Recent Catholic News

NEW PALTZ, New York, July 14, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A judge threw out all charges Tuesday against Unitarian Universalist ministers, Kay Greenleaf and Dawn Sangrey, for presiding over the weddings of 13 homosexual couples in March. None of the 13 same-sex couples possessed valid marriage licenses. “There can be no constitutional rationale for denying same-sex couples the right to receive the benefits that are so lavishly bestowed on mixed-sex couples,” New Paltz Town Justice Judith Reichler wrote in her decision, as reported by the Associated Press. District Attorney for Ulster County, Donald Williams, charged the women after they performed the […]

United States is facing a moral crisis of stupendous proportions http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/7/13/161041.shtml   Dobson: Senators ‘cowed’ by homosexual lobbyists http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39429   Democrats Attempt to force FDA to allow over the counter abortifacient Morning After Pill http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-exec/2004/jul/13/071307919.html   Mayor wants to Make 9-11 Film Creator Michael Moore an honorary Canadian citizen http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1089756612331&call_pageid=968332188492&tacodalogin=no   Health Canada Urged to Make Bettter Dope http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1845&ncid=1845&e=20&u=/cpress/20040712/ca_pr_on_na/new_improved_dope   Big US retailers profit from Christmas but refuse to mention holiday by name http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,125516,00.html   Significant increase in violence, sex and profanity in films from 1992-2003 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=filmNews&storyID=5665263   U.S. Gov’t Planning Embryonic Stem Cell Bank http://www.11alive.com/news/usnews_article.aspx?storyid=49188   San Francisco Same-Sex […]

VATICAN, July 13, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The document which appeared in the pages of the Italian paper L’Espresso claiming to be Vatican Cardinal Ratzinger’s paper giving direction to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on the question of pro-abortion Catholic politicians and communion has been confirmed as authentic.  In a letter sent to Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Cardinal Ratzinger confirms he did compose the document “Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion.”  In fact, Ratzinger, who heads the most important congregation in the Vatican, says in the letter that the document was to “clarify the doctrine of the Church on this specific […]

TORONTO, July 13, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Canadian Bible Society is disappointed and strongly questioning the rationale behind a recent decision by Senior Citizenship Judge Michel Simard, removing the Society’s ability to present bibles on request to new Canadians.  For more than 50 years the Society has welcomed immigrants in citizenship courts, offering them copies of the Scriptures. The right of the Society to do that was formalized in an agreement signed in 1998 with the government. At all times, it was made clear that acceptance of the bibles was purely voluntary on the part of the recipients.  “We don’t […]

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Senator John Kerry has debuted a Spanish language ad aimed at New Mexico Hispanics, touting himself as “un hombre de fe,” a man of faith, according to an Albuquerque Tribune report. Although the advertisement does not explicitly state his religion as Catholic, the religion of nearly all Hispanics, it does claim that he was an altar-boy and that he considered the priesthood. “John Kerry is a man of faith, as is the overwhelming majority of the Hispanic community,” New Mexico campaign spokesman Ruben Pulido told the Tribune. “This is another value that connects John […]

PITTSBURGH, PA, July 13, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – At a Victory 2004 reception today, Vice President Dick Cheney said, “President Bush and I will also continue to defend our society’s fundamental rights and values.” To applause, Cheney said, “We stand for the fair treatment of faith-based charities, so they can receive federal support for their good works. We stand for a culture of life, and we reject the brutal practice of partial birth abortion.” Addressing the pledge of allegiance controversy, Cheney said, “We believe that our nation is one nation under God, and that Americans ought to be able to say […]

AMSTERDAM, July 13, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Dutch abortion ship operated by the radical abortion group, “Women on Waves” has been restricted by the government to Dutch territorial waters. The ship can only operate within 25 kilometers of Slotervaart Hospital in Amsterdam. Health State Secretary Clemence Ross informed Parliament of the decision Tuesday. The ship was beached in response to objections by members of the Christian Democrat and other parties.  The ship’s appearance in other countries where abortion is illegal has been seen as an act of neo-colonialism by pro-life spokesmen in Ireland where it was also called a “noxious […]

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – As debate nears a prescheduled close on the Federal Marriage Amendment proposal before the US Senate, Republicans find themselves divided by a Democrat-induced tangle. Democratic Senators surprised the GOP by agreeing not to block a proposed vote on the amendment, granted that the amendment was unaltered.  The wording of the proposed Amendment, sponsored by Colorado Republican Senator Wayne Allard, is as follows: “Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman,” with a second line that states “Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any State, […]

AUSTIN, Texas, July 13, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – New research released Tuesday by the Howard Center for Family, Religion, and Society highlights a number of studies that show an inverse correlation between levels of religious commitment in teens and rates of juvenile delinquency, premarital sex, and substance abuse. The research also found that in teens involved in more devout forms of religious life, especially conservative Catholic or conservative Protestant, there was an even greater restraint on such adolescent behavior. University of Texas at Austin professor Mark D. Regnerus found that religious devotion, as measured by church attendance and church membership, did […]