Articles for Month: April 2003

OTTAWA, April 22, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The National headquarters of the Catholic Women’s League of Canada has been receiving many complaints from faithful members around the country who were scandalized that the leaders of the organization demanded from parliament the legal recognition of homosexual civil unions.  As LifeSite reported April 11, CWL President Marie Cameron made a presentation before the Justice Committee hearings on same-sex ‘marriage’ in which the CWL, while asking that the term ‘marriage’ be retained for heterosexual couples, asked that registered same-sex civil unions be allowed “with all legal implications and responsibilities including separation, divorce, maintenance, etc.”  […]

SIOUX FALLS, SD, April 22, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Sioux Falls’ Bishop Robert Carlson has not denied the veracity of a report in the Weekly Standard in which it is said that the Bishop wrote leading Democratic Senator Tom Daschle ordering him to stop calling himself Catholic.  Daschle, one of the foremost promoters of abortion in the U.S. Senate, has also refused to deny the letter.  An April 17 press release sent to LifeSite from the Bishop’s office noted that he had seen the article and admitted that he has had discussions with Daschle on abortion.  “I have encouraged the Senator […]

UNIVERSITY HALTS DISTRIBUTION OF ABORTIFACIENT AFTER LEGISLATOR OBJECTS In response to a complaint from state legislator Robert Marshall, James Madison University will stop providing “morning after” pills at its campus health center.  https://www.dailypress.com/news/local/virginia/dp-va—brf-jmu-contracep0419apr19,0,3341392.story?coll=dp%2Dheadlines%2Dvirginia

BETHESDA, April 21, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Scientists have found that stem cells from baby teeth can be used to create replacement nerve and fat cells, according to a report from UPI, meaning that cells “from a child’s discarded molar could be frozen in cell banks to benefit its donor for decades.”“These cells … are very capable of providing huge numbers of cells,” says Songtao Shi, a pediatric dentist at the National Institutes of Health. Two years ago, Shi’s then 6-year-old daughter lost her first baby teeth. “I’m a pediatric dentist, so naturally I was the first person to take care […]

But Plan B drug is still an abortifacient, not a contraceptive

MODESTO, April 22, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Scott Peterson murder case has become a pro-life issue and a great embarrassment to feminist pro-abortion groups like the National Organization of Women (NOW). As California police charged Peterson with two counts of first-degree murder—one for the murder of his wife, Laci, and a second for the death of her eight-month unborn child, networks across the U.S. are referring to the baby—whom the parents had already decided to name “Connor”—as Laci’s “unborn child.”  The second murder count is based on a California law that, as in 23 other states, protects “viable fetuses” that […]

TORONTO, April 22, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An interfaith coalition of Roman Catholics, Evangelical Protestant Christians, Muslims and Sikhs is intervening in the case of Halpern v. Canada in the Ontario Court of Appeal, being heard April 22-25 in Toronto.  This case is an appeal of an Ontario Divisional Court ruling that constitutional protection of sexual orientation requires the redefinition of a fundamental institution such as marriage. The coalition argues that across all religions and cultures in Canada and worldwide, marriage is understood as being between a man and a woman   Bruce Clemenger, president-elect of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada […]

EDINBURGH, April 17, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a letter being distributed to all parishes in Scotland over the next two weeks, Scotland’s Catholic Bishops highlight the need for participation in the political process and provide guidance for those deciding how to vote.  Topping the list of concerns for the Bishops in giving guidance to the faithful in casting their vote was the family.  “The importance of the family to the well being of the nation is critical, yet many threats to the welfare of the family exist in our society today, in particular attempts to redefine the nature of the […]

OTTAWA, April 17, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Msgr. Peter Schonenbach, General Secretary of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, has written Federal Justice Minister Martin Cauchon Regarding Bill C-250 – An Act to Amend the Criminal Code regarding hate propaganda.  Writing on behalf of the Conference, Rev. Schonenbach writes: “Our concern with Bill C-250 is not about the objectives of prohibiting the incitement or willful promotion of hatred or the advocacy of genocide. What troubles us is the possibility that someone who finds the expression of the beliefs of the Catholic Church on the sexual conduct of homosexual persons too blunt […]