Thursday August 12, 2004

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Pro-Lifer Appointed European Union Commissioner in charge of Justice Department

BRUSSELS, August 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso today named 24 new commissioners to the EU Commission. Rocco Buttiglione, the Italian minister for European Affairs and former Professor of Philosophy, was named commissioner in charge of the Justice, Freedom and Security portfolio for the Commission.

In 2001, as Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's new government took power, Minister Buttiglione proposed pro-life legislation which aimed at encouraging women in crisis pregnancies to decide against abortion. The proposal would have seen women choosing to carry their children to birth given funds to off-set child rearing costs for the first year of the babies' lives. Moreover, the law would have required the biological father's consent for abortions in the cases of minors.

"Many women have abortions because they can't afford (a child). We propose to help them financially," Buttiglione said at the time. "Others do so because their partners abandoned them or made them feel guilty, or because they have a difficult relationship with their parents. We propose individual or family therapy to support them in these difficulties."

See the EU Commission's full roster of new commissioners:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/mediatheque/photo/barroso/commission_en.htm

jhw

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Pro- Kerry Catholic Website Says Bush is the "Antichrist"

WASHINGTON, August 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Catholics for Kerry 04 website has been blasted by the Catholic League for referring to President George W. Bush as the Antichrist. Under the heading "President Bush?", the website says "Antichrist?" and links to comments by Wayne Madsden, who says, "George W. Bush's blood lust, his repeated commitment to Christian beliefs and his constant references to 'evil doers,' in the eyes of many devout Catholic leaders, bear all the hallmarks of the one warned about in the Book of Revelations-the anti-Christ."

Catholic League president William Donohue blasted the website saying, "This is the language of a demagogue, and it has no legitimate role to play in presidential politics."

The Catholics for Kerry 04 website defended the controversial statement and link from its site. In a rebuttal to Donohue, the website's managers said, "It is simply a point of view we considered important for Catholics to be aware of."

Donohue remarked, "It is important to note that it is not the position of the Catholic League that the Kerry camp should be held responsible for this group of wacko Catholics. But at the same time, it shows how hypocritical the operatives in the Kerry camp really are."

Donohue pointed out that since a Kerry official has asked Bush to 'condemn' the book 'Unfit for Command', a book about John Kerry's alleged fraudulent behavior in Vietnam, by the same logic, Kerry should condemn the Catholics for Kerry website. "Indeed, this Catholic-Kerry website provides a direct link to 'Contribute to Kerry Online,' the official donation section of the Kerry-Edwards website," noted Donohue.

See the Catholics for Kerry 04 website:
http://www.catholicsforkerry04.org/

jhw

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Condom-Giveaway Contradicts Olympic Spirit Says International Family Group

ATHENS, August 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The World Congress of Families called the planned distribution of 130,000 free condoms to athletes at the Olympic Games in Greece "a pathetic publicity ploy that contradicts the spirit of the Games," and chided Olympic officials for accepting the prophylactics.

Durex, a condom manufacturer, recently announced that it will provide the devices to the 17,000 athletes and officials at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, August 13-29. The company is also donating 30,000 packets of lubricant to (as it leeringly explains) "smooth the performance of the world's elite sports people in the arena and under the covers."

"Once, the Olympics stood for self-discipline and morality," said Alan Carlson, founder of the World Congress of Families. "The planned condom distribution is a repudiation of that proud tradition."

The 1981 film "Chariots of Fire" offered a very different Olympics from the upcoming Durex Games.

Loosely based on the 1924 Paris Olympics, it told the story of Christian athlete Eric Liddell, who refused to compete on the Sabbath. Carlson commented, "In the film, athletic prowess was a natural extension of strength of character - reflected in Liddell's integrity. The condom-giveaway is a sad reminder of how far we have come."

The more than 3,300 delegates to the World Congress of Families III (held in Mexico City, March 29-31, 2004), representing family groups in over 70 countries, adopted a declaration that reads in part: "Sexuality exists for the expression of love between husband and wife and for the procreation of children in marriage." - rather than the "smooth performance…under the covers" of Durex and today's IOC.

See the World Congress website:
www.worldcongress.org

See the Toronto Star coverage:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1092175812165&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154

jhw

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Brazil's 3 Billion Free Condoms per year to Prevent AIDS Will Likely Worsen Situation

BRASILIA, August 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Brazilian government is planning to distribute three billion free condoms per year in an effort to stem the country's skyrocketing HIV infection rate. Experts have warned that condoms are in no way a reliable method for preventing the spread of HIV. The availability of condoms statistically increases promiscuity and risk of contracting HIV according to medical experts who presented their findings on the HIV Pandemic in Washington, DC in January.

Dr. Norman Hearst of the University of California - San Francisco, for example, reported on statistics from Kenya, Botswana, and other countries, which showed an increasingly alarming pattern of increased condom sale correlation with rising HIV prevalence by year. Unfortunately, Hearst stated, we are "raising a generation of young people in Africa that believe that condoms will prevent HIV." This is concerning because condoms are not 100% effective, even when used properly. According to Hearst, "the most recent Met-analysis came up with 80%, but even if it is 90%, over time it's the question of when, not if."

Also, Edward C. Green, a senior research scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health, told the Boston Globe that the United Nations finding of a one in ten failure rate of condoms protection from AIDS is "not good enough for a fatal disease. The way condoms are marketed in Africa and other developing parts of the world is as if they were 100 percent safe," he warned. "Condoms have brand names like Shield and Protector that gives the impression that they are 100 percent safe."

Authorities from Brazil's Roman Catholic Church -- in the world's most Catholic country -- warn that free condoms will only encourage greater levels of promiscuity.

Brazil has 600,000 suspected and 200,000 known HIV-infected individuals. Three billion condoms works out to 35 condoms for each of the 85 million citizens per year.

Read the related Reuters news report: http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5941932§ion=news

Read the related LifeSiteNews.com reports:
New Research Confirms Condoms Not Effective in HIV Prevention
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/jan/04011408.html
United Nations Report says Condoms Fail to Protect against AIDS 10% of the Time
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2003/jun/03062303.html

tv

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Pope's Special Investigator Closes Austrian Seminary Embroiled in Homosexual Photo Scandal

VIENNA, August 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - 50 miles west of the Austrian capital, Bishop Klaus Kueng is wrapping up his investigation of the seminary that has been a center of heated controversy since mid-July. On July 12, the Austrian news service Profil published a series of lurid photographs and a report of homosexual activity at Sankt Poelten seminary, involving both seminarians and staff.

The Austrian bishops conference took prompt action and ordered an internal investigation. Seminary rector Ulrich Kuechl and vice-rector Wolfgang Rothe have stepped down while continuing to insist that they are innocent of any wrongdoing, and the Austrian bishops conference has indicated that they will ask the Vatican to remove the local bishop, Kurt Krenn. Bishop Krenn has called the allegations groundless and the sex acts depicted, "harmless pranks having nothing to do with homosexuality".

The alleged goings-on at the Poelten seminary are anything but harmless, according to Bishop Kueng. A criminal investigation involving child pornography is underway, and the seminary's days are numbered. After a brisk investigation the bishop stated, "I am closing the seminary right away." Bishop Kueng, Austrian born and a member of Opus Dei, was sent to the Poelten seminary as "Apostolic Visitor", an emissary appointed by Rome to intervene in cases of "grave irregularity" when local church authorities are unable or unwilling to resolve the situation satisfactorily.

In closing the Poelten seminary, Bishop Kueng is making more than a political move. In interviews with the press, the bishop has been candid about the church's refusal to admit active homosexual men to the priesthood. He has expressed grave reservations about allowing men who are homosexually inclined but not sexually active into seminaries and said any such cases would be a "very rare exception" after a "very long examination." The seminary was defeating its purpose by turning out young men utterly unfit to serve the Catholic Church.

See former LifeSite coverage at:
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/jul/04072108.html

jmo

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Italian Health Minister Says Abortion is Basically "Murder"

ROME, August 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Italian Health Minister commented during an interview with Italy's La Republica Tuesday that abortion is essentially "murder."

"Before resorting to a violent and bloody act that suppresses a life, substantially murder, contrary to my morals, there are other ways to act," Girolamo Sirchia said, as reported by Italy's English online news, AGI. "I accept it only if the woman's health is in serious danger. I believe abortion to be a serious act, detrimental to the rights of the unborn child and to society."

Although Sirchia claims he is not intending to alter Italy's abortion law, he told La Republica that, "When I was councillor at Milan's city hall there was a resolution that was highly challenged, where it gave financial support to women who renounced to abort." The decision to give financial incentives to women to keep their babies was later adopted by the Bavarian government, he said.

Read Tuesday's related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Italy to Consider Law Limiting Taxpayer Funding for Abortion
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/aug/04081004.html

tv

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California Same-Sex "Marriages" Nullified

SAN FRANCISCO, August 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The California Supreme Court nullified Thursday all marriages performed by San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom earlier this year, ruling that he contravened his authority by issuing the licenses.

The judges decided 5-2 that the San Francisco mayor violated state law, and California's Proposition 22 -- a 2000 referendum vote that was overwhelmingly in favor of preserving the traditional definition of marriage in the state. Newsom issued almost 4,000 licenses to same-sex couples between February 12 and March 11.

Justice Joyce Kennard wrote in her decision that the constitutionality of same-sex marriage for California has yet to be decided by the courts. Today's decision focused on whether a municipal official has the authority to override state law, versus the constitutionality of California's marriage laws.

Tv

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LifeSiteNews.com NewsBytes

China Offers Financial Perks to Stop Aborting Baby Girls
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&ncid=731&e=2&u=/nm/20040812/wl_nm/china_girls_dc

Gay actor starring in blasphemous play about a homosexual Christ caught in police sting for seeking sex with 14-year-old boy
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39925

Lesbian kills her mother because mother is opposed to her "girlfriend."
http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20040812p2a00m0dm002000c.html

New Hampshire Parental Notification Abortion Law Defended before Federal Appeals Court Panel
http://www4.fosters.com/august_2004/08.10.04/news/co_0810a.asp

Keyes Urges Bush Not to Select Pro-Abortion O'Connor as Supreme Court Chief Justice
http://www.talonnews.com/news/2004/august/0811_keyes_judicial_nominees.shtml

Leveraging Sept. 11, Giuliani Raises Forceful Voice for Bush
http://nytimes.com/2004/08/12/politics/campaign/12rudy.html

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