Recent Catholic News

ABLONCZY THREATENS TO QUIT ALLIANCE IF TORY MERGER FAILS The Globe and Mail reports that Diane Ablonczy, the Calgary MP seeking the Canadian Alliance leadership, says she will have difficulty remaining in her party if members reject a move to unify with the Tories.  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/printarticle/gam/20020130/UALLIN3 CHILD PORNOGRAPHER SHARPE WROTE APPROVINGLY OF SEXUAL TORTURE OF CHILDREN John Robin Sharpe, the notorious child pornographer who successfully challenged the Canadian anti-pornography law, putting the law on hold until the case was taken up by the Supreme Court last year, is defending his writings which glamorize the sexual torture of children as “art”. Dr. […]

OTTAWA, January 29, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Buried in a National Post story today is a claim that Prime Minister Jean Chretien is determined to ensure Joe Clark is retained as the Conservative Party leader to avoid a unification of conservatives. Quoting an unnamed source, the Post reports that “While the Liberals will be happy to further weaken the opposition, Jean Chretien, the Prime Minister, wants to ensure the defections do not undermine Mr. Clark.” According to the sources, “Mr. Chretien told the Liberal caucus yesterday he wants Mr. Clark to stay as leader to ensure the small “c” conservative vote […]

CINCINNATI, OH, January 29, 2002 (LSN.ca) – The leading international peer-reviewed pharmacy journal has just released an article questioning the claims of morning-after pill advocates which suggest that the drugs “prevent pregnancy” rather than cause abortions. The report set to appear in the March issue of The Annals of Pharmacotherapy shows evidence that morning-after pill drug regimens may cause the death of a living embryo by blocking its attempts to attach inside the uterus. “Postfertilization Effect of Hormonal Emergency Contraception,” by Chris Kahlenborn, MD, Joseph B. Stanford, MD, MSPH, and Walter L. Larimore, MD, notes that morning-after pill regimens use […]

Pope Addresses Fear of “Imposing” Morality VATICAN, January 29, 2002 (LSN.ca) – In an address to the Roman Rota (Vatican tribunal that handles annulment appeals) yesterday, Pope John Paul II said the church must work to combat divorce and uphold the indissolubility of marriage. “It is important to present in a positive way the indissoluble union, in order to rediscover the good and the beauty of it,” said the Pope. “Above all,” he continued, we “must overcome” the perception of the “indissolubility of marriage as a limit to the liberty of spouses and as a burden sometimes unbearable.” He also […]

WASHINGTON, January 29, 2002 (LSN.ca) – A bipartisan group of House members plan to send President George W. Bush a letter later this week demanding a halt to the $34 million in funding slated for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). “By operating in China, spending money there, and defending the Chinese population control system, the UNFPA clearly supports a program of coercive abortion and involuntary sterilization,” says the letter currently signed by six Republicans and three Democrats. Moreover, the Washington Times reports that House GOP leaders are drafting a similar letter to send to the White House. At a […]

WASHINGTON, January 29, 2002 (LSN.ca) – The American Center for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, announced yesterday it is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take a case and overturn a lower court ruling that determined the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute could be used against pro-life organizations. “It is clear that a federal statute – designed for drug dealers and organized crime – has been misapplied and turned against pro-life groups,” said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. “To let the federal RICO statute be misused to target the pro-life community […]

IRISH GOV’T EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE DATE OF REFERENDUM THIS WEEK Most likely date is March 7, 2001.  http://www.online.ie/news/latest_irish/viewer.adp?article=1647107 75,000 SIGNATURES SENT TO GERMAN PARLIAMENT IN DEFENCE OF HUMAN EMBRYO A decision from parliament on the use of human embryos for stem cell research is expected January 30.  http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=15688

JUDGE ORDERS PRO-LIFERS TO STOP PICKETING AT TEA ROOM An Illinois judge has ordered a pro-life group to stop demonstrations within 1,500 feet of a tea room that caters to young girls 3-12. Madison County Associate Judge Louis Mallott issued a temporary restraining order Friday against the pro-life group picketing at Teabearies Tea Room since its owner works at an abortuary.  http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-abort27.html

TORONTO, January 28, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Conflict of interest charges are again surrounding former Ontario Finance Minister and current Progressive Conservative leadership candidate Ernie Eves. Ontario Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty says Eves was in a conflict-of-interest position when as Finance Minister his ministry ignored warnings that an enriched pension scheme for MPPs likely would break federal law. “Mr. Eves had hundreds of thousands of personal dollars at stake,” said Mr. McGuinty. The Globe and Mail reports Eves was among those MPPs who received the larger payouts when the government ended the old pension plan;. Eves received $810,000. See the Globe […]

OTTAWA, January 28, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Evangelicals, Catholics and a pro-family group are teaming up to defend a school board’s decision to keep books promoting homosexual parenthood out of kindergarten and grade one classrooms. The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), the Archdiocese of Vancouver, the Catholic Civil Rights League and the Canadian Alliance for Social Justice and Family Values Association were granted intervenor status last week. They will be working to defend the rights of religious parents to participate in decisions about the education of their children, in the case where a vast majority supported a restriction on the use […]