Recent Catholic News

POPE’S TOP 4 POLITICAL PRIORITIES IN ITALY: FAMILY, LIFE, PRIVATE SCHOOLING AND THE POOR

VATICAN, May 22, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Pope John Paul II met with the bishops of Italy last Thursday after Italians had elected Silvio Berlusconi as Prime Minister. Zenit News reports that in his discussions with the bishops, the pope appealed to the new government for four commitments to Italy for the support of the family, defence of human life, recognition of private schools, and solidarity. The Pope called for a commitment “in favor of human life, from conception until its natural end.” He also called the government to “safeguard the rights of the family based on marriage, without confusing it […]
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CHINESE WOMAN BEATEN TO DEATH FOR REFUSING STERILIZATION

BEIJING, May 22, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Sun Zhonghua, a 34-year-old mother of two boys aged 12 and 13, was beaten to death by Chinese birth-control officials who wanted to sterilize her against her will, according to her relatives. Agence France Presse reported that the women from southeast China’s Fujian province was taken forcibly from her home Wednesday after refusing sterilization due to medical reasons. While officials claim she jumped to her death from a window in the birth-control clinic, family members said the large bruises on her head and the types of injuries to other parts of her body could […]
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LIFESITE NEWSBYTES

BRITAIN CHANGES RULES TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST PRO-LIFE PHARMACISTS Britain’s professional body for pharmacists has altered the “conscience clause” which allowed pro-life pharmacists to “object on grounds of conscience to the dispensing of certain medicinal products for the control of fertility, conception or termination of pregnancy.” The Royal Pharmaceutical Society changed the wording last week to say: “Pharmacists assuming responsibility for any pharmacy function . . . must ensure that before accepting employment pharmacists must disclose any factors which may affect their ability to provide services.” Pro-life pharmacist Caroline Hubert commented: “This would effectively render pharmacists who have a conscientious objection […]
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ALBERTA PHARMACISTS TO BE POLLED ABOUT MORNING AFTER PILL PROGRAM

EDMONTON, May 18, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The College of Pharmacists of Alberta is asking Alberta pharmacists to vote (before May 28) on whether to endorse a program to make the abortifacient morning after pill or so-called “Emergency Contraceptive Pills” available directly from pharmacists without a doctor’s prescription. The College’s letter asking support for the program and the resolution drawn up by the College are considered by some to be misleading and potentially harmful to the profession’s reputation. Copies of the mail-in ballot and discussion paper distributed by the College indicate a considerable bias in favour of a yes answer to […]
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SCIENTISTS HID FAILURES IN CREATING FIRST GENETICALLY MODIFIED HUMANS

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Jacques Cohen and his colleagues at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, N.J., who pioneered the creation of the first genetically modified child by combining genetic material from two women and a man, have concealed evidence of problems with their research. Cohen’s study, published in the March journal of Human Reproduction said that all the children born by the technique appear to be completely healthy. However, the Washington Post reports that Cohen et al. failed to mention, “that the perfect record of healthy births was attained because they aborted a developing fetus that was […]
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DECHERT CLAIMS RICK ANDERSON IS ORCHESTRATING ALLIANCE CHAOS

OTTAWA, May 18, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Bob Dechert, a member of the Canadian Alliance national council and former Ontario Conservative, has revealed that the recent mutiny within the Canadian Alliance party has been orchestrated by Rick Anderson. Dechert told the Ottawa Citizen that he was approached by Anderson four weeks ago to join “a dirty little scheme” to oust leader Stockwell Day. The Anderson plot involved a continuing chain of defections and embarrassments for Mr. Day until Parliament recesses at the end of June. Dechert told the Citizen: “He (Anderson) made it very clear that he had come to the […]
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UNBORN CHILD ABUSE CASE HIGHLIGHTS DISREGARD FOR UNBORN IN CANADA

OTTAWA, May 18, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The recent case of Regina McKnight of South Carolina, who was found guilty Wednesday of killing her unborn child by abusing crack cocaine during pregnancy, highlights the increasing difference in attitude toward the unborn in the U.S. and Canada. After 15 minutes of deliberations Knight was found guilty and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Explaining the Canadian situation, Dr. Margaret Somerville of the McGill Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law told the National Post, “The Criminal Code in Canada says you don’t become a human being until you are delivered from the body […]
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VATICAN SAYS CHURCH TEACHING ON LIFE AND SEXUALITY ARE UNCHANGING

VATICAN, May 18, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The Vatican has declared that Catholics must recognize that Church teaching on the dignity of human life and on human sexuality are unchanging. In an article in the May 16 edition of L’Osservatore Romano, marked by three asterisks signifying the publication was approved at the highest levels of the Vatican, theologians were warned away from the temptation to answer questions “with responses that are more conforming to the sensitivities and expectations of the world than to the thinking of Christ.” See the Catholic News Service coverage:  http://www.catholicnews.com/data/briefs/20010516.htm
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LIFESITE NEWSBYTES

Catholic activist Gary Morella commented on the recent study indicating that abortion has lowered crime. He states “How can you say that with increased abortion comes decreased crime? This statement is oxymoronic. Abortion IS a crime. It’s one of the most heinous of crimes, killing innocents in the womb.” Canadian abortionist Henry Morgentaler boasts in the National Post that the abortion and crime study validates his 30-year old theory about eliminating the unwanted.  http://www.nationalpost.com/search/story.html?f=/stories/20010518/566819.html Zenit News reports that Mexican President Vicente Fox’s eldest daughter will help launch a campaign against unwanted pregnancies among adolescents, by promoting sexual abstinence. Ana Cristina […]
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TRINITY WESTERN VICTORY FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN CANADA

OTTAWA, May 17, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The Supreme Court of Canada ruled 8-1 today in favour of Trinity Western, a Christian university whose students were refused accreditation by the British Columbia College of Teachers (BCCT) since the school’s code of conduct requires students and teachers to refrain from “homosexual behaviour” and other objectionable actions such as abortion. The Supreme Court upheld the decisions of lower Courts, which ordered the BCCT to grant accreditation to the teacher education program of Trinity Western University. Writing on behalf of the majority, Justices Iacobucci and Bastarache said that the BCCT failed to take “into […]
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