Re: Ontario Bishop Says ‘Early Induction’ Policy at Catholic Hospital Under Vatican Review
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09030511.html
I would like to make two comments regarding this LSN article.
Firstly, I would like to clarify a statement made by LSN. LSN has stated “Children with ‘lethal fetal anomalies’ are severely disabled, so severely that they will likely die within a few months, days or even hours of being born.”
Children do not die because they are severely disabled. However, they can die because treatment and surgery that is provided to other children without disabilities is purposely withheld. It may be that some of these precious lives have too many problems and the parents, in consultation with the physicians, decide that it is not in their best interest to receive life saving care. However, in some cases, physicians make liberal use of an erroneous label of lethality when in fact there is a quality of life judgement being made. This article, by leading American MD/Ethicists, entitled Lethal Language, Lethal Decisions clarifies this issue. Is the child too broken to fix or is a quality of life judgement being imposed? https://livingwithtrisomy13.org/Koogleretal.pdf
It is evident that treatment is being withheld on the basis of quality of life judgment when one considers that in 1968, a time when the field of neonatology was very limited, a study with 172 children with full Trisomy 13 revealed that 14% survived to one year. (Magenis et al) By stark contrast, despite incredible advances in neonatology, more recent publications (emedicine, 2007) report a 5% survival for only 6 months!
Secondly, I would like to emphasize that while it is great news that guidelines and practices might change in London, the most essential change is to provide support to the mothers and families who are faced with the extremely difficult position of learning that their child might not live long or will live with severe disabilities.
From experience, I can write that receiving a diagnosis that your unborn has a life-limiting diagnosis is one of the most challenging and difficult positions there could ever be. It is essential that a perinatal palliative care service be provided for families in these positions so that they might be comforted and prepared for the birth of their child. In this way, the lives of children diagnosed with serious anomalies might be appreciated. like all lives, as the special gifts that they are.
This website has many stories of families faced with these circumstances who have carried to term and fully appreciated the special lives of their children.
https://livingwithtrisomy13.org/trisomy-13-memory.htm
Barbara Farlow
Toronto, Canada
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Yesterday, a colleague at work, approached me out of the blue to pray for her cousin who had just given birth to a full term baby boy who died after 15 minutes because of a rare genetic syndrome. She knew ahead of time that the child would die but chose to let him live for as long as possible. She got to hold him for 15 minutes and to give him a loving entrance into heaven.
Thank you Lifesitenews for providing St. Joseph hospital and Bishop Fabbro with the truth that is so plain to mothers who love their children.
Anne Waggoner
Orillia, Ontario, Canada
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Dear Editor,
Congratulations to the fine work that LifeSiteNews is undertaking.
Would Bishop Fabbro have launched an “investigation” or would the matter have been referred to the CDF in Rome without LifeSiteNews and the fact that you make the email addresses available for me and thousands of others to write and express our views directly on matters. I wrote twice to Bishop Fabbro on this matter because you have educated me and made his email available.
Perhaps now the spokesman for the Diocese of London will consider LifeSiteNews a “legitimate” news source.
David Anthony Domet
Toronto
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God and Darwin Not at Odds: Vatican Conference
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09030502.html
Dear Editor,
It is an atheistic device to pit Science against Religion. Religion and Science cannot be at odds since they have the same author.
Science has its limitations. There are some things Science cannot do. Science can tell us what matter does, how it does it and, to some extent, what matter is. But Science cannot explain where matter came from.
Take the atom as an example. We now know that there is incredible structural complexity in this smallest particle which retains the characteristics of elemental matter: gold silver, carbon, hydrogen etc.. In fact, sub-atomic structure is so complex it is still not fully understood.
The reality is that Science cannot tell us how these sub-atomic particles came into being. Nor can Science explain by which random process sub-atomic particles received their ideal design, which is so perfectly suited to the formation of atoms.
As Pope Benedict has pointed out, rational or ordered thought does not come from disorder. No wonder Dawkins, Darwins’ rottweiler, looked bemused when asked to explain where the matter of creation came from in that quizzically wonderful film, Expelled, No Intelligence Allowed.
David A. Hogg
Toronto, Canada
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Denver Archbishop: “Very Bad Period of Catechesis” in Church “Bearing Bad Fruit in Our Time”
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/090302.html#4
Although I am a Bahá’í, I thank the Archbishop for his frankness. I am so discouraged by so many prominent Catholics being pro-abortion, especially the late-term murder of children.
I pray our Catholic leaders will change. I pray fervently for that, because some of the most-prominent and vociferous advocates of abortion, including the most grotesque forms, are Catholics.
In saying that, please do not think I am critical of the Church for their actions. As humans, they are, like me, fallible, and I know I don’t always live the life I should as instructed by my faith, because I sin just like the next person.
Sincerely,
Glenn Franco Simmons
Eureka, California
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Dear LifeSiteNews,
What a total disappointment these Bishops and Archbishops are!
How hard it is to hold up my head these days to defend the church. All I can tell people is that they are not obeying the Laws of the Church. I was almost mobbed at a political rally for Sarah Palin. The Protestants new that the Catholics were siding with Obama. Shame!
In the infamous words of Msg. Reilly, ‘If they were killing Bishops and Cardinals, you better believe they would not be receiving Holy Communion!”
Nancy Weber
Chicago, Illinois
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When excommunication takes place with our liberal catholic leaders, only then will you see them change. Why would anyone risk eternal damnation? Most Catholic’s are disconnected from the Church, and the Church puts up with it. But then again I’ve not heard Fire and Brimstone from the pulpit since the 40-50’s.
Jim Fabyan
West Palm Beach Fl.
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RE: Macy’s
Thank you for your wonderful, informative email newsletter. It has helped me stay on top of the “latest” good and not so good news related to the family and it’s future in our confused world.
Tonight, as I was searching for an online wedding registry, I stumbled across a website praising Macy’s department stores for the pro same-sex marriage ads run in the NewYork and LA Times. The ad shows a large picture of two overlapping wedding bands, both men’s wide wedding bands. The words below the rings are “First comes love…Then comes marriage.” The small print at the bottom of the page affirms California’s new legislation, and promotes the wedding registry.
Wouldn’t Macy’s be surprised if the majority of their registry business (men and women getting married the traditional way) took their business elsewhere?
Celeste Dal Pra
Belvidere, IL
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Re: Stonehill College Upholds Catholic Identity: Stops Unauthorized Distribution of Condoms in Dorms
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09030509.html
Dear Editor:
I was appalled, but not surprised, at the media’s response to the story of Stonehill College’s stand against the distribution of condoms by students. This university was truly acting in the best interest of its students and in keeping with the teaching of the Church. Here are some important points that should be emphasized and were not mentioned in any of the coverage I could find:
1. They are assuming that sex with condoms is “safe” .. insanity! I could have sex a million times with my husband who has only been with me. Never use a condom and never get a disease … I could have sex once with some guy I meet in New York City tomorrow at my hotel, use a condom and be infected for the rest of my life! It has nothing to do with latex … safe sex has nothing to do with condoms and has everything to do with the partner!
2. You cannot sin safely … period. it cannot be done!
3. Perhaps any student who takes a condom from this box (which is being provided by another student freely, and is a “medical” device) should consider a lawsuit when they end up with Chlamydia and Pelvic Inflammatory Disease and permanent sterility! Does she still want to pass these out to students! Does she have a disclaimer that even if you use this medical device consistently and correctly, you will most likely still get Chlamydia, HPV, and possibly Herpes and HIV?
Let’s commit ourselves to telling the Whole truth to students!
Pam Stenzel, M. A.
Osakis, Minnesota
author/speaker
www.pamstenzel.com
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Re: Choice
Dear Editor,
The main problem here seems to be the concept of choice. Each time a government changes a law to permit more choice and divorce society from lawfully mandated obedience to Christian values, this site dithers about it in horror. However, despite the continued insistence that the government is “intolerant” to Christians, it seems odd that Christians wish the government to be intolerant to others on their behalf instead.
If you have a belief in the unprovable existence and supremacy of God, then conduct your life accordingly. Why is evangelism necessary? Why must your lifestyle and moral code be applied to everyone? Why is it a problem if other people, who believe just as fervently that there is no God, wish to have the right to live their lives as they please? Don’t allow your daughter to marry a woman, if you like, but what have you to do with the actions of strangers? It boils down to this—how restrictive should a government be? You already have actual government funding for faith-based charities. That, in itself, is just plain unfair to the non-religious demographic. Must everything submit to your religion? What if the government’s policies were based on Muslim philosophy? I’m sure you would lobby to have them changed as well.
George Fitting
Salisbury, CT
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Re: North Dakota House Passes Personhood Bill Tuesday
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/feb/09021901.html
Not to worry, “culture outpost” – no matter how hard you try, you and (sorry – I can’t resist saying it) “your ilk” will never succeed in enslaving this country with your self-righteous bigotry and perverted versions of American history (not to mention elementary science and biology). And thanks to the Internet, pernicious groups like yours can be (and are being) monitored more closely than ever. The price of liberty is indeed eternal vigilance.
Steven J Snider
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