Articles for Month: December 2006

Hudson Institute discussion presents significant evidence challenging warming alarmism

Pro-Life Group Hails ‘Huge Win for Free Speech’  https://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200612/POL20061222c.html   College prez backtracks on cross removal  https://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53466   Notorious Kansas abortionist charged but judge dismisses counts   https://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53481   Terri Schiavo’s father hospitalized  https://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53483   Pope Benedict – “I cannot silence my worry about the laws on unmarried couples,”  https://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2006-12-22-pope-islam_x.htm?csp=34   The real Anglican schismatics and bigots – By Patrick J. Buchanan  https://www.townhall.com/columnists/PatrickJBuchanan/2006/12/22/the_real_schismatics_and_bigots   When Will Bisexuals Drag Homosexuals out of Polygamy Closet?  https://www.cwfa.org/articles/12060/LEGAL/family/index.htm   The Innate-Immutable Argument on Homosexuality Finds No Basis in Science  https://www.narth.com/docs/innate.html   Pro-Family Advocates Cast Doubt on Guttmacher’s Reported Premarital Sex Stats  https://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/12/afa/212006a.asp   Doors […]

By Peter J. Smith   BRUSSELS, December 22, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The majority of citizens in the European Union do not approve of legalizing homosexual “marriage” or the adoption of children by homosexual couples according to a recent poll.   The Eurobarometer 66 examined the political and social opinions of 30,000 citizens of the EU member nations, incoming nations, and potential member states at the request of the European Commission.   Although Europe’s elites have aggressively campaigned to impose same-sex “marriage” and adoption by homosexual couples, Europeans remain closely divided, with most of the support in Western Europe and Scandinavia. […]

Says it was a civil war between traditional Jews, orthodox Jews, and those aping Greek culture

By Gudrun Schultz   DUBLIN, Ireland, December 22, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A woman who was denied the right to use three frozen embryos by her estranged husband will take her fight to the Supreme Court, the Irish Times reported yesterday.   The embryos were conceived during IVF treatments in 2001, which resulted in the birth of one child. The couple signed a joint-consent form on the storage of the surplus embryos. The woman and her husband separated after he had an affair. He refused to give permission for the woman to use the embryos, stored in the Sims Fertility Clinic […]

Insurance company injustice results in legal blurring of distinction between humans and animals

Government pledges vote in 2008 general election on constitutional amendment

By John Jalsevac   BADEN-WUERTTEMBURG, Germany, December 22, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Over the last several years disturbing stories have come out of Germany: stories about children being forcibly and suddenly removed from their homes by police in the middle of the day and dropped in state schools, about whole families fleeing from Germany to avoid arrest, about mothers being imprisoned, about intimidation tactics and threats of fines or imprisonment, and all for the “crime” of home-schooling.   In the most recent installment of Germany’s ongoing home-schooling saga, the Director of the Ministry of Education for the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg sent […]

By Hilary White   RAINBOW LAKE, December 22, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A family from Rainbow Lake Alberta has reached an out-of-court settlement with their insurance company that the CBC is calling a “landmark” case. In December 2000, Lisa Rewega, while pregnant with her daughter Brooklyn, suffered severe injuries in a car accident.   The CBC reports that Brooklyn now requires 24 hour a day care after she was born severely brain damaged and blind, with cerebral palsy and epilepsy.   The decision followed the 2005 passage of an Alberta provincial law allowing children who suffer injuries in the womb can […]

LifeSiteNews editorial

They forged relationships of mutual trust in period of international upheaval and personal trial

Militant Feminist Judy Rebick withdraws support, citing possible "irreparable harm"

By Hilary White   RICHMOND December 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The sixth annual Virginia Commonwealth University Life Sciences Survey shows a drop between 2005 and 2006 of 4 percent in support among Americans for using embryos in stem cell research.   37 percent strongly or somewhat oppose embryonic stem cell research, up from 32 percent in the 2005 survey with the opinions still strongly associated with abortion and religious belief. 17 percent believed that adult stem cell research offered the greatest promise, up from 7 percent in 2005.   VCU polling expert David J. Urban, Ph.D., director of the Survey […]

By Hilary White   FREDERICTON, December 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women, a tax-funded group appointed by the province, has demanded that the province keep abortions going through the Christmas holiday.   The Advisory Council, “an agency for consultation and study” funded by the provincial government’s status of women office, said that no abortion appointments are being booked by the two public health service-funded doctors until mid-January.   The Council’s media release was issued December 20 in conjunction with the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada and the National Abortion Federation.   Ginette […]

By Hilary White   TAMPA, December 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – When a group of teachers and sisters from Villa Madonna Catholic school tried to brighten up patients’ hospital stay with Christian-themed gifts, the nun in charge of St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital missions decreed that such gifts were inappropriate. A nun from a different order, Sr. Kim Keraitis, who helped organize the gift giving responded she found the political correctness of the decree appalling.   The St. Petersburg Times reports that the decision was made that religiously neutral ornaments that read “Joy to the World” and “Peace on Earth” were in; […]

Calls Children to be Witnesses of Christ among friends and family

WASHINGTON, December 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Catholic League is reporting vandalism to nativity scenes across the United States.    Figures from nativity scenes were stolen or vandalized in Tucson, AZ ; Millbrae, CA; Mission Viejo, CA; Moorpark, CA; San Francisco, CA; Naugatuck, CT; Waterbury, CT (Jesus was taken, but one of the arms was left behind); Fort Walton Beach, FL; Des Moines, IA; Sioux City, IA; Ammon, ID; Chicago, IL (32 figures of baby Jesus were nabbed-they were later dumped on the lawn of a Catholic church); Jackson County, IL (two incidents); Tinley Park, IL; Floyd County, IN; Fort […]

By Hilary White   JEFFERSON CITY, December 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Two Missouri legislators are revisiting the recently passed amendment to the state constitution that allowed human clones to be created for medical experiments. Rep. Jim Lembke of St. Louis and Sen. Matt Bartle of Lee’s Summit announced today that they are launching another proposal that they hope will put an end to the creation of cloned human beings for medical research in their state.   At the November 7 mid-term election, voters approved a ballot initiative, Amendment 2, that made creating a cloned human embryo for use in destructive […]

Emphasized importance of chastity, to both the men and their teenage sons at meeting

Small rural hospital put on ropes by doctors over service available one hour away

By Gudrun Schultz   HENDERSON, Nevada, December 20, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) –  A federal court will hear the case of a high school student who was silenced by school officials during her valedictorian speech for referring to her Christian faith, Cybercast News Service reported yesterday.   Brittany McComb filed suit against officials at Foothill High School in Henderson, after school administrators switched off her microphone when she began to speak about Christ during her valedictorian speech on June 15, 2006.   Nevada Judge Robert C. Jones rejected the school’s motion to dismiss the case, in a decision on Monday, ensuring it […]

Pelosi scheduled to attend Mass at Trinity College in Washington as endorsement of alma mater and her Catholic faith

BRIARCLIFF MANOR, N.Y., December 20, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Village of Briarcliff Manor officials have decided to remove their entire holiday display, including a 9-foot-tall menorah, from a public park rather than allow a resident to add a crèche after Alliance Defense Fund attorneys and allied attorneys won a temporary restraining order Friday from a federal judge.  The lawsuit and TRO motion were filed Dec. 11 after the Briarcliff Manor Village’s Board of Trustees refused to permit the display. “The village’s constitutional violations regarding religious expression in public make them look like the grinches who stole Christmas and Chanukah from the […]

Heritage Foundation says religion is good for you and your country

By John-Henry Westen   TORONTO, December 20, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Vandals in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa attacked major nativity scene displays.  The displays in Toronto and Ottawa were both hit last night, and Montreal’s major nativity scene sustained damage Friday night.   In Toronto, the display set up by the Catholic group Gethsemane Ministries had its baby Jesus stolen and lights and wiring destroyed.  In Old Montreal, the huge statue of one of the Magi was cut off at the knees, and light fixtures were also damaged.  In Ottawa, Creche outside St Patrick’s Basilica was broken into.  The large and […]

Canadian Taxpayers' Federations, National Citizen's Coalition object

Planned Parenthood conducts more than 20-percent of all abortions in the U.S., but can’t seem to keep its clinics open.  https://www.citizenlink.org/fnif/A000003442.cfm   Efforts to put Christ back in Christmas took a big leap this year.  https://ncregister.com/site/article/1635/   Vandals damage a giant nativity scene in Old Montreal  https://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/12/19/2877515-cp.html   ‘Pesky religion freedoms obstruct German society’  https://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53381   Global Warming Fanatics Warming Up to Evangelicals  https://www.cwfa.org/articles/12033/CWA/misc/index.htm   Left Apoplectic Over Dr. Dobson’s Time Platform  https://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000003477.cfm   Michigan State Program Called ‘Thought Control’  https://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003478.cfm   Only child? Sorry, no job  https://www.mercatornet.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=439   New Jersey Legislature gives marriage rights to homosexuals  https://www.cwfa.org/articles/12032/CWA/family/index.htm   New […]

Warn that legalized polygamy will be next

By John Jalsevac   Los Angeles, December 19, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Sister Jeannine Gramick, who became a notorious figure after she was ordered by the Vatican in 2000 to desist from all pastoral work involving homosexuals, has been honored by being named a 2006 Mother Teresa Award Laureate. The award was presented to Sr. Gramick this past November.   Begun in 2005, the Mother Teresa Awards were instituted to “recognize the achievements for those who beautify the world, especially in the fields of religion, social justice and the arts,” according to the Awards website.  In the past, the award, which […]

His boss is former leading international bioethicist and now strongly pro-life bishop, Anthony Fisher

By Gudrun Schultz   KIEV, Ukraine, December 19, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An investigator into Ukrainian allegations of newborn baby murders for stem cell and organ harvesting says she was fired from the case after calling for an inquiry into all maternity hospitals in the country.   Irina Bogomolova, from the chief prosecutor’s office in Kiev, said she believes she was removed in order to prevent the magnitude of the trade in babies’ body parts from being exposed, the Telegraph reported on Sunday. “I was sacked for political reasons. I demanded an investigation into all maternity wings in hospitals across Ukraine […]

By Gudrun Schultz   MANASSAS, Virginia, December 19, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Catholic colleges and universities must “faithfully and compassionately” address disordered attitudes towards sexuality on their campuses, a document signed by more than 50 leaders of Catholic organizations said, in particular calling for chastity in students and faculty dealing with same-sex attractions. “We leaders of various Catholic apostolates encourage all Catholics, united in prayer and action, to faithfully and compassionately address rising homosexual activism, sexual scandals, pornography and sexual addiction, and harmful attitudes toward sexuality, human life, and marriage on Catholic college and university campuses,” the statement drafted by the […]

By Gudrun Schultz   CHICAGO, Illinois, December 19, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A nurse’s refusal to participate in the abortion of a baby with Down Syndrome led a Chicago hospital to develop a policy protecting the right of health-care workers to refuse on moral grounds, Focus on the Family’s CitizenLink reported yesterday.   Mary Bauer was 48 when she decided to enter nursing, eventually taking a position in the obstetrics unit at a Chicago hospital. On her first day at work, she was told she would be participating in the abortion of a baby diagnosed with Down Syndrome, at 22-weeks gestation. […]

National Post again calls for legalisation despite poor record of such change

By Gudrun Schultz   BENTONVILLE, Arkansas, December 18, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Christian organizations have continued to challenge Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on the organization’s affiliation with homosexual groups, the Morning News reported Saturday, as demonstrators protested the retailer’s partnership with the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce on Friday.   Led by pastor Flip Benham, founder of Operation Save America (OSA), around 35 protestors demonstrated in front of the corporation’s head office and Supercenter in Bentonville.   In a news release last week, the OSA said it was opposed to Wal-Mart’s participation in the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of […]

Euthanasia opponent says this is not a case of euthanasia

Society's obsession with sex reflects the split between sexuality and identity in today's culture

By John-Henry Westen TORONTO, December 18, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On Saturday, the Vatican made public that Pope Benedict XVI has appointed former Edmonton Archbishop Thomas Christopher Collins as the new Archbishop of Toronto.  Born in Guelph Ontario on January 16, 1947 as the youngest of three children, the newly appointed head of Canada’s largest Catholic diocese is known as a man of deep faith and prayer. When asked once by The Edmonton Journal if he was a liberal or conservative, Collins replied that he was “someone who seeks to be a faithful disciple of Jesus and a faithful bishop.”   […]

Decried for violating Chile's constitutional ban on abortion

By Peter J. Smith   BELFAST, December 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A recent proposal to condemn the United Kingdom’s new government regulations forbidding discrimination on sexual orientation narrowly ended in defeat in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday, reports the BBC. It has prompted Christians to take other courses of action to stop the new law.    For two hours at Stormont, assemblymen debated a motion proposed by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to condemn the UK government’s Equality Act or Sexual Orientation Regulation, which it argued shall place Christians and their organizations on the “wrong side of the law”, […]

By John-Henry Westen   UNITED NATIONS, December 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The newly approved United Nations “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities” which was adopted by the General Assembly Wednesday forbids nations which sign on to it from denying “food and fluids” to disabled persons.   Article 25 of the Convention, which deals with health, directs (in sub-section f) nations to “Prevent discriminatory denial of health care or health services or food and fluids on the basis of disability.”   Commenting on the development, Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition told LifeSiteNews.com that “To cause death by […]

By Gudrun Schultz   STRASBOURG, December 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The European Court of Human Rights has rejected a claim by two elderly British sisters that they should receive the same inheritance tax benefits enjoyed by lesbian couples.   Joyce and Sybil Burden argued that their claim to legal recognition was equally as convincing as lesbian couples, since they had lived together all of their lives—Joyce is 88 and Sybil is 80.   Under the UK Civil Partnership Act introduced in 2004, same-sex couples registered as civil partners enjoy freedom from taxes on inheritance, on the death of one partner. […]

By Gudrun Schultz   TORONTO, Canada, December 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A small Christmas tree was ordered removed from a downtown Toronto courthouse by a Toronto Judge this week, who said a Christian symbol  was not appropriate for non-Christians entering the building.   Justice Marion Cohen said non-Christians are “confronted” with the tree, which makes them feel “they are not part of this institution,” in a letter issued to employees explaining her decision. The judge is in charge of administration at the courthouse.   Staff and lawyers at the site were upset at the move by Justice Cohen, CTV News […]

WICHITA, December 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An employee of late-term abortionist George R Tiller stole a nativity scene belonging to Operation Rescue that had been displayed among crosses and other religious items on the public property outside the abortion clinic gate.   The plastic Nativity Scene, consisting of likenesses of Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, and a donkey were placed outside the notorious abortion clinic, as part of a national campaign called The Nativity Project.   The Nativity Project was launched by the Christian Defense Coalition and Faith and Action for the purpose of affirming the message of Christ’s Incarnation as […]

Former Kansas AG May Continue Abortion-Clinic Investigation  https://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003409.cfm   What We Know About Embryonic Stem Cells  https://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0701/articles/condic.html   The sick must be helped to face incurable diseases and death with dignity, says Pope  https://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=7990&size=A   Planned Parenthood Closes Clinic After Clinic; Big Abortion Chain Has Worn Out Its Welcome  https://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=77542   Some experts claim that falling fertility rates and declining populations are good for us. They’re wrong.   https://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/012mveoc.asp   Hollywood finally gets it right with “The Nativity Story  https://www.usccb.org/movies/n/thenativitystory.shtml   Airport officials remove Christmas trees to avoid lawsuit; PTA tags Frosty as ‘secular  https://www.cwfa.org/articles/12001/LEGAL/freedom/index.htm   America Faces a Popeye […]

By Hilary White   WASHINGTON, The solution to the extreme psychic distress suffered by so many college women, is not the commonly prescribed anti-depressants Zoloft or Paxil, but sexual continence and religious faith, says a college psychiatrist in her recently published anonymous memoir.   In  “Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student,”“Dr. Anonymous” wrote that the endemic problems mystifying educators and health professionals, are caused by the politically correct approval of rampant sexual promiscuity that characterizes college life. The book was released this week by Sentinel, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. […]

Had killed over 130 people through assisted suicide in the 1990s

By Gudrun Schultz   DENVER, Colorado, December 14, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Catholics who experience homosexual attraction are called to face the challenge of living celibately, said Fr. John Harvey, founder of Courage, a Catholic ministry that offers help and support to men and women with homosexual inclinations. “The main challenge for Catholics with same-sex attractions is to find a way to overcome it and to find ways in which you can learn to give your life to Christ and God and to fill all kinds of good purposes in the world or in religious life,” Fr. Harvey said in an interview […]

First time "sexual and reproductive health" rights included within an international treaty

By Hilary White   VIENNA, December 14, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Archaeologists in Austria, on discovery of elaborate infant gravesites, have concluded that infants in prehistoric societies were regarded as equally important as adults.   The report by the Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and published in the journal Nature, says the findings indicate that even newborns were considered to be full members of these hunter-gatherer communities. Radiocarbon dating estimates the remains at about 27,000 years old.   Two grave pits, one containing the remains of two infants who were possibly twins, and another with one baby, were […]

Will boost efforts to gain UN recognition for sexual orientation and gender identity as human rights

Senate President says the Pastor will not be invited back.

Say's "you'd have to get rid of the [pro-life] abortion laws

Corrects politically correct redefinitions of Tolerance, Choice,Consensus, Pluralism, Democracy

By Gudrun Schultz   TULSA, Oklahoma, December 13, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An empty lot across the street from Tulsa’s lone abortion center has been purchased by the Diocese of Tulsa after years of prayer on the site by Catholic abortion opponents. “This gives us a place where we can hold prayer, and support of life, . . . and a place to offer support for people that might otherwise choose abortion,” Tim Sullivan, executive director of Catholic Charities, told Tulsa World. “Our hope is to collaborate on an ecumenical basis with others who are supporting life, to come up with […]

The above is what a lot of you are probably asking yourselves.  Well, read some of these  COMMENTS BEING RECEIVED FROM LIFESITENEWS FINANCIAL SUPPORTERS: * “The 501C3 I work with depends on the terrific coverage of the Culture War you provide. We in the States are watching Canada and praying – realizing that we are witnessing our own future if Christians do not wake up and stand their ground…May God bless, strengthen, and protect you faithful brothers and sisters in Christ.” –  Illinois * “Thank you for this service. It is my main news source.” – Swanville, Minnesota   * […]

Urges Archbishop of San Francisco and Catholic Charities to defy Church directives on adoptions by homosexuals

By John-Henry Westen   VATICAN CITY, December 13, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pope Benedict XVI’s 2nd Message for the World Day of Peace was released by the Vatican yesterday in anticipation of the day which is commemorated on January 1.  “Abortion and embryonic experimentation constitute a direct denial of that attitude of acceptance of others which is indispensable for establishing lasting relationships of peace,” said the Pope in his message.   The Pope referenced unborn children alongside victims of terrorism.  “As far as the right to life is concerned,” he said, “we must denounce its widespread violation in our society: alongside […]

WASHINGTON, DC, December 13, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A former abortion patient of George R. Tiller, the infamous late-term abortionist from Wichita, Kansas, appeared on the Fox News show “The O’Reilly Factor” Tuesday evening and told details of her horrific late-abortion experience and the devastating emotional aftermath she experienced.   Identified only as “Kelly” the woman related how, at age 14, she was taken to Kansas by her parents from her home in Maryland, and given an abortion in the 20th week of pregnancy.   According to Kelly, she was forced to deliver her dead child into a toilet, an event […]

School teaching on homosexuality must not be "morally neutral," says Archbishop Nichols

Nurse practitioner charged with two counts of "knowingly or recklessly performing abortions as non-physician

VATICAN CITY, December 13, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) –  Three veterans of the United States Catholic home school movement spent Thanksgiving week in Vatican City meeting with officials of various congregations and councils of the Holy See to discuss the positive results of Catholic home schooling. Dr. Mary Kay Clark, Director of Seton Home Study School, as well as Dr. Catherine Moran, President of the Catholic Home School Network of America, and Mrs. Virginia Seuffert, home schooling mother of 12 and a frequent speaker at Catholic Home Schooling conferences, were encouraged by the positive response of the Vatican prelates.   Many of […]

Liberal and Conservative MPs present to celebrate end of traditional marriage in Canada

Bishops spoke out against Muscular Dystrophy Association's use of embryos in research

Focus on the Family Says Bolton also shares views "on condom distribution and abstinence"

Proceeds of Spanish-Language Film to Support Pro-Family Movement

By Hilary White   FREDERICTON, December 12, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The long-running dispute between the province of New Brunswick and the federal government over who should pay for abortions in for-profit abortion facilities may be drawing to its end.   This week, federal Health Minister Tony Clement told the Telegraph-Journal Saturday that the government does not intend to pursue the matter.   Under the Liberal government, health minister Ujjal Dosanjh had insisted that the province fund abortions in Morgentaler’s facility, but the Canada Health Act specifies it is up to provinces to determine what are “medically necessary” procedures and therefore […]

Screening embryos for genetic conditions allowed; sex selection not permitted

CitizenLink says homosexuality campaign runs deeper than it may appear

By Gudrun Schultz   SYRACUSE, New York, December 12, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Catholics who attend mass at least once per week are much more likely to oppose abortion, compared to Catholics who attend mass less than weekly, according to a new survey by Le Moyne College in conjunction with Zogby International.   The college released the results of the latest Contemporary Catholic Trends poll in conjunction in a recent press release. The survey found that while just half of all Catholics believe all abortions should be illegal, that number increased significantly if the respondents were regular mass-goers.   Sixty percent […]

By Meg Jalsevac   KHARKIV, Ukraine, December 12, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Ukraine has long heralded itself as a leader in modern science’s embryonic stem cell quest.  BBC News reports that video footage they obtained suggests that the Ukraine is no longer meeting the demand with just embryonic stem cells but is now also killing newborn babies to harvest cells from their more developed bodies.    The Institute for Problems of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine in Kharkov, Ukraine was founded in 1972 as a research facility in the little known field of stem-cell therapy.  Techniques for freezing biological samples and cells were […]

"What will we do without LifeSiteNews?" - "We are right with you" - " Keep up the good work...It's really needed"

By John-Henry Westen   VATICAN CITY, December 11, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The new man in the position of Secretary of State in the Vatican, a position second only to that of the Pope himself, has said that dissident Catholics are more worrisome than atheists.  Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone’s comments were published in the December 7 edition of L’Avvenire, the official newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference.   Italian journalist Gianni Cardinale, asked Bertone about atheists who may support the Pope on certain issues such as his stance on Islam.  “If I can put it in a sound-bite,” Bertone said as translated […]

Following on Friday’s message we report to you some current and upcoming LifeSiteNews developments.   NEW LOOK COMING FOR TITLES ON HOME PAGE:  Early in the new year we will be implementing a new look for the story titles on the LifeSiteNews.com home page.   We want to make it even easier for you to scan the titles and quickly choose what you wish to read. This has been in the works for some time but other long delayed projects have kept it on hold.   NEW SERVER (AGAIN) WILL SPEED TIME IT TAKES TO SEE PAGES:  Just this past […]

Future of Fetal-Pain Bill Not Yet Decided  https://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003374.cfm   Abortion site has Catholic neighbor   https://www.tulsaworld.com/NewsStory.asp?ID=061211_Ne_A1_Abort51536   Columbine Parent Heads Colorado Right to Life  https://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000003369.cfm   Sam Brownback, 50, fiscally conservative, pro-life, pro-traditional marriage Catholic, has announced intention to run for 2008 Republican nomination.  https://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%2C2089-2496182%2C00.html   When a leading scientific journal publishes a hoax once, it is a tragedy. When it happens twice, it starts to look like bias.  https://www.mercatornet.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=435   Fatherless babies in fertility revolution   https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/10/nivf10.xml   White House 2006 holiday card is just out – and it does not once mention the word “Christmas.”  https://blog.au.org/2006/12/bushes_get_naug.html   ADF […]

LYONS, France, December 11, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A French court has sentenced a reckless driver to 2 years of prison and cancelled his driving license for causing the manslaughter of an unborn child reports Genetique.org. Ordinarily an unborn child has no legal rights in France, but the Court of Appeals in Lyons ruled that Naomi, the unborn child of Valerie Dewier and her husband, actually fulfilled all the conditions required for legal recognition of personhood in France.   According to a case precedent established in 2001, an infant must both be born and have taken a breath in order to […]

Rejected amendments that would to protect faith-based adoption agencies

By Hilary White   MONTREAL, December 11, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The First World Outgames, not to be confused with the Gay Games, is likely to be the last. The homosexual sporting event, held in Montreal this past summer and paid for with generous donations of funds from taxpayers, is bankrupt.   The games organization faces a $2.09-million debt after first predicting a 200,000 surplus. Altogether, the games lost over $5 million.   According to the French-language TV channel LCN, the event’s organizing committee is under bankruptcy protection. The committee has thirty days to try to satisfy its creditors, including the […]

By Hilary White   BUENOS AIRES, December 11, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Dutch abortion ship is in the news again, this time heading for Argentina. Argentine media have dubbed it the “ship of death” and report that the converted fishing trawler will be coming to Argentine waters to lend its support for the legalization of abortion in Argentina.   The abortion ship is the brainchild of Rebecca Gomperts, an abortionist and political activist from Amsterdam. Gomperts was in Argentina in 2004 promoting legalization of abortion and has been warmly received by some members of the Argentine Congress.   Gomperts’ original […]

By Gudrun Schultz   TRENTON, New Jersey, December 11, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A $500 million plan to finance embryonic stem cell research  has been finalized, members of the New Jersey Legislature announced last week, in a bid to make New Jersey one of the top research states in the country.   An initial measure that would allocate $270 million towards stem-cell research centers is set to pass the full Assembly next week, the Daily Mail reported Dec.7. A second measure, calling for a voter referendum on a proposal to borrow an additional $230 million to finance embryonic research projects, would […]

Criticizes hypocrisy of assuring traditional family protection while also planning to recognize homosexual couples

Special to LifeSiteNews.com by Wesley J. Smith   The discussion about selecting embryos to have a disability reminded me of a column I have in my files written by the syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman in January 1980. It is a good reminder of how if we are willing to look, we can see the slippery slope literally slip-sliding away.   In “Making Babies,” which ran in the Austin American Statesman on 1/17/80 (no link available), Goodman urged that IVF be permitted to proceed unhindered. “To some,” she wrote, “it is just a small medical step, another helping tool which we […]

Criticizes Politicians for Failing to Protect the "Authentic" and "Sane" Definition of Marriage

NEW YORK, December 11, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – “Merry Christmas” is back on the lips of many retailers greeting shoppers this holiday season – much to the delight of the 32% of those who say they’re offended when a store clerk who instead uses the generic but politically correct “Happy Holidays,” a new Zogby Interactive poll shows.   Last year’s decision by many retailers – including retail giant Wal-Mart – to curtail the use of “Merry Christmas” for fear of offending those who don’t celebrate the holiday caused a backlash from conservative Christian groups as well as consumers. Wal-Mart’s change of […]

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Calls Carleton University actions "Orwellian, mean-spirited and more than a little weird"

Six of the Conservatives who opposed government motion are cabinet ministers

By Gudrun Schultz   OTTAWA, Canada, December 7, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada is considering legal action against the Carleton University Students’ Association after CUSA voted to deny funding and services to any campus group opposed to abortion.   The EFC said CUSA’s ban would be a violation of pro-life students’ right to freedom of expression, freedom of conscience and peaceful assembly, as protected under the Constitution, the Ottawa Citizen reported yesterday. “Even though the policy says it’s endorsing those rights, it’s violating those rights for the pro-life groups that might operate on campus,” Don Hutchinson, legal […]

One was a parish choir director

"True democracy does not exist without a foundation of real marriage and the natural family"

Says, "I don't see reopening this question in the future."

OTTAWA, December 8, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Canadian Physicians for Life has become aware that some viral vaccines in Canada were developed from tissue from aborted fetuses. “This presents a serious moral dilemma to those who might view the use of such abortion-related vaccines as a form of cooperation with an immoral act,” says the doctors group. “It has been brought to our attention that legally approved and effective vaccines are available which have been created from sources other than abortion-derived fetal cell lines,” says the group.“Specifically, the infant vaccine, PENTACEL (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and Haemophilus B), contains the MRC-5 […]

"Goal is to elect men and women who share our values" says Pat O'Brien, former MP and Vote Marriage Canada Spokeman

"A moral challenge to someone on the grounds of their choices is a tribute to human dignity"

Says "secularism isn't really morally neutral. It's actively destructive"

ROME, December 8, 2006 (CWNews.com/LifeSiteNews.com) – The Vatican has confirmed an American bishop’s decision to excommunicate members of the dissident group Call to Action.  In addition to touting itself as a Catholic group working for justice and peace, the group promotes altering Church teaching on sexuality, women in the priesthood, and electing bishops.   Call to Action is “causing damage to the Church of Christ,” wrote Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re (bio – news), the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, in a letter to Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Nebraska.   In March 1996, Bishop Bruskewitz had announced the excommunication […]

Bioethics institute calls on Argentinean lawmakers to respect life and not make distribution of morning after pill obligatory  https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=8233   Numbers continue to show that Planned Parenthood is not welcome  https://www.michnews.com/artman/publish/article_15036.shtml   Activist Claims ‘Deception’ Behind Gov. Romney’s ‘Conversion’ to Conservatism  https://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/12/afa/62006d.asp   Study says malaria helps spread HIV   https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061207/ap_on_he_me/hiv___malaria_2   Hysteria Prompted DDT Banning   https://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/4/28/154924.shtml   The Left Resumes Its War on Christmas  https://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=18321   Christmas: crucified by do-gooders  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/12/08/do0801.xml   No decorations, please, it might cause offence  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/06/nxmas06.xml   Gap, Old Navy censor ‘Christmas,’ replace it with ‘Holiday’  https://www.afa.net/aa120506.asp “Secularism isn’t really morally neutral.  It’s actively […]

"Unfortunately, there was no vote today on traditional marriage in the House of Commons"

Warns MPs they must give good account of selves when they later stand before God

Only 20 of 308 MPs were in Commons for the Debate

Prominent rabbi says decision to accept homosexual rabbis would lead to an exodus of traditional communities

By Gudrun Schultz   MONTREAL, Quebec, December 7, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Canadians are unanimous that the right of children to be raised by their own father and mother should be protected in Canada, a new study has shown, with 89 percent saying they agreed “strongly” or “very strongly” that a child has a right to be cared for by his or her parents.   The poll was conducted last week to help identify how strongly Canadians (and Quebecers) feel about children’s rights in comparison to homosexual couples’ claim of adoption rights.   Sixty-two percent of Canadians (and 64 percent of […]

Ruling had granted recognition to five homosexual couples married in Toronto, Canada

WASHINGTON, December 7,  2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday evening voted 250-162 in favor of the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act (H.R. 6099).   This bill, supported by the National Right to Life Committee, would require abortionists to provide women seeking abortion after 20 weeks past fertilization (the beginning of the sixth month) a brochure explaining that there is “substantial evidence” that the abortion will cause pain to the unborn child, and advise them of their right to request the administration of pain-reducing drugs to the unborn child.    The bill received a solid majority but fell […]

OTTAWA, December 7, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Shawn Menard, the president of Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA), has acknowledged the falsity of his previous public statements regarding the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform’s (CCBR) Genocide Awareness Project (GAP).  Tuesday on CFRA radio, the station on which Menard slandered GAP last week, he broadcast that his comments about the GAP denying the Holocaust were “unequivocally false.” “Only once we threatened to sue did Mr. Menard make a public retraction,” said Stephanie Gray, executive director of CCBR.  On behalf of CUSA, Menard also submitted his retraction to The Charlatan campus newspaper as CCBR […]

By Hilary White   PARIS, December 6, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – More than 100 international figures of the art world have rushed to the defence of Henry-Claude Cousseau who is facing charges of displaying child pornography as art. Among the modern art luminaries defending Cousseau is England’s Sir Nicholas Serota, the curator of the prestigious Tate gallery.   Alfred Pacquement, director of the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris told the Times that Cousseau is a “serious figure” in the modern art world.   The petition states, “We wish to express our dismay at this attack on the artistic and curatorial freedom of […]

Parliament says ends justify means

However pro-life students must so far fund student union which has actively discriminated against them

*** UPDATE ***  University says it is “Not Bound by” the Decision and will Allocate Space to Pro-Life Students https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/dec/06120605.html     By John-Henry Westen   OTTAWA, December 6, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Carleton University in Ottawa has become the second university in Canada to ban pro-life students from forming official campus clubs.  A vote of the Carleton University Student Association (CUSA) late last night had 25 of the 32 members back the motion to ban the pro-life club Lifeline.    The motion read: “CUSA further affirms that actions such as campaigns, distributions, solicitations, lobbying efforts, displays, events, etc. that seek to […]

Echoes Chretien, Martin line, saying ""We are the party of the Charter"

Brain tissue of aborted 12-week baby used to grow cells for treatment

By Gudrun Schultz   MUKONO, Uganda, December 6, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Janet Museveni, First Lady of Uganda, has continued her strong support for the country’s successful abstinence campaign against HIV/AIDS with a statement encouraging youth to live lives of “love, faith and purity,” New Vision reported December 2. “I would not be caught advising you to take any shortcuts or compromise your lives by using any device invented by man, such as condoms, in order to facilitate any desire to go against God’s clear plan for your life,” Mrs. Museveni told students at the Uganda Christian University, Mukono, for World […]

Warn same-sex law leading to "quagmire of as-yet unimaginable public expressions of sexuality"

By Hilary White   OTTAWA, Canada, December 5, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Ottawa Citizen reported today that the debate in the House of Commons on the party’s marriage motion may be a short one. Government House leader, Rob Nicholson said that only those more recently elected Members who have not had a chance to be heard on the subject in the past are likely to make speeches.   Genevive Breton, Director of Communications for Rob Nicholson, Government House Leader clarified that there is “no plan to shorten” the debate.   Breton told LifeSiteNews.com that Nicholson is meeting with House leaders […]

By Gudrun Schultz   ARLINGTON, Virginia, December 5, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pornography is “gravely sinful” and a “tremendous moral, social and spiritual” danger, Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde said in a pastoral letter this week. “I remind all the faithful… that the use of pornography – i.e. its manufacture, distribution, sale or viewing – is gravely sinful. Those who engage in such activity with full knowledge and complete consent commit a mortal sin,” Bishop Loverde wrote. “Such actions deprive them of sanctifying grace, destroy the life of Christ in their souls, and prevent them from receiving Holy Communion until they […]

By John-Henry Westen   December 5, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) –  A new study to be released in the upcoming January 2007 issue of BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, but made available online in a pre-release on the journal website, shows that abortion, artificial procreation, and those achieved out of wedlock are linked to increased miscarriage rates.   Researcher Noreen Maconochie and her team from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine found a 60% increased risk of miscarriage associated with previous abortion.   The study surveyed over 12,000 women.  Researchers questioned 6,300 women aged 18-55 years whose […]

By Peter J. Smith   VATICAN CITY, December 5, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Vatican has dispelled any rumor that former U.S. Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger is acting as a foreign advisor to Pope Benedict XVI reports the Catholic News Agency. The veracity of the report was held in question, since Kissinger was the architect of US foreign policy supporting population control.   Vatican Spokesman Father Lombardi clarified yesterday that the report from the Italian Newspaper La Stampa saying Benedict XVI had enlisted Kissinger as an advisor is “without any foundation.” Father Lombardi told CNS that Pope Benedict XVI has […]

Bill nearly identical to legislation Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed in 2005

By Gudrun Schultz   OTTAWA, Canada, December 5, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Prime Minister Stephen Harper directed an open challenge to new opposition leader Stephane Dion yesterday, questioning if Dion would refuse to allow his cabinet a free vote on re-opening the marriage debate, which may take place as early as Thursday. “In the last election we promised Canadians a genuinely free vote on the issue in the House of Commons” PM Harper said in the House yesterday. “My party, including the cabinet of my party, will vote freely on this issue. “I know that the new Leader of the Opposition […]

By Peter J. Smith   MANCHESTER, England, December 4, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A team of British researchers from the University of Manchester predict they will finalize a treatment to relieve chronic back pain with adult stem cells within three years, reports the BBC. This would be yet another additon to the impressive list of cures researchers have discovered using morally acceptable adult stem cells.   The technique will rebuild the soft shock-absorbing discs which separate the vertebrae in the spine, and holds real hope for 12 million Britons in the United Kingdom. The new therapy, developed by Dr Stephen Richardson, […]

By Hilary White   OTTAWA, December 4, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear a request by a Montreal woman to uphold a lower court decision awarding her damages after her ex-husband refused for 15 years, to provide her with a Jewish writ of divorce or ghet. The case has attracted the attention of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association that is intervening because of the potential impact on the way religious groups and practices are treated by the courts.   In September 2005 the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled that even though the woman’s ex-husband had […]

By Gudrun Schultz   HELSINKI, Finland, December 4, 2006 (LifeSiteNew.com) – Children conceived using in vitro fertilization technology appear to have worse over-all health than children conceived naturally, according to a study from Finland.   DoctorNDTV reported in their November newsletter on findings from the National Research and Development Center for Welfare and Health in Helsinki, Finland, showing IVF children have increased rates of multiple health problems.   While increased rates of specific abnormalities have been known to be associated with IVF, such as brain abnormalities and defective urological systems, the new research showed an overall increase in poor health […]

By Gudrun Schultz   NEW DELHI, India, December 4, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – UNAIDS condemned India’s anti-homosexuality law as “puritan” and a “head in the sand” approach to homosexuals, in an interview with Reuters for World AIDS day.   These people are discriminated against just because of their sexual preference, for no other reason,” UNAIDS country chief Denis Broun said. “It violates their human rights.   The UN has pushed India to legalize homosexuality as part of an AIDS prevention program, arguing that criminalizing homosexual activity drives gay men underground and prevents their education on ways to prevent transmission of the […]

"[Echevarria's] biggest problem is that she needs someone to care about her

Charges said to be trumped up fabrications for exposing forcing sterilizations and abortions

Staff member cut the umbilical cord and placed the baby into a red biohazard bag

By John-Henry Westen   NEW YORK, December 4, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A review of New Line Cinema’s The Nativity story by Fr. Angelo Mary Geiger of the Franciscans of the Immaculate in the United States, points out that the film, which opened December 1, misinterprets scripture from  a Catholic perspective.    While Fr. Geigeradmits that he found the film is “in general, to be a pious and reverential presentation of the Christmas mystery.” He adds however, that “not only does the movie get the Virgin Birth wrong, it thoroughly Protestantizes its portrayal of Our Lady.”   In Isaiah 7:14 the […]

Dion was raised in a family which disdained the influence of the Church in society

CALGARY, December 4, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform (CCBR) threatened to sue the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) last Thursday because of slander.  CUSA’s president Shawn Menard was quoted on CFRA radio in Ottawa on November 29 as saying, “The Genocide Awareness Project, as you know, is a group that talks about the fact that the Holocaust did not happen.” “Mr. Menard has made a slanderous statement and we demand an unambiguous retraction and apology,” said Stephanie Gray, executive director of the anti-abortion CCBR.  “If Mr. Menard and CUSA do not make amends, we will file […]

The Nov. 30 report, “Supreme Court Refuses Appeal on New York Schools Ban of Nativity Display”, was based on incorrect information in various other news reports. The New York Supreme Court has in fact not yet ruled on the decision. The decision is expected to be brought down this Monday.   Our Nov. 30 story has been deleted and will be re-posted once the final court decision is released.   Steve Jalsevac  LifeSiteNews.com

Wave of Anti-Life Bills Expected in New Congress  https://ncregister.com/site/article/1483/   Democrats Pledge to Make Stem-Cell Bill Top Priority  https://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000003263.cfm   New U.S. Leadership Numb to the Pain of Abortion  https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WU06K24   Pro-Lifers, US Election Results Not as Bad as It Looks  https://ncregister.com/site/article/1495/   Bush pledges fight against AIDS, promotes abstinence  https://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/01/061201063456.e815ql0i.html   Pope Benedict’s tour of Turkey winds up on Friday looking like across-the-board success for effort to repair battered relations with Turkey’s Muslims  https://in.news.yahoo.com/061201/137/69w3t.html   St. Nick Ban Causes Stir in Vienna  https://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6248278,00.html   Campaign for a real Christmas: Religious leaders unite against political correctness  https://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23376554-details/Campaign+for+a+real+Christmas%253A+Religious+leaders+unite+against+political+correctness/article.do   Best Buy […]

BlogBursts Gain Attention on Pro-Life Issues Media Won't Touch

Draconian measure would place pro-traditional marriage MPs in serious dilemma - already one says he would leave party

By John-Henry Westen   OTTAWA, December 1, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – LifeSiteNews.com has obtained the wording of the Conservative Motion to be debated next week. Parliamentary sources have revealed that the motion states: “That this house call on the government to introduce legislation to restore the traditional definition of marriage without affecting civil unions, and while respecting existing same sex marriages.”

Special to LifeSiteNews.com by a U.S. Professional in the Stem Cell Research Field who Prefers Anonymity   Why must I die?   The controversy over embryonic stem cells has encouraged us all to learn much more about cell biology than the brief review we received in high school. I now know that a stem cell is defined as a cell that is capable of replicating itself and developing into a variety of specialized cells such as muscle and bone.   While the debate has centered around stem cells obtained from an embryo, I have also learned that I too have […]

By Gudrun Schultz   WASHINGTON, D.C., United States, December 1, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – House Republican leaders are considering scheduling a vote on a fetal pain abortion bill next week, as a test on support for the measure before the Democratic majority takes over.   While the measure will not pass the Senate, the gesture of putting it to a vote is supported by pro-life groups such as the National Right to Life Committee, the Associated Press reported yesterday. “Next year, the leadership of the House will be hardcore pro-abortion loyalists,” Douglas Johnson, legislative director of NRLC told the AP. “They […]

By Gudrun Schultz   CHICAGO, Illinois, December 1, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A coalition of pro-life organizations is supporting two Illinois parents in a lawsuit against a Chicago fertility clinic that mistakenly killed the couple’s frozen embryos.   Alison Miller and Todd Parrish filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Center for Human Reproduction after the clinic destroyed the couple’s embryos almost seven years ago, Agape Press reported Monday. The parents had stored nine embryos at the Center in January 2000. Six months later the clinic told them their embryos had been unintentionally discarded.   The couple’s suit was rejected by […]

Re-evaluation of program showed it was not offering concrete help directly to women