Cardinal
Newman report confirmed
An official spokesman for the cause of beatification
of Cardinal John Henry Newman has confirmed that
the Vatican has given preliminary approval to
the authenticity of a miracle attributed to Cardinal
Newman's intercession. Final approval of the miracle
would clear the way for the beatification of the
Cardinal Newman, a towering figure in English
Catholicism in the 19th century. Peter Jennings,
press secretary to the Fathers of the Birmingham
Oratory for the cause of Cardinal Newman, announced
on April 24 that the postulator for the cause,
Dr. Andrea Ambrosi, had authorized him to reveal
that medical consultants in Rome had certified
that the cure of Jack Sullivan, a Catholic deacon
from Massachusetts, could not be attributed to
natural causes. The apparently miraculous healing
of Sullivan from a debilitating spinal ailment--which
took place on the feast of the Assumption, August
15, 2001-- will now be studied by theologians
for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
If the theologians give their approval, the case
will go to the full Congregation for approval.
[CWNews] 1443.1
www.catholic-family.org
Facing
cultural challenges
Pope
Benedict XVI met with the bishops from the central
Caucus region on Thursday in an 'ad limina' visit.
He told the bishops that the Church in the Caucuses
to must continue to face 'with courage the social
and cultural challenges' that have evolved since
the fall of Communism. 'Peace to you. I greet
you with the same greeting of the risen Christ
to the disciples gathered in the Cenacle, you
whom he has made head of the people of God in
this region. I am pleased to meet with all of
you, after having met individually with each of
you,' the Pope said.He also extended his 'personal
greeting' to priests, religious, the faithful,
those of other Christian confessions and other
faiths. The Caucuses, he said, are the crossroads
of east and west, and as such, are a cradle of
civilization.
Addressing
the general situation of the people in the region,
Pope Benedict said that while advances in social
progress have been made following the fall of
the Soviet Union, poverty, unemployment and regional
strife have left many homeless and at the mercy
of other forces. Yet, he said, 'Despite the difficult
events of the last century, the region has remained
a fertile ground for the faith, and along with
the many victims of internal and external, often
violent, conflict, are many martyrs.' The Holy
Father emphasized the interreligious character
of the region, where the Armenian, Chaldean and
Latin rite Catholics live together with Armenian
Orthodox, Jews and Muslims. In such a multi-religious
context', he said, 'it is important for Catholics
to continue and to intensify their collaboration
with other Churches and with the followers of
other religions, as already happens in many places'.
The
Holy Father further encouraged the faithful to
reaffirm their Catholic identity, and to 'impede
insidious pressures that weaken the sense of ecclesial
belonging.' Quoting St. Paul's letter to the Romans,
he said, 'We know well that tribulation produces
patience, patience produces virtue and proven
virtue produces hope. Hope does not delude because
the love of God has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit which has been given to
us.' In closing, the pope reminded the bishops
that it is 'the Father who sustains them in their
difficult mission of shepherding the flock of
Christ who lives in the Caucuses.' He thanked
bishops, religious and laity for their many works
of charity that sustains the poor of the region,
and reminded them that charity can never be reduced
to mere social work. Rather, he said, it is part
of the 'gratuitous love of God demanded by the
Gospel.' The Holy Father left the bishops with
one last word of encouragement, saying, 'I know
the zeal and ardor you have in your hearts and
your efforts to spread the gospel of hope'. [CNA]
1443.2
www.catholic-family.org
The
spiritual value of music
This
week the Italians took their turn at showing their
affection and respect for the Pope by hosting
a classical music concert in honour of his third
anniversary and birthday. Benedict XVI thanked
the choir and the orchestra for sharing the gift
of music with people. Music, he said, has a spiritual
value because it can 'infuse hope into the human
soul.' The concert was offered by the President
of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, who met with the
Pope for 15 minutes beforehand. The meeting was
characterized by the Vatican as one of 'great
cordiality' and included a discussion of the Holy
Father's recent UN address. Following their conversation,
the heads of state proceeded to the Paul VI Hall
to attend the performance.
The
concert featured pieces by Luciano Berio, Johannes
Brahms and Ludwig van Beethoven and was performed
by the Giuseppe Verdi symphony orchestra and choir
of Milan. Pope Benedict followed the concert from
the central aisle of the hall alongside President
Napolitano and his elder brother Msgr. Georg Ratzinger.
Both Ratzinger brothers are avid classical music
fans and musicians themselves. At the end of the
concert, Benedict XVI thanked the Italian president
for the concert in which, he said, 'I discern
a further sign of the great affection the Italian
people nurture for the Pope'.
Having
extended his gratitude to the choir and the orchestra,
the Holy Father encouraged the Giuseppe Verdi
Foundation 'to continue the prestigious artistic
and cultural journey they have begun, which, I
am aware, is also enhanced by their commitment
to use music to mitigate situations of human difficulty,
such as in hospitals and prisons'. The Pope explained
that there is a 'spiritual value' to the art of
music which, 'in a special way, is called to infuse
hope into the human soul, marked and sometimes
injured by its earthly condition. 'There is a
profound and mysterious relationship between music
and hope, between song and eternal life', the
Holy Father said.
'It is no coincidence that Christian tradition
shows the spirits of the blessed as they sing
in chorus, captivated and enraptured by the beauty
of God. But true art, like prayer, is not foreign
to everyday reality, rather it calls us to 'irrigate'
that reality, to make it sprout that it may bring
forth fruits of goodness and peace. Music, in
fact, has a far greater value because it 'reminds
us furthermore of the value and the universal
importance of artistic heritage,' the Pope said.
He also mentioned that it is of particular value
to the young, who can draw 'new inspiration' from
such heritage 'in order to build a world founded
on justice and solidarity, putting the multiform
expressions of world culture to good account at
the service of mankind'.
Benedict
XVI mentioned the importance that 'educating people
to recognize true beauty has for the formation
of the young', and he explained how art 'contributes
to refining their souls and leads towards the
construction of a society open to the ideals of
the spirit. 'Italy, with is exceptional artistic
heritage, can, in this regard, play an important
role in the world', he concluded. 'The quantity
and quality of monuments and works of art the
country possesses effectively make it a universal
'messenger' of all the values which art, at one
and the same time, expresses and promotes. In
the same way, the festive nature of song and music
are a constant invitation to believers and to
men and women of good will to commit themselves
to giving humanity a future rich in hope'. [CNA]
1443.3
www.catholic-family.org
The Family
'A
never-ending carnival of human misery'
Earlier
this month, speaking from 37 years experience
in the family courts, Mr Justice Coleridge told
the national conference of the family law association,
Resolution, that in many parts of the country,
family life was in meltdown or completely unrecognisable.
The
Judge suggested that the general collapse of ordinary
family life, as a result of the breakdown of families,
was on a scale, depth and breadth which few family
lawyers could have imagined even a decade ago.
Given the increase in the number of more casual
cohabiting relationships, official statistics
did not reveal the full extent of family breakdown.
Growing numbers of parents, both married and unmarried,
were providing 'no consistent parental influence
or authority over their children's daily lives
and separating as a matter of course and as part
of the ordinary experience of children as they
grow up'. The Judge described it as 'a never ending
carnival of human misery' and 'a ceaseless river
of human distress'.
The
importance of stable family life for a healthy
society was incontrovertible:
For
as long as history has recorded these things,
stable family life has bee. co-extensive and co-terminus
with a stable and balanced society. Families are
the cells which make up the body of society. If
the cells are reasonably healthy, the body can
function reasonably well and properly. But if
the cells are unhealthy and undernourished, or
at worst cancerous, and growing haphazard and
out of control, in the end the body succumbs.
The disease may he hidden from view until very
late in its progress. And the may make the situation
when it is discovered that much more difficult
to control and treat But it is there even if invisible.
Family
breakdown in the UK was already taking its toll
on the psychological health of both the parents
and children involved, but is long-term effects
on the health and functioning of the nation were
unknown. Judge Coleridge predicted that family
breakdown would prove to be as big a threat to
society as global warming, terrorism. street crime
drugs, or any economic decline.
He
was in no doubt that 'almost all of society's
ills can be traced directly to the collapse of
family life':
Examine
the background of almost every child involved
in the public law care system or the youth justice
system and yon will discover a broken family.
Ditto the drug addict. Ditto the binge drinker.
Ditto those children who are truanting or cannot
behave at school. Or indeed any of the other ills
which are so regularly trumpeted by the media
as the examples of national collapse. It always
come back to a broken family or the complete lack
of any stability within the family. Scratch the
surface of these cases and you invariably find
a miserable family, overseen by a dysfunctional
and fractured parental relationship or none at
all. I am not saying every broken family produces
dysfunctional children but I am saying that almost
every dysfunctional child is the product of a
broken family.
Judge
Coleridge said it was not enough to deal with
the fallout and pick up the pieces; the causes
of family breakdown needed to be addressed at
their very root. There was a need to educate young
people and their parent about the causes of relationship
breakdown and ways of managing it and preventing
it.
The
benefits to be gained from reducing the incidence
of family breakdown were huge. Stable family life
would lead to lower rates a criminal and anti
social behaviour, and significant improvements
in mental health and schooling, resulting in massive
savings for the public exchequer.
The
full text of the speech given by Mr Justice Coleridge
will be found here
[FYC] 1443.4
www.catholic-family.org
United
Nations
Bio-fuels
threat
The Holy See is asking for measures to keep the
production of biofuels from bringing about increased
food prices to the point of threatening starvation
in many countries.
Monsignor
Renato Volante, the permanent observer of the
Holy See at the Rome-based UN Organization for
Food and Agriculture (FAO), participated in the
FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and
the Caribbean, which was held in Brasilia, Brazil,
April 17-18.
Monsignor
Volante proposed that the production of biofuels
should not bring about a decrease in the production
of agricultural products destined for the food
market.
Biofuels
are energy sources produced from a variety of
different plants or plant products. Many developed
countries have begun subsidizing the production
of biofuels, which has resulted in decreased production
of typical plant foods.
UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon encouraged today
a coordinated effort to face the steeply rising
price of food, which he said has developed into
a 'real global crisis.' He said some 100 million
of the world's poor now need aid to be able to
buy food. Riots have broken out in some countries,
such as Haiti, over the increased prices.
A
member of the UN World Food Program called the
phenomenon a 'silent tsunami.'
Monsignor
Volante acknowledged that the use of agricultural
products in the production of biofuels 'can represent
an opportunity for the protection of the environment
and biodiversity.'
Nevertheless,
he said this tendency is 'indicated today as the
primary cause for the unprecedented increase of
prices compared to a decade ago, as well as a
rapid change in the use of agricultural terrain
submitted to intense cultivation that weakens
it.'
'All
of this has a worldwide impact,' Monsignor Volante
added, 'which, though it presents certain advantages
for agricultural producers, in fact is causing
negative consequences to the poverty levels in
areas dependent upon the importation of food and
to the conservation of land.'
The
Holy See representative called on states to consider
options, keeping in mind the 'essential objective'
of protecting and ensuring the right to food.
It
is not an option, he said, to 'diminish the quantity
of agricultural products that must be introduced
into the food market or of keeping them reserved
for emergencies that could come to pass, in favor
of other ends, even if acceptable ones, that do
not satisfy a fundamental right, such as the right
to food.' [Zenit] 1443.5
www.catholic-family.org
Poland
pressurised
The
government of Poland was pressed on the issue
of abortion and sexual orientation by the UN Human
Rights Council in Geneva last week, the Catholic
Family and Human Rights Institute (C-Fam) reports.
The
grilling came during something called the Universal
Periodic Review (UPR), a process mandated by the
UN General Assembly, writes Maciej Golubiewski
in C-Fam's 'Friday Fax'.
At
the meeting on April 14, the Polish delegation
was questioned by various members of the committee
about Poland's human-rights record. Norway said
that Poland should 'facilitate access to abortion
for women who qualify for this under Polish law.'
Slovenia, the United Kingdom, and Sweden pushed
for sexual orientation to be one of the grounds
for non-discrimination in the new equality law
being debated in the Polish parliament. Slovenia
recommended that Poland stop legislation 'punishing
anyone who promotes homosexuality 'in education'.
Canada said that those who campaign for equality
and against discrimination based on perceived
sexual orientation, (should be) allowed to carry
out their work in a secure environment...'
The
Polish government responded that Poland does not
hamper women's access to legal abortion, pointing
out that clinics which refuse to perform abortions
must subcontract with services that do. The head
of the Polish delegation underlined that while
the Polish penal code does not include discrimination
based on sexual discrimination as a separate offense,
Poland cooperates with European Union (EU) authorities
on matters concerning sexual orientation. The
current Polish government receives EU grants specifically
designed for cooperation with homosexual groups.
Poland has commissioned research on the situation
of homosexuals, and instituted a working group
on discrimination based on sexual orientation
with a right to transmit policy recommendations
to the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.
Pawel
Wosicki, a president of the Polish Confederation
of Pro-Life Movements, and one of the NGO delegates
to the review, said that 'while the pro-abortion
lobby has not succeeded in using the UPR process
to promote abortion in Poland, the evident pressure
on Poland in matters of sexual orientation is
a serious development. The Polish government's
delegation seemed very conciliatory towards these
pressures and it missed an opportunity to criticize
recommendations that could open doors to legalizing
gay marriage and same sex unions.'
The
Universal Periodic Review was established by the
United Nations' General Assembly in March 2005.
The resolution calls on the UN's Human Rights
Council (HRC) to 'undertake a universal periodic
reviewâ?¦of the fulfillment by each
State of its human rights obligations and commitments'.
The HRC started the review process in April 2008
and plans to finish reviewing 192 UN member states
by 2011. Each country prepares a report based
on general guidelines established by the HRC,
which is then reviewed by three national delegations
appointed by the HRC. Other delegations are allowed
to ask questions and suggest recommendations.
[CWNews] 1443.6
www.catholic-family.org
The radical onslaught
Call
to Action 'causing damage to the Church'
'Irreconcilable
with the Catholic Faith' Call to Action, the dissident
Catholic group described by Cardinal Giovanni
Battista Re as 'causing damage to the Church of
Christ,' this week began a three-day regional
conference in San Jose, California. Call to Action
dissents from Church teaching on, among other
things, homosexuality, women's ordination, priestly
celibacy, and contraception.
The
'10th Annual West Coast Regional Call to Action
Conference,' with the theme 'Rebuild My Church
- Responding Creatively to Injustice,' is being
held at the Wyndham Hotel. It is was scheduled
to conclude today, Sunday, April 27. According
to a program announcement, the conference was
to feature various dissidents from Church teaching,
including several so-called 'women priests.'
Victoria
Rue, Juanita Cordero, Kathleen Kunster and Jane
Via - who claim to be 'women priests' -- are scheduled
to conduct a workshop entitled 'Women Priests
at the Grassroots.'
Fr.
Brian Joyce, pastor of Christ the King parish
in Pleasant Hill (Oakland diocese), is another
of several scheduled speakers. His talk will cover
'Concrete Examples for Rebuilding a Parish --
How the vision of Vatican II can be explored and
implemented in today's parish using sound theory
and concrete examples.' Fr. Joyce became notorious
in 2002 when someone videotaped a 'Clown Mass'
he was celebrating at his parish. (The video has
since been posted on YouTube and can be viewed
here)
Rob
Grant, described in the program announcement as
'a driving force in the Bay Area liturgical scene,'
will lead a workshop on 'Why the Church has a
Problem with Progressives.' The program announcement
describes the workshop this way: 'Why on earth
would an otherwise intelligent institution be
so wary of concepts as seemingly benign as women
priests? Inclusive language? Collaborative leadership?
Knowing the paradigms, assumptions and fears from
which a person or a group operates is the first
step to conversation and true engagement.'
Listed
as 'keynotes' are Fr. John Dear, who, says the
program announcement, is 'a Jesuit priest, peace
activist, lecturer, and writer of approximately
twenty books on nonviolence. In the course of
his civil disobedience against war, he has been
arrested more than 75 times;' retired Bishop Remi
De Roo, who, as a result of his participation
in Vatican II 'came to see how creative and life-giving
these internal ecclesial tensions could become
and grew to welcome the healthy diversity that
is innate to authentic catholicity;' and Leo Keegan,
who 'has been working in area of liturgical renewal
for over 25 years as consultant for parish, diocesan
and National Conferences specializing in initiation
rites, liturgical arts and ministry formation.'
In
March 1996, Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz excommunicated
all Catholics in the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska,
who were members of Call to Action (along with
members or supporters of Catholics for a Free
Choice, Planned Parenthood, the Hemlock Society,
the Freemasons, and the Society of St. Pius X).
Call to Action's Nebraska chapter appealed their
excommunication to the Vatican.
In
December 2006, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re,
prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, wrote
to Bishop Bruskewitz that the Vatican was upholding
his decision. 'The activities of 'Call to Action'
in the course of these years are in contrast with
the Catholic Faith due to views and positions
held which are unacceptable from a doctrinal and
disciplinary standpoint,' wrote Cardinal Re. 'Thus
to be a member of this Association or to support
it, is irreconcilable with a coherent living of
the Catholic Faith.' [CalCatholic] 1443.7
www.catholic-family.org
Yale
student's 'perverse gesture'
The
perverse gesture by a Yale undergraduate -- who
justifies her bizarre behaviour as a form of artistic
expression -- is illustrating how the acceptance
of abortion has undermined the ability of educated
Americans to engage in serious moral reasoning.
Last
week the internet began buzzing with reports that
a Yale senior, Aliza Shvarts, had artificially
inseminated herself 'as often as possible' for
several months, repeatedly taking drugs to prompt
abortions, as part of a 'performance art' project
that would be displayed at the school's museum.
While
Yale administrators quickly assured the outraged
public that the story was a hoax, Shvarts herself
insisted that it was true. So a Yale dean, Peter
Salovey, announced that the 'art project' would
not be displayed 'unless she submits a clear and
unambiguous written statement that her installation
is a work of fiction: that she did not try to
inseminate herself and induce miscarriages, and
that no human blood will be physically displayed
in her installation.'
We
are left to wonder whether Shvarts planned a series
of abortions purely for the sake of a public display
or whether she released a false story purely to
excite public outrage. Neither possibility is
reassuring-- although admittedly, in the latter
case, no human beings were killed for the sake
of what might be considered a uniquely tasteless
practical joke.
However,
while Shvarts herself is obviously a young woman
in desperate need of spiritual help, the reaction
of other Yale students and faculty members is
revealing, too. Notice that Dean Salovey speaks
of the reported 'miscarriages,' presumably hoping
to soften the impact of what this undergraduate
had done (or claimed to do). A miscarriage is,
in medical terms, a 'spontaneous abortion'-- that
is, an abortion caused by natural processes. These
abortions (if they occurred) were not spontaneous;
Shvarts reports that she induced them.
Most
Yale students were rightly shocked and disgusted
by the reports of Shvarts' project. But those
who are committed to legal abortion-- an overwhelming
majority on campus-- could not explain why
that project was offensive. Two local pro-abortion
groups joined in a letter to the Yale Daily
News denouncing the 'approach' that Shvarts
had taken to the issue of abortion. 'We seek to
protect the rights of real women and real families
who deal with real issues of health, safety and
access,' they wrote. But what does that mean?
Shvarts is a real women, dealing with real issues.
What makes her behaviour shocking, from the pro-abortion
perspective?
The
pro-abortion groups said that Shvarts was 'within
her rights' to have induce multiple abortions.
But what she did was wrong, they said. It was
right, and yet it was wrong? Something is seriously
amiss with this reasoning.
The
Shvarts project-- whether truth or fiction-- calls
attention once again to the question that 'pro-choice'
enthusiasts prefer not to discuss. Is it ever
morally wrong to have an abortion? Once that question
is asked-- once Americans begin debating the particular
circumstances under which abortion may or may
not be morally justifiable-- the 'pro-choice'
argument is doomed. [CWNews] 1443.8
www.catholic-family.org
'Another
blow to religious liberty'
In
what is being described as 'another blow to religious
liberty' in Canada, the Human Rights Tribunal
of Ontario has ordered a Christian organization
to cease using an employment contract which has
staff promise they will not engage in 'homosexual
relationships.' Moreover, the ruling demands that
the organization pay $23,000, plus two years wages
and benefits to a woman who signed onto the contract
and then entered a homosexual relationship and
was subsequently dismissed.
In
an April 15 ruling, released today, the Tribunal
ruled against Christian Horizons, an Evangelical
Christian Ministry that provides care and residential
services to 1,400 developmentally disabled individuals
with over 180 residential homes across Ontario,
and 2,500 employees.
The
ruling which was decided by a single adjudicator
- Michael Gottheil - ruled further that all managers
and employees receive a pro-homosexuality 'human
rights training program'. Christian Horizons was
also ordered to 'develop and adopt an anti-discrimination
and an anti-harassment policy' and 'review of
its employment policies, in consultation with
the Commission' and report to the Commission on
its progress, to ensure that such policies comply
with the Code.
The
ruling also stated, 'No later than six months
from the date of this decision, the respondent,
Christian Horizons shall submit a report to the
Tribunal outlining the steps it proposes to take
to ensure that its employment policies are in
compliance with the Code'.
Connie
Heintz, an employee who signed onto the 'morality
statement' as a condition of employment, promised
not to engage in 'homosexual relationships', among
other anti-Christian activities such as 'extra-marital
sexual relationships (adultery)', 'pre-marital
sexual relationships (fornication)', 'viewing
or reading pornographic material' and 'lying'.
When
Heintz entered into a homosexual relationship
and her employers came to know of it, she claims
she was subject to a poisoned work environment
and threatened with loss of her job. She quit
her job in 2000.
Christian
Horizons is the largest provider of community
living services in the province, funded approximately
$75 million annually by the Ontario Ministry of
Community and Social Services.
Commenting
on the decision, Barbara Hall, the Chief Commissioner
of the Ontario Human Rights Commission opined,
'This decision is important because it sets out
that when faith-based and other organizations
move beyond serving the interests of their particular
community to serving the general public, the rights
of others, including employees, must be respected.'
The
website of the Evangelical group Equipping Christians
for the Public Square, which is run by Pastor
Tristan Emmanuel, commented that the ruling marked,
'another blow to religious liberty.'
The
ruling is available online here
[LifeSiteNews]
1443.9
www.catholic-family.org
International
news
Australia
Legal status for lesbian IVF couples
Lesbian
couples who are parents of children conceived
through IVF are to be given equal legal status
to heterosexual couples who are parents of IVF
children in the Australian state of New South
Wales. John Hatzistergos, the state's attorney-general,
said: 'The current law discriminates against these
children who, at the moment, have a relationship
with the birth mother's partner that is not recognised
by law'. The amendments to the law to implement
the government's announcement are due to be debated
in the state parliament later this year. [PinkNews]
Similar provisions form part of the British government's
Human Fertilisation and Embryology bill. [SPUC]
1443.10
www.catholic-family.org
Burundi
Nuncio's house damaged in shelling
The
residence of the apostolic nuncio in Burundi was
damaged by artillery in continued fighting this
week between government and rebel forces, the
Fides news service reports. 'No one has been injured
or killed and the material damages have been fairly
minor', sources from the nunciature in Bujumbura
told Fides, after the building was hit by a mortar
explosion that came from rebel positions in the
hills that surrounding Burundi's capital city.
Fortunately the residence was empty, as Archbishop
Paul Richard Gallagher, the papal nuncio, was
away, and the secretary was just returning to
the house, sources told Fides. 'We are still evaluating
the damages. There are broken windows and shattered
glass, however there doesn't seem to be any serious
damages or structures in danger'. Church sources
told Fides that they did not think the rebels
had deliberately targeted the nunciature. The
more likely target of the mortar shell, they said,
was the presidential palace several hundred yards
away. [CWNews] 1443.11
www.catholic-family.org
Canada
Threats from strip-club gangs
A
Minister in the Conservative Government of Canada
is being threatened because of the government's
proposed legislation to prevent sexual exploitation
and trafficking of foreign workers via exotic
dancer visas. Unnamed government sources told
the Globe and Mail newspaper that Canadian
Immigration Minister Diane Finley has been personally
threatened by gangs that profit from strip clubs
to the extent that she now requires increased
security.
The
news comes as no surprise to activists against
human trafficking who were disgusted by the permissive
policy adopted by the former Liberal Government
on the question. Gregory Carlin, with the Irish
Anti-trafficking Coalition, lobbied the Liberals
vigorously to bring an end to the exploitive visa
program. He warned Canadian officials in the 2004
that Romanian women who had come to Canada under
the exotic dancer visa scheme 'complain of being
coerced into prostitution in Canada by club-owners
and lied to by Canadian officials.' Carlin said
in a phone interview with LifeSiteNews.com that
former Liberal immigration Ministers Judy Sgro,
Joe Volpe and former Liberal prime Minister Paul
Martin 'are to blame' for Minister Finley's current
predicament.
Carlin praised the Conservative initiative and
reiterated his previous damning indictment of
the Liberal Government given in 2004, 'It's not
every country that climbs into bed with organized
crime as a human resource partner.' Carlin was
not surprised by the threats from gang members
against Minister Finley. 'One can hardly be surprised
that when one is taking the bone from the dog,
the dog is barking,' he said. 'The Minister is
now paying the price for the malfeasance of the
work-permit immigration criteria by the previous
administration.' After a scandal involving the
Liberals' approval of a stripper visa, the program
was curtailed. However, during gay pride week
when a male strip club applied for a special exemption,
Carlin warned the Liberals not to give in.
The government paid no heed and two young male
strippers who came from the US - Mark Kraynak,
23, and Steve Wright, 20 - wound up missing and
found dead in a ravine in Quebec. When she introduced
Bill C-17, last year, Finley described it as an
attempt to 'protect vulnerable foreign workers,
ones that could easily be exposed to sexual exploitation,
harassment and abuse.' She explained, 'The previous
Liberal government gave blanket exemptions to
foreign strippers to work in Canada. (This was)
despite warnings that they were vulnerable to
forced prostitution and other exploitation.' Carlin
concluded, 'Nothing good will ever come from promoting
the sex trade via government policy.' [LifeSiteNews]
1443.12
www.catholic-family.org
Canada
'Pointless vows'
Titters
the headline in the Calgary Herald, 'Retired
Lesbian Priests Marry at Nursing Home.' I know
what you're thinking: who gave away the bride?
The scene -- popping corks, tinkling glasses and
loving vows -- was typical. But the wedding couple
-- two retired lesbian Anglican priests -- were
far from it. At a Victoria-area nursing home Wednesday,
Ruth Pogson, 83, and Beth Aime, 79, exchanged
those simple vows in front of a small group of
family and friends. The pair, who have been committed
to each other since 1995, wanted to make the reality
of their relationship legal, said Pogson. 'In
the church, ritual is important as rites of passage.
And this for us is a rite of passage. It's a whole
new stage of life. It changes everything,' she
said.
For
all its solemn insincerity, this is a pretty fair
illustration of the motive behind the wider campaign
for same-sex unions. Even had the 'marriage' never
been contemplated, these lovebirds were obviously
free to exchange any affections -- godly or ungodly
-- toward which their impulses inclined them.
The union effected by the ceremony confers no
good upon them or upon society, even within the
terms of their own defective understanding of
those goods. The wedding was an act of aggression.
It's a step toward the destruction of the institution
of marriage and of the Judaeo-Christian concepts
of sexuality that underlie that institution. The
joke -- an angry joke, in spite of the champagne
and flowers-- consists in public legitimation
of a sham marriage under conditions in which sentiment
and fecundity are not merely light years apart
but intrinsically un-connectable.
The
point of the vows is their pointlessness.
['Diogenes' in CWNews] 1443.13
www.catholic-family.org
Chile
University of Andes bomb
A terrorist group calling itself the Insurrectionist
Federation has reportedly taken credit for the
recent bombing of the University of the Andes
in reprisal for a decision of the Chilean Supreme
Court prohibiting the distribution of the abortifacient
'morning after pill'. The bomb detonated in a
university bathroom on April 23. Although no one
was hurt, ACI Prensa reports that the bathroom
suffered severe damage, contrary to media reports
that the device was just a 'noise bomb'.
'They say it's just a 'noise bomb' but in reality
the bathroom was destroyed and if anyone had been
there they would have been killed or injured,'
a university source told ACI Prensa. The
report, which originated with Chile's Radio Cooperativa,
was based on an email message sent to Chilean
authorities. 'Credit for the attack has been claimed
in relation to the debate which has existed in
our society regarding methods of avoiding contraceptives,'
said Xavier Armendáriz, a federal prosecutor,
in an interview with Radio Cooperativa. The Chilean
Supreme Court struck down the government's policy
as unconstitutional, because it violates the right
to life guaranteed in the nation's charter document.
The
attack was carried out against the University
of the Andes because one of the court's judges
has an affiliation with the institution, according
to ACI Prensa. [LifeSiteNews] 1443.14
www.catholic-family.org
Germany
Religious women's fertility
A demographic study by Germany's Max Planck Institute
has found a high correlation between women's religious
attitudes and the number of children they bear,
the KNA news agency reports. The Max Planck Institute
study, which involved research in 18 different
countries, found that women who identify themselves
are religious are far more likely than their non-religious
counterparts to bear two or more children. [CWNews]
1443.15
www.catholic-family.org
