We
are all asked to recite one decade of the Rosary
every day in April for the success of our NACF
Walsingham 2008 pilgrimage.
The
pilgrimage provides a wonderful opportunity
to enjoy the company of other Catholic families.
We will be celebrating a number of significant
Church anniversaries: 150th Anniversary of the
apparitions of Our Lady at Lourdes; 40th Anniversary
of the publication of the encyclical Humanae
Vitae, and the 20th Anniversary of the Apostolic
Letter Mulieris Dignitatem.
We
are organising keynote speakers and spiritual
advisers including members of the Community
of St. John. The pilgrimage will take place
on the second May bank holiday weekend - this
year being May 24th / 25th 1439.1
Pope
Benedict XVI's first trip to the United States
as Pope begins Tuesday - a five-day visit to Washington
and New York, including a speech at the United
Nations. Here, Pope Benedict reads a message about
his visit
During
his visit, Pope Benedict XVI will pray for the
victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and for
the conversion of 'those whose hearts and minds
are consumed with hatred' during his visit to
Ground Zero, according to prayers released by
the Vatican. The Pope will visit Ground Zero on
April 20, the last day of his six-day visit. During
his time at the site of the September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks, the Pope will pray the following
prayer for the nearly 3,000 people who died. 'O
God of love, compassion, and healing, look on
us, people of many different faiths and traditions,
who gather today at this site, the scene of incredible
violence and pain. 'We ask you in your goodness
to give eternal light and peace to all who died
here -- the heroic first-responders: our fire
fighters, police officers, emergency service workers,
and Port Authority personnel, along with all the
innocent men and women who were victims of this
tragedy simply because their work or service brought
them here on September 11, 2001.'
'We
ask you, in your compassion to bring healing to
those who, because of their presence here that
day, suffer from injuries and illness.' 'Heal,
too, the pain of still-grieving families and all
who lost loved ones in this tragedy. Give them
strength to continue their lives with courage
and hope. We are mindful as well of those who
suffered death, injury, and loss on the same day
at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.'
'Our hearts are one with theirs as our prayer
embraces their pain and suffering. God of peace,
bring your peace to our violent world: peace in
the hearts of all men and women and peace among
the nations of the earth.' 'Turn to your way of
love those whose hearts and minds are consumed
with hatred. God of understanding, overwhelmed
by the magnitude of this tragedy, we seek your
light and guidance as we confront such terrible
events.' 'Grant that those whose lives were spared
may live so that the lives lost here may not have
been lost in vain. Comfort and console us, strengthen
us in hope, and give us the wisdom and courage
to work tirelessly for a world where true peace
and love reign among nations and in the hearts
of all.' [CNA] 1439.2
In his April 18 speech to the UN, Pope Benedict
XVI will address 'the false nation that might
makes right,' the Vatican representative to the
international body has told the Associated Press.
Archbishop
Celestino Migliore, the permanent observer for
the Holy See at UN headquarters in New York, said
that the Pontiff will not focus on specific international
trouble-spots, but will concentrate on the general
argument that 'our future must be based on respect
for universal truths and our common humanity.'
The
remarks by Archbishop Migliore match the predictions
that the Pope, in addressing the UN, will emphasize
the importance of reliance on natural law as the
basis for recognizing human rights. The papal
visit to the UN comes in the context of the 60th
anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights.
Pope
Benedict made natural-law arguments a major theme
of his January 7 address to the diplomats accredited
to the Holy See-- the Pope's annual 'state of
the world' address. He explained that the Church
defends human rights on the basis of innate human
dignity, which is in turn a function of natural
law. [CWNews] 1439.3
A
recent U.S. Supreme Court decision reaffirmed
the right of the United States to govern its affairs
in accordance with the US Constitution rather
than specific provisions of international treaties.
In the process, the Court rejected a directive
of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Medellín
v. Texas not only reaffirmed principles of sovereignty
and self-government, but also undercut arguments
of international pro-abortion activists that accession
to international treaties requires nations to
disregard domestic constitutional protections
for the unborn.
In
a 6-3 decision authored by Chief Justice John
Roberts, the Court rejected the argument that
Texas law enforcement officials were required
to notify a Mexican murder suspect of his right
under international law to contact his country's
consulate following his arrest. An order by the
ICJ - the United Nations principal judicial organ'
headquartered at The Hague, also known as the
'World Court' - had directed that the Mexican
national was entitled to have his case reviewed
by the state court based a provision of the Vienna
Convention on Consular Relations, a treaty which
the U.S. has ratified.
The
Bush Administration had urged compliance with
the ICJ decision, arguing that the executive branch
had authority to direct a state court to give
it effect. Analyzing the separation of powers
set forth in the Constitution and case law dating
back to the early decades of the Republic, the
Supreme Court ruled that the President lacked
such authority.
As
the treaty provision at issue was not 'self-executing'
- in other words, it did not become automatically
binding upon ratification by Congress - it could
not bind states without further Congressional
action. The U.S. Constitution requires action
by the legislative, not the executive, branch
to transform a non-self-executing treaty obligation
into domestic law.
The
principles underlying the U.S. Supreme Court decision
have application beyond the immediate case. In
recent years, radical pro-abortion NGOs like the
Center for Reproductive Rights have argued that
sovereign nations must liberalize abortion laws
based on non-binding recommendations of certain
UN committees, even though such reinterpretations
of treaty obligations are inconsistent with the
original language in the treaties. Abortion advocates
were successful in convincing the Supreme Court
of Colombia in 2006 to overturn Colombia's pro-life
laws based on such arguments. A similar challenge
is currently pending in Mexico, where the Mexican
Supreme Court is weighing the constitutionality
of a municipal law passed by Mexico City that
allows first trimester abortion.
The
Medellín decision, however, while premised
upon the importance of the United States fulfilling
its treaty obligations, would not allow outside
parties - in this case the ICJ - to dictate how
such obligations would be fulfilled. Rather, the
outcome was dictated by reference to domestic
constitutional principles.
Medellín
thus marks an additional chapter in the on-going
debate over the interrelationship between democratic
self-determination and the scope of obligations
imposed upon sovereign nations participating in
international legal regimes. [LifeSiteNews, C-Fam]
1439.4
As the world's cities, for the first time in history,
boast more inhabitants than the globe's rural
areas, the Holy See's permanent observer to the
United Nations says that the needs of urban migrants
need to be met.
Archbishop
Celestino Migliore affirmed this Wednesday at
the Economic and Social Council's 41st session
of the Commission on Population and Development.
The topic at hand was world population monitoring,
focusing on population distribution, urbanization,
internal migration and development.
The
archbishop noted the session's timing 'at this
historic juncture when, for the first time in
history, the number of urban inhabitants will
surpass the number of people living in rural areas.'
'This
session therefore calls on us to reflect on this
phenomenon and take stock of the opportunities
and challenges that lie ahead,' he said.
The
prelate affirmed that the urbanization of populations
provides new opportunities for economic growth:
'With access to higher wages and better social
services such as education, health, transportation,
communications, safe water supplies and sanitation,
migrants from rural to urban settings are more
likely to advance their personal and social development.'
Still,
the Holy See representative urged, 'We must place
the needs and concerns of peoples first.'
Archbishop
Migliore cautioned against a reversal in priorities.
'Placing
the human person at the service of economic or
environmental considerations creates the inhuman
effect of treating people as objects rather than
subjects,' he said. 'Migration and the urbanization
of societies should not be purely measured in
terms of their economic impact. In finding ways
to address the serious challenges posed by massive
internal and transnational migrations, let us
not forget that at the heart of this phenomenon
is the human person.
'Thus
we must also address the reasons why people move,
the sacrifices they make, the anguish and the
hopes that accompany migrants. Migration often
places great strain on migrants, as they leave
behind families and friends, sociocultural and
spiritual networks.'
Slums
Archbishop
Migliore cited the secretary-genera's report in
noting the many challenges that also come with
urbanization.
'Indeed,'
he said, 'new environmental, social and economic
problems emerge with the birth of mega cities.
But one of the most pressing and painful consequences
of rapid urbanization is the increasing number
of people living in urban slums. As recently as
2005, over 840 million people around the world
lived in such conditions. Lacking in almost everything,
these individuals can lose their sense of self-worth
and inherent dignity.'
The
archbishop noted some of the problems faced by
slum-dwellers, 'trapped in a vicious cycle of
extreme poverty and marginalization.'
'They
squat on state or other people's properties. They
feel powerless to demand even the most basic public
services. Children are not in schools, but in
waste dumpsites eking out a living from scavenging.
Policy makers and civil society actors must put
these people and their concerns among the priorities
in their decision-making.'
Archbishop
Migliore also contended that residents of rural
areas not be forgotten. 'If we are to achieve
the [millennium development goals] by 2015, greater
concern must be given to those communities, in
which approximately 675 million still lack access
to safe drinking water and 2 billion live without
access to basic sanitation. National and international
policies would do well to ensure that rural communities
have access to higher quality and more accessible
social services.'
He
concluded by affirming the Holy See's commitment
to 'addressing the concerns of all migrants and
to finding ways to collaborate with all, in order
to ensure a proper balance between the just concerns
of state and those of individual human beings.'
'Helping
migrants meet their basic needs does not only
aid their transition and help keep families together,'
the prelate stated. 'It is also a positive way
to encourage them to become productive, responsible,
law-abiding and contributors to the common good
of the society.' [Zenit] 1439.5
European
parliamentarians met in Brussels recently to debate
'the rights of women in reproductive health in
Latin America.'
During
the meeting, the representative of pseudo-Catholic
organisation Catholics for a Free Choice, Elfriede
Harth, urged European lawmakers to 'encourage
the governments of Latin America to resist pressure
from the Vatican and act in the interests of their
citizens, prioritizing the issues of health and
human rights.' She also called for 'health and
sexual and reproductive rights in Latin America'
to be included in the European Parliament's agenda.
Harth went on to say that historically speaking,
Europe has a 'debt' to pay to Latin America for
'imposing religion on the people.'
Emma
Ortega, who represents the International Democratic
Federation of Women in Ecuador, used the argument
of clandestine abortions to demand more 'sexual
education and planning' policies as well as increased
promotion of contraceptives in Latin America.
Pro-abortion
forces have been criticizing Nicaragua for prohibiting
abortion in 2006, and praising the government
of Mexico City for legalizing it last year. [CNA]
1439.6
Austria
Cardinal's 'explicit regret' over exhibition
After
a controversial piece of artwork depicting the
apostles engaged in sexual acts was removed from
an exhibit at the Vienna cathedral's museum, Cardinal
Christoph Schönborn has expressed his 'explicit
regret' that the work was exhibited, Kath.net
reports. The Cathedral Museum of Vienna had put
on a retrospective exhibition honoring the 80-year-old
artist Alfred Hrdlicka. One of the pictures depicted
what Hrdlicka described as a 'homosexual orgy'
involving the apostles at the Last Supper. Another
sketch depicting the Crucifixion showed a soldier
simultaneously beating Christ and holding his
genitals.
The
obscene depiction of the Last Supper was removed
from the exhibit within a week. On Wednesday morning,
Cardinal Schönborn released a statement in
which he explained why the exhibit had taken place
and why the Last Supper artwork should not have
been displayed. The cardinal said the Cathedral
Museum did not identify with every work of Hrdlicka
it hosted. In some of the artworks, the cardinal
said, 'he oversteps the essential threshold of
respect for the Sacred. From the point of view
of committed Christians, certain of his works
must quite clearly be rejected.' 'I obviously
would not have agreed to have blasphemous or pornographic
works exhibited,' the cardinal continued. 'I therefore
explicitly regret that a work of this kind was
exhibited without my knowledge. I ordered the
particular work, which committed believers find
deeply distressing, to be removed on 20 March.'
The cardinal also noted the artistic contributions
of Hrdlicka.
'Hrdlicka
is one of Austria's most notable living artists
who, probably more than any other living artist,
has devoted himself to the suffering and downtrodden
human being and has appealed for 'compassion'
with the 'Passion,'' the cardinal said, according
to kath.net. 'He expresses this 'compassion' in
a most perturbing way,' the cardinal said, citing
prominent Hrdlicka works that include a Holocaust
Memorial in front of a Vienna gallery. 'It is
for this reason that I agreed to an exhibition
of his works at the Cathedral Museum, albeit without
detailed knowledge of the individual works to
be exhibited.'
Cardinal
Schönborn said that though Hrdlicka claims
to be a communist and an atheist, throughout his
life he has dealt with biblical subjects, 'especially
the sufferings of Christ.' 'He nevertheless has
a burning interest in the Holy Bible, and has
personally admitted that he has a great longing
for faith,' the cardinal said. Cardinal Schönborn
concluded his statement saying that Catholics
must welcome the fact that artists who are not
Catholic 'occupy themselves so intensely with
biblical subjects.' [CNA] 1439.7
A
Catholic bishop in Scotland has compared China
to Nazi Germany. Rt Rev Joseph Devine, Bishop
of Motherwell, was speaking in the context of
pro-Tibet protests during the Beijing Olympic
flame's tour of Britain, The Wishaw Press reports.
He said that the Chinese régime forced
women to have abortions and to be sterilised in
Tibet as well as in its own country. Bishop Devine
called for worldwide peaceful demonstrations against
'the biggest police state in the world'. [SPUC]
1439.8
A
Leading Catholic charity has issued a call to
prayer for China's suffering Christians - in the
same week that pressure from the authorities forced
Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong to cancel
a pilgrimage. Aid to the Church in Need is asking
Catholics to unite in prayer for the Church in
China, which has suffered years of persecution
under the communism. ACN's UK National Director,
Neville Kyrke-Smith, underlined the need to highlight
the ongoing oppression of China's Catholics, saying:
'Aid to the Church in Need is not a campaigning
organisation, but a Catholic charity offering
the hope of the Risen Christ to those in need.
'Yet, we are pleading and praying for the religious
rights of the people of China to be respected.'
The
focal point of ACN's prayer appeal is a Day of
Prayer on 10th May - a fortnight before the world
day of prayer for China, when up to 600 pilgrims
from Hong Kong were to visit the shrine of Our
Lady of Sheshan, in Cardinal Zen's native Shanghai.
The diocese of Hong Kong began planning the pilgrimage
in July 2007, after Pope Benedict suggested 24th
May as a world day of prayer for China in his
letter to China's Catholics last June, which mentioned
the shrine in Shanghai. But Chinese authorities
asked the diocese to change the date because of
safety concerns over the large number of pilgrims
expected to the shrine that day. Some reports
suggested the government's true concerns focused
around Cardinal Zen's role. His outspoken views
on religious freedom are regarded as controversial
by the authorities, and he has been banned from
mainland China since he was made a bishop in 1996.
In a bid to allow the pilgrimage to go ahead after
previous objections, Cardinal Zen had withdrawn
from the trip and substantially reduced the numbers
going on the pilgrimage, which was originally
due to be 1,000.
Other
pilgrimages have been curtailed by authorities
- the annual pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady
of Mount Carmel in Tianjiajing was halted last
year after the historic sanctuary, built in 1903-05,
was scheduled to be dynamited by local authorities.
Despite continuing oppression the Church in China
is flourishing, with record numbers of people
converting. ACN is supporting this growth, helping
to train seminarians, build new churches and chapels,
and print religious literature. [Aid to the Church
in Need] 1439.9
The
German government has voted to remove restrictions
on the use of human embryos in stem cell research.
Under current law, German researchers are only
allowed to use human embryonic stem cells harvested
abroad before January 2002, but today the Bundestag
(lower house) decided by a 346-228 vote to move
the cut-off date to May 2007. German Research
Minister Annette Schavan, a Roman Catholic, justified
the change saying that it is the only way for
Germany's researchers to remain competitive. Last
July the German National Ethics Council narrowly
approved the change in a 14-10 vote.
The 2002 law was passed in an effort to discourage
foreign laboratories from making and marketing
embryonic stem-cell lines to German scientists.
However, Germany has been under heavy pressure
from the research community and from the European
Union to abolish the 2002 cut-off date. Germany
has been one of the few voices at the EU opposed
to further funding for embryo research, together
with Malta, Austria, Italy, Poland and Slovakia.
Meanwhile, recent polls show that Germany's historic
opposition to the use of living human beings in
research, a lesson deeply ingrained in the German
public by memories of the Holocaust and the eugenics
movement, is still strong and is increasing. An
opinion poll in January showed that at the start
of 2008, 61 percent supported using only adult
or iPS stem cells ('induced pluripotent stem'
cells derived from ordinary cells), up from 56.3
per cent in 2007. 65.2 per cent support the existing
ban on destructive embryo research. [LifeSiteNews]
1439.10
Bishop Corrado Pizziolo of Vittorio Veneto celebrated
the funeral Mass on Wednesday for Paola Bredda,
a courageous 38 year-old mother who refused to
undergo cancer treatments in order to save her
unborn child. A large number of the faithful filled
the Cathedral of Pieve di Soligo to say goodbye
to Paola, whose testimony of maternal love was
a source of inspiration to the country. Her death,
which occurred on Tuesday, was reported in the
Vatican daily L'Osservatore Romano. Paola Bredda
died at her parents' home, where she had spent
her last days with her husband Loris Amodei, and
her children Ilaria, 3, and Nicola, the newborn
baby boy whose life she saved by refusing cancer
treatment.
Paolo
was six months pregnant when she was diagnosed
with breast cancer. She decided to continue on
with the pregnancy and postpone treatment in order
to prevent the child from dying. Nicola was born
at eight months, and is now 17 months old. Paola
underwent surgery for her cancer after giving
birth but several weeks ago she suffered relapse.
In his homily, Bishop Corrado Pizziolo said, 'Paola
gave priority to the life of the baby she carried
in her womb to the detriment of her own. We can
put it bluntly: she sacrificed her own life for
that of her baby. There is no greater love than
this: to give one's life for those one loves.
She did this. Jesus, and the Gospel he lived for
us, is what we see lived out in the life of our
sister. A life that shows how it is possible to
concretely live the Gospel.'
'We
are also here to thank the Lord. It seems paradoxical
and absurd to be grateful in a time of sorrow,'
the bishop said. 'We are here to be grateful not
only for the death of Paola, but also for her
life, which was a gift' that 'gave life to so
many people, the ones she loves, her husband,
her children.,' Bishop Pizziolo said. 'Our hope
is that the life of our sister Paola has not ended.
It will still be a gift. United to the love of
Jesus, she will mysteriously continue on and truly
bear fruit,' he added. 'We need these things because
our faith runs the risk of being nothing but words,'
the bishop stressed. 'We need events from the
Gospel like this in order to make it real, in
order to strengthen our faith,' he said. [CNA]
1439.11
Some
of the mystery surrounding the devil and exorcism
is being unveiled in a television and Internet
report series, detailing the work of the exorcist
of the Diocese of Rome. Society of St. Paul Father
Gabriele Amorth, Rome's exorcist for the past
21 years and a specialist in the figure of Mary,
explained in the first edition of the series how
he performs exorcisms. 'I go to one of Rome's
churches, to a parish that is closed during the
day,' he said. 'There is Mass in the morning and
then the church is closed. There I perform the
difficult exorcisms. I always work with seven
to 10 people who help me, and use a small bed.
Sometimes we need to tie people down or simply
subdue them.' With Christ, the priest said, it
is possible to overcome the devil: 'The exorcist
acts in the name of Jesus and with the strength
that comes from Jesus.' Is he real?
The
first question Father Amorth addressed in the
report is if the devil exists: 'I respond with
the words of John Paul II, who was once asked
this question: 'Your Holiness, I find many bishop
who don't believe in the devil.' And John Paul
II responded: 'One who doesn't believe in the
devil doesn't believe in the Gospel.' 'The devil
is an angel, and therefore, a pure spirit created
good by God and who perverted himself because
he rebelled against God. Therefore, he maintains
all the characteristics proper of a pure spirit,
such as a very large intelligence, immensely bigger
than ours.'
The devil is pleased by the way he is generally
represented -- with wings and a tail, horns, as
a bat, etc. -- because these images make him seem
ridiculous and help people to believe that he
does not exist, the exorcist reported. Father
Amorth suggested that diabolic problems be separated
from psychiatric ones; and to do so an exorcist
is needed in every diocese to help in discernment.
'Normally when a person experiences these conflicts
and problems, the first thing he does is see a
doctor and psychiatrist,' he said. 'It is very
difficult to distinguish the devil's action from
a psychological problem. The person goes to a
psychiatrist and after years of therapy obtains
no result. 'Then he begins to suspect that the
problem is not a natural one and goes to a conjurer
from whom he obtains even greater harm.
This
is what normally happens. At this point, it is
possible that someone more experienced in these
matters suggests an exorcist.' The exorcist confirmed
that Satan's great foe is the Virgin Mary. He
explained: 'On one occasion an exorcist friend
of mine asked the devil what most hurts him about
Our Lady, what most annoys him. He responded,
'That she is the purest of all creatures and that
I am the filthiest; that she is the most obedient
of all creatures and that I am the most rebellious;
that she is the one who committed no sin and thus
always conquers me.'' Father Amorth affirmed that
on some occasions, God forces the Prince of Lies
to tell the truth, however, the devil's main struggle
is to make man fall into sin.
'To
lead man towards evil is to make him fall into
sin; this is the devil's preferred activity and
we are all subject to it from our birth until
our death.' According to Father Amorth, Mary is
a key figure in the fight against the devil's
tricks, especially since she herself was tempted:
'Mariology is my field and I have often been asked
if Mary was tempted by the devil. Definitely.
When? From her birth until her death. But she
always triumphed.' [Zenit] 1439.12
Patients
in the Netherlands are allegedly being put into
a coma with sedatives and left to die of dehydration.
An Erasmus university, Rotterdam, study found
that the deaths of 1,800 people in 2005 involved
so-called deep sedation. Mr Wesley J Smith, an
American lawyer, is quoted as saying that Dutch
doctors seeking to euthanise patients were using
the technique to avoid being present at the death.
[LifeNews, SPUC] 1439.13
Two
bomb explosions this morning rocked a Catholic
church and a coffee house in the southern Philippines,
but no one was hurt in the attacks, police said.
Authorities have not identified suspects in the
attacks, which occurred in the wake of warnings
by the United States and Australia of possible
terrorist attacks in the southern Philippines.
The first explosion occurred near the right wing
of the Immaculate Conception Metro Cathedral in
Zamboanga City, 875 kilometres south of Manila,
at 4:15 am. Police Superintendent Jonathan Perez
said the church was empty during the explosion
since the first Mass was scheduled at 5am. The
caretaker, who was preparing for the Mass, called
police when he became suspicious about three men
who entered the church compound but left immediately.
The
explosion occurred while police were on the way
to the cathedral. Perez said a bomb was planted
in one of two parked vehicles near the cathedral's
right wing. The blast damaged both vehicles. "The
good news here is that no one was hurt,"
Perez said. The second blast occurred just 10
minutes later in the front of a coffee shop located
on the ground floor of a building that also houses
the local office of the department of foreign
affairs. Perez said the coffee shop's door and
sign were destroyed.
Zamboanga
City Archbishop Romulo Valles expressed alarm
over the bombing at the cathedral, which he denounced
as an "act of the forces of darkness"
and "an evil act". "We should all
join together and stand up and try everything
to stop any further activities like this,"
he added. Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat
said authorities were determining who were behind
the attacks and if they were related. "We
assure our residents that the authorities are
on top of the situation doing everything to determine
the cause and motive as well as perpetrators behind
the attack," he said. [Sapa-dpa] 1439.13a
The
attempt to prevent the outbreak of religious conflict
by putting legal obstacles in the way of religious
activities should, if followed logically, lead to
the suppression of democracy itself, since any controversy
which erupts in the public arena-race relations,
for example, or war-has the potential of becoming
'divisive` and even violent. Strict separationists
are people who have a peculiar horror of what they
deem religious fanaticism, which may well turn out
to be any kind of deep religious conviction. They
share an inherited Enlightenment prejudice against
organized religion, which they have succeeded in
building into law.
[James Hitchcock, Catholicism and Modernity]
In
her column in this week's Catholic Herald,
Mary Kenny warns parents that they should beware
of Ed Balls, the Minister for Children, Schools
and Families, who has chosen to attack faith schools.
Mr Balls has claimed that dozens of faith schools
ask for cash contributions 'upfront' when 'selecting'
pupils: that they research the background of pupils
in order to covertly 'select' them: and that they
go to all sorts of nefarious lengths to break
the admissions code. His claims have been widely
discredited, and even he has admitted that his
data was 'unverified'. It turns out that a handful
of Jewish schools and one Anglican school in the
London area told parents that some contributions
would be needed for religious classes which were
not covered by the school budget. But the inaccuracy
of his information is not really the point.
The
point is that Mt Balls, and his parliamentarian
wife, Yvette Cooper, are of the New Labour genre
quite determined to destroy faith schools, under
any pretext. This is not because faith schools
fail - or turn children into the candidates for
Time magazine's indictment - but for quite the
contrary reasons: because they so often succeed
in educational terms. Because they uphold discipline
and moral values. And because parents will go
to almost any lengths to get their children into
these schools. Every educationalist involved in
religious-based education should beware of this
man. Every parent should be made aware of what
his intentions are. A strong defence against Mr
Balls's daft and destructive ideas will certainly
be required. After all, he doesn't care if he
goes down in history as the Minister who made
British youth worse: so long as he achieves his
desired object to control and destroy' [Catholic
Herald]
'Near-criminal
attack
Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, has carried out
a 'near criminal' attack on high-performing faith
schools, according to a leading Labour MP. Frank
Field, the former welfare minister, said Gordon
Brown's closest colleague was 'ranting' and using
the row to position himself for Labour's 'next
leadership contest'. His attack, in an article
in today's The Sunday Telegraph, comes as Mr Brown's
government faces Labour revolts on the abolition
of the 10p tax rate and plans to 'privatise' welfare
policy. Mr Field takes Mr Balls to task for his
comments after many faith schools were found to
be breaking admissions rules, including asking
parents for financial donations. Mr Balls said
the schools' activities were 'unacceptable'. Mr
Field writes: 'Ed Balls's recent attack on faith
schools [was] not simply incomprehensible, but
near criminal. The PM … must rein him in.
A rant against faith schools may be good for positioning
a candidate for the next leadership contest but
it is deeply damaging to a government that is
trying to prevent itself being confined to a political
life-support machine.' Mr Balls, widely seen as
the Prime Minister's right-hand man, has come
under attacks which are viewed by many MPs as
coded assaults on Mr Brown. [Sunday Telegraph]
1439.14
The
chairman of the Scottish Medicines Consortium
says that his informal polling of public meetings
suggested support for diverting health spending
from the old to the young. Dr Ken Paterson wanted
the matter discussed but old people's charities
expressed concern that vital drugs could be denied
to the elderly. Help the Aged said there was ageism
in the state health service, and Age Concern pointed
out that old people had contributed to the cost
of the service. [Daily Expressl] A Church of Scotland
minister also recently suggested that funds should
be switched from the old to the young. [SPUC]
1439.15
British
lawmakers are using a new study saying there has
been little change in the survival rates of premature
babies over the last 10 years to oppose changes
in the nation's law allowing late-term abortions.
Some MPs want England to move the time limit for
abortions from 24 weeks into pregnancy to 20 weeks.
A new study examining premature births finds 40
percent of the babies born at 23 weeks of pregnancy
don't survive their time in the delivery ward.
Another stat reveals just 26 percent of all babies
born at 23 weeks ever go home with their parents.
At 24 weeks into pregnancy, the survival rate
increased to 47 percent and it jumps to 67 percent
at 25 weeks. Liberal Democrat MP Dr Evan Harris
is already seizing the study's numbers as a platform
to oppose any change in the abortion law. However,
Tory MP Nadine Dorries says the study is flawed
because it focused only on the most serious babies
born in hospitals without neo-natal units -- thereby
having an impact on the survival rates. [LifeNews]
1439.16
A council has admitted receiving Government money
under a controversial 'adoption target' scheme
that rewards the removal of children from their
parents. Hammersmith and Fulham council, in west
London, was paid £500,000 as a reward for
placing more than 100 children for adoption in
three years. The council is the first to acknowledge
publicly a payout under the target scheme. It
said that its social workers had 'pulled out all
the stops' and 'cut down on the amount of bureaucracy'
to boost the numbers. They exceeded their goal
of 101 adoptions, securing 106 by this month's
deadline. In almost every case, the birth parents
fought to keep their children but were defeated
in the family courts. advertisement A spokesman
for the Tory-controlled council said: 'Nearly
all of these children were adopted compulsorily
through the courts. In each of these cases the
courts decided that adoption was the right thing
for the child.'
The
councillor in charge of the campaign, Antony Lillis,
said that the children had had the 'least promising'
start in life, and were more likely to 'go on
to achieve economic well-being' with their new
adoptive parents. Campaigners said that some babies
might have been taken unnecessarily from birth
parents of limited means. John Hemming, the Liberal
Democrat MP and chairman of Justice for Families,
said: 'I am concerned that Hammersmith and Fulham
may have removed children to hit its target.'
The
council announced its success in a press release
headed 'Adoption target met'. Its disclosure appeared
to contradict the claims of Kevin Brennan, the
children's minister, who seemed to deny the existence
of adoption targets when he said earlier this
year: 'The only national adoption targets, which
ended in 2006, were on the number of adoptions
of children who were already in care and waiting
to be placed for adoption, and on the speeding
up of this. There was never a financial incentive
for local authorities to meet these national targets.'
[Sunday Telegraph] 1439.17
Extremist ideas are being spread by Islamic study
centres linked to British universities and backed
by multi-million-pound donations from Saudi Arabia
and Muslim organisations, a new report claims.
Eight universities, including Oxford and Cambridge,
have accepted more than £233.5 million from
Saudi and Muslim sources since 1995, with much
of the money going to Islamic study centres, according
to the report. The total sum, revealed by Anthony
Glees, the director of Brunel University's Centre
for Intelligence and Security Studies, amounts
to the largest source of external funding to UK
universities. advertisement Arab donors have argued
that their gifts to academic institutions help
to promote understanding between the West and
the Islamic world. However, Prof Glees claims
in his unpublished report that the propagation
of one-sided views of Islam and the Middle East
at universities amounts to anti-Western propaganda.
Prof
Glees attracted controversy in 2005 when he claimed
that up to 48 universities had been infiltrated
by fundamentalists and warned that the threat
posed by radical groups should be 'urgently addressed'.
At a conference in London on Thursday, the Government
is expected to call for the opening of more Islamic
study centres at British universities. Last year,
ministers declared Islamic studies a 'strategically
important subject' and put aside £1 million
for the teaching of the subject, as part of a
counter-radicalisation drive. Universities that
have accepted donations from Saudi royals and
other Arab sources include Oxford, Cambridge,
Durham, University College London, the London
School of Economics, Exeter, Dundee and City.
Prof Glees says Government policies 'push the
wrong sort of education by the wrong sort of people,
funded by the wrong sorts of donor'.
He
added: 'The Government must reconsider its far-reaching,
security-driven plan to use higher education in
the fight against the radicalisation of young
British Muslims. If it proceeds, it will create
the very situation the Government wants to avoid:
the development of self-imposed Muslim apartheid
in the UK.' He called on the Government to ban
universities from accepting money from Saudi or
Islamic groups to fund Islamic studies; for all
university donations to be made public, and for
a public inquiry into foreign funding. Major donations
include £20 million from the late King Fahd
of Saudi Arabia towards the Oxford Centre for
Islamic Studies, due to open next year, which
is associated to the university.
Prof
Glees's report claims that over the past five
years, 70 per cent of politics lectures at the
Middle Eastern Centre at St Antony's College,
Oxford, were 'implacably hostile' to the West
and Israel - an allegation denied by Oxford. Prof
Glees says universities are so strapped for cash
that they risk being 'held over a barrel', with
no option but to accept donations. He said: 'Britain's
universities will have to generate two national
cultures: one non-Muslim and largely secular,
the other Muslim. 'We will have two identities,
two sets of allegiance and two legal and political
systems. This must, by the Government's own logic,
hugely increase the risk of terrorism.'
The
report, to be published by the Centre for Social
Cohesion, an offshoot of the centre-Right Civitas
think tank, also questions the choice of Dr Ataullah
Siddiqui as the Government's chief adviser on
Islamic studies. Prof Glees alleges that Dr Siddiqui,
who is a director of Leicester's Markfield Institute
of Higher Education, has ideological links to
extreme Islamic groups. He argues that by employing
Dr Siddiqui as its chief adviser, the Government
risks aiding the spread of extremism, rather than
preventing it. Dr Siddiqui said: 'These claims
are false. I deny completely that I have any organisational
or ideological links with extremist organisations.
I also deny that the Markfield Institute has any
such links with extremist organisations.'
An
Oxford University spokesman said: 'The university
has not seen Prof Glees's report. If any allegations
have been made that funders influence or bias
the methods, outcomes, or political stances taken
in research and teaching at Oxford, the university
categorically denies them.' A spokesman for Universities
UK, the umbrella organisation for universities,
said: 'All academic programmes in the UK, including
Islamic studies, are subject to the UK's rigorous
and independent quality assurance procedures.'
A spokesman for the Department for Innovation,
Universities and Skills said: 'Institutions have
the primary responsibility for determining and
maintaining the standards of the awards they deliver
and the quality of the education they provide.'
[Sunday Telegraph] 1439.18
The
Shadow Health Secretary has criticized the Government
for allegedly not consulting the Church over the
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. In a
letter sent to Dawn Primarolo, Minister of State
for Public Health, Andrew Lansley wrote: 'It is
astonishing to find. from your answer to my question
that neither you, not any other Minister, has
met a representative of the Catholic Church to
discuss the Human Fertility and Embryology Bill
since
We
are all asked to recite one decade of the Rosary
every day in April for the success of our NACF
Walsingham 2008 pilgrimage. 
