Recent Catholic News

WASHINGTON, Apr 3 (LSN) – USA Today reported this week about a U.S. administration report on human rights abuses in the Mariana Islands, which are part of U.S. territory. The report contains eyewitness accounts of slave labor, forced prostitution, and forced abortions in the Pacific island chain lying between Hawaii and the Philippines.  Seven undercover agents investigating abuse allegations for the U.S. Interior and Labor departments compiled the report. Foreign workers, mostly Asian, are lured to the islands to work as maids or factory or farm workers, often told that they were going to the USA. About 42,000 foreigners work […]

NEW YORK, Apr 3 (LSN) – The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (CAFHRI) released a report today noting that the final preparatory committee (PrepCom) meeting to establish a permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) ended today at UN headquarters in New York City. The next stage will be the United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, set to meet from June 15 to July 10 in Rome. The Rome Conference is expected to finalize and approve a convention to establish the court, which will then be submitted to the General Assembly for adoption.  Much […]

OTTAWA, Apr 2 (LSN) – Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the province of Alberta must include specific protection for homosexuals in the province’s Individual’s Rights Protection Act (IRPA). The justices said that, effective immediately, Alberta’s act shall be interpreted to include gays and lesbians, even if the province does not formally amend it.  The case was initiated by an active homosexual, Delwin Vriend, who was dismissed from his position at an Edmonton Christian college in 1991 for flouting the college’s moral standards. Vriend was frustrated in his attempts to file a formal charge against the college for […]

GERMANY, Apr 2 (LSN) – The German weekly magazine Der Spiegel reported Saturday that female athletes in the former East Germany were ordered to abort their babies, and sometimes doped to induce co-operation. Documents revealed in the first trial involving such allegations indicate eugenics may have played a role in the incidents. Apparently, some doctors feared steroids taken by some of the women might produce “abnormal” children. Manfred Hoeppner of Germany’s Sports Medical Institute said, “During the period of use of anabolic hormones, (athletes)  were ordered to terminate their pregnancy.”

MICHIGAN, Apr 2 (LSN) – Yesterday, Catholic World News reported the beautiful story of the conversion of Richard Thompson, the only politician in Michigan who made a consistent effort to shut down Jack Kevorkian. Thompson, who was officially received into the Catholic Church on March 24, recalled that the start of his path to Catholicism began at the height of the controversies surrounding Kevorkian.  Thompson, who lost his position as Oakland County prosecutor due to his efforts to stop Kevorkian’s assisted suicides, recalled that colleagues encouraged him to abandon his efforts to halt Kevorkian. “As I sought strength to support […]

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Apr 2 (LSN) – On Wednesday, pro-suicide activist Jack Kevorkian stormed into the Southfield police headquarters, demanding he be arrested on charges related to the death of a 21-year-old quadriplegic in February, or else have his killing machine returned to him. Kevorkian proudly marched out of the police station with his deadly metal contraption, smiling and telling reporters, “When it’s needed, we’ll use it.”

NEW YORK, Apr 2 (LSN) – Stuart A. Newman, a cellular biologist at New York Medical College in Valhalla has applied for a patent on a method for making creatures that are part human and part animal, as well as a patent on the creatures themselves. Although Newman has not created such creatures and says he never intends to, he submitted the patent application in order to ignite debate in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on the controversial practice of allowing patents on living creatures.  The patent office has awarded several patents on animals with minor human components, including […]

WEST AUSTRALIA, Apr 2 (LSN) – Pro-life groups across Australia mourned today’s decision by the West Australian Parliament to decriminalize abortion. They fear the move will likely lead to legislation establishing abortion on demand.  Coalition for the Defence of Human Life president Richard Egan told reporters, “Open season has been declared on unborn children, and that’s a very sad day for Western Australia.” Both bills have yet to clear the Upper House.

WASHINGTON, Apr 1 (LSN) – The Paula Jones sexual-harassment suit against U.S. President Bill Clinton, which has numerous other women to come forward with similar charges against the President, was thrown out of court today by Court Judge Susan Webber Wright in a ruling handed down in Little Rock, Arkansas. Wright said Jones failed to show evidence she had been damaged by the alleged harassment.

NEW YORK, Apr 1 (LSN) – On Tuesday, Bella Abzug, a former US member of the House of Representatives, died of complications following heart surgery. Abzug was a strident feminist, and a key player at recent UN conferences promoting global abortion on demand.