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Bishops React to Priest who Told Obama-Supporting Catholics to Confess before Receiving Communion

By Kathleen Gilbert

GREENVILLE, South Carolina, November 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A South Carolina Catholic priest who advised Obama supporters in his flock not to receive Communion before going to confession elicited polarized responses from the Catholic community, ranging from outrage at a misuse of authority to warm praise for championing Church teaching on abortion. Today LifeSiteNews.com spoke with bishops Gracida, Vasa, and Chaput, all known for their outspokenness on political issues, about the priest’s actions.

Following Obama's election, Fr. Jay Scott Newman wrote a letter to parishioners stating, "Voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exits constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil."

Therefore, as Fr. Newman writes, "Persons in this condition should not receive Holy Communion until and unless they are reconciled to God in the Sacrament of Penance, lest they eat and drink their own condemnation."

Fr. Newman, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville, explained to local news that he will not refuse Communion to individual parishioners, as Church law would require in the case of a pro-abortion Catholic politician or other well-known public figure. Instead the priest is simply exhorting all Catholics who supported Obama's pro-abortion ticket not to approach the altar.  (To see Fr. Newman's full letter, go to: http://www.stmarysgvl.org/ourparish/2008-dedication-of-the-l...)

St. Mary's is considered the mother church for upstate South Carolina Roman Catholics, with 7,500 registered members.

“Personally, I think it is valuable to have this discussion in the secular media because, many times, many Catholics don’t go to mass, and so they come at this issue from a secular viewpoint,” said diocesan spokesman Steve Gajdosik to the Greenville News.

“I think to Father Newman’s credit, he isn’t afraid to tackle tough issues. And sometimes there is a lot of pressure to conform and just be nice and go along.”

Fr. Newman's sentiments aligned with those of Msgr. Martin Laughlin, the diocese's administrator.

"We must not be guided by the so called 'lesser of two evils' or attempt to justify the acceptance of intrinsic evil for some greater good. We may never embrace evil," Msgr. Laughlin had written in an October letter, in which he called abortion "an affront to human dignity."

Archbishop Burke, formerly archbishop of St. Louis, MO and the current Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, had said in an interview just before election day that for a citizen to not "support and vote for the candidate who most supports the inalienable dignity of innocent and defenseless life" is "to participate, in some way, in the culture of death which pervades the life of the nation and has led to so much violence.”

Bishop Emeritus Rene Henry Gracida of Corpus Christi, TX, told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) his reaction to Fr. Newman's letter "is one of admiration and awe.  I find nothing in what he has written that is at variance with the Magisterium of the Church. He is to be congratulated."

Bishop Vasa of Baker, OR told LSN that, while Fr. Newman was correct to say that voting for Obama constitutes a material offense against moral teaching, it would nonetheless be impossible to "to ascertain with any degree of certainty the sinfulness of the action of any particular voter" as many voters may or may not have been aware of Obama’s extreme stance on abortion.

In a further statement, Fr. Newman appears to agree with Bishop Vasa.  Newman said his statement on the "enormously complex subject" could be easily distorted when taken out of the context of his fidelity to normative Church doctrine.  Within this context, he said, "no one could conclude that a vote for Senator Obama is in itself or by itself a mortal sin.

"But from that same teaching, though, we must conclude that a vote for a pro-abortion candidate can be a mortal sin if the intent is to support abortion, that abortion is not merely one issue among other important issues, and that no Catholic should endorse a pro-abortion politician if a plausible pro-life alternative is available." (http://www.stmarysgvl.org/ourparish/2008-dear-friends-in-chr...)

Bishop Chaput, one of the most outspoken bishops on political matters, declined to comment on Fr. Newman's letter, stating only that Charleston diocesan administration had authority to speak on the matter.

"Praise God for priests with mettle enough to put what's right and good for their flocks before what is politically expedient," said Jim Sedlack, Vice President of the American Life League.  "We pray more men like Fr. Newman will stand up and enforce Canon 915."  Canon 915 deals with the subject of the distribution of Communion to those who are obstinately persisting in grave sin.

Numerous U.S. bishops issued a sustained volley of statements throughout the months prior to the presidential election condemning Catholics who supported pro-abortion candidates; these statements often contained thinly veiled references to Obama, considered by many to be poised to become the most pro-abortion president in history.

Prior to his election to the pontificate, Cardinal Ratzinger had written to U.S. bishops saying that Catholics indiscriminately receiving communion without discerning their worthiness "is an abuse that must be corrected," and that voting for a pro-abortion candidate without proportionate reason incurred moral guilt that disqualified a Catholic from receiving communion  (See: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/apr/050419a.html).

See related LifeSiteNews.com articles:

Can Catholics Who Vote for Obama Still Receive Communion?
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jun/08061208.html

Special Report: Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion, General Principles
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/apr/050419a.html

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Canada’s Health Care System heading for “Demographic Blowout” with Aging Population: Study

By Hilary White

OTTAWA, November 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A new study has revealed that the Canadian government will spend $171.9-billion this year on health care, or $5,170 per person. At this rate “health care spending is expected to grow faster than Canada’s economy, outpacing inflation and population growth,” according to Glenda Yeates, President and CEO of the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), which released the study yesterday.

Demographers have warned that the aging and slow growth of the Canadian population is a direct threat to the long-term prognosis of its raft of expensive, publicly funded social services, including its health care system.

Brian Day, past president of the Canadian Medical Association, told the Globe and Mail that with the Baby Boom generation growing older, the system is headed for a “demographic blowout.”

The CIHI study found that government expenditure on health will reach 10.7 per cent of the country's gross domestic product. Yeates said the study’s results are “going to raise questions for Canada and other countries as to how much do we really want to spend on health care.” The organization's findings may prove especially significant and timely given US president-elect Barack Obama's stated plans to move the US towards socialized healthcare.

At the same time that the Canadian government is paying record sums to keep its socialized medical services afloat, which includes government-funded abortion-on-demand, the population of Canada continues to age and its birth rate remains one of the lowest in the western world.

The median age for women in Canada is 41.2 years, over the age at which women easily conceive children. Recently the total fertility rate has risen only slightly to 1.57 children born per woman. To maintain a steady population, however, a country must have 2.1 children born per woman.

Despite massive immigration, Canada’s population, currently 33,399,600, has grown by only 276,780 since last year. With most new residents being adults, the problem of the aging of the population is not addressed by the government’s open-door policy, aimed at bringing workers into the country. The average Canadian life expectancy is 81.16 years. Combined, these statistics paint a grim picture of the future of Canada’s health services, with fewer and fewer young people to pay for the health care of a rapidly aging population.
 
The 2006 census showed that the country’s population is aging at an alarming rate. The report from Statistics Canada said that the number of people over age 64 has increased by 11.5 per cent in the last 5 years. Of the total 32,973,546 Canadians, "the number of people aged 55 to 64, many of whom are workers approaching retirement, has never been so high in Canada, at close to 3.7 million in 2006."

Meanwhile, Canada continues to be one of the most abortion-friendly countries in the world, with a total of 96,815 abortions committed in 2005, equalling 28.3 abortions for every 100 live births.

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Study Shows More Immigration Won’t Fix Demographic Implosion in Canada
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/sep/06092706.html

 

 

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Uruguayan President Vetoes Pro-Abortion Legislation

By John-Henry Westen and Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
 
MONTEVIDEO, November 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez, a medical doctor, yesterday fulfilled his promise to veto pro-abortion legislation that was passed only three days ago by the Senate in a narrow vote of 17 in favor out of a total of 30 cast.

Although Vazquez vetoed provisions of the law that eliminated criminal penalties for surgical abortions, he did not veto other provisions that allow chemical abortions and treat sodomy as a "right."

Tourist Minister Hector Lescano informed the French Press Agency that the Senate does not have enough votes to override the veto. He added: "In the next few hours, the legislative power will be notified, but what's certain is that (the veto) has already been signed and recorded. It's an irreversible fact that underscores the president's determination."

Just prior to the Senate vote, the Uruguayan Episcopal Conference warned that Catholics who cast votes in favor of abortion would be refused Holy Communion. The announcement by the bishops came in the wake of statements made by Archbishop Nicolas Cotugno of Montevideo, who stated in no uncertain terms that any legislator who voted for abortion would be "ipso facto excommunicated." He added that a formal excommunication might also be issued, and that he would support such a measure in union with the Pope and other bishops (see previous LifeSiteNews coverage at http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08110403.html).
 
The law would have eliminated criminal penalties for virtually all abortions carried out during the first three months of gestation.  Currently, abortion is penalized in the nation's criminal code in all cases, although judges have the discretion of reducing or eliminating penalties under certain circumstances.

However, Human Life International, citing Dr. Juan Claudio Sanahuja of the Argentinean pro-life organization Noticias Globales, notes that "the president's veto of surgical abortion does not correct other aspects of the law that run contrary to the natural order."

He points out that chemical abortions will be permitted under the non-vetoed provisions. In addition, "chapter one declares that sexual and reproductive rights are universal human rights, and are not only related to reproduction but also include 'the right of everyone to obtain sexual satisfaction according to his own needs and preferences’." 

"It also ensures the promotion of equality in terms of gender and social justice, which is converted into gender ideology (homosexuality, abortion, sterilization) in government policy," according to Sanahuja.
 
Pro-abortion legislation has been under consideration in the Uruguayan Congress since 1984 but was never passed until this week.

Advocates of the legislation are discussing the possibility of holding a nationwide plebiscite on the issue during the general elections in 2009, to override President Vazquez' veto.

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Post Election Message to Catholic Bishops Part II: This week's Bishops' Assembly

They will have to get up on the Cross as their Master did and embrace it

Commentary By Steve Jalsevac

November 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - This week's US bishops fall assembly had some truly great moments. They came courtesy of the few courageous bishops who showed they fully understand their role in these dangerous times. As well, the bishops as a group made it plain that they will strongly resist any attempts by Obama to advance the abortion culture. However, the assembly refused to follow Rome's direction on denying pro-abortion politicians communion and that was a sign of an ongoing serious problem.

By the end of the assembly meetings it seemed clear that most of the bishops, despite many wonderful statements, still do not comprehend or are unwilling to face the true gravity of the current situation and the need to take long overdue actions to reform and strengthen the Church.

These large, bureaucracy-influenced bishops' conference meetings are not the answer. It is what happens in each diocese that will determine the rise or fall of Catholic Christianity in the United States. That in turn will play a large role, I suggest, in determining whether faith and even freedom itself will live or die in the nation. 

For decades, a majority of US bishops did not respond as they should have to the horrific sex abuse scandals and their root cause of theological dissent and widespread acceptance and practice of homosexuality among the clergy and religious.

Now the bishops are again stalling, this time over critically needed actions to strengthen the Church to defend the nation against an inevitable acceleration of the culture of death and an accompanying suppression of religious and conscience rights.

Political leaders, media people, many others in influential positions, and most Catholics no longer respond as they did in the past to US and Canadian Catholic Church leadership pronouncements on the culture. There is good reason for that.

They know the bishops are still not acting on the many serious problems within their own house (the sexual abuse crisis is still far from having been adequately addressed) and that a majority of Catholics reject many Church teachings. This is obvious to any objective, honest observer.

They know that many of the Church's own institutions (colleges, schools, hospitals, seminaries, etc.) and their staffs do not accept, teach or follow important Catholic teachings and no one is doing anything meaningful about it.

They also know that even some bishops and other US Catholic institutional leaders subtly, or by persistent negligence, or even openly, dissent from the Church on issues of life and morality and much more. It does not take much investigation to discover this.

Although no bishops are openly pro-abortion, it is well understood by those in the know that abortion and homosexuality and their root contraceptive mentality are not high priority issues with a substantial number of bishops.

Contrary to popular opinion, both within and outside the Church, I believe the rejection of episcopal pronouncements is not so much because the Church is seen as out-of-date or out-of-touch with the modern world. Rather it is more because the Church is known to be very divided, weak, inconsistent and even, in many cases, corrupt.

How can we expect politicians or other leaders who know all this to pay any attention when a bishop, or a number of bishops, challenges them for defying Church teachings? That is, above all, what the bishops both in the United States, and even more so in Canada, must address at this time.

It is not the bishops' words, but what they do that gives them true authority and credibility. At the moment, in much of the public mind, with the exception of some notable prelates, most of the bishops have low credibility. That is not a judgment against them. It is just a statement of fact.

The obvious solution is for the bishops to go back to their dioceses and put their own houses in order first. For those who are willing and faithful enough to take on the task, it will most likely be painful and exceedingly difficult. They will have to take up the Cross as their Master did and embrace it. But once this is well under way, such leaders will eventually be heard and loved again. All of the United States will benefit from the resulting positive influence upon the culture.

Actions are the only route to giving true credibility to what leaders say. Actions are the proof of belief and commitment.

There is a practical strategy that could greatly assist the bishops to bring about all this change for good, a strategy to direct their actions. They could adopt the "broken windows" concept to correct the big, seemingly unsolvable problems by first treating the damaging disorder caused by numerous less newsworthy disorders that have been allowed to persist.

The next article in this series will discuss the "broken windows" concept and the Church.

See Part I:
U.S. Election Message to Catholic Bishops: Time to Clean House
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08111012.html

See Part III:
US Election Message to Catholic Bishops Part III: The Broken Window Strategy
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08112014.html

See Part IV
Series on US Election Message to Bishops Concludes With Part IV
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08112810.html

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HLI Leader's Reflection on the Election: "The Beginning of the Twilight of Our Country"

Commentary by Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, President, Human Life International
 
WASHINGTON, November 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Now that the election is over, we can separate the real Catholics from those who just act the part. Those still reeling from the results of the election can rest assured that they are in good company with the saints. Those who have drawn a line in blood and made a decision to stand with the culture of death need a serious examination of conscience.
 
Now look at what we've done to ourselves. America has made her "choice" for maximum leader and it is not pretty. In fact, it is one of the most devastating blows to American civilization that we have ever undergone, and I do not speak in hyperbole. Even such a saintly figure as Mother Theresa said that "a nation that kills its children has no future;" likewise, an authority like Fr. Benedict Groeschel recently commented that we have entered into "the beginning of the twilight" of our country - dire words that touch on the reality of electing the most extreme, pro-abortion candidate America has ever had the misfortune of occupying the highest office of our land.
 
This has happened before though. When the prophet Samuel complained to God that the people of Israel were asking for a king, the Lord God replied that they were not rejecting Samuel but were in actual fact rejecting God Himself, His sovereignty and His authority over them (cf. 1 Sam, ch. 8). He also told Samuel that the people would have to accept the consequences of their wicked desire, and as we know, the craven need to be like the surrounding pagan nations was a bitter pill for them to swallow. The people of Israel echoed that rejection of their God more than a thousand years later when the King of Kings and Lord of Lords stood before them in Herod's derisive purple robe and the people shouted, this time with vehemence: "We have no king but Caesar!" In essence, we have chosen a Barabbas over Christ - again.
 
And choices have consequences they say. The consequences of this election will be imprinted upon our national conscience for years to come, one of which is that, by electing abortion extremists to rule over us, both in the Presidency and in the Congress, we have now lost the blessing promised in Psalm 41:1-4 - "Happy those concerned for the lowly and the poor; when misfortune strikes, the Lord delivers them. The Lord keeps and preserves them, makes them happy in the land, and does not betray them to their enemies. The Lord sustains them on their sickbed." It is hard for Americans to imagine that a land so consecrated could be shriven of that blessing. Yet, we have made our sickbed and we must lie in it.
 
This did not happen, though, without dire and prolonged warnings about the institutionalization of evil. We can't say we were not warned. When moral persuasion about the killing of innocents did not work, rational science was our witness. When science was ignored and then co-opted for the works of death, AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases came to awaken people's consciences, but these did little better.
 
God then had to allow such an onslaught of terrorism, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes and tsunamis in the past decade that He surely thought we would wake up to the deadly reality of the culture of death and repent. When that didn't happen, He hit us in the most sensitive spot on the human body: our wallets. The gas price hikes and the recent financial meltdown surely would do the trick, He thought, but apparently that did not work either because our people adamantly refused to be deterred at any price from our lust for abortion and put into office all those who would serve the interests of this unholy agenda for decades to come.
 
Alas, we all need to get on our knees and repent from the very depths of our hearts for the plague that we have just invited onto our beloved nation.
 
At the same time, my friends, despite the dismal picture, this is a time to thank Almighty God for the gifts of life, love and family that we have been given. It is also the time to seriously engage in efforts to take the culture back so that eventually our politics will follow the growth of a new pro-life culture from the seeds we are planting today.

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Jamaica Parliament Views Graphic Abortion Videos While Considering Decriminalizing Abortion

By Jonquil Frankham

KINGSTON, Jamaica, November 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Members of the Joint Select Parliamentary Committee of Jamaica squirmed with unease in their seats – some even leaving the room – while watching a video depicting various abortion procedures.

The video was shown during a presentation by Dr. Doreen Brady West of the Coalition for the Defense of Life, which is working to maintain sections 72 and 73 of Jamaica’s Offences Against the Person Act. These sections currently penalize anyone who obtains, performs, or helps obtain an abortion with a sentence of up to life in prison.

The Act is under scrutiny following the findings of an advisory group established in 2005. The advisory group, authorized in 2005 by former Health Minister John Junor to address maternal mortality among Jamaican teenagers, found that illegal and unsafe abortions were responsible for a significant number of mothers’ deaths.

In response the advisory group suggested a Termination of Pregnancy Act to supplant sections 72 and 73 of the Offenses Against the Person Act.

Dr. Brady West, however, argues that illegal abortions are only “a minor contributor to direct maternal deaths,” and challenges the advisory group’s suggestion that the legalization of abortion will decrease the maternal mortality rate.

Numerous groups and individuals, most prominently former abortionist Bernard Nathanson, have charged that pro-abortion groups routinely massively overinflate numbers relating to maternal mortality via illegal abortions as a tactic to push for the legalization of abortion.

In an interview this past July, Nathanson explained that while working as an abortionist with pro-abortion groups, "We claimed that between five and ten thousand women a year died of botched abortions. …The actual figure was closer to 200 to 300. And we also claimed that there were a million illegal abortions a year in the United States and the actual figure was close to 200,000. So, we were guilty of massive deception."

West says that the solution lies in better antenatal care, reports The Jamaica Observer. Referring to the correlation between widespread access to abortion and sexual abuse, West told the Parliamentary Committee that better antenatal care would help decrease instances of sexual exploitation and ensure adequate punishment for sex offenders. It would also, she said, minimize maternal deaths.

The film portion of the physician’s presentation, called “riveting” by RadioJamaica.com, caused many members to shift about in their seats and look at the ground. RadioJamaica reports that current Health Minister Ruddy Spencer and Senator Sandra Faulkner left the room during the viewing, while other members openly turned their heads away from the screen.

87,000 Jamaicans who signed a petition against repealing sections 72 and 73 of the Offenses Against the Person Act will wait until next Thursday for the parliament to continue their deliberations.

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Halifax Group Brings First Ever Canadian 40 Days for Life Campaign to Close

By John Jalsevac

HALIFAX, N.S., November 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – This year Halifax was one of the two Canadian cities to participate in the the wildly successful 40 Days for Life campaign – the North American-wide pro-life effort that saw nearly 450 unborn babies saved from abortion, and tens of thousands of pro-life volunteers take to the streets in an unprecedented show of grassroots strength (For more coverage on the Ottawa campaign, see: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08110407.html). This was the first year that Canadian cities had participated.

Plans to organize the 40 Days for Life Halifax campaign, which took place from September 24 to November 2, began this past July after the news broke of Morgentaler’s nomination for the Order of Canada. Galvanized by the news, organizers contacted 45 Catholic churches and 85 Protestant churches seeking support and volunteers to help bring the 40 Days campaign to Canada.

While one of the goals of 40 Days for Life is to stage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week prayer vigils outside local abortion centers, Halifax organizers had difficulty in getting the nighttime hours filled. Instead the team decided to focus on filling daytime hours between 6 am and 9 pm. 

With 150 volunteers, the Halifax campaign managed to cover a total of 600 hours of prayerful vigil. Organizer Julie Culshaw credited this achievement to “a handful of those participants were willing to commit an extraordinary amount of time to prayer at the vigil site, some putting in as much as three to four hours per day.” With the campaign coinciding with the change in season, many of the devoted 40 Days participants had to brave inclement weather and plunging temperatures for hours at a time.

While there are no facilities devoted solely to killing unborn children in Halifax, abortions are still committed in the cities’ hospitals, with the majority occurring at the Victoria General Hospital. According to statistics 1700 such killings were committed in 2007, with approximately 70 late term abortions committed at the IWK Children’s Hospital. The late-term abortions committed at the Children’s Hospital are largely done on unborn babies found to have disabilities or Down’s syndrome.

The 40 Days Halifax vigil was held on the public sidewalk on South Park Street, outside the Victoria General Hospital, next to the entrance of the main parking lot. The vigil, while significantly removed from the building itself, was well situated to be noticed by pedestrians walking by, visitors to the hospital, and hospital staff who drove in to park.

Culshaw said that, due to the fact that the vigil took place outside a large hospital, it was difficult to gauge what impact the campaign had on women seeking abortions. Nevertheless, she said, “we feel that our witness during this vigil was to the public, raising awareness that their place of health care operates a ward to terminate innocent lives, and does this in great numbers.”

Last week the Halifax group concluded their campaign with a banquet at which Shawn Carney, one of the original four organizers for 40 Days for Life, gave an inspiring talk. The banquet was attended by over 160 people, many of whom say they are prepared to participate in future 40 Days for Life campaigns.  

As has happened with many other campaigns across the continent, participants in the Halifax initiative have found that they are disinclined to give up their pro-life efforts entirely, now that the official campaign has come to a close. “We are going to maintain a weekly presence at the hospital on Wednesday mornings,” said Culshaw, “beginning with a Rosary walk with Father Joe Hattie, our resident Priest for Life here, and then we will remain in prayer until noontime. All are welcome to join us as we continue to pray for an end to abortion.”

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Portsmouth Bishop Gently Backs Away from “Thrilled” Obama Welcome

By Hilary White

PORTSMOUTH, UK, November 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Following a barrage of criticism from Catholics and advocates for the unborn, the Catholic bishop of Portsmouth in the U.K., Crispian Hollis, has issued a “clarification” on his warm welcome of Barack Obama as the newly elected president of the United States.

Hollis had written a message that was posted to the diocese’s website, saying he was “thrilled” at the election of the man pro-life advocates are calling the “most pro-abortion president in US history.”

“With millions of others,” Bishop Hollis said, “I have been thrilled by Barack Obama’s victory and I thank God for it.” He called it a “rare moment of hope and optimism” with “potential for the whole global community.”

Today, that message is removed and a clarification in its place says, “I genuinely welcome [Obama’s] election because he represents such a different political profile from that of President Bush.”

But, Bishop Hollis said, “I am aware of what he has said about abortion and about the so-called freedom of choice and I deplore his words. There is no way in which I endorse his position on these crucial ‘life’ matters, nor, as a Catholic bishop, could I ever do so.”

He added, “Perhaps it’s naïve to say this but I hope and pray that the realities of the political process will mean that he has to temper his personal policies on these all important life issues and pay serious attention to the outrage with which many view his ‘life’ agenda.”

John Smeaton, director of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children indicated in an email to LifeSiteNews.com that he was less than impressed with Bishop Hollis’ clarified position.

“If, instead of agreeing to kill babies on demand,” he said, “doctors were required by Barack Obama's policies to agree to kill, for example, Catholic priests, would the Bishop of Portsmouth continue to insist on welcoming his election?”

Smeaton had written in a blog post yesterday that Bishop Hollis was suffering from “Obamania”, and that he would be writing to the bishop to ask, “What ‘hope and optimism’ can Catholic medics have following Obama's election, who will abolish conscientious objection to abortion, thereby threatening to destroy Catholic healthcare in the US?”

Hollis did not say how many phone calls and emails he had received after posting his first message that was quoted, along with his contact information and the contact information of the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops, by LifeSiteNews.com.

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

UK Catholic Bishop: “I have been thrilled by Barack Obama’s victory and I thank God for it.”
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08111303.html

To contact the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops:

Palazzo della Congregazioni,
Piazza Pio XII, 10
00193 Roma,
Phone: 06.69.88.42.17
Fax: 06.69.88.53.03

To contact Bishop Crispian Hollis,
Bishop's House,
Edinburgh Road,
Portsmouth,
Hampshire.
PO1 3HG

Phone: (0)23 9282 0894
Fax: (0)23 9286 3086

To send an online message:
http://www.portsmouthdiocese.org.uk/directory/person/mail/18.htm

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Eluana Englaro to Die by Dehydration after Italian High Court Ruling

By Hilary White, Rome Correspondent

ROME, November 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The highest Italian court has cleared the way for a young disabled Italian woman to be dehydrated to death at the request of her father - the first decision of its kind in Italy. In a decision released last night, the Court of Cassation upheld the ruling of a lower court that the assisted food and hydration keeping Eluana Englaro alive may be removed, thereby ensuring Englaro’s death by dehydration and starvation.

Englaro, who is now 37 and is not on a ventilator, has been in a state of diminished consciousness since being in a car accident in 1992 at age 20. She has lived with the assistance of a feeding tube. Her father, Beppino Englaro, has been petitioning courts to remove his daughter's assisted nutrition and hydration since 1999.

In June this year, the lower court had ruled that doctors could withdraw food and water, a decision that was challenged by the state. Should Eluana die by court-ordered dehydration, this would be the first case of its kind in Italy. Legal experts have said that Eluana’s death would mark the first steps toward legalised assisted suicide and euthanasia in this once strongly Catholic country.

Earlier this week, a high ranking Vatican prelate said that removing Eluana’s food and hydration was “monstrous and inhuman murder.” Javier Cardinal Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, said, “To deprive her of water and food means to kill her. It is inhuman.”

Today Barragan told the Italian daily La Stampa that the court had enacted “the first death sentence in Italy since 1946.”

“Life is sacred,” the Cardinal said. “The right to die does not exist. To stop giving food and drink to Eluana is tantamount to committing murder. It means letting her die of hunger and thirst, condemning her to a monstrous end.”

Eluana’s father, followed by the world press, has consistently described his daughter’s condition as “vegetative.” Cardinal Barragan, however, told La Repubblica, “The term 'vegetative state' is appropriate for plants, not human beings.” Eluana’s supporters have reported that she opens her eyes and is not in a coma.

The brother of Terri Schiavo, Bobby Schindler, also condemned the decision, saying that Eluana’s case indicates that the utilitarian bioethical thinking that resulted in his sister’s court-ordered death has taken hold in other countries.

“This court's ruling seems to indicate that American 'medical ethics' are spreading like a virus among the international community, threatening countless numbers of elderly, ailing and disabled persons in an increasing and alarming way,” Schindler said in an email sent to LifeSiteNews.com.

His assessment was echoed by the president of the Italian Movement for Life (MPV), Carlo Casini, who said the decision “puts at risk the thousands of other Eluanas, lovingly cared for by relatives and thousands and thousands of lives of people with severe disabilities who depend on the care of the community.”

“Ultimately it endangers all of us when we become marginal and ‘useless.’” The decision is a “sentence that has as its premise and effect of discriminating between lives more or less worthy of living,” Casini added.

The Italian Bishops Conference responded to the ruling saying it is a sanction for euthanasia, a practice that remains illegal in Italy. The bishops called on Parliament to pass a law that would safeguard the “end of life.”

L’Associazione Scienza & Vita called the decision a “real death sentence.” The group has asked to be present at Eluana’s death in order to record it on video, “as happens in countries that provide the death penalty for their citizens.” In this way, they said, “our children and our grandchildren will learn how an Italian citizen to was convicted by a court in a civil and democratic state to die of hunger and thirst.”

“The decision of the Supreme Court,” said the Association, “in fact authorizes the suspension of water and food that remain in our opinion, and even for a large part of the Italian public, simple sustenance of life and not therapies.” The decision means, they said, that some lives are not worth living and that the existence of a “right to die” that “is not contemplated in the Constitution” requires a corresponding “duty to kill.” 

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Removal of Food and Hydration from Italian Woman “Monstrous and Inhuman Murder”: Vatican Prelate
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08111202.html

Young Woman may be Dehydrated to Death, Italian Appeals Court Decides
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jul/08070905.html

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Update: Nationwide Homosexual Anarchist Organization Behind Attack on MI Church Planning Further Disruptions

By Kathleen Gilbert

LANSING, Michigan, November 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – According to their blog, the radical homosexual anarchist group known as "Bash Back!", which on Sunday disrupted a church service in Lansing, Michigan, planned the disruption at least a month in advance, and affiliated internet sites indicate that similar disruptions are in the works. 

The group's Washington, DC branch is currently advertising a rally in the nation's capital today.  They intend to protest "neoliberal domination" through a general disruption:

"At 10am on the 15th there’s a Rally and Carnival at Judiciary Square Metro,” says the memo on the event, “and we’ll have a rowdy, raucous queer presence at the march immediately following, which’ll be themed around a festive celebration of the downfall of capitalism.

"Hope radical queers from all over this crazy land will join us!"

The group touts a history of systematized rebellion against law enforcement to advance an extreme left-wing anarchic agenda.  The group was created in April 2007, with the original intention of disrupting both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions this year.  At the Republican convention, mounted police forced Bash Back! radicals attempting a road blockade to disband.

Sunday's assault on the Mt. Hope Church attracted little media attention, despite its bizarre and inflammatory nature (http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08111104.html).

“It is important that law enforcement from all quarters address this issue," said Catholic League president Donohue, commenting on the group's activities.

The Mt. Hope Church incident is part of a steady trend of disruptive measures by homosexualists in recent weeks against institutions promoting true marriage.

Church threats and vandalism are on the rise in protest-torn California, following the passage of the true-marriage measure Proposition 8 last Tuesday.  The Sacramento Bee reports that in Fresno, a prominent pastor who supported Proposition 8 received death threats, prompting police protection.  His church was also vandalized.

In Southern California, a Catholic Church's "Yes on 8" signs were rearranged into a swastika.  Yes on 8 attorney Andrew Pugno reports several churches have been vandalized with spray-painted No on 8 slogans.

Pacific Justice Institute president Brad Dacus has been keeping track of the damages done by same-sex "marriage" proponents, who have also scratched "No on 8" into the sides of cars with pro-Proposition 8 bumper stickers.

Dacus believes the ongoing vandalism and protests against Prop. 8 will backfire. He noted, "Californians are among the most tolerant people in the world. They are also not stupid, and they deliberately rejected forced acceptance of gay marriage, while leaving in place domestic partnerships and a host of other special rights based for homosexuals.

"The hatred and intimidation we are seeing right now from gay activists could set their movement back years. If anything, they are convincing a lot of Californians that we did the right thing by not caving in to their demands," he said.

To contact Michigan law enforcement:

Sheriff Mike Raines:

 
Prosecutor Jeff Sauter:

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08111104.html

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With Homosexual 'Marriage' Christian Freedoms Will be Under Greatest Threat in Hawaii, Wisconsin

By John-Henry Westen
 
WASHINGTON, November 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new study by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has found that over 350 separate state anti-discrimination laws would likely be affected by the legal recognition of same-sex “marriage.”  The organization surveyed over 1,000 state anti-discrimination laws -- specifically those prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender, or marital status -- to assess how those laws would affect religious dissenters to same-sex “marriage” if same-sex “marriage” were to be legally recognized.
 
Based on the data, The Becket Fund concluded that if same-sex “marriage” is recognized by courts or legislatures, people and institutions that have conscientious objections to facilitating same-sex “marriages” will likely be sued under existing anti-discrimination laws, despite the fact that those laws were never intended for that purpose.
 
Based on an analysis of the laws and what has transpired in other jurisdictions with similar laws, such as Canada, the Becket Fund warned: "Lawsuits will likely arise when religious people or religious organizations choose, based on their sincerely held religious beliefs, not to hire individuals in same-sex marriages, refuse to extend spousal benefits to same-sex spouses, refuse to make their property or services available for same-sex marriage ceremonies or other events affirming same-sex marriage, or refuse to provide otherwise available housing to same-sex couples. This wide-ranging conflict between governments and conscientious citizens would take years of litigation to resolve, assuming that it could be resolved."
 
The study found that all 50 states prohibit gender discrimination in some way, and only 37 states have explicit religious exemptions to these provisions, many of them quite narrow. This lack of exemptions could become a problem if (as has happened in some instances) religious objections to same-sex “marriage” are treated as a kind of gender discrimination.

In addition, 33 states prohibit at least some discrimination based on marital status, and only 13 of these states provide religious exemptions, some with a wide latitude of exemption, others with only narrow exemptions. Of the 20 states that prohibit sexual orientation-based discrimination, 18 provide exemptions for religious objection.
 
Hawaii and Wisconsin are especially concerning since, while these states prohibit gender, marital status and sexual orientation-based discrimination, they have no provision for religious exemption from such laws.
 
"When considering same-sex marriage, both legislatures and the judiciary should recognize the competing religious liberty rights involved," suggests the Becket Fund. "If legislators or judges do recognize same-sex marriage, they should carve out robust religious exemptions for religious dissenters. Additionally, academic institutions and public interest groups should stimulate public discussion on these conflicts and ways to avoid them."
 
The study is available online here:
http://www.becketfund.org/files/34a97.pdf

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Canadian Human Rights Commission Head Criticized for "Ironic" Involvement in Remembrance Day Ceremony

By Tim Waggoner

OTTAWA, November 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In what is being called a disgraceful publicity stunt by political commentator and Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) critic Ezra Levant, Jennifer Lynch, the chief commissioner of the CHRC was one of those who placed a commemorative wreath at the National Ceremony for Remembrance Day in Ottawa on Tuesday.

Lynch's brief tenure at the CHRC has been marked by scandal and the Commission has been scrambling to pick up the pieces of its fallen image. Under her watch the CHRC has come under increasing fire for violating fundamental Canadian freedoms and for employing questionable methods in its investigations in “hate speech” cases.

Levant, a lawyer, free speech advocate and popular political commentator, said Lynch was not even invited to the ceremony by the Department of Veterans Affair and has dubbed her presence at the ceremony a cheap attempt at gaining positive publicity.

"It's disgusting that Lynch is politicizing Remembrance Day," said Levant. "Remembrance Day is about the sacrifice of our fallen soldiers. It's not about some glad-handing bureaucrat giving out business cards and mugging for the cameras."

"But it's worse," added Levant. "For a censor like Lynch to crash Remembrance Day shows she doesn't understand the sacrifice our soldiers made for freedom of speech."

This spring, the RCMP and the Privacy Commissioner both launched investigations into the conduct of Lynch's staff, who had hacked into a private citizen's Internet account and then surfed a white supremacist website – an action that resulted in the citizen’s name being widely publicized as the source of racist statements. Lynch's staff admitted under oath to joining neo-Nazi organizations, and publishing numerous bigoted remarks on the Internet in their effort to provoke hate-speech violations which the CHRC would then prosecute.

"It's grotesque that the woman who approved of neo-Nazi memberships for her staff would show her face when we give thanks to the men and women who liberated us from Nazism," said Levant.

The CHRC is well aware of their unsavory reputation.  The National Post has reported that the Commission paid $10,000 out of the pockets of taxpayers to Hill and Knowlton for "communication advice" in an effort to soften their image.

Peter Head, whose father David was a member of the Royal Canadian Engineers and a WW2 D-Day veteran, also issued statements condemning Lynch’s presence at the Nov. 11 ceremony. .

"As the son of a World War 2 D-Day veteran, I am offended to see somebody like Jennifer Lynch lay the wreath at the Remembrance Day ceremonies in Ottawa," said Head. "She and her organization represent the greatest threat to the freedom my father fought for."

"The irony of it is so thick you can cut it with a knife and I am profoundly offended," finished Head.

In the CHRC press release announcing Lynch's participation in the event, the Commission failed to mention the First or Second World Wars, the Boer War or Korea, but found room to give praise to itself and to the United Nations.

Syndicated columnist and author Mark Steyn, also a well-known critic of the CHRC, wrote on the issue, saying, "November 11th is a day to honor the sacrifice of soldiers of the Queen who fought for their country in brutal bloody wars Commissioner Lynch's self-serving press release can't even be bothered to mention."

The press release mentioned how the wreath laying would "commemorate the 60th anniversary of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Steyn, who spent tens of thousands of dollars defending himself in the CHRC against charges of "Islamophobia" before finally being acquitted in October, said the irony was further compounded by the fact that the CHRC does not even "comply" with the UN declaration.

"By the way, Canada's pseudo-'human rights' bureaucracies are in sustained systemic breach of key aspects of the UN Declaration, including the right to the presumption of innocence and the right to due process," said Steyn. "Having been on the receiving end of Commissioner Lynch's 'human rights' for the best part of a year, I regard her as, at best, an a historical nitwit unfit for public office."

"The contamination of Remembrance Day by this ghastly woman is disgusting even by her standards," he concluded.

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