Articles for Month: September 2009

By Kathleen Gilbert WASHINGTON, D.C., September 30, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The late Wichita abortionist George Tiller was awarded posthumously with the International Planned Parenthood Federation's top honor over the weekend, according to the Wichita Eagle. The abortionist's widow Jeanne received the group's Medal of Honor for “outstanding individual contribution to sexual and reproductive health” on his behalf.  George Tiller was shot and killed May 31 at his Lutheran Church. Tiller, whose booming late-term abortion business was once the source of national controversy, had boasted of killing over 60,000 children in the womb over the course of his 30-year career. The […]

By Peter J. Smith WASHINGTON, D.C., September 24, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A new study from Marquette University has found that religious attitudes toward sexuality, parent-based sexual education and intact two-parent households have a positive influence upon youth in their sexual practices and the onset of first sexual intercourse. Researchers took a nationally representative sample of 3,168 men and women ages 15-21 years old from a 2002 National Survey of Family Growth and obtained the data from 60-90 minute interviews with participants from the 2002 survey. The study's findings confirmed previous research literature, which suggests “religiosity” – defined by the authors […]

By John-Henry Westen WASHINGTON, September 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Archbishop Raymond Burke, head of the highest Vatican court, the Apostolic Signatura, has offered a public defense of those pro-life leaders who spoke out against the scandal of the grandiose funeral of Senator Ted Kennedy. “One of the ironies of the present situation is that the person who experiences scandal at the gravely sinful public actions of a fellow Catholic is accused of a lack of charity and of causing division within the unity of the Church,” wrote Archbishop Burke. In addition to this news service, public statements lamenting the scandal […]

Dear Readers, There has been a whirlwind of crucial developments today. We have been run off our feet producing the reports on these issues that we hope you will read and pass on to others. Most important, a thorough read of the lengthy text of Archbishop Burke's recent remarks, just published on the InsideCatholic.com website, reveal more astonishing authoritative statements by the high placed Vatican Archbishop. Today, we report on just a few of those gems which strongly affirm the many faithful who were dismayed over the Ted Kennedy funeral. Burke makes it clear that LifeSiteNews and others were totally justified […]

Says failure to consult faithful lay Catholics knowledgeable about politics is key to problem

By Kathleen Gilbert VATICAN CITY, September 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In an address to the Brazilian bishops on Friday, Pope Benedict XVI on Friday criticized legalized divorce as one effect of secular influences that “seem bent on demolishing” the family. (Click here to view Pope Benedict's address in Portuguese.)  The pontiff discussed the modern crisis of the family with prelates from the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, who had come to Vatican City for the “Ad Limina” pilgrimage to the sepulchers of Sts. Peter and Paul. Marriage, the pope reminded them, is a “natural institution confirmed by divine law, which […]

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski COVENTRY, UK, September 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Natalie Morton, a 14-year-old girl who attended the Blue Coat Church of England School in Coventry, died today, hours after being given Cervarix – the controversial cervical cancer vaccine manufactured for the UK market by Glaxo SmithKline. Natalie was injected with the vaccine as part of the UK National Health Service's (NHS) immunization program directed at teenage girls with the purpose of protecting them against strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is a sexually transmitted disease. The NHS started the HPV vaccination program in April last year and […]

Pro-Life leader: "Almost four decades of false prudence have cost Americans over 51 million innocent lives lost through abortion."

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski GENEVA, September 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The 12th session of the UN Human Rights Council, meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, has included continued attempts by Canada, the US, the European Union and Brazil to retain references to the “UN International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights” in a draft resolution on HIV/AIDS being considered by the Council. Pat Buckley, a representative of the UK's Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), notes that, “The international community rejected this document during the 2001 special session on HIV/AIDS.” The Guidelines, a document produced by UNAIDS and the UN […]

By Hilary White GENEVA, September 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On Friday this week, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will vote on a pro-abortion report that says that all states should offer abortion by 2015. Ironically, at the same time as Irish voters are being told by their government that there is no threat from the European Union and the Lisbon Treaty to their constitutional protections of the right to life, the PACE Committee of Ministers is being encouraged to start the development of a European Convention “to achieve universal access to sexual and reproductive health and […]