From http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1205018.htm
DUBLIN (CNS) -- An Irish bishop
and pro-life activists insisted that any legislation to provide abortion
in limited situations would inevitably lead to widespread abortion.
"If abortion is introduced, even on a very limited basis, it becomes
widespread," Bishop William Murphy of Kerry said during a radio
interview Nov. 29.
Days earlier, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny promised "swift action"
after a report by a study group recommended that the government
introduce legislation to provide for abortion in limited circumstances.
In practice, abortion is illegal in Ireland. However, a controversial
1992 Supreme Court judgment -- known as the X case -- found that there
is a constitutional right to abortion where there is a substantial risk
to the life of the mother, including the risk of suicide, up to birth.
Six successive governments have not acted on the issue. However, the
European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2010 that Ireland must clarify
when women can access abortion under the 1992 ruling.
The expert group was charged in January with advising the government in response to the European Court ruling.
The Pro Life Campaign, Ireland's largest pro-life lobby, has said that
it does not support legislation or statutory regulations on abortion in
line with the expert group report.
Cora Sherlock, the campaign's deputy chairwoman, described the 1992 Supreme Court decision as "deeply flawed."
Instead, the Pro Life Campaign is advocating for guidelines for medical professionals to consider.
She said the organization consistently has supported women receiving the
medical treatment needed during pregnancy as well as for practical
steps to protect the life of the unborn child.
"On the one hand, you have abortion where there is never an intention to
save the life of the baby," she said. "The only intention is to end the
life of the baby, and there's no treatment being given to the mother.
"On the other hand, you have medical treatment which may have the
unwanted side effect of ending the life of the unborn child. But that is
an unwanted side effect. It is not something that anyone wishes for,
and it is deeply regretted when it happens.
"That is what the majority of people in this country have said in
consistent independent opinion polls that they support, and that will
not be achieved through legislation or regulation," Sherlock said.
Ireland has been gripped by the issue of abortion in recent weeks after a
31-year-old woman, Savita Halapanavar, died while being treated for a
miscarriage. Her husband claims that she was denied the termination of
her pregnancy because of Ireland's ban on abortion and the decision led
to her death.
However, medical professionals have pointed out that current Irish law
allows for intervention to save the life of a mother even if it results
in the unavoidable and unintentional death of an unborn child.
In his radio interview, Bishop Murphy accused campaigners seeking to legalize abortion of attempting to "hijack" the tragedy.
"The suggestion that, because of this country's pro-life ethos, pregnant
women are denied medical treatment is simply not true," he said.
The bishop warned that if the government adopted legislation based on
the results of the X case, unlimited access to abortion would be
introduced to Ireland.
"That will be the crack in the dam or the beginning of the slippery slope," he added.
Pro-life activists want the government to move to overturn the 1992 judgment.
"The most important option, not contained in the report, is to reverse
the Supreme Court decision of 1992, which would allow for abortion up to
birth," said attorney Caroline Simons, who advises pro-life groups.
"If people do not want to introduce such an abortion regime in this
country, this is the only political option, and it has to be
confronted," she told Catholic News Service.
Doing so would mean ultimately putting the question of overturning the X
case to the people by way of a constitutional referendum.
Simons said she supports medical guidelines rather than legislation.
"These guidelines can explain the underlying principles of medical care
in Ireland and, in particular, that women in pregnancy should receive
all essential medical treatment needed to safeguard their lives, even
where this unavoidably results in the death of the baby, but where the
duty of care to preserve the life of the baby as far as practicable is
also upheld," she said.
"The X case is being presented by those who support abortion as very
restrictive. The reality is that the X case does not provide for a duty
of care to preserve the life of the baby in the course of medical
interventions to safeguard the life of the mother," she explained.
The issue is proving contentious for Kenny. Reports from a Nov. 28
meeting of senior leaders within his political party indicate that many
legislators would defy the government and refuse to support an abortion
law.
The Irish Parliament is planning to discuss the issue in January. A
motion calling for legalized abortion, introduced by an independent
member of Parliament, was expected to be defeated in a vote in late
November.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Charlie Sheen, producer slam ‘Two-and-a-Half Men’ star for Christian conversion remarks
HOLLYWOOD, November 27, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com)
They may be known for creating a comedy, but the producer and former star of Two and a Half Men have shown no sense of humor about the sitcom star Angus T. Jones’ conversion to Christianity.
Producer Chuck Lorre implied the star is a captive of darkness, anger, and fear. And longtime star Charlie Sheen compared Jones’ comments to a mass cult suicide.
Jones, a maturing child actor, recently converted to Christianity, called the show “filth,” and encouraged its viewers to stop tuning in.
Lorre posts a vanity card after each episode. “We are all God in drag,” he wrote, a phrase he apparently borrowed from New Age guru Deepak Chopra.
“It is entirely our choice as to what kind of world we live in,” Lorre wrote in a message that aired on Monday. “With a simple decision, we can suffer in the darkness or play in the light. We can be angry, frightened and enslaved, or loving, joyous and free. I know. It’s a toughie.”
Sheen, too, intimated that Jones, who played his nephew Jake on the show, had lost his bearings.
“With Angus’ Hale-Bopp-like meltdown, it is radically clear to me that the show is cursed,” Sheen told People magazine.
The Hale-Bopp comment refers to the Heaven’s Gate cult, which committed mass suicide in 1997.
The man at the center of the young star’s conversion rebuffed the notion that Jones had been brainwashed.
Christopher Hudson of the Forerunner Chronicles, a Seventh Day Adventist ministry with a strong end-times emphasis, said Jones’ intelligence drove his conversion process.
“He is a thinker,” Hudson said. “He is not the mirror of other men’s thoughts.”
Angus’ war of words on the show are neither the sitcom’s first nor most extreme.
Sheen and Lorre had their own battle of words a few years ago, when the actor’s personal demons – including drug abuse and maintaining a harem of porn stars – bled over into his professional life. Sheen sued Lorre.
Lorre struck out at Sheen with vanity cards before firing him and replacing him with Ashton Kutcher.
Jones has said he does not wish to remain on the program, which glorifies hedonistic sex. His future remains unclear.
Lorre, who was born Charles Levine, was married to a Playboy playmate for ten years.
They may be known for creating a comedy, but the producer and former star of Two and a Half Men have shown no sense of humor about the sitcom star Angus T. Jones’ conversion to Christianity.
Producer Chuck Lorre implied the star is a captive of darkness, anger, and fear. And longtime star Charlie Sheen compared Jones’ comments to a mass cult suicide.
Jones, a maturing child actor, recently converted to Christianity, called the show “filth,” and encouraged its viewers to stop tuning in.
Lorre posts a vanity card after each episode. “We are all God in drag,” he wrote, a phrase he apparently borrowed from New Age guru Deepak Chopra.
“It is entirely our choice as to what kind of world we live in,” Lorre wrote in a message that aired on Monday. “With a simple decision, we can suffer in the darkness or play in the light. We can be angry, frightened and enslaved, or loving, joyous and free. I know. It’s a toughie.”
Sheen, too, intimated that Jones, who played his nephew Jake on the show, had lost his bearings.
“With Angus’ Hale-Bopp-like meltdown, it is radically clear to me that the show is cursed,” Sheen told People magazine.
The Hale-Bopp comment refers to the Heaven’s Gate cult, which committed mass suicide in 1997.
The man at the center of the young star’s conversion rebuffed the notion that Jones had been brainwashed.
Christopher Hudson of the Forerunner Chronicles, a Seventh Day Adventist ministry with a strong end-times emphasis, said Jones’ intelligence drove his conversion process.
“He is a thinker,” Hudson said. “He is not the mirror of other men’s thoughts.”
Angus’ war of words on the show are neither the sitcom’s first nor most extreme.
Sheen and Lorre had their own battle of words a few years ago, when the actor’s personal demons – including drug abuse and maintaining a harem of porn stars – bled over into his professional life. Sheen sued Lorre.
Lorre struck out at Sheen with vanity cards before firing him and replacing him with Ashton Kutcher.
Jones has said he does not wish to remain on the program, which glorifies hedonistic sex. His future remains unclear.
Lorre, who was born Charles Levine, was married to a Playboy playmate for ten years.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Head of Savita inquiry is president-elect of radical pro-abortion group
DUBLIN, November 20, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com)
The new head of a government-appointed inquiry into the death of Savita Halappanavar has said that countries with restrictive abortion laws need to be “challenged” to reconsider legalization. While the international abortion lobby, mainstream media, and abortion campaigners in parliament and at the EU are clamoring for Ireland to immediately pass legislation legalizing abortion, the Health Services Executive announced today that Professor Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, the head of obstetrics and gynecology at St Georges Hospital, will lead the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mrs. Halappanavar’s death.
Professor Arulkumaran is the president-elect of the abortion advocacy group International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO). He authored a statement on the “rights-based approach” to childbirth, published in 2009 in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, in which he said that countries with “restrictive abortion laws” should “look at the evidence available in favor of liberal abortions laws and debate the possibility of making the choice of termination of pregnancy a legal right for women.”
“In the same breath, it is important to stress that wherever there is a liberal law on termination of pregnancy, the provision of safe and comprehensive abortion care is paramount to a successful reduction in maternal morbidity and mortality as a result of the complications of abortion,” he said.
The country’s leading pro-life advocates have expressed “serious concerns” about the appointment, calling it a “grave error” that compromises the credibility of the inquiry. Given the huge public interest and pressure from the abortion lobby, they said, the inquiry must take care to avoid all possible appearance of having a political agenda.
Niamh Uí Bhriain of the Life Institute said that the government must immediately move to replace Dr. Arulkumaran to ensure a fair investigation. “It is difficult to see how that can be achieved by appointing someone to lead the team who has clear bias in favour of abortion,” she said.
FIGO is a major player in the international abortion movement. It includes representatives of every international abortion group, including International Planned Parenthood and the UNFPA, on its Committee for Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Rights. The US-based Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues described FIGO as supporting a “radically pro-abortion agenda” in the 124 countries in which it operates.
Six other members of the team investigating Savita Halappanavar’s death include experts in anesthesia, midwifery, obstetrics and gynecology, who will review the care provided to Mrs. Halappanavar and submit a report to the Dail. HSE’s National Director of Quality and Patient Safety, Dr Philip Crowley, told a press conference today that with the appointment of Dr. Arulkumaran, “we will have a thorough, independent, and expeditious review of the facts surrounding the tragic death of Mrs. Halappanavar.”
Health Minister Dr. James Reilly said that major concern for the government in appointing the inquiry was to ensure the appearance of objectivity and independence from the government.
Dr. Reilly also told media that the long awaited report from the government’s expert group examining the country’s abortion law would be brought to the Cabinet today, but said that it will not be until early in the new year that any decisions are made. He told RTE radio, the national broadcaster, that it would be a “derogation of duty” not to deal with the abortion law, saying that every woman has a right to have “legal clarity regarding treatment available to her.”
“I have read the report and I need to study it further. It’s a hugely complex issue that has divided the country… and we’re not going to solve it in a matter of weeks,” he said. Meanwhile, the government has received a letter signed by 50 Members of the European Parliament demanding that Ireland legislate on abortion.
The new head of a government-appointed inquiry into the death of Savita Halappanavar has said that countries with restrictive abortion laws need to be “challenged” to reconsider legalization. While the international abortion lobby, mainstream media, and abortion campaigners in parliament and at the EU are clamoring for Ireland to immediately pass legislation legalizing abortion, the Health Services Executive announced today that Professor Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, the head of obstetrics and gynecology at St Georges Hospital, will lead the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mrs. Halappanavar’s death.
Professor Arulkumaran is the president-elect of the abortion advocacy group International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO). He authored a statement on the “rights-based approach” to childbirth, published in 2009 in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, in which he said that countries with “restrictive abortion laws” should “look at the evidence available in favor of liberal abortions laws and debate the possibility of making the choice of termination of pregnancy a legal right for women.”
“In the same breath, it is important to stress that wherever there is a liberal law on termination of pregnancy, the provision of safe and comprehensive abortion care is paramount to a successful reduction in maternal morbidity and mortality as a result of the complications of abortion,” he said.
The country’s leading pro-life advocates have expressed “serious concerns” about the appointment, calling it a “grave error” that compromises the credibility of the inquiry. Given the huge public interest and pressure from the abortion lobby, they said, the inquiry must take care to avoid all possible appearance of having a political agenda.
Niamh Uí Bhriain of the Life Institute said that the government must immediately move to replace Dr. Arulkumaran to ensure a fair investigation. “It is difficult to see how that can be achieved by appointing someone to lead the team who has clear bias in favour of abortion,” she said.
FIGO is a major player in the international abortion movement. It includes representatives of every international abortion group, including International Planned Parenthood and the UNFPA, on its Committee for Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Rights. The US-based Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues described FIGO as supporting a “radically pro-abortion agenda” in the 124 countries in which it operates.
Six other members of the team investigating Savita Halappanavar’s death include experts in anesthesia, midwifery, obstetrics and gynecology, who will review the care provided to Mrs. Halappanavar and submit a report to the Dail. HSE’s National Director of Quality and Patient Safety, Dr Philip Crowley, told a press conference today that with the appointment of Dr. Arulkumaran, “we will have a thorough, independent, and expeditious review of the facts surrounding the tragic death of Mrs. Halappanavar.”
Health Minister Dr. James Reilly said that major concern for the government in appointing the inquiry was to ensure the appearance of objectivity and independence from the government.
Dr. Reilly also told media that the long awaited report from the government’s expert group examining the country’s abortion law would be brought to the Cabinet today, but said that it will not be until early in the new year that any decisions are made. He told RTE radio, the national broadcaster, that it would be a “derogation of duty” not to deal with the abortion law, saying that every woman has a right to have “legal clarity regarding treatment available to her.”
“I have read the report and I need to study it further. It’s a hugely complex issue that has divided the country… and we’re not going to solve it in a matter of weeks,” he said. Meanwhile, the government has received a letter signed by 50 Members of the European Parliament demanding that Ireland legislate on abortion.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Abortion-promoters knew about Savita case days before media: Leaked e-mail
DUBLIN, November 15, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com)
The death of a young woman in Galway, reportedly from complications of a miscarriage, has abortion-promoters demonstrating in the streets of Dublin, demanding legislation to legalise abortion. Pro-life leaders in Ireland and abroad, however, have slammed the media and abortion campaigners for using the young woman’s tragic death despite the dearth of details about what actually happened. They have also pointed to clear evidence that pro-abortion groups knew about Savita’s case days before it hit the media, and that they were already planning on using the case to further their cause.
Ireland’s leading pro-life group Youth Defence has issued a statement saying that the family of Savita Halappanaver has their deepest sympathies, but that her circumstances do not support the hysterical calls for legalisation of abortion. “This is a tragic loss, and we need to remember that Irish doctors are always obliged to intervene to save the life of a mother - even if that risks the life of her baby.”
Halappanavar, a 31 year-old Indian woman died October 28th of septicaemia, a severe systemic inflammatory infection, after she was admitted to hospital while miscarrying.
Her husband Praveen has told Irish media that his wife died because doctors refused an abortion, and that story has been spread worldwide.
Halappanavar
said that doctors determined that his wife was miscarrying within hours
of her hospitalization and said that they refused to consider an
abortion, saying that Ireland is a “Catholic country.”
The case has created an international media feeding frenzy, with headlines around the world implying that Catholic teaching is responsible for the woman’s death. Front page coverage has appeared in the Guardian, Daily Mail and the Mirror, as well the U.S. and UK editions of The Huffington Post, the CBC and elsewhere.
Niamh Uí Bhriain of the Life Institute called it “outrageous” to suggest that Catholic teaching would prevent proper treatment for a pregnant woman. “Neither the ethos of the Catholic Church nor the pro-life laws of Ireland would prevent any woman from receiving all treatment she requires in order to preserve her life,” she said.
Uí Bhriain added, “Abortion doesn’t cure septicaemia and isn’t a treatment for miscarriage.”
Meanwhile, a leaked e-mail, dated Sunday, November 11, indicates that the Irish Choice Network had been given prior knowledge of the case, days before it hit the media, though by whom is as yet uncertain. The Irish Times did not break the story publicly until November 14th, running the headline, “Woman ‘denied a termination’ dies in hospital”.
The e-mail advised ICN followers that “a major news story in relation to abortion access is going to break in the media early this coming week,” and said the news would be the basis of a prearranged protest calling for abortion outside the Dáil on Wednesday. The e-mail asked members to attend a meeting of the Irish Choice Network when they would have “more definite information around which we can make some collective decisions about how best to proceed.”
“Apologies if this is all a little mysterious, but the reason why I didn’t want to put specific details down by e-mail will probably be clear tomorrow,” it continued.
The e-mail, Uí Bhriain said, showed clearly that abortion advocates have deliberately exploited the case to start a campaign to have abortion legalised in Ireland. She said that serious questions now needed to be asked. “The media and the HSE [Health Services Executive] now needs to ask why this information seems to have been given in advance to abortion advocates,” she added.
“Was it given to them by the Irish Times, or by someone in the HSE? And if so, why?” she asked. She noted that the Irish Times story was written by Kitty Holland, daughter of leading abortion advocate Eamonn McCann.
“As we await the investigation in to what happened in Galway hospital, we need to know why this private patient information was given to campaigners for legalised abortion in Ireland,” she said.
Uí Bhriain told LifeSiteNews.com that Ireland’s laws already prioritise the life of the mother. Under the current law, doctors who fail to intervene to save a woman’s life are subject to disciplinary action for negligence. “Far from being the pro-life laws putting undue pressure to save the life of the unborn child, they put additional measures to protect the life of the mother,” she said.
At the moment medical details are scant, with the hospital and the government refusing to release details until after an investigation is completed, leaving pro-life groups scrambling to respond to claims that are impossible to verify either way.
“Our hearts are with [Mr. Halappanavar], but an abortion would not have saved her life. The medical council guidelines are incredibly clear, that the doctors must intervene to save a woman’s life, if they don’t they’re guilty of misconduct,” Uí Bhriain added.
Paul Tully, general secretary of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children said, “What we do know is that miscarriage and infection can be managed by proper medical treatment. Abortion is not medicine - it does not treat or cure any pathology.”
“What is rarely reported are the many cases of women who have died from infection or other causes because of supposedly safe and legal abortions.”
He named Manon Jones, Jessie-Maye Barlow and Emma Beck who all died of complications of abortion in Britain. He pointed to findings of the World Health Organisation that the Republic of Ireland, with some of the strictest pro-life laws in the world, also has the world’s best record in maternal health. By contrast, Great Britain and the United States, with their high abortion rates, have relatively poor maternal health records.
Earlier this year an international group of 140 obstetricians and other physicians meeting in Dublin issued a statement denying that abortion is ever “medically necessary” for women.
Ireland’s Minister for Health, James Reilly, who is not pro-life, has called for calm, saying he does not believe the claims that the doctors told Mr. Halappanavar that abortion was not available because Ireland is a Catholic country. He added that no decisions can be made until a medical investigation is completed.
The country’s General Medical Council guidelines already allow for abortion in “rare” cases when a pregnancy would threaten the mother’s life. The guidance states, “In current obstetrical practice, rare complications can arise where therapeutic intervention (including termination of a pregnancy) is required at a stage when, due to extreme immaturity of the baby, there may be little or no hope of the baby surviving. In these exceptional circumstances, it may be necessary to intervene to terminate the pregnancy to protect the life of the mother, while making every effort to preserve the life of the baby.”
Labour leader and coalition Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore has not hesitated to use the uproar to again press for legalisation of abortion. Gilmore said this government will not become the seventh to “neglect and ignore” the issue. Labour is the only party in Ireland that has full legalisation of abortion as part of its platform.
The issue has come to a high boil after the European Court of Human Rights issued a ruling in the A,B and C case saying that Ireland must “clarify” under what circumstances abortion could be legal under the current law. While the Court did not say that Ireland must legalise abortion, this has not stopped Gilmore and other abortion activists from insisting that abortion be declared legal. The report on abortion’s legal situation by the government’s expert group, which has been expected imminently for months, was reportedly delivered to the Health Minister on Tuesday and is expected to be published immediately.
The death of a young woman in Galway, reportedly from complications of a miscarriage, has abortion-promoters demonstrating in the streets of Dublin, demanding legislation to legalise abortion. Pro-life leaders in Ireland and abroad, however, have slammed the media and abortion campaigners for using the young woman’s tragic death despite the dearth of details about what actually happened. They have also pointed to clear evidence that pro-abortion groups knew about Savita’s case days before it hit the media, and that they were already planning on using the case to further their cause.
Ireland’s leading pro-life group Youth Defence has issued a statement saying that the family of Savita Halappanaver has their deepest sympathies, but that her circumstances do not support the hysterical calls for legalisation of abortion. “This is a tragic loss, and we need to remember that Irish doctors are always obliged to intervene to save the life of a mother - even if that risks the life of her baby.”
Halappanavar, a 31 year-old Indian woman died October 28th of septicaemia, a severe systemic inflammatory infection, after she was admitted to hospital while miscarrying.
Her husband Praveen has told Irish media that his wife died because doctors refused an abortion, and that story has been spread worldwide.
The case has created an international media feeding frenzy, with headlines around the world implying that Catholic teaching is responsible for the woman’s death. Front page coverage has appeared in the Guardian, Daily Mail and the Mirror, as well the U.S. and UK editions of The Huffington Post, the CBC and elsewhere.
Niamh Uí Bhriain of the Life Institute called it “outrageous” to suggest that Catholic teaching would prevent proper treatment for a pregnant woman. “Neither the ethos of the Catholic Church nor the pro-life laws of Ireland would prevent any woman from receiving all treatment she requires in order to preserve her life,” she said.
Uí Bhriain added, “Abortion doesn’t cure septicaemia and isn’t a treatment for miscarriage.”
Meanwhile, a leaked e-mail, dated Sunday, November 11, indicates that the Irish Choice Network had been given prior knowledge of the case, days before it hit the media, though by whom is as yet uncertain. The Irish Times did not break the story publicly until November 14th, running the headline, “Woman ‘denied a termination’ dies in hospital”.
The e-mail advised ICN followers that “a major news story in relation to abortion access is going to break in the media early this coming week,” and said the news would be the basis of a prearranged protest calling for abortion outside the Dáil on Wednesday. The e-mail asked members to attend a meeting of the Irish Choice Network when they would have “more definite information around which we can make some collective decisions about how best to proceed.”
“Apologies if this is all a little mysterious, but the reason why I didn’t want to put specific details down by e-mail will probably be clear tomorrow,” it continued.
The e-mail, Uí Bhriain said, showed clearly that abortion advocates have deliberately exploited the case to start a campaign to have abortion legalised in Ireland. She said that serious questions now needed to be asked. “The media and the HSE [Health Services Executive] now needs to ask why this information seems to have been given in advance to abortion advocates,” she added.
“Was it given to them by the Irish Times, or by someone in the HSE? And if so, why?” she asked. She noted that the Irish Times story was written by Kitty Holland, daughter of leading abortion advocate Eamonn McCann.
“As we await the investigation in to what happened in Galway hospital, we need to know why this private patient information was given to campaigners for legalised abortion in Ireland,” she said.
Uí Bhriain told LifeSiteNews.com that Ireland’s laws already prioritise the life of the mother. Under the current law, doctors who fail to intervene to save a woman’s life are subject to disciplinary action for negligence. “Far from being the pro-life laws putting undue pressure to save the life of the unborn child, they put additional measures to protect the life of the mother,” she said.
At the moment medical details are scant, with the hospital and the government refusing to release details until after an investigation is completed, leaving pro-life groups scrambling to respond to claims that are impossible to verify either way.
“Our hearts are with [Mr. Halappanavar], but an abortion would not have saved her life. The medical council guidelines are incredibly clear, that the doctors must intervene to save a woman’s life, if they don’t they’re guilty of misconduct,” Uí Bhriain added.
Paul Tully, general secretary of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children said, “What we do know is that miscarriage and infection can be managed by proper medical treatment. Abortion is not medicine - it does not treat or cure any pathology.”
“What is rarely reported are the many cases of women who have died from infection or other causes because of supposedly safe and legal abortions.”
He named Manon Jones, Jessie-Maye Barlow and Emma Beck who all died of complications of abortion in Britain. He pointed to findings of the World Health Organisation that the Republic of Ireland, with some of the strictest pro-life laws in the world, also has the world’s best record in maternal health. By contrast, Great Britain and the United States, with their high abortion rates, have relatively poor maternal health records.
Earlier this year an international group of 140 obstetricians and other physicians meeting in Dublin issued a statement denying that abortion is ever “medically necessary” for women.
Ireland’s Minister for Health, James Reilly, who is not pro-life, has called for calm, saying he does not believe the claims that the doctors told Mr. Halappanavar that abortion was not available because Ireland is a Catholic country. He added that no decisions can be made until a medical investigation is completed.
The country’s General Medical Council guidelines already allow for abortion in “rare” cases when a pregnancy would threaten the mother’s life. The guidance states, “In current obstetrical practice, rare complications can arise where therapeutic intervention (including termination of a pregnancy) is required at a stage when, due to extreme immaturity of the baby, there may be little or no hope of the baby surviving. In these exceptional circumstances, it may be necessary to intervene to terminate the pregnancy to protect the life of the mother, while making every effort to preserve the life of the baby.”
Labour leader and coalition Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore has not hesitated to use the uproar to again press for legalisation of abortion. Gilmore said this government will not become the seventh to “neglect and ignore” the issue. Labour is the only party in Ireland that has full legalisation of abortion as part of its platform.
The issue has come to a high boil after the European Court of Human Rights issued a ruling in the A,B and C case saying that Ireland must “clarify” under what circumstances abortion could be legal under the current law. While the Court did not say that Ireland must legalise abortion, this has not stopped Gilmore and other abortion activists from insisting that abortion be declared legal. The report on abortion’s legal situation by the government’s expert group, which has been expected imminently for months, was reportedly delivered to the Health Minister on Tuesday and is expected to be published immediately.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Church of the Holy Sepulchre in row over water bill
From http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20188167
The dispute has left hundreds of priests, monks and teachers unpaid.
The church has traditionally not been charged for water, but Hagihon says it is owed money for the past 15 years.
According to the Israeli newspaper Maariv, there was a tacit agreement between the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem - which, along with the Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate and the Roman Catholic Franciscan Custos, is jointly responsible for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre's administration - and a former mayor of the city that the church would be exempt from water bills.
But in 2004, Hagihon sent a demand to the church for 3.7m shekels ($950,000; £590,000). It was backdated to when the company took over the water supply in the late 1990s.
The company had not taken other enforcement steps, such as shutting off the water supply, in order not to disrupt activities at the site, he added.
Father Isidoros Fakitsas, Superior of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, told the Associated Press that an agreement had been reached with Hagihon a few weeks ago.
Under the deal, various denominations of the church would pay their monthly bill and the 9m-shekel debt was to be forgotten, he said.
But to his surprise the Patriarchate's bank account was blocked, making it impossible to pay stipends to some 500 priests and monks, 2,000 teachers and the running costs of more than 30 schools.
According to Maariv, other services have also been affected, including telephones, internet and electricity, as well as companies supplying food.
Father Fakitsas said the Patriarchate would be able to function despite the frozen bank account and that it would try to find an alternative if matters became too difficult, such as opening another bank account.
Patriarch Theophilos III wrote a letter to Israel's prime minister and president warning that the "enforcement of this unjustified step undermines the sanctity and offends the sensitivity of the site".
He told Maariv: "If nothing changes we intend to announce... for the first time in centuries, that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is closed."
The other Christian denominations which jointly manage the church are said to support the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in its battle.
The Israeli tourism ministry said the issue was between the Patriarchate and the Jerusalem municipality, but that it was trying to mediate between them and hoped that the dispute would be resolved quickly.
The Church of the Holy
Sepulchre in Jerusalem has warned that it may shut its doors to pilgrims
in protest at a dispute with an Israeli water company.
The church, where many Christians believe Jesus was
crucified, has had its bank account frozen at the request of Hagihon
over an unpaid $2.3m bill.The dispute has left hundreds of priests, monks and teachers unpaid.
The church has traditionally not been charged for water, but Hagihon says it is owed money for the past 15 years.
According to the Israeli newspaper Maariv, there was a tacit agreement between the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem - which, along with the Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate and the Roman Catholic Franciscan Custos, is jointly responsible for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre's administration - and a former mayor of the city that the church would be exempt from water bills.
But in 2004, Hagihon sent a demand to the church for 3.7m shekels ($950,000; £590,000). It was backdated to when the company took over the water supply in the late 1990s.
The Patriarchate reportedly
believed it was a mistake because Hagihon did not press it to pay. The
company is now demanding that the bill, which has risen to 9m shekels
($2.3m; £1.4m) including interest, be settled.
A Hagihon spokesman said Israeli law did not permit any exemptions.The company had not taken other enforcement steps, such as shutting off the water supply, in order not to disrupt activities at the site, he added.
Father Isidoros Fakitsas, Superior of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, told the Associated Press that an agreement had been reached with Hagihon a few weeks ago.
Under the deal, various denominations of the church would pay their monthly bill and the 9m-shekel debt was to be forgotten, he said.
But to his surprise the Patriarchate's bank account was blocked, making it impossible to pay stipends to some 500 priests and monks, 2,000 teachers and the running costs of more than 30 schools.
According to Maariv, other services have also been affected, including telephones, internet and electricity, as well as companies supplying food.
Father Fakitsas said the Patriarchate would be able to function despite the frozen bank account and that it would try to find an alternative if matters became too difficult, such as opening another bank account.
Patriarch Theophilos III wrote a letter to Israel's prime minister and president warning that the "enforcement of this unjustified step undermines the sanctity and offends the sensitivity of the site".
He told Maariv: "If nothing changes we intend to announce... for the first time in centuries, that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is closed."
The other Christian denominations which jointly manage the church are said to support the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in its battle.
The Israeli tourism ministry said the issue was between the Patriarchate and the Jerusalem municipality, but that it was trying to mediate between them and hoped that the dispute would be resolved quickly.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Former Satanist Recounts Her Return to the Church and Provides Some Advice About Dealing with Halloween
NCR October 30, 2012:
Deborah Lipsky went through tremendous suffering as a child. Her high-functioning autism elicited the frustration of teachers, along with the ridicule and abuse of classmates, leaving her hurt and isolated — and eventually enraged.
She sought revenge through witchcraft and then full-blown satanism. Her goal was to destroy the Catholic Church, which she saw as responsible for her pain. Yet she found that getting even would exact a price. Despite initial thrills of power, Lipsky became increasingly miserable.
Years after narrowly escaping her demonic entanglement, Lipsky came back into full communion with the Church in 2009. Now, she helps others to see beyond the glamour of the occult to the beauty of Catholicism. She does this, in part, through her new book, A Message of Hope, and through a new CD interview, Former Satanist Comes Home to the Catholic Church, both available from St. Joseph Communications.
Deborah Lipsky told her amazing story to Register correspondent Trent Beattie in time for All Hallows' Eve.
Is it true that Halloween is a prime day for satanists?
Yes, it is a “high holy day,” so to speak, because it’s a mockery of All Saints' Day on Nov. 1. Anything the Catholic Church celebrated we would mock, and this is one outstanding example of that. Instead of asking for the intercession of the saints, we would call upon demons and the damned to grant us all our earthly desires and harass those who had offended us in any way.
Do you think it’s okay for Christians to participate in Halloween activities?
Some people think as long as your children dress up as baseball players and angels it’s perfectly fine for them to go out trick-or-treating. I disagree because Halloween is predicated upon mocking God and his saints. Even if you have an innocent outfit on, almost everything else around you is not innocent. You’re exposed to so much negativity and even downright demonic activity that it’s just not worth the little reward you get in candy.
A much better thing to do is to ignore Halloween altogether and concentrate on All Saints' Day instead. Engage in Christian activities. Pray the Rosary as a family; read the lives of the saints; have your house blessed or enthroned to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. These are just a few of the countless ways to teach your children about the Christian faith in word and deed.
If more Christians would actually live as Christians, Halloween wouldn’t even be a blip on the radar screen. We would be so happily immersed in God’s grace that it wouldn’t so much as enter our minds to pursue deviant things. Yet we’ve abandoned the faith in so many ways. That leaves a vacuum — a vacuum that will be filled by something else.
Is that how you got started in the occult?
In a general way, it was. I attended Catholic school from seventh to 10th grade, but there was very little reverence for the faith by my peers. It was more of a surface, cultural thing — kind of a feel-good show. It wasn’t something you thought of as being held accountable for on Judgment Day. This made it easier for my classmates to regularly mistreat me because of my high-functioning autism.
In high school, I was even physically abused. This was disturbing, but what happened later was even more so. When I actually got enough courage to tell one of the teachers (who was a nun), she said it was my fault. This was so devastating that it took my anger beyond its previous levels. I had been severely hurt, and someone in authority who was supposed to help, made things worse.
I had been through enough, and I desperately needed relief. There wasn’t any to be found, even at home, because my parents were going through a divorce. Everywhere I turned, there was trouble. It was a tumultuous time — a time of great injustice, pain and confusion.
I got started in witchcraft as a way to get even with those who had harmed me. I felt powerful for the first time, and it was addicting. The teachers and classmates who used to despise me now feared me. The witchcraft grew into full-blown satanism, with my main target being the Catholic Church. I blamed the Church for what happened to me, and I did everything I could to destroy it.
This was your main goal and that of those you associated with?
In Matthew 16, Jesus Christ gives the keys to Peter and tells him that the gates of hell will not prevail against his Church. Our Lord knew hell would engage in a battle with his Church, so he gave authority to Peter and his successors in the papacy to win the battle.
Satanists are either so blinded by their anger that they cannot see this, or they do see it, but still attempt to do as much damage as possible.
How did you get out of such a negative mindset?
Despite the momentary power I felt at getting even and receiving all my worldly desires, over time I began to be tormented by the very demons I had sent to torment others. I didn’t know it at the time, but I’ve since learned of this universal law: Any demon you summon to harm others can and will harm you.
I started longing to get past my anger to happiness, so I left satanism. This is not an easy thing to do, once you’ve made a formal pact with the devil, like I did. After initial trouble, things got somewhat better, but I was still not in a state of mind to return to the Catholic Church. Instead, I joined a religious cult that denounced Mary. Once I started wanting to come home to the Church, however, more demonic torments recurred. The demons knew it was in the Catholic Church that they found their nemesis. As long as I stayed outside the Church, they were okay with that. But once I made a move home, the harassment came back.
It was a difficult journey, but it was definitely worth the effort. I was eventually freed from demonic forces through the intercession of Mary and by the support and guidance of two Catholic priests. My official return to the Church was in 2009. I had previously (and quite unexpectedly earlier that year) met a nun. We became friends, and that made it easier for me to come home to the Church.
Yet it wasn’t until 2011 that I became deeply devoted to Mary, who is Our Lady, Queen of Heaven. She had brought me home through others, but, in 2011, she made it known in a miraculous way that she was my spiritual Mother.
Our Lady had worked similar wonders with Bartolo Longo. She rescued him from his satanic past and brought him to Jesus. Bartolo dedicated himself to Jesus through Mary, which enabled him to do the great apostolic work he did, including promotion of the Rosary. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980, and now we can confidently call upon his prayers in the battle against the occult.
What other things should Christians do in this battle?
The most basic thing to do is get into a state of grace. If you’re not in a state of grace, go to confession. Receive the forgiveness Jesus wants so much to grant you. Forgiveness is his mission, and yet we prevent him from operating when we refuse to go to confession.
The thing some people fear the most (confession) is what will help them the most. It’s a great gift, yet we don’t use it as much as we should. Confession should be a regular part of one’s spiritual life.
We should also go to Mass as much as possible. Receiving the holy Eucharist in a state of grace is the best possible thing we could do. We are then more firmly united to Jesus, and virtuous actions become easier for us. We are strengthened in an incomparable way when we receive the holy Eucharist reverently. This is because the holy Eucharist is not merely a gift, but the Giver of gifts, Jesus Christ.
Our participation in the sacraments is aided tremendously by the use of sacramentals. We should use holy water, blessed salt, crucifixes, medals, scapulars, rosaries and holy pictures. These are powerful weapons in the spiritual battle, so we should gratefully make use of them.
What things should Christians avoid?
Many things we should avoid are portrayed as fun and fashionable. Fortune-telling, horoscopes, Ouija boards, Dungeons & Dragons, tarot cards ... are some of the things Christians should have no association with. These are tools of evil because they open portals to higher-level demons that are more eager and effective in derailing us from salvation.
People who are harassed by demons in extraordinary ways have called me to help them out. Usually when I inquire how the demons got there, they have no idea. I ask if they’ve participated in any occult activities, and the answer is usually, "No." Yet when they search deeply enough, it is inevitably revealed that at some time in their past they have gone to a fortune-teller, played with a Ouija board or engaged in some other occult activity.
Another thing we should all avoid is a sense of entitlement. Anger comes through being hurt, and being hurt comes from having our sense of entitlement violated.
Anger can be a very destructive thing because it attracts demons like blood attracts sharks in water.
Are there any other things we should know about living a Christian life?
One of the most important things I’ve learned to appreciate is God’s all-encompassing providence. Everything that happens to us, without exception, is within the providence of God, who does not make mistakes. Everything that happens to us is an opportunity to learn from, and draw closer to, God, who is our loving Father.
Things which were previously means of our destruction can become the very things we use to serve others and be more firmly united to God. My autism was the occasion of so much pain and confusion in childhood. I was considered too stupid to learn, but now, with a master’s degree in education behind me, I help others understand autism through books and speaking engagements.
Similarly, the nun in high school who blamed me was the final straw that drove me away from the Church, but it was also a nun who helped bring me back into the Church. Even our own sins, if we repent of them, can become occasions of grace. This is what happened with Mary. I used to denounce her, but now I venerate her and tell others of her powerful love for them.
Sin repented of can humble us and make us more compassionate toward others. So while we should avoid sin from here on out, there is no reason at all to despair over what we’ve already done in the past. We must prayerfully trust in the mercy of God, which is open to anyone who seeks it in his Church.
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