Articles for Month: March 2009

NOTRE DAME, Indiana, March 27, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Following is a compilation of pertinent contact information for those wishing to voice opposition to the University of Notre Dame’s invitation to President Obama to offer the commencement address and receive an honorary law degree on May 17, 2009: To contact Notre Dame: University of Notre DameNotre Dame, Indiana 46556, USAphone: 574.631.5000email form: [email protected] Board of TrusteesThe Board has general power of governance at the University Mr. Richard C. Notebaert, Chairman of the BoardNotre Dame, Indiana 46556phone: 574.631.5000 list of all trustees: https://nd.edu/leadership/board-of-trustees/ Notre Dame Fellows(The Fellows are the “successors and associates […]

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski MELBOURNE, March 27, 2009 (LifeSIteNews.com) – Archdiocese of Melbourne spokesman James O’Farrell told the Melbourne Herald Sun today that Corpus Christi Catholic seminary is instituting the recommendations of the Vatican to use psychological testing to screen for homosexual tendencies in men who are considering a vocation to the Catholic priesthood. The testing is used to not only identify men with “deep-seated homosexual tendencies,” but also to identify men for whom the burden of celibacy is too great and will cause emotional disturbance even if they manage to keep their vows. In a 2008 Vatican document approved […]

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski TBILISI, Georgia, March 27, 2009 LifeSiteNews.com) – The head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II, has come up with an astonishingly successful incentive to counteract the country’s plummeting birth rate. To encourage families to have more children the Patriarch has promised to personally baptize any baby born to parents who already have two or more children. The BBC reports that the results have been, in the words of the Georgian Orthodox Church, “a miracle,” with the country’s birth rate increasing by nearly 20% during 2008 – a rate roughly four times higher than the previous […]

By Kathleen Gilbert AUSTIN, Texas, March 27, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A third bishop has publicly condemned an invitation to President Barack Obama by the Catholic University of Notre Dame to receive an honorary law degree and offer the commencement address on May 17. In the latest issue of the Austin diocese’s “E-pistle,” Bishop Gregory Aymond states, regarding the scandal: “I, along with many other Catholics, express great disappointment and sadness that a Catholic university would honor someone who is pro-choice and who holds many values contrary to our Catholic belief. “In the midst of such a sad situation, as Catholics […]

By Kathleen Gilbert and John Jalsevac WICHITA, Kansas, March 27, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Kansas jury has declared late-term abortionist George Tiller not guilty on 19 counts of performing illegal late-term abortions. Tiller was accused of breaking a non-affiliation law that required an independent doctor to sign off on late-term abortions, verifying that the abortions are needed to save the life of the mother or avoid major bodily harm.  The prosecution alleged that Tiller’s close association with abortionist Ann Kristin Neuhaus, to whom Tiller regularly sent patients to receive the requisite second opinion, turned Tiller’s facility into a “one-stop shop” for […]

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski March 27, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The American Family Association (AFA) is calling for a boycott of soft drink giant PepsiCo over its support of pro-homosexual groups, in particular the homosexualist group known as Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). PFLAG has recently begun a campaign against an organization that helps ex-homosexuals to return to a normal lifestyle, called Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX). Donald E. Wildmon, founder and Chairman of the AFA, said in a press release that, “By issuing national press releases against PFOX, by organizing protests at ex-gay conferences, […]

By John Jalsevac WASHINGTON, D.C., March 27, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Today Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to receive the highest award given by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America – the Margaret Sanger Award, named for the organization’s founder, a noted eugenicist.  “The 2009 Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) Margaret Sanger Award, the organization’s highest honor, will be presented to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has been a champion of women’s health and rights throughout her public service career,” says a Planned Parenthood press release about the event. The award will be presented at a […]

By Samantha Singson NEW YORK, NY, March 27, 2009 (C-FAM) – As the United Nations (UN) gears up to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD+15), UN agencies like the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and abortion advocates such as the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) are pushing “sexual and reproductive health and rights,” with a particular focus on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The recent CRR publication “Using the Millennium Development Goals to Realize Women’s Reproductive Rights” cites the ICPD as the guide for its work and identifies the MDGs as an access […]

Commentary by Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, President, Human Life International FRONT ROYAL, VA, March 27, 2009 (HLI) – It is no secret that pro-lifers over the years have been greatly burdened by the general lack of support by many of the members of our clergy on life issues, but until now, we have been able to rely on the various Vatican offices for a clear, consistent and correct defense of life. A statement made two weeks ago by an official of the Vatican about an abortion case in Brazil, however, has raised more than a few eyebrows, and is causing […]

By Kathleen Gilbert NOTRE DAME, Indiana, March 27, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Fr. David Tyson, C.S.C., Provencial of the University of Notre Dame and religious superior of ND president Fr. John Jenkins, today responded to questions about Jenkins’ decision to back the invitation of Obama to speak at Notre Dame, saying that Jenkins is “fulfilling his responsibilities” as president of Notre Dame.  Fr. Tyson is Fr. Jenkins’ superior in the Congregation of the Holy Cross, a Rome-based order of priests and brothers who answer directly to the Pope, rather than the local prelate. Fr. Jenkins has been at the center of […]