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Thursday February 19, 2004
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Print- LifeSite Correction
- South Koreans Cloned Human Embryos in 1998: Ignored by World Media
- South Korean Cloners Will Stop Using "Human Eggs" for the Moment
- Ontario Catholic Teachers Association Mulls Promotion of Homosexual 'Marriage'
- EFC and Ontario Bishops Call For Human Rights Code Change to Protect Those Who Solemnize Marriage
- Judge Rules Against Nativity In New York Public Schools
- New Brunswick Homosexual Activist in Court for Disturbing the Peace
- Canada Customs and Revenue Creates Opening for Gay Activist Groups to be Considered Charities that "Promote Racial Equality"
- LifeSite Newsbytes
LifeSite Correction
TODAY'S HEADLINES
In the Feb. 18 LifeSiteNews.com story, "Forceful Catholic Response from Bishop and Newman Society Cancels Offensive Play at Catholic Campuses", it was reported that Wheeling Jesuit University was one of the colleges that cancelled the Vagina Monologues presentation.
Fr. Daniel R. J. Joyce, S.J., Vice President of Wheeling, responded to LifeSiteNews.com that "Wheeling Jesuit has never hosted or has any connection with the production you name on your site. This V-Day production has been performed in our town under the sponsorship of a local non-profit corporation that works against domestic violence. Some of our students who volunteer with this organization have helped with this as a fundraiser. Those young people have been personally challenged to reconsider helping with this project."
LifeSiteNews.com is happy to publish this correction to the original information that we received on this situation.
See the corrected version at
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/feb/04021803.html
Back to TopSouth Koreans Cloned Human Embryos in 1998: Ignored by World Media
SEOUL, February 19, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In December, 1998, The Korean newspaper, Chosun-Ilbo, reported that researchers Kim Seung-bo and Lee Bo-yeon had successfully replaced the nucleus of a human oocyte (egg) with the nucleus from a somatic cell and cultivated it until it had divided twice before destroying it. International news media almost completely ignored the event which was announced at a press conference but never appeared in a peer review journal.
South Korean civic and religious groups, however, mobilized and the government introduced legislation to regulate the activity. In response to opposition, the researchers protested that what they had done was acceptable. Kim and Lee said, "It is inconsistent with ethical regulations to transfer a cloned embryo into a human uterus," and they asserted that they had no intentions of actually cloning a human being.
Surprisingly, one of the most outspoken groups protesting the most recent experiments has been the South Korean environmentalist group, Green Korea. Seo Jae Chul, an official at Green Korea, drew comparisons between human cloning and the Nazi atrocities. In explaining why there had been lackluster coverage of the issue, "The Western world, especially Europe, experienced the atrocities of the Nazis," he said. "Here, there is no such experience."
Science News, Jan 16, 1999 coverage:
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1200/3_155/53705990/p1/article.jhtml
New York Times coverage:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/13/science/13KORE.html?ex=1077598800&en=eb98670bf...
South Korean Cloners Will Stop Using "Human Eggs" for the Moment
INCHEON, February 19, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - South Korean researchers, Profs. Hwang Woo-suk and Moon Shin-yong, who succeeded in creating 30 cloned human embryos, have announced that they will cease using human oocytes (eggs) for their cloning activities for the time being. "We tentatively stopped cloning with human eggs. We will resume such studies only after receiving international opinions and the views of the Korean government and people."
It is not known if the researchers will be employing the newly developed techniques of creating human gametes, "eggs" and sperm, by manipulating other cells. "If we don't stick to human eggs, we think there will be fewer moral disputes. So, we will use alternative sources and to that end, we will seek international cooperation," Hwang said. No indication was made at the press conference as to the nature of these "other sources".
In the world of biotechnology, it seems that there is little that cannot be justified. Father Raymond De Souza pointed out in a February 18th article in the National Post, that the bioethics "industry" is in the business of providing "permission slips to cross (ethical) lines that heretofore were thought impermissible." Since most of the biotechnology industry worldwide is funded by pharmaceutical and related industry, it is to be expected that the South Korean researchers will not have long to wait to receive the necessary approval.
Hwang again stated his opposition to so-called "reproductive" cloning. That the distinction between "reproductive" and "therapeutic" cloning is entirely fallacious seems to be lost on Dr. Hwang and his colleagues. As Fr. De Souza said, "A clone is a clone, yet the research industry is trying to convince the policymakers that the widespread revulsion at cloning can be overcome by the wholly artificial creation of 'good cloning' and 'bad cloning' categories."
Professor Hwang pointed to the law restricting cloning to "medical purposes". "The Korean National Assembly has already legislated a bioethics law, so reproductive human cloning will be impossible at least here if the study is conducted under strict monitoring." Fr. De Souza however, calls this madness. "The philosophical madness of such laws is obvious. 'Clone-and-kill' for therapy is permitted; 'clone-and-let-live' is prohibited."
Korea Times Coverage:
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200402/kt2004021914511410220.htm
Ontario Catholic Teachers Association Mulls Promotion of Homosexual 'Marriage'
TORONTO, February 19, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - At its annual general meeting next month, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA) will consider a resolution to promote homosexual 'marriage'. The resolution (no. 151) put forward by OECTA's own Human Rights Committee states: "That the Association communicate with the federal government its support for the passing of the legislation changing the definition of marriage to allow for same-sex unions."
The proposed OECTA 'action directive' is offensive to many faithful Catholic teachers forced to belong to the association and pay dues to it. Several Catholic teachers who are part of the association communicated to LifeSiteNews.com that they were "horrified" by the measure, and similar proposals to promote homosexuality.
However, the resolution is not the first time the controversial Catholic association has stepped into anti-Catholic territory. In 2002, the association came out in favour of Marc Hall, a Catholic high school student who demanded that he be permitted to bring his homosexual 'boyfriend' to the school prom
(http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/may/02050606.html ). Last year OECTA refused to endorse four incumbent school board trustees in the Waterloo region due to their ties to Ontario's only pro-life, pro-family political party - the Family Coalition Party
(http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/nov/03110705.html ).
The OECTA Human Rights committee, according to the OECTA website, is comprised of: Michele Pierce (Ottawa-Carleton), Chairperson Solange Cote (Thunder Bay Elementary), James Lafferty (Wellington), Sheila MacMillan (Toronto Secondary), Marshall Jarvis (Provincial Executive) and Brenda Carrigan, (Secretariat).
LifeSiteNews.com contacted Carrigan for comment but she refused to address the issue saying, "you're talking to a staff member but should be talking to someone on the political end." OECTA First Vice President Elaine MacNeil acknowledged the resolution and told LifeSiteNews.com resolutions are not ruled out of order before the meeting and that any resolution brought forward to the meeting could be passed.
The members of the provincial executive and their email addresses are listed at
http://www.oecta.on.ca/aboutoecta/provexec.htm
To also express concerns:
Call: 1-800-268-7230 , 416-925-2493
Fax: 416-925-7764
EFC and Ontario Bishops Call For Human Rights Code Change to Protect Those Who Solemnize Marriage
TORONTO, February 19, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In Press Releases on Feb. 18 and 19, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) and the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops (OCCB) have announced their request to provincial governments to provide freedom of religion and conscience protection for those who solemnize marriage.
In its Feb. 18 release, the EFC states it "has written letters to the provincial governments of Ontario and British Columbia to amend their solemnization of marriage legislation to provide specific protection for religious freedom for those who solemnize marriages".
In addition to protection for clergy, the EFC writes that it "is also asking that civil officials who solemnize civil marriages receive the same protection", since "some of the civil officials will have religious or conscientiously held beliefs that will prevent them from solemnizing same-sex marriages".
Confirming its agreement with the EFC position, the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops Organization issued a similar release on Feb. 19. The OCCB notes that is supports the EFC appeal.
Bishop Jean-Louis Plouffe, President of OCCB, states in the release that, "For Roman Catholics, it is the right of the Church as a whole, not just individual priests or deacons, to ensure that Catholic marriages are between partners of the opposite sex. We expect the Ontario Government to support this religious right". He continues, "We, therefore, call upon the Ontario government to amend the Human Rights Code accordingly".
The OCCB also requests "protection for the right of churches and religious organizations to control the use of facilities and services for only those purposes which conform to doctrine and established practice." This is a simple matter of freedom of religion, it emphasizes.
OCCB Secretary General Tom Reilly confirmed to LifeSite that the OCCB shares the EFC emphasis that civil officials who solemnize civil marriages should also receive the same protection requested for clergy.
Reilly noted that he has repeatedly communicated, on behalf of the bishops, with the office of the Ontario premier (a Catholic) and other Ontario government officials on the marriage definition issue and has not received the courtesy of a reply.
See the EFC Release at http://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/media/pr_viewer.asp?Press_Release_ID=179
Judge Rules Against Nativity In New York Public Schools
NEW YORK, February 19, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - U.S. District Court Judge Charles Sifton ruled against the plaintiffs today in the discrimination suit against the New York City Department of Education's policy regarding "Holiday Displays". The policy allows the Jewish menorah and Islamic star and crescent while banning the Christian nativity scene. The Catholic League arranged for the Thomas More Law Center to file the suit in December 2002 on behalf of a Queens mother and her two children.
Sifton ruled that the policy is not unconstitutional and does not discriminate against Christians. In his decision, he wrote that the policy is secular in intent - the menorah and star and crescent have a secular dimension while the nativity scene is "purely religious." Elsewhere he writes that the holiday displays "must be reviewed as perceived by the children, Christian children in particular, but not one hyper-sensitive Catholic child." The Thomas More Center will appeal this decision.
Catholic League president William Donohue reacted to the ruling saying: "The Jewish menorah represents a miracle. When last we checked, miracles were considered religious. To say that it is a secular symbol is insulting to religious Jews. And to continue to say that other religions are allowed their religious symbols for display in schools, while Christians are not, promotes one religion over another.
"For the judge to say that the displays should not be viewed through the eyes of "one hyper-sensitive Catholic child" smacks of an incredible insensitivity not only to the child but to all Christians. Does the judge have an emotional barometer to measure sensitivity? This has nothing to do with constitutional law.
"If the situation were reversed and the schools allowed a nativity scene and a dreidel-but not a menorah-would Judge Sifton call those Jews who would rightly protest this 'hyper-sensitive'? If anyone is 'hyper-sensitive' it is the multi-cultural censors and diversity police who are offended by the mere sight of the Baby Jesus."
New Brunswick Homosexual Activist in Court for Disturbing the Peace
National broadcast network, the CBC, repeatedly gives activist's stunt national publicity
MONCTON, February 19, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Art Vautour-Toole, a homosexual rights activist, has defended himself in court after being arrested and charged with disturbing the peace for chaining himself to a chair in a Service New Brunswick office in Moncton last summer and causing a disturbance.
In a publicity stunt, positively covered by the CBC, Vautour-Toole attempted to force the New Brunswick government to accept "gay marriage" by demanding that the province issue a driver's license and medical card with his "married" name.
Vautour-Toole was "married" in Ontario to his homosexual partner June 16th of last year and immediately went to the New Brunswick government services office to have Vautour-Toole's name changed on his provincial legal documents. After his "wedding", the federal government re-issued then Vautour's Social Insurance Card with his "married" name, calling him Vautour-Toole. The pair told the CBC that they expected everything to go smoothly and "did not think the province of New Brunswick would pull an act like what they just pulled." However, New Brunswick does not recognize homosexual partnerships as being "marriage", a fact well known to everyone in the homosexual activist community.
After attempting to push the New Brunswick government with a Human Rights challenge, Vautour-Toole resorted to theatrics, bringing a pair of handcuffs to a Service office and chaining himself to a chair and shouting, whereupon the staff cleared the building and called police. The CBC played the role of media promoter with no fewer than five stories since June 2003.
In his court case, Vautour-Toole told the judge the incident wouldn't have escalated if he hadn't been provoked, however, he gave no reason why he would have been carrying a pair of handcuffs to a Service New Brunswick office if he had no intention of causing a disturbance. He was recorded on camera yelling, "Arrest me! Bring me to court!"
The Judge has reserved his decision in the case until March 24.
For CBC coverage:
http://nb.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=nb_vautour-toole20040219
Canada Customs and Revenue Creates Opening for Gay Activist Groups to be Considered Charities that "Promote Racial Equality"
OTTAWA, February 19, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, (CCRA) in September, 2003 issued a new policy statement governing the activities of groups "promoting racial equality." The Policy Statement Registering Charities that Promote Racial Equality, was approved by the CCRA in September, 2003.
The new policy includes definitions that make it easy for the terms, "racial equality" to admit homosexuals as a minority racial group. It has already been a source of serious concern to pro-family advocates that groups promoting the homosexual agenda have had regular, publicly funded access to the schools as part of their "outreach" and "education" activities. Now these groups can be guaranteed a favorable hearing from the CCRA in their efforts to acquire or maintain charitable tax status.
Examples of the new definitions include, "racial or cultural group," that without doubt, will be interpreted to include the as yet undefined, "sexual orientation" that has found its way into the legal language of so many court decisions and bills. The statement includes lists of activities that will be considered acceptable for charitably organizations, including programs that publish curriculum materials for "diversity training" and educational "outreach".
This will be good news to groups such as the homosexualist organization, EGALE. At the end of the last session of Parliament, EGALE's "education" of the public resulted in the passage of the anti-free speech legislation, Bill C-250 by Svend Robinson. Now groups that produce pornographic materials promoting the homosexual lifestyle can be considered to be "raising public awareness by disseminating factual, well-reasoned information as part of the group's outreach," and may receive charitable tax status for their activities.
Pro-family Canadians can look forward to more promotion of the homosexual lifestyle to be subsidized by their taxes, along with the magnanimous subsidies for pro-abortion and feminist advocates through creations such as the Court Challenges Program.
To read the policy statement:
http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/tax/charities/policy/csp/csp-r23-e.html
LifeSite Newsbytes
How the New York Times got the president's marriage initiative wrong
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/750qovjm.asp
California will reject altered marriage forms
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040219-123003-6956r.htm
San Francisco to Sue State Over Gay Marriage Ban
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040219/D80QIBUO2.html
Cardinal Ratzinger Blames 1968 and 1989 for the Contempt of Ethics: Says Postwar Cynicism and Marxism's Fall Paved the Way for Pragmatism
http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=49325
Chicago Mayor Daley would have "no problem" with County Clerk issuing marriage licenses to gay couples
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-gay19.html
Newly Formed Conservative Party Endangered
http://www.realwomenca.com/alerts.htm#feb4
Number of Screens To Show The Passion Increasing Daily
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/variety/20040219/va_ne_al/_passio...
Video Games Proven Harmful to Kids
http://www.fotf.ca/familyfacts/tfn/2004/021904.html
Iran's death train was carrying explosives to Afghanistan?
http://www.debka.com/
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