Recent Catholic News

PERTH, February 28, 2002 (LSN.ca) – A controversial bill by the West Australian government seeks to lower the age of consent for homosexual sex acts from 21 to 16 and allows homosexual couples adoption and IVF treatment rights equal to married couples. The state government’s contentious Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill 2001 is currently being debated in the upper house. The Catholic Archbishop of Perth, Barry Hickey, has condemned the bill as “immoral” and demanded that MPs be permitted to vote according to their consciences. “A conscience vote does not guarantee an outcome which satisfies those of […]

CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG TOUR FOR ABORTION   “What are these baby boomers doing rocking for abortion?” asks Bryan Kemper, director of Rock For Life, an American Life League division. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s “Tour of America” has been underway since the beginning of February and is scheduled to run through late April. Voters for Choice, a political action committee that endorses pro-abortion candidates, will have a booth at each concert, and will receive a portion of the ticket sales.  http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/temp/0228-101.html US COMPANY TO ASK GOV’T PERMISSION TO MARKET COMPUTER CHIP IMPLANT   Applied Digital Solutions, a Florida […]

UNITED NATIONS, February 27, 2002 (LSN.ca) – The representative of the United States to the United Nations Committee on an International Convention Against the Reproductive Cloning of Human Beings asked for the treaty to include a global and comprehensive ban on human cloning.” Carolyn L. Wilson said that the proposal “to ban only so-called ‘reproductive’ cloning by prohibiting the transfer of a cloned embryo into a woman in hopes of creating a human baby” is “unsound.” She explained: “A ban that prohibits only ‘reproductive’ cloning but ignores ‘therapeutic’ or ‘experimental’ cloning would essentially authorize the creation and destruction of human […]

LONDON, February 27, 2002 (LSN.ca) – In a development that has horrified much of the civilized world, scientists in the UK have been given final approval to create human embryo clones. A House of Lords committee has authorized the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to issue licences to allow the practice. The HFEA is expected to issue the licences immediately. The decision allows an earlier legislative decision to allow the human cloning research to go forward. The pro-life movement had blocked the law allowing ‘therapeutic cloning’ arguing successfully at the High Court that the HFEA did not have the […]

LOS ANGELES, February 27, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Seeing the success of a pro-abortion initiative to legally harass pro-life crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) in the state of New York, the California Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (CARAL) is holding training seminars to do the same in California. Allyson Smith, a San Diego investigative reporter, exposed a CARAL training session in West Los Angeles. An action kit from the training session suggests pro-abortion activists spy on CPCs. Among its suggestions: “When making an appointment … remember to call from a blocked number,” and “Be ready to tell them when your period […]

CHICAGO, February 27, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Headlines worldwide today were describing the wonder of designer baby procedures. This despite the fact that the procedures are responsible for the creation of multiple living human embryos which are then genetically screened, and those human embryos found to have disabilities are killed while the healthy are allowed to live. The case involves a woman in her early 30s who has a genetic disorder which causes early onset of Alzheimer's, causing the disease to strike before age 40. After her IVF treatment, multiple embryos were screened for the defective gene and those found to […]

VATICAN CITY, February 27, 2002 (LSN.ca) – In a February 25 address to the Pontifical Academy for Life, Archbishop Julian Herranz, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, said the “majority rules” argument used to justify abortion is not worthy of a democracy that claims to uphold basic human rights. In his address he said that the primary right to life cannot “be understood either as a concession by the authorities, nor can it be dispensed by them, because its foundation lies in the very nature and dignity of the human being.” He noted that for 3,000 years democracies […]

MICHAEL COREN ON THE BARRIE DOCTOR   Hear Michael Coren’s Real Audio broadcast this week regarding the Barrie doctor who has been threatened with loss of his medical licence because he will not prescribe birth control for unmarried women. Michael has some deeply felt thoughts on this issue.  https://www.lifesitenews.com:7070/ramgen/022702barriedoctor.rm CATHOLIC CHURCH IN GERMANY TO GIVE AID TO WOMEN WHO REFUSE ABORTION   Zenit News reports that the German episcopal conference announced it will give financial assistance to pregnant women who refuse to have an abortion. The episcopate will allocate 6 million Euros ($5.2 million) a year for this purpose, collected […]

Court states that individual countries should decide on the matter STRASBOURG, February 26, 2002 (LSN.ca) – In a ruling released today, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that France is not guilty of discrimination by blocking a homosexual man from adopting a child. The ruling suggested individual countries, rather than the international court should decide on the matter. “A broad margin of appreciation had to be left to the authorities of each state, who were … in principle better placed than an international court to evaluate local needs and conditions”. The court also noted that there are “wide […]

MELBOURNE, February 26, 2002 (LSN.ca) – The Australian federal cabinet decided to ban destructive research involving human embryos created by in vitro fertilization (IVF). The decision released yesterday rejected the majority opinion recommended by an all-party parliamentary committee on the issue last year to allow research on embryos ‘left-over’ from IVF. The Age reports that the decision followed strong lobbying by the Australia Federation of Right to Life Associations. The paper suggests the decision may have been influenced by United States President George Bush’s decision to ban federal funding to scientists who wanted to work with human embryos rather than […]