Articles for Month: July 2010

Wednesday July 28, 2010 South Korea Looks at Legalizing Abortion By Thaddeus M. Baklinski SEOUL, July 28, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Early-term abortion may be legalized in South Korea, according to a Ministry of Justice committee considering changes to the law, reports the Korean journal JoongAng Daily. South Korea’s Mother and Child Health Law permits abortion only when the mother’s health is in serious danger, or in cases of rape, incest or severe genetic disorder. Abortion is illegal after 24 weeks of pregnancy and technically punishable by the Korean Penal Code. However, the government has for decades turned a blind eye […]

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent BRASILIA, July 29, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Brazilian government has signed a UN-sponsored document endorsing the depenalization of abortion throughout Latin America. The legally non-binding document, entitled the “Brasilia Consensus,” was issued by the Eleventh Regional Conference on Latin American and Caribbean Women (CEPAL) meeting in Brazil's capital city.  It contains numerous references, some oblique and others explicit, to measures in favor of abortion, homosexualism, contraception, and other anti-life and anti-family policies. In its section on “sexual and reproductive rights,” a term often used as a euphemism for the legalization of abortion, the “Consensus” […]

By John Smeaton Editor's Note: This article was originally published by John Smeaton, the head of the UK's Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), on his personal blog. It is reprinted here with permission. July 30, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – When I was in Rome, earlier this month, I met Hilary White, the well-known writer for LifeSiteNews.com Hilary describes herself on her blog as “an Anglo-Canadian writer, researcher and art student recently re-assigned by God to Rome and desperately sand-bagging in sight of the coming flood.” The pro-life movement is, thankfully, made up of people of all faiths and […]

By Hilary White ROME, July 30, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – As Spain’s newly liberalized abortion law comes into effect the Spanish regional government of Catalonia has banned the ancient blood sport of bullfighting, and the irony has not been lost on pro-life observers. Catalonia's regional parliament voted Wednesday to ban bullfighting from January 1, 2012, making it the first region in mainland Spain to outlaw the centuries-old tradition, which has inspired artists from Goya to Picasso to Hemmingway. Bullfighting promoters have called the measure “outrageous” and have vowed to “launch a huge battle” in conjunction with the conservative opposition Popular Party […]

Tuesday July 27, 2010 Vicar of Rome to Gay Priests: Come Out and Get Out By Peter J. Smith ROME, July 27, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – With the Vatican reeling from another sex scandal, this time in the heart of the Eternal City, the Vicar of Rome is sending an unequivocal message to homosexual priests: come out of the closet, and get out of the priesthood. Cardinal Agostino Vallini, the prelate in charge of administering the Rome diocese, the episcopal see of Pope Benedict XVI, made the statements in response to an exposé by Panorama. In an undercover investigation the journal […]

Tuesday July 27, 2010 Russian Ministry Denies Lobby Permit to Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ Group By Peter J. Smith MOSCOW, July 27, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Russian government has denied the homosexual movement a permit to register as an official lobby, because its purpose would be to overturn the country’s definition of marriage, reports Interfax. The Russian Justice Ministry’s Chief Administration refused the request of Nikolay Alexeyev, a leading homosexualist agitator, because his organization’s founding documents state an intent to overturn Russia’s acting statutes that define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The Moscow Gagarinsky Court upheld the […]

Tuesday July 27, 2010 Americans More Likely than Canadians and Britons to Support True Marriage By James Tillman July 27, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) — A survey conducted by VisionCritical has found that 32% of Americans think that same-sex relationships should not receive any legal recognition, whereas only 13% of Canadians and 15% of Britons think the same. Americans also scored more conservative than Canadians and Britons on a number of other key indicators. Sixty-one percent of Canadians polled said they want same-sex “marriage” to remain legal, whereas 41% of Britons and only 36% of Americans support legalizing it in their own […]

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski WASHINGTON, DC, July 29, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The 2010 World Population Data Sheet, published by the Population Reference Bureau (PBR) on July 28, says that a shrinking pool of working-age populations is jeopardizing social support and long-term health care programs for the elderly, and points to a decrease in the populations of developed countries. The report states that worldwide in 1950, there were 12 persons of working age for every person age 65 or older. By 2010, that number had shrunk to 9. By 2050, this elderly support ratio, which indicates levels of potential social support […]

Monday July 26, 2010 Scottish Bishop to Prime Minister: No Gay ‘Marriage’ in Church, Now or Ever By Kathleen Gilbert PAISLEY, Scotland, July 26, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Despite a political climate pushing acceptance of homosexuality in religious communities, the Catholic Church will “not ever” marry same-sex couples, said the bishop of Paisley in Scotland. Bishop Philip Tartaglia was taking issue with a statement by British Prime Minister David Cameron, who praised the House of Lords’ February ruling that religious premises should be opened to homosexual civil partnership ceremonies. Although Britain has allowed civil partnerships between homosexuals since 2005, the country […]

Tuesday July 20, 2010 Gay “Marriage” in UK before Next General Election By Hilary White LONDON, July 20, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A senior member of Britain’s new coalition government has promised to change the current law to allow homosexual partners to solemnise their liaisons as “marriage.” Despite recent denials by Prime Minister David Cameron, Simon Hughes, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, the party that forms half the coalition with the Conservatives, promised “gay marriage” by the time of the next general election. In an interview with Yoosk, an open forum discussion website, Hughes said, “It would be appropriate […]

By Hilary White DUBLIN, July 28, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – This month’s appointment of High Court Judge Liam McKechnie to the Irish Supreme Court has alarmed some Irish pro-life advocates who have compared him to the “unjust judge” of the New Testament parable, who “neither feared God nor had respect for people.” The Life Institute’s Dr. Seán Ó Domhnaill cited McKechnie’s ruling in the 2007 “D” case of an anencephalic child in which barristers argued that the child did not deserve the protection of Ireland’s pro-life law because she did not qualify as an “unborn person.” The barrister who argued the […]

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent MANAGUA, July 26, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A cancer victim known to the Nicaraguan press only as “Amalia” recently gave birth to her child, after frantic efforts by local and international pro-abortion groups to obtain an abortion for the woman failed, according to the local daily El Nuevo Diario. Although the pro-abortion groups claimed that Amalia could not receive chemotherapy while pregnant, she has been under treatment since February and gave birth somewhat unexpectedly. Her child died soon afterwards. In spite of the outcry by abortionist organizations in February against the rejection of abortion by Amalia's […]

By John Jalsevac July 26, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) –  A recent report from the UK’s Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted), has indicated that in many cases schools are not consulting with parents about sex education lessons. The study, which analyzed how personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education is being implemented throughout the UK said that three quarters of UK schools are giving an adequate treatment of the subjects involved, but identified “weaker areas,” including sex and relationship education, and drugs and mental health education. The officials charged with drafting the report said that, “In the […]

However, some suspect the legitimacy of the polls

Friday July 23, 2010 Euthanasia Lobby Setting Sights on Idaho By Patrick B. Craine BOISE, Idaho, July 23, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A prominent euthanasia opponent is warning that the lobbying group ‘Compassion and Choices’ (CC), formerly known as the Hemlock Society, has begun an effort to promote assisted suicide in Idaho. “It appears very clear that Compassion and Choices is now focusing on Idaho, because it’s a neighbour to Oregon,” said Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition. “It’s also because they think it’s an easy victory, because there isn’t a specific law about assisted suicide.” Kathryn Tucker, […]

Thursday July 22, 2010 More than 170 Leaders from 21 Countries Sign Kenya Pro-Life Petition WASHINGTON, July 22, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – With just two weeks to go until Kenyans vote on a new Constitution, World Congress of Families Managing Director Larry Jacobs announced the conclusion of a successful petition drive, “In Support Of The ‘No’ Campaign – Kenyans Opposed To The Pro-Abortion Constitution.” In less than a week, the Congress gathered signatures from more than 170 pro-life and pro-family leaders in 21 countries. Signers include former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Former Boston Mayor and Vatican Ambassador Ray Flynn and Former […]

"Sexual health campaigners" continue to push condom message while rates climb

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman MADRID, July 26, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Spain's socialist government has fined the Intereconomia television network 100,000 euros (130,000 USD) for running a series of advertisements that it claims “attacks the dignity” of homosexuals. The spots, which are self-promotional advertisements by the group Intereconomia, show scenes of outlandishly and scantily dressed participants in “gay pride” marches making sexually suggestive gestures to the camera and denouncing religious belief.  The scenes, which are typical of such “pride” events, are so lewd that Google requires viewers to state that they are at least 18 years of age before showing the YouTube version. In one […]

By Peter J. Smith MOSCOW, July 26, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – American homosexual couples will not be eligible to adopt Russian children under a new accord on child adoptions that is being drafted between Russia and the United States, reports Interfax. Additional sources say that Russian officials have also indicated that single U.S. parents will no longer qualify as well. Alina Levitskaya, a senior official at Russia’s Education and Science Ministry, told the Russian news service that only heterosexual married couples will be allowed to adopt Russia’s orphaned children. Although an unnamed U.S. State Department official told AOL News that “unmarried […]

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman MADRID, July 26, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Fernando Ferrín Calamita, a Spanish judge who was fined and removed from the bench for failing to grant an adoption to a homosexual couple, has now been ordered to return almost €100,000 (130,000 USD) in pay that he received while he was suspended from his duties and awaiting the outcome of his trial. Ferrín Calamita was removed from his position as family judge in the Spanish region of Murcia in 2009, after he delayed a decision on granting the adoption of a child to the mother's lesbian lover. He refused […]

Notes that excessive economic controls lead to abuses and tyranny

Tuesday July 20, 2010 Spanish Region to Show Sonogram Images to Mothers Seeking Abortions By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman MADRID, July 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Spanish region of Valencia will be requiring women to learn about fetal development and abortion before they proceed with the latter, according to the Spanish newspaper El Pais. Mothers who want to end their unborn children’s lives through an abortion will be required to receive written information about abortion, and will also receive ethical counseling that will include videos, photos of abortions, and even 3-D sonogram images regarding the development of the fetus, according to […]

Thursday July 22, 2010 Nuncio to Iraq Appointed as New Head of Holy See Mission to UN By Terrence McKeegan, J.D. NEW YORK, July 22 (C-FAM) – Late last week, Pope Benedict XVI named Archbishop Francis Assisi Chullikatt as the new permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations (UN) in New York, succeeding Archbishop Celestino Migliore, who was recently appointed papal nuncio to Poland. Archbishop Chullikatt has extensive experience as a member of the Holy See diplomatic corps, having served most recently in one of the most challenging posts, apostolic nuncio to war-torn Iraq and also Jordan, […]

Thursday July 22, 2010 Edinburgh Pensioner Sentenced in Attempted Murder of Disabled Wife By Hilary White EDINBURGH, July 22, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – During his trial for attempted murder, an Edinburgh pensioner told the court that he thought killing his disabled wife by smothering her with a pillow would “be a good thing to do … for both of us.” The Edinburgh High Court found John Millar, 67, guilty of attempted murder last week and has sentenced him to four and half years in prison. His wheelchair-bound wife, Phyllis Millar, has suffered from Multiple Sclerosis for 20 years and Millar was […]

Monday July 19, 2010 Chilean Chamber of Deputies Condemns Spain for ‘Despicable’ New Abortion Law By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent VALPARAISO, Chile, July 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Chilean Chamber of Deputies has issued a ringing condemnation of Spain’s new abortion law, which removes all penalties for abortions up to the 14th week of gestation and permits adolescent girls to obtain abortions without parental consent. The law has been allowed to remain in effect as the Spanish Constitutional Tribunal reviews its constitutionality, despite the fact that it contradicts a previous ruling by the same court. The Chilean deputies […]

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent BUENOS AIRES, July 22, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Blasted by representatives of Argentina's pro-life majority, and threatened with legal action, Argentinean Health Minister Juan Manzur is distancing himself from a new “guide” issued by his agency that would permit women to obtain abortions by signing an oath that they have been raped, and would allow minors to receive abortions against their parents' will. While Argentina's legal code omits criminal penalties only for abortions in cases of the rape of a mentally disabled woman, the guide, which was posted on the ministry's website yesterday, would […]

By Peter J. Smith WASHINGTON, D.C., July 21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pro-life Congressmen are demanding further answers from the Obama Administration regarding the U.S. government’s support for groups in Kenya that are campaigning for the adoption of a new constitution, which critics say would liberalize Kenya’s abortion laws. In two weeks, Kenyans will vote on the constitution, which supporters say is intended to cut down the potential for corruption and give the African nation greater political stability. But two provisions have drawn the fire of conservative and Christian groups: an ill-defined health exception for the ban on abortion, and the […]

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent NEW YORK, July 21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Amnesty International (AI), an organization that is increasingly abandoning its historic role as a human rights organization, has congratulated Argentina for creating homosexual “marriage” and is encouraging other Latin American countries to follow suit. “This is an historic step on the road to equality of rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people in Argentina,” said Luis Finer, an AI spokesman. “Now it will depend on the rest of the countries of Latin America to follow its example.” Argentina's Senate passed a bill on Wednesday of last week […]

Hilary White LONDON, July 21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A disabled British man with “locked-in” syndrome due to a stroke in 2005 is seeking a court order allowing his wife to kill him without fear of prosecution. Tony Nicklinson, a 56 year-old engineer in Melksham, Wiltshire, is completely paralyzed and unable to speak. He communicates with the use of a Perspex board and letters, looking, blinking and nodding to spell out words. He said through his lawyers that he is “fed up with life” and does not wish to spend the next 20 years in this condition. Under the current law, […]

Monday July 5, 2010 Argentinean University Urges Government not to Legalize Gay ‘Marriage’ By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent BUENOS AIRES, July 5, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An Argentinean university is urging the nation’s Senate to reject gay “marriage.” The Austral University, a Catholic school associated with the organization Opus Dei, has issued a 170 page report on the issue, which notes that “the inadmissability of homosexual marriage is not a religious issue, but rather a public, secular, and civil debate and is supported by international human rights treaties, which only recognize the right to marriage between a man and […]

Friday July 16, 2010 New PAV Head says Attacks on Embryo are based in Desire for Power By Hilary White ROME, July 16, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Attacks on the life and dignity of human embryos are based on a desire for power, said the recently appointed head of the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV) in an interview with Zenit news service this week. Monsignor Ignacio Carrasco de Paula said that from the viewpoint of science, the “embryo is very well defended.” “The problem is essentially of a socio-political and ideological nature and here scientific arguments don’t count.” “It is a […]

By James Tillman NEW YORK, July 20, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Yesterday the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) was granted consultative non-governmental organization (NGO) status at the UN, after the U.S. helped the group side-step the UN’s NGO Committee, whose approval is normally necessary to gain such status. The White House issued a statement from President Obama stating that the IGLHRC's admission was an “important step forward for human rights,” and that the “more full inclusion” of the ILGHRC moved the UN “closer to the ideals on which it was founded, and to values of inclusion and equality […]

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent BOGOTÁ, July 20, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A “clinic” shut down in Colombia for performing illegal abortions is also being accused of child trafficking, according to Radio Santa Fe in Bogotá. The clinic, which falsely claimed to give sonograms to women, was actually selling children for between 1.5 and 5 million pesos (the equivalent of 800 and 2,660 USD), as well as performing abortions that carry criminal penalties under Colombian law, according to authorities. It reportedly specialized in late-term abortions. Police who raided the clinic reportedly found three babies alive inside, which have been […]

Friday July 16, 2010 Brazilian President Seeks to Outlaw Spanking By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent BRASILIA, July 16, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Brazil’s socialist President Luiz Lula da Silva is proposing changes to the nation’s Children and Adolescents Statute that will prohibit parents from spanking their children or applying any other form of corporal punishment. In accordance with the proposed law, parents caught spanking or pinching their children, after a warning, could be required to receive psychological treatment. The case could also be turned over to child protective services, according to the AP. “The proposed definition is applicable not […]

Friday July 16, 2010 HLI Asks Prayers for Kenya as it Faces Referendum on Pro-Abort Constitution By Fr. Tom Euteneuer July 16, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In less than three weeks, on August 4, the East African country of Kenya will be holding a referendum of the people to vote on a revision of their national Constitution (Americans use radical Justices of the Supreme Court to amend our Constitution – but that’s another matter). The problem with this “revision” of the Kenyan Constitution is that it would de facto legalize abortion on demand in that land and perhaps even lead to […]

Thursday July 15, 2010 Indonesia Gvmt Vows to Block All Porn in 2 Months By Patrick B. Craine JAKARTA, Indonesia, July 15, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Indonesian government has pledged to have all porn websites blocked in the country within the next two months as it works to implement the country’s strict anti-pornography laws. “We should not wait for too long to close down these sites because otherwise more will people copy and disseminate this material,” said Tifatul Sembiring, the Minister for Communication and Information Technology, on Wednesday, according to the Jakarta Globe. Tifatul noted that pornography was already prohibited […]

By Hilary White GARDONE RIVIERA, July 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The roots of the anti-life and anti-family movement in law around the world go deep into the history of philosophical errors of the 18th century, a pro-life legal expert told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) recently. “Legal positivism,” or the idea that “the law is whatever is posited,” is an idea that is divorced from 3000 years of the legal philosophy of the west, said Christopher Ferrara. It is also an idea that has resulted, inevitably, in legalized abortion, contraception and “gay marriage.” Ferrara, whose New Jersey-based American Catholic Lawyer’s Association focuses on […]

By James Tillman July 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Seventh Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals has ordered the Board of Immigration Appeals to review Qiu Ping Li's request for asylum in the United States because of her resistance to China's one-child policy – and subsequent punishment by Chinese authorities. In denying her asylum, Judge Richard Posner said, the Board of Immigration “overlooked the critical facts, and then it unconvincingly denied having overlooked them.” When she lived in China, Qiu Ping Li had opposed the one-child policy, as did her mother, who had been forcibly sterilized.  So when […]

Wednesday July 14, 2010 N. Ireland Withdraws Controversial Abortion Guidelines By Patrick B. Craine BELFAST, Northern Ireland, July 14, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Northern Ireland’s Department of Health has withdrawn controversial abortion guidelines, which have been criticized by pro-life groups as an attempt to bring in abortion through the back door, after having reissued them in violation of a court order. The Department of Health made the announcement in a letter to Jim Wells, the chairman of the Northern Ireland Assembly’s health committee. It also announced that it will be launching a public consultation on the guidelines. Both of the country’s […]

Wednesday July 14, 2010 Spanish Archbishop Urges Defiance of New Abortion Law: ‘This Law is no Law’ By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman BURGOS, Spain, July 14, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Archbishop of Burgos, Francisco Gil Hellín, has issued a call to Spanish Catholics to resist the country’s new abortion law, which he says is no law at all. In a statement published on the bishops’ Catholic Information Service, Gil Hellín laments the recent promulgation of the law, an “evil law which is directly opposed to right reason and the most elemental justice. Such is the law that establishes that the Spanish […]

Tuesday July 13, 2010 Bishops Urge New Philippine President to Shun ‘Contraceptive Mentality’ By James Tillman MANILLA, July 13, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a statement issued at the conclusion of their 101st Plenary Assembly, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has urged the new government of President Benigno Aquino III to shun a “contraceptive mentality” and has reiterated the Church’s stand against contraception and abortion. Immoral educational and medical practices, the bishops told President Aquino, will “not bring about a people that is God-fearing, holding on to the sacredness of sexuality, life and the family.” Br. Armin Luistro, […]

Monday March 8, 2010 Care for the Poor is the Work of Individuals, not the State: Pope Benedict By Hilary White ROME, March 8, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Care for the poor and vulnerable is the concern of individuals, motivated by genuine charity, rather than the exclusive concern of the state, Pope Benedict XVI has said in a pair of addresses this weekend. In an address to a group of bishops from Uganda, the pope praised their efforts to defend the sacredness of human life and of the family, and urged them to help their flocks resist the “seductions” of materialism. […]

Monday April 19, 2010 Sex Abuse Victims in Malta ‘Impressed’ and ‘At Peace’ After Meeting Pope By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman LA VALETA, Malta, April 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Victims of clerical sexual abuse in Malta are expressing strong approval of Pope Benedict XVI following a private meeting with him yesterday, according to the Times of Malta, the Sydney Morning Herald, and other international news outlets. According to the victims, who say they were abused during their childhood at a Maltese orphanage, the pope listened to their individual stories, thanked them, and cried with them. Holding back tears, Lawrence Gretch, one […]

Tuesday July 13, 2010 Argentinean Mormons Reminded of Opposition to Gay ‘Marriage’ By Thaddeus M. Baklinski BUENOS AIRES, July 13, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In anticipation of the July 14 vote on legalizing homosexual “marriage” in Argentina’s Senate, the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon) have issued a letter reaffirming the doctrine that marriage is between a man and a woman. The Argentinean Chamber of Deputies, the nation’s lower legislative house, approved a bill to legalize homosexual “marriage” in May. The bill then passed to the nation’s Senate. In a single-paragraph letter dated July […]

Tuesday July 13, 2010 More Sex Abuse Allegations Emerge after Belgian Cardinal’s Interrogation By Hilary White BRUSSELS, July 13, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In the week following the deposition of Cardinal Godfried Danneels, allegations that he knew of and ignored decades of sexual abuse of young people by his priests have begun to appear in the Belgian papers. Police raided the offices of the Archdiocese of Brussels and Danneels’s home early this month. Shortly thereafter, on July 6, Danneels spent a gruelling ten hour day answering questions from Brussels prosecutors about the extent of his knowledge and involvement in the cover-up […]

Monday July 12, 2010 UK Archdiocese to Welcome Pope with Theology of the Body Lecture By Matt Anderson LONDON, July 12, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster has announced it will host its annual Theology of the Body lecture on September 14 in honor of Pope Benedict XVI’s scheduled visit to Great Britain that month. The lecture, entitled “In the Service of Woman – Men are Called to Greatness,” will be given by Brian J. Gail, author of the Christian novel Fatherless. Edmund Adamus, the Director of Pastoral Affairs for the Diocese, told LifeSiteNews.com that the event “will […]

By John Jalsevac VATICAN CITY, July 16, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Critics of the Catholic Church’s handling of the sex-abuse scandals finally got what they wanted from the Vatican this week – a sweeping new set of guidelines on how to deal with sex abuse allegations that will be applied on a global scale. The document, issued yesterday, includes provisions for the automatic excommunication of and laicization or “defrocking” for any priest who sexually abuses a minor. Additionally, priests who are found to have used child pornography or who abuse the mentally ill or disabled face the same penalty – the […]

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski BEIJING, July 16, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Hard on the heels of the China's renewal of Google's license to operate its search engine in the country, the Chinese General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) has asked a number of Web sites to stop offering online reading and downloading services with pornographic content. An official with GAPP told Xinhua News that 122 Internet service providers were contacted with the request to remove pornography, and that those websites failing to comply would be shut down. A nationwide crackdown on pornography by the GAPP since December 2009 has resulted […]

By James Tillman East Timor, July 16, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) –”The Church,” said Bishop of Dili, Dom Alberto Ricardo Da Silva, “has a duty and a call to contribute to the well-being of women and children and their families.” For this reason Catholics should work for the health of both mother and the unborn child, despite the “fashionable trend” of promoting abortion as a means of population control, as a number of NGO's – including at least two that are funded by the Canadian bishops’ official development arm – have recently done in East Timor. The country only recently staved off […]

By Patrick B. Craine SEOUL, South Korea, July 15, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Agence France-Presse (AFP), the oldest and one of the largest news agencies in the world, may have erroneously reported that South Korea has legalized euthanasia, says the leader of a Canadian-based anti-euthanasia group. While the headline for the AFP story declares “S.Korea legalises euthanasia for terminally ill,” the article in fact reports only that the South Korean health ministry has approved guidelines for the removal of life support from terminally-ill patients, after receiving their consent. “From the information in the report, there’s nothing indicating anything about euthanasia,” said Alex Schadenberg, […]

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski NEW DELHI, July 15, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told a large gathering at an event held to mark World Population Day on July 11 that his government would not use coercive policies to stabilize India's population. He said that “awareness among the people of the benefits of small families was the most effective way to achieve the goal.” World Population Day is an annual event established by the United Nations Development Program that focuses on the UN's agenda of global population control. The event in New Delhi, titled “Run […]

By Terrence McKeegan, J.D. NEW YORK, July 15 (C-FAM) – Two recently released documents prepared in anticipation of an upcoming international youth conference in Mexico make unprecedented claims for new youth “rights” that experts say directly conflict with traditional norms and international law. The draft declaration which will be considered by governmental participants at the World Youth Conference, to be held at the end of August in Leon, Mexico, calls for a “comprehensive development of young people that includes: a humanist education to face ethical challenges” and “sexuality education.”  There is also a call to “guarantee the highest level of […]

By Samantha Singson NEW YORK, July 15 (C-FAM) - For months, the international community has been preparing for the September review summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  As part of the preparations, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently announced the formation of an MDG advocacy team composed of prominent politicos and philanthropists who will “build political will and mobilize action on the eight Goals.” The list, which includes noted population control supporters and abortion advocates, is causing concern. At the announcement, Ban Ki-moon praised his advocacy team as “a collection of superheroes in fighting poverty.”  Co-chairing the superheroes are […]

Friday July 9, 2010 Why is Hillary pushing gay rights upon Africa? by Martyn Drakard July 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – If the average Kenyan knew that their favourite son, Barack Obama, had declared June the Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender Pride Month, they would simply not believe it. Nor would they believe that in his proclamation for Fathers’ Day, he’d said that nurturing families comes in many forms, including being raised by two “fathers” – even if neither of them is the true father. To top it all, Hillary Clinton recently told “LGBT members of the State Department family” that gay rights are human […]

By Hilary White DUBLIN, July 14, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Civil Partnership Bill, which was passed by the Irish Upper House yesterday, will create ripples of change throughout Irish society and end in “social chaos,” a UK barrister warned last week. Under the proposed law, as in the UK, registered civil partnerships are effectively equivalent to marriage. Separations must be litigated in divorce courts, and the partners are treated as married by banks, government departments and officials and by the tax and benefits systems. Jamie Bogle, a barrister of the Middle Temple in London and chairman of the Catholic Union of […]

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent BUENOS AIRES, July 14, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Tens of thousands of Argentineans took to the streets in protest yesterday as the nation's Senate entered into its final debate over a bill to create homosexual “marriage.” The bill was passed in May by the Chamber of Deputies, the nation's lower legislative house. Prior to taking a vote on the same-sex “marriage” bill, the Senate will vote on a bill to reject the Chamber of Deputies bill, a proposal that, at last count, was supported by a majority of senators. But if it fails, the bill […]

Friday July 9, 2010 60% at Royal Society of Medicine Debate Oppose Assisted Suicide in Britain By James Tillman LONDON, United Kingdom, June 8, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a sign that opposition to legalizing assisted suicide may remain relatively strong in Britain, 60% of those in attendance at a public debate sponsored by the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) voted to oppose any relaxation of British law forbidding assisted suicide. The debate came at the end of a long RSM-sponsored day of speeches both for and against the legalization of assisted suicide in the United Kingdom. Professor David Jones, Director […]

Friday July 9, 2010 Anglican Conservatives Foil Attempt to Appoint Gay Bishop in England By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman BRITAIN, July 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An attempt to name an openly homosexual priest as Anglican Bishop of Southwark in England has been foiled by conservatives following the premature revelation of his candidacy, according to reports in the British media. Dr. Jeffrey John, who lives in a civil union with a man, while claiming to live a chaste life, was rejected after a leak to the media that he was under consideration, provoking a strongly negative response from more conservative Anglicans. It […]

Friday July 9, 2010 BMA: Therapy to Treat Unwanted Same-Sex Attraction Should be Banned By James Tillman BRIGHTON, United Kingdom, July 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The British Medical Association (BMA) has passed a motion asserting that therapy meant to treat unwanted same-sex attraction is harmful, calling on the Royal College of Psychiatrists and other professional bodies to repudiate such treatments and forbid them in their codes of practice. More than two-thirds of the doctors who voted supported the motion. They also said that alleged cases of conversion therapy funded by Britain’s National Health Service should be investigated Junior doctor Tom […]

Monday May 10, 2010 Homosexual “Marriage” Bill Advances in Argentina By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent BUENOS AIRES, May 10, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Argentinean Chamber of Deputies, the nation’s lower legislative house, has approved a bill to legalize homosexual ‘marriage’ in the Latin American country, the second most populous Spanish-speaking nation in South America.’ The bill, which passed last week with a vote of 125-109, will now pass to the nation’s Senate. The attempt to legalize gay “marriage” follows several incidents in Argentina in which homosexual couples have been permitted to register a “marriage,” despite explicit language in […]

Thursday July 8, 2010 Mexico’s Falling Birth Rate Threatens Future: Psychologist By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent MEXICO CITY, July 8, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Mexico’s falling birth rate is a threat to its future, according to María Alejandra Tallabs, an educational psychologist at Mexico’s Panamerican University. “Mexico, I say, is approaching the reality of European countries like Spain, France, Italy, and England, where in their enthusiasm for reducing the demographic increase, they adopt public policies that put their own descendants at risk as a people,” said Tallabs in a statement sent to the press conjointly with the organizations Codigo […]

Thursday July 8, 2010 US Joins Britain, Netherlands, UN to Support ‘Gay Pride’ in Peru By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent LIMA, July 7, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The embassies of the United States, Britain, and the Netherlands have joined the United Nations to issue a declaration in favor of “gay rights” in Peru. “On the occasion of the celebrations of this year of Gay Pride in Peru, we express our support and solidarity with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities in Peru,” the signatories declare. “Transgender” is a reference to those who claim that their “true” sex is different […]

Thursday July 8, 2010 German Court Approves Genetic Screening in IVF By Patrick B. Craine BERLIN, Germany, July 8, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The German Supreme Court has allowed genetic screening of unborn children before they are implanted during in vitro fertilization. The decision is being hailed by some as a “landmark” decision for the country, and by others as a sign that “genocide” against the disabled is advancing in Germany. In a Tuesday ruling, the court sided with a Berlin gynecologist who between 2005 and 2006 screened embryos for three different couples where one partner carried a risk of hereditary […]

Thursday July 8, 2010 Former Lesbian: I Craved Emotional Balance of Hetero Relationship By Kathleen Gilbert UNITED KINGDOM, July 7, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – British comedienne and former lesbian Jackie Clune has published an account of how, exhausted by the emotional dysfunction of her lesbian relationships, she discovered in her subsequent relationship with her husband a freedom to “[walk] alongside each other rather than spending life locked in face-to-face intimacy or combat.” “Looking at my four children racing around the garden with their father, it seems almost impossible to believe that only a few years ago I never imagined having a […]

Wednesday July 7, 2010 Thousands Rally for Life in Belfast By Hilary White BELFAST, July 7, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Thousands rallying for life in Belfast on Saturday were warned that the most immediate threat to the country’s pro-life ethos is legislation that would allow the use of living embryonic human beings for experimentation. The legislation is expected to be announced by Health Minister Mary Harney in the fall. In what was described as a “jubilant atmosphere” with balloons, flags, banners and music, four thousand marched through the city centre that had been blocked to traffic by police. Participants report that, […]

Thursday July 8, 2010 UN Creates What May Become a Billion Dollar Agency for Radical Feminism By Samantha Singson and Amanda Pawloski NEW YORK, July 8 (C-FAM) – Last Friday the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) voted to consolidate four separate UN bodies dedicated to women’s issues into one new gender equality entity called “UN Women.” The resolution capped a victory for radical feminists who lobbied for years for the new entity, which is the latest effort in an overall push to bring women’s issues even more onto the UN agenda. After four years of sometimes harsh negotiations, […]

Thursday July 8, 2010 Vatican to UN: to Truly Empower Women, Honor Motherhood By Kathleen Gilbert NEW YORK, July 8, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Honoring motherhood as women’s unique service to others in the heart of the home is essential to the true empowerment of women, Archbishop Celestino Migliore told a United Nations meeting on gender equality and women’s empowerment this week. Representing the Holy See, Migliore said that the Vatican “notes with concern that … various forms of discrimination, exploitation and oppression of women and girls persist.” He said that “the empowerment of women presupposes universal human dignity and, thus, […]

Wednesday July 7, 2010 Poland’s New President Opposed by Pro-Life Leaders By Patrick B. Craine WARSAW, Poland, July 7, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pro-life leaders in Poland are dismayed over the outcome of the country’s presidential election on Sunday. The Polish people elected liberal Bronislaw Komorowski to fill the spot left open after the late president Lech Kaczynski perished April 10th in a mysterious plane crash on Russian soil. Komorowski, 58, defeated Jaroslaw Kaczynski, 61, the late president’s identical twin, garnering 53% of the vote to Kaczynski’s 47%. Pro-life candidate Marek Jurek got only 1% of the vote and did not […]

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent BUENOS AIRES, July 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Argentina's number one Catholic prelate, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, is calling upon the priests of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires to bring their flocks to an upcoming protest against homosexual “marriage,” which is currently under consideration by the nation's senate. “Let's not be naive, we're not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God,” writes Bergoglio in a letter sent to the monasteries of Buenos Aires, where he is archbishop. “We are not talking about a mere bill, but […]

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski RIO DE JANEIRO, July 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Bruno Fernandes de Souza, goalkeeper, captain and idol of fans of Rio de Janeiro's Flamengo soccer club, has been arrested for suspicion of arranging the murder of his one-time mistress Eliza Samudio. Samudio, who was described by the newspaper O Globo as “a student, model and pornographic film actress,” was seeking to prove that de Souza was the father of her now 4-month-old son who she called Bruninho (Little Bruno). Samudio had been seeking a court order for DNA testing to prove de Souza's paternity of the child, […]

By Patrick B. Craine VATICAN, July 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pope Benedict XVI has named Archbishop Raymond Burke as a member of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The appointment of Archbishop Burke, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura (the Vatican’s highest court), is significant due to the fact that it is this congregation that oversees the distribution of Holy Communion; Archbishop Burke is perhaps the most vocal figure in the Vatican on the need to deny Communion to obstinately pro-abortion politicians. The Code of Canon Law, in canon 915, states that […]

By Kathleen Gilbert LONDON, U.K., July 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Members of the U.K.'s Labour Party have failed in an effort to force British academies to teach explicit sex education to children and teenagers as part of a broader curriculum, the U.K. Press Association reported Wednesday. Academies are a special type of school that, while receiving state funding, maintain a level of independence from government control. According to The Guardian’s Rebecca Smithers, academies have been compared to U.S. charter schools. The amendment to introduce compulsory sex ed within the “personal, social and health education” (PSHE) curriculum in academies, put forward […]

Tuesday July 6, 2010 Euthanasia Bill Resurrected in Tasmanian Parliament By James Tillman HOBART, Australia, July 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Archbishop Adrian Doyle of Hobart, Tasmania, has sharply criticized a “Dying with Dignity” bill that euthanasia proponents are once more attempting to push through the Tasmanian legislature – this time with taxpayer money. “As a society, we must be respectful of the sacred nature of human life and having this mistaken sense of compassion isn’t certainly respectful of human dignity,” he told the Catholic Weekly. Greens leader Nick McKim’s “Dying with Dignity Bill” has been defeated both this year and […]

Tuesday July 6, 2010 Cardinal Danneels Questioned Today in Connection with Abuse Cover-ups By Hilary White BRUSSELS, July 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The former cardinal archbishop of Brussels is being questioned in court hearings today on his suspected involvement in cover-ups of clerical sex abuse that occurred during his 30 years as head of the Belgian Catholic Church. Godfried Cardinal Danneels is taking the stand this morning in hearings that prosecutors are expecting “not to be short.” Additionally, local news reports that authorities were surprised to find concealed in Danneels’s home confidential court documents related to the infamous case of […]

Monday July 5, 2010 Bill Forcing Compliance with Gay Ceremonies Passes Irish Lower House By Hilary White DUBLIN, July 5, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On July 1st, Ireland’s Civil Partnership Bill completed its passage through the Dail (Lower House) without a vote. Under the bill, civil registrars could face a fine of €2,000 (U.S. $2500) and up to six months in prison for conscientiously refusing to carry out a ceremony for a homosexual couple. Similar penalties are outlined for anyone refusing for reasons of conscience to rent meeting facilities for homosexual partnership ceremonies. The bill would create a near-equivalent situation to […]

By James Tillman MANILLA, Philippines, July 7, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – At least two representatives in the Philippine legislature have re-filed a controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill.  The bill would bring about government-sponsored promotion of contraception and sex education. “If they will continue to push for this Reproductive Health Bill, the Church will definitely make known its stand and oppose it,” Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iniguez said in response. The bill has been introduced several times in previous congresses.  Only in the last did it get past committee and reach plenary deliberation; but it never came to a vote. Rep. Edcel Lagman, who […]

By Hilary White BRUSSELS, July 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A possible cover-up by the Belgian Catholic hierarchy of a vast scandal of sex abuse of minors by priests and bishops is likely to be less shocking to a group of parents who spent years trying, with no success, to have a graphic, sexually explicit “catechism” textbook withdrawn from Catholic schools. On June 24, the very day police were raiding the offices of the Archdiocese of Brussels and the home of Cardinal Godfreed Danneels, an article appeared in the Brussels Journal detailing the cardinal’s opposition to efforts to stop the catechism that […]

By Peter J. Smith BEERSHEBA, Israel, July 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Officials at the prestigious Ben Gurion University in Israel say that they believe in academic freedom, but apparently draw the line when a professor comments negatively on homosexuality. Professor Yeruham Leavitt found this out the hard way, after he affirmed a student’s concern that homosexual parenting would deprive a child of a “normal” family upbringing during his lecture’s question-answer session for pharmacological students. According to Israeli news sources, the university fired Prof. Yeruham Leavitt, because three students – at least one of them homosexual – were outraged that Leavitt would share […]

Tuesday June 29, 2010 Latest Adult Stem Cell Advance Gives Sight to the Blind By Peter J. Smith WASHINGTON, D.C., June 29, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – For individuals blinded by chemical burns, the ever advancing field of adult stem-cell research has provided yet another astonishing cure – giving them sight through their own stem cells. Italian researchers have reported developing a very successful therapy to cure those who were either blinded, or whose vision was severely impaired by chemical burns to their corneas. Such burns can come about through handling everything from toxic cleaning substances at home to heavy-duty chemicals at […]

Tuesday June 29, 2010 Report Debunking Fetal Pain Shows ‘Stunning Lack of Scholarship’: NRLC By Patrick B. Craine LONDON, U.K., June 29, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A newly-released report from the London-based Royal College Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) purporting to show that unborn children do not feel pain before 24 weeks has made international headlines in the last few days. But according to pro-life leaders, the study ignores key evidence and is little more than an attempt by abortion advocates to deceive the public. The issue of fetal pain received significant exposure earlier this year in the U.S. after a landmark […]

Wednesday June 30, 2010 Rwandan Genocide Rape Victims Grateful for Children Conceived in Rape By Thaddeus M. Baklinski KIGALI, Rwanda, June 30, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The tribal genocide of 1994 in Rwanda resulted in more than 800,000 Rwandan deaths and countless women suffering rape at the hands of the Hutu militia who were ordered to kill off the country’s minority Tutsi tribe. Now, 16 years later, the children of the raped women are facing the reality of how they were conceived. They and their mothers are looking for acceptance in a society that is still healing from the horrors of […]

Tuesday June 29, 2010 Belgian Church Raids Compared to Babylonian Chastisement By Hilary White BRUSSELS, June 28, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A police raid, the detaining of bishops and the confiscation of files on priestly sexual abuse can be seen as a form of chastisement for decades of open dissent from Catholic teaching by Church authorities in Belgium, a prominent pro-life leader has said. Brussels police raided the offices of the Brussels Archdiocese on Thursday, searched the cathedral and seized computers and files from the residences of both the current archbishop of Brussels and Cardinal Godfreed Daneels who retired as the […]

Monday June 28, 2010 Nude Beach Bishop OK with Gay Relationships By Hilary White June 28, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Portuguese Catholic bishop has told media that he is “OK” with homosexual relationships and complained that the Church is a “little inflexible” in “cultural matters” like contraception and homosexuality. In an interview with Ionline, a Portuguese language news site, Januário Torgal Ferreira, bishop for the Armed Forces of Portugal, said, “I do not agree with the notion of [same-sex] marriage. I do agree with and accept a man who lives with a man, and a woman who lives with a […]

ADF, HSLDA file suit with European Court of Human Rights