Briefing.
From CFNews: The number of women having an abortion in England and Wales exceeded 200,000 for the first time last year.
There has been an increased figure almost every year since the legalisation of abortion in 1967 - and the indications are this year's figure will be even higher.
Britain's termination rate is already the highest in Western Europe, and if trends continue it will bypass the U.S. within a decade as the place where the greatest proportion of births are terminated.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
King Herod hard at work in the UK
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Soft-porn advert for 'morning after' pill
Briefing.
From CFNews:A new advertisement from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), depicting a semi-pornographic Christmas scene is being used to tout free morning-after pills and condoms for the Christmas season.
The ad shows the lower half of a man clad in 'Santa' get-up grasping the rear of a woman in a mini-skirt whose leg is entwined around the 'Santa' figure, set against the backdrop of a typical Christmas living room scene. 'Santa only comes once a year ... but that's all it takes!' reads the ad, implying that the woman could get pregnant even if she only has sex with Santa once a year, without using contraception.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Abortion propaganda aimed at schools
Parents should be vigilant: find out what is going on in your school!
From CFNews: Schools are being urged to show girls a film that teaches them that they have the right to choose an abortion. The film puts forward the idea that it's up to a woman if she wants to terminate her pregnancy.
Made by the family planning Association (FPA, Why abortion? shows a range of scenarios in which actresses justify abortion on the grounds that they cannot afford to have a child or that it could jeopardise their relationship with parents or boyfriends. Their choices are then debated in the film by teenagers from Northern Ireland -- when abortion remains illegal -- with a majority defending a woman's right to choose.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Policeman loses disciplinary case for believing sodomy a sin
Briefing.
From the Christian Legal Centre: A Christian policeman who objected to the aggressive promotion of homosexual rights within the Norfolk Constabulary has lost a disciplinary hearing brought
against him by his police force. Mr Cogman refutes any allegation that he is 'homophobic' as they have attempted to label him, but only sought equal space for the Christian viewpoint in the Police.
He is currently seeking further advice regarding what action to take next from CLC and we expect to announce further details early next week. Mr Cogman will not be giving any interviews to the press until then.
See also Fr Finnigan.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Taxpayers fork out to promote Atheism
Briefing.
From Damian Thompsobn: The Government is about to fund a series of conferences on religious belief - organised, needless to say, by militant atheists.
The British Humanist Association will host free public events at which Evan Harris MP (the scary Lib Dem nicknamed "Dr Death" for his pro-abortion views) and atheist philosopher AC Grayling will talk about "religion or belief in equality and human rights groups". The bill will be footed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) - ie, the taxpayer.
According to the Catholic Union, funding the British Humanist Association to provide seminars on "religious belief discrimination" is a bit like asking the Far Right to host seminars on racism. I don't think that analogy will go down well with the Association, whose President is the snooty grande dame of the wealthy Left, Polly Toynbee.
See his full post.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Everybody is Welcome - except the Pope
Action: complaints, please, to Bishop Hine(jhine@absouthwark.org) and to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The The Marriage and Family Life 'project' of the Bishops' Conference has produced a leaflet on how parishes should help homosexuals. It has very little content, apart from suggesting that the Church's usual response to homosexuality is callous rejection, but refers readers to four 'Church documents which describe the teaching of the Church and address the pastoral care of homosexual persons'. This list does not include the Church's primary catechetical document, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, nor any other document from Rome: all are documents from the English or US bishops conferences, Cardinal Hume or the Diocese of Westminster, one of them dating back to 1979. All are seriously defective; three of them have been subject to criticism by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. The attempt to direct Catholics away from documents giving the full story of Catholic teaching is remarkable, and the exclusion of papal teaching suggests an attitude approaching the schismatic.
The four documents listed the leaflet lists are:
1. Cherishing Life. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. London: CTS, 2004.
2. A Note Concerning the Teaching of the Catholic Church Concerning Homosexual People. Cardinal Basil Hume. 1997.
3. Always Our Children: A Pastoral Message to Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers. USCCB 1997
4. An Introduction to the Pastoral Care of Homosexual People. CBCEW Catholic Social Welfare Commission, 1979
The first, Cherishing Life, has a short section on homosexuality (pp51-52) dominated by the strapline 'the Church teaches that homosexual people must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity.' That is also its sole quotation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The rest of the text devotes itself to playing down the notion of 'objectively disordered' ('in this precise and particular sense only') in order to assert misleadingly that 'a homosexual orientation can never be considered sinful or evil in itself.' Sins are acts, not orientations, so denying that an orientation is 'sinful' is a straw man, but in teaching that a homosexual orientation is 'intrinsically disordered' the Church is certainly saying that it is a bad thing.
The second, A Note Concerning the Teaching of the Catholic Church Concerning Homosexual People, was composed by Cardinal Hume specifically in order to 'soften the blows' of the orthodox teaching about homosexuality presented by Vatican documents (reported in an obituary here), incorporating suggestions from the dissident 'Catholic' homosexual group Quest, which rejects the Church's teaching on sexuality (see our dossier on Quest here). Quest explains:
His Observations (1993) had been sent in draft to Quest. In full, and not unpersuasive, comments, Quest urged him to give more place to aspects of the CDF's views which showed, if somewhat meagerly, some sympathy, closer to the bishops' guidelines, with the needs of homosexual people. Nor had the cardinal taken any account of the strong support given by his predecessors at Westminster, Cardinals Griffin and Godfrey, to the decriminalisation of homosexual acts between men. This deficiency was remedied with a new paragraph on social policy which reflects Quest's concern for a better Catholic attitude than the CDF had shown to civil rights legislation for homosexual people. When the Observations were revised and reissued as the more expanded Note (1995), it was not sent in draft for the same wide consultation. The introduction of new sections on friendship and human love was not at all to the mind of the CDF (where love is never confused with sex - hence a further revision of the Note two years later).(See here.)
The third, 'Always Our Children' was criticised severely when it came out (in 1998), with the remarkable statement from the orthodox Bishop Bruskewitz, bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska:
"Calamity and frightening disaster" are terms which are not too excessive to describe this document. It is my view that this document carries no weight or authority for Catholics, whom I would advise to ignore or oppose it. (See his full critique here.)
The fourth, 'An Introduction to the Pastoral Care of Homosexual People', also included suggestions from Quest. Quest itself tells us this, adding
The bishops' guidelines were not well received at the CDF where the moral basis appeared defective and some of the pastoral advice in consequence unwarranted. Accordingly, the CDF wrote more fully and instructively to bishops worldwide, correcting moral misjudgements, disallowing inappropriate pastoral methods and forbidding support of extremist homosexual organisations. On all three counts, the English and Welsh bishops had to reconsider the position of the guidelines. In consultation with Quest and others, a revised version was drafted. On two matters of crucial concern to Quest, the moral neutrality of homosexuality as a condition and the right of homosexual couples to receive the sacraments, no concession was made to the CDF. (Seehere.)
It is outrageous that the list includes neither the Catechism not the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's 'On the Pastoral Care of the Homosexual Person' (1986), pretty obviously relevant here.
The same approach can be seen with the other leaflets in the series: notably on mixed-faith marriages, and divorced Catholics.
The leaflets also promote Marriage Care (the leaflet on homosexuality wrongly calls it 'Catholic Marriage Care'), an organisation which no longer claims to be Catholic, and whose dissent from Catholic teaching has been exposed in our dossier here.
The The Marriage and Family Life 'project' of the Bishops' Conference has produced a leaflet on how parishes should help homosexuals. It has very little content, apart from suggesting that the Church's usual response to homosexuality is callous rejection, but refers readers to four 'Church documents which describe the teaching of the Church and address the pastoral care of homosexual persons'. This list does not include the Church's primary catechetical document, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, nor any other document from Rome: all are documents from the English or US bishops conferences, Cardinal Hume or the Diocese of Westminster, one of them dating back to 1979. All are seriously defective; three of them have been subject to criticism by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. The attempt to direct Catholics away from documents giving the full story of Catholic teaching is remarkable, and the exclusion of papal teaching suggests an attitude approaching the schismatic.
The four documents listed the leaflet lists are:
1. Cherishing Life. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. London: CTS, 2004.
2. A Note Concerning the Teaching of the Catholic Church Concerning Homosexual People. Cardinal Basil Hume. 1997.
3. Always Our Children: A Pastoral Message to Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers. USCCB 1997
4. An Introduction to the Pastoral Care of Homosexual People. CBCEW Catholic Social Welfare Commission, 1979
The first, Cherishing Life, has a short section on homosexuality (pp51-52) dominated by the strapline 'the Church teaches that homosexual people must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity.' That is also its sole quotation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The rest of the text devotes itself to playing down the notion of 'objectively disordered' ('in this precise and particular sense only') in order to assert misleadingly that 'a homosexual orientation can never be considered sinful or evil in itself.' Sins are acts, not orientations, so denying that an orientation is 'sinful' is a straw man, but in teaching that a homosexual orientation is 'intrinsically disordered' the Church is certainly saying that it is a bad thing.
The second, A Note Concerning the Teaching of the Catholic Church Concerning Homosexual People, was composed by Cardinal Hume specifically in order to 'soften the blows' of the orthodox teaching about homosexuality presented by Vatican documents (reported in an obituary here), incorporating suggestions from the dissident 'Catholic' homosexual group Quest, which rejects the Church's teaching on sexuality (see our dossier on Quest here). Quest explains:
His Observations (1993) had been sent in draft to Quest. In full, and not unpersuasive, comments, Quest urged him to give more place to aspects of the CDF's views which showed, if somewhat meagerly, some sympathy, closer to the bishops' guidelines, with the needs of homosexual people. Nor had the cardinal taken any account of the strong support given by his predecessors at Westminster, Cardinals Griffin and Godfrey, to the decriminalisation of homosexual acts between men. This deficiency was remedied with a new paragraph on social policy which reflects Quest's concern for a better Catholic attitude than the CDF had shown to civil rights legislation for homosexual people. When the Observations were revised and reissued as the more expanded Note (1995), it was not sent in draft for the same wide consultation. The introduction of new sections on friendship and human love was not at all to the mind of the CDF (where love is never confused with sex - hence a further revision of the Note two years later).(See here.)
The third, 'Always Our Children' was criticised severely when it came out (in 1998), with the remarkable statement from the orthodox Bishop Bruskewitz, bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska:
"Calamity and frightening disaster" are terms which are not too excessive to describe this document. It is my view that this document carries no weight or authority for Catholics, whom I would advise to ignore or oppose it. (See his full critique here.)
The fourth, 'An Introduction to the Pastoral Care of Homosexual People', also included suggestions from Quest. Quest itself tells us this, adding
The bishops' guidelines were not well received at the CDF where the moral basis appeared defective and some of the pastoral advice in consequence unwarranted. Accordingly, the CDF wrote more fully and instructively to bishops worldwide, correcting moral misjudgements, disallowing inappropriate pastoral methods and forbidding support of extremist homosexual organisations. On all three counts, the English and Welsh bishops had to reconsider the position of the guidelines. In consultation with Quest and others, a revised version was drafted. On two matters of crucial concern to Quest, the moral neutrality of homosexuality as a condition and the right of homosexual couples to receive the sacraments, no concession was made to the CDF. (Seehere.)
It is outrageous that the list includes neither the Catechism not the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's 'On the Pastoral Care of the Homosexual Person' (1986), pretty obviously relevant here.
The same approach can be seen with the other leaflets in the series: notably on mixed-faith marriages, and divorced Catholics.
The leaflets also promote Marriage Care (the leaflet on homosexuality wrongly calls it 'Catholic Marriage Care'), an organisation which no longer claims to be Catholic, and whose dissent from Catholic teaching has been exposed in our dossier here.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Catholic Agencies latest
Briefing.
From CFNews: Two church-run adoption agencies have changed their charitable objects to allow them to turn away same-sex couples on religious grounds.
St Margaret's Adoption and Child Care Society, a Catholic agency in Glasgow, and the Cornerstone Adoption and Fostering Service, an evangelical agency in the north east of England, will now be able to comply with new homosexual rights laws while remaining true to their religious convictions.
Their success in changing their constitutions to comply with the law and stay within the control of their respective churches has raised serious questions over why the eleven English and Welsh Catholic adoption agencies have been unable to do the same.
So far, five of these have broken ties with the bishops to become independent secular institutions and one has wound up its adoption service altogether. Two others are undecided, while those in Westminster, Birmingham and Leeds have seen their applications to change their objects turned down by the Charity Commission.
There are just six weeks remaining before the agencies must comply with the Sexual Orientation Regulations (SORs) that were brought in to ban discrimination against homosexual people in the provision of goods and services.
But there is still time for the agencies to follow the route taken by St Margaret's and Cornerstone.
Neil Addison, a barrister and expert in religious hatred law, said: 'The agencies can amend their constitutions within 24 hours if they wanted to. That is not the problem. All that is lacking is the will.'
He said the agencies were in a position to comply with the SORs and be protected under Part 2 of the Equality Act 2006 - which prevents local authorities discriminating against organisations on the grounds of their religious beliefs - and under Article 9 of the Convention of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Religious stamps available
Good news!
Bishop McMahon calls for married clergy
Udate: In a letter to The Tablet (22/11/08), Bishop McMahon seeks to clarify his position: Saying that there is no priest-shortage to justify the ordination of married men for pragmatic reasons, he goes on: 'I am quoted as saying that it is a matter of justice. Certainly some people feel that it is unfair that convert married clergymen are still being considered for ordination while the door is shut to other Catholic married men. Even if this is difficult to accept, we should always remember that ordination to the priesthood can never be understood as a right - like all sacraments, it is a gift.'
This is a bizarre re-run of the 2002 incident when his diocesan newspaper quoted him making it very clear that he supported the ordination of women. This, he claimed, was false. How on earth could The Telegraph put quotation marks round the things they did if he told them the opposite? Something very odd is going on.
Yes, it is theoretically possible for the Latin (Western) Church to adopt the Greek Church's practice of ordaining married men to the priesthood, and it has done so for the exceptional case of former Anglican clergy. But McMahon suggests there there is simply nothing to be said for the immemorial practice of the Latin Church. Saying that we could have women priests is not a denial of doctrine; saying that the theological considerations in favour of a celibate clergy have no weight is. It is an implicit denial of the value of celibacy in the priesthood. This is something which has been reiterated recently by Pope Benedict XVI:
Briefing 10/11/08: Bishop McMahon of Nottingham, considered a candidate for the Archdiocese of Westminster, has publicly called for the ordination of married men (see the Sunday Telegraph), as a matter of 'justice' towards men who wish to marry and also to be priests, and towards the faithful suffering from a shortage of priests."
Yes, it is theoretically possible for the Latin (Western) Church to adopt the Greek Church's practice of ordaining married men to the priesthood, and it has done so for the exceptional case of former Anglican clergy. But McMahon suggests there there is simply nothing to be said for the immemorial practice of the Latin Church. Saying that we could have women priests is not a denial of doctrine; saying that the theological considerations in favour of a celibate clergy have no weight is. It is an implicit denial of the value of celibacy in the priesthood. This is something which has been reiterated recently by Pope Benedict XVI:
Elderly 'vegtables' should be killed off
Briefing: this statement from the Governments 'czar' for the elderly defies parody. What is the 'normal' lifespan? Dame Joan has already outlived her 'three score years and ten'. Her remarks about 'enormous machinery' of lifesupport indicates a completely irrational approach to the question. What difference does the size of the machines make? In any case, she is not advocating switching them off when they are no longer doing any good - something which is entirely reasonable - but giving a lethal injection to people who can no longer refuse.
From the Daily Telegraph, in part: Labour's czar for the elderly said she had made a living will that will mean she is 'not kept alive if I'm a vegetable'. She added that people should not be helped to go on living by machinery if they had outlived their normal lifespan.
The 75-year-old television presenter also called for laws that would allow terminally ill patients to be given fatal doses of drugs. The controversial call for assisted dying and allowing people with dementia to die came a week after Dame Joan's appointment as the 'voice of older people'.
It comes at a time of growing pressure from supporters of euthanasia and assisted dying for legislation to allow the elderly and disabled to be helped to die when they become too sick to look after themselves.
Dame Joan told the Daily Telegraph: 'Everybody fears becoming unable to speak, unable to communicate. 'That's a really alarming prospect and I think it is quite a good idea to give thought to it now and to write a living will and to make provision, tell your nearest and dearest what you want.'
She added: 'I don't want people to be kept alive simply because there is a lot of enormous machinery that can keep them pumped up and with all the organs going, when in fact their identity has ceased to exist.'
She called for MPs and peers to 'revisit' the Bill put forward earlier this year by Lord Joffe that would have given doctors the right to give a fatal dose of drugs to a terminally sick patient.
Dame Joan told the Daily Telegraph: 'Everybody fears becoming unable to speak, unable to communicate. 'That's a really alarming prospect and I think it is quite a good idea to give thought to it now and to write a living will and to make provision, tell your nearest and dearest what you want.'
She added: 'I don't want people to be kept alive simply because there is a lot of enormous machinery that can keep them pumped up and with all the organs going, when in fact their identity has ceased to exist.'
She called for MPs and peers to 'revisit' the Bill put forward earlier this year by Lord Joffe that would have given doctors the right to give a fatal dose of drugs to a terminally sick patient.
See the full article here.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Good Counsel Network carols
Local action: please support these if you can.
From CFNews: The Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel is organising carol singing in London Tube Stations, where we can also take up a collection, on several days during December.
Every year The Good Counsel Network helps to save the lives of hundreds of unborn babies. The Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel is a charity which supports this work and can only continue this work through fundraising events like this.
If you can sing or if you just wish to help with the collecting please reply(indicating whether you are a singer or collector) with your
availability for any of the following dates:
1st December at Oxford Circus
3rd December at Piccadilly Circus
16th December at Paddington(tube)
22nd December at Bond Street.
We will be there from 12 noon until 8pm so if you can come and help with some time it would be very much appreciated. [info@goodcounselnetwork.freeserve.co.uk]
Friday, November 21, 2008
Couple who smack may adopt
A victory for common sense and parental rights.
From CFNews: A court has ruled in favour of a couple who had appealed a decision by a local council to bar them from adopting a baby girl on the grounds that they sometimes used spanking to discipline their son. The court called the council's decision 'bordering on the bizarre' and has ordered that the couple be reconsidered for adoption.
The couple, identified only as Mr. and Mrs. A, have an adopted son and had applied to the Newham county council in east London to adopt his baby sister. They were refused when Mr. A admitted to using corporal punishment in rearing his son. The couple's barrister said that the Newham council's decision violated the family's human rights, and that their son would now unjustly grow up without his sister. The couple are experienced foster parents and have taken in children from all over London.
UN still funding forced abortion in China
Briefing.
From CFNews:The Population Research Institute, whose groundbreaking investigation in China led the Bush administration to cut funding to the U.N. Population Fund for the past seven years, stands by its accusation that the UNFPA was--and is--involved in coercive abortions in China.
'Our investigation remains valid,' says Colin Mason, PRI's media director. 'We put boots on the ground, and made the results available to anyone who wanted them. Those who would disregard our findings show an appalling lack of respect for human rights.'
Here's their video on the subject.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Pope Benedict: Church buildings should be honoured
Briefing: wreckers, please note.
From Zenit: It is important that the community take 'special care' of the church building in which it gathers to pray, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope said this Sunday during his Angelus address for the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, which was built following the Edict of Milan in 313.
'[T]oday's feast celebrates a mystery that is always relevant: God's desire to build a spiritual temple in the world, a community that worships him in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23-24). But this observance also reminds us of the importance of the material buildings in which the community gathers to celebrate the praises of God,' the Holy Father explained.
The Pope said this Sunday during his Angelus address for the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, which was built following the Edict of Milan in 313.
'[T]oday's feast celebrates a mystery that is always relevant: God's desire to build a spiritual temple in the world, a community that worships him in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23-24). But this observance also reminds us of the importance of the material buildings in which the community gathers to celebrate the praises of God,' the Holy Father explained.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Copmpulsory Sex Ed at Primary and Secondary Schools
So says the Government: but it's ok, because (they tell the Telegraph) they won't coerce girls into having contraceptive injections. Oh, so they were thinking of doing that? Certainly, it would fit right in with the project: if you think contraception is the way to cut teenage pregnancy, and sex ed fails, then obviously the next step is to to use stronger measures to get children onto it. Perhaps we can look forward to it being implemented in a year or so, with the Conservatives' agreement.
H-T John Smeaton.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Chritianophobic hate-speach promoted at the Welsh Assembly
Action: Welsh readers should complain. 'All I preach is deicide'? The combination of ridicule of religious beliefs with with attacks on believers would make this work indefensible if the religion in question were not Christianity. It is now being promoted by the Welsh Culture Secretary in a reading at the Welsh Assembly: this is a kind of official endorsement. Email Peter Black, the culture secretary, and ">your own Assembly Member.
From Christian Voice: WELSH LIBDEMS BECOME THE 'INSULT JESUS' PARTY.
Dated 10.40am 14th November 2008
The decision by Peter Black AM to invite the poet Patrick Jones to insult Jesus Christ in the National Assembly has been condemned by a Christian prayer and lobby group.
Christian Voice described the event, due to be held on 11th December, as a disgrace to the Assembly itself. The Waterstone's bookshop in Cardiff cancelled a reading of Jones' poetry on Wednesday night. after a 24-hour campaign by Christian Voice, whose members emailed and phoned the store to complain. At no time did Christian Voice make any threat of disruption to Waterstone's, who took the decision themselves.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Hollis criticised for call to legalise brothels
A year ago Bishop Hollis of Portsmouth made widely criticised remarks on how brothels should be legalised for the sake of the prostitutes. The question, from a Catholic point of view, is whether the state should tolerate this evil for the sake of the common good: ie whether the law causes more harm than good. Hollis' judgement that it does ignores (1) the experience of Sweden, where prostitution has been much more effectively suppressed by focusing efforts on prosecuting clients, rather than the prostitutes, (2) the current situation in England, where brothels are de facto tolerated already, and (3) the reality of prostitution as the most appalling kind of exploitation of women.
PORTSMOUTH, UK, November 15, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Anti-trafficking organizations have demanded the resignation of Portsmouth Catholic bishop Crispian Hollis after he told media of his support for the legalization of brothels. He made his comments in response to a resolution passed by the Hampshire branch of the Women's Institute, the UK's largest women's organization, calling on the government to legalize brothels.
Hollis, whose diocese covers Hampshire, told media last weekend, "If you are going to take a pragmatic view and say prostitution happens, I think there's a need to make sure it's as well-regulated as possible for the health of people involved and for the safety of the ladies themselves."
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Hybrid embryos today, the old and sick tomorrow
The agenda of death goes on. Last week the Queen signed the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act: not for the first time, breaking her Coronation Oath.
She was asked
Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel?
She replied 'I will'.
But hey, 1952 was a long time ago, maybe she's forgotten.
But hey, 1952 was a long time ago, maybe she's forgotten.
The merchants of death will not leave matters there, however: new attempts will be made to extend (note: not legalise) involuntary as well as voluntary euthanasia. The legal situation now (following first the Bland Judgement and then the Mental Capacity Act 2005) is that doctors can and sometimes must starve and dehydrate incapacitated patients to death - patients who obviously cannot consent to this. The horrible and lingering death this produces is the ideal argument, the proponents of euthanasia believe, for introducing the killing of patients by lethal injection.
John Smeaton reminds us:
SPUC has frequently quoted Dr Helga Kuhse, the utilitarian bioethicist, who as then-president of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies, said in 1984:
"If we can get people to accept the removal of all treatment and care--especially the removal of food and fluids--they will see what a painful way this is to die and then, in the patient's best interests, they will accept the lethal injection".
"If we can get people to accept the removal of all treatment and care--especially the removal of food and fluids--they will see what a painful way this is to die and then, in the patient's best interests, they will accept the lethal injection".
Lord Joffe is again going to seek to bring a bill to Parliament, and neither Labour nor the Conservatives have any principled objection to it - which is why the Mental Capacity Act got through with so little opposition.
So, although we won the Joffe battle last time, be prepared for another fight - under less favourable conditions.
See his full post.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Christian Ecology Link: dossier
Christian Ecology Link is a non-denomenational group, so we aren't going to go into detail on its history or structure. It encourages Catholic membership (it has a 'Catholic Team', 'Catholic Resources' etc.), and it is listed as an 'Ecumenical Partner' on the 'livesimply' list of members. The question is whether Catholics can in conscience join, support, or promote this group (as livesimply does: see our dossier on them).
This is one of the acts of the Bush administration upon which it can congratulate itself: no funding to bribe or bully men into sterilisations in India; no money for forced abortions in China. But CEL clearly thinks this is a bad thing - basing their reasoning on the claims of the most fanatical abortion-pushing group in the world, the IPPF, that, contrary to all the evidence, increased access to contraception reduces the number of abortions.
Wednesday 25 October 2006.
China's notorious “single child” policy has prevented over 400 million births. The average birth rate is now 1.8 children per couple as compared with 6 per couple before the policy was introduced. Nevertheless, according to Zhaio Baige, vice-minister of the National Population & Family Planning Commission, “the basic fact is that we have over 1.3 billion people in China (increasing to 1.5 billion by 2035) accounting for over 22% of the world's population, while we have only 7% of the world's arable land.” As to population policy, she says: “We are introducing a system in the countryside to encourage people to obey the family policy plan, granting economic rewards rather than punishing people who break the rules.” It combines free contraception services for rural women, with sensitive local economic assistance, such as micro-loans for communities in the remote countryside, which can help them stay on their land and make a living from it. But she admits there are difficulties. “How should we promote proper contraception without offending women's rights? That will be a great challenge to our work.” “Ultimately” she says “the solution to China's environmental problem is closely linked to its population situation. We realise that China's population and environmental concerns are the world's concerns, and we are willing to take responsibility and share our experience of solving the problems with the rest of the world.”
Despite the use of the word 'notorious', China's policy is being presented in a positive light. A little adjustment, perhaps, would be good - but overall it is 'responsible'. But abortion, even when bullying and bribery are used instead of inprisonment and coercion, always harms women.
Wedneday 30th July 2008
According to Professor John Guillebaud, Emeritus Professor Family Planning & Reproductive Health at University College, London, “Family planning could provide more benefits to more people at less cost than any other single ‘technology’ available to the human race.” There are three possible solutions to climate change:
-Better technology. But all known renewable energy sources - wind, waves, tides, solar and biological – have their adverse impacts. They also lack the power density of fossil fuels.
- Reduced consumption. But poor people very reasonably aspire to leave poverty – which can only be done by consuming more, so producing more greenhouse gases.
-Fewer humans doing the consuming. The only remaining solution. Voluntary, accessible contraception is NOT a substitute for reduced consumption assisted by technology. It’s just the much-neglected other side of the same coin.
Yet talk about population within the Church and within aid agencies is largely taboo – “the elephant in the room that we don’t want to talk about.” “Compulsion, whether overt or covert, is wrong. Let’s just ensure that every woman who now wants a modern contraceptive method has easy access to it.”
If contraception is the answer, it must be a stupid question: how to save the planet from an imaginary population crisis.
-Better technology. But all known renewable energy sources - wind, waves, tides, solar and biological – have their adverse impacts. They also lack the power density of fossil fuels.
- Reduced consumption. But poor people very reasonably aspire to leave poverty – which can only be done by consuming more, so producing more greenhouse gases.
-Fewer humans doing the consuming. The only remaining solution. Voluntary, accessible contraception is NOT a substitute for reduced consumption assisted by technology. It’s just the much-neglected other side of the same coin.
Yet talk about population within the Church and within aid agencies is largely taboo – “the elephant in the room that we don’t want to talk about.” “Compulsion, whether overt or covert, is wrong. Let’s just ensure that every woman who now wants a modern contraceptive method has easy access to it.”
If contraception is the answer, it must be a stupid question: how to save the planet from an imaginary population crisis.
Other clues to their attitude are to be found in their newsletter, Green Christians. It is no surprise that they have attracted to their fold cradle Catholics who dissent from Humanae Vitae: the Winter 200/01 issue contains an article by one such, Michael O'Gara. O'Gara explained that he first dissented from it because of what he took to be the self-contradictory teaching of Paul VI: no to contraception, yes to periodic abstinence for good reasons. (Clearly he's not a great logician.) It was after this that he became involved in 'Christian' ecologists (see here).
The Spring/Summer 2008 issue treated its readers to an article by Professor John Guillebaud, who rejoices in the most revolting claim to fame (see here):
I decided, over 40 years ago and probably uniquely among doctors anywhere in the world, to specialise in contraception including surgery (our clinic in Oxford has done >39,000 vasectomies to date!) on environmental grounds.
The attitude to the human body, to women, and to unborn life, evidenced by CEL's publications is not only grossly immoral, but it is something they are willing and indeed eager to foist on unwilling people, such as Islamic countries in the developing world. It is wrong for Catholics to be invovled in this organisation, and hypocritical for organisations such as 'livesimply', who use Catholics' donations and the Church's network, to give them support.
Clare Short invitation withdrawn by Catholic school
A great victory for faithful Catholics.
From the Catholic Herald (14/11/08), in part: St Paul's School for Girls in Edgbaston, Birmingham, had invited former Labour Minister Miss Short, an old girl, to be guest of honour at an awards ceremony today.
But her invitation was retracted following vociferous complaints from parents and priests of the Birmingham Oratory, who objected to her voting record on abortion and her support for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.
Why do these 'Catholic' MPs think they will still be welcomed in Catholic institutions having just voted for the most horrific laws? And why do those entrusted with the stewardship of Catholic institutions think it would appropriate to invite them? Perhaps this is beginning to change. Well done to Jackie Parkes, all the parents of the school, and to the priests of the Birmingham Oratory.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Dossier: The Archbishop Romero Trust
What have Oscar Romero, CAFOD, and homosexual activists got in common?
'Justice and Peace' groups naturally see the Servant of God Archbishop Romero, perhaps soon to be beatified, as a hero for speaking out against government human-rights abuses. Unfortunately, they focus their own work on getting parishes to buy 'Fair Trade' products while our own goverment is forcing adoption agencies to give children to gay couples, allowing scientists to create human-animal hybrids, and promoting abortion for 12-year-olds.
But that is not enough. The Romero Trust, which has the laudible aim of promoting knowledge and awareness of the life and work of Archbishop Romero, is Chaired by Julian Filochowski, a former CAFOD director and civil partner of gay activist Martin Pendergast: an irony noted by Fr Tim Finnigan. The Mass celebrating their civil union caused a storm; a book edited by Filochowski in honour of the relationship is full of attacks on the Church: see here.
The use of Romero by these militant gay activists gives them opportunities for promoting the gay agenda through the activities of the Romero Trust. This might seem a difficult trick to pull off, but Martin Pendergast tells us himself that a Mass in honour of Romero in 2005 also marked World AIDS Day. Naturally, this is not a day dedicated to suggesting to 'active' homosexuals that they stop their immoral and self-destructive behaviour: it has been so completely taken over by the gay lobby that this year its theme was ending 'HIV prejudice'.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Bishop Hollis 'clarifies' support for Obama
A victory for faithful Catholics! We blogged about this on Tuesday 11th, John Smeaton on Wednesday and Damian Thompson on Thursday, and now Hollis has raised the white flag. Yes, he is thrilled that the most pro-abortion politician in America has been elected President, but he rejects the pro-abortion stuff. Oh, of course, how could we have been so sill?
From the Diocesan web-page:
Barack Obama: A Clarification
I would like to add some words to the statement that I issued last week on the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America.
I genuinely welcome his election because he represents such a different political profile from that of President Bush. America – and the world – needs that political change and will benefit from it.
However, I am aware of what he has said about abortion and about the so-called freedom of choice and I deplore his words. There is no way in which I endorse his position on these crucial “life” matters, nor, as a Catholic bishop, could I ever do so.
Perhaps it’s naïve to say this but I hope and pray that the realities of the political process will mean that he has to temper his personal policies on these all important life issues and pay serious attention to the outrage with which many view his “life” agenda.
Bishop Crispian Hollis
Crown Prosecution Service stops prosecution in blasphemous statue case
Briefing
From the Christian Legal Centre: Emily Mapfuwa has been denied the right to bring a private prosecution against the Baltic Flour Mills Visual Arts Trust for displaying a traditional statue of Jesus with a grossly oversized phallus. When the Crown Prosecution Service
(CPS) discovered Emily Mapfuwa was going to bring a private prosecution they considered the case for over a month and then decided to take over the case in order to drop it.
They base their decision on the following: there was a sign outside the exhibition warning that the content of the artwork might be considered offensive, that a defence based on freedom of expression was likely to succeed and that there was no public disorder.
Gay fascists storm Californian church
Briefing: the gay lobby in California is furious that it lost the battle to stop 'Proposition 8', a referendum voted on at the same time as the Presidential election, which defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Proposition 8 became necessary when liberal judges in California decides that, although no one had noticed until now, the state constitution allowed gay marriages.
The reaction of the gay lobby is violence, notably death threats, violent protests, and the disruption of the services of churches which supported Proposition 8. Several other states have passed similar laws by referendum, either in the most recent election or in previous years. It is important to remember that what these laws are seeking to do is simply to maintain what has always been the case, that the legal definition of marriage refers to the natural institution of a life-long commitment between a man and a woman suited to the procreation and raising of children. This huge outburst of anger is at a set-back to the progress of their agenda. If they won this battle they would simply move on to the next item - insisting that home-schooled children are given more homosexual propaganda, say, or reducing the age of consent to below puberty.
One group whose support they can rely on is the US media - and no doubt the BBC as well - who are declining to report this fairly, or even at all. Imagine the outrage if these were white supremicists. All the pictures on news services seem to be of respectable-looking gays peacefully holding banners. And yet they are defacing Mormon temples and invading churches shouting 'Jesus was gay'.
H-t to Cathcon.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Blasphemy for sale at Waterstones
Briefing: we don't normally get involved in books, which are intrinsically less public than, for example, a statue in a public gallery, or a television broadcast. But there are a couple of interesting features to this.
The Welsh 'poet' Patrick Jones has published a book , 'Darkness is Where the Stars Are', which attacks Christianity and contains at least one blasphemous passage about sex and Our Lord. The Evangelical group 'Christian Voice' was planning to protest at a reading he was going to give in the Cardiff branch of Waterstones, and the event was cancelled. The PA of the Managing Director of Waterstones told them 'It is not appropriate for our stores to host events that are potentially disruptive'.
With this success won without a fight, Christian Voice are suggesting a number of options to thier supporters, including the boycotting of Waterstones. Here's another of their options:
One of the poems in the book includes the blasphemous line: "just like mary magdelene (sic), i f****d jesus"
You can find the book on the shelves at your local Waterstones, look for the offending words, which Patrick Jones has helpfully told me are in the poem 'Hymn', and if it causes you harassment, alarm or distress, contrary to Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, make a note of the facts and report the matter to your local police.
Yes, this sounds a bit mad, but the law is there, it has been made stronger and stronger in the context of harrassment to homosexuals and Muslims, the potential it has for persecuting Christians is immense, and possibly the best way to get it changed is to show how it can be used by Christians themselves.
Furthermore, the reaction of Waterstones indicates that the feelings of Christians cannot always be ignored. We shall see what happens if Christian Voice supporters report their distress to the police.
LiveSimply: dossier
'Livesimply', founded in 2006, is the achingly right-on project, constantly promoted by aging trendies in the Church's bureacracy, to replace genuine Catholic social teaching and concern for the worst off (which surely includes the victims of abortion) with a series of platitudes about saving water and recycling. Not that they are very open about being Catholic - this emerges only after considerable searching of the website - but it is the creaking structures of the Bishops' Conference and their friends who supply the lion's share of supporters and finance, and it is the time and resources of Catholic parishes and individuals which they wish to tap.
This is what they say about themselves:
Economic growth that tramples on the rights of the poor is not progress. The accumulation of riches at the expense of people and the environment is not true wealth.
We can choose to live in a way that puts us back in touch with what really matters.We can help create a world where human dignity is respected and people in developing countries have the chance to live their lives to the full. God calls us to live simply, sustainably and in solidarity with people who are poor.
How is this put in practice? The livesimply site directs us to Progressio, which suggests buying local food or 'fair trade' brands, using low energy lightbulbs and turning down the heating, etc. etc.. It is interesting to see that there is nothing here about direct concern for the less fortunate (such as joining the Sisters of Charity soup-run in London, for example), and nothing about the Gospel. It is simply the a series of things which Islington dinner guests would agree would constitute 'doing our bit' for the planet.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Support for Obama from British Catholic clergy
Briefing: Catholic bishops and priests in the United States, who have risked the wrath of the liberal establishment by pointing out that it is wrong to vote for a man who has vowed to remove all legal restrictions on abortion in America, and will certainly appoint Supreme Court judges who are solidly pro-abortion, will be saddened to hear of the support for Obama from British Catholics whose liberal instincts seem to be stronger than their Catholic ones.
An American priest, David Cotter of St Aidan’s, Johnstone (Diocese of Paisley, Scotland) appeared on the radio to proclaim his support for Obama, dismissing the importance of abortion as an electoral issue, and ridiculing a recording of the Ave Maria at the same time. H-t to Catholic Truth, where there is more commentary. See the broadcast here.
Bishop Hollis of Portsmouth has this to day, in a 'Special Message' on his diocesan homepage: “With millions of others, I have been thrilled by Barack Obama’s victory and I thank God for it. For me, it represents a rare moment of hope and optimism which shows American democracy at its best and it is of seismic significance and potential for the whole global community. And so, more than ever now, he deserves and needs us to keep him in our prayers.”
Prayers for his conversion would certainly not go amiss. Prayers in regard to the millions of abortions he is going to facilitate would be even more apposite. See John Smeaton on Obama's anti-life views, which are the most extreme of any major US politician.
By contrast, Bishop O'Donaghue said this about voting for the pro-abortion candidates:
So can a Catholic in good conscience vote and campaign for a political candidate who supports and promotes abortion ...? My personal answer to this question is: I can’t and I won’t.
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