In yesterday's general audience, which was held in St. Peter's Square in the presence of 14,000 people, the Pope dedicated his remarks to St. Maximus the Confessor, a monk who was born in the sixth century.

The Holy Father highlighted how this saint 'is another great Father of the Eastern Church', upon whom 'Christian Tradition has conferred the title of 'Confessor' for the dauntless courage with which he bore witness (confessed), also through suffering, to the integrity of his faith in Jesus Christ, true God and true man, Saviour of the world'.

The Confessor was born in Palestine around the year 580, said Benedict XVI. 'From Jerusalem, Maximus moved to Constantinople then, because of the barbarian invasions, he took refuge in Africa where he distinguished himself for his great courage in the defence of orthodoxy. ... He did not accept the attenuation of Christ's humanity'.

The Pope then explained how St. Maximus came to Rome and 'took an active role in the 649 Lateran Council which had been called by Pope Martin I to defend the two natures of Christ against an imperial edict which - 'pro bono pacis' - prohibited discussion on the matter'. Nonetheless, Maximus remained steadfast in his view that 'it is impossible to affirm that Christ has just one nature'. For this reason he and two of his followers 'were subjected to a terrible trial'. Accused of heresy, the saint was condemned 'to have his tongue and his right hand cut off, the two organs through which, in speech and writing, Maximus had combated the erroneous doctrine of the one nature of Christ. Finally the saintly monk was exiled to Colchis on the Black Sea where, exhausted by his sufferings, he died at the age of 82 on 13 August 662'.

'St. Maximus' thought was never limited to theology and speculation, ... because his focus was always the real situation of the world, and its salvation. ... To man, created in His image and likeness, God has entrusted the mission of unifying the cosmos'.

'The life and thought of Maximus were strongly illuminated by an immense courage in testifying to the integral truth of Christ, without reduction or compromise', said the Pope. Thus it is clear 'how we must live in order to fulfil our vocation. We must live united to God in order to remain united to one another and the universe'.

The Holy Father continued: 'The universal 'yes' of Christ also shows us the correct arrangement of all other values, ... such as tolerance, freedom and dialogue. Tolerance that does not know how to distinguish between good and evil would become chaotic and self-destructive. In the same way, freedom that does not respect the freedom of others and does not find a shared measure for our respective freedoms would become anarchy and destroy authority. Dialogue that does not know what to dialogue about becomes mere empty chatter'. In this context, the Pope pointed out that such values 'remain true values only if they have a point of reference that unites them and gives them genuine authenticity. This point of reference is the synthesis between God and the cosmos, it is the figure of Christ in Whom we learn the truth about ourselves, and thus we also learn how to position all other values because we discover their true significance'.

'And so', he concluded, 'Christ shows us that the cosmos must become liturgy, glory of God, and that adoration is the beginning of the true transformation, the true renewal, of the world'.
[Vatican Information Service] 1459.1a

 

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The Eucharist

Benedict XVI is encouraging the faithful to revisit the Second Vatican Council constitution on the liturgy, so as to go deeper in the mystery of faith that is the Eucharist. The Pope made this appeal on Sunday when he delivered via satellite the homily for the closing Mass of the 49th International Eucharistic Congress, which ended today in Quebec.

The papal legate, Cardinal Jozef Tomko, presided over the Mass. In his address, given in French and English, the Holy Father said, ''The Mystery of Faith': this we proclaim at every Mass. I would like everyone to make a commitment to study this great mystery, especially by revisiting and exploring, individually and in groups, the Council's text on the liturgy, 'Sacrosanctum Concilium,' so as to bear witness courageously to the mystery.' The Pontiff affirmed that such study would help each person 'arrive at a better grasp of the meaning of every aspect of the Eucharist, understanding its depth and living it with greater intensity.' 'Every sentence, every gesture has its own meaning and conceals a mystery,' Benedict XVI continued.

'I sincerely hope that this Congress will serve as an appeal to all the faithful to make a similar commitment to a renewal of Eucharistic catechesis, so that they themselves will gain a genuine Eucharistic awareness and will in turn teach children and young people to recognize the central mystery of faith and build their lives around it. 'I urge priests especially to give due honor to the Eucharistic rite, and I ask all the faithful to respect the role of each individual, both priest and lay, in the Eucharistic action.

The liturgy does not belong to us: It is the Church's treasure.' The Pope noted the unifying effects of the Eucharist, both for the faithful with the Trinity and within the Church. 'Reception of the Eucharist, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament -- by this we mean deepening our communion, preparing for it and prolonging it -- is also about allowing ourselves to enter into communion with Christ, and through him with the whole of the Trinity, so as to become what we receive and to live in communion with the Church,' the Holy Father said. And he added: 'We must never forget that the Church is built around Christ and that, as Sts. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and Albert the Great have all said, following St. Paul, the Eucharist is the sacrament of the Church's unity, because we all form one single body of which the Lord is the head.

'We must go back again and again to the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, where we were given a pledge of the mystery of our redemption on the cross. The Last Supper is the locus of the nascent Church, the womb containing the Church of every age. In the Eucharist, Christ's sacrifice is constantly renewed, Pentecost is constantly renewed.' The Pontiff also expressed his desire that Christians would come to value Sunday more and more. 'May all of you become ever more deeply aware of the importance of the Sunday Eucharist,' he said, 'because Sunday, the first day of the week, is the day when we honor Christ, the day when we receive the strength to live each day the gift of God.' The Pope also announced that the next International Eucharistic Congress, scheduled for 2012, will be held in Dublin, Ireland. [Zenit] 1459.1

 

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Holy fear

Benedict XVI says that holy fear of God is the solution for the anxiety prevalent in today's society that is marked by a widespread nihilism. The Pope said this on Sunday before praying the midday Angelus with thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square. 'In this Sunday's Gospel,' he noted, 'Jesus teaches us on the one hand 'not to be afraid of men' and on the other hand to 'fear' God. We are thus moved to reflect on the difference that exists between human fears and the fear of God.' Fear, the Holy Father explained, is a 'natural part of life.' 'But there is also -- and today above all -- a more profound form of fear of an existential type that sometimes overflows into anxiety,' he said. 'It is born from a sense of emptiness that is linked to a culture that is permeated by a widespread theoretical and practical nihilism. 'In the face of the ample and diversified panorama of human fears, the word of God is clear: He who 'fears' the Lord is 'not afraid.'

The fear of God, which the Scriptures define as the 'beginning of true wisdom,' coincides with faith in God, with the sacred respect for his authority over life and the world. Being 'without the fear of God' is equivalent to putting ourselves in his place, feeling ourselves to be masters of good and evil, of life and death. 'But he who fears God feels interiorly the security of a child in the arms of his mother: He who fears God is calm even in the midst of storms, because God, as Jesus has revealed to us, is a Father who is full of mercy and goodness. He who loves God is not afraid.' Benedict XVI affirmed that believers are thus 'not afraid of anything,' knowing they are 'in the hands of God.' '[The believer] knows that evil is irrational and does not have the last word, and that Christ alone is the Lord of the world and life, the Incarnate Word of God, he knows that Christ loved us to the point of sacrificing himself, dying on the cross for our salvation,' he continued.

'The more we grow in this intimacy with God, impregnated with love, the more easily we will defeat every kind of fear.' Benedict XVI also mentioned the upcoming jubilee year in celebration of the 2,000th anniversary of St. Paul's birth. The Holy Father will inaugurate the jubilee this Saturday. 'May this great spiritual and pastoral event awaken in us, too, a renewed confidence in Jesus Christ,' the Pope said, 'who calls us to announce and witness to his Gospel without being afraid of anything.' [Zenit] 1459.2

 

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SSPX offer?

The Italian daily Il Giornale reports that Pope Benedict XVI has approved an offer to the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) that could heal the breach between the Holy See and the traditionalist group. The Vatican's offer requires a response from the SSPX by June 28, Il Giornale says. The offer was apparently explained by Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, the president of the Ecclesia Dei Commission, during a recent meeting with Bishop Bernard Fellay, the superior general of the SSPX. Rumors of Vatican efforts to regularize the status of the SSPX have persisted for months. Il Giornale says that the accord proposed by the Vatican has several stipulations, including two important provisions that the newspaper has learned: the SSPX would be required to recognize the authority of Vatican II teachings and to affirm the validity of the Novus Ordo Mass.

The late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the founder of the SSPX, had accepted both of those terms before his break with the Vatican in 1986. The Vatican proposes the erection of a traditionalist prelature, Il Giornale reports. This prelature would allow the SSPX to continue its work and to train its own seminarians. Andrea Tornielli, the respected Vatican-watcher for Il Giornale, reports that he has now obtained a copy of the correspondence from Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos outlining the Vatican's proposal.

The cardinal's letter does not specifically mention the requirements that the SSPX affirm the validity of Vatican II and the Novus Ordo Mass, he says; 'these are prior general conditions' that have been understood during the dialogue between the Holy See and the traditionalist group. Cardinal Castrillon's letter does say that the SSPX should agree to avoid personal attacks on the Pope, and to avoid any public responses that would offend against 'ecclesiastical charity'.

The Vatican further asks the SSPX to avoid portraying itself as a rival magisterium, superior to the Holy See, to respect the legitimate authority of the Pope, and to adhere to the deadline-- set at the end of June-- for a positive response to the Vatican offer. [CWNews] 1459.3

 

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Europe

 

 

Ireland and the Lisbon Treaty

A survey suggests that most people in Ireland who voted against the Lisbon treaty had concerns about the document's possible effect on the country's abortion law. Nearly three fifths of 'no' voters told the Red C polling company that it would make a liberalisation of the law more likely. The European Centre for Law and Justice has pointed out in a legal analysis, that this would not necessarily be enough to protect the Irish Constitution from a court decision establishing abortion as a human right. [Sunday Business, SPUC director's blog] 1459.4

 

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'Europe is certainly dying'

Austin Ruse, director of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, has warned that 'Europe is almost certainly dying' because of falling birth rates, radical social policies, and the decline of marriage on the continent. Its only hope for revival, he argues, is for Europeans to again proclaim the 'lordship of Christ.'

Ruse's comments, published on the new web site 'The Catholic Thing,' tell of his attendance at the 'Post-Christian Europe and the Resurgence of Islam' conference held earlier this month in Vienna to discuss secularism and Islam.

Ruse writes that there was a 'fair amount of Muslim panic' at the conference, especially from British journalists in attendance.

'There seemed to be a consensus that Europe is in deep trouble for a whole host of reasons, including Muslim immigration, lack of assimilation, and below replacement fertility of non-Muslim Europeans,' Ruse says.

However, Ruse believes the reaction to one conference panel was indicative of a deeper problem. The panel, made up of Southern Baptist theologians and historians, spoke about Christendom, the history of Christian Europe, the Crusades, and other similar matters of faith.

'They quoted quite a lot from scripture. Many were offended,' Ruse says.

'A demographer from Oxford sniffed that one sermon on Sunday was quite enough, let alone four,' he continues. 'A visibly peeved legal scholar from Washington D.C. said such language should be moderated since it would never reach the typical European and certainly wouldn't reach his own secularized and skeptical children. Even after the panel ended, snipes at them continued through the day.

'Keep in mind that these Evangelical scholars were not sermonizing, waving their arms around, or damning anyone to hell. What they said was quite mild, yet drew anger from scholars who were otherwise puzzled as to why Europe was in decline.'

Ruse says that many Europeans are confident Christianity will continue without renewed dedication to the faith. He said how a member of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's Cabinet had once said that France, the 'eldest daughter of the Church,' could never lose the faith.

To this cabinet member, Ruse replied that Ephesus, the last home of the Virgin Mary, was now in ruins and in the nearby village there are mosques, but not one Christian church.

'The faith does not grow on stones but only in human hearts,' Ruse comments.

'Europe is tired. Europe may be spent. Europe is almost certainly dying. The spread of radical social policies and their death-dealing pathologies, the epoch-ending birth rates, the death of marriage; all these are symptoms of a deeper malaise of the spirit.'

Europe can only be saved, Ruse says, by 'more Europeans proclaiming the lordship of Jesus Christ,' using an expression popular among Evangelicals.

Ruse praises the pious language of America and American Evangelicals, saying such language has 'kept America percolating as the most religious country in the west.'

'Catholics owe a great debt to Evangelicals for this kind of language. It may not be our language, but it is language that has protected this country from going the way of Europe,' Ruse writes.

Ruse counsels Europeans to visit Talledega, Alabama, where prayers are said before every NASCAR race, observe how they speak about Jesus, and take some of those habits back to their home countries. [CNA] 1459.5

 

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The radical onslaught

 

Catholic charities host same-sex 'marriage' backers

1459.6 ~ While thousands of Catholics across California are allying with other faiths and denominations to try to stop homosexual 'marriage' by lobbying in favor a constitutional marriage amendment, San Francisco's Catholic Charities CYO (CCCYO) has chosen to honor and fete a veritable 'who's who' of California's same-sex 'marriage' supporters.

The list of those who attended CCCYO's annual 'Red House' evening, an event intended to raise money for the San Francisco Archdiocesan agency's HIV/AIDS programs, included, amongst a host of California's most powerful and enthusiastic homosexual 'marriage' advocates, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who was listed as an 'honorary committee member.'

Newsom is notorious for having been the San Francisco mayor who, in 2004, ordered the city's clerks to begin issuing marriage licenses to homosexual couples, despite the fact that to do so was illegal. Eventually the California Supreme Court was forced to step in and reverse Newsom's order and to nullify thousands of marriage licenses.

Newsom's action is widely seen as having been a significant benchmark in the push for homosexual 'marriage' in the state, which has culminated most recently in the Supreme Court's decision to allow such 'marriages' to take place, despite the fact that California voters will decide the fate of a constitutional marriage amendment this upcoming November.

Other guests of honor at the 'Red House' event included Nanette Lee Miller, the treasurer of CCCYO , an open lesbian who 'married' her same-sex partner in 2004. Entertainer, homosexual activist and transvestite, Donna Sachet, attended as an 'honorary committee member.'

Robert M. Pementell, the Director of Most Holy Redeemer AIDS Support Group was another individual listed as an 'honorary committee member.'

The Most Holy Redeemer AIDS Support Group was most recently in the news after it was announced that, this year, as opposed to previous years, the group would not participate in the annual San Francisco gay pride parade, after their bishop ordered them not to. However, it was later revealed that the group still intended on manning a booth at the parade, which they did not consider to be 'participating'.

Most Holy Redeemer parish is also notorious for having hosted the so-called Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a loosely organized association of homosexual men who dress up in bizarre mockeries of nuns' habits in homosexual parades and demonstrations. It was revealed that at the Sisters' Bingo night at the parish, prizes included pornographic videos and 'sex toys'.

Rebecca Rolph, the executive director of the San Francisco LGBT Center, one of the city's most prominent pro-homosexual organizations, was listed as yet another honorary committee member. On the day that the Supreme Court's allowed same-sex 'marriages' in California to go ahead, Rolph said, 'This is the best day of my professional life.'

Openly homosexual San Francisco County Supervisor Bevan Dufty was also an honorary committee member. According to the Bay Area Reporter, in reference to the recent Supreme Court decision in favor of homosexual 'marriage', Dufty said, 'I think it is a win for justice and a win for California and a win for the future. I thought about the future generations of young people who will be unfettered by knowing they can attain love and marriage in their lives.'

Also, listed as an 'events partner' for the 'Red House' evening, is Betty's List, an e-mail group that, according to its website, 'makes it easy to find out about important events, services and products for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) community of the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.'

The 'Red House' evening is not the first time that CCCYO has gone out of its way to honor prominent figures that have made names for themselves as opponents of some of the Catholic Church's most fundamental moral teachings.

In April the Archbishop of San Francisco, George Niederauer, announced that he would include a well-known supporter of abortion and Planned Parenthood in the CCCYO's annual diocesan philanthropy award. The annual Catholic Charities CYO's Loaves and Fishes Award was given to George M. Marcus. In the past Marcus donated $25,000 to the 'No' campaign on Proposition 73 that would have required that parents of an underage girl be notified before she has an abortion. He gave a total of $100,000 in 2006 to oppose a similar notification measure, Proposition 85. Both measures were supported by the California bishops Conference. Marcus also donated $50,000 to the 'Yes on 71' campaign that succeeded in seeing $3.5 billion allocated by the government for unethical embryonic stem cell research.

Gibbons Cooney, writing for the California Catholic Daily, marveled that all of the incriminating information about the CCCYO's 'Red House' event, including photographs of numerous homosexual 'marriage' crusaders at the event, is prominently displayed on CCCYO's website. 'There is nothing hidden about any of this,' she writes.

Cooney observed that not only has the Archdiocese continued to give its support to the CCCYO, despite the CCCYO's blatantly anti-Catholic advocacy efforts, but it even requires that diocesan parishes hold a special annual second collection to support the 'charity.'

'In April, I said that the Archdiocese of San Francisco must either radically change CCCYO, or sever ties with the organization. Within two months of that writing, CCCYO has honored Mr. George Marcus and Levi Strauss Inc., both gigantic funders of the culture of death. It has hosted the event described above, which makes a mockery of Church teaching on marriage. Asking the parishioners to support CCCYO is to ask them to subsidize sin.' [LifeSiteNews] 1459.6

 

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International news

 

 

Brazil  Manipulated statistics

The statistics sound horrifying. "One hundred and twenty-two homosexuals and transvestites were murdered in Brazil in 2007, one every three days, an increase of 30% over the previous year," states a report from the Gay Group of Bahia, a Brazilian homosexual organization that claims to be the oldest such organization in the country.

Although the organization has little evidence that any of the murders were a "hate crime" based on sexual orientation, the Gay Group of Bahia calls the situation a "homocaust", in a reference to the murder of millions of Jews by Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime.

Olavo de Carvalho, a Brazilian philosopher and political commentator who now lives in the United States, says that homosexuals are engaging in a ploy to gain sympathy for their political agenda, using statistics in a selective manner to create the illusion of persecution.

Writing in the Jornal do Brasil, one of the nation's most prominent newspapers, Carvalho opines that "only unconcealed paranoia could allow, for example, in a country where there are 50,000 homicides every year, spread over the whole territory of eight and a half million square kilometers, for the description of the murder of 120 homosexuals as a wave of homophobic genocide."

"However, it is only necessary for someone to appeal to such a statistical comparison and instantly, among cries of revulsion and tears of indignation from the crowd, he is accused of homophobia and of being an apostle of genocide," adds Carvalho.

The statistics bear out Carvalho's claim. In comparison to the overall murder rate in Brazil, which is about 28 per 100,000 people, the murder rate for homosexuals documented by the Gay Group of Bahia is far less. If the assumption is made that the population is 5% homosexual (a statistic that many studies suggest is already significantly inflated), the documented rate is 1.31 per 100,000. If the homosexual population were doubled in size, to the unrealistic number of 10%, the rate would still be only 2.62 per 100,000 people, about one-tenth that of the population in general.

The Gay Group of Bahia, in its annual report on homosexual murder victims, seems to classify every murder of a homosexual as an example of "homophobia", even when the perpetrator is another homosexual, or the personal habits of the victim, rather than his sexual orientation, is the apparent reason for the crime.

For example, the most recent crime of "homophobia" posted on the group's site is the June 23 murder of a 29-year-old homosexual, Augusto Bispo dos Santos, who was shot five times with a 32 caliber handgun in his apartment.

No evidence is given in the Gay Group's report of hatred towards homosexuals as a motive of the crime. In fact, the report admits that "according to the police...Fernando was a homosexual and his house was frequented by marginal types. The police believe that the crime was committed by one of those criminals."

The organization has admitted in the past that most homosexual murder victims are killed by a sexual partner. In a 1999 report entitled "Death by Homophobia", the group states openly, "In most cases the killer had a previous relationship with the victim, and among the killers it wasn't rare to find those who acted as a 'bottom' in a homerotic relationship."

Moreover, Carvalho notes that while every aggression against a homosexual is meticulously reported by activist groups, the criminal tendencies of homosexuals themselves are almost totally ignored.

"Who dares compare that number (of homosexual crime victims) with the number of aggressions committed by the very gay militants themselves in only one day of the Gay Parade in the same city?" asks Carvalho. Applying the same statistical standards used by homosexual activists would lead to the conclusion that "gays are a danger to the public", he adds.

Carvalho is referring to Brazil's massive Gay Parade held annually in Sao Paulo, which in recent years has been the occasion of numerous criminal acts by participants

Cavalho also accuses the homosexual movement of hypocrisy. While denouncing a supposed crime wave against homosexuals, the movement is led by Luiz Mott, whose defense of pedophilia is public and explicit Despite such statements, Brazilian President Luiz Lula continues to appear with Mott publicly.

Carvalho blasts Lula for "insisting in appearing in official ceremonies with Mr. Luiz Mott at his side, the same individual who talks about pornographic art while embracing the statue of a naked baby of the male sex, transmitting in a not at all subtle manner the idea that babies are, or should be made into, objects of sexual desire like anyone else (if you don't believe it, verify it here at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlmfZdyk2YA)."

"The propaganda of pedophilia is more than evident here, but, upon decorating Mr. Mott for 'cultural merit' (as if he himself had merit or culture), Mr. Lula throws all of the weight of his presidential authority in a cynical bluff that forces us to deny what we see, and to believe instead the official pretense of elevated humanitarian and cultural intentions," writes Carvalho. [LifeSiteNews] 1459.6b

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Canada  School board ruling

The Vancouver school board has announced that it intends to enforce the B.C. Ministry of Education's policy that forbids parents from removing their children from the classroom during pro-homosexual discussions.

The school board announced their staff-recommended decision this past Friday. A spokesman for the board said, in the board's defence, that the board was simply falling in line with Ministry guidelines.

"We're expected to do that (enforce the policy) by the (Education) ministry, so it's not something we've initiated of our own volition," said Ken Denike, a Vancouver school board trustee, according to Canwest News.

"It's a very touchy subject," he admitted, saying that the board expected some backlash from disgruntled parents. "It has to be handled sensitively. It's going to be difficult."

The province of British Columbia has been subjecting its curriculum to a complete revamp in the last several years, largely under the supervision of a homosexual "married" couple, Murray and Peter Corren.

In 1999 the Correns filed a human rights complaint against the B.C. Ministry of education, alleging that the Ministry's curriculum didn't adequately "address issues of sexual orientation." Subsequently the Ministry made a settlement with the Correns in the form of a contract that gave the couple an unprecedented level of control over the development of the province's revamped, pro-homosexual curriculum. Under the Correns direction, a host of new and redesigned courses in various subject areas that include positive portrayals of "alternative sexualities" have been introduced in B.C.

One aspect of the new curriculum that the Correns insisted on was a stipulation that B.C. parents could not choose to remove their children from the classroom during discussions on homosexuality - a stipulation that, in the end, the B.C. Ministry of Education agreed to.

Currently, therefore, parents are only permitted to pull their children out of health classes that deal with "alternative sexualities." However, pro-homosexual material appears all throughout various courses in the new curriculum, and not only in the health classes. And even in the case of the health classes, children who do not attend are still required to learn the material either at home or through independent study, and to prove that they have learned it.

The Catholic Civil Rights League (CCRL) has been fighting the new curriculum, and in particular its Draconian opt-out prohibition, since it was first announced that the province would be reworking the curriculum with the Correns.

The League has pursued a letter-writing campaign asking the various schoolboards around the province to state whether or not they intend on enforcing the Ministry's prohibition on parents pulling their children from classes they deem offensive. As of this past March 22, responses from districts representing almost half the province's school population indicated that they would not compel students to attend classes over the objections of their parents.

"In the end," said Sean Murphy, a director for CCRL, in March, "only two districts in the province seem clearly willing to enforce the coercive section of the Corren Agreement."

The Vancouver school board, however, has now added itself to the list of boards who have thought it expedient to deny parents their right to act as the primary educators of their children, in the name of political correctness.

Ed Da Vita, a spokesman for the CCRL, told the National Post about the Vancouver board's recent decision to enforce the policy, "The problem now is that controversial subject matter can be brought up any time, anywhere, and there is no reasonable alternative delivery available for that." [LifeSiteNews] 1459.6a

 

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Canada  Doctors Death

Two more doctors have stopped working shifts at a Winnipeg hospital's critical care unit to avoid treating an 84-year-old man on life support. Samuel Golubchuck is a terminally ill elderly patient and his doctors want to refuse life-sustaining treatment. Earlier this month, the doctor who wanted to impose his values on Golubchuck by forcing him off respirator and feeding tube resigned rather than continue treatment. On Monday, doctors Bojan Paunovic and David Easton became the second and third doctors to stop accepting shifts at Grace Hospital's critical care unit. Now, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said Tuesday it's in negotiations with doctors at Grace Hospital to have one physician treat Golubchuck, who has been on life support since last fall. Golubchuck's doctors have recommended that he be removed from life support, but his family has fought that in court. They are Orthodox Jews, and their beliefs strictly forbid the hastening of a death. Cheryl Eckstein, the founder and president of the Compassionate Healthcare Network, responded to the story to LifeNews.com. 'This is not good - since when do doctors refuse care when they think recovery is slim? I would want to know ahead of time how my doctor would feel if such happened to me - if I had a duty to kick off when they called it.' [LifeNews] 1459.7

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Cuba Pro-lifer targeted

The president of the Christian Life Movement, Oswaldo Paya, has been targeted by the Cuban government for his dissident activities. This time they have responded by cutting off the phone service at his residence to keep him from communicating with the media during the visit to Cuba by Uruguayan president Tabare Vazquez. 'As we know, the coordinator of our movement sent a letter to President Tabare inviting him to visit his home in the poor suburb of Havana called Cerro, in order to discuss what is really happening right now in Cuba,' the movement said in a press release.

The movement denounced the new measures and the continual harassment and intimidation against Paya, saying they were related to the tense relations with the European Union, which has taken note of the lack of willingness on the part of Cuban officials to expand human rights and release political prisoners. The Christian Life Movement called on the international community to increase efforts to end the 'intimidation and isolation' and to ensure that the opinions of those who disagree with the Cuban regime can be heard. [CNA] 1459.8

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Ireland  Same-sex unions

The Irish government has revealed the terms of proposed legislation that would extend legal recognition to same-sex couples. The Civil Partnership Bill would establish a system for registration of domestic partnerships, set out the rights and duties of the partners, offer legal protection for shared property, and provide for the dissolution of such partnerships in a manner similar to legal divorce. 'This legislation is keenly awaited by many cohabiting couples, and will be of great benefit both to same-sex and opposite-sex cohabiting couples', said Dermot Ahern, the Irish justice minister. [CWNews] 1459.9

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Ireland  50th Eucharistic Congress

Benedict XVI announced that Dublin, Ireland, will host the next International Eucharistic Congress, which will be held in 2012. The Pope announced this on Sunday when he gave a homily by satellite during the closing Mass of the 49th International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec. 'As this significant event in the life of the Church draws to a conclusion I invite you all to join me in praying for the success of the next International Eucharistic Congress, which will take place in 2012 in the city of Dublin,' the Holy Father said. He took the opportunity 'to greet warmly the people of Ireland, as they prepare to host this ecclesial gathering.' 'I am confident that they, together with all the participants at the next congress, will find it a source of lasting spiritual renewal,' he said. Attending the Congress in Quebec, Cardinal Sean Brady, archbishop of Armagh, and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, welcomed the news.

They said in a statement: 'On behalf of the Catholic faithful of Ireland, we are honored and humbled that the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has chosen Dublin to host the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in 2012. 'While the theme for the next congress has yet to be finalized, we are deeply conscious that 2012 also marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. 'The hosting of the congress in Dublin will be an international event. The celebration will attract thousands of pilgrims and will enable Catholics at home and abroad to meet, pray together and discuss issues of faith.' This is the second time that Dublin will host the congress; the Irish hosted the 31st congress in 1932. 'We live in different times now,' the prelates said in their statement, 'and it is our hope that the 2012 congress will be an opportunity for the Catholic Church in Ireland to both reflect on the centrality of the Eucharist at the heart of our increasingly diverse community, and, to give renewed impetus to the living of faith.' [Zenit] 1459.10

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Netherlands  Suicide book

Medical Association promotes suicide book. Sites which provide suicide information on the internet are banned in some countries. But in the Netherlands, the Dutch Medical Association is helping to promote a reliable do-it-yourself suicide guide for doctors and their patients, according to the British Medical Journal. The 180-page book, 'Information about the Careful Ending of Life', which is available for sale on the internet for 25 Euros, will soon be available in a condensed English translation. It has been published by the Foundation for Scientific Research into Careful Suicide, which is headed by a leading Dutch advocate of euthanasia, Dr Pieter Admiraal. Like other suicide books, this gives advice about refusing food and fluids and taking a combination of drugs to induce coma and death.

Amongst the authors are a chemist who writes under a pseudonym and a Canadian expert in the sociology of euthanasia, Russel D. Ogden. Mr Ogden described a method for committing suicide in a potentially undetectable way with helium in a 2002 issue of the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology. The book is aimed at people who are not experiencing unbearable and hopeless suffering. These conditions are required to qualify for a doctor's assistance in euthanasia, which is legal in the Netherlands. However, the Dutch Medical Association apparently feels that people who are not terminally ill also have a right to die if they want. The authors do advise patients against acting impulsively and counsel young people to contact a doctor if they feel suicidal. The medical association's ethics policy adviser, Gert van Dijk, pointed out that although doctors are not supposed to assist suicides, they still have a 'duty of care' to help people remain comfortable. The book should assist them in this. [BioEdge] 1459.11

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New Zealand  Anti-spanking law

A police review shows that New Zealand's new anti-spanking law has not reduced the number of physical abuse cases against children, but it has deterred good parents from properly disciplining their children. The report is the result of a three month review that took place directly after the passing of the bill and a separate three month review which was initiated six months later. New Zealanders are today presenting parliament with a petition calling for the law to be struck down. Family First NZ National Director Bob McCoskrie explained that the police review, which shows an almost 300% jump in the number of parents being investigated for minor acts of physical discipline since the law was passed, indicates that there has been almost no reduction in actual child abuse incidents. 'The worst aspect is that the number of actual child assaults are now at almost the same rate as before the law change,' he said.

McCoskrie also observed, 'When the author of the law change Sue Bradford tells us that the law change was never intended to deal with the epidemic of child abuse and child violence, it is quite obvious that this law change was not about solving a problem - it was about telling parents how to raise their children. And parents who are already doing a great job have responded by saying 'we're doing fine thanks.'' The director of Family First criticized the law for wasting police resources. 'What this particular review shows is that police resources are being wasted on attending and investigating smacking and minor acts of physical discipline, yet less than 5% are serious enough to warrant prosecution,' he said.

'We are now also seeing clear evidence of good parents being prosecuted in courts for correcting their children in ways that were promised would not be caught under the new law.' He concluded, 'In other words, the anti-smacking law has failed to stem the tide of child abuse, but has targeted many good parents and grandparents with the trauma and fear of police investigation and CYF involvement. Parents will feel very nervous reading this report, knowing the increasing level of investigations for minor acts.' New Zealand's anti-spanking bill was first passed by parliament in May 2007.

The bill essentially tells parents that they are never justified in using force to discipline their children, having eliminated from the Crimes Act the right for a parent to use 'reasonable force' when correcting a child. The bill was widely opposed, which delayed its passage for two years, until an amendment was proposed that gave police the power to deem some complaints against parents as insignificant. The bill eventually passed after both political parties 'whipped' their MPs into voting in favor of it. Family First NZ is presenting the petition against the law to the New Zealand parliament today, invoking authorities to reverse the law. 'The massive response to the petition, combined with recent polls showing 85% support for changing the law, demonstrates just how unpopular the law is. The petition is a simple plea from New Zealanders - don't criminalize the actions of good parents who are trying to raise law-abiding and productive citizens of the future,' said McCoskrie. [LifeSiteNews] 1459.12

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Turkey  Pauline pilgrims

Visitors to Turkey for the Pauline Jubilee Year can offer support to that nation's tiny minority of Christians -- but only if they come as pilgrims, not tourists, says the president of the Turkish bishops' conference. Bishop Luigi Padovese affirmed this on Vatican Radio on Sunday. That day, accompanied by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the bishops of Turkey officially opened the Pauline year. Benedict XVI will open it for the universal Church at vespers this Saturday. The bishops of Turkey were accompanied at the celebration in the Basilica of St. Paul of Tarsus by representatives of other Christian confessions. The Turkish government allowed the reopening of the Basilica of Tarsus, being used as a museum, for worship during the Pauline year.

Bishop Padovese stressed to Vatican Radio the need of Christians in Turkey to have a place of worship in Tarsus, 'for the multitude of pilgrims who will come, not only because of the Pauline year, but also later.' Both the Turkish bishops' conference and the Holy See, as well as the episcopal conference and government of Germany, appealed to the Turkish government for this concession. The situation of Turkish Christians is difficult, since they are not officially recognized by the government, explained Bishop Padovese. 'The Catholic Church 'does not exist' in Turkey, parishes 'don't exist,' an episcopal conference 'doesn't exist,' with all the consequences that derive from this lack of juridical recognition,' he lamented.

In this connection, the bishop affirmed, pilgrimages during the Pauline year could help Turkish Catholics, but only so long as visitors come 'as pilgrims and not as tourists.' 'It is necessary to give this witness, showing that in the Christian world there are those who have faith, who have religious values, as opposed to the opinion that exists at times that Christianity and the West are the same thing: a corrupt West and a corrupt religion, Christianity,' the bishop noted. 'It must be demonstrated that it isn't like this.' Bishop Padovese said he believes that the arrival of pilgrims from other parts of the world might help Turkish Catholics 'to become aware of their own identity,' and be strengthened, 'given the difficulties that we are still experiencing.' Christians and Jews combined make up less than 0.2% of Turkey's population of nearly 72 million. Turkey wants to be a member of the European Union, but many Church and secular leaders are asking better protection of the Christian minority before the aspiration is considered. [Zenit] 1459.13

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UK  Childrens Society caves in

The Catholic Children's Society (Dioceses of Southwark, Arundel & Brighton and Portsmouth) has published a statement indicating its intention to comply with the Equality Act 2006 and the Sexual Orientation Regulations, reports Father Tim Finigan on his 'Hermaneutics of Continuity' blogspoit. 'This involves accepting the requirement not to 'discriminate' against same-sex couples when considering couples as adoptive parents. The statement (he says) avoids the canonical implications of this decision. As an organisation it can no longer be considered Catholic. As I reported before, (Cabrini Children's Society and More on the 'Cabrini Children's Society') the proposal is to change the name, removing the word 'Catholic' and replacing it with 'Cabrini'.

But then there is the question of the money that the society holds which has been donated by the Catholic faithful in good faith, believing that they were donating money to a charity that would act in accordance with the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Should this money be transferred to the new non-Catholic charity? The Society states: 'Non compliance with the law could also lead to withdrawal of funding by local authorities as we would not be adhering to their mandatory equality and diversity policies. Compliance with the law will ensure that this large stream of revenue continues. So could the Catholic money be applied to Catholic purposes?

'As I have suggested before', writes Fr Finigan, 'the Good Counsel Network would be a worthy beneficiary applying the money for the purposes for which it was given. [http://the-hermeneutic-of-continuity.blogspot.com] 1459.14

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