Politics
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Wednesday February 16, 2005
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Print- Vatican Cardinal Ends Debate: No Communion for Pro-Abortion Politicians or Rainbow Sashers
- Pro-Life Victory in Poland as Abortion Bill Narrowly Voted Off Legislative Agenda
- Pro-Abortion Senators Furious as Bush Re-Submits Rejected Pro-Life Judicial Nominations
- Houston Biotech Company Developing Diabetes Treatments Exclusively from Adult Stem Cells
- Canadian Marriage Coalition Launches Campaign
- Conservative Woman MP Slams Liberal Party’s Child Care Plan as Sexist
- Chaos in the Anglican Communion Showing at Church of England’s General Synod
- Russian Supreme Court Bans Same-Sex “Marriage”
Vatican Cardinal Ends Debate: No Communion for Pro-Abortion Politicians or Rainbow Sashers
Says "Are we going to change Divine Law, how God made us?"
TODAY'S HEADLINES
VATICAN CITY, February 16, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, the top Vatican Cardinal in charge of the sacraments of the Catholic Church has made it plain in an on-camera interview with EWTN that pro-abortion politicians may not be admitted to Holy Communion.
A February 11 EWTN broadcast of the news program, World Over Live, with host Raymond Arroyo, featured an interview with Arinze, the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The interview covered a wide range of topics, including female altar servers, Latin in the Mass, abortion and the rainbow sash movement.
Arroyo questioned the Vatican Cardinal saying: “Last year, you were asked at a press conference whether a politician, a Catholic politician who supports abortion publicly should be permitted to the Communion rail, should be permitted to receive Communion publicly. What is your response to that?”
Cardinal Arinze responded, “The answer is clear. If a person says I am in favour of killing unborn babies whether they be four thousand or five thousand, I have been in favour of killing them. I will be in favour of killing them tomorrow and next week and next year. So, unborn babies, too bad for you. I am in favour that you should be killed, then the person turn around and say I want to receive Holy Communion. Do you need any Cardinal from the Vatican to answer that?
Laughing, Arroyo responded, “It should be pretty transparent.” To which the Cardinal concluded, “Simple, ask the children for First Communion, they'll give you the answer.”
Similarly, Cardinal Arinze ruled out Communion for homosexual activists.
Arroyo noted that while some US bishops have refused Communion to Rainbow Sash activists, others such as Archbishop Harry Flynn of Minneapolis - St. Paul have not. Flynn, after meeting with Cardinal Arinze in Rome recently, suggested that the Cardinal was open to allowing communion for Rainbow Sash activists.
Arroyo first confirmed the meeting with Archbishop Flynn took place. “Did such a conversation take place between you and this archbishop?,” asked Arroyo, to which Cardinal Arinze responded, “Yes.”
Arroyo followed with “And were you open to allowing this group to receive Communion as he inferred in some of the newspapers.”
The Vatican Cardinal responded, “No, no. You see, let's get it clear. These rainbow sash people, are they really saying we are homosexuals, we intend to remain so and we want to receive Holy Communion. The question arises; take the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It says it is not condemning a person for having homosexual tendency. We don't condemn anybody for that. But a person stands condemned for acting on it.”
On homosexuality the Cardinal was clear. “The Catholic Church has never accepted homosexuality as normal. You read the scripture. It's very clear. What exactly are we examining? Are we going to change Divine Law, how God made us?”
He made a distinction between active homosexuals and those with homosexual tendencies. “Quite another matter if a person had just the tendencies and is making (an) effort to live the Divine Law, then that's fine. So, we respect persons but be clear on the truth,” he said.
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Back to TopPro-Life Victory in Poland as Abortion Bill Narrowly Voted Off Legislative Agenda
WARSAW, February 16, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a close vote on Tuesday, Poland’s parliament deferred debate on legislation that would have made abortion there legal.
The ruling ex-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) decided debate on the abortion issue might further hamper their popularity, delaying discussions until after the election set for September. Defeat of the motion was by a margin of 199-183.
The SLD had promised an easing of abortion laws as part of their party platform during the 2001 elections; their popularity slumped to such lows, however, that they feared igniting the debate would only worsen their position in the polls.
“We will not be talking about abortion in this parliament,” parliamentary speaker and SLD member, Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz said, according to a Reuters report. “We are not going to wage this kind of ideological war.”
Political analyst Wlodzimierz Derczynski said, “The SLD is weak at the moment, they are thinking about the elections and are afraid of any controversy.”
Abortion was made illegal in 1993 after the collapse of communism. Currently, Poland allows abortion if pregnancy results from rape, for children with a malformation, or for women in situations where continuance of the pregnancy may pose a grave health risk. The new law would have brought in abortion on demand for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Polish pro-life leader Lech Kowalewski told LifeSiteNews.com that Poland, with a similar population to Canada (30+ million), had the same number of abortions (100,000 + per year) under communism. However, with liberation came the right to life and the latest abortion figures reveal fewer than 200 abortions per year.
“The statement of the Polish Bishops Conference was very strong and helpful in the struggle,” Kowalewski said. He reminded LifeSiteNews.com that other anti-family bills such as those seeking to legalize same-sex “marriage” still remain before parliament.
The United Nations has been pressuring Poland to liberalize its abortion laws.
See the related LifeSiteNews.com reports:
Polish Omnibus Bill Would Legalize Abortion on Demand, Same-Sex Marriage
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/oct/04101802.html
U.N. Demands Poland Overturn Laws against Abortion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/nov/041109a.html
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Pro-Abortion Senators Furious as Bush Re-Submits Rejected Pro-Life Judicial Nominations
WASHINGTON, February 16, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Seven judicial nominees, whose nominations by US President George W. Bush were filibustered by Democrats in the Senate last year, were included in a list of 20 nominations submitted by the U.S. President Monday
President Bush was forced to rescind the recess appointment of William H. Pryor Jr. last year – a desperate attempt to circumnavigate a Democratic filibuster. A White House release last February described the Democratic activities: “A minority of Democratic Senators has been using unprecedented obstructionist tactics to prevent [Pryor] and other qualified nominees from receiving up-or-down votes. Their tactics are inconsistent with the Senate's constitutional responsibility and are hurting our judicial system.”
Democrats excluded seven of 32 judicial picks who were deemed unsuitable for the high court based on their conservative views, especially because of their opposition to abortion. Pro-abortion Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) told reporters that Democrats would continue to hold out against these seven nominees. Daschle failed to be re-elected in November.
“I'm pleased that the president has renominated these excellent women and men to serve on the federal bench,” Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said. “I'm hopeful that Democrats will work with me to get up-or-down votes on each nominee,” according to a Washington Times report.
Republicans, who gained four Senate seats in the November election, have proposed a change to judiciary appointment rules, revising the prior 60-vote requirement to overcome the opposition’s obstruction of a nomination, to a simple majority.
Democratic Senators were not impressed with the proposed change. They claim a change to appointment rules in the Senate is a “nuclear option” because of the devastation it will cause to the democratic process.
“We don't know if Senator Frist has 51 ‘yes’ votes, but it would be a tragedy for the Senate and for the country if he does,” New York Democratic Sen. Charles E. Schumer maintained. “It would reverse almost 200 years of history and dramatically change what the Senate has always been.”
But Senate Judiciary Committee member, Texas Republican John Cornyn, disagreed: “It would make no sense to require Republicans to be elected by a 60 percent vote, while only requiring 51 percent of Democrats,” he said. “The Senate should reject the double standard that Democrats have created for confirming President Bush's nominees and restore our constitutional and traditional standards.”
“The American people sent a strong message on November 2 against the obstructionist tactics that, unfortunately, we saw all too often in the past four years,” Cornyn said. “I'm hopeful that the will of the American people has been made clear to the obstructionists and that these 20 nominees will receive swift up-or-down votes, as all judicial nominees deserve.”
Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Bush Concedes to Democrats Over Recess Appointments
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/may/04051907.html
Read Washington Times coverage: http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050215-121556-8091r.htm
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Houston Biotech Company Developing Diabetes Treatments Exclusively from Adult Stem Cells
HOUSTON, February 16, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In response to the dismal failure of embryonic stem cell research to produce any advances in medical treatment to date despite massive expenditures, some commercial biotechnology companies are turning, often at the insistence of investors and shareholders, to the exclusive development of adult stem cells.
One such company, PharmaFrontiers, based in Texas, specializes in obtaining and using autologous stem cell therapy applications for diabetes, multiple sclerosis and congestive heart failure. Autologous stem cells, those collected from the patient’s flowing blood, are often thought to be less flexible than embryonic cells. Until recently, bone marrow was thought to be the best source of adult stem cells but more evidence is coming forward that stem cells from flowing blood are as easily differentiated as embryo cells.
Patrick Linbeck, a representative of the company said that PharmaFrontiers has developed the technique of harvesting stem cells directly from a patient’s blood. Bone marrow stem cells, he says, are “not cheap, easily obtained or pluripotent.” Linbeck told LifeSiteNews.com, “Pharma’s cells, like embryonic stem cells, have been differentiated into every type of stem cell in the body. Pharma could even have your blood stem cells extracted to produce every major line of stem cells for you.”
Autologous stem cell treatments along with high-dose chemotherapy, has also proved to be successful in treating a variety of cancers, including, Multiple Myeloma, Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Breast cancer.
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Canadian Marriage Coalition Launches Campaign
OTTAWA, February 16, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In anticipation of debate commencing on anti-marriage Bill C-38, a coalition of pro-family groups came together for a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa Tuesday.
The group officially launched its defend marriage campaign to urge federal MPs to vote against the same-sex “marriage” legislation before the House. Speaking in front of the defendMARRIAGE Campaign Bus at the Supreme Court of Canada Building, Dr. Charles McVety, one of the spokesmen for the coalition, called on all Canadians of Faith to work at defeating Prime Minister Paul Martin's anti-marriage legislation.
"We are encouraging Canadians to practice democracy and press their Member of Parliament to vote on behalf of their constituents and not for self-interest or special interest," Dr McVety said. The defendMARRIAGE Campaign will focus on individual Members of Parliament. We encourage Canadians to visit, write, fax and call their MP. We're going to be holding many defendMARRIAGE rallies with the campaign bus, in front of the offices of MPs."
defendMARRIAGE Canada’s Charles McVety was joined by Campaign Life Coalition’s Jean Morse-Chevrier; pastor Dominic Tse from the Toronto Chinese Christian community; Richard Bastien from the Catholic Civil Rights League; Real Women of Canada’s Diane Watts; former Alberta PC MLA Julius Yankowsky.
The defendMARRIAGE coalition announced that it is printing over 1 million brochures in several languages, thousands of lawn signs and other pieces of literature. In addition, the coalition will be undertaking a national paid advertising strategy.
The large, painted defendMARRIAGE bus will be travelling to various pro-marriage rallies across the country. It will be at Brampton, Ontario City Hall on Feb. 19 at 10 a.m. and at the rally in front of the Toronto riding office of Liberal MP Judy Sgro on the same day at noon.
The coalition has set up a website at http://www.defendMARRIAGE.ca to keep pro-marriage Canadians up-to-date on their campaign and developments on the issue.
See Monday’s LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Wave of Pro-Marriage Demos and Rallies Growing Across Canada
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/feb/05021409.html
See also LifeSiteNews.coms Defence of Marriage Web page
http://www.lifesite.net/features/marriage_defence/
Parliament Introduces Legislation to Destroy Marriage Says National Canadian Group
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/feb/05020110.html
Conservative Woman MP Slams Liberal Party’s Child Care Plan as Sexist
Canadian women do not need “old white guys” telling them how to raise children
OTTAWA, February 16, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Liberal party’s push for the institution of universal publicly-funded daycare has come under criticism by a Conservative MP, but not from the usual Conservative party suspects. Rona Ambrose, MP for Edmonton-Spruce Grove, accused Liberal Social Development Minister Ken Dryden of ignoring the real preferences of most Canadian women to stay home with their children. She said in the House yesterday, “Parents, and not the federal government, are in the best position to determine which type of child care best suits their children.”
Ambrose, the intergovernmental affairs critic for the Conservative party, referred to the recent poll by the Vanier Institute of the Family that showed nearly 100% of families would prefer to care for their children at home if they could afford to. Ambrose said, “Nine out of ten Canadians feel that in a two parent situation, ideally one parent should stay at home to raise the children. The study also indicated that almost all employed mothers would work part-time if they could afford it, as would 84% of fathers. Parents surveyed indicated that daycare would be their last choice for child care.”
The Liberal party, however, has pushed hard for its $5 billion federal day care program in spite of the fact that social programs are a provincial jurisdiction and provinces already have public day care in place. Universal public day care has long been a rallying cry of the feminist establishment for whom it is a matter of dogma that women’s personal fulfillment is hampered by being full-time mothers.
Dryden said, “The real choice is the opportunities for men and women across the country to have the choice of high quality early learning and child care.”
Ambrose responded, “We fought long and hard for the right to vote, for the right to participate in universities and the work force, and the right to make our own choices. We don’t need old white guys telling us what to do.”
Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition, commented on Ambrose’s intervention. He said, “It’s certainly refreshing to hear someone say what most Canadians feel. Women have been bullied into believing there’s only one solution to the problem of juggling family life with work. I’m glad to hear more MP’s are starting insist that women be offered other options.”
Read Ambrose’s remarks in the House:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/38/1/parlbus/chambus/house/debates/057_2005-02-15/HAN057-E...
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Chaos in the Anglican Communion Showing at Church of England’s General Synod
Bishops Continuing with Liberal Agenda while Laity Demands Doctrinal Reform
LONDON, February 16, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Conflict within the Anglican Communion over homosexuality, doctrinal liberalism and female clergy is being made manifest at the current meeting of the Church of England’s governing bodies. News reports issued on the same day reveal the Church of England’s General Synod proposing to extend pension benefits to the homosexual ‘partners’ of deceased gay clergy and allow female bishops. At the same time, a meeting of laity was reported as voting for the revival of tribunals for cases of doctrinal heresy.
While the lay members of the Synod ask for a re-commitment to traditional Christianity, the General Synod has continued down the path of liberalism with its decision to allow the partners of homosexual clergy to collect pension benefits. This decision, says the Telegraph, could cause some embarrassment to the bishops since it is still officially forbidden to ordain active homosexuals to the clergy.
The Church of England’s General Synod is made up of three bodies: the House of Laity, the House of Bishops and the House of Clergy. The Laity have called for the introduction of heresy tribunals to re-emphasize traditional Christian doctrines and ensure that these are taught faithfully by overwhelmingly liberal Anglican clergy.
Margaret Brown, a lay member from the Chichester diocese, said “It is far, far worse if we have a clergyman or clergywoman in the pulpit and they are preaching heresy and do not believe in the tenets of the faith, the Virgin Birth, the bodily resurrection of Christ and all the other tenets of the faith.”
A survey carried out in 2002 found that just 76 % of Anglican clergy believed Jesus Christ died to take away the sins of the world, 68 % believed Jesus rose physically from the dead and 53 % believed faith in Jesus was the only way they could be saved. Among women clergy, the figures were about 10 per cent lower in each category.
Today, the General Synod continues with a discussion on another divisive issue, that of female bishops. The Church of England has had female clergy since 1994 and women bishops are a feature of the Anglican communion in many countries. Warnings of another split like the one over female clergy in 1994 are coming from the traditional camp.
“There’s a real danger that the Church will break apart over this,” said the Reverend David Houlding, leader of the Anglo-Catholic group on the synod.
Each Anglican community around the world is independent so that decisions made in one country do not legislate for the Anglican churches in others. However, the Church of England is regarded as the mother church of Anglicanism around the world and its decisions are carefully watched by other communions.
Read coverage in the Telegraph:
Clergy who deny doctrine may face trial for heresy
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/02/15/nclerg15.xml
Read coverage in DeHavilland News:
Debate Over Women Bishops
http://www.dehavilland.co.uk/webhost.asp?wci=default&wcp=NationalNewsStoryPage&I...
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Russian Supreme Court Bans Same-Sex “Marriage”
MOSCOW, February 16, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Russia’s Supreme Court, responding to a lawsuit from a Member of Parliament, ruled Tuesday that the country would maintain its traditional definition of marriage.
Eduard Murzin, a MP from the Bashkortostan State Assembly, launched the suit along with the editor of the homosexual magazine “Queer,” in January.
Murzin maintained that Russia’s Family Code – recently amended to include a ban on same-sex “marriage” by the State Duma – contravenes both the Russian federal Constitution as well as the European human rights convention.
Amending democratically created legislation is outside of the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction, the court ruled.
Murzin said he plans to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
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