These figures were presented as a triumph for the rights of women against the ‘shadowy interests’ of ‘the right and of conservatives,” the newspaper said.

“What are these people celebrating this as a triumph?” the article questioned. “Nothing less than the annihilation of more than 30,000 human lives, with the medical, technical, legal and economic support of the Federal District’s government, where not only the Legislative Assembly, but also the head of the government and supposed defender of Human Rights have actively intervened to carry out this massacre, an embarrassment for our times.”

The newspaper also pointed out that “behind abortion there is a human tragedy that ought to concern us all. Behind abortion there is a true human problem that we must confront as a society and seek out humanitarian solutions, and not laws that take us back to the era of the caveman and promote social irresponsibility.”

A poll carried out by the Population Council reveals that the number of people who support the legalization of abortion has almost doubled. Six out of ten support it, while 83 percent said they thought the Mexico City law should be extended to the rest of the country

this can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17453

Contraception question

2009-10-20T19:17:00.000-07:00

Question: I know that the Church teaches that contraception is sinful, but surely abortion is a much worse sin, since it cuts off the life of a human being which has already been created by God. Should we not support contraception because it cuts down on abortion?

Answer: The idea that contraception helps cut down on abortion is promoted by every pro-abortion and population control group in the world. This is a concept that seems to make sense, since contraception is indeed designed to prevent pregnancies.
Of course, contraception would cut down on abortions if only two conditions were met — if the contraception worked perfectly, and if human beings were perfect as well.
These conditions will never be met considering the state of science and human nature.
When contraceptive manufacturers and promoters talk about their products, they always refer to the "method effectiveness rate," which is how well contraception works if it is used perfectly every time by perfectly healthy and perfectly attentive men and women. A more useful and honest measure is the "user effectiveness rate," sometimes called the "real-world effectiveness rate," which includes human error.
The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) does more than any other organization to spread abortion and contraception around the world. Its first Medical Director, Malcolm Potts, said that

As has been pointed out, those who use contraceptives are more likely than those who do not to resort to induced abortion. ... The epidemiological evidence that has been surveyed in this and preceding chapters points to the fact that induced abortion services are most needed by those adopting any form of fertility regulation. ... No developed country has brought down its birth rate without a considerable recourse to abortion and it appears unlikely that developing countries can ever hope to see any decline in their fertility without a massive resort to induced abortion — legal or illegal.1

As contraception use goes up, so does the demand for abortion, since contraception fails so often. In the United States, where all forms of modern contraception have been widely available for nearly half a century, nearly two-thirds of women obtaining abortions were using contraception when they became pregnant.2
It is also interesting to note that more than one hundred nations have legalized abortion to one extent or another — and every single one of them first legalized contraception, because the "family planners" and population controllers know full well that contraception use and failure will lead to demands for legalized abortion.
Perhaps the most direct way that contraception leads to abortion is that, when couples use it, they are consciously and deliberately closing themselves off to the gift of life. When their contraceptive method fails, as it so often does, they see the resulting child not as a gift from God, but as a "mistake," and thus feel that technology has let them down. They feel entitled to an abortion, since they had already made an effort to avoid having a child.
During this kind of discussion, we must absolutely not lose sight of the fact that the Catholic Church has always taught that the use of contraception is mortally sinful. Indeed, those couples who use it are generally unhappier than those couples who use natural family planning (NFP) and suffer a much higher divorce rate.3
As it has been said so often, "God always forgives, man sometimes forgives, but nature never forgives."

1. Malcolm Potts, Peter Diggory, and John Peel. Abortion [Cambridge University Press, 1977], pages 491, 496, 498 and 526.
2. Stanley K. Henshaw and Jennifer Van Vort. "Abortion Patients 1994 1995: Characteristics and Contraceptive Use." Family Planning Perspectives, July/August 1996, pages 140 to 143; Rachel K. Jones, Jacqueline E. Darroch and Stanley K. Henshaw. "Contraceptive Use Among U.S. Women Having Abortions in 2000 2001." Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, November/December 2002, pages 294 to 303.
3. The United States divorce rate among married couples using contraception is almost fifty percent. Several studies of NFP users show a divorce rate of anywhere from one percent to six percent [author's personal survey of fourteen large NFP teaching groups and leaders in the United States].

 See Chapter 21 in The Facts of Life on Human Life International's Library Compact Disc, "Contraception," for a more detailed scientific explanation of the various types of contraception, and for the history of the Catholic Church's teachings on it.

This can be found in the Seminarian Black Book by HLI

Argentineans reject pro-abortion farce in Tucuman and say yes to life

2009-10-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

Tucuman, Argentina, Oct 19, 2009 / 08:06 pm (CNA).- The self-titled “National Meeting of Women,” which recently took place in Tucuman, Argentina, was not the exclusive domain of pro-abortion propaganda as in recent years, but this year was attended by a well-prepared group of women who spoke up in defense of life and against abortion.

In a report issued by the Christian Family Movement, analyst Eduardo Zavalia said the feminists who organized this event were shocked, as they had been accustomed to “doing and saying whatever they wanted and telling others what to say.” This year, he recounted, they were met with a group of women “firm in their values and large enough in numbers to be a majority in most of the workshops.”

“In some workshops, overcome by mere reason, abortion activists resorted to physically removing those who defended life,” the report said.

Even the usual violent and anti-Catholic march organized by abortion supporters was detoured this year in order to avoid passing in front of the cathedral where they usually harassed the faithful.

Zavalia also noted that abortion supporters failed in their bid to have Buenos Aires chosen as the site of the next gathering, as pro-lifers were able to persuade organizers to hold next year’s meeting in the city of Parana.

The final statement of this year’s meeting, which appeared to have been drafted ahead of time, was also extensively modified by pro-life attendees.

“They had everything arranged so that only the pro-abortion conclusions would be read, as they had decided to ‘remove’ opposing conclusions. Moreover, and unfortunately of course, many conclusions appeared to have been written beforehand,” Zavalia explained.

The Christian Family Movement said that the pro-abortion feminists also failed in their attempts to control the final statement “because the courageous women from Tucuman had photocopies. Then they tried to use the childish tactic of controlling the PA system, shutting off the mics when convenient. But this was quickly overcome.”

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17428

Pope: Christian Values Should Mould European Civilization

2009-10-19T17:58:00.001-07:00

VATICAN CITY (VIS) - Monday morning the Holy Father received the Letters of Credence of Yves Gazzo, head of the delegation to the Holy See of the Commission of the European Communities.

In his address, the Pope referred to the values of the European Union which, he said, "are the fruit of a long and complex history in which, it cannot be denied, Christianity has played a primordial role. The equal dignity of all human beings, the freedom of expression of faith as the basis of all other civil liberties, peace as a decisive element of the common good, human development (intellectual, social and economic) as a divine vocation and the sense of history deriving therefrom, are all central elements of the Christian revelation that continues to mould European
civilisation".

"When the Church mentions the Christian roots of Europe", the Holy Father went on, "she does not seek a privileged status for herself. She wishes to enact historical memory, first and foremost by recalling a truth which is suffering ever greater neglect: the decisively Christian inspiration of the founding fathers of the European Union".

Furthermore, "she wishes to make it clear that the legacy of values comes chiefly from Christian heritage, which continues to nourish Europe today"."These values are not some anarchic or random assembly, rather they form a coherent whole which is historically ordered and regimented on the basis of a precise view of mankind".

The Holy Father then went on to highlight the risk of such values being "manipulated by individuals and pressure groups who seek to make their particular interests prevail to the detriment of an ambitious collective project, which is what Europeans hope to see and which aims at the common good of all inhabitants of the continent, and of the whole world".

"It is important", he went on, "that Europe does not allow her model of civilisation to fray, thread by thread. Her generosity must not be stifled by individualism or utilitarianism. The immense intellectual, cultural, economic riches of the continent will continue to bear fruit so long as they are nourished by a transcendental view of human beings, which is the greatest treasure of European heritage".

"This mainly involves the search for a just and delicate balance between economic efficiency and social needs, the protection of the environment and, above all, the indispensable and necessary support for human life from conception to natural death, and for the family founded on marriage between a man and a woman".

Europe will not truly be itself, said the Holy Father, "if she does not conserve the originality which constitutes her greatness and which tomorrow may make her one of the main players in promoting the integral development of peoples, something the Catholic Church considers as being the only possible way to remedy the imbalances of our world".

Benedict XVI assured the new head of delegation that the Holy See "follows the activities of European institutions with great respect and attention,and hopes that, with their work and creativity, they may honour Europe which, more than a continent, is a 'spiritual home'".

"The Church", he concluded, "wishes to 'accompany' the construction of European unity. For this reason she takes the liberty of recalling the fundamental and constituent values of European society, that they may be promoted for the good of everyone".

Archbishop Chaput: God will ‘demand an accounting’ from those who neglect the unwanted

2009-10-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

Phoenix, Ariz., Oct 16, 2009 / 09:20 pm (CNA).- God will “demand an accounting” from Catholics and from societies who fail to welcome the poor, the weak and the unwanted unborn, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput told a Catholic doctors’ group in Phoenix on Friday. Each of these people is “an icon of God’s face and a vessel of his love,” he said.

The Archbishop of Denver urged the Phoenix Catholic Physicians’ Guild not to be among those who refuse to defend the sanctity of life or those who abuse the freedoms given to them by God and their forerunners. He illustrated his concerns with a lengthy discussion about American society’s treatment of the physically disabled, especially those with Down syndrome.

“Currently about 5,000 children with Down syndrome are born in the United States each year,” the archbishop said. “They join a national Down syndrome population of roughly 400,000 persons. But that population may soon dwindle.”

He lamented the use of prenatal testing to encourage women to abort children whose tests show an increased likelihood of genetic disorders. He quoted a British medical school professor who noted the risk of false positives in such tests and blamed them for “causing the death of normal babies.”

“Those words sound almost humane – until we realize that, at least for the med school professor, killing ‘abnormal’ babies like those with Down syndrome is perfectly acceptable,” Archbishop Chaput commented.

He also described how his friends who are parents of the seriously disabled have responded to their children.

“None of my friends who has a daughter or son with a serious disability is melodramatic, or self-conscious, or even especially pious about it,” he added, explaining that they speak about their child with an “unsentimental realism” that flows out of real love.

This love is “the kind that courses its way through fear and suffering to a decision, finally, to surround the child with their heart and trust in the goodness of God. And that decision to trust, of course, demands not just real love, but also real courage.”

The archbishop suggested that such love, or its lack, proves the true nature of individuals and the true state of society.

“Every child with Down syndrome, every adult with special needs; in fact, every unwanted unborn child, every person who is poor, weak, abandoned or homeless – each one of these persons is an icon of God’s face and a vessel of his love. How we treat these persons – whether we revere them and welcome them, or throw them away in distaste – shows what we really believe about human dignity, both as individuals and as a nation.”

Because God will “demand an accounting,” Archbishop Chaput warned, Catholic public officials cannot support laws that attack human dignity without lying to themselves, misleading others, and “abusing the faith” of Catholics. Doctors who are Catholic cannot support procedures or policies that attack the sanctity of the unborn or the elderly or that undermine the dignity of human sexuality and the family.

Further, Catholic citizens “cannot claim to love their Church, and then ignore her counsel on vital public issues that shape our nation’s life,” the Archbishop of Denver said.

Archbishop Chaput also criticized the “compulsively” misleading nature of marketing and entertainment, which misrepresents the sustainability of youth, the indignity of old age, the avoidance of suffering, the denial of death, the impermanence of human life, the dysfunctions of family, and the place of virtue and religious faith.

“It’s a culture of fantasy, selfishness and illness that we’ve brought upon ourselves. And we’ve done it by misusing the freedom that other -- and greater -- generations than our own worked for, bled for and bequeathed to our safe-keeping.

“What have we done with that freedom? In whose service do we use it now?” he asked.

The archbishop noted the dependence of the United States upon a moral people shaped by their religious, particularly Christian faith.

“Without that living faith, animating its people and informing its public life, America becomes something alien and hostile to the very ideals it was founded on,” he warned.

He praised the Phoenix Catholic Physicians’ Guild members for serving the “sacred vocation” of the medical profession.

“That vocation of healing comes from Jesus Christ himself. I don’t mean just curing people’s aches and pains, although physical healing is so very important. I mean the kind of healing that comes when a suffering person is understood and loved, and knows that she’s understood and loved.”

“The task you need to take home with you tonight is this. Be the best doctors, nurses and medical professionals you can be. Your skill gives glory to God. But be the best Catholics you can be first. Pour your love for Jesus Christ into the healing you do for every person you serve.”

He encouraged his audience to love the Church and defend her teachings while trusting in God, believing the Gospel, and refusing to be afraid.

“Changing the course of American culture seems like such a huge task; so far beyond the reach of this little gathering tonight. But St. Paul felt exactly the same way.

“Redeeming and converting a civilization has already been done once. It can be done again. But we need to understand that God is calling you and me to do it. He chose us. He calls us. He’s waiting, and now we need to answer him,” Archbishop Chaput emphasized, bringing his address to a close.

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17422

Bishop: Europe Terminally ill because of Abortion

2009-10-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

With the legalization of abortion,'a true ecological disaster' has been unleashed in Europe and will turn it into 'a continent of death.'

Madrid, Spain (CNA) - Bishop Demetrio Fernandez of Tarazona, Spain voiced his support this week for the October 17 March for Life in Madrid and warned that with the legalization of abortion, “a true ecological disaster” has been unleashed in Europe and will turn it into “a continent of death.”

“This is a true ecological disaster, which affects the unborn child, the mother who has conceived him, the different people involved in the issue (the baby’s father, the grandparents, health care workers, etc.) and all of society that will suffer from the negative impact of this ecological disaster,” the bishop said in a pastoral letter.

He pointed out that since the legalization of abortion, “some 50 million children were not born, who would today be 50 million young people,” which Europe needs desperately as the population “is prematurely aging and is dying of sadness and despair.”

The bishop warned that the Spanish government’s new law on abortion would “multiply the number of those who are not going to be born,” since it would make abortion a right protected by a false freedom and would lead to women doing “violence against their own bodies.”

“Psychologically, each one of these mothers will be wounded for life. They will succeed in removing ‘something’ from their wombs that today they find bothersome, but will not remove the crime they commit from their minds and hearts. I know many women who cannot forgive themselves for having committed such an atrocity in their lives and who need to be consoled with the mercy of God,” Bishop Fernandez said.

He warned that with the new law women would pay the price for situations in which perhaps they are the least to blame. “Once again, the feminist cry for freedom for the dignity of women is drowned out by dispositions to turn them into simple objects of passing and irresponsible pleasure.”

For this reason, the bishop encouraged Spaniards to participate in the October 17 march for life. “Let us fight for life. Life is the future of man, never death. Let us support women in difficulty, giving them the means to assume the precious task of new motherhood,” he said.

This can be found at: http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=34646&wf=rsscol

Former Minister of Health rebuffs feminist arguments for abortion in Peru

2009-10-15T17:38:00.000-07:00

Lima, Peru, Oct 15, 2009 / 05:15 pm (CNA).- Peru’s former Minister of Health, Luis Solari, last week rebuffed the arguments of feminist organizations that are pushing for the legalization of abortion in the country. In his response, Solari lamented that these groups are encouraging women, whom they supposedly defend, “to kill their own children.”

During a televised debate on October 11, Solari confronted Gina Yanez, director of the Manuela Ramos feminist group, which is pushing for the legalization of abortion in Peru.

He explained that many of these organizations are receiving foreign money in order to promote abortion in the South American country, and that the feminists' claims that 400,000 clandestine abortions took place in the country last year are false.

Solari said that in 1994, reports showed that “there were 54,000 abortions in Peru, and they multiplied that by five, and in 2006 they multiplied it by seven. On the basis of what?” he asked.

“I was Minister of Health and I looked up these figures. The figures that appear in this official deception do not exist anywhere in the Ministry of Health,” he said.

Referring later to eugenic abortion, Solari explained that in other countries this is the pretext used to detect the presence of Down’s Syndrome in babies in order to have them aborted.

Addressing Yanez, Solari pointed out that she has publicly stated that introducing abortion in cases of rape or deformation “is the first step towards decriminalizing abortion because that is what this woman’s organization sponsors all over the place.”

After noting that it is immoral to promote the death of an unborn child, Solari reminded Yanez that her organization “receives foreign aid,” from countries that do not ascribe to all of the laws in Peru that defend the unborn. Yanez responded by saying, “That has nothing to do with it!”

“It has everything to do with it,” Solari countered, “because your organization is receiving money from countries that do not have these laws. Why are these countries encouraging us to abort our people? Let them keep aborting in their own countries, although I am against that as well,” he said.

“We must be clear. Peru belongs to the Peruvians. The rights of women contain duties, all rights have duties. The right of a mother includes the duty to defend the life of her child,” Solari said.

“I cannot comprehend how there can be women (like those of the Manuela Ramos organization) who encourage other women to kill their own children,” he added

this can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17403

Finland's New Catholic Bishop Warns of Rift if Finnish Lutherans Bless Same-Sex Unions

2009-10-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

HELSINKI, Finland, October 13, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Finland's Catholic Bishop, Teemu Sippo, has warned that the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF) would risk hurting their relationship with the country's Catholic Church should they choose to bless same-sex marriages, reports the Finnish broadcasting company YLE.

Bishop Sippo, 62, a member of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, was ordained Bishop of Helsinki in September and is the first Finnish-born Catholic bishop since the Reformation. The entire country comprises one diocese, with about 10,000 Catholics. Approximately 80% of the estimated 5.3 million residents are classified as Lutheran.

While the ELCF currently does not allow the blessing of same-sex unions, Bishop Sippo is worried that they will follow the practice of the Swedish Lutheran Church, which already blesses same-sex "marriages" and is now considering celebrating "weddings."

In March, the ELCF Bishops' Conference's working group on same-sex "marriage" issued their report, which recommended against a ceremonial rite for blessing state-registered same-sex unions. At the same time, they recommended that a blessing could be implemented akin to the blessing of a home.

"The Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex couples," said Bishop Sippo, affirming the Church's teaching that marriage is a sacrament. "It doesn't view it as morally acceptable. ... Everything that happens in Sweden usually reaches Finland sooner or later."

The Bishop also spoke out, says YLE, against the practice of passing out free condoms to youth. "Handing out condoms is like telling people to use them," he said. "I believe youths should instead be encouraged to practice abstinence."

This can be found at: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/oct/09101314.html

Vatican paper calls Nobel Prize for Obama 'premature,' highlights his abortion stance

2009-10-12T13:33:00.000-07:00

ROME, (CNA) - The semi-official Vatican daily, L’Osservatore Romano, has called the decision to award President Obama with the Nobel Peace Prize premature and more of an invitation to choose peace through politics. The award is also questionable because of his position on various bio-ethics issues, especially abortion.

The article points out that “the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama has taken everyone somewhat by surprise, first and foremost the U.S. president himself.”

“During the last 90 years,” L'Osservatore noted, “the prize has never been awarded to a sitting U.S. president—when it was awarded to Jimmy Carter in 2002 he had been out of office already for some time—[but was] involved in politics and susceptible, therefore, to making a range of decisions related to peace.”

Perhaps for this reason, the newspaper said, “Analysts have almost unanimously interpreted his selection as a way of pressuring Obama to make pacifist choices as his administration continues forward.”

L'Osservatore also questioned the administratoion's actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying that the decisions seem aimed at trying to find a middle way between “fidelity to the pacifist statements made during the campaign season and a more realistic policy, which some have defined as a continuation of that of the ‘warmonger’ Bush.”

This back-and-forth policy, the paper observed, is very similar to the approach that Obama has taken to “the great bioethics issues, with abortion being first and foremost.” His way of doing things has generated great controversy among Catholics in the country, the daily added.

The Vatican newspaper also brought to mind Mother Teresa being honored with the Peace Prize in 1979, and said, “Obama ought to recall that in 1979 he was preceded by Mother Teresa, who had the courage to state in her acceptance speech that the harshest war with the greatest number of ‘fallen’ is the practice of abortion, legalized and facilitated as well by the international structures.”

Pointing out an inconsistency, L'Osservatore noted that Pope John Paul II was a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize for year but was never chosen for the award, not even in 2003 “after his condemnation of the war in Iraq.”

“Pope Wojtyla was considered by the members of the committee as too ‘conservative’ in other areas, and they feared that awarding it to him would been seen as favoring the Catholic Church over other religions. Their fears were evidently overcome in the much more controversial case of the selection of Obama,” the Vatican daily said, noting that the selection process has become mired in being politically correct.

Nevertheless, the article concluded, “at the same time, as the director of the Holy See’s Press Office has stated, we cannot help but rejoice at the recognition of President Obama’s efforts at nuclear disarmament and his personal disposition towards a policy that seeks peace more than the affirmation of U.S. power in the world.”

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17363

Obama: Defenders of traditional marriage ‘would enshrine discrimination into our Constitution’

2009-10-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

Taking aim at supporters of a federal marriage amendment, President Barack Obama told the gay-activist Human Rights Campaign on October 10 that defenders of traditional marriage “would enshrine discrimination into our Constitution.” While the president granted that defenders of traditional marriage might be “good and decent people,” he charged that they “hold fast to outworn arguments and old attitudes,” “fail to see your families like their families,” and “would deny you the rights most Americans take for granted.”

Comparing the goals of the gay community to African-Americans’ struggle for equality, the president added:

My expectation is that when you look back on these years, you will see a time in which we put a stop to discrimination against gays and lesbians-- whether in the office or on the battlefield. You will see a time in which we as a nation finally recognize relationships between two men or two women as just as real and admirable as relationships between a man and a woman. You will see a nation that's valuing and cherishing these families as we build a more perfect union-- a union in which gay Americans are an important part. I am committed to these goals. And my administration will continue fighting to achieve them.

This can be found at: http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=4290

AFRICA: Pope Seeks Deeper Evangelization at Launch of Synod

2009-10-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

VATICAN CITY, October 6, 2009 (CISA) - Pope Benedict XVI opened the second Africa Synod of bishops on Monday, describing the continent as a spiritual “lung” for a humanity that appears to be in a crisis of faith and hope, but also warning that African Catholics were threatened by ‘spiritual waste’ pouring in especially from the West.

Some 400 delegates are attending the synod until October 25. Its theme is: The Church in Africa at the Service of Reconciliation, Justice and Peace ‘You are the salt of the earth... You are the Light of the world’” (Mt 5:13-14).

“When we speak of the treasures of Africa, our thoughts immediately turn to the resources its land is rich in and that, unfortunately, have become and often continue to be a reason for exploitation, conflict and corruption,” said the Pope.

He expressed his fears that materialism, combined with relativist and nihilist thinking was falling over the continent.

The pope said the so called, “First” World has exported up to now and continues to export its spiritual toxic waste that contaminates the peoples of other continents, in particular those of Africa.”

He pointed out that religious fundamentalism, mixed with political and economic interests could hit Africa unless the church took steps to counter it.

The pope said, “Groups who follow various religious creeds are spreading throughout the continent of Africa “in God’s name,” teaching and practicing not love and respect for freedom, but intolerance and violence.”

He was however hopeful that with its work of evangelization and human promotion, the Church can give Africa which experiences poverty, injustice, violence and wars, a great contribution.

This can be found at: http://www.cisanewsafrica.org/story.asp?ID=4171

French Abortions Rise despite Increase in Contraception: Study

2009-10-09T15:10:00.000-07:00

France, October 8, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - According to a new study by the French National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED), although the number of unplanned pregnancies in France has fallen, the number of abortions in such cases has increased, reports the Monde Actu 24h/24.

Unplanned pregnancies fell from 46% to 33% from 1975 to 2004, ostensibly due to use of contraceptives, according to the study, but the number of abortions of such pregnancies increased from 40% to 60% over the same period.

Over 40% of French women have an abortion at least once in their life.

The study says that women using contraception have a greater desire to control their fertility and thus are more likely to abort a child who is not consistent with their plans.

The study also examined other statistics regarding abortion.

From August 1973 to January 1976, during which period abortion was legalized, French fertility rates fell from 2.36 to 1.8 children per woman, a loss of 24%. France's average fertility rate is currently approximately 2.02, which many attribute to the French government's attempts to encourage childbirth through various incentives.

Unsurprisingly, the study found that the desire to have a child has also decreased. According to Chantal Blayot, a professor of demography at Montesquieu-Bordeau IV, this trend is supported by "a strong social pressure to abort." The social context is not conducive to large families said Blayot: "At first birth, we congratulate the parents; on the third, they are asked if they have considered well what they are doing."

this can be found at: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/oct/09100805.html

Hyde Amendment does not apply to present health care bills, pro-life group says

2009-10-09T11:25:00.000-07:00

Washington D.C., Oct 9, 2009 / 03:22 am (CNA).- White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is erroneously claiming that the Hyde Amendment which restricts federal funding for abortions will apply to federal health care reform legislation, the National Right to Life Committee has charged.

At a Wednesday press briefing at the White House, Cybercast News Service reporter Fred Lucas asked Gibbs whether a letter from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) was right to say that health care reform proposals have not met the president’s promise to bar the use of federal funds for abortion.

“Well, I don't want to get me in trouble at church, but I would mention there's a law that precludes the use of federal funds for abortion that isn't going to be changed in these health care bills,” Gibbs responded.

Lucas noted several proposed amendments that would explicitly bar abortions, to which Gibbs replied:

“Again, there’s a fairly well documented federal law that prevents it.”

Commenting in a press release, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) called Gibbs’ statement “highly misleading.”

The NRLC, presuming that Gibbs referred to the Hyde Amendment, said the provision applies only to funds appropriated through the annual Health and Human Services appropriations bill.

“Neither the Hyde Amendment nor any other existing restriction will govern the provisions of the pending health care bills that are the focus of the abortion-related concerns,” the NRLC reported.

The proposed bills contain a nationwide government-run insurance program and premium subsidy programs to help tens of millions of Americans purchase health coverage.

None of the funds for the public plan and spent by the premium subsidy programs would be appropriated through the annual appropriations bill and would therefore be outside the scope of the Hyde Amendment. The NRLC said this analysis has been confirmed by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service.

According to the NRLC, under the Capps Amendment to H.R. 3200 the public plan would be explicitly authorized to cover elective abortions.

The NRLC described the suggestion that the public plan could pay for abortions with private funds as “a myth” and ‘a political hoax.”

“As a matter of law, all of the funds that would be spent by the public plan, on abortions and everything else, would be federal funds,” the pro-life group said. “In other words, the public plan would engage in direct federal funding of elective abortion.”

this can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17348

Chicago City Council OKs Abortion Bubble Zone Law Limiting Pro-Life Free Speech

2009-10-08T13:21:00.000-07:00

Chicago, IL (LifeNews.com) -- The Chicago City Council on Wednesday approved a bubble zone law that makes it harder for pro-life advocates to offer women alternatives outside an abortion center. The law is so onerous that the pro-abortion ACLU joined pro-life advocates in condemning it.

Despite strong objection, members of the council voted 27-11 for the ordinance.

Alderman Vi Daley of the 43rd district sponsored the measure that she said would bring the city in line with many other cities and states across the nation. The law would establish a 50-foot buffer outside the entrances of abortion centers and, within that zone, no one can come within an 8-foot zone to distribute literature, counsel or display a sign.

"Women seeking any kind of medical service are routinely harassed," Daley claimed. "They are photographed, and they are followed."

The law would subject pro-life advocates to a $500 fine for merely talking to women considering abortion outside an abortion facility.

Planned Parenthood spearheaded and supported the proposal and said after the vote that it is a "huge step forward for us and our patients."

Outside the city council chambers, pro-life advocates protested and said the new law was driven by money, because Planned Parenthood loses money when women are given non-abortion options.

Peter Breen, the director of the Chicago-based Thomas More Society, a pro-life legal group, says the tide would turn against free speech if Chicago’s leaders target pro-life advocates with a municipal ordinance that would restrict their speech rights and prevent them from helping women.

“This sort of peaceful and lawful conduct on public sidewalks in front of abortion clinics is protected by the First Amendment," Breen told LifeNews.com previously.

Breen has promised a lawsuit if the city goes through with the ordinance.

"This is not about safety," he said. "It's about shutting down a means of protest. We don't want to sue our hometown, but we will if this measure is passed."

The ACLU of Illinois issued a statement that makes clear that the Chicago Council "must honor the Constitution and tolerate the widest amount of free speech in public ways."

Eric Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League tells LifeNews.com that the measure would be "devastating to our pro-life efforts, including sidewalk counseling."

"Chicago abortionists -- led by Planned Parenthood -- are pushing the Chicago City Council to adopt," the ordinance, he said. "The bubble zone would make sidewalk counseling nearly impossible within the city limits. Such a chilling attack on free speech could even halt the 40 Days for Life campaign going on right now."

This story can be found at: http://www.lifenews.com/state4489.html

Pope says West's 'toxic materialism' is blighting Africa

2009-10-06T16:07:00.000-07:00

Pope Benedict XVI has denounced the West's materialism and lack of moral values and said they were contaminating Africa like "toxic waste".

Published: 5:39PM BST 04 Oct 2009
The Pope compared the world's poorest continent, which he visited earlier this year, to a spiritual "lung" at risk of being attacked by what he called the viruses of materialism and religious fundamentalism, as he opened a synod of Roman Catholic bishops on Africa.

"There is absolutely no doubt that the so-called 'First' World has exported up to now and continues to export its spiritual toxic waste that contaminates the peoples of other continents, particularly those of Africa," he said.

"In this sense colonialism, which is over at a political level, has never really entirely come to an end."
Lamenting the exploitation of Africa's vast resources, the Pope also spoke out against religious fundamentalism, which he said was mixed with political and economic interests.

"Groups who follow various religious creeds are spreading throughout the continent of Africa ... teaching and practicing not love and respect for freedom, but intolerance and violence."

In the 20th century, Africa's Catholic population shot up from about 2 million in 1900 to about 140 million in 2000, making the continent ever more important to the Vatican as the number of practicing Catholics in the developed world declines.

Cardinal Asks Justices to Protect the Unborn at Red Mass

2009-10-05T19:21:00.000-07:00

Six Supreme Court justices, Vice President Joe Biden, and two Cabinet members were among the dozens of other judges and Washington public officials at yesterday’s Red Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington.

During Galveston-Houston, Texas, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo’s homily, he called for lawyers to be a voice for all of their clients, including those not yet born.

“They are poor and wealthy, confused and lucid, polite and impolited,” said Cardinal DiNardo. “In some cases, the clients are voiceless, for they lack influence; in others they are literally voiceless, not yet with tongues and even without names, and require our most careful attention and radical support.”

Among the attendees were Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s newest member, Sonia Sotomayor. The two Cabinet members attending were Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Pro-life advocates stood outside the cathedral protesting. Among them was Randall Terry who asked, “How dare you present yourself for Communion with the blood of babies on your hands?” through a bullhorn. Terry said he was directing his comments to Vice President Biden and members of Congress and the judiciary who had, in their official duties, lent any kind of policy or legal support to abortion.

Concelebrating along with Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl were Archbishop of the Military Services Tim Broglio, Arlington, Va., Bishop Paul Loverde and others.

Held the first Sunday before the court’s term begins on the first Monday in October, the Red Mass has been held since 1953 by the John Carroll Society, an organization of Washington professionals who are Catholic. The name of the service dates to the 13th century and comes from the red vestments worn by the celebrants. The Mass is conducted to ask for divine guidance for those who seek justice.

Cardinals wear red, it should be noted, because the color represents blood and it demonstrates their willingness to shed their blood in defense of the faith.

Pope calls for respect for life and protection of consciences in the U.S

2009-10-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

Vatican City, Oct 2, 2009 / 10:59 am (CNA).- This morning at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI received the letters of accreditation from the new U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, Dr. Miguel H. Diaz. The Pope took the time during their meeting to weigh-in on issues being considered in the American health care debate, namely, respect for all human life and the protection of health care workers' right to conscientious objection.

As is customary, the audience began with Miguel Diaz presenting his letters of accreditation from President Obama to the Holy Father, followed by a speech by the new ambassador.

In his speech, Ambassador Diaz praised Pope Benedict's humanitarian efforts, his efforts at promoting “inter-religious dialogue for the sake of peace,” and his encouragement of “authentic stewardship of God’s creation in order to combat climate change and ensure food security.”

The newly minted ambassador brought his speech to a close, saying, “my nation looks forward to working with the Holy See to ensure that the old and the young may embrace the audacity to hope, celebrate in the fruition of justice, and work together to defend fundamental human rights, economic opportunity for all, peace in our world, and respect for the dignity of all human persons. As I take up my position as the ninth United States Ambassador to the Holy See, I promise to serve as a bridge-builder between the United States and the Holy See.”

Pope Benedict began his address to Dr. Diaz by saying that he was pleased to accept his letters of credence and asked him to return his greeting to President Obama.

Highlighting part of Ambassador Diaz's speech, the Pope said he appreciated the “acknowledgment of the need for a greater spirit of solidarity and multilateral engagement in approaching the urgent problems facing our planet.”

“The continuing international economic crisis clearly calls for a revision of present political, economic and financial structures in the light of the ethical imperative of ensuring the integral development of all people. What is needed, in effect, is a model of globalization inspired by an authentic humanism, in which the world’s peoples are seen not merely as neighbors but as brothers and sisters,” the Pope said, echoing themes from his encyclical “Caritas in Veritate.”

Cooperation between nations should stretch across the spectrum of issues from caring for the family, to health care, to immigration, to the elimination of nuclear weapons, to “climate control and care for the environment,” Pope Benedict said, notably refraining from using the term “climate change.”

Recalling his visit to the United States last April, the Holy Father said he was pleased to find a “vibrant democracy” at work.

In order for democracies to function properly, the Pope emphasized that religious groups should not be excluded from public debates, since their contributions “enrich political and ethical discourse.”

“Allow me, Mr. Ambassador, to reaffirm a conviction which I expressed at the outset of my Apostolic Journey to the United States. Freedom – the freedom which Americans rightly hold dear – 'is not only a gift but also a summons to personal responsibility;' it is 'a challenge held out to each generation, and it must constantly be won over to the cause of good,'” Benedict XVI said, quoting from his address at the White House last April.

Saying that many modern democracies find themselves in crisis, the Holy Father urged them to redouble their commitment to “reasoned dialogue in the discernment of wise and just policies respectful of human nature and human dignity.”

“The Church in the United States,” the Pontiff pointed out, “contributes to this discernment particularly through the formation of consciences and her educational apostolate, by which she makes a significant and positive contribution to American civic life and public discourse.”

One area that the Pope highlighted as in need of “clear discernment” was that of “issues touching the protection of human dignity and respect for the inalienable right to life from the moment of conception to natural death, as well as the protection of the right to conscientious objection on the part of health care workers, and indeed all citizens.”

Pope Benedict concluded his speech by quoting from the “prophetic words of the late Pope John Paul II” to insist upon the “unbreakable link between an ethics of life and every other aspect of social ethics.”

Quoting his predecessor Benedict XVI said, 'a society lacks solid foundations when, on the one hand, it asserts values such as the dignity of the person, justice and peace, but then, on the other hand, radically acts to the contrary by allowing or tolerating a variety of ways in which human life is devalued and violated, especially where it is weak or marginalized.'

The audience came to a close with the Holy Father invoking “God’s blessings of wisdom, strength and peace” upon Ambassador Diaz, his family and “all the beloved American people.

This can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17290

Council of Europe Pushes Abortion as Part of Cairo Conference Anniversary

2009-10-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

(NEW YORK – C-FAM) This week, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will vote on a resolution that calls on European states to achieve "universal access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services" including "safe abortion" by 2015.

The report, "Fifteen Years Since the International Conference on Population and Development Program of Action (ICPD)," was prepared by UK parliamentarian and longtime abortion rights advocate, Christine McCafferty, who called for increased funding for "sexual and reproductive rights." According to the summary of the report, this should include "a range of family planning, including emergency contraceptives, safe abortion, skilled birth attendants and obstetric emergency care" which "must be accessible, affordable, appropriate and acceptable to all, irrespective of age, community or country."

The resolution contains a number of other recommended actions including: providing "sexuality and relationship information and education" in schools, ensuring access to a variety of "modern methods of family planning services," ensuring that European donor countries allocate 10% of their development assistance to "population/sexual and reproductive health and rights" and to start developing a European convention on sexual and reproductive health.

A major theme of the accompanying explanatory memorandum is the need to reduce maternal mortality as part of the development agenda, particularly by reducing unsafe abortion. While the report pays lip-service to state sovereignty by mentioning that the legality of abortion remains in the hands of national governments, it also attempts to make the case that "restrictive abortion laws” increase the incidence of unsafe abortion.

The report fails to mention that the two countries in the EU with the most restrictive laws on abortion – Ireland and Malta - are also two of the countries with the lowest maternal mortality in the world, not just in Europe. Conversely, the report cites Moldova as a country where maternal mortality due to unsafe abortion is high. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, Moldova is listed a country with one of the most liberalized laws in the world.

The European Center for Law and Justice (ECLJ) has released a memo blasting the draft recommendation and report. The ECLJ flatly states that the Council of Europe has "no authority or competency to promote abortion." The group is "extremely concerned about the promotion of population control in general and abortion as a means of family planning and population control in particular.”

According to the ECLJ, the recommendation and its explanatory memorandum go much further than a previous PACE resolution on Access to Safe and Legal Abortion in Europe, which acknowledged "that abortion can in no circumstances be regarded as a family planning method" that "must, as far as possible, be avoided."

The Council of Europe is set to take action on the report this Friday, as part of the preparation for the upcoming International Parliamentary Conference on the Implementation of the ICPD Program of Action meeting, according to the ECLJ. The meeting is being organized by the United Nations Population Fund and will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the end of October

this can be found at: http://www.c-fam.org/publications/id.1438/pub_detail.asp

Widespread distribution of morning-after pill fits into Spanish government’s agenda

2009-10-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

Madrid, Spain, Sep 30, 2009 / 11:04 pm (CNA).- The organizations Professionals for Ethics and Responsible Pharmacies Network are criticizing the decision by the Spanish government to allow the morning-after pill to be distributed in pharmacies without a prescription or an age restriction.

Fabian Fernandez de Alarcon, general secretary for Professionals for Ethics, said the measure is a manifestation of the government’s ideological agenda, which he said is taking precedence over the public’s health and the best interests of Spaniards.

It is an attempt to “banalize sexual relations and turn them into a game deprived of any humanity and responsibility,” he said. Furthermore, he said, the ruling separates “children from their parents when it comes to important decisions,” and makes abortion, “which can now be carried out by simply taking a pill, something trivial.”

Alarcon noted that the pill often thwarts implantation “and thus has an abortifacient effect. The woman who ingests this pill can suffer an abortion without even realizing it,” apart from all of the problematic side effects, he commented.

He called the measure another step towards “the total liberalization of abortion,” which is just as dangerous when done medically as when done surgically.

Alarcon said distributing the pill to minors was “contrary to all logic” and to “health care norms, which prohibit minors from purchasing drugs that are much less harmful than this pill.”

this can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17270

Archbishop of Toledo says new law has 'little to do with sexual health'

2009-09-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

Toledo, Spain, Sep 29, 2009 / 03:48 pm (CNA).- Archbishop Braulio Rodriguez of Toledo, Spain said Monday that the new law on Sexual and Reproductive Health and the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy approved by the Spanish government last Saturday “has little to do with sexual health” and treats abortion “as if it were a right.”

The Archbishop of Toledo faulted the legislation for using the term “reproduction” and added that “abortion is repulsive to reason.”

The archbishop made his comments to reporters immediately following a Mass to open the new academic year at several local theology institutes and the archdiocesan seminary.

Lawmakers in Europe often fall into “a sort of contradiction,” he continued, since “on the one hand they want to broaden the individual rights of the person but on the other they work less for other rights such as the right to be born, the right to life and to right to not go hungry and to employment.”

The law will now go before Spain’s Parliament, where it probably be passed, the archbishop said. “But that does not mean it is right. Future generations will judge us for laws like this,” he warned

this can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17254

Girl, 14, Dies After receiving a cervical cancer vaccine at school

2009-09-28T17:13:00.000-07:00

A 14-year-old girl has died shortly after she was given a cervical cancer vaccine at school. An "urgent" investigation is now under way by a health authority following the tragedy in Coventry.

The teenager became ill at Blue Coat Church of England School after having the HPV (human papillomavirus) jab and was then taken to the city's University Hospital where she later died.

She had had the vaccine as part of the national immunisation programme to protect women against the disease.

A small number of other girls at the school also reported mild symptoms, such as dizziness and nausea, but were not admitted to hospital.

NHS Coventry said although no link had been made between the death and the vaccination, it had quarantined the batch used at the school as a "precautionary measure".

"A number of other girls also reported being unwell and some were sent home. If your daughter has received a vaccine today we ask that you are extra vigilant regarding any signs or symptoms.

"The most common adverse reaction after the HPV1 vaccine is mild to moderate short-lasting pain at the injection site.

"An immediate, localised stinging sensation has been reported, as has reactions at the injection site. Other reactions reported include headache, muscle pain, fatigue and a low grade fever."

There are more than 100 types of human papillomavirus (HPV) but only 13 of them are known to cause cancer, according to the NHS.

The NHS started the HPV vaccination programme in September last year, offering vaccines to girls aged 12 and 13 and to 17 and 18-year-old girls.

This can be found at: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Schoolgirl-14-Dies-After-Having-Cervical-Cancer-Jab-At-School/Article/200909415394464?f=rss