1 LifeSiteNews.com - NewsBytes June 6, 2009

2009-06-06T09:57:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

We have been attempting to provide you with as many alternative reports as possible to the extremely biased and hostile mainstream media reaction to the murder of notorious late-term abortionist George Tiller. We think it is important that you stay aware of how the abortion industry and its many very influential allies are shamelessly exploiting this unfortunate occurrence to further their anti-life agenda.

Steve Jalsevac
LifeSiteNews.com

LifeSiteNews.com - Friday June 5, 2009

* LifeSiteNews.com NewsBytes - Reaction to George Tiller Killing
* LifeSiteNews.com NewsBytes - Life Issues, Obama, Sotomayor/Diaz, Obama and Catholics, Notre Dame/Obama, Religion, etc.

LifeSiteNews.com NewsBytes - Reaction to George Tiller Killing

* Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of LifeSiteNews.com. They are presented only for your information.

Compiled by Steve Jalsevac

REACTION TO GEORGE TILLER SHOOTING

Media Calls Killer 'Pro-Life'
half a dozen headlines about the murder of abortionist George Tiller that use the word "pro-life" to describe his suspected murderer or his associations. "In regular news stories, they always use the term 'anti-abortion," said Brian Gibson, "Now they start calling the person who did this 'pro-life,' when he's not. They're rubbing our noses in the term."
http://www.ncregister.com/daily/medias_pro-life_bias_on_display/

Death's Hand on the Tiller by John Zmirak
We shouldn't be surprised to see that pro-choice commentators are moving already to turn last week's snuff farce into a morality play, whose take-away message is that the pro-life movement is to blame for Tiller's death. A powerful, mainstream Democratic Party Web site, TPMCafe.com, published on May 31 a column that blames the death of Tiller on the simple fact that pro-lifers accurately describe what happens in the course of an abortion.

More dangerous to the cause of life than rants like this are statements and actions by Christians asserting that pro-life speech is inherently deadly -- and so must in the end be regulated, as speech is ever more tightly controlled in Canada and Great Britain.

The reason it's wrong to kill abortionists is that it is an act of war, and one that does not meet the conditions for a Just War.
http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6157&Itemid=48

If Bush or Cheney Had Been Assassinated Would Olbermann and MSNBC Be Responsible?
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/06/02/if-bush-or-cheney-had-been-assassinated-would-olbermann-msnbc-be-resp

Abortion Doctor on MSNBC Compares Pro-Lifers to Taliban
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2009/06/01/abortion-doctor-msnbc-compares-pro-lifers-taliban

Bonnie Erbe: Calling Abortion What It Is Makes You Extremist
In other words if you're pro-life but meek to the point of avoiding the abortion debate, Erbe doesn't consider you an extremist. But use accurately harsh language to describe the accurately harsh reality of what abortion is and you are an extremist who eggs on some to political terrorism.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/ken-shepherd/2009/06/01/bonnie-erbe-calling-abortion-what-it-makes-you-extremist

AP: Tiller Murder Part of a 'String'; Abort Group's Own History Shreds Claim
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2009/06/01/ap-tiller-murder-part-string-abort-groups-own-history-destroys-claim

Crunching numbers and contemplating the culture of death
...since the last abortionist was slain some 170,000 people have been murdered in the United States
http://insightscoop.typepad.com/2004/2009/06/crunching-number-and-contemplating-the-culture-of-death.html

Back to the 90s: Media Decried Violence Outside Clinics, But Not Inside
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tim-graham/2009/06/01/back-90s-media-decried-violence-outside-clinics-not-inside

CNN's Chetry Lets Abortionist Smear Pro-Life Demonstrators
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-balan/2009/06/01/cnns-chetry-lets-abortionist-smear-pro-life-demonstrators

ABC's Take on Tiller Murder: 'The Abortion Debate Turns Deadly'
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/scott-whitlock/2009/06/01/abcs-spin-tiller-murder-abortion-debate-turns-deadly

CBS 'Early Show' Sees No Controversy in Tiller's Work As 'Abortion Provider'
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2009/06/01/cbs-early-show-sees-no-controversy-tiller-s-work-abortion-provider

Liberal Blogs Quickly Link Doctor's Murder to Limbaugh, Hannity, and Beck
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/rusty-weiss/2009/05/31/liberal-blogs-quickly-link-doctor-s-murder-limbaugh-hannity-beck

Liberals Blame O'Reilly for Tiller Murder, Silent on Military Recruiter Shooting
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mitchell-blatt/2009/06/02/liberals-blame-oreilly-tiller-murder-silent-military-recruiter-shoot

How Long Will It Take Media To Tag Tiller Murderer As Not Part of Prolife Movement?
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2009/05/31/how-long-will-it-take-media-tag-tiller-murderer-not-part-prolife-movemen

Gravely Wicked by Robert P. George
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NDM5NGYyYWMxZDY3NWFmYjhjZmJiNTI2YmRjZmRlYWE=

"Can the killing of abortionists be justified?"
Already, within the span of a few hours, a standard line by some abortion supporters/providers has become, "Those who call abortion murder are implicitly or indirectly responsible for Tiller's death." It's a nifty bit of rhetoric, but one that is inherently flawed. It rests on the very shaky premise that if you believe someone has committed murder, you will be inclined to kill them if you have a chance. But both logic and experience say otherwise. The vast majority of peopleeven those with intense emotions about the matterseek justice through lawful means, even if those means are often frustrating and, in some cases, deeply flawed.
http://insightscoop.typepad.com/2004/2009/05/can-the-killing-of-abortionists-be-justified.html

Rhetoric from left-wing blogs/sites: There will be more of thismuch morein the days to come, I'm certain of it. And, sadly, Randall Terry is not helping matters at all. Not one bit.
http://insightscoop.typepad.com/2004/2009/05/suspect-arrested-in-tiller-slaying.html

Media: Tiller a Martyr, Abortion Not Killing and Pro-Lifers are Crazy
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/colleen-raezler/2009/06/02/media-tiller-martyr-abortion-not-killing-pro-lifers-are-crazy

CNN Highlights Prediction of a 'Huge Backlash' Against Pro-Lifers After Tiller
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-balan/2009/06/02/cnn-highlights-prediction-huge-backlash-against-pro-lifers-after-till

Bozell Column: A Pro-Life 'Jihad'?
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-bozell/2009/06/02/bozell-column-pro-life-jihad

Late Term Abortions Provided More Widely Than Media Reporting
http://www.priestsforlife.org/blog/?p=546

Is the Obama Administration More Concerned About Radical Anti-Abortionists Than Radical Islamists?
http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/06/02/morris_father_jonathan_tiller/

CNN's Chetry Lets Abortionist Smear Pro-Life Demonstrators
CNN anchor Kiran Chetry let an "abortion provider" from Alabama, whose center was bombed by captured fugitive Eric Rudolph, denigrate all pro-life activists who have ever protested in front of such centers as potential murderers
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-balan/2009/06/01/cnns-chetry-lets-abortionist-smear-pro-life-demonstrators

Number One Stupid and Irresponsible Comment On Dr. Tiller - Deal W. Hudson
http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_myblog&Itemid=127

LifeSiteNews.com NewsBytes - Life Issues, Obama, Sotomayor/Diaz, Obama and Catholics, Notre Dame/Obama, Religion, etc.

* Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of LifeSiteNews.com. They are presented only for your information.

Compiled by Steve Jalsevac

LIFE ISSUES

Abortion 'absolutists' blocking bill to support pregnant women, pro-life Dem says
the bill's opponents think the bill "goes too far toward common ground." A "minority of Democrats on the pro-choice side" object to a provision requiring that abortion providers offer women the voluntary option of receiving pre-abortion counseling to learn of the risks associated with abortion
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16165

Protecting the Careers of Medical Professionals Who Believe in the Hippocratic Oath by By Wesley J. Smith
http://www.cbc-network.org/research_display.php?id=395

More Evidence of Radical Scope of Assisted Suicide Death Agenda - Wesley J. Smith
http://www.firstthings.com/blog_entry.php?blog_id=6&year=2009&month=05&title_link=more-evidence-of-radical-scope-of-assisted-suicide-death-agenda-1243521001

A Blast From the Past: Good News About the case of Lauren Richardson, the pregnant woman who had a catastrophic brain injury. Wesley J. Smith
http://www.firstthings.com/blog_entry.php?blog_id=6&year=2009&month=05&title_link=a-blast-from-the-past-good-news-about-lauren-richardson-1243625797

Margaret Cottle and Assisted Suicide's Corruption of Palliative Care Wesley J. Smith
http://www.firstthings.com/blog_entry.php?blog_id=6&year=2009&month=05&title_link=margaret-cottle-and-assisted-suicides-corruption-of-palliative-care-1243612092

When the Right to Die Becomes a Duty By Colleen Carroll Campbell
http://www.eppc.org/publications/pubID.3838/pub_detail.asp

American women enrolled at Catholic colleges and universities are more likely to have abortions than their counterparts at public schools
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=3096

OBAMA

The Obama administration has moved to pull all federal funding from true abstinence education programs.
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/17082/BLI/commentary/index.htm

Liberal Fascism 2.0
With very, very, few exceptions, the Left decided that it was vital to destroy the book, unread and unexamined. I'd guess I've received a couple hundred e-mails from readers telling me how they thought the whole book was written with Obama in mind, even though I finished it before he was even ahead in the Democratic primaries. I think people fail to understand that tyrannies including soft, Huxleyan tyrannies aren't born from criminal conspiracies by evil men; they're born by progressive groupthink.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MzhhZjQ4OTJlNTNhMzI1ZmMyNGUxN2U3MDhiZmIwZjA=&w=Mg==

Guess Who Census Banned as 'Partners'
Agency seeks out ACORN, but 'blacklists' other groups. "Given its history of illegal activity and fraud, ACORN should be nowhere near the 2010 Census"
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=99452

All the President's Newsmen - Video - Should Washington bail out newpapers
http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1154&Itemid=10

Obama: America "One of the Largest Muslim Countries in the World"
http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/06/obama_america_one_of_the_large_1.asp

The Vatican response(s) to Obama's Cairo speech
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/features/index.cfm?recnum=60328

'Hush Rush' Fairness Doctrine Being Repackaged as 'Localism'
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2009/05/31/hush-rush-fairness-doctrine-being-repackaged-localism

SOTOMAYOR/DIAZ

Barack Obama has an uncanny ability to disarm critics, especially those itching for a fight, and it was on full display this past week. His choice of federal judge Sonia Sotomayor as a Supreme Court nominee, of course, got all the attention. But another key appointment of a Hispanic with top-notch credentials and a compelling personal story also showed just how good the President is at keeping his opponents off balance. In fact, in selecting Catholic scholar Miguel Diaz to be the new ambassador to the Holy See, Obama not only neutralized potential controversy, but also highlighted a potential weakness of the U.S. Catholic Church these days.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1902013,00.html

Is Fr. Thomas Reese, S.J., right or wrong... Sotomayor and Diaz
http://insightscoop.typepad.com/2004/2009/05/is-fr-thomas-reese-sj-right-or-wrong.html

Obama's Vatican Pick: Boosting Hispanic Catholics
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1902013,00.html

Apostolic nuncio: Obama nominee for Vatican ambassador 'an excellent choice'
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=3062

Down From the Bronx By George Neumayr
Don't be fooled by the "moderate" jurisprudence Sotomayor has got, she's still Sonia, Sonia from the block. Or is she?
http://spectator.org/archives/2009/05/29/down-from-the-bronx

Answering Peggy Noonan: Why Sotomayor Should Withdraw By Jeffrey Lord
Do I feel I am an "idiot" as you say of those who believe Sotomayor should be vigorously opposed based on her racial sentiments? Sorry, Peggy, I just can't agree. I am absolutely agog at those who speak of moderation on this subject, who speak of tone. Tone? Tone?!!!! Judge Sotomayor's nomination should be withdrawn.
http://spectator.org/archives/2009/06/02/answering-peggy-noonan-why-sot/

A Hispanic woman judicial activist is just as bad as any other judicial activist. A conservative judicial activist is just as bad as a liberal judicial activist.
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/17075/LEGAL/scourt/index.htm

Sonia Souter Left
Few serious people will argue that Sonia Sotomayor has been nominated to the Supreme Court because she is the best candidate for the job. Sotomayor may well move the court to the left.
http://spectator.org/archives/2009/05/28/sonia-souter-left

Never Liberal Enough: Networks Also Doubted Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Pro-Abortion Credentials in '93
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/rich-noyes/2009/05/30/never-liberal-enough-networks-also-doubted-ruth-bader-ginsburg-s-pro-abo

Senate Determines Judges' Thinking By Sen. Orrin Hatch
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/23148.html

OBAMA AND CATHOLICS

How is it that so many Catholics continue to parrot the Obama abortion reduction line, when there is absolutely no truth to it?
http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=More-Abortion-Reduction-from-President-Obama.html&Itemid=127

L'Osservatore Obama?
To many American Catholics in Rome, the newspaper's official line on Obama appears ill-informed. Father John Wauck, a professor of literature at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome and a former professional speechwriter for Republican and Democratic politicians, said he was "completely baffled by the colossal ignorance" in the newspaper, "ignorance of both American politics and the function of rhetoric."
http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/18317/

NOTRE DAME/OBAMA

Obama v. the Catholic Church
I strongly suspect that President Obama's speech at Notre Dame's commencement was an attempt to separate Catholics from the teachings of their church.
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/46605257.html?cmpid=15585797

The Actual Constitution by Rev. James V. Schall, SJ
The president, I have decided, is a genius. He knew that by receiving Notre Dame's honors, he would solidify the wisdom of the 54 percent of Catholics who voted for the most anti-life candidate ever. He also understands that the best way to counteract the so-called Catholic influence on the present Supreme Court is to appoint yet another Catholic.

The president's greatest supporters are in Europe, not Kansas. The purpose of government now is to give everyone what he wants, provided what he wants is what the government wants him to have.
http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6144&Itemid=48

Fr. Hesburgh Took Notre Dame Way Off Course
In 1961, Hesburgh accepted appointment to the board of directors of the Rockefeller Foundation, a prominent grantor to abortion-providing and population-control organizations. Hesburgh soon rose to become chairman of the foundation named after the Rockefeller family. ..he shocked even some of his most ardent defenders by permitting Notre Dame to host an annual convention of Planned Parenthood. He allowed our nation's most prolific abortion provider to use campus facilities several times. ...in a 1974 speech to a Catholic press association, he labeled opponents of abortion "mindless and crude zealots." ...in 1972, he immediately accepted membership in the world government-promoting Council on Foreign Relations chaired by Rockefeller. As a member of the advisory board of the group known as Planetary Citizens, Hesburgh subscribed to its Human Manifesto which seeks a "United Nations capable of governing our planet."
http://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/education/1176

The Salvaging of Notre Dame By Joseph Lawler
Of the 80 percent of students who identify as Catholic, a majority care more about football than faith. Notre Dame is still far more authentically Catholic than other large universities. St. Louis University, for example, is no longer religious in any meaningful sense. Boston College and Georgetown, the next two most prestigious schools, struggle just to maintain the pretense of faith. ...the declining percentage of Catholic faculty spells doom for Notre Dame's Catholicism
http://spectator.org/archives/2009/06/03/the-salvaging-of-notre-dame/1

Jesuit: Obama is "the most effective spokesperson" for "the spirit of Vatican II"
http://insightscoop.typepad.com/2004/2009/06/jesuit-obama-is-the-most-effective-spokesperson-for-the-spirit-of-vatican-ii.html

Barack Obama and Vatican II
...when I heard Obama's two speeches I was struck by how much he spoke in accord with the spirit of Vatican II. In those two addresses, as well as in his other speeches, he called for civility, for the end of name-calling, and for a willingness to work together to deal with our common problems, including abortion, rather than a stand-off determination to impose one's principles without reckoning what the cost to the common good might be.
http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=11688

RELIGION

One Nation of Religious Illiterates
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05282009/postopinion/opedcolumnists/one_nation__of_religious_illiterates_171312.htm

Boys Town founder Fr. Flanagan warned Irish Church about abuse. 1946: Fr. Flanagan slammed Ireland's reform schools as 'a disgrace to the nation'
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Boys-Town-founder-Fr-Flanagan-warned-Irish-Church-about-abuse-46390952.html

Catholic Judges by David Warren
http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6137&Itemid=48

Diocese of Rochester Partners With Anti-Family Judge and Notorious Abortionist to Develop Anti-Catholic Holocaust Series
http://www.pewsitter.com/view_news_id_19188.php

Burying Canadian Miners - Development and Peace
These groups, led by the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP), and who are backing Bill C-300, seem far more concerned with stopping profits than helping the poor. It also raises questions about why such groups would receive millions in funding from Ottawa, primarily from the Canadian International Development Agency. The CCODP which also pursues a hard-line liberation theology/people-vs.-profits approach has organized huge write-in campaigns to browbeat politicians, along with rallies on Parliament Hill.
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/05/27/peter-foster-burying-canadian-miners.aspx

Cooperating with the Creator: The Church and Birth Control by Mark P. Shea
In this Crisis Magazine classic, Mark P. Shea lays out the case against artificial contraception. It's stronger than you might think.
http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6125&Itemid=48

The Hits Just Keep Coming
The Diocese of Bridgeport was notified by the Connecticut Office of State Ethics that it is under investigation for possible violations of the state's lobbying laws. This of course is nothing less than the vindictive retribution by an entity whose leadership has become as anti-religious a nest of vipers as our Lord ever encountered.
http://spectator.org/archives/2009/06/03/the-hits-just-keep-coming

The World's Largest Democracy Has Voted
The most important victors may be Christians and other religious minorities in India.
http://spectator.org/archives/2009/06/02/reputation-reversal

Canada's Tolerance Misplaced By Mahfooz Kanwar
I am a first-generation Canadian from Pakistan. I left Pakistan 45 years ago.
I do not agree with those Canadians who engage in their fight against the system in their original countries on Canadian soil. They should go back and fight from within.
I once supported multiculturalism in Canada because I believed it gave us a sense of pluralism and diversity. However, I have observed and experienced that official multiculturalism has encouraged convolution of the values that make Canada the kind of place people want to immigrate to in the first place.

Muslims are less than two per cent of the Canadian population, yet in 2004 and 2005, a fraction of them, the fundamentalists, wanted to bring sharia law to Canada. If they really want to live under sharia, they should go to the prison-like countries where sharia is practised.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/Canada+tolerance+misplaced/1442771/story.html

Is Islam a Religion of Peace?
http://www.ncregister.com/daily/is_islam_a_religion_of_peace/

Evil, In the Name of God by Deal W. Hudson
http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6134&Itemid=48

RADICAL ENVIRONMENTALISM

Pelosi Spills Beans About Radical Environmentalism's Voracious Appetite for Power Wesley J. Smith
http://www.firstthings.com/blog_entry.php?blog_id=6&year=2009&month=05&title_link=pelosi-spills-beans-about-radical-environmentalisms-voracious-appetite-for-power-1243532187

Surprising support from the green left on population control
http://spuc-director.blogspot.com/2009/06/surprising-support-from-green-left-on.html

NASA Study Acknowledges Solar Cycle, Not Man, Responsible for Past Warming
http://www.dailytech.com/NASA+Study+Acknowledges+Solar+Cycle+Not+Man+Responsible+for+Past+Warming/article15310.htm

Editorial: Cooling Down With Global-Warming Data
U.S. and world temperature records are compromised by monitoring station errors. If fighting global warming may cost the economy $9.6 trillion and more than 1 million lost jobs by 2035, as the Heritage Foundation forecasts, it'd be a good idea to be sure there's a sound basis before making such a massive sacrifice.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/temperature-stations-global-2433763-heat-watts

MISCELLANEOUS

Cheney on gay marriage: 'Freedom for everyone'
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090602/D98IHB300.html

Gay marriage mob harasses petition-signers in Washington state By Michelle Malkin
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/06/02/gay-marriage-mob-harasses-petition-signers-in-washington-state/

U.S. Inflation to Approach Zimbabwe Level, Faber Says
"I am 100 percent sure that the U.S. will go into hyperinflation"
http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aIeLg1djbBps&refer=home

Ten Thoughts on the Causes of the Bubble and Bust
http://spectator.org/archives/2009/05/29/ten-thoughts-on-the-causes-of

Dumbest Generation Getting Dumber
The teaching establishment and politicians have hoodwinked taxpayers into believing that more money is needed to improve education. Any long-term solution to our education problems requires the decentralization that can come from competition.
http://townhall.com/columnists/WalterEWilliams/2009/06/03/dumbest_generation_getting_dumber

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LifeSiteNews.com - Friday June 5, 2009

2009-06-05T21:39:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

Our tech team has finished working on a brand new secure and easy-to-use system of donation pages. Now when you click "donate" from our emails or links on the website, the new system will automatically direct you to either a "US and International Donors" or a "Canadian Donors" web page depending on your location.

Note that the web address of some of our donation pages indicates the page is hosted by Qbase Fundraising. Qbase is a secure server that processes donations automatically and securely, providing you with the peace-of-mind of knowing you are donating with the latest in secure technology. We hope that this new donation system is indeed a more user-friendly one, and we encourage you to explore all the new ways of supporting our fearless reporting.

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LifeSiteNews.com - Friday June 5, 2009

* Three Senators Now Say Sotomayor Will Uphold Roe v. Wade
* LifeSiteNews Launches Portuguese Version: Notícias Pró-Família
* 400 Students Defy ACLU and Stand to Recite Lord's Prayer at Graduation
* White House "Comfortable" With Anti-Catholic Homosexual Activist on Faith Counsel
* Roeder Objects to "Being Treated as a Criminal" Before Conviction: Interview with Alleged Tiller Killer
* MSNBC Host Keith Olbermann Names Pro-Life Activist Jill Stanek "Worst Person in the World"
* Fox's Bill O'Reilly Responds to Criticisms that he Helped Kill Tiller
* Caught on Video: How UNICEF, WHO Manipulate Latin American Catholics to Cooperate on Abortion
* "Love Really Can Make Suffering Bearable": Woman with Spina Bifida Grapples with the Answer to "Unbearable Suffering"
* UK Considers Euthanasia Amendment: "Beginning of the Creation of a Death Cult" Says Lord Alton
* Euthanasia Bill Introduced in Tasmanian Parliament
* Proposals to Legalize Abortion are "Verbal Diarrhea" Says Former Spanish President
* Same-Sex "Marriage" Bill Will Radically Change Nature of Marriage: Bishops to New York State Senate
* Up to 4000 Conservatives to Descend Upon Amsterdam for World Congress of Families in August
* UNFPA Gives Awards to Nicaraguan Pro-Abortion NGO, "Reproductive Rights" Advocate
* Catholic University Blasted for Giving Platform to Prof Who Blamed Tiller Murder on Pro-Life Movement
* Letters to the Editor
* LifeSiteNews.com NewsBytes - Reaction to George Tiller Killing

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Three Senators Now Say Sotomayor Will Uphold Roe v. Wade

By Peter J. Smith

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 5, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) As Sonia Sotomayor finishes making the rounds on Capitol Hill, meeting individually with lawmakers, two more US senators insist the Supreme Court nominee will continue to uphold legal abortion by maintaining Roe v. Wade as the law of the land.

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden from Oregon has become the third US Senator to affirm that Sotomayor will respect abortion law set by the legal precedent of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that, along with its companion case Doe v. Bolton, legalized abortion on demand in all fifty US states.

"She acknowledged that Roe v Wade was precedent and established law," said Wyden according to a report by the Oregonian.

Wyden reiterated the point and added, "Let me be clear. What I was looking for, particularly on that point, was to hear a nominee who was not going to trifle with precedent and the rule or law. She made that very clear."

According to Politico, US Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) has also stated her belief that Sotomayor would stand by Roe, although Snowe did not indicate that she would support Sotomayor's nomination. Snowe had a 45 minute interview with Sotomayor and stated that "the essence of her approach is deference to the rule of law" and that Sotomayor had expressed her opinion that Roe v. Wade is settled law.

Senator Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), one of the foremost advocates of abortion in the US Senate, had also met privately with Sotomayor and was first to express her conviction that she would adhere to the precedent of Roe.

The idea that Sotomayor would uphold Roe comes hardly as a surprise, as President Obama would not likely jeopardize the current 5 4 pro-Roe majority in the Supreme Court with a nominee unknown on abortion (see coverage).

However the lack of written decisions reflecting Sotomayor's legal reasoning on abortion has generated some discomfort among Obama's pro-abortion constituencies who are looking for reassurance that Sotomayor will not turn out to be like David Souter, the associate justice she replaces. Souter had been advertized as an anti-Roe judge and pro-life during his confirmation process under George H. W. Bush, but voted to uphold Roe in the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision, instead of striking that precedent down as was expected, and thus return the matter of abortion to the individual states.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Is Sotomayor a "Souter" on Roe v. Wade for the Abortion Movement? All Signs Point to No
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052904.html

Senator Feinstein Assures Pro-Aborts: Sotomayor "Respects Precedent" Set by Roe v. Wade
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060314.html

LifeSiteNews Launches Portuguese Version: Notícias Pró-Família

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent

GUADALAJARA, June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - LifeSiteNews.com, the internet's most-read international pro-life and pro-family news service, has launched a parallel service in Portuguese.

The new service, Notícias Pró-Família (Pro-Family News) is currently hosted on Google's Blogger system, at http://noticiasprofamilia.blogspot.com. However, LifeSiteNews plans to move the service to its own website before long.

Notícias Pró-Família posts one to two new articles daily, translated by Julio Severo, one of Brazil's most prominent pro-family activists. Severo currently lives in self-imposed exile from Brazil to avoid prosecution for criticizing the country's powerful homosexualist movement, which is supported by President Luiz Lula da Silva.

LifeSiteNews Managing Director and co-founder Steve Jalsevac said about the new service: "We have long understood there is a need for our news reports to be made available in other languages since the attacks on life and family are being experienced around the world. We have had repeated requests for other language versions of LifeSiteNews, especially from readers in Latin America. This is our first humble attempt to meet that great need."

Jalsevac added that he hopes "some extra generous LifeSiteNews readers will come forward to financially support this crucial effort to report the truth, especially its expansion into developing nations that are under intense assault by massively financed depopulation groups." He also stressed that LifeSiteNews works closely with Human Life International, the Population Research Institute and other international life and family-supportive organizations that consider LifeSiteNews reports necessary for their work.

"I have wanted to see LifeSiteNews in Portuguese for many years, during which time I have translated into Portuguese many LSN articles, never for personal gain, but exclusively to make available to Brazilians important information on family and life issues," commented Severo.

"Brazil has suffered massive anti-life investments from powerful American anti-family foundations in America and Europe, including from the UN. I am very glad that LifeSiteNews accepted the challenge to invest in quality Portuguese pro-life and pro-family news in Brazil."

400 Students Defy ACLU and Stand to Recite Lord's Prayer at Graduation

By John Jalsevac

SANTA ROSA COUNTY, FL, June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) Nearly 400 graduating seniors at Pace High School stood up in protest against the ACLU and recited the Lord's Prayer during their graduation ceremony last Saturday. Many of the students also painted crosses on their graduation caps to make a statement of faith. (To watch a video of the prayer, click here)

The prayerful protest by the students comes on the heels of a lawsuit the ACLU filed against the Santa Rosa County School District, claiming some of the teachers and administration endorsed religion. The suit was filed on behalf of two students, who said that the teachers were promoting their views of religion.

The two teachers at Pace High School were Principal Frank Lay and school teacher Michelle Winkler. The ACLU alleges that during a dinner event held at the school, Principal Lay asked the athletic director to bless the meal. In another incident, the ACLU alleges that Michelle Winkler's husband, who is not a school board employee, offered prayer at an awards ceremony

According to the ACLU lawsuit, graduation ceremonies during the past five years at Central, Jay, Milton, Navarre and Pace High Schools in the Santa Rosa District have included prayers by students often members of groups like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes or the Christian World Order. The graduation ceremonies at Santa Rosa Adult School and Santa Rosa Learning Academy also have included prayers.

Leading up to the graduation ceremony, the ACLU demanded that Pace High School censor students from offering prayers or saying anything religious. In the end, members of the student body were not permitted to speak at the graduation.

The graduating class at the school, however, decided to react against the ACLU bullying by taking a stand at graduation. As soon as Principal Lay asked everyone to be seated at the ceremony, the graduating class remained standing and recited the Lord's Prayer.

ACLU attorney Benjamin Stevenson told ABC Channel Three after the event: "Our feeling is that it's regrettable that the students took over the ceremony to impose their religious views on the audience who may not have shared the same religious views.

"School officials have a responsibility to protect the silently held religious views of others."

Stevenson said that something should have been done to stop the recitation of the Lord's Prayer and that it is too early to know whether the ACLU will pursue further legal action.

Mathew D. Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented: "Neither students nor teachers shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate. The students at Pace High School refused to remain silent and were not about to be bullied by the ACLU.

"We have decided to represent faculty, staff and students of Pace High School," he said, "because the ACLU is clearly violating their First Amendment rights. Schools are not religion-free zones, and any attempt to make them so is unconstitutional."

White House "Comfortable" With Anti-Catholic Homosexual Activist on Faith Counsel

By Peter J. Smith

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 5, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) The White House says the President is "comfortable" with a homosexual activist on his advisory counsel of faith-based initiatives, a man who has come under attack for having vilified the Catholic Church, calling the current Pope a "discredited leader" and the Knights of Columbus his "foot soldiers" in a "discredited army of oppression."

CNSNews.com reported Tuesday that the White House has essentially shrugged at calls from Catholics that Harry Knox, the former director of the "religion and faith program" at the Human Rights Counsel, a homosexual lobby group, be removed from the President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships for his insulting and bigoted language toward the Catholic Church (see coverage).

Prominent Catholic figures, including House Republican Leader John Boehner, Catholic League President Bill Donohue, American Life League's Judie Brown, and members of the Family Research Council, expressed their concern to Obama in a May 13 letter, citing Knox's remarks as proof he is "unfit to serve" on an advisory board billed as fostering interfaith cooperation.

"As Catholics, we call on you to remove Mr. Knox from his position and to formally disassociate yourself from his militant anti-Catholicism," stated the letter, signed by 22 Catholic leaders. "Failure to do so will result in the tainting of your Faith-Based Council - and indeed, your entire administration - as anti-Catholic."

The letter also stated, "We do not know if you or members of your Administration were aware of Knox's deplorable, abusive attitude towards the Church and Pope Benedict XVI when you named him to the Council. We assume you were not."

The letter continued, "But since then, there have been numerous press reports on Knox's loathsome and clearly bigoted rhetoric, so there no longer is any excuse for your failure to act. We can remain silent no longer."

A CNSNews reporter finally obtained comment from White House press secretary Robert Gibbs on the issue, who made clear Obama had no problem with Knox on his advisory counsel.

"The president is comfortable with the makeup of his faith advisory council," Gibbs said

Knox has refused to back down from comments in which he accused Pope Benedict XVI of being "morally reprehensible" for not supporting the use of condoms in Africa.

"The Pope's statement that condoms don't help control the spread of HIV, but rather condoms increase infection rates, is hurting people in the name of Jesus," Knox said in a March statement, two weeks before his appointment to the council.

In 2007, Knox called it "immoral and insulting to Jesus" when the bishop of Cheyenne, Wyoming instructed that an activist lesbian couple not receive Communion.

"If all Knox had done was to criticize the Catholic Church on public policy issues, there would be no problem," said Catholic League President Bill Donohue. Instead, Donahue said Knox had stepped beyond merely disagreeing with the Church to demonizing it, "slamming the Catholic Church on internal matters that are none of his business."

"In short," continued Donahue, "the letter by Catholic leaders to President Obama requesting him to remove Harry Knox from his post is entirely warranted."

See related coverage by LifeSiteNews.com:

Catholics Call for Obama to Oust Homosexualist Pope Critic from "Faith" Council
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051308.html

Roeder Objects to "Being Treated as a Criminal" Before Conviction: Interview with Alleged Tiller Killer

By Kathleen Gilbert

WICHITA, June 5, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a three-minute interview with the Associated Press on Thursday, suspected Tiller killer Scott Roeder lamented that he was "being treated as a criminal" before being proven guilty, and thanked all who had prayed for him.

Roeder was arrested hours after Kansas late-term abortionist George Tiller was shot and killed while distributing programs as an usher at his Lutheran church. Police apprehended Roeder, 51, as he drove away from the scene, and he was subsequently charged with first degree-murder.

Roeder refused to comment on the Tiller murder, saying he would discuss it later.

The Kansas City resident disputed the "broad brush" used by media, describing him as simply anti-government, saying: "I want people to stop and think: It is not anti-government. It is anti-corrupt-government."

"I haven't been convicted of anything, and I am being treated as a criminal," Roeder told the AP. He also said was concerned about the media attention received by his elderly mother and the rest of his family.

"I appreciate your prayers," said Roeder

Roeder, who according to a 2005 court ruling was diagnosed with schizophrenia, has a history of trouble with the law stemming from his participation in violent anti-government groups.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

A Portrait of an Alleged Murderer: The Life of Suspected Tiller Killer Scott Roeder
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060203.html

MSNBC Host Keith Olbermann Names Pro-Life Activist Jill Stanek "Worst Person in the World"

By Kathleen Gilbert

NEW YORK, June 5, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - MSNBC's Keith Olbermann dove into the debate surrounding the George Tiller murder Thursday by singling out pro-life blogger Jilll Stanek as his pick for "Worst Person in the World."

In the context of a post on late-term abortion providers in the U.S., Stanek had recently posted images of Nebraska abortionist LeRoy Cahart's small abortion facility along with commentary on an Associated Press report describing the building. Cahart has been in the news in recent days for having offered to continue Tiller's late-term abortion business following his murder.

Olbermann based his invective on the claim that, in addition to pictures, Stanek posted the addresses of Cahart's abortion mill as well as that of abortionist Warren Hern of Boulder, CO a claim that Stanek says is completely false to begin with.

The news anchorman last night took aim at Stanek, who, he says, "did not get the point in the assassination of Dr. George Tiller that you can be complicit in a crime even if you never met the man nor his assassin."

"Miss Stanek, you'll never understand that in a just world, to tell a bunch of crazy people like your readers where they can find somebody and abuse, threaten, or kill them that that should be enough of a crime to put you in jail for the rest of your life," Olbermann said. "So let's try this one out instead.

"You do realize that by posting online the addresses of these two doctors' clinics you probably enabled some woman seeking their help to now find them and get an abortion? You, Jill Stanek, have just enabled an abortion."

Stanek responded to the remarks on her blog.

"Never mind that I didn't actually post the addresses of LeRoy Carhart and Warren Hern," she wrote, "had I done so it would have been akin to posting the address of President Obama and being accused of making him a target for nutcases."

"Libs, get a brain," she said. "These guys both advertise on the web. They want people to know where they operate."

Stanek also noted that photographs of the abortion facilities had also been published by the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press.

"Still, I proudly accept my award. Thank you for the badge of honor, Keith!" Stanek concluded.

Olbermann's remarks about Stanek inciting pro-life advocates to murder comes only days after he singled out Fox News, and especially Fox's Bill O'Reilly, for inciting people to "terrorism and murder." The statement was based upon O'Reilly's long-time criticism of abortionist George Tiller's gruesome late-term abortion practices.

"Fox News Channel will never restrain itself from incitement to murder and terrorism," said Olbermann, "not until its profits begin to decline or when its growth stops, so not so much a boycott here as a quarantine, because this has got to stop. The goal is to get this blindly irresponsible man and his ilk off the air."

O'Reilly has responded that he believes the reports from liberal news media linking mainstream pro-life activism to Tiller's murder are part of a deliberate campaign of the "far left." "By exploiting the death of Tiller," he says, "the far left is seeking to silence Americans who are appalled at late-term abortion. By demonizing people like me who believe that terminating viable fetuses must only be done when there are catastrophic health ramifications, pro-abortion zealots are trying to inhibit dissent on the abortion issue in general."

Fox's Bill O'Reilly Responds to Criticisms that he Helped Kill Tiller
"The murder of Dr. Tiller, as misguided as he was, can never be condoned," he says, "But neither can the hateful, dishonest tactics of the far left."

By Patrick B. Craine

June 5, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) Following the killing of late-term abortionist George Tiller on Sunday, blame for the murder has been thrown at the pro-life movement and social conservatives by abortion supporters and by much of the mainstream media. Fox's Bill O'Reilly, host of 'The O'Reilly Factor,' has been one central target of accusations of complicity in Tiller's death because of his criticism of anti-life measures and, especially, of George Tiller's gruesome late-term abortion practices. O'Reilly has responded to this criticism, both on his show on Monday, and in an article for TownHall.com on Wednesday.

"When I heard about Tiller's murder, I knew pro-abortion zealots and Fox News-haters would attempt to blame us for the crime," said O'Reilly on his Monday show, "and that is exactly what has happened."

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, host of 'Countdown', for example, criticized O'Reilly and Fox harshly, calling for the end of the news network. He says Fox "shared the blame" for Tiller's death, and that O'Reilly himself was "the principal perpetrator" at Fox. Olbermann called for "an indirect boycott" of the station. He said: "Fox News Channel will never restrain itself from incitement to murder and terrorism, not until its profits begin to decline or when its growth stops, so not so much a boycott here as a quarantine, because this has got to stop. The goal is to get this blindly irresponsible man and his ilk off the air."

In his article, O'Reilly emphasizes that, though Tiller was involved in the gross destruction of human life, nevertheless his murder was gravely wrong. "Shot dead in a church by an anti-government militant, Tiller did not deserve his fate," he said. "Even though the man destroyed an estimated 60,000 fetuses that could have lived outside the womb, he was an American citizen entitled to protection. No matter what you think about abortion, it is a sad day for the country when vigilantism takes a life."

Olbermann and others blame O'Reilly particularly for his use of the nickname 'Tiller the Baby Killer.' Responding to this criticism in his article for TownHall.com, O'Reilly stated, "Some pro-lifers branded him that, and I reported it. So did hundreds of other news sources."

"But the bigger picture here," O'Reilly continues, "is the glorification of Tiller." He principally criticizes the "uber-liberal" New York Times for its praise of the abortionist, quoting them saying: "For his principled devotion to women's health and constitutionally protected rights, Dr. Tiller was the target of protests at his clinic, his house and his church."

"The Times made Tiller out to be a hero," O'Reilly said. "The paper's editorial never mentioned that he aborted fetuses after 21 weeks, when they could live outside the mother's womb. The Times opinion also did not mention that Tiller became a millionaire doing this, or that only three late-term abortion clinics exist in the entire country. Nor did the editorial writer put forth that 36 states restrict late-term abortions without violating the Constitution."

He criticizes NBC and its anchor Brian Williams still further, however, blaming Williams for "overseeing a report that emphasized the verbal criticism of Tiller rather than the militancy of the person who shot him." He says, "NBC pundits filled the night with slanderous wails against those who opposed Tiller's deadly practice."

O'Reilly believes the reports from liberal news media are part of a deliberate campaign of the "far left." "By exploiting the death of Tiller," he says, "the far left is seeking to silence Americans who are appalled at late-term abortion. By demonizing people like me who believe that terminating viable fetuses must only be done when there are catastrophic health ramifications, pro-abortion zealots are trying to inhibit dissent on the abortion issue in general."

O'Reilly concludes his article with a sharp condemnation of the radical liberals behind this campaign. "The murder of Dr. Tiller, as misguided as he was, can never be condoned," he says, "But neither can the hateful, dishonest tactics of the far left."

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

O'Reilly Factor Does Hard-Hitting Exposé of Kansas Late-Term Abortionist
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/may/07053106.html

Caught on Video: How UNICEF, WHO Manipulate Latin American Catholics to Cooperate on Abortion
Church members, clergy considered social workers to recruit to implement UN agenda

By Hilary White and Steve Jalsevac

June 5, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - When is abortion not really "abortion"? When it is promoted as "therapeutic" by UN-supported international health organisations trying to make a "strategic alliance" with the Catholic Church in Latin America. The Population Research Institute (PRI) has just posted a 6-minute video of highlights from interviews conducted by its Latin American Director that reveal the slick language tactics used by UN agents to manipulate Catholics to cooperate with its anti-life, anti-family agendas.

Dr. Oscar Suriel, International Consultant on Family, Health and Community, for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), a member organization of the World Health Organization (WHO), told PRI's Carlos Polo in March, that it is not "abortion per se" that they support, but only "therapeutic abortion."

Dr. Manuel Manrique Castro from UNICEF said that his organization's dedication to the use of condoms to prevent AIDS was fully supported by many Latin American bishops.

Drs. Suriel and Manrique spoke to Polo at a meeting in Quito, Ecuador organised by the Latin American Catholic Bishops Conferences (CELAM). The two UN officials said they were at the "Pastoral Meeting about Children and Adolescents at Risk, at CELAM's invitation, and both spoke of organising a "strategic alliance" with the Church.

When asked in the videotaped interview whether PAHO's support of abortion does not put it into conflict with the Church, Dr. Suriel flatly denied that his organisation supported abortion "per se" but only promoted "therapeutic abortion."

"It is not correct that we promote abortion," Suriel said. "That is a poor assessment because it is not so. If it were so, then we are like you said, in opposition to you, and that is not correct."

"You are referring to therapeutic abortion. And therapeutic abortion is not promoting abortion. Therapeutic abortion is an important thing. So what we are promoting is therapeutic abortion. But we do not promote under any circumstances or in any way abortion per se. It is very different from what you are saying."

However, when confronted with the fact that PAHO had supported the Mexico City legalization of abortion on demand, a situation that even PAHO does not believe constitutes "therapeutic" abortion, Suriel backtracked and said it was about what a woman wants. "We promote that if a teenager wants ... if they have a pregnancy and they must keep it, we promote that," he said.

PAHO and UNICEF both promote "reproductive health" that is an acknowledged euphemism at the United Nations for the promotion of abortion, abortifacient drugs, artificial contraception and sterilization. UN groups, while stating that their reproductive health policies are in conformity with local laws, also engage in heavy pressure tactics, particularly through committees such as that of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), to change national laws to allow abortion on demand. Earlier this year, UNICEF published a 168-page report that called for massive increases in "reproductive health services," in developing countries.

Several years ago the Vatican withdrew its support for UNICEF and later Renato Cardinal Martino, then Vatican representative at the UN, asked Catholics to cease donating to the organization.

Asked if UNICEF would be willing to give up promotion of their anti-life policies in order to form a partnership with the Catholic Church, Dr. Manrique said that it is only "radicals" in the Catholic Church who oppose those things, not the Church as a whole.

"Well, that may be the recommendation of the Cardinal, but along with the recommendation of the Cardinal there are many other opinions," he said. "There are radicals that do not help the advancement of organizations."

Asked if the promotion of condoms for AIDS prevention, the "reproductive right" of abortion and contraception, and "gender ideology" are in conflict with the Church, Manrique responded, "These three issues ... are perfectly in tune with the Catholic Church."

The Church, he said, has not "promoted" contraceptives, "but it has accepted the use of condoms specifically in the case of AIDS. It accepts it. I can bring if you like, many cases of bishops who agree and say 'If people need it, you can use it'."

Confronted with Pope Benedict's recently restated opposition to the use of condoms, however, Manrique agreed that the pope is the highest moral authority in the Church, but said, "Since this is a recent event, it does not overturn the multiple statements of many Latin American bishops, including the Secretary General of the Colombian Bishops' Conference. Or what even the Brazilian bishops have said in this regard."

Both Suriel and Manrique later asked the Population Research Institute (PRI) not to publish the interviews, which were videotaped and are now posted to the internet on PRI's YouTube channel. They said they feared that their comments would result in their loss of access to Latin American Catholic medical clinics and volunteers.

On the PRI website Carlos Polo sums up the UN agencies' attitude in the interviews. He states, "They believe that they are simply recruiting social workers - who work cheaply or simply for free - into the service of a secular health organization. As far as the Church's position on abortion is concerned, they apparently believe that if they co-opt enough of the Church's workers, priests, and bishops, that they can use it as an instrument for their own ends."

Unfortunately, as has been reported regarding social justice organizations funded by Canada's Development and Peace and other Catholic groups, these tactics by international anti-life groups are proving to be successful.

"Love Really Can Make Suffering Bearable": Woman with Spina Bifida Grapples with the Answer to "Unbearable Suffering"

By Kathleen Gilbert

LANSDOWNE, Virginia, June 5, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Amid the euthanasia and assisted suicide debate, the objection is frequently raised: what about those who suffer what can truly be called "unbearable pain"?

Although euthanasia advocates often mount a compelling "right to die" argument for such cases, two U.K. activists intimately familiar with the depth of physical suffering strongly deny that assisted suicide and euthanasia provide an acceptable answer to pain. Instead, they say, a society that considers suicide a legitimate option deprives sufferers of the support they need the most, and implicitly shuns the power of love to overcome suffering.

Colin Harte, director of the U.K. anti-euthanasia group ALERT, addressed the question of suffering head-on at the Second International Symposium on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide at the National Conference Center in Lansdowne, VA last weekend. The symposium was hosted by Canada's Euthanasia Prevention Coalition. Harte is the full-time caretaker of Alison Davis, the leader of the disability rights group No Less Human, who is disabled.

Davis herself spoke first at the symposium, and battled the growing notion that people with profound disabilities - and even those with "unbearable pain" - are "better off dead."

Davis has suffered all her life from spina bifida, hydrocephalus, emphysema, and multiple other disabilities that have confined her permanently to a wheelchair and cause immense suffering. Frequent doses of morphine, she said, only somewhat alleviate her pain. "I think it's important for us to know that some pain can't be relieved. That's the case for me," she said. "When the pain's at its worst, I can't move, I can't think, I can't speak. Doctors have told me that it will definitely get worse."

Davis said that about twenty years ago, when doctors assured her she didn't have long to live, she developed a "settled wish" to die that lasted for ten years. She attempted to kill herself several times. However, she said she regained her desire to live after a 1995 trip to India where she met disabled children whom she had sponsored, and whom she began to love "overwhelmingly and fiercely." Davis later set up Enable (Working in India), a charity for disabled Indian children.

"Had euthanasia or assisted suicide been legal then, and I'd been killed," said Davis, "I would have missed what actually have been the best years of my life, and nobody would ever have known."

Davis says that people often assume that because she is in a wheelchair, she is in favor of euthanasia. However, she said, openness to such an option is not what individuals who are disabled and in pain really need.

"In my experience, when the pain is bad, what I need is not to be told I'm burdensome and it's my choice whether I want to live or die, and that perhaps I would be better off dead," said Davis. "What I need is to be surrounded by people who tell me, yes, my life does have value, and I'm not burdensome ... they can't take the pain away, but sometimes it's not the pain that hurts the most, it's the fear of being abandoned."

Davis' full-time assistant, Colin Harte, criticized the deep fear of both experiencing and witnessing suffering that he says is behind the euthanasia movement. "In many people's minds, the whole of the debate about euthanasia is fixated on the question of suffering," said Harte.

While advanced palliative care usually means the elimination of severe pain, he said sometimes, as in Davis' case, the question of suffering must be faced head-on.

In examining the modern reaction to "unbearable" suffering, Harte questioned why prisoners of Nazi concentration camps rarely committed suicide - although, he noted, firsthand accounts attest that "the thought of suicide was entertained by nearly everyone in the camps, if only for a brief time."

"Suicide was, in fact, an easy option," said Harte. "Yet in spite of contemplating suicide, very, very few went through with it. Why should this be?" Harte concluded that the main deterrent was the "solidarity in suffering" and "mutual sense of encouragement" among prisoners who collectively rejected suicide as a viable option. Amid such encouragement, he said, a "natural human resilience" emerges in spite of great suffering.

However, said Harte, "once suicide is considered a legitimate option, those words of hope lose their power - because death itself is seen as a means of liberation, the means of satisfaction. Death is regarded as the source of hope."

If assisted suicide had been legal while Alison had given up on life, said Harte, "it would have made my job absolutely impossible." "I would have been regarded as being cruel to her to encourage her to live," he said. "Once you have a law allowing the so-called 'compassionate choice' to die, if you want to emphasize another option which is going to involve suffering, you are suddenly becoming the person who is not compassionate, who is inflicting suffering."

"We live in a ... world today where those who give up the fight are called tenacious, and those who abandon their use of free will by killing themselves somehow achieve an independence. It's madness!" said Harte. "We should be able to say plainly: it's mad. It's absurd."

Contrary to the typical assumption, said Harte, death is not the only means of overcoming unstoppable pain: while Davis' physical pain did not improve after her visit to India, and in many ways has become "much worse," Harte said the children had "provided a particularly powerful motivation for her to persevere." "And that motivation has another name, a simple name: love," he said.

Harte quoted Holocaust survivor and psychoanalyst Victor Frankl, who said that, amid his suffering: "I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love. ... In a position of utter desolation, when a man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way - an honorable way - in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment."

"That profound insight that resulted from Frankl's own intense suffering, which in all probability would not have been realized without that suffering," said Harte. "Love really can, and does make suffering bearable."

"Even though committed euthanasia advocates may deride the idea that there can be any point in suffering, many people would like to be convinced of its value, said Harte. "They would love to be convinced of its value. And I think we alone can show them this value."

Related Links:

Enabled (Working in India)

Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

To order DVDs of the Second International Symposium, contact the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition at: info@epcc.ca

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

"Obsessional" Fear of Suffering Ushering in Euthanasia Culture: Prominent Bioethicist

Experts at International Euthanasia Symposium Stress Unity, Strategy, and the Triumph of Love over Suffering

"The Weekend Cleanup": The Gruesome Aftermath of Legalized Euthanasia in Belgium

UK Considers Euthanasia Amendment: "Beginning of the Creation of a Death Cult" Says Lord Alton

By Alex Bush

LONDON, UK, June 5, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) Lord Falconer of Thoroton has tabled an amendment to the Coroners and Justice Bill that would make it legal to assist a person to leave the country to commit suicide. Presently, it is illegal for someone to assist another to commit suicide, even if done out of the country. The law, however, is generally not enforced because it "is not in the public interest," according to Sir Ken Macdonald, former Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Numerous U.K. residents have in recent years travelled to Switzerland, where assisted suicide is legal, to commit suicide with the help of the suicide group Dignitas. While a number of investigations have been initiated against relatives who have travelled with the person who was committing suicide, none have resulted in charges being laid.

Lord Alton of Liverpool, however, said that the bill "marks the beginning of the creation of a death cult. It is not the terminally-ill but the perfectly healthy we are talking about," referencing the fact that Dignitas is willing to assist the suicide even of those who are merely depressed and not suffering any physical illness.

Falconer, on the other hand, argued that some people, fearing the unenforced law, leave the country to commit suicide "alone." "They go early. And they die in the hands of strangers." He claimed that the current law "only works because of the good sense of the DPP [not to prosecute offenders]."

"The amendment I am tabling to the Coroners and Justice Bill does not make it an easier for people to go to Switzerland to die in a Dignitas clinic," he said, "they can already do this. Rather, it is making sure that the law reflects the sensible position adopted to date by the courts and the DPP, while protecting people from abuse."

But Alton continued to blast the amendment, calling it the "classic thin edge of the wedge," since this is "the third time we have had an attempt to legislate in this way in this Parliament."

"The medical bodies - the British Medical Association and the royal colleges - remain opposed to any change. They know it would change irreversibly the medical profession if doctors and nurses have to become destroyers of life rather than defenders," Alton said.

The Archbishop Peter Smith of Cardiff also condemned the amendment, saying that "Legalising assistance with suicide is morally wrong in itself and would put vulnerable people at grave risk."

"Furthermore, to attempt to bring it about by tagging an amendment on to a government Bill designed for completely different purposes is a totally inappropriate way of seeking to legislate on such a serious matter," the archbishop said.

Euthanasia Bill Introduced in Tasmanian Parliament

By Alex Bush

June 5, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) Nick McKim, an MP from the political party the Tasmanian Greens, has tabled a bill that would legalize euthanasia. The bill "seeks to confirm the right of those suffering from a terminal illness and experiencing intolerable pain to request assistance from a medically qualified person to end voluntarily their lives in a humane and dignified manner."

McKim has responded to critics of the bill who suggest that the bill will be abused, saying that it has "safeguards" in place, including psychiatric evaluations and limitations to Tasmanian residents. The MP also cited an Enterprise Marketing and Research Services (EMRS) poll that estimated Tasmanian support for legal euthanasia at 78%.

However, opponents of the bill are calling for pause on the part of the Tasmanian government.

The Australian Christian Lobby director Nick Overton said that euthanasia laws would put the elderly at risk and corrupt the medical profession.

"No society has the right to create an expectation that you should terminate your life if you would otherwise be an inconvenience to society," Overton said.

"In Holland where euthanasia has been practiced since the 1990s," he said, "1000 people per year are killed without their consent. The Dutch experience shows that so-called voluntary euthanasia quickly becomes non-voluntary euthanasia."

Right to Life Australia's Marcel White, told ABC News that the group is concerned that the law will be abused.

"Right for Life Australia is worried that this Trojan horse legislation will lead other states to go down the same path of legitimizing ending patients lives by unnatural means and we don't want any states in Australia to accept this."

Senator Eric Abetz, who chaired an inquiry in 1997 that rejected euthanasia, said that "People often mix up the concept of the 'right to die', which is everybody's right to reject medical treatment, with the proactive step of deliberately assisting someone to terminate their life."

"A caring and compassionate society would never say to someone 'we agree with you - your life is not worth living,' " he continued.

All seated political parties have committed to a conscience vote on this bill, meaning that individual MPs can vote against the party leadership.

Proposals to Legalize Abortion are "Verbal Diarrhea" Says Former Spanish President

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

MADRID, June 5, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Former Spanish President Jose Maria Aznar has denounced proposals in Spain to legalize abortion as "illiterate verbal diarrhea," according to local media reports.

"Abortion is not and never can be a right," he said, "because what is a right, is the right to life."

The remarks were made at conference being held at the University of San Pablo CEU, entitled "The Ethical Foundations of Democracy in the West."

Denouncing the administration of Spain's socialist president Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Aznar observed that "it is having serious difficulties in distinguishing what is human from what isn't."

Aznar's remarks come in response to President Zapatero's proposed law to depenalize abortion on demand during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, and to lower the age of consent for abortion to 16 years. Both proposals have proven to be very unpopular and are being used against the Socialist Worker's Party and its allies in the current European Parliament elections.

"It isn't the role of the government to create new and degrading definitions of what it is to be a human being," said Aznar, and also opined that "To seek to advance on the road that brings the right to life and pervert it into a false right to eliminate life is, simply and clearly, to retrogress on the road of civilization."

Aznar also appeared to lash out against the government's new homosexualist civics program, "Education for Citizenship and Human Rights" which it is imposing on the entire country, stating that "it isn't the role of the government ... to hinder the educational process that parents develop with their children.

Related LifeSiteNews coverage:

New Poll Shows Majority of Spaniards Opposed to Proposed Abortion Law
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060201.html

Spain's Council of Ministers Approves Liberal Abortion Law Despite Strong Public Opposition
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051504.html

One Thousand Scientists, Physicians, and Intellectuals Sign Manifesto against the Further Legalization of Abortion in Spain
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09031907.html

Hundreds of Thousands March For Life In Spain
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09033105.html

Spanish Socialists Seek to Further Loosen already Liberal Abortion Law
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08090410.html

Same-Sex "Marriage" Bill Will Radically Change Nature of Marriage: Bishops to New York State Senate

By Hilary White

ALBANY, June 5, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) The Catholic Bishops of New York have issued a letter urging the state senate to reject a bill, already passed by the New York State Assembly, that will legalize same-sex "marriage." The measure is "ill-advised" and "would radically change the timeless institution of marriage," the bishops' letter said.

The letter, signed by every member of the New York bishop's conference, comes after the claim by New York governor David Paterson that same-sex "marriage" is a civil right and the "right way" to go from a spiritual standpoint. Paterson put forward the measure on April 16 which was later passed in the Assembly by an 89-52 vote.

The New York Senate has until June 22 to approve the bill. Its sponsor, state Sen. Thomas Duane, told the New York Daily News that he has the votes needed to approve the bill. However, his claim is disputed by the Senate's foremost opponent of same-sex "marriage," Ruben Diaz Sr., and a recent NY1 poll of senators.

The NY1 poll tallies only twenty committed "yes" votes all Democrats, and only two of them upstate representatives. On the other hand, 22 Republicans and 6 Democrats have stated they will vote "no."

"Throughout history," the bishops' letter said, "different cultures have had different customs regarding marriage. But the one constant has been the conviction that marriage is the union of a man and a woman in an enduring bond, ordered for the procreation and stable rearing of children," they said.

"Nature and our common heritage," and not simply Catholic teaching, defines the meaning of marriage, they said.

"The state has a compelling legal interest in promoting marriage between men and women in order to create stable families and provide for the safety, health and well-being of children.

"The state has no such compelling legal interest in recognizing a relationship between two people of the same sex," the bishops said.

Governor Paterson was criticised by Sen. Ruben Diaz for having put his measure forward a day before the installation of Archbishop Timothy Dolan to the See of New York City.

Diaz told Catholic News Agency at the time, "If I were Governor Paterson, I would abstain from going to St. Patrick's Cathedral for the welcoming ceremony and to celebrate Mass."

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

NY Assembly Passes Same-Sex "Marriage" Bill
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051501.html

Up to 4000 Conservatives to Descend Upon Amsterdam for World Congress of Families in August

By Austin Ruse

WASHINGTON, DC, June 5, 2009 (C-FAM) - Up to 4,000 social conservatives are expected to descend upon liberal Amsterdam, Netherlands, on August 10-12 for the biennial World Congress of Families, a meeting that brings together scholars, academics, policy makers, elected officials, and activists for four days of speeches, lectures, and networking.

The Netherlands beat out four other countries in its bid to host what is the largest gathering of social conservatives in the world. Russia, Bolivia, Latvia and Nigeria lost out after the Dutch proposal included support from the government though a promise the liberal government would not interfere with what will be a politically conservative program.

The roster for Amsterdam will include a who's who of pro-life and pro-family leaders, including Wanda Franz of National Right to Life, Gwen Landolt of Real Women of Canada, Brent Bozell of the Media Research Center, Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention, Janice Crouse of Concerned Women for America, and Benjamin Bull of the Alliance Defense Fund. The King of Ghana will also speak.

The conference will address the influence of the media on the family, the role of faith and the churches, demographic winter, the United Nations and its effect on the unborn and the family, migration, HIV/Aids, the roles of mothers and fathers and many other topics.

The idea for a world congress of families sprung from conferences organized by noted pro-life leader Christine Vollmer in Europe during the 1990s. As she wound down her successful conference series, she turned to American family scholar and president of the Howard Center Allan Carlson, who has organized each of the successive congresses. The congress brings together policy makers, religious and political leaders, scholars and academics, and activists from all over the world.

Global social radicals consider the World Congress of Families to be among the most dangerous meetings of the year. Social radical leaders have written about it in numerous reports, articles and books. Far-left Members of the European Parliament tried to scuttle US government participation in the last Congress in Warsaw.

It is unclear at this time whether social radicals will demonstrate against the conference, but that is certainly a possibility when you bring so many members of the "Christian right" into what is among the world's most liberal cities. Amsterdam is known for allowing and supporting open drug use, official sanction of prostitutes who present their wares in windows all over the center of the old city, support for the homosexual agenda and other issues at odds with tradition-minded people.

The Dutch tourist office was part of the group that presented to the selection committee, causing one selection committee member to exclaim, "Do you know who we are? There is no other way to put this than we are the Christian right." The government official said that the Dutch government welcomes vigorous debate and that the Congress would be welcome. The Dutch government's promise of non-interference with the event has so far been lived up to.

(This article reprinted with permission from www.c-fam.org)

UNFPA Gives Awards to Nicaraguan Pro-Abortion NGO, "Reproductive Rights" Advocate

By Samantha Singson

NEW YORK, NY, June 5, 2009 (C-FAM) - This week, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) hosted its annual population award ceremony at the United Nations (UN) to honor an individual and an organization for "outstanding contribution" in the population field, including family planning and "reproductive rights" advocacy. The individual was Dr. Mahmoud Fathalla, a former advisor to both the World Health Organization and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), and the organization was a Nicaraguan-based non-government organization that has been critical of the Nicaraguan government for instituting a complete ban on abortions.

After introducing the 2009 Population Prize laureates, UN President Ban Ki-moon pledged his support for "reproductive health" and called for "a world where women do not die needlessly in childbirth; where girls get the education they deserve; where young people are protected from HIV; and where couples can decide how many children to have."

In his acceptance speech for the award in the individual category, Dr. Mahmoud Fathalla called the "powerlessness" of women a "serious health hazard" and lamented how frequently, women were "coerced into motherhood by denying them not only the power and means to control and regulate their fertility but also by denying them choices in life apart from childbearing and childrearing."

In a 2005 speech for Ipas, an organization that manufactures devices used to perform early abortions, Dr. Fathalla outlined his "pro-choice" stance, stating that "Contraception may decrease the need for abortion, but contraception will never eliminate the need for abortion [W]ith the current levels of use effectiveness of contraceptive methods there is a very simple mathematical model that every year there will be between 10 and 20 million unwanted pregnancies among contraceptive users." Fathalla concluded, "The real social choice is not between abortion and no abortion, but will for practical purpose be to have it under the law or against the law, to have it safe or to have it unsafe."

The Movimiento Comunal Nicaragüense (MCN) was given the Population Award in the institutional category. MCN's advocacy includes joining with other "reproductive rights" organizations to criticize the Nicaraguan government for implementing a ban on all abortions in the country in 2006.

Earlier this year, MCN joined prominent abortion advocates such as IPPF, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and Ipas to send an open letter to newly-elected US President Barack Obama calling for: significant increases in U.S. funding for "comprehensive sexual and reproductive health," the removal of remaining restrictions on U.S. funding for abortion information and services, and restoration of US funding for UNFPA and IPPF, who have been ineligible for US foreign aid because of their abortion involvement overseas.

Past recipients of the UN Population Award include other abortion advocates such as Nafis Sadik, former head of UNFPA and Qian Xinzhong, who as minister of China's State Family Planning Commission was responsible for overseeing China's draconian one-child policy, which included forced abortion and mandatory sterilization.

The winners were selected by the Committee for the United Nations Population Award which is currently composed of representatives from Algeria, Bangladesh, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iran, Malaysia, Peru, Sweden and Tanzania, with UNFPA serving as the administrator.

Catholic University Blasted for Giving Platform to Prof Who Blamed Tiller Murder on Pro-Life Movement

MANASSAS, VA, June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A national Catholic education organization today rejected arguments by Marquette University theologian Daniel Maguire that religious and pro-life leaders are responsible for the murder of late-term abortionist George Tiller. The organization instead blamed the Jesuit Catholic university for negligence in providing Maguire a public platform for his pro-abortion advocacy.

"George Tiller's murder is shocking and reprehensible," said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS). "Abortion is also reprehensible, and a Catholic university that for many years has refused to discipline or remove a stridently pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage activist from its theology department is guilty of gross negligence."

"Marquette University does serious harm to the Church by granting credentials to a reckless theologian whose work has been condemned by the U.S. Catholic bishops, who persists in misrepresenting Catholic teaching and who advocates a moral right to killing innocent pre-born children."

On the web site for "The Religious Consultation on Population, Reproductive Health, and Ethics," Maguire's nonprofit organization that claims abortion is permissible for Catholics despite clear teaching to the contrary, Maguire posted his reaction to the murder of Tiller and his letter to the editor of the New York Times that was published on June 3.

He wrote that Tiller, a "brave man," believed in women's "legal and constitutional right to abortion in problem pregnancies" and was killed "for honoring the law of the land."

Maguire warns that Tiller "is not the first doctor to so die, and unless we get serious about this form of terrorism, he will not be the last. Religious and political leaders who fan the flames of anti-choice, anti-woman fanaticism are not without guilt."

Maguire claims that homosexual marriage and abortion are morally permissible and that faithful Catholics can be pro-abortion. He wrote two dissenting pamphlets in 2006 and distributed them to all the Catholic bishops of the United States. They were titled "The Moderate Roman Catholic Position on Contraception and Abortion" and "A Catholic Defense of Same-Sex Marriage."

He wrote: "The Roman Catholic position on abortion is pluralistic. It has a strong 'pro-choice' tradition and a conservative anti-choice tradition. Neither is official, and neither is more Catholic than the other."

In March 2007, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Doctrine censured Maguire for his writing, proclaiming his teachings to "cross the legitimate lines of theological reflection and simply enter into the area of false teaching. Such mistaken views should not be confused with the faith and moral teaching of the Catholic Church."

In a subsequent letter, The Cardinal Newman Society called on Marquette University President Rev. Robert Wild, S.J. to take responsibility for Maguire's acts of public dissent, noting that Maguire only has credibility because of his position as theologian at a major Catholic university.

"Marquette employs Maguire as an expert theologian despite his repeated violations of the principles and methods of Catholic theology," wrote CNS. "Students can rightly question why a Catholic university's theology department includes a former priest who falsifies Catholic teaching and disputes infallible doctrine as the basis of his scholarly work."

Responding to Father Wild's arguments that Maguire has contractual rights as a tenured professor, CNS proposed options that could diminish Maguire's damage to the Church and to Marquette's reputation, including transferring Maguire to another academic department, giving him a faculty title that clearly identifies him as a non-Catholic theologian who rejects Catholic teaching, publicly identifying theology faculty who have a "mandate" from the local bishop as required by Church law, or publicly condemning Maguire's views and actions as inconsistent with Marquette's Catholic identity.

Letters to the Editor

Re: Catholic Prof and Evangelical Leader Blame Catholic Church, Republicans, "Religious Leaders" for Tiller's Murder
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060209.html

I'm one of his former students at Marquette. I suffered through his required for my philosophy degree "applied ethics" course with him stuffing down our throats John Noonan's pro-abortion book CONTRACEPTION, his telling us that the Church "Fathers" were all sexually warped and working only from the scientifically debunked "homocunulus theory" so all they said was wrong -- fall of 68 or spring of 69.

PLEASE do not give him the title "Catholic".

Kathryn Schutz
Marquette 1969 BA Philosophy & Theology
___________________________________________________________________________

Re: Obama and the holocaust

Dear Lifesite News,

I would like to quote President Obama from a recent speech he gave regarding his visit to the Holocaust death camp Buchenwald ...

"Buchenwald teaches us that we must be ever-vigilant about the spread of evil in our own time, that we must reject the false comfort that others' suffering is not our problem, and commit ourselves to resisting those who would subjugate others to serve their own interests,"

I wish I could suggest to Mr. Obama that he is very much promoting the spead of evil in our own time in his determined pro-abortion stance. He is carrying on, in his own false comfort, choosing not to recognize the suffering of the unborn children who perish and the ongoing suffering of post abortive women and men. It is very unfortunate that the President of the United States is not recognizing that abortion is very much about subjugating the rights of others; namely the children's right to life. Abortion is a practice solely based on the parents' and the abortionists' desires to serve their own interests.

As always, the best thing that we can do is to pray for the grace of conversion in the President's heart and in the hearts of all pro-abortion citizens.

Irene Michaud
Saskatchewan Canada
___________________________________________________________________________

Subject: Re: Split in the Catholic Church

But the greatest problem facing the anti abortion movement is the great division within the Catholic community itself as witnessed in the recent dismal Notre Dame split.

Even our Holy Father himself is being attacked by his own Holy Office. This gigantic war that we are witnessing to day is a war within the Church. Once Holy Mother Church cures Her own internal ailment, then the world will be much easier to handle.

Fabian Maquire
St. Marys, Kansas
___________________________________________________________________________

Re: Pro-Life Leader Responds to National Post Article Blaming Pro-Life Movement for Tiller Murder
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060404.html

Blaming the Catholic Church and the pro-life movement for the senseless murder of abortionist George Tiller makes about as much sense as blaming democratic freedom for the bombing of the federal buildings in Oklahoma City by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.

Don Hall
Chaplaincy Leader
St. Mary Catholic Secondary School
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

___________________________________________________________________________

Re: Pro-life leaders denounce murder of abortionist

I am a little horrified by the rush of many pro-life groups to denounce the Tiller shooting. Of course, we don't condone such action. The pro abortion crowd will keep the topic alive and we don't need to help that effort. I'd like to see a brief statement that simply states that we(pro-lifers) regret that Tiller met his demise due to some individual embracing the very philosophy that Tiller spent his life promoting and perpetuating. End of story. Let's get on with the work of ending contraceptive and surgical abortions.

Steve DiCarlo
Cinicinatti, Ohio

LifeSiteNews.com NewsBytes - Reaction to George Tiller Killing

* Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of LifeSiteNews.com. They are presented only for your information.

Compiled by Steve Jalsevac

REACTION TO GEORGE TILLER SHOOTING

AP: Tiller Murder Part of a 'String'; Abort Group's Own History Shreds Claim
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2009/06/01/ap-tiller-murder-part-string-abort-groups-own-history-destroys-claim

Back to the 90s: Media Decried Violence Outside Clinics, But Not Inside
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tim-graham/2009/06/01/back-90s-media-decried-violence-outside-clinics-not-inside

CNN's Chetry Lets Abortionist Smear Pro-Life Demonstrators
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-balan/2009/06/01/cnns-chetry-lets-abortionist-smear-pro-life-demonstrators

ABC's Take on Tiller Murder: 'The Abortion Debate Turns Deadly'
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/scott-whitlock/2009/06/01/abcs-spin-tiller-murder-abortion-debate-turns-deadly

CBS 'Early Show' Sees No Controversy in Tiller's Work As 'Abortion Provider'
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2009/06/01/cbs-early-show-sees-no-controversy-tiller-s-work-abortion-provider

Liberal Blogs Quickly Link Doctor's Murder to Limbaugh, Hannity, and Beck
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/rusty-weiss/2009/05/31/liberal-blogs-quickly-link-doctor-s-murder-limbaugh-hannity-beck

Gravely Wicked by Robert P. George
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NDM5NGYyYWMxZDY3NWFmYjhjZmJiNTI2YmRjZmRlYWE=

Media: Tiller a Martyr, Abortion Not Killing and Pro-Lifers are Crazy
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/colleen-raezler/2009/06/02/media-tiller-martyr-abortion-not-killing-pro-lifers-are-crazy

Bozell Column: A Pro-Life 'Jihad'?
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-bozell/2009/06/02/bozell-column-pro-life-jihad

Late Term Abortions Provided More Widely Than Media Reporting
http://www.priestsforlife.org/blog/?p=546

Is the Obama Administration More Concerned About Radical Anti-Abortionists Than Radical Islamists?
http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/06/02/morris_father_jonathan_tiller/

Number One Stupid and Irresponsible Comment On Dr. Tiller - Deal W. Hudson
http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_myblog&Itemid=127

Newsletter Moto-Live.com

2009-06-04T21:50:00.000-07:00

Moto-Live.com Newsletters : 5 June 2009

Spanish GP, zero hour for Dani Pedrosa
Interview with Dani during his personal countdown

Tomorrow Dani Pedrosa will be back on his new motorbike, the Honda
RC211V with the number 26, the same number Dani got to race his
first promotion cup and the same number he had on his bike when he
took the 125cc World Championship title in 2003 and the 250cc World
Championship in 2004;
With the first GP in sight, we briefly talked with Dani about the
preseason, the latest tests...
Full story and headlines here... http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news//detail060323094032.shtml

04 June
[15:00] - Bridgestone's Italian GP debrief
With Tohru Ubukata
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090604150310.shtml

[14:47] - Bautista extends championship lead
With third in Italy
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090604144834.shtml

03 June
[15:00] - Fifth place for KTM's Marquez
In Mugello
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090603150206.shtml

[10:26] - A great 9th position for Lorenzo Savadori
At Mugello
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090603102809.shtml

[09:43] - Fagerhaug wins again
In the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090603094427.shtml

To unsubscribe click : http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/services/newsletter/index.shtml

Newsletter F1-Live.com

2009-06-04T20:35:00.000-07:00

F1-Live.com Newsletters : 5 June 2009

04 June
[18:50] - Mosley told teams to lodge 'conditional' entries
Team alliance point the finger at the FIA President
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090604185030.shtml

[17:49] - Theissen downbeat amid political storm
Doubts of a resolution between the teams and FIA
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090604174948.shtml

[17:12] - Kubica pins hopes on new double diffuser
BMW Sauber bring further updates to Istanbul
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090604171239.shtml

[16:51] - Heidfeld concerned about F1's future
''It is impossible to predict what is going to happen''
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090604165129.shtml

[16:47] - Minardi calls on Ferrari to look at Alonso
Team need a driver they can count on to deliver
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090604164735.shtml

[16:41] - Rosberg looking at his options
"Yes of course, I'm looking around"
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090604164129.shtml

[15:20] - Brabham family contests new team name
Legal action under consideration
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090604152024.shtml

[15:08] - Villeneuve laments lack of rivalry in modern F1
Champ admits he put money into failed BAR project
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090604150827.shtml

[15:01] - Heidfeld uncertain about future
BMW driver will consider his options for success
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090604150124.shtml

[13:48] - Wurz in Turkey to forward new team plans
Lobbying on behalf of the Superfund entry
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090604134854.shtml

en.f1-live.com : http://To unsubscribe click /f1/en/services/newsletter/index.shtml

LifeSiteNews.com - Thursday June 4, 2009

2009-06-04T20:06:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

The UN is becoming more militantly opposed to the inherent right to life of every human being, born or unborn. It is also a growing danger to the sovereignty of nations and a danger to religion, especially authentic belief in Christianity.

Of course not all persons and agencies in the UN are a party to this corruption. Still, the reality is that the UN's deepening ideological rot must be faced and resisted, including in our schools and universities, where uncritical promotion of the UN and its agencies is the rule. LifeSiteNews has been warning about this for years.

Notre Dame is revealing the depth of its intolerance of even the mildest freedom of on campus expression against its invitation to Barack Obama. The continuing effort to convict the peaceful protesters of Obama's visit exhibits a disturbing ruthlessness, especially considering the large number of bishops who also strongly and very publicly opposed the invitation and award to the "Abortion President." Notre Dame is not a Catholic University. That should be made official.

We present two commentaries and one article today on the hits against the pro-life movement because of the Tiller murder. The commentaries are must reads. There have been numerous excellent responses in recent days emphasizing that we should not only avoid weakening our outspokenness against abortion, but should instead proclaim the hard truths about abortion with even greater courage. Yes, you read that right.

Fr. Corapi puts the whole abortion issue in a perspective that heightens the complicity of Notre Dame and others in the demise of America and the unavoidable responsibility of pro-life citizens to act to save not only the unborn, but the nation itself. There is no longer any possibility of security in avoiding personal responsibility to be outspoken and active against abortion and its related evils. Grassroots people and especially business, religious, political, academic and other leaders - you snooze, we all lose - everything that is worth anything. The restoration of a culture of life must finally take FIRST priority.

Adult stem cells prove their amazing worth again, but Barack Obama has given the green light to unethical embryonic stem cell research that has produced nothing but tons of money from taxpayers for exorbitant, useless, unethical research programs.

LifeSiteNews is not for the faint-hearted, but it is for those with a brave heart for the truth and for the threatened lives of the most innocent and vulnerable. We do not remotely care about political correctness or safe, popular causes or worldly respect. You can get all that ad nausea from most of the mainstream media. From LifeSiteNews you get what is, not what others want you to think.

Please keep us in mind. It takes a lot of work and resources to produce LifeSiteNews each day. Your generous financial support is much needed.

Steve Jalsevac
Co-founder and Managing Director

LifeSiteNews.com - Thursday June 4, 2009

* UN Report Says Pro-Life Laws Constitute Violence against Women
* Notre Dame Not Seeking Leniency for Arrested Pro-Life Protesters: Thomas More Lawyers Now on the Case
* Genocide Awareness Display Vindicated in Highest Slovak Court after Police Disruption
* Pro-Life Leader Responds to National Post Article Blaming Pro-Life Movement for Tiller Murder
* Fight Erupts Over Backroom Dealing and "Mind Game" in New York Same-Sex "Marriage" Bill
* Family Breakdown in Canada Costs $7 Billion Annually: New Research
* Anti-Catholic San Fran City Resolution OK: 9th Circuit Court Panel
* Adult Stem Cells Found to Cure Blindness Three Patients Cured
* Spanish Feminists Seek to Lower Age of Consent for Abortions to 13 Years
* One-Child Policy Would Make Australia Unsustainable says Australian Pro-Life Advocate
* Prominent Homosexual Activist James Kirchick Defends Pro-Life Movement in WSJ over Tiller Murder
* EU Equality Proposal Discriminates against Religious Believers: Romanian Pro-Family Group
* Harvard Gay and Lesbian Caucus Endow Professorship of Gender and Sexuality to the Tune of $1.5 Million
* Fr. Pavone Emphasizes Biggest Danger From the Killing of George Tiller
* Father Corapi on the "Flash Point" in Western Society

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UN Report Says Pro-Life Laws Constitute Violence against Women

By Alex Bush

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) A new UN report, titled "15 years of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its causes and consequences (1994-2009) - A critical review," states that "criminal sanctions against all forms of abortions and contraception" imposed by the state constitute an act of violence against women.

"Such state policies and measures infringe upon women's liberty, security, and life," the report says.

The report continues on to argue that if a state does not readily provide contraception or "family planning services" to women then it is committing an indirect act of violence against women because they are not recognizing, nor enabling, "women's sexual autonomy."

The U.K.'s Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) responded to the report, calling it an "extreme pro-abortion anti-family report."

Pat Buckley of SPUC told the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), to whom the report was given, that "Irrespective of what the report says, there is not and never can be a human right to abortion."

"The idea of trying to create a right to terminate the life of the most vulnerable human beings, by tearing them from their mothers' wombs, is in fact the very essence of violence against women and their babies."

SPUC's is urging "government representatives to study the report carefully, as it appears to contain many unacceptable and disturbing claims against the value of human life, the status of the family and the dignity of women."

The report has yet to be approved by the UNHRC, which is meeting until June 19th, when it will decide whether or not to adopt the report.

Related LifeSiteNews.com Coverage:

Abortion-Pushing UN Committee Must be Held Accountable
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/nov/041110a.html

United Nations Tells Morocco to Decriminalize Abortion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/nov/04111002.html

Notre Dame Not Seeking Leniency for Arrested Pro-Life Protesters: Thomas More Lawyers Now on the Case

By Kathleen Gilbert

SOUTH BEND, Indiana, June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Thomas More Society attorneys appeared in St. Joseph County Criminal Court to defend two prominent pro-life advocates against trespass charges brought this morning by local prosecutors in the wake of protests at the University of Notre Dame. The attorneys join the fight with pro-life attorney Tom Dickson, who is representing dozens more pro-lifers arrested at the campus.

Laura Rohling and Jane Brennan went onto the Notre Dame campus to educate students about the after-effects of abortion, based on their own personal experiences with abortion. Ms. Brennan, author of "Motherhood Interrupted," is a frequent guest on Catholic TV and radio. She serves as regional coordinator in Colorado of "Silent No More," a group which brings public attention to the plight of women who have experienced emotional and psychological trauma following abortion. Ms. Rohling serves as assistant regional coordinator of that group.

Brennan and Rohling, like dozens of other pro-life advocates who travelled across the country to protest President Obama's commencement speech at Notre Dame, were arrested for criminal trespass upon entering campus.

Witnesses say that only individuals who bore a pro-life display of protest - including a large cross, photographs of aborted children, and images of Mary - were arrested, while other passersby and pro-Obama demonstrators were allowed to roam free.

While South Bend prosecutor Michael Dvorak is pursuing charges against the pro-lifers, defense attorneys say they are concerned that the University has not sought leniency for the protesters.

"The Thomas More Society is urging the University to request that these trespass charges be dropped," said Tom Brejcha, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Society. "Such a magnanimous gesture will go far toward healing the divisions that have arisen between Notre Dame and the pro-life movement, in light of recent events."

The Society has assembled an all-"Fighting Irish" team, including President and Chief Counsel Thomas Brejcha, Notre Dame class of '65, Executive Director Peter Breen, Notre Dame Law class of '00, and South Bend attorney David Wemhoff, Notre Dame class of '79, in defense of Ms. Rohling and Ms. Brennan.

"What's vitally needed is dialogue about pro-life issues of abortion, stem-cell research, euthanasia, marriage, as well as about capital punishment and peace issues rather than confrontation in South Bend's criminal court," Brejcha continued. "The pro-life movement is the next stage of America's civil rights movement, and Notre Dame is not Birmingham."

The Thomas More Society has a history of partnership with the University of Notre Dame. The late Fr. Ned Joyce, former Executive Vice President of the University, was a regular financial supporter of the Society. Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, former President of the University, wrote fundraising letters in support of the Thomas More Society's successful defense of peaceable, non-violent abortion protests in the landmark United States Supreme Court case, NOW v. Scheidler.

To contact University of Notre Dame president Fr. John Jenkins:

Office of the President
400 Main Building
Notre Dame, IN
46556
Phone: 574.631.3903
Email: president@nd.edu

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Pro-Life Protesters Arrested on ND Campus to Return to South Bend to Face Charges http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052902.html

Genocide Awareness Display Vindicated in Highest Slovak Court after Police Disruption

KOSICE, Slovak Republic, June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) The highest court of the Slovak Republic ruled in favor of a pro-life group Tuesday in its lawsuit against police. Attorney Dr. Alan Bohm together with Alliance Defense Fund attorneys represented the Centre for Bio-ethical Reform Europe, which filed suit after police disrupted a peaceful pro-life rally that was held in full compliance with domestic law. The court ruled that police violated the pro-life group's constitutional right to free speech.

"Pro-life advocates should not be discriminated against and silenced for expressing their beliefs and making people aware of the truth," said Europe-based ADF Legal Counsel Roger Kiska, co-counsel in the case. "The court agreed that the display at the rally was completely legal and couldn't be considered scandalous, since it condemns violence rather than advocates it."

CBR Europe held its "Stop Genocide" rally to inform people about the atrocities of genocide, including abortion. They used a series of large, mobile billboards which juxtaposed images of abortion with those of other widely recognized forms of genocide. Slovak police, however, asserted that the images of aborted babies were too graphic to be shown in public and threatened to confiscate them.

The judges observed at a hearing Tuesday that CBR Europe's display does not advocate violence or any breach of human rights. They concluded that because the display clearly condemns all forms of violence, it cannot be considered scandalizing. The court determined police violated the free speech rights of the group's members and awarded monetary damages as well as reimbursement of attorneys' fees.

"Had this decision gone the wrong way, its effects could have gone far beyond the Slovak Republic," Kiska explained. "Activist judges in other countries - including the U.S. - look for selected decisions to import into their own rulings in an attempt to bolster their conclusions with global support. They won't find anything this time."

A published decision in the lawsuit, Centre for Bio-ethical Reform Europe v. Slovak Republic, is expected in about a month. The suit was filed with the Constitutional Court on April 30.

Pro-Life Leader Responds to National Post Article Blaming Pro-Life Movement for Tiller Murder

By Stephanie Gray, Executive Director, Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform

June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) Editor's Note: On June 2, Colby Cosh of the National Post published this article, in which Cosh blamed the pro-life movement for the murder of Kansas late-term abortionist George tiller. What follows is the response of the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform, the Canadian affiliate of the organization that was specifically named by Mr. Cosh in his piece, "Who's to blame for George Tiller's Murder."

Colby Cosh is completely wrong when he says, "If you believe that abortion is tantamount to murder... then you should be willing to stand up and celebrate the murder of Dr. George Tiller."

Perhaps those who support violence (through abortion) in the face of difficult life circumstances don't comprehend when other people don't resort to violence in the face of difficult life circumstances (a society where abortion is legal). But nonetheless, that's our point. Take a message from the pro-life textbook, Mr. Cosh: killing people isn't the way to deal with problems. It's the reason why we are more than just "anti-abortion."

Furthermore, abortionists could be offering their "services" on every street corner, but whether they kill unborn human beings is dependent on one person: the woman. While not overlooking the fact that some women are pressured to abort, or are not fully informed, nonetheless, the abortionist will do nothing without a woman laying her body down to be vilely entered in order to dismember, decapitate, and disembowel her child's body. As a result of this fact, analogies about intervening in other acts of violence break down.

A toddler may be taken away from a mother who may drown that child in the bathtub, but the unborn cannot be separated from their mothers. And so one must intervene by appealing to the heart and mind of the woman and those in society who influence her: educating about who the baby is, showing what abortion will do to the baby, informing her what abortion will do to her, and offering her loving support throughout the pregnancy and after birth.

With Cosh's rhetoric, I am reminded of the clergymen who were critical of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s controversial approach. In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, King responded by saying, "In your statement you assert that our actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence. But is this a logical assertion? Isn't this like condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery? ...We must come to see that ... it is wrong to urge an individual to cease his efforts to gain his basic constitutional rights because the quest may precipitate violence. Society must protect the robbed and punish the robber."

But since Mr. Cosh doesn't seem to support that philosophy, I wonder if he's willing to take responsibility for the consequence of his comments. Given that he's named Jim Hughes and my organization's parent affiliate, the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform (CBR), and implied that we were at least in part responsible for violence against Tiller, will he take responsibility for his rhetoric if advocates of legal abortion take it upon themselves and direct violence towards us?

Click here to hear an interview with Stephanie Gray, Executive Director, CCBR on World Tonight June 3, 2009 in regard to the Tiller murder.

Fight Erupts Over Backroom Dealing and "Mind Game" in New York Same-Sex "Marriage" Bill

By Peter J. Smith

ALBANY, New York, June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) With less than three weeks to go before the end of New York's legislative session, a fight is brewing over what one senator has called a "mind game" being played over the same-sex "marriage" bill by its chief proponent. Backroom deals over the contentious bill, however, have still not gained a solid majority in the state Senate to pass the measure.

The political maneuverings of the bill's chief sponsor, homosexual state senator Tom Duane (D-Manhattan), has angered the Senate's foremost opponent of same-sex "marriage," Ruben Diaz Sr. (D-Bronx), who yesterday stated he found Duane's attempts to manipulate his fellow senators into forming a majority on the issue a "disgrace."

Duane has stated publicly that he has the majority of the Senate's 62 votes to pass, a claim made highly dubious by Democratic majority leader Malcolm Smith's continued reluctance to bring the bill to a vote.

"It is a disgrace that Senator Duane is playing this mind game with his colleagues and with the public," stated Senator Diaz. "If Senator Duane has the votes, he should release the names. If not, then he should be ashamed of himself. "

A recent NY1 survey tallies only twenty committed "yes" votes all Democrats, and only two of them upstate representatives. On the other hand, 22 Republicans and 6 Democrats have stated they will vote "no." In a senate not famous for bipartisan cooperation, and narrowly split 32-30, Democrats to Republicans, the loss of six Democrats puts the passage of the bill into doubt.

Ten Senators an even split of Democrats and Republicans told NY1 they were still undecided. However, four senators refused to state their position at all, one of whom said it was the kind of answer the new Democratic leadership deserved for its treatment of the Republican minority.

"Since we haven't been receiving the kind of help that I think that we should be afforded as members of the Senate from this new majority, I'm not in any way shape or form wanting to make it easy for him to decide whether he's gonna bring that bill to the floor or not," GOP Sen. Jim Alesi from the Rochester area told NY1.

However Diaz challenged those senators who are staying mum on their commitment to vote for the same-sex "marriage" bill, saying they "should be man or woman enough to take a stand and stand by his or her convictions."

"If any Senators are unwilling to release their names prior to voting for the homosexual marriage bill," stated Diaz, "they are sending a clear message to the gay community, and to the whole State of New York, that these Senators are unwilling to let the public know, and that they are ashamed to be publicly associated with the gay community."

According to a Siena Research Institute poll of 622 respondents conducted May 18 21, support for same-sex "marriage" has slipped, showing New Yorkers are now evenly divided 46 46 percent on the matter. The poll also indicates a greater majority of New Yorkers and sizable constituencies of both parties would be upset if the Senate passed the measure: 39 percent said they would be "very upset" and an additional 37 percent said they would be "somewhat upset."

The same-sex "marriage" bill was approved May 12 in the Democratic controlled state Assembly by an 89 52 margin. Gov. David Paterson, one of the main forces behind the bill, (see coverage) says he will sign it once the Senate has given its approval. The Senate has until the end of the legislative session, June 22, to vote on the measure.

The NY 1 survey of New York State Senators position on the same-sex "marriage" bill can be found here.

To view the results of the Siena Research Institute poll, click here.

See related coverage by LifeSiteNews.com:

NY Governor to Introduce Homosexual "Marriage" Bill

New York Governor Memo Says State Agencies Must Recognize Gay "Marriage" Performed Outside the State
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Family Breakdown in Canada Costs $7 Billion Annually: New Research

June 3, 2009 (Ottawa) - The Institute of Marriage and Family Canada released new research yesterday on the cost of family breakdown in Canada at a briefing on Parliament Hill. "Private choices, public costs: How failing families cost us all" examines the relationship between poverty, families and government.

The authors, Rebecca Walberg and Andrea Mrozek, quantify government spending directed at poverty alleviation for broken families through welfare, child care costs and housing. They find that cost to be close to $7 billion annually. If family breakdown decreased by half, a conservative estimate of savings is close to $2 billion annually.

The report can be read in full, here.

The in-depth, quantitative assessment examines the links between broken homes and poverty alleviation measures. Consistently, not only in Canada but in all OECD nations lone parent households are more likely to live in poverty. "Certainly the main concern around family breakdown is the emotional toll," say the authors. "But the fiscal costs are evident, and those can be more readily measured."

The report highlights the costs province by province, discussing why and how stable marriages contribute to a stronger economy. "If we are serious about reducing poverty," say the authors, "especially children and women in poverty, we must address the effects of family breakdown."

"This calls all of us to reconsider the value currently placed on family today, without pointing fingers. We may believe that family structure doesn't matter; but the data show the best thing you can do for your kids is raise them in a stable, married-parent home."

Some of the data in the report highlight the higher proportion of lone-parent families living below the Low Income Cut-off (LICO) and the higher proportion of lone-parent families with children on welfare. The data is troubling, say the authors, given that Canadian statistics show the percentage of married parents is falling, while the percent of lone parents and those living common law is rising. In 1961, 92 percent of families were married; 2006 census data indicates that has fallen to 69 percent.

International research, particularly from the United Kingdom, points to family breakdown as one of the pathways to poverty.

Walberg and Mrozek say that they undertook the study in the belief that providing Canadians with the facts about single parenthood, divorce, growing up without two parents, and the emotional and financial hardships that accompany family breakdown in general will help them understand the likely consequences of the different choices available to them in their own lives. Long term solutions to limit the consequences of poverty, they suggest, must involve encouraging stable, two-parent homes for children, primarily because this benefits the children but also because marriage acts as a public good.

Anti-Catholic San Fran City Resolution OK: 9th Circuit Court Panel

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) A San Francisco City Board's resolution condemning the Catholic Church because of its moral teachings on homosexuality does not violate the Constitution's prohibition of government hostility toward religion, says a panel on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. (See the ruling here)

The anti-Catholic resolution, adopted March 21, 2006, was challenged by the Thomas More Law Center, a national Christian legal advocacy group based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on behalf of the Catholic League and two Catholic residents of San Francisco.

The city board's resolution was issued in response to a directive from Cardinal William Levada, in which he instructed Catholic Charities of San Francisco to follow Church teaching and not begin adopting children to homosexuals. The resolution refers to the Vatican as a "foreign country" meddling in the affairs of the city and proclaims the Church's moral teaching and beliefs on homosexuality as "insulting to all San Franciscans," "hateful," "insulting and callous," "defamatory," "absolutely unacceptable," and says that Church teaching shows "insensitivity and ignorance."

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center remarked, "The policy of San Francisco is one of totalitarian intolerance of Christians of all denominations who oppose homosexual conduct. My concern is that if this ruling is allowed to stand, it will further embolden anti-Christian attacks."

The Thomas More Law Center will seek review by the full court and said that, if necessary, the case will be brought to the United States Supreme Court.

The Law Center's lawsuit claimed that the City's anti-Catholic resolution violated the First Amendment, which "forbids an official purpose to disapprove of a particular religion, religious beliefs, or of religion in general."

Robert Muise, the Law Center attorney who argued the case, stated, "Our constitution plainly forbids hostility toward any religion, including the Catholic faith. In total disregard for the Constitution, homosexual activists in positions of authority in San Francisco have abused their authority as government officials and misused the instruments of the government to attack the Catholic Church.

"Their egregious abuse of power now has the backing of a federal circuit court. This decision must be reversed. Unfortunately, all too often we see a double standard being applied in Establishment Clause cases."

According to Catholic doctrine, allowing children to be adopted by homosexuals would actually mean doing violence to these children. The Church teaches that their condition of dependency would be used to place them in an environment that is not conducive to their full human development.

The Law Center argued that the "anti-Catholic resolution sends a clear message to Plaintiffs and others who are faithful adherents to the Catholic faith that they are outsiders, not full members of the political community, and an accompanying message that those who oppose Catholic religious beliefs, particularly with regard to homosexual unions and adoptions by homosexual partners, are insiders, favored members of the political community."

Adult Stem Cells Found to Cure Blindness Three Patients Cured
Researchers hopeful the procedure could be applied to other organs

By Patrick Craine

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) Medical researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have used simple contact lenses cultured with stem cells from a patient's own eye to return sight to sufferers of corneal disease.

The researchers worked with three patients who were each blind in one eye. The procedure involved scraping less than a millimeter of tissue from the sides of the cornea of each patient's good eye, culturing the contact lens with the stem cells in that tissue for ten days, and then having the patient wear the contact. Within two weeks the stem cells had begun attaching themselves to the patients' corneas and replenishing the damaged cells.

Within that short a span, the reported results were remarkable. Two of the patients were legally blind before the procedure, but can now read the big letters on the top of the eye chart. The other patient could read the top few rows of an eye chart, but can now pass the vision test for a driver's license.

After eighteen months, the improvement in the patients' vision has remained. "We're quietly excited," said team leader Nick Di Girolamo, as reported in The Australian. "We don't know yet if [the correction] will remain stable, but if it does it's a wonderful technique."

"The procedure is totally simple and cheap," says Dr. Di Girolamo on the UNSW website. "Unlike other techniques, it requires no foreign human or animal products, only the patient's own serum, and is completely non-invasive."

Dr. Stephanie Watson, who conducted the procedure, commented further. "The operation is relatively non-invasive. The patient merely comes into the hospital for a couple of hours to have their eye prepared and the lens put in place, and then they're able to go home," she said.

Dr. Di Girolamo is hopeful that this procedure could be used to repair other parts of the eye, or even other organs. "We're very excited about this technique because we think it might be applicable to other major organs of the human body such as the skin, because after all, the skin behaves in a very similar manner to the cornea," says Dr. Di Girolamo in a video put out on UNSW TV.

This research is another example of the remarkable success of adult stem cells, which have yielded a host of treatments for numerous diseases. Embryonic stem cell research, on the other hand, which tends to grab most of the headlines due to controversy over its ethicality, has yet to produce a viable treatment for a single condition.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Success Stories with Adult Stem Cells Coming in Almost Too Fast to Track
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/jan/05012007.html

LifeSiteNews.com's Stem Cell Feature
http://www.lifesitenews.com/features/stemcellembryo/index.html

Spanish Feminists Seek to Lower Age of Consent for Abortions to 13 Years
Deliver petition with 12,000 signatures to Spanish government

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

MADRID, June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Governmental Coordinator of Feminist Organizations has gathered 12,000 signatures on a petition demanding that the Spanish government depenalize unlimited abortion on demand, provide abortions in public hospitals, and lower the age of consent for abortion to 13 years.

"We want the text [of the law] of the government not to be so restrictive, so that we truly have one of the most advanced norms in Europe like the socialist parliamentarians say," said Yoland Iglesias, a spokesman for the group.

The socialist government is proposing a new law that will depenalize abortion on demand during the first 14 weeks, but will leave criminal penalties in place for abortions after the 14th week that do not fall under an exception (such as rape or fetal deformity).

The feminists' demands clash starkly with the wishes of a majority of Spaniards, who are opposed even to the socialist government's proposal to lower the age of consent to 16, let alone 13, according to a recent poll.

Another poll, taken two weeks earlier indicated that a plurality of Spanish women are also opposed to removing existing criminal penalties for abortion.

Although all abortion is technically illegal in Spain, there is currently no criminal penalty for abortions carried out under certain conditions, including a threat to the life or health of the mother, fetal deformity, and rape.

Because abortion remains illegal in Spain, it is not carried out in public hospitals.

In contrast to the pro-abortion feminists, a group of pro-life women are gathering signatures for their own "Manifesto of Women Against Abortion."

"Abortion is ethically and legally unacceptable, not only because it annihilates a defenseless human being, but because it involves violence inflicted on the dignity of the woman," the Manifesto states. "With this manifesto we expressly renounce the supposed 'right to abortion' that others endeavor to achieve for us."

Related Links:

Manifiesto de la Coordinadora Estatal de Organizaciones Feministas (Manifesto of the State Coordinator of Feminist Organizations)
http://www.deigualaigual.net/es/opinion/lilith/2848-manifiestoporabortolibre-corriente-alterna

Manifiesto de Mujeres contra el aborto (Manifesto of Women Against Abortion)
http://www.mujerescontraelaborto.com/?p=3

One-Child Policy Would Make Australia Unsustainable says Australian Pro-Life Advocate
Policy calls for tax penalty for more than two children because of concerns about global warming caused by to many children

By Hilary White

June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) In April, a leading population control group in Australia issued a call for the government to institute a one-child policy in order to drastically reduce the population from its current 21.3 million to 7 million. But a sustainable Australia, said Anthony Ozimic, an Australian and the political secretary of Britain's Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), must be based on the understanding that people are the country's most valuable primary resource.

Australia's biggest problem, Ozimic said, is too few people to take advantage of its abundant natural resources. In a letter to John Smeaton, head of SPUC, Ozimic said his family came to Australia from Europe to help build the country's oil and gas infrastructure.

"Australia," he said, "has always been a country of pioneers, whether it be explorers of Australia's vast habitable areas or scientists finding better ways to supply food, water and energy."

"A radical cut in Australia's population would mean cutting Australia's best natural resource - its people, and the future pioneers among them," he continued.

But Australia's below-replacement fertility rate and high abortion rate, he said, raise concerns about the future. Problems like "sustainability [and] pollution, will not be addressed if fewer potential future scientists and engineers are born."

Australia is among the majority of industrialized western nations with low birth rates and high rates of immigration, that is experiencing significant aging of its population. According to the most recent statistics, Australia's birth rate stands at 1.78 children born per woman, while the rate needed to maintain a stable population is 2.1. In addition, the median age for women is 38.1 years, higher than the age at which it is easy to conceive children.

Nevertheless, calls continue for the suppression of the already low birth rate. In 2007, the Medical Journal of Australia published an article by a medical professor advocating a one-child policy and a higher rate of taxation for parents who have more than two children. Professor Barry Walters of the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Perth, wrote that, instead of receiving a "baby bonus," parents should be forced to pay an upfront tax of $4,390 USD for each child born after their second child, and up to $700 annually thereafter.

"Every newborn baby in Australia represents a potent source of greenhouse gas emissions for an average of 80 years, not simply by breathing but by the profligate consumption of resources typical of our society," Walters wrote.

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Institute One Child Policy for a "Sustainable" Australia : Population Control Group
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042404.html

Prominent Homosexual Activist James Kirchick Defends Pro-Life Movement in WSJ over Tiller Murder

By Alex Bush

June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) In an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, James Kirchick, a prominent homosexual activist, defended the pro-life movement, saying that "the left" is trying "to smear 'Christianists' as akin to Islamic extremists." He defended pro-lifers from attacks from pro-aborts who jumped on the opportunity to smear the pro-life movement with the murder of George Tiller, the infamous late-term abortionist.

Kirchick pointed out that within hours of Tiller's murder, every pro-life group "in the country denounced the attack," saying that there are "no appreciable number of people in this country, religious Christians or otherwise, who support the murder of abortion doctors."

"The organized antiabortion movement has always opposed violence against abortion providers," Kirchick said, noting that this uniform and consistent opposition to murder has "never stopped opportunistic prochoice activists, however, from conflating their passionate rhetoric with the behavior of individual criminals."

He evidenced his point by saying that "Mike Hendricks of the Kansas City Star accused anyone who had criticized Tiller as a murderer (Tiller aborted healthy, nine-month old fetuses) of being an 'accomplice' to his death."

Kirchick also noted that some "liberals" in the United States call the social conservative Evangelicals and Catholics "homegrown terrorists." He cites a few examples of this inflammatory rhetoric, such as Chris Hedges, a former New York Times Middle East Bureau Chief, who compared conservative Evangelicals to Nazi "brownshirts" and Christine Amanpour, from CNN, who "equated Christian (and Jewish) fundamentalists with Muslim extremists."

Kirchick said, however, that "if the reactions to the death of Tiller mean anything, the 'Christian Taliban,' as conservative religious figures are often called, isn't living up to its namesake."

"If 'Christianists' were anything like actual religious fascists they would applaud Tiller's murder as a 'heroic martyrdom operation' and suborn further mayhem," he said.

Wall Street Journal Feedback:
wsjcontact@dowjones.com.

Related LifeSiteNews.com Coverage:

Abortion Proponents "Exploit" Tiller Killing, Label Pro-Life Advocates "Domestic Terrorists"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060110.html

UK, American, Canadian Pro-Life Groups Condemn Tiller Murder
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060105.html

Catholic Prof and Evangelical Leader Blame Catholic Church, Republicans, "Religious Leaders" for Tiller's Murder
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060209.html

Commentary: President Obama Calls Tiller Killing a Heinous Act of Violence but Ignores Heinous Violence of Abortion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060107.html

EU Equality Proposal Discriminates against Religious Believers: Romanian Pro-Family Group

By Hilary White

ROME, June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) The leading pro-family organisation in Romania has warned that the European Union is setting a "dangerous precedent" with efforts to include "sexual orientation" into a new equality directive. "Forcing sexual orientation non-discrimination on religious bodies is discriminatory to religion," the Alliance of Romania's Families (AFR, Alianta Familiilor Din Romania) said in a legal brief. The EU's proposed directive is directly "hostile to religion" and conflicts with freedom of speech protections, they explained.

"The directive will likely have the effect of preventing religious bodies from promoting the authentic biblical view on sexuality or sexual immorality in general and from criticizing it."

The EU's Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council is preparing to implement a directive prohibiting "discrimination" on the basis of religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation. The proposal came from the EU Commission in 2008 and is part of the effort to consolidate all the European Union's "equality" measures.

Dr. Peter Costea, AFR president, said the directive is internally contradictory in that the inclusion of sexual orientation itself poses a direct threat to the protection of the rights and liberties of religious believers.

"Religion and sexual orientation are not analogous grounds for non-discrimination," Costea wrote, "but mutually exclusive in most respects."

The directive, he said, is poorly thought out and fails to consider the existing conflicts between religious freedom and the goals of the homosexualist movement. "Europe's religious tradition is largely incompatible with the relatively new notion of sexual orientation non-discrimination," he said.

Compared to Europe's well-developed religious and legal moral concepts, the notion of "sexual orientation" is a recent development and is largely undefined in legal terms. It is one "in constant flux without well defined or stable perimeters."

"Religious doctrine, on the other hand, is largely stable and for most of its adherents it is inflexible on certain fundamental issues, sexual orientation being paramount among them."

In the UK, similar legislation proposing to unite all of Britain's existing non-discrimination laws is being criticised by religious liberty watchdogs as a threat to religious liberties. It was revealed this week that the Labour government has paid £35,000 to an anti-religion campaign group, the British Humanist Association, to produce "guidelines" on how the new law will suppress the expression of religious belief in public and in the workplace. Currently, dozens of individual cases are being heard in courts and employment tribunals of Christians who have run afoul of existing "equality" legislation and workplace rules by expressing their religious beliefs in public.

Costea points out that whereas there is "virtual unanimity" of agreement on the protection of religion, age and disability, sexual orientation is not a comparable category. Age and disability are unavoidable natural conditions, he wrote, and religious belief is a matter of "deep conviction which binds the conscience and most individuals cannot act, or be forced to act or think in opposition to it."

But a person's sexual activity, he said, "is a matter of choice."

The AFR, he wrote, believes "that the law should not protect choices from discrimination especially when such choices amount to nothing more than mere fads."

Harvard Gay and Lesbian Caucus Endow Professorship of Gender and Sexuality to the Tune of $1.5 Million

By Alex Bush

CAMBRIDGE, MA, June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) Harvard University has received an endowment worth $1.5 million to fund a "gender and sexuality" professorship from the Harvard Gay and Lesbian Caucus, reports the Harvard Gazette. The new professorship has been named the F.O. Matthiessan Visiting Professorship of Gender and Sexuality.

Named after F.O. Matthiessan, who was a homosexual literary critic and faculty member at Harvard, this is the first endowed named chair in so-called "LGBT studies."

Mitchell L. Adams, who oversees the Gay and Lesbian Caucus, said that the formation of a new chair is "an extraordinary moment in Harvard's history and in the history of this rapidly emerging field." He continued, "And because of Harvard's leadership in academia and the world, this gift will foster continued progress toward a more inclusive society."

The professorship will allow the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to invite lecturers to teach on homosexual topics for a semester at a time.

Harvard President Drew Faust thanked the Gay and Lesbian Caucus for supporting the new professorship, calling LGBT "studies" a "burgeoning area of scholarship."

Fr. Pavone Emphasizes Biggest Danger From the Killing of George Tiller

Commentary by Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life

June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) The pro-life leadership has gone out of its way and rightly so to condemn the violence that took the life of abortionist George Tiller on Sunday. I join with those voices, as I always have done, that declare that the end never justifies the means, and that violence has no place in the effort to end abortion.

I have been asked what I think the biggest negative effect of this killing will be on our pro-life movement. Does it tar the movement's reputation? Yes, it does, despite the fact that those who kill abortionists are always disconnected from pro-life organizations. Does it make the government reach too far in clamping down on First Amendment activity against abortion? Yes, it does and it will.

But those are not the biggest dangers.

The biggest danger is the enemy within. It is the fear and self-doubt to which we can all too easily fall victim. It is the voice inside that makes us feel guilty for saying "Abortion is murder" or "Abortion is a holocaust" or "The babies who are being killed need to be defended now." It is the fear inside that keeps us from going out to the abortion mills and intervening to save the children scheduled to be killed there each day.

The biggest danger is that some will listen to those in the pro-abortion movement who try to lay blame for violence on us and who, as one person wrote on my blog, think that saying "Abortion is murder" should be prosecuted because it leads to violence against abortionists.

The Church teaches us that we have to look evil in the eye. John Paul II, in "The Gospel of Life, said that we have to call evil by its proper name. This is no time to shrink back from the reality of what is going on every day in abortion. Children are being killed, and the reason it continues is that too many of our fellow citizens are blind to it.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, in his Letter from the Birmingham Jail, responded to criticisms that the civil rights activists were fomenting violence. No, he said. That's like saying the person who owns money is fomenting the activity of the robber. To expose the violence that is already occurring, to call it what it is, and to sound the alarm that it has to stop, is not to foment violence.

The pro-life movement is a movement of non-violence. As Ghandi and Dr. King taught, and as we teach, non-violence is not passivity, and it is not obscurity. It is a force. It is a clear and strong response against violence, in whatever form that violence takes.

Let the outcry against Tiller's murder be loud and clear. And let the outcry against the murders he committed and that other abortionists commit -- be loud and clear as well.

Father Corapi on the "Flash Point" in Western Society
"Nothing will ultimately go well for the United States or any other country until the injustice of all injustices is remedied"

Commentary by Fr. John Corapi

June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) Flash point: The point at which something is ready to blow up. That has been my perception of Western society in general for some time now. Perhaps, a train wreck waiting to happen would be another way to put it. All evil can claim its ultimate origin in moral evil. Those that deny objective standards of morality merely facilitate the demise of their society. When it happens they will be nowhere to be found.

That apparently large numbers of people seem to be intellectually and morally numb is not news, but the near light-speed evaporation of our way of life is. Actions have consequences, and sometimes the consequences can't be seen this side of eternity. That does not mean they aren't real. You will be seeing some of the consequences very soon, however, not the worst, but the most immediate.

Personal liberty has already begun to be compromised. Various governments, including the United States, now own car companies like General Motors and Chrysler, mega insurance companies, soon perhaps health care and energy. Injustice is beginning to be seen from the smallest of individuals to the largest of corporations. The only problem with that is that governments have never been able to operate anything profitably, efficiently, or equitably. The little guy and the large corporation will all be equal opportunity recipients of heavy-handed injustice very soon.

The government is about to dictate what car you can drive, how you insure it, what your bank can pay you or not, what kind of heating you have in your home, if you can have air conditioning or not. And, oh, if you eat a Twinkie your health insurance premium is going up. If you get sick, perhaps the Twinkie did it, and you aren?t covered.

You might say that the government needs to control things to keep us safe, etc. That might work if the people in government could be trusted. They can't, but we elected them. We get what we deserve, and many chickens are about to come home to roost.
One of the inherent difficulties with a democratic republic is that it is only as good as the people in it. When a people lose their moral equilibrium, live in sin, and suffer the consequent loss of wisdom, then that nation's days are numbered.

Why? How have we come to this? It can be traced to the most compelling moral issue of our times, and we can't escape from it, no matter how uncomfortable it is - abortion and other life issues.

No matter what other rosy picture is painted by those that would have you believe all is well, God is not a disinterested spectator. Regardless of the high sounding rhetoric of the day, seeming progress in this or that area, it is an illusion.

Nothing will ultimately go well for the United States or any other country until the injustice of all injustices is remedied. Until every human being is respected and reverenced, from the moment of conception to the last moment of natural life, no one will be safe and secure.

Whether it is the helpless infant in the womb or the misguided and/or evil abortionist on the wrong end of a bullet, all deserve the safety and security of the law. Only God can in justice and wisdom decide when life begins and when life ends. When we attempt to usurp God's job description we always come up short.

This is republished from the most recent newsletter from SOLT http://www.fathercorapi.com/

Newsletter Moto-Live.com

2009-06-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

Moto-Live.com Newsletters : 4 June 2009

Spanish GP, zero hour for Dani Pedrosa
Interview with Dani during his personal countdown

03 June
[15:00] - Fifth place for KTM's Marquez
In Mugello
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090603150206.shtml

[10:26] - A great 9th position for Lorenzo Savadori
At Mugello
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090603102809.shtml

[09:43] - Fagerhaug wins again
In the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090603094427.shtml

02 June
[15:12] - WSBK: Three-year contract extension for Miller
"It was important to us to secure this event"
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090602151312.shtml

[09:59] - Canepa takes best result of the season
With ninth at Mugello
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090602100035.shtml

To unsubscribe click : http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/services/newsletter/index.shtml

LifeSiteNews.com - Wednesday June 3, 2009

2009-06-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

LifeSiteNews.com - Wednesday June 3, 2009

* New Hampshire Legalizes Same-Sex "Marriage": Governor Signs Bill
* L'Osservatore Romano Won't Let me Defend Myself Says Brazil Archbishop
* Commentary: Let's Get our Facts Straight about Tiller and Anti-Abortion Violence
* Catholic Agencies Must Adopt to Homosexuals: UK Charity Tribunal
* A Good Journalist May Be Hard to Find, But Not a Late-Term Abortionist
* Senator Feinstein Assures Pro-Aborts: Sotomayor "Respects Precedent" Set by Roe v. Wade
* Dick Cheney Voices Support for Same-Sex "Marriage"
* "Obsessional" Fear of Suffering Ushering in Euthanasia Culture: Prominent Bioethicist
* "Pop Can" Miracle Baby Set to Go Home Born at 12.5 Ounces
* Third Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Ban on Bible-Reading in the Classroom
* UK Man Convicted after Trying to Stop Homosexual Sex in Public with Video Camera
* Christians in the UK Facing Increasing Official Discrimination: Poll
* Former Westminster Cardinal Won't Join Tony Blair Faith Foundation After All
* Interview with Brazil Archbishop over Excommunication of Abortion Doctors

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New Hampshire Legalizes Same-Sex "Marriage": Governor Signs Bill

By Alex Bush

June 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) Governor John Lynch has signed a bill that will legalize same-sex "marriage" in New Hampshire when it comes into effect in January 2010. The bill passed in the House today by a vote of 198-176.

Same-sex "marriage" legislation was originally passed in the House on March 26 by a vote of 186-179 and was then approved by the Senate in a 13-11 vote on April 29. The legislation was then passed on to Gov. Lynch for approval or veto.

However, Governor Lynch stated at the time that he would not sign the bill unless it was amended to adequately protect religious groups. The bill was then amended to do so, but then defeated in late May, apparently over opposition to the inclusion of the religious protections. However, the House then worked out a compromise, and another amended form of the bill was passed today that included some protections for religious groups.

Kevin Smith, executive director of Cornerstone Policy Reearch, complained about the confusing and fragmented process that the bill followed on its way to being passed. "It is no surprise that the Legislature finally passed the last piece to the gay marriage bill today. After all, when you take 12 votes on five iterations of the same issue, you're bound to get it passed sooner or later," said Smith.

Religious groups, according to the amended bill, are free to have control over doctrine, policies, teaching, and belief about marriage. Also, religious organizations that are charitable or educational are not required to pay insurance or other benefits to the "spouse" of a homosexual employee.

New Hampshire is now the sixth state in the US to allow same-sex "marriage," along with Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, and Iowa.

Related LifeSiteNews.com Coverage:

NH House Votes Down Same-Sex "Marriage" Bill over Objections to Religious Liberty Clause

New Hampshire Senate Approves Same-Sex "Marriage"

NH Governor Backs Same-Sex "Marriage" Legislation

L'Osservatore Romano Won't Let me Defend Myself Says Brazil Archbishop

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent

RECIFE, BRAZIL, June 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Archbishop of Olinda and Recife, Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, is asking that the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano publish his response to Archbishop Salvatore "Rino" Fisichella, who criticized him on its pages on March 15 for having announced the excommunication of the doctors who assisted in a now-famous abortion on a nine-year-old girl.

"It seems to me important that L'Osservatore Romano should publish my response," Cardoso told the French newspaper Present in a recent interview. "This is what we are trying to obtain, as we have been from the start."

"We sent the archdiocese's response to Mgr Fisichella's article to Rome. It's a natural right to be allowed to respond if someone has been publishing false information, for who knows which motive: the readers of L'Osservatore should also be in a position to know the other point of view."

The article, entitled "On the Side of the Brazilian Girl," shocked the pro-life world by defending the doctors who killed the unborn twins of a nine-year-old child in Recife, Brazil, and criticizing Cardoso for announcing the automatic excommunication from the Catholic Church incurred under Church law for committing an abortion.

Cardoso observes that the piece by Fisichella contained raw factual errors. In particular the article implied that the world would never have known about the case if the Archbishop had not mentioned the excommunication, suggested that Cardoso had immediately announced the excommunication without prior contact with the media, and that the girl's life was in danger from the pregnancy.

In reality, the Brazilian media had already been reporting on the girl's situation for several days, and the hospital where she was initially admitted acknowledged that she was in no danger at the time of the abortion (see LifeSiteNews' extensive coverage).

Cardoso also explains that he had already spoken to the media several times even before the abortion was committed. "I expressed myself several times [to the media] because this affair of a nine year-old pregnant girl attracted widespread media attention," he said. "Above all, we did all that depended on us to save three lives: not only the life of the little girl, but the three lives. When the abortion finally did take place, I simply recalled once more the law of the Church."

Pro-abortion activists, including the former President of "Catholics for Choice," Frances Kissling, openly applauded the article by Fisichella, which critics have said used rhetoric similar to that of the pro-abortion movement.

Although the Archdiocese of Olinda and Recife has responded to the charges, L'Osservatore Romano has yet to reprint any of the material defending the decision by Cardoso. However, two members of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Judie Brown and Joseph Seifert (see coverage), have objected publicly to what they have said is an attack on Cardoso, as has Human Life International and other pro-life organizations.

Related Links:

English translation of "On the Side of the Brazilian Girl" by Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella
http://novantiqua.com/2009/03/20/translation-of-archbishop-fisichellas-intervention-on-the-brazilian-excommunications/

Declaration of the Archdiocese of Olinda and Recife
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09031805.html

Related LifeSiteNews coverage:

International Pro-Abortion Group Conspired With Hospital to Kill Unborn Twins in Famous Brazilian Case
Part I - http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09032018.html
Part II - http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09032413.html
Part III - http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09032018.html

Commentary: Let's Get our Facts Straight about Tiller and Anti-Abortion Violence

Commentary by Brian Clowes, PhD - Human Life International, Research Manager

June 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Along with everyone else at Human Life International and throughout the legitimate pro-life movement, I strongly condemn the murder of abortionist George Tiller in Kansas. The Fifth Commandment does not read "Thou shalt not kill, except for abortionists."

Not only is it wrong to respond to people like Tiller with the ultimate anti-life act of murder, it also sets the entire pro-life movement back as good, committed leaders have to scramble to distance themselves from an act that they never called for and which is obviously antithetical to their philosophy and work. Pro-abortion legislators seize on the opportunity to call for laws restricting legitimate pro-life activities such as sidewalk counseling and picketing, knowing the whole time that such legislation will do nothing to hinder a maniac with a gun. And, worst of all, thousands of people who would otherwise have joined the pro-life movement will continue to sit on the sidelines, believing the media lie that we are violent.

Pro-lifers should indeed condemn the murder of George Tiller. But we should not play permanent defense as the nonsense snowballs and the unfair attacks against the pro-life movement multiply. Here are some facts that should be taken into consideration by all people of good will, especially those whose responsibility it is to report on this story.

1) George Tiller is the first abortionist to be killed in eleven years. If you think that's a "trend," or an "epidemic" as some have said, you're just not a serious person.

2) All of the posturing going on in the pro-abortion movement over the safety of abortionists is a ruse. There are four times as many hairdressers and 150 times as many convenience store clerks murdered as there are abortionists. Where is the "pro-choice" grieving over them?

3) George Tiller made his money performing late-term abortions, which often involves the killing of a viable human being. According to Kansas state statistics, he killed 395 viable third-trimester babies in one year 2001 all for "mental health" reasons (which, as we know, is the category for all elective abortions). Not one of those abortions was for a mother's physical health or for a medical emergency. Americans overwhelmingly believe this disgusting practice should not be legal. If any objective journalist were to look into his practice they would see that most people, and all sane people, are appalled by what happened in his clinic every day.

4) Tiller has been tried on criminal indictments for multiple abuses of his practice, including breaking state laws requiring another medical doctor to verify that certain patients' lives were at risk before performing late-term abortions. This man was no hero or saint, and his being held up as a martyr says more about pro-abortionists than it does about those they are trying to condemn.

5) Abortionists are not only widely considered an embarrassment to the medical profession, but they are much more likely to commit violence than to suffer violence. You may be surprised to learn that more than a dozen abortionists have been convicted of murder and manslaughter ― of their wives, of their patients, and even of other abortionists. Yet you never hear about these killings in the press (see http://www.abortionviolence.com/ for documentation). Abortionists are more likely to kill than to be killed.

6) Whenever an abortionist mutilates, kills or molests a woman, the "pro-choice" movement always rushes to his defense, as they did for Brian Finkel, the Arizona abortionist who was sent to prison for 35 years for 22 counts of sexual abuse. So much for caring for women!

7) The pro-life movement is the most peaceful social movement in the history of this country. Most other social movements, including the unionization movement, the pro-abortion movement, the homosexualist movement, the animal rights movement, and the environmental movement have all demonstrated much greater violence. So where is the outcry over the violence committed by these movements?

During the predictable surge of publicity over Tiller's murder, we must remember that abortion itself is the most cowardly form of murder, committed against the most helpless and innocent of all of God's people, the unborn. We must also remember those who have died, but who are ignored by the media and the pro-abortionists ― the hundreds of women who have died of so-called "safe and legal" abortion, and the hundreds of other women who have been murdered by their boyfriends or husbands because they would not abort their children (see http://www.abortionviolence.com/ for documentation).

Let's not be bullied or silenced by those who are trying to tar the whole pro-life movement by cynically exploiting the murder of George Tiller. Let's instead reply with facts which add context to the "abortionists are heroes, pro-lifers are violent" narrative that the "mainstream" media seems too willing to parrot.

Not that I expect the media to suddenly start reporting the truth of abortion. If they did that, there would be no legal abortion in the first place. But we can try, and the facts are on our side. Let's pray, too, for the soul of George Tiller, his family, and his murderer, as well as for the conversion of all pro-aborts that they see how destructive abortion is for all human life, not just the child who is killed and the mother who is wounded.

One thing you can do is forward this information and the address of the abortion violence Web site to your friends so that we can reach those of good will ― those who aren't just mindlessly screaming bloody murder but who can actually think and listen to reason ― and show them that the story they've been told about supposedly "violent" pro-life activists is just that ― a story.

Catholic Agencies Must Adopt to Homosexuals: UK Charity Tribunal
Legal defence say local bishops left Catholic adoption agencies "to sink or swim on their own"

By Alex Bush

LEICESTER, England, June 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) The UK Charity Tribunal has ruled that Catholic adoption agencies cannot restrict homosexual adoption and keep their charitable status, which allows them to receive public funds. The decision came down against Catholic Care, one of the few adoption agencies in the country that has challenged oppressive homosexualist legislation instead of simply shutting down or secularizing.

Catholic Care was appealing a previous decision made in March, where they attempted to change their provisions (i.e., their charter, or objectives) that would allow them to restrict who is allowed to adopt, according to section 18 of the Sexual Orientation Regulations (SORs). The SORs were passed in 2007, and were ostensibly meant to prevent "discrimination," but have instead led to a culture of persecution against Christians and Christian organizations who hold to age-old beliefs about sexual morality.

Section 18 of the SORs states that a charitable group may restrict services based on sexual orientation if the reason for the restriction is based on the provisions of the charity.

Catholic Care attempted to add "the advancement of the Christian religion in accordance with the tenants of the Roman Catholic Church" and "The Charity shall only provide adoption services to heterosexuals and such services to heterosexuals shall only be provided in accordance with the tenets of the Church" to their provisions, in order to qualify for an exemption under the SORs.

The tribunal, however, said that a public adoption charity could not restrict adoption to homosexuals for religious reasons, even if based on the provisions of the charity. The result is an insurmountable impasse between the teachings of the Catholic Church, and the increasingly homosexualist and anti-Christian legal situation in the U.K. Now the charity faces the option of either violating its own beliefs, shutting down its adoption services, or losing its charity status and possibly facing discrimination complaints.

In its decision the tribunal reasoned that one section of the SORs cannot trump another section, and pointed to Section 15, which states that an adoption agency can restrict their services based on sexual orientation on religious grounds only until December 31, 2008. The Tribunal decided that the purpose of parliament in enacting section 15 would be negated if the agencies "were permitted to continue with identical activities" before and after the time limit passed.

The Tribunal said that "regulation 18 could not be relied upon by the Appellant [Catholic Care] to permit activity which was no longer permitted, or which was made unlawful, by another regulation."

Neil Addison, director of the Thomas More Legal Centre, who has argued in the past that the SORs do not in fact absolutely restrict Catholic adoption agencies from refusing to adopt to homosexuals, called the tribunal's statement a "fatuous remark." He asked rhetorically on his blog, "If reg 18 only applies to activities which are not covered by the SOR's anyway then why would any Charity need to rely on reg 18 at all?"

Addison commented on the lack of support from the local bishops for the charities in question, saying, "I certainly feel ... that had the Bishops really defended the Agencies as a Unit they might have been able to win but what they did was to leave them to sink or swim on their own, most sank and the few who tried to maintain a Catholic Adoption Service were frankly deserted."

"It is very sad that in the name of 'diversity' we are in fact destroying diversity by ensuring that their [sic] cannot be different agencies and organisations offering distinct and unique policies," he said.

See the Tribunal's Decision:
http://www.charity.tribunals.gov.uk/decisions.htm

The Sexual Orientation Regulations
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/uksi_20071263_en_1

Related LifeSiteNews.com Coverage:

Experts Worldwide Find Gay Adoption Harmful for Children
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/may/05053106.html

UK LABOUR GOVERNMENT PASSES HOMOSEXUAL ADOPTION
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/nov/02110411.html

UK Catholic Adoption Agencies Voluntarily Refuse Religious Opt-Out Clause for Homosexual Adoption
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08112804.html

Catholic Adoption Agency Will Close Before Giving Children to Homosexual Parents, Bishop States
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jul/07073003.html

A Good Journalist May Be Hard to Find, But Not a Late-Term Abortionist

By Peter J. Smith

WICHITA, Kansas, June 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) In the aftermath of the murder of late-term abortionist, George Tiller, a number of media stories have reported that Tiller was one of only three remaining late-term abortionists in the United States. However the claim does not square up with numbers released by the Alan Guttmacher Institute and further evidence that indicates that late-term abortion has plenty of willing practitioners across the country.

The Associated Press called Tiller "one of the nation's few providers of late-term abortions" on May 31. The AP stated, "Tiller's Women's Health Care Services clinic is one of just three in the nation where abortions are performed after the 21st week of pregnancy."

According to the New York Times, "Some described Dr. Tiller as one of about only three doctors in the country who had, under certain circumstances, provided abortions to women in their third trimester of pregnancy, and said his death would mean that women, particularly in the central United States, would have few if any options in such cases."

The Los Angeles Times called Tiller, "One of the few American physicians who performed late-term abortions." The Times added that "the doctor had always overcome the daunting legal and physical challenges of his work, terminating pregnancies of women and girls who were in the 22nd week of gestation or beyond."

However the fact is that statistics show that many doctors perform such late-term abortions in the United States. Tiller, on the other hand, was actually notorious for being among the few doctors willing to perform very late-term abortions, way past the point of viability, right up until birth.

Although no week demarcates the precise beginning of what is defined as a late-term abortion, the procedure is regarded as beginning in the second trimester, around the point of fetal viability outside the womb. In general, viability begins 21 weeks although advances in medical technology and a number of cases show this number might actually be lower. If this figure is taken as a benchmark, then the statistics of the Alan Guttmacher Institute, the research arm of Planned Parenthood, indicate that late-term abortion is a very busy industry indeed.

Fr. Frank Pavone yesterday drew attention to this data on his blog where he wrote: "The Alan Guttmacher Institute (the research arm of Planned Parenthood) reports that abortions of pregnancies at 21 weeks or later comprise about 1.1 percent of the nation's abortions, which that same institute also indicates are in the area of 1.21 million."

A quick crunching of the numbers means that for the year 2005 (the latest available data from Guttmacher), 13,310 late-term abortions were performed in the United States. A corresponding CDC report (which does not include data from California and several states) reported that in Kansas where Tiller conducted his grisly business - only 452 abortions of unborn children were performed at 21 weeks and beyond. This is a mere fraction of the total number, despite the fact that aborting children late in pregnancy was Tiller's avowed specialty.

The rest of these late-term abortions are performed at other abortion centers and hospitals across the country, which pro-life columnist Jill Stanek says are hardly an endangered species.

"The reality is late-term abortions are committed pretty much in every pocket of the country, contrary to claims by the other side," said Stanek on WorldNetDaily.com.

While a number of abortion facilities and hospitals perform late-term abortions, Tiller was among a handful who offered to perform very late-term abortions, even right before birth. One non-exhaustive listing of abortion providers listed at least six facilities that would perform abortions beyond 24 weeks, which is twice the number of late-term abortion providers the mainstream media have reported, whom they define as those performing abortions beyond 21-22 weeks.

Guttmacher spokeswoman Rebecca Wind told LifeSiteNews that while she had no specific information on Tiller's abortion practice, she stated, "the other two physicians who have been cited as performing abortions very late in pregnancy are Dr. Carhart in Nebraska and Dr. Hern in Colorado."

That may explain the media misapprehension that Tiller was one of three doctors providing simply late-term abortions, while in fact they were very late-term abortions in very advanced pregnancies.

Despite Tiller's death, his abortion facility in Wichita will once again be open for business. Dr. Leroy Carhart, a friend of Tiller and the abortionist behind two Supreme Court cases, Stenberg v. Carhart, and Gonzales v. Carhart, has said that he is leaving his abortion practice in Nebraska temporarily to continue providing very late-term abortions at the Tiller facility.

Senator Feinstein Assures Pro-Aborts: Sotomayor "Respects Precedent" Set by Roe v. Wade

By Kathleen Gilbert

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Judiciary committee member Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday told reporters that Judge Sonia Sotomayor had satisfied her concern that the nominee to become the next Supreme Court judge would uphold liberal access to abortion as founded in Roe v. Wade.

Following a meeting with Sotomayor, who has spent the last two days at Capitol Hill meeting with senators, the pro-abortion senator admitted that the discussion broached the topic of abortion. Asked to elaborate on that topic, Feinstein praised Sotomayor's "respect for precedent."

"I think she is a woman who is well-steeped in the law and well-steeped in precedent," said Feinstein. "And I believe that she has a real respect for precedent, and that she was not just saying that. And if that is really true, then I would agree with her. And I believe it is."

Feinstein's words confirm earlier reports that point to pro-abortion proclivities in Obama's choice to replace retiring Supreme Court judge David Souter. While several pro-abortion groups have expressed concern that Obama's Sotomayor has not proven herself as a champion of abortion, Planned Parenthood, like Feinstein, had assured constituents of Sotomayor's fidelity to "precedent."

Feinstein also said that Sotomayor regretted the wording of her controversial statement decried by conservatives as revealing a "reverse racist" viewpoint.

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life," Sotomayor had told an audience at the University of California-Berkeley Law School in 2001.

"She said, 'Obviously it was a poor choice of words, if you read on and read the rest of my speech you wouldn't be concerned with it, but it was a poor choice of words,'" Feinstein told reporters.

Conservative leaders such as Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh, who had questioned Sotomayor's racism, have more recently softened their approach to Sotomayor. Limbaugh said his support for the nomination rested on the Catholic Latina judge proving that she is not hostile to the pro-life cause.

"I can see a possibility of supporting this nomination if I can be convinced that she does have a sensibility toward life in a legal sense," the radio guru told his audience today.

The Senate Judiciary committee has not yet scheduled hearings to examine the nominee. Though promising to look carefully at Sotomayor's record, leading GOP senators on Sunday indicated that the party was not planning a filibuster to block the nomination.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Is Sotomayor a "Souter" on Roe v. Wade for the Abortion Movement? All Signs Point to No
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052904.html

Dick Cheney Voices Support for Same-Sex "Marriage"

By Peter J. Smith

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) If Republican Chairman Michael Steele did not have enough problems keeping the GOP's conservative coalition together, Dick Cheney's Monday endorsement of same-sex marriage did little to ameliorate the situation.

The former vice president stated Monday at the National Press Club that he supported same-sex unions, whether they be called "marriage" or otherwise.

"I think that freedom means freedom for everyone," Cheney asserted in response to a question concerning the latest court rulings and legislation legalizing same-sex "marriage." Cheney mentioned the homosexual lifestyle of his daughter, Mary, who has a son conceived through an anonymous sperm donor. A 2007 White House photo announcement, however, obscured that fact, calling both Mary Cheney and her lesbian partner, Heather Poe, the child's parents (see coverage).

"I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish. Any kind of arrangement they wish," said Cheney.

However, Cheney then qualified his position by reiterating that the federal government had no role in imposing same-sex "marriage" since "historically the way marriage has been regulated is at the state level."

"It has always been a state issue and I think that is the way it ought to be handled, on a state-by-state basis. ... But I don't have any problem with that. People ought to get a shot at that."

Cheney's statements at the National Press Club were not his first public support of same-sex unions. Throughout the campaign trail in 2004, Cheney refused to endorse President Bush's call for a Constitutional amendment limiting the definition of marriage to a man and a woman. Cheney also stated at a campaign rally in Iowa that his "general view is freedom means freedom for everyone" and added that "People ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to."

While Cheney no longer holds any sort of elected office or leadership position in the GOP, his words add to the frenzied debate over same-sex "marriage," and to the woes of a Republican Party that is struggling to find a unified voice to oppose President Barack Obama and the Democrats in the 2010 Congressional elections.

When asked about Cheney's statements on CNN's American Morning, GOP Chairman Michael Steele responded, "My personal view is that marriage is between a man and a woman," remarking that his opinion is "very much in line with what the President has said."

"Obsessional" Fear of Suffering Ushering in Euthanasia Culture: Prominent Bioethicist
"If the point of society is to make sure you don't suffer, that will often be making sure there aren't any sufferers."

By Kathleen Gilbert

LANSDOWNE, Virginia, June 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A culture that seeks to escape suffering and inconvenience at all costs will end by eliminating not only pain, but by ending the lives of those suffering or whose condition burden their families, warned bioethicist Wesley J. Smith this weekend.

Smith spoke at the Second International Euthanasia Symposium held at the National Conference Center in Lansdowne, Virginia. The symposium was hosted by Canada's Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.

Reflecting on the euthanasia agenda amid the modern advances of palliative care, Smith asked, "Why now?"

"We live in a time of - even despite the problems we're having - such tremendous prosperity," said Smith. "If you had a burst appendix 100 years ago, you died in agony. Today, people don't have to, at least in the developed world, die in agony."

Smith said he was further baffled after receiving piles of hate mail in 1993 for writing an article warning against euthanasia. "What happened to my culture, and where was I when it happened?" he mused.

Smith said he found the answer in the reflections of philosopher and bioethicist Yuval Levin, who stated: "Health has become the primary good for society ... not only as a beginning, but also as an end, relief and preservation from disease and pain, from misery and necessity, become the defining ends of human action and therefore human societies."

"The purpose of society had shifted from when I was growing up in my formative years," said Smith. "From the concept of justice, from the concept of eqality, mutual caring and mutual support, to - I would say - an obsessional fear and loathing and avoidance of not only suffering, but difficulty. ...

"It is distorting our culture ... into something that is not as compassionate as we should be, that is not as caring as we should be," said Smith. "If the point of society is to make sure you don't suffer, that will often be making sure there aren't any sufferers. Which isn't only about making sure the sufferer doesn't suffer, but putting the sufferer out of our misery."

"If we're going to defeat euthanasia and assisted suicide, we're going to have to recognize that for a lot of people, the principle of right and wrong don't matter anymore," said Smith. "What matters is making sure there isn't suffering. And that can lead to some very bad and dark places."

Smith told the story of a mentally ill, depressed woman who paramedics allowed to die after drinking antifreeze, because she had left a note asking not to be treated. Smith related the sentiments of her attending physician, who said: "It's a horrible thing to have to do, but I thought I had no alternative but to go with her wishes."

"Think about the kind of mental anguish somebody is going through to drink antifreeze, and to do it more than once," said Smith. Allowing her to die, he said, was "abandonment of the most profound kind."

"There are many things today that are better than in my formative years, racism being one of them," he continued, "but there are a lot of things that are not, and this is one of them: abandoning suffering people, mentally ill, mentally anguished people, to suicide."

In an interview with LifeSiteNews.com, Smith noted that an avoidance of suffering logically leads to "greater and greater extremes to try to prevent the suffering to the place where you end up preventing the sufferer." The current culture, he said, tries to prevent "not only the suffering of the patient, but the suffering of the family and the suffering of society who has to put up with these people, and see them or pay for them, and be reminded of our own mortality."

Smith called the current trend toward euthanasia "a rather desperate and sad attempt to avoid part of the human condition, which is difficulty and suffering." "If you took it to the full extreme, we'd all end up totally infantile, because the way people grow and gain wisdom is to go through difficulties," he said. "It's not the only way, but it's the essential way."

Although aware that such anti-humanistic policies as deep ecology and euthanasia are becoming mainstream, Smith said he was optimistic about the possibility of turning back the tide.

"This is not a shift that is a fait accompli, we are in the midst of what I call a 'coup d'culture,' but the coup has not succeeded, the contest is being waged," he said.

Smith urged those opposed to euthanasia and assisted suicide to be proactive in asserting the sanctity and equality of human life.

"Unless people engage that with a clear eye that they're in a 'coup d'culture,' that they need to man the battlements and ramparts to keep the barbarians from getting through the gates, they'll get through the gates," said Smith. "And believe me, if these people get through the gates, they're not going to be gentle about 'tolerance' and 'freedom,' because that's not their gig. That's their gig when they're on the outside; when they're on the inside, their gig is power."

Related Links:

Wesley J. Smith's blog http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/secondhandsmoke/

Euthanasia Prevention Coalition website http://www.epcc.ca

To order DVDs of the Second International Symposium, contact the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition at: info@epcc.ca

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Experts at International Euthanasia Symposium Stress Unity, Strategy, and the Triumph of Love over Suffering
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060204.html

"The Weekend Cleanup": The Gruesome Aftermath of Legalized Euthanasia in Belgium
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060109.html

"Pop Can" Miracle Baby Set to Go Home Born at 12.5 Ounces
"There's a God in this world, and if it's meant to be, it will be" mother says to parents with similar difficulties.

By Patrick B. Craine

PITTSBURGH, June 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) On March 12, parents Brittany Rideout and Adam Bouchat welcomed their beautiful and extraordinarily tiny little girl, Taylor Rideout, at Magee-Women's Hospital of UPMC in Pittsburgh. Born at 26 weeks gestation, Taylor was a mere 12.5 ounces or 350 grams, about the size of a pop can.

Ms. Rideout suffers from lupus, and about six weeks into the pregnancy she underwent two strokes and two seizures, says Mr. Bouchat in a video on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's website. She was hospitalized for a month. Then, two months after she was released, she was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome. "Her blood pressure was sky-high and her liver was failing," said Mr. Bouchat.

Faced with the possibility of death for both mother and child, they chose to deliver baby Taylor at 26 weeks. According to Taylor's doctor, Dr. Jennifer Kloesz, the smallest babies they had delivered before Taylor were about 500 grams, but these babies were only 24 weeks gestation. Dr. Kloesz said that Taylor was about half the size of a normal 26-week baby.

"The reason that she's still here and is going to survive and be discharged is that she was 26 weeks," Dr. Kloesz said. "Her organ systems had developed more like a 26-weeker so that she was able to respond to our resuscitation."

Dr. Kloesz said that if Taylor had not been gestated so long, they might not have made the attempt. Referring to her being 26 weeks, she said, "That's kinda the main thing that makes her so different and why it was worth giving it a try, with her parents' wishes," continues Dr. Kloesz.

But Ms. Rideout urges parents facing similar difficulties never to give up, reports WXPI in Pittsburgh. "I would tell them," she said, "don't give up on their child if they're born small or have a disease or anything. There's a God in this world, and if it's meant to be, it will be."

Taylor is now 83 days old, and weighs 3 pounds. She has been transferred into a transitional unit for a couple weeks in preparation for leaving the hospital.

Her parents, of course, are overjoyed. "I was scared that she wasn't going to make it, but she made it, so it's great," said Ms. Rideout.

They are looking forward to bringing her home, but are grateful for the care she has received. "We're just really looking forward to the time we can bring her home. But we're just so thankful that she's here, though, and just getting the care and attention. So even if we can't have her home, we feel safe that she's here," said Mr. Bouchat.

"Despite all she's been through, she seems to be a very happy person," he said.

Third Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Ban on Bible-Reading in the Classroom

PHILADELPHIA, PA, June 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a 2-1 decision, a federal appeals court has ruled that school officials did not violate the free speech rights of a kindergartner and his mother when they refused to allow Donna Busch to read a selection from the Bible as part of a classroom "All About Me" program intended to spotlight her son Wesley and his favorite book, the Bible. In appealing to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, attorneys for The Rutherford Institute had argued that school officials violated the Busches' First Amendment rights by discriminating against them based on the religious nature of the selected reading.

"By excluding religious expression, and Christian expression and symbols in particular, from the classroom, school officials have exhibited the kind of hostility toward religion that should never be found in an American public school," stated John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "If these situations continue, there will be absolutely no freedom for religious people in public schools in this country."

The case began in October 2004, when Donna Busch accepted an invitation to visit her son Wesley's kindergarten classroom at Culbertson Elementary School in Newtown Square, Penn., and read an excerpt of Wesley's favorite book to his classmates. Wesley's teacher had invited Mrs. Busch because Wesley was the featured student of "All About Me," a school program intended to feature a particular student during the week and emphasize that student's personal characteristics, preferences and personality in classroom activities.

One activity made available to all featured students during "All About Me" is the opportunity to have the child's parent read aloud from his or her favorite book. Wesley, a Christian, had chosen the Bible as his favorite book, and Mrs. Busch planned to read an excerpt from Psalm 118. However, on the day of the reading, Wesley's teacher directed Mrs. Busch not to read the passage until the principal had determined if it could be read to the class. When Principal Thomas Cook was summoned, he informed Mrs. Busch that she could not read from the Bible in the classroom because it was against the law and that the reading would violate the "separation of church and state."

In filing suit against the Marple Newtown school district in May 2005, Institute attorneys alleged that the reading incident was just one example of the school's efforts to suppress the right of Christians to freely express their religious beliefs. For example, although Mrs. Busch was not permitted to read from the Bible, another parent was allowed to read a book about Judaism; teach the class the dreidel game; and display a menorah in celebration of Hanukkah.

In upholding the lower court's ruling, the court of appeals held that "educators may appropriately restrict forms of expression in elementary school classrooms" even when they have invited speakers into the classroom.

"The public school setting may implicate the Establishment Clause, especially where public authority undertakes or is reasonably perceived to have undertaken to give one religious belief official approval or approval over other religious beliefs," Anthony Joseph Scirica, chief judge of the appeals court, wrote in his decision.

However, Circuit Judge Thomas Hardiman issued a vigorous dissent, pointing out that the reading of a passage from Psalms to Wesley's class was within the subject matter of the "All About Me" unit, which was to highlight things of interest and important to Wesley, and the exclusion constituted viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment because it was based solely upon its religious character.

UK Man Convicted after Trying to Stop Homosexual Sex in Public with Video Camera

By Hilary White and John Jalsevac

BOSTON, UK, June 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) A UK man who became fed up with homosexuals meeting for sex in the local park, has received a suspended jail sentence for his attempts to shame them into stopping by using his video camera. Colin Anthony Haw, 47, of Mayflower Road, Boston, in Lincolnshire, was called a "vigilante" by the court who said his campaign to stop the activities of the local homosexual community was a threat to a "vulnerable" minority.

Haw, a self-employed mechanic and a father of two children, said that he had reported to police the ongoing activity in a wooded area near his home area, but that his complaints were ignored. He admitted to a public order offense after one man who had been filmed found the footage on the internet and complained to the police.

Haw was convicted by Boston Magistrates' Court and sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for a year and a half, and was given 200 hours community service.

Chairman of the bench Pat Walsh told Mr Haw, "Your actions were premeditated and quite deliberate in targeting a group of people we would describe as vulnerable.

"Our thoughts were to send you to custody but we are not going to do that today."

Despite Britain's public decency laws, homosexuals routinely meet for sex in public lavatories in parks and other public places such as bus stations, train stations, airports and University campuses, calling the activity by the slang term "cottaging."

"Guidance" released by the Deputy Chief Constable Michael Cunningham last year said that UK police officers should balance the law with the "human rights of those people who frequent open spaces for the purposes of having sexual relationships with other like-minded people." (See coverage here)

The guidance report by Cunningham complained that previous activity on the part of police officers to stop public sex has alienated the homosexual community. The report blames law enforcement for leading to homosexual "self-harm," citing the fact that some homosexuals have attempted suicide who "may have been arrested, charged or come into contact with the police in such a situation."

Outside of Court, Haw told the Daily Mail, "We didn't go in there to cause people harm. We reported it on several occasions to the police. We tried to name and shame them but we didn't have any intention of causing them distress. We didn't put up any pornographic material.

"In our videos in Boston we have also brought attention to all the rubbish and the drug users who have thrown their syringes on the floor.

"We were not out to cause any trouble. The police wanted it covered up.

"I've got nothing against homosexual people but what gives them the authority to do it in public?"

Christians in the UK Facing Increasing Official Discrimination: Poll

By Hilary White

LONDON, June 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) A poll conducted by the Sunday Telegraph has found that thousands of Christians in Britain fear losing job promotions and are being harassed at work because of their religious beliefs. The poll has been released at the same time that reports that Britain is becoming increasingly hostile to Christian believers are increasing.

In the Telegraph poll, one in five said they had faced "opposition" at work because of their beliefs. Over half said they had suffered from some kind of "persecution" at work.

44 percent said they had been mocked by friends, neighbors or colleagues for being a Christian. 19 percent said they had been ignored or excluded for the same reason.

In recent months and years nurses, public officials, charity workers, foster parents and potential adoptive parents, policemen, teachers, and even school children in the U.K. have been sacked and threatened with legal action and job discipline for expressing their religious convictions. A great majority of these cases are those in which people who stand by the Christian belief in natural marriage have come into conflict with Britain's increasingly powerful homosexualist political lobby.

In January, a local council threatened to cut the funding of a nursing home for elderly Christian evangelists because residents had refused to relate their opinions on homosexuality. In a number of recent cases, potential foster parents and adoptive parents have been turned away by council authorities because of their faith-based opposition to the homosexual "lifestyle."

In May, the government's Equality ministers announced that Christian churches will be forced to hire active homosexuals as youth ministers even if their religion teaches that such activity is sinful. Despite efforts to include exemptions for religious groups, the Christian Institute says that the Labour government's Equality bill "dramatically narrows exemptions in sexual orientation employment laws which protect the religious liberty of churches and other faith groups."

The government has paid the anti-religious group the British Humanist Association (BHA) £35,000 to draw up "guidelines" for the Equality ministry. Andrew Copson, director of education at the BHA, said that sharing religious beliefs at work could be called harassment under the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003.

He said, "The law specifically protects people from being intimidated or confronted with a hostile environment in the workplace.

"Systematically undermining someone's beliefs or persistently attempting to convert someone would lead to the creation of a hostile environment."

The group has encouraged the government actively to undermine the religious "ethos" of Britain's "faith schools." The BHA, responding to a letter in the Times newspaper, said that under the Equality bill they would be working to "pressure Parliament to outlaw religious discrimination in our schools."

Read LifeSiteNews.com's extensive coverage:

UK Secularists and Gays Demand Marginalization of Christians
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/apr/07040408.html

Christian U.K. Registrar Loses Right of Conscience on Same-Sex Civil Unions
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08121911.html

Another UK Couple Rejected for Fostering Children over Religious Beliefs on Homosexuality
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/feb/08022705.html

Christian Teacher Suspended after Questioning Homosexualist Training Program
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042708.html

Funding Cut for U.K. Christian Care Home Accused of "Institutionalised Homophobia"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09010804.html

Former Westminster Cardinal Won't Join Tony Blair Faith Foundation After All

By Hilary White

LONDON, June 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNew.com) Until today, the website of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation (TBFF) still carried a note saying that Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor was expected to join their Advisory Council. But today a statement from the organization has said that the Cardinal will not join the Blair Foundation after all.

Parna Taylor from the Foundation told LifeSiteNews.com via e-mail, "We can totally understand Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor wanting to review his commitments" since his retirement. Taylor said that the Foundation had "always valued the private advice" given by the Cardinal.

"While they support the broad aims of the Foundation," Taylor continued, "we do not expect the Advisory Council members to agree with Tony Blair on every aspect of policy past or present. Their role is to provide advice and guidance, alongside many other senior religious figures who provide such insights on a less formal basis."

The Tablet news magazine reports that since Blair launched his Foundation in 2008, "it had been intended that the cardinal would join the advisory council once he had stepped down as Archbishop of Westminster."

It is unclear precisely why the Cardinal has reconsidered joining the Foundation. However, his plans to do so had been heavily criticised by many faithful Catholics and members of the life and family movement in Britain. Tony Blair, who was received into the Catholic Church by Cardinal O'Connor in December 2007, has been described by John Smeaton, the director of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, as the "principal architect" of the culture of death in Britain during his decade as Prime Minister, largely on account of his support for abortion and embryonic stem cell research.

But Blair's stock with the Catholic Church seems to have fallen since the installation of Archbishop Vincent Nichols as the replacement of the long-serving Cardinal O'Connor. After Blair gave an interview to a homosexualist magazine in which he chastised Pope Benedict for refusing to change the Church's teaching on homosexuality, Nichols commented that the former Prime Minister's strong "political instincts" have not helped his understanding of his religion.

Nichols told the Times, "Maybe he lacks a bit of experience in Catholic life."

The Blair Foundation states that its purpose is "to promote respect and understanding about the world's major religions and show how faith is a powerful force for good in the modern world." Blair himself has described the work of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation as encouraging "faiths" to come together, overcoming differences in "doctrine." A large part of his work, he said, is to urge religious leaders to reinterpret "religious texts" metaphorically rather than literally. He said religious leaders need "to treat religious thought and even religious texts as themselves capable of evolution over time."

But Blair has been dispraised even by many on the left for his lack of depth as a religious leader.

In May, the Guardian's Hugh O'Shaughnessy wrote that the "wheels are coming off" Blair's religious project. O'Shaughnessy quoted Dr. Ghada Karmi of Exeter University who called him "at best a total irrelevancy." O'Shaughnessy noted that having annoyed the Vatican, and given "the hostility and ridicule that the Blairs and their associates stir up" he is "increasingly unlikely to achieve his ambition of becoming president of the EU."

Stephen Pound, a Catholic Labour MP said that Blair's "hubris" is "extremely counterproductive."

"Entrance to the Vatican is only gained through a series of iron-clad, hermetically sealed, heavily padlocked and bolted doors, and I can hear them creaking shut as we speak."

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Following Blair Attacks on Pope/Catholic Church, Announcement that Westminster Cardinal Will Join Tony Blair Faith Foundation
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040904.html

British Clergy Say Blair Must Renounce Anti-Life, Anti-Family Views Before Becoming Catholic
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/nov/07112907.html

Blair Championing Religion in Westminster Cathedral Leaves Catholics Outraged
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/apr/08040311.html

Tony Blair "Not a Good Guide to the Teachings of the Catholic Church": New Archbishop of Westminster
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052505.html

Interview with Brazil Archbishop over Excommunication of Abortion Doctors

Interview with Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho of the Archdiocese of Olinda and Recife, Brazil

June 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) Note: The following is an interview with Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, of Olinda and Recife, Brazil, by French journalist Jeanne Smits. The interview appeared originally in French in the newspaper Present, and was republished in her blog in English. Mrs. Smits has kindly granted LifeSiteNews permission to reprint the article in its entirety.

Q: In the wake of the Recife affair, the Osservatore Romano publicly rejected your declarations on the automatic excommunication of those who chose abortion for the little girl and those who carried it out. Since then a tendency has appeared in the media suggesting that Church teaching has changed as to determining whether abortion when the mother's life is in danger or in other particular circumstances is wrong, whether it is sinful. On the other hand, media lies on important points in the case have been plentiful, even though many people have expressed admiration for your attitude. Could your Excellency tell us what really happened?

A: First of all I want to express my very profound gratitude to all those who expressed support. I received hundreds of messages of solidarity from the world over: priests, bishops, lay people, approving my decision to speak out clearly on the law of the Church. I received the "Human Life International" cardinal Von Galen prize, and very recently the Pro Vida association of São Paolo also attributed its prize to me. Thanks be to God, many people approve of what I did.

There are some people, however, in France, in Canada including bishops, who wrote articles or public letters to state their disapproval. In a spirit of dialogue, I would like to say that is wrong to say that we that is to say myself and the parish priest of the pregnant little girl did not give her the special attention she needed. We gave her every attention and every care. What has unfortunately been published is simply not true: we did everything that was in our power to help.

Some, when they speak about the publicity surrounding this affair, affirm that it was not "timely" to speak of excommunication. I do not agree with that point of view. They were practically telling me that we should have forgotten what Canon Law says concerning excommunication. My opinion is different. I say that this law exists for the good of the Church. And that it was not I who excommunicated anyone, as I have repeated countless times. Those who accuse me say that it is I who "excommunicated", and that's totally false; I simply drew attention to a law that exists in the Church, canon 1398. And I ask: is it appropriate to remain silent, as many claim? Would it have been better that I not speak at all about excommunication? Well, I answer that I do not agree. It is a law of the Church for the good of the Church. It has existed for many centuries. The new Code of Canon Law, promulgated in 1983 be the Servant of God Pope John Paul II, reiterates this law. In the same way the Catechism of the Catholic Church, published by the same pope in 1992, repeats and comments on this law. Would it have been better to keep silent? Well, in my opinion, it is of the highest importance to draw everyone's attention, especially that of the Catholic faithful, to the gravity of the crime of abortion. That is the reason why the law exists.

We, in our diocese, have received so many messages from so many people who have told me "Now, I better understand the gravity of abortion, and I will change my conscience." In my opinion, the act of the drawing attention to the existence of this excommunication produces a spiritual benefit among the Catholic faithful. But it also benefits others, who apparently perform abortions with their minds at rest and who will from now on, I trust, weigh in their conscience the gravity of what they are doing. That is the final goal of this law of the Church, of this penalty of excommunication: it is medicinal. It is a remedy in view of the conversion of all. For the person who incurs it, it is a means to make him understand that he will have to answer for his act before God. With the Church, we desire that every single person, even those who follow the path of error, may come to live according to the law of God. We do not want the eternal condemnation of anyone. In my opinion, silence not speaking of excommunication would cause grave damage to the Church.

But there is something more serious, I have the impression that among those who spoke against me, some are practically insinuating that it would be better to abrogate the canon on excommunication. But the Church does not believe this. The Church maintains this law, because it is necessary for the common good of the Church, when it comes to very grave offences, that there is a clear law, and that this law be applied. These are principles of great importance. For me, silence would be equivalent to complicity. We know all the international media say so that there are up to 50 million abortions each year, worldwide. Here in Brazil, the number quoted is about one million each year. In conscience, I feel certain that it is necessary to speak, to waken people's conscience, because silence can be construed as approval.

Q: I recently interviewed Prof. Josef Seifert who took your defence in the media. He described excommunication as an act of charity toward the persons who incur it, as it makes them realize the damage done to their spiritual life. Would you use that expression?

A: It is a spiritual remedy. The Church is invested with a mission, which is to bring all men to eternal salvation, and to make them live in the grace of God. It is a fact that there are people who perform abortions with their minds at rest and who say just as calmly that they will continue. We, as Catholics, and above all as pastors of the Church, cannot remain silent, as if this were all well and good. This is why I repeat that not speaking up, not drawing attention to the gravity, to the seriousness of the problem, and above all to the fact that the Church, for the common good, applies this penalty, would be complicity. It would practically amount to accepting this grave situation.

Here in Brazil, we are in the process of preparing a law to legalize abortion. We Catholics must speak out first on moral responsibility. Evidently, there are Catholics in our Parliament who defend the law of God, but there are others who defend this bill, beginning with the president of the Republic. We cannot remain silent!

Q: When you spoke of the automatic excommunication of the mother of the pregnant child and of the doctors who took part in the abortion, did you do so before or after it had been committed?

A: I talked about that before and after the abortion, as the note of the archdiocese of Recife to Mgr Fisichella clearly stated: on March 3rd, the day before the abortion, I told journalists about the "medicinal penalty" of canon 1398. Unfortunately the article of mgr Fisichella states that the first time I talked to the press about this affair I talked only about excommunication. That is absolutely false. I expressed myself several times because this affair of a nine year-old pregnant girl attracted widespread media attention. Above all, we did all that depended on us to save three lives: not only the life of the little girl, but the three lives. When the abortion finally did take place, I simply recalled once more the law of the Church. Any person who in full conscience, of course commits an abortion is excommunicated. That was the meaning of my declaration.

Q: Is it true that the little girl was rachitic or that she was suffering from malnutrition?

A: No, not at all! The pregnant little girl, even when she was taken to hospital, was living with other children with whom she played like a normal child.

Q: Did she know that she was pregnant, and that she was expecting two children?

A: Yes, of course! Not only did she know it, but she had even said that one of the babies would be for a member of her family, and the other for her so that they could play together. We were to learn later that there were two little girls

Q: It has been said that the legitimate father of the little girl, who was opposed to the abortion, was en evangelical Christian. Is this true?

A: Yes, that is true, he is not a Catholic. However he was with us totally. I had him at my house for a whole day; he did not accept the abortion.

Q: There must have been very much emotion

A: Yes. He came from his little town of Alagoinha which is 230 km distant from here. He stayed with us: with me, with Father Edson Rodriguez who is his parish priest, with my lawyer, with the president of the law courts here to see whether it was possible to stop the abortion by legal means. But as you know the abortion was performed after the child was taken without our knowledge to a "health center" which habitually performs abortions.

Q: Were there any street demonstrations against the abortion outside the clinic where the little girl was originally placed?

A: None at all. But in the newspapers and on television there was a lot of pressure in favour of the abortion, and as you know several "feminist" organizations intervened to obtain the abortion.

Q: Was the little girl ever at risk of dying?

A: No, never. The doctors stated this to me most explicitly.

Q: But if she had been in danger of dying, would the abortion have been justified?

A: That possibility was very clearly anticipated by the doctors. They hoped that when six months of pregnancy would be reached, it would be possible to make a C-section. But as the "feminist" groups wanted an abortion, they came to the IMIP (Mother and child institute of Pernambuco) where the child was hospitalized in order to take her to the other "health center" where the abortion was performed within hours of her arrival. They took her in the evening and all was over next day by 10 AM. It is well known here that this "health center" is habitually dedicated to performing abortions. It is very important to me to recall that the doctors who committed the abortion declared that they had been performing abortions for a long time, and with "pride" at that. And they affirm that they will continue. We cannot remain silent in the face of that. And there is so much less reason to say there was "doubt" in this case, as Msr Fisichella unfortunately writes. He said that nobody knows whether the doctor, in the moment of action, didn't have "doubts" on what he should or should not do. We know the opposite is true: these doctors declared publicly that they practice abortion as part of their lives and have no "doubts" at all on the matter. They want to go on.

Of course there are other Catholic doctors here who say, on the contrary, that they perform no abortions because they believe in God and respect His law.

Q: Would your Excellency have reacted differently if the little girl had really been in danger of dying?

A: No, not at all. We know that even when there is danger of death abortion is never permitted. That is God's law, as the Church proclaims it. Even in face of this danger, the natural evolution of the situation should have been waited for, trying all the while to save the three lives. This is a fundamental principle of God's law and also of natural law: the end does not justify the means. My objective can be very excellent: to save the life of the pregnant girl. But the means to reach this end can never be to suppress two innocent lives. That is a natural principle which human reason can understand.

To give an example which is easy to understand here in Brazil: if I want to find food for the poor and we have so many here that does not allow me to hold up a bank, to take other people's money to do a work of charity. And as my team of councilors said the general vicar, my catholic lawyer and the other signatories of the text I was talking of earlier it is not up to us to change God's law, even if public opinion is following another path. Our mission, our so-important mission is to proclaim it for the benefit of all, even in cases like this when it is not easy.

It must be understood: since the very first centuries of the church, there have been laws on excommunication in the Church. They seek to protect the common good of the ecclesial society: it is for this reason that we need a canon law; the juridical aspect of the Church as a human society is indispensable. We cannot simply hope that each person follows his conscience. Evidently, the Church must first of all take care of the spiritual life of each person, but the common good, in the technical sense, is also very important: it consists in an adequate environment in which each may live peaceably. The penalties foreseen by the Code in canon law also have this goal.

Q: Have you heard what is being said about Mgr Fisichella: that he wrote his note while being "deluded" and "forced" to do so?

A: This information reached me indirectly. Certain persons in Brazil, including bishops, called Mgr Fisichella, and they tell me that that was his response: that he followed the indications of hierarchic superiors.

The fact is that today the international press has come to the point where it is saying that the Church agrees with "therapeutic" abortions. This seems to me a very grave situation: how can one fight against this?

It is our mission always to proclaim the law of God. You know that in Africa, Pope Benedict spoke out clearly on moral issues and that the press, particularly in France, did not accept it. But that is and remains the mission of the Church: we cannot remain silent for reasons of social acceptability. Within democratic liberty, which is a good thing, trying to legitimize, even within the limits of the law, customs or actions which go against the law of God would be abusive. Our mission, the Church's mission, is to proclaim the law of God and the Gospel of Jesus-Christ, even if it isn't easy.

Q: Are your relations with your fellow-bishops in Brazil good?

A: Very good. Two weeks ago we were all at the National assembly of bishops in São Paolo; all the bishops with whom I talked approve my position, not one is against me. On the other hand, I read the texts of several French bishops. It seems to me they were not aware of all the circumstances. They read Mgr Fisichella's article and believed that to be the truth.

Q: Perhaps they are now in a position to realize that they reacted to false information. But how does one mend?

A: It seems to me important that L'Osservatore Romano should publish my response. This is what we are trying to obtain, as we have been from the start. We sent the archdiocese's response to Mgr Fisichella's article to Rome. It's a natural right to be allowed to respond if someone has been publishing false information, for who knows which motive: the readers of the Osservatore should also be in a position to know the other point of view.

As for myself, my conscience is at peace. I did not expect nor did I wish for these repercussions which have taken on an international dimension. I repeat that the common good of the Church requires these latae sententiae laws, which serve as permanent warnings and which she will never abrogate. She has always condemned abortion and she always explained why: it does not only hurt the person, it damages society. Today, I repeat that there are 1 million abortions every year in Brazil, 50 million the world over: our silence would be equivalent to consent.

Thank you for letting me set out these points which seem to me important for the spiritual good of souls. Please tell the readers of Présent that I willingly send them my blessing.

Newsletter F1-Live.com

2009-06-03T20:35:00.000-07:00

F1-Live.com Newsletters : 4 June 2009

03 June
[16:21] - Button attends London's Glamour Awards
Jenson the trophy presenter
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090603162133.shtml

[14:34] - F1 teams' demands 'unrealistic' - Mosley
FIA defiant in the face of team demands
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090603143422.shtml

[12:47] - Fisichella, Sutil realistic ahead of Turkey
Turkish GP - Force India Mercedes - Preview
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090603124700.shtml

[10:30] - Howett aims to end Toyota exit rumours
Team President confident in team alliance proposals
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090603103020.shtml

[10:00] - Kubica bitter after missed title chance
Critical of the rate of development of the F1.09
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090603100004.shtml

[09:54] - Fans asked to choose venue for Polish GP
LG leading vote-based selection system
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090603095444.shtml

[09:50] - Formula One aces to play
Ahead of endangered Turkish Grand Prix
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090603095057.shtml

[09:42] - Teams lining up for cost-capped Formula One
Brabham name to return to the Grand Prix grid?
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090603094245.shtml

02 June
[17:12] - Mercedes ready to help new F1 teams
Haug warns new entrants must have credibility
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090602171251.shtml

[14:55] - Haug plays down Rosberg gossip
McLaren Mercedes in no hurry to finalise line-up
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090602145522.shtml

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Newsletter Moto-Live.com

2009-06-02T21:50:00.000-07:00

Moto-Live.com Newsletters : 3 June 2009

Spanish GP, zero hour for Dani Pedrosa
Interview with Dani during his personal countdown

02 June
[15:12] - WSBK: Three-year contract extension for Miller
"It was important to us to secure this event"
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090602151312.shtml

[09:59] - Canepa takes best result of the season
With ninth at Mugello
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090602100035.shtml

[09:32] - Gresini : "We've hit rock bottom"
On wet-dry Mugello
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090602093334.shtml

01 June
[18:45] - Pedrosa's femur crack confirmed
"I really hope I can be fit for the next race"
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090601184807.shtml

[16:08] - Haojue and Witteveen part company
After a difficult start to the season
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090601160910.shtml

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Newsletter F1-Live.com

2009-06-02T20:35:00.000-07:00

F1-Live.com Newsletters : 3 June 2009

02 June
[17:12] - Mercedes ready to help new F1 teams
Haug warns new entrants must have credibility
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090602171251.shtml

[14:55] - Haug plays down Rosberg gossip
McLaren Mercedes in no hurry to finalise line-up
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090602145522.shtml

[14:52] - Ecclestone reserves 'Gran Premio di Roma' title
F1 CEO planning ahead with trademark application
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090602145202.shtml

[12:54] - Brawn pushes on with further developments
Turkish GP - Brawn Mercedes - Preview
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090602125432.shtml

[12:34] - Hands-off Mallya happy with progress
Force India owner targets gains at Silverstone
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090602123426.shtml

[11:00] - Toyota looking to bounce back
Turkish GP - Toyota - Preview
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090602110051.shtml

[10:08] - F1 crisis won't influence Mosley's election plans
FIA President unconcerned over lack of team support
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090602100835.shtml

[10:03] - Massa doesn't blame KERS for Ferrari struggle
Brawn Mercedes just a better car admits Massa
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090602100322.shtml

[09:28] - BMW not ready to scrap 2009 campaign
"Things you learn this year you can use next year"
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090602092821.shtml

[09:23] - New teams held back by budget cap crisis
Wurz, Superfund awaiting rule clarification
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090602092313.shtml

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LifeSiteNews.com - Tuesday June 2, 2009

2009-06-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

LifeSiteNews.com - Tuesday June 2, 2009

* A Portrait of an Alleged Murderer: The Life of Suspected Tiller Killer Scott Roeder
* President Obama Declares June 2009 'LGBT Pride Month'
* Foul-Mouthed Homosexual Activist and Anti-Christian Bigot Appointed to Obama Administration
* Experts at International Euthanasia Symposium Stress Unity, Strategy, and the Triumph of Love over Suffering
* Catholic Prof and Evangelical Leader Blame Catholic Church, Republicans, "Religious Leaders" for Tiller's Murder
* Pro-Life Champion, U.S. Cardinal James Francis Stafford Retires from Vatican Post
* New Poll Shows Majority of Spaniards Opposed to Proposed Abortion Law
* Poland: Through the Pouring Rain, Thousands March for Life and Family
* Canadian Governor General Accepts Resignations from Order of Canada over Morgentaler Fiasco
* Swedish Legislators Propose Forcing Students into Sex Ed Classes against Parents Will
* Ontario Anglican Diocese Celebrates Homosexual Lifestyle with Special Liturgy
* National Post Columnist Blames Pro-Life Movement for Tiller Murder

A Portrait of an Alleged Murderer: The Life of Suspected Tiller Killer Scott Roeder

By Peter J. Smith

WICHITA, Kansas, June 1, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) A clearer portrait has now emerged of the man who allegedly took it into his hands to play judge, jury, and executioner of George Tiller, the foremost provider of late-term abortions in the United States. The portrait reveals a mentally disturbed, long-time anarchist and convicted felon, who appears to have succumbed to the influence of an anti-abortion domestic terrorist group and believed that he had to commit murder in order to stave off the wrath of God.

Just three hours after Tiller was gunned down in the foyer of Reformation Lutheran Church, where he had been ushering, law enforcement apprehended Scott P. Roeder, 51, of Merriam, Kansas, traveling the speed limit on the I-35 back to his home. He was officially charged with the murder today.

Tiller's murderer had shot the abortionist once and threatened two other men in the church, before departing the scene of the crime in a powder-blue 1993 Ford Taurus, which deputies checked out as belonging to Roeder. After Sherriff's deputies intercepted Roeder, he surrendered to them without incident and was taken back to Wichita for questioning.

However in the aftermath of the murder and subsequent arrest, information has surfaced that shows Roeder to be a mentally unstable individual, who as early as the 1990s adopted quasi-biblical beliefs to compensate for his moral failings, and fell under the influence of two violent radical organizations, especially a fringe anti-abortion group far outside the sphere of the pro-life community. This group is the so-called Army of God, a group that advocates domestic terror, violence, and murder against abortion facilities and those who work there.

The Anarchist Origins of Scott P. Roeder

Roeder's first links with violence and terrorism began with his association with the anti-government "Freemen" movement. The Freemen claim that the individual has sovereignty above the government, making them largely exempt from laws, regulations and taxes. Among other things, they began operating their own legal system, and printing their own paper currency independent of state and federal governments.

Roeder's ex-wife, Lindsay, told the Kansas City Star that Roeder began to break down in the early 90s, when he began having trouble paying bills and acting normal in daily life.

"One day someone told him that paying income taxes isn't constitutional," Lindsey Roeder told the Star. "And he realized if he stopped paying his taxes he could pay all of his bills. From there things just started like a snowball. He became very obsessive."

In April 1996, while the Freemen were engaged in the first month of an armed 81-day stand-off with the FBI at their Jordan, Montana compound, Roeder was pulled over and arrested by Shawnee county deputies for driving without a valid license plate. Instead Roeder had a tag reading, "Sovereign private property. Immunity declared by law. Non-commercial American.''

Roeder had been on an FBI list of Freemen, and when a deputy searched the trunk of his car, he found weapons, ammunition, a gas mask , and bomb-making materials: a fuse cord, a pound of black powder, two nine-volt batteries, and a switch for a bomb-trigger.

Roeder was then charged and subsequently convicted of felonious possession and use of explosives, driving with a suspended license, and having neither vehicle registration nor car insurance.

Following his conviction, Roeder was released on probation with intensive monitoring, and he was required to have no more contact with anarchist anti-government groups that advocated violence. Yet, Roeder soon violated parole in 1997 by refusing to pay his taxes and give his employer a social security number, which earned him a 16 month sentence in state prison.

However, in December of that year, the Kansas Court of Appeals, threw out his conviction on the technical grounds that the officer arresting Roeder had improperly searched his car.

Schizophrenia, Moral Confusion, and an Obsession with Abortion

Throughout this time, Roeder had been suffering with a schizophrenic mental disorder, and his obsession with abortion had brought him into contact with extreme anti-abortion activists, who adopt an "ends justify the means" ethic toward abortion, rejecting the moral values of the pro-life community.

Roeder had fallen in step with the ideology of the Army of God movement, which claims the murder of abortion providers constitutes "justifiable homicide" and praises the murderers of abortionists as "American heroes" on its website.

"I know that he believed in justifiable homicide," Regina Dinwiddie, an acquaintance of Roeder's, told the Kansas City Star. Dinwiddie herself had signed the first and second "defensive action statements" advocating the murder of abortionists as "justifiable homicide," and her home was featured in an HBO documentary on the AOG called "Soldiers in the Army of God." Dinwiddie told the Star that in 1996, Roeder walked into the Kansas City Planned Parenthood abortion facility, demanded to see abortionist Dr. Robert Crist, stared at him for 45 seconds, then said, "I've seen you now" before turning to walk away.

Roeder also enmeshed himself with the AOG affiliated Prayer and Action News, a newsletter edited by David Leach, which also advocated the murder of abortionists as "justifiable homicide." Leach had reprinted the 3rd edition of the Army of God manual in 1996, which included bomb-making instructions, and advocated acid attacks and murder among its "99 Covert Ways to Stop Abortion," a direct violation of a ban by the Justice Department, which was confiscating all copies of the book.

Roeder met with Leach in Topeka. Leach had been visiting Rachelle "Shelley" Shannon, who attempted to assassinate Tiller at his abortion facility in 1993.

"I met him once, and he wrote to me a few times," Leach told the Kansas City Star. "I remember that he was sympathetic to our cause, but I don't remember any details."

However, among the details that the Star reported Leach did remember, was Roeder's obsession with government conspiracies. He said that Roeder would demonstrate how to remove the magnetic strip from a five dollar bill. "He said it was to keep the government from tracking your money," Leach added.

Over the years, Roeder's mental instability and obsession with anarchist groups and abortion ground down those people closest to him. Roeder's first marriage of ten years ended in divorce after his 1996 arrest and conviction, leading him to estrangement from his now 22-year old son, Nick. Roeder's ex-wife Lindsay told ABC News that Roeder had little contact with her son, seeing him once every six weeks, and that her son had no interest in seeing him.

In later years, Roeder fathered a child by another woman, who fought to retain sole custody of her child with her current husband. The woman expressed grave concern for the safety and welfare of her daughter to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, citing both Roeder's "past conduct and association with anti-government organizations [which] is ongoing" and "chronic mental disability of schizophrenia for which he takes no medication."

The court denied her request despite the plea that her little girl was living in an intact household with the only father and mother she ever knew.

The Lead-Up and Aftermath of the Murder

Preliminary reports from law enforcement indicate that Tiller's murderer acted alone. The investigation, however, continues to examine Roeder's background and activities. In the last several years leading up to Tiller's assassination, the mentally disturbed Roeder expressed more violent agitation and a belief that divine wrath would befall the United States unless Tiller were stopped.

"Bleass [sic] everyone for attending and praying in May to bring justice to Tiller and the closing of his death camp," says a May 19 post attributed to him on Operation Rescue's website. "Sometime soon, would it be feasible to organize as many people as possible to attend Tillers church (inside, not just outside) to have much more of a presence and possibly ask questions of the Pastor, Deacons, Elders and members while there? Doesn't seem like it would hurt anything but bring more attention to Tiller."

Elsewhere, on a separate website, Roeder had posted in September 2007, "It seems as though what is happening in Kansas could be compared to the 'lawlessness' which is spoken of in the Bible. Tiller is the concentration camp 'Mengele' of our day and needs to be stopped before he and those who protect him bring judgement [sic] upon our nation."

Operation Rescue, the Wichita-based leader of prayerful protests outside Tiller's facility, has been quick to point out that Roeder is "not affiliated with this organization" and that thousands of persons, including Roeder and pro-abortion activists, have posted on its open website.

"Scott Roeder has never been a member, contributor, or volunteer with Operation Rescue," OR president Troy Newman said in a statement.

"We deplore the criminal actions with which Mr. Roeder is accused," said Newman. "The pro-life ethic is to value all human life from the moment of conception until natural death."

Operation Rescue had expelled Rev. Donald Spitz, the founder of the AOG website, in 1993, after Spitz had praised the murderer of Pensacola, Florida abortionist Dr. David Gunn.

In a days leading up to his alleged murder of Tiller, Roeder made one last visit on Friday to his estranged son. His ex-wife told the Kansas City Star that the event was unusual since Roeder had embraced an Old Testament Sabbath observance from Friday to Saturday.

Tiller was killed just over two months after a Kansas jury had voted to acquit the abortionist of 19 misdemeanor charges relating to violations of Kansas's ban on late-term abortions. The jury had acquitted Tiller largely on the technicality that Ann Kristin Neuhaus, the abortionist signing off on his late-term abortions, was not a full-time employee of his, despite their close financial affiliation.

The political consequences of George Tiller's murder are only now beginning to unfold. However, if past is prologue, this latest Army of God murder, the first murder of an abortionist in eleven years, will be seized upon by abortion advocates to hamper the momentum of the pro-life movement. Immediately after the murder, abortion supporters began to pain the whole pro-life movement with the brush of "terrorist" and "extremist."

President Obama Declares June 2009 'LGBT Pride Month'
"The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done," he says.

By Patrick Craine

WASHINGTON, June 1, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) President Barack Obama issued a proclamation on Monday declaring June 2009 to be 'Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.'

"Due in no small part to the determination and dedication of the LGBT rights movement," he says in the proclamation, "more LGBT Americans are living their lives openly today than ever before."

The president goes on, however, to say that he believes that American society still has far to go in opening itself up to the agenda of the homosexualist movement. "The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress," he says, "but there is more work to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect."

The President has chosen June 2009 because, he says, this month marks the fortieth anniversary of the homosexual rights movement. The movement traces its roots to June 1969 at Stonewall Inn in New York City, where a group of homosexuals rioted in protest against police raids on homosexual bars. This riot is often cited as the first time in America that a group of homosexuals fought against the government. "Out of this resistance," President Obama says, "the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride Month, we commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans."

President Obama has committed his Administration to support for the homosexualist agenda, as he outlines in his proclamation. He says, "I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans," including "enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security." This latter policy disallows openly homosexual men and women from entering the military.

President Obama upset pro-family advocates when in January, on the White House website, he expressed his plan to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act implemented by President Clinton in 1996. This act states that the Federal Government may not treat a same-sex relationship as a marriage, even if recognized as such by one of the states. The mention of Obama's plans in regard to DOMA has, however, since been removed from the White House website.

The President is calling upon all Americans to work towards "equal rights" for homosexuals and says that he hopes that LGBT Pride Month will advance this cause. "During LGBT Pride Month," he says, "I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity."

(See President Obama's Proclamation)

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

White House Drops Obama Opposition to Defense of Marriage Act from Website
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051505.html

Obama Administration Announces Radical Homosexualist Agenda on White House Website
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09012109.html

Foul-Mouthed Homosexual Activist and Anti-Christian Bigot Appointed to Obama Administration

By Peter J. Smith

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Although President Barack Obama has advocated speaking "fair minded words" in debating differences on major ethical issues, his recent nominee to the Department of Education's Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools is a homosexual activist with a history of using foul and abusive language against those who have opposed his homosexualist agenda.

Kevin Jennings, the founder of the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN), was recently appointed to the Obama Administration as Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools, which is under the Department of Education led by Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

During Jennings's tenure as the Executive director of GLSEN, the organization sponsored a Tufts University conference called "TeachOut" in March 2000. The conference was co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Education; but the event has been described by pro-family organizations familiar with the conference as "fistgate" for its extremely graphic and detailed workshops to teenagers about the mechanics and variations of homosexual intercourse.

The Massachusetts watchdog group, MassResistance, includes on its website a number of graphic quotations from homosexual presenters, who instigated equally graphic conversations on homosexual sex with youth there. MassResistance says they will be releasing a tape of the event to the public later this week. (WARNING: extremely graphic content discussed here)

Around the same time, Jennings was quoted in Marble Collegiate Church as saying members of the "religious right" were "hard core bigots" who comprised about 20 percent of the electorate.

"We have to quit being afraid of the religious right. We also have to quit - I'm trying to find a way to say this. I'm trying not to say, 'F**k 'em!' which is what I want to say, because I don't care what they think!" Jennings told his audience, which pealed with laughter. "Drop dead!"

According to Americans for Truth, Jennings and GLSEN never repudiated the actions of homosexual activists at the "Teach Out" conference, but instead attacked Scott Whiteman, the Massachusetts parent who video-recorded the proceedings, for violating students' privacy.

"Anti-religious bigots should not be setting policy for schools - and promoting dangerous sex and gender identities to youth is the antithesis of 'safety,'" stated Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth.

"Jennings should have been drummed out of public policy years ago for GLSEN's role in the awful Fistgate scandal that corrupted Boston youth," LaBarbera stated. "But instead the GLSEN founder is now being elevated to one of the most important roles in U.S. education policy."

LaBarbera continued, "Americans For Truth will educate Americans on Jennings' and GLSEN's dangerous agenda, and we will work with other pro-family and parental rights groups across the country - and Obama voters who oppose pro-homosexual indoctrination in schools - to urge that the Jennings appointment be withdrawn."

Experts at International Euthanasia Symposium Stress Unity, Strategy, and the Triumph of Love over Suffering

By Kathleen Gilbert

LANSDOWNE, Virginia, June 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Anti-euthanasia advocates from around the globe gathered last weekend at the Second International Symposium on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide to join in a rigorous discussion sketching the past and laying the groundwork for a broad-based coalition against euthanasia across the world.

The symposium took place May 29-30 at the National Conference Center in Lansdowne, Virginia. An audience of 120 listened to information-packed sessions describing the history of the euthanasia movement, analyses of recent success and failure and current dangers, as well as countless personal stories from around the world.

Rita Marker, the executive director of the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, opened the Friday sessions with a penetrating look at the history of the euthanasia movement and its roots in the Hemlock Society of a quarter century ago. Noting the overall trend of success in defeating assisted suicide laws in America, Marker criticized the notion that the euthanasia legislation passed in Oregon and Washington were "inevitable," and urged activists not to be fooled into complacency after individual bills are defeated.

"Not many - some, but not many - people on our side work until they're so dog tired they can hardly move, but they keep working more," said Marker. "But on the other side, they do, because they're truly dedicated to what they're doing. We need people who are dedicated."

Attorney Margaret Dore, who analyzed the strategy on either side of Washington State's assisted suicide initiative, pointed out that the words of the initiative include no safeguards against involuntary euthanasia - contrary to the claims of its proponents. "It's not about choice. 'Choice' is a lie," said Dore.

Renowned bioethicist Wesley Smith offered his thoughts on what he calls the "coup d'culture" that has turned society towards "an obsessive fear and ... avoidance of not only suffering, but difficulty."

"It is distorting our culture, and it is changing it, and it is mutating it, into something that is not as compassionate as we should be, that is not as caring as we should be," said Smith. "If the point of society is to make sure you don't suffer, that will often be making sure there aren't any sufferers. Which isn't only about making sure the sufferer doesn't suffer, but putting the sufferer out of our misery."

Randy Richardson, father of Laura Richardson, and Bobby Schindler, the brother of Terri Schiavo and founder of the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, told of the fight to resist pressures to withdraw food and hydration from loved ones incorrectly diagnosed as in a "persistent vegetative state." Lionel Roosemont of Belgium also shared the story of his struggle to raise a child with severe disabilities amid the entrenched euthanasia culture in his country.

Diane Coleman and Stephen Drake of Not Dead Yet, as well as the U.K.'s Alison Davis of No Less Human Human, represented the concerns of an international disabled community aware of a growing assumption that individuals with disabilities are, in their words, "better off dead."

Davis, who suffers from spina bifida, hydrocephalus, and multiple other disabilities, says she is in constant need of morphine to lessen the crippling pain that in the past drove her to attempt suicide several times. However, she says, had she succeeded, she would have missed the best years of her life. Recently she has been engaging in charity work for disabled children in third-world countries.

Davis' full-time assistant and director of the anti-euthanasia group ALERT, Colin Harte, criticized the euthanasia movement for being rooted in a deep fear of both experiencing and witnessing suffering, and said the "secret of love" is often revealed by suffering. "By walking with those of suffering, the effect on us can be profound," said Harte. "It's wrong to see suffering ... as the complete absence of joy or meaning."

Other speakers included: palliative care physician Dr. Margaret Cottle; pro-life leader and president of the Life Issues Institute Dr. Jack Willke; Dr. Mark Mostert, director of the Institute for the Study of Disability & Bioethics; Patricia O'Halloran of Washington's Coalition Against Assisted Suicide; Care NOT Killing Alliance director Dr. Peter Saunders; and Dr. William Toeffler, director of Oregon's Pysicians for Compassionate Care.

Alex Schadenburg, the executive director of Canada's Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and the host of the symposium, was upbeat about its outcome.

"[The symposium] certainly inspired people to recognize the importance of getting directly involved in the issue and how to make a difference with the issue," said Schadenburg. "The idea was to mobilize, to energize, but also to unify and create a distinct direction to what we need to do, and I definitely believe we accomplished that."

Several leaders praised the vital collaboration and networking opportunities the weekend provided.

"I think part of it is just to meet people who are involved in exactly the same debates, particularly in the U.S. and Canada, and to hear about what's worked and what hasn't worked," Dr. Peter Saunders commented to LifeSiteNews.com (LSN). "None of us are wanting to reinvent the wheel, but rather to share what we have and different lessons to be learned. ... We're all fighting the same lot of battles."

Jakki Jeffs, the president of Alliance for Life Ontario, said: "It's very important that we're all here ... I think it's important to get the message out that the threat is really real in Canada, it's a living reality now with the Lalonde bill, and some of the establishments that we've been able to trust before are falling to the other side."

Perhaps one of the most striking aspects of the symposium was the diversity of its audience: individuals from all sides of the abortion issue, and from varying faith or non-faith backgrounds, found themselves united against euthanasia.

Concerning the need to overcome differences in forming a broad-based coalition against euthanasia, Stephen Drake said he was "cautiously optimistic."

"We all have widely divergent points of view ... and if we can all discipline ourselves to focus on the task at hand, we can make it work," Drake told LSN. "If we bring too much of our other baggage in, we will fail. And if we don't tear ourselves apart like a pack of wolves, other people will do it for us."

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

"The Weekend Cleanup": The Gruesome Aftermath of Legalized Euthanasia in Belgium
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060109.html

Catholic Prof and Evangelical Leader Blame Catholic Church, Republicans, "Religious Leaders" for Tiller's Murder

By Kathleen Gilbert

WICHITA, Kansas, June 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Two American religious leaders have accused U.S. Catholic bishops of sharing the blame for the murder of Kansas late-term abortionist George Tiller because of their advocacy for legal protection for the unborn.

Tiller was shot and killed Sunday morning at a Wichita Lutheran Church where he was serving as an usher. The suspected murderer, Scott Roeder, was apprehended shortly following the incident. Reports have surfaced that Roeder suffers from mental instability linked to a schizophrenia diagnosis, and is believed to have acted alone in the murder.

In a Huffington Post column yesterday titled "How I (and Other 'Pro-Life' Leaders) Contributed to Dr. Tiller's Murder," Evangelical leader Frank Schaeffer apologized for his involvement with the "hate-filled rhetoric" he associated with the "religious right." Schaeffer is the son of the late, prominent evangelist Francis Schaeffer.

Earlier this year Frank Schaeffer, who has joined the Greek Orthodox church but is still considered a leader of the Evangelical movement, abandoned the strong pro-life position of his father and told an interviewer that he believes abortion should remain legal. Schaeffer said that thirty years of attempts to overturn the US Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade have failed and that the "black and white" pro-life position is counterproductive.

"The same hate machine I was part of is still attacking all abortionists as 'murderers,'" wrote Schaeffer this week. "And today once again the 'pro-life' leaders are busy ducking their personal responsibility for people acting on their words.

"The people who stir up the fringe never take responsibility," he continued. "But I'd like to say on this day after a man was murdered in cold blood for performing abortions that I -- and the people I worked with in the religious right, the Republican Party, the pro-life movement and the Roman Catholic Church, all contributed to this killing by our foolish and incendiary words."

Marquette University theology professor and former Jesuit priest Daniel Maguire published a statement on The Religious Consultation website lamenting the fact that Tiller was murdered "for honoring the law of the land."

"He is not the first doctor to so die and unless we get serious about this form of terrorism, he will not be the last," wrote Maguire. "Religious and political leaders who fan the flames of anti-choice, anti-woman fanaticism are not without guilt."

As soon as news of Tiller's murder broke, pro-life and religious leaders across North America and in the U.K. issued statements unequivocally condemning the murder of the abortionist. (See all the statements here.)

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, like countless pro-life groups across the United States, issued a statement, saying:

"Such killing is the opposite of everything we stand for, and everything we want our culture to stand for: respect for the life of each and every human being from its beginning to its natural end. We pray for Dr. Tiller and his family."

To contact Marquette University:
Rev. Robert Wild, S.J.,
President
Marquette University
O'Hara Hall, 101/102
P.O. Box 1881
Milwaukee, WI 53233
414-288-7223
414-288-3161 (FAX)
robert.wild@marquette.edu

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

A Portrait of an Alleged Murderer: The Life of Suspected Tiller Killer Scott Roeder
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060203.html

Abortion Proponents "Exploit" Tiller Killing, Label Pro-Life Advocates "Domestic Terrorists
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060110.html

U.S. Bishops Express 'Profound Regret' about Shooting Death of Abortion Doctor
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060106.html

Pro-Life Champion, U.S. Cardinal James Francis Stafford Retires from Vatican Post

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

VATICAN, June 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of US Cardinal J. Francis Stafford as head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the tribunal of the Roman Curia that deals with the forgiveness of sins that are reserved to the Holy See, the absolution of excommunications, the dispensation of sacramental impediments, and governance of indulgences.

The 77 year old Cardinal was appointed Major Penitentiary in 2003 and is one of the highest ranking Americans in the Vatican.

Cardinal Stafford has been a champion of life and family issues, and has been candid and direct in his defense of Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae, warning the Church that clerical dissent from this reiteration of the Church's stand against contraception has been "the deadliest thing to hit the Catholic Church in the last 40 years."

On the 40th anniversary of the signing of Pope Paul VI's encyclical Cardinal Stafford wrote a deeply personal retrospective on the world-shaking events which took place in the wake of the document's publication.

"The summer of 1968 is a record of God's hottest hour," the Cardinal recounted. "The memories are not forgotten; they are painful ... They inhabit the whirlwind where God's wrath dwells. In 1968 something terrible happened in the Church. Within the ministerial priesthood ruptures developed everywhere among friends which never healed. And the wounds continue to affect the whole Church. The dissent, together with the leaders' manipulation of the anger they fomented, became a supreme test. It changed fundamental relationships within the Church."

Cardinal Stafford has also been outspoken about his view of the election of President Barack Obama. At a lecture at the Catholic University of America (CUA) late last year, Cardinal Stafford labeled president-elect Barack Obama's anti-life policies as "aggressive, disruptive, and apocalyptic."

The Cardinal's CUA lecture dealt largely with the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae, but in expressing his opinion of the president's policies regarding life and family issues the Cardinal said, "On November 4, 2008 America suffered a cultural earthquake."

"If 1968 was the year of America's 'suicide attempt,'" he said, "2008 is the year of America's exhaustion In the intervening 40 years since Humanae Vitae, the United States has been thrown upon ruins."

"For the next few years, Gethsemane will not be marginal," he continued, comparing the plight of the US Church under Obama to Christ's agony in the garden. "We will know that garden."

Cardinal Stafford spoke of the large-scale diminishment of respect for human life in the US, saying that Catholics must remember their core values regarding marriage and human dignity. He blamed this diminishment largely on Roe v. Wade and other anti-life decisions of the Supreme Court.

Roe v. Wade's "scrupulous meanness has had catastrophic effects upon the unity and integrity of the American republic," said Cardinal Stafford. He added that marital love is representative of the love between God and man, and that the use of contraceptives cannot be part of that relationship.

Jim Hughes, President of Canada's Campaign Life Coalition and Vice-President of International Right to Life, commented to LifeSiteNews.com on Cardinal Stafford's immense contribution to the Catholic Church and the pro-life cause.

"He was an outstanding leader and one of the few who had a good grasp of what is going on in North America on life and family issues," Hughes said.

"We are going to miss him and his crucial input in the Vatican, and we thank him for his great service to the Church."

Judie Brown, the head of American Life League and a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, also offered words of admiration for the Cardinal. "We grew to respect and duly love the cardinal," she said. "We are sorry to see him retire, but we understand that that's the way things work with cardinals. We will miss him."

Archbishop Fortunato Baldelli, the current Apostolic Nuncio to France, will replace Cardinal Stafford as Penitentiary Major.

New Poll Shows Majority of Spaniards Opposed to Proposed Abortion Law

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

MADRID, June 1, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new poll is showing a majority of Spaniards opposed to a proposed law that would allow abortion on demand for the first fourteen weeks of pregnancy, and would allow girls as young as 16 to obtain abortions without their parents' consent.

It is the lowering of the age of consent that has generated the opposition indicated in the poll. Sixty-seven percent of female respondents said that they were against lowering the age to 16, and 64 percent of all respondents held the same position. The poll was conducted by Metroscopia for the ultraliberal newspaper El Pais.

The Metroscopia poll follows another survey, announced in mid-May, that shows that a plurality of women oppose the new legislation generally, with 43% against and only 34% in favor.

The shift in public opinion follows a sustained campaign by Spain's Right to Life and other national pro-life organizations against the proposed legislation, including massive public demonstrations, petitions signed by scientists and academics, a letter-writing campaign, and other forms of protest.

The more conservative People's Party, which often ignores the abortion issue for political reasons, has made the new proposed law a major issue in the current campaign for representatives to the European Parliament.

Despite the growing public outrage against the law, representatives from Spain's ruling coalition of socialist parties say they are unwilling to compromise on permitting minors to have abortions without their parents' consent, although they may allow language that would require parents to be informed.

Current Spanish law does not criminally penalize abortions under certain conditions, including when there is a threat to the "health" of the mother. Using claims of danger to "psychological health," the abortion industry in Spain now performs well over 100,000 abortions annually.

Recent investigative reports by major media spurred by pro-life activists resulted in the arrest of Spain's "abortion mogul" Carlos Morin in late 2007, along with other abortion providers, for performing numerous late-term abortions using phony diagnoses under the "psychological health" rubric.

Spain's socialist parties, led by the Spanish Socialist Worker's Party, have responded by proposing the elimination of special conditions during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, essentially depenalizing abortion-on-demand during the first and early second trimesters. The opposition Popular Party has proposed that the existing law simply be enforced, which would eliminate the vast majority of abortions performed under the current regime.

Previous LifeSiteNews coverage:

One Thousand Scientists, Physicians, and Intellectuals Sign Manifesto against the Further Legalization of Abortion in Spain
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09031907.html

Hundreds of Thousands March For Life In Spain
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09033105.html

Spanish Socialists Seek to Further Loosen already Liberal Abortion Law
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08090410.html

Full Abortions Shown On Spanish Television - First In History
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/dec/07121401.html

Seven More Doctors Arrested by Spanish Police for Illegal Abortions
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/dec/07121801.html

Late Term Abortionist Arrested by Spain's Police
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/nov/07112913.html

Poland: Through the Pouring Rain, Thousands March for Life and Family

By Alex Bush

WARSAW, Poland, June 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) Ignoring, and even enjoying, a torrential downpour, approximately 2,000 Poles marched for life and family in Warsaw, Poland this past Sunday. Some participants marched carrying pro-life signage over their heads to protect themselves from the rain, while others simply allowed themselves to get completely soaked during the march. (Click here to see a photo essay of the event)

Slawomir Olejniczak organized the march this year, choosing a route through Warsaw that took two hours to complete. The march culminated with a family picnic, during which time a concert was originally scheduled, but then cancelled due to the inclement weather.

The recent Canadian March for Life saw 12,000 people march through the rain, but it appears that the weather was even worse for the Poles, with water accumulating enough in some places to cover marchers up to their shins.

"It was absolutely amazing," one participant in the march told LifeSiteNews. "People were staring at us from the windows; they couldn't believe we were actually marching in this weather."

In recent years the UN and EU have been increasingly pressuring the strongly Catholic Poland to loosen its restrictions on abortion and homosexual "marriage," despite the fact that the majority of Poles favor the true definition of marriage and are against legalizing abortion. Organizers hope that the march for life will embolden Poland to stand up to the pressure from international abortion promoting organizations.

Related LifeSiteNews.com Coverage:

Poland Embraces Successful March for Life and Family in Face of 'Human Rights' Movement - link

Polish People Support Pro-Life Constitutional Amendment - link

Poland in an Uproar after Coercive Abortion Pressure Put on 14-Year-Old by Planned Parenthood - link

Poland Pressured on Abortion and Sexual Orientation by UN Human Rights Committee - link

Canadian Governor General Accepts Resignations from Order of Canada over Morgentaler Fiasco

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

OTTAWA, May 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Michaëlle Jean officially accepted the resignations from the Order of Canada of Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte, astronomer René Racine and pianist Jacqueline Richard, the Governor-General's office announced Monday.

The three were among nine Canadians who returned their medals in protest over the appointment of abortionist Henry Morgentaler to the Order in the summer of 2008 for "his commitment to increased health care options for women, his determined efforts to influence Canadian public policy and his leadership in humanist and civil liberties organizations."

Archbishop of Montreal, Cardinal Turcotte, returned his award last September, adding his voice to the outrage expressed by many thousands of Canadians that Canada's highest civilian honor was being awarded to the man who was not only personally responsible for the elimination of Canada's abortion law, but also for the death of over 100,000 unborn Canadians.

"I'm worried about how we treat life, from conception to death," Cardinal Turcotte said. "I decided to take a stance that clearly reflects my convictions."

"As a result, I wish to declare that I am renouncing the title of Officer of the Order of Canada, bestowed upon me in 1996, and that I am returning the insignia that was given to me."

Pianist and conductor Jacqueline Richard, who received the award in 2004, referred to Morgentaler's appointment in her letter of resignation, and cited Blessed Mother Teresa's strong condemnation of abortion, when she announced her intention to return her award last year.

Mother Teresa said, "What is taking place in America is a war against the child. And if we accept that the mother can kill her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?"

"The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father's role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts - a child - as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience. It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the independent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters."

The six other recipients of the Order of Canada who returned their awards in protest are Alphonse Gerwing, Former Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick Gilbert Finn, Monsignor A.J. Goski, Madonna House foundress Catherine Doherty, Father Lucien Larre and Frank Chauvin.

See LifeSiteNews.com coverage of the Morgentaler Order of Canada Controversy:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008_docs/Morgentalerorder.html

Swedish Legislators Propose Forcing Students into Sex Ed Classes against Parents Will

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

SWEDEN, June 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Two members of Sweden's Liberal Party are proposing to force students to take the country's sexual education courses in public schools, even against the will of their parents, according to the English language Swedish news service, The Local.

In an opinion article written in the Swedish publication Dagens Nyheter, Liberal Party ministers Jan Björklund and Nyamko Sabuni argue that "All pupils, including immigrant girls, have the right to swimming lessons and to take part in physical and sexual education classes ... regardless of whether the parents like it or not."

In a thinly-veiled reference to Sweden's growing Muslim population, which often rejects the loose sexual morality of European society, the two ministers argue that "The will of the girls is often subordinated to what is considered to be the best interests of the family; the men's, or the group's, 'honor' based on the girl's sexual behaviour."

However, such a measure would also affect the nation's Christians. According to The Local, the existing right to exempt one's children from such classes was established in the 1950s to protect the religious rights of Catholic and Jewish Swedes who wished to exempt themselves from Protestant classes The right to an exemption was reaffirmed in the 1960s and 1980s.

The ministers wrote their article in response to a Stockholm University study that revealed that 10% of students refuse to participate in sexual education classes, and other activities offensive to their religious beliefs.

"Taken to its extreme the oppression is a direct threat to the child's life, but even if it does not go to such drastic lengths it almost always violates the child's fundamental rights," they write.

Related Links:

Ministers argue girls' right to sex ed
http://www.thelocal.se/19778/20090531/

Ontario Anglican Diocese Celebrates Homosexual Lifestyle with Special Liturgy

By Tim Waggoner

LONDON, ON, June 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) The homosexualist agenda, having already caused mass division in the worldwide Anglican Communion, has now worked its way into the Anglican diocese of Huron, Ontario in the form of special liturgies celebrating homosexuality and the homosexual lifestyle.

The May 25th edition of the Anglican Journal describes how Bishop Robert Bennet of the Huron diocese in Southern Ontario, commissioned a doctrine and worship committee to "synthesize and make available the most recent and relevant material to aid in this discernment." The committee was then charged to "develop appropriate protocols, guidelines and evaluative tools to enable us to move forward with appropriate liturgies to celebrate the love, mutual fidelity and support that gay and lesbian Anglicans model every day for the church and wider community."

Bishop Bennet said that the new services will not involve "nuptial blessing" but will be "eucharistic in nature with approved intercessory prayers."

While the Anglican Consultative Council, the Lambeth Conference of bishops, and the Archbishop of Canterbury have all requested that Anglican leaders resist specifically blessing same-sex unions, the Canadian national leadership has appeared to indicate otherwise.

In his letter to the Huron diocese synod, which met at the end of May to discuss the issue, the bishop alluded to this fact. He said that he was "quite torn on the issue On the one hand, I agree with the national house of bishops' desire to 'develop the most generous pastoral response possible within the current teaching of the church'. On the other hand, my catholic sensitivity of whom we are as church mandates that I take very seriously the Archbishop of Canterbury's request that we embrace a 'season of gracious restraint' in the matter of same-gender blessings."

The Anglican Church of Canada will meet next in Halifax in 2010.

National Post Columnist Blames Pro-Life Movement for Tiller Murder

By Alex Bush and John Jalsevac

June 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) National Post Columnist Colby Cosh has accused the pro-life movement of being responsible for George Tiller's murder. Tiller, a Kansas abortionist who specialized in late-term abortions, was murdered this past Sunday. Scott Roeder, a man with a history of involvement in fringe anti-government organizations and mental illness, has been arrested in connection with the murder, for which he was charged earlier today.

In an article titled, "Who's to blame for George Tiller's Murder," Cosh argues that the natural consequences of believing as the pro-life movement the world over does - that abortion is indeed the murder of unborn children is to believe that the murder of abortionists is in turn justifiable.

"If that is your belief, then you should be willing to stand up and celebrate the murder of Dr. George Tiller and the richly merited sorrow of a family gorged with blood money," he says.

Cosh took particular aim at a statement issued by Jim Hughes of Campaign Life Coalition in response to the news of Tiller's death, writing that it was a "charming, coy thing to say." Hughes had condemned the murder and said that "Those of us in the pro-life movement do not want to see abortionists die, we want to see them convert."

Cosh, however, accused Hughes of being "simply a purveyor of beliefs whose literal truth he does little or nothing to act seriously upon."

Cosh then goes on to suggest that pro-life advocates who say that abortion is the murder of unborn children are responsible when "some ardent religious loner is confused enough to hear those beliefs, conclude they are true, and follow through. And a doctor somewhere ends up maimed or dead."

He concludes, "And we blame only the individual who pulled the trigger."

However, Barbara Kay, a writer for the National Post's religion blog, Holy Post, responded to Cosh's column, arguing that the pro-life movement has expressed its outrage to Tiller's late-term abortion practices admirably through civil obedience. It "took a real nutter to translate his grievance into violence," said Kay of the man who killed Tiller.

"To follow through on Cosh's implication that the pro-life movement must accept blame in this murder, what should we say about those who attempt to assassinate presidents? Should we indict, say, the entire peace movement if a brooding activist attempted to knock off George Bush for invading Iraq?"

"That's is a dangerous road to go down, and surprising in such a staunch libertarian as Cosh professes to be. Pursuit of such a thread will lead to a chill on the free expression of opinion and belief," she concluded.

Since the news of Tiller's murder broke, most, if not all, mainstream pro-life organizations in North America have issued statements condemning the killing. Pro-life leaders have said that the pro-life movement is seeking to protect unborn children through legal means, and not through violence. (To see many of the statements, go here)

National Post Contact Information:

Editor-in-Chief Douglas Kelly

Colby Cosh

Barbara Kay

Related LifeSiteNews.com Coverage:

A Portrait of a Murderer: The Life of Suspected Tiller Killer Scott Roeder
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060203.html

Abortion Proponents "Exploit" Tiller Killing, Label Pro-Life Advocates "Domestic Terrorists"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060110.html

Commentary: President Obama Calls Tiller Killing a Heinous Act of Violence but Ignores Heinous Violence of Abortion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060107.html

Recollections of a Taxi Cab Ride with Abortionist George Tiller
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060111.html

Newsletter Moto-Live.com

2009-06-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

Moto-Live.com Newsletters : 2 June 2009

Spanish GP, zero hour for Dani Pedrosa
Interview with Dani during his personal countdown

01 June
[18:45] - Pedrosa's femur crack confirmed
"I really hope I can be fit for the next race"
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090601184807.shtml

[16:08] - Haojue and Witteveen part company
After a difficult start to the season
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090601160910.shtml

[15:15] - Top six for Edwards in Mugello thriller
Toseland boosted by seventh
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090601151640.shtml

[14:25] - Capirossi so close to podium success
At home Grand Prix
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090601142739.shtml

[11:03] - De Puniet eighth at damp Mugello
"We could get that sixth place"
http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/headlines/news/detail/090601110441.shtml

To unsubscribe click : http://www.moto-live.com/motogp/en/services/newsletter/index.shtml

Newsletter F1-Live.com

2009-06-01T20:35:00.000-07:00

F1-Live.com Newsletters : 2 June 2009

01 June
[19:17] - Raikkonen set for more rally events
Early exit unlikely to deter the Ferrari star
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090601191755.shtml

[14:35] - Rosberg predicting a tough weekend ahead
Turkish GP - Williams Toyota - Preview
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090601143542.shtml

[14:02] - Piquet targets first points finish
Monaco frustrations put to one side
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090601140251.shtml

[13:00] - Theissen denies Monaco slump could be pivotal
Mosley openly questions BMW's Formula One spend
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090601130049.shtml

[12:50] - Mercedes still considering Brawn branding deal
Success may force a change in strategy for Mercedes
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090601125047.shtml

[12:37] - Realistic expectations for Symonds and Alonso
Turkish GP - Renault - Preview
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090601123706.shtml

[12:09] - F1 'pushing' to return to Canada – Trulli
Toyota racer keen to avoid team dispute with FIA
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090601120953.shtml

[12:00] - Raikkonen crashes out of tarmac rally
Ferrari star at the wheel of the Abarthe Grande Punto
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090601120003.shtml

[11:40] - PM looks to Magny Cours for French revival
Turning attention back to existing circuits
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090601114055.shtml

[11:29] - F1 'will die' without new blood – Mosley
Major teams formed from the ashes of the independents
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090601112949.shtml

en.f1-live.com : http://To unsubscribe click /f1/en/services/newsletter/index.shtml

LifeSiteNews.com - Monday June 1, 2009

2009-06-01T16:51:00.000-07:00

Dear readers,

As you've already seen, the killing of abortionist George Tiller has been quickly condemned by pro-life groups throughout North America and abroad. Our detailed coverage shows the shooter to be a crazed member of a fringe group. As we have said in the past, such a person is anti-abortion and NOT pro-life.

Predictably, pro-abortion groups and leaders, often not remotely noted for objectivity or factual accuracy, are reacting by exploiting this murder in order to attack the pro-life movement.

Today, for example, we received this email response to our article noting that pro-life groups were condemning Tiller's murder: "If you think your problems with Canada's hate speech laws were bad before, think again. We are going to use every lawful means at our disposal to rid our country of you fascist hate-mongers." LifeSiteNews would seem to have grounds for launching a hate charge against that letter writer who himself appears to be exhibiting fascist sentiments.

There is not one mainstream pro-life group that we are aware of that has ever been guilty of hate and certainly there is nothing in LifeSiteNews that reflects such views. In fact, the vast majority of persons involved in the large pro-life movement are motivated by love. Militant pro-abortionists and gay activists define having a view different than theirs as being "hate".

There is some good news though amidst all the bad. The great success of the March for Life in Canada and the prayerful kudos for the Bishops who spoke out against Obama's appearance at Notre Dame are refreshing. Check out the photos of the March for Life report in the website version at http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060100.html.

For life,
John-Henry Westen
Steve Jalsevac
LifeSiteNews.com

LifeSiteNews.com - Monday June 1, 2009

* UK, American, Canadian Pro-Life Groups Condemn Tiller Murder
* Abortion Proponents "Exploit" Tiller Killing, Label Pro-Life Advocates "Domestic Terrorists"
* Recollections of a Taxi Cab Ride with Abortionist George Tiller
* U.S. Bishops Express 'Profound Regret' about Shooting Death of Abortion Doctor
* Commentary: President Obama Calls Tiller Killing a Heinous Act of Violence but Ignores Heinous Violence of Abortion
* "The Weekend Cleanup": The Gruesome Aftermath of Legalized Euthanasia in Belgium
* Canadian National Pro-Life Organization Details Great Success of March for Life
* U.S. Court Rejects Appeal of Valedictorian Forced to Apologize for Expressing Faith in Christ
* Bishops Who Opposed Notre Dame's Obama Honor Receive More Than 700,000 Prayers in Thanks
* Prominent Theologians Defend Christopher West and Theology of the Body

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Reason 1: With Sienna, you will be helping build the Culture of Life!

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UK, American, Canadian Pro-Life Groups Condemn Tiller Murder

By Alex Bush

June 1, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In the wake of the murder of late-term abortionist George Tiller, pro-life groups from across North America and the UK have condemned the killing as "heinous," "deplorable," "cowardly," "senseless," and "unconscionable."

Abortionist Tiller was renowned for performing late-term abortions in Kansas, many of them post-viability. The abortionist only recently found himself in court facing 19 counts of performing illegal late-term abortions, but was found "not guilty" by a jury last month. He had also survived a previous murder attempt in 1993.

Scott Roeder, a man with no affiliations with the mainstream pro-life movement, has been taken into custody and is expected to be charged with allegedly murdering Tiller.

LifeSiteNews.com has obtained statements from some 20 pro-life groups, all unanimously condemning the murder. The statements stress that while Tiller was involved in perpetrating a great evil, all life is sacred, including the lives of abortionists. They also stress that the pro-life movement wishes to change abortion laws by legal means and not by violence. (To read all the statements, click here)

"Pro-lifers do not answer violence with violence," said Stephen Borden, a Pastor in a pro-life African-American coalition, in response to the news of the Tiller slaying.

Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a colleague of Borden, said that she "wanted to share with [Tiller] the harm [she] experienced from abortion." She continued, saying that she had a deep desire for Tiller to "join me in repentance."

"I am deeply sorry that his life was taken before that could happen," King said.

Dr. James Dobson from Focus on the Family issued a statement saying that members of the organization "categorically condemn the act of vigilantism and violence." Dobson said that America was built on the rule of law, and despite the verdict in Tiller's case "he was acquitted by the court and declared 'not guilty' in the eyes of the law. That is our system, and we honor it."

Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition in Canada and Vice President of International Right to Life said that not only is the murder of abortionists "seriously damaging to the pro-life cause, it is also deeply contrary to everything that is meant by the phrase pro-life."

The Family Research Council issued a statement saying that they "strongly condemn the actions taken today by this vigilante killer and we pray for the Tiller family and for the nation that we might once again be a nation that values all human, both born and unborn."

The UK group Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) director John Smeaton said on his blog, "SPUC has always condemned violence, whether against abortionists or unborn babies."

"Those responsible [for violence against abortionists] have on each occasion acted as individuals, and not members of any pro-life group," he continued.

The American Life League's executive director Shaun Kenney said that "Leaders within the pro-life movement often discuss justice in connection with our mission to end the tragedy of abortion. Today, Dr. George Tiller's life ended in an act defying those principles."

"We firmly hope the perpetrators of this act are apprehended, that the facts be made known, and that justice according to the law is preserved and dispensed."

Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote.org, said in a statement that "We cannot create a Civilization of Love with such violence. We call upon all people of good will to pray this week for the soul of Mr. Tiller and to pray that our society will abandon every form of hatred and violence."

Burch quoted Cardinal John O'Connor, who said that killing abortionists "discredits the right-to-life movement. Murder is murder. It's madness. You cannot prevent killing by killing."

The National Right to Life Executive Director David O'Steen said that the "pro-life movement works to protect the right to life and increase respect for human life. The unlawful use of violence is directly contrary to that goal."

List of pro-life groups condemning the murder (To read all the statements, click here):

Society for the Protection of Unborn Children

40 Days For Life

Operation Rescue

Center for Bio Ethical Reform

American Life League

Focus on the Family

Women Influencing the Nation

Campaign Life Coalition

Kansas Coalition for Life

Family Research Council

The Christian Anti-Defamation League

Kansas Family Policy Council

Susan B. Anthony List

Priests For Life

Kansans For Life

Stand True

National Right to Life

CatholicVote.org

Kelowna Right to Life

Real Women of BC

Abortion Proponents "Exploit" Tiller Killing, Label Pro-Life Advocates "Domestic Terrorists"
Claim that pro-life activism is a form of "terrorism" and call for Department of Homeland Security to investigate

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

USA, June 1, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Defenders of legalized abortion in the Obama administration are exploiting the assassination of George Tiller, Kansas' infamous late-term abortionist, to attack the pro-life movement, according to prominent pro-life activist Jill Stanek.

"Already we've seen the pro-abortion movement try to exploit this, which is not a surprise," Stanek told U.S. News and World Report.

"[President Obama's chief of staff] Rahm Emanuel is famous for saying, 'Never let a crisis go wasted' and already we're seeing talk of the Justice Department and [Attorney General] Eric Holder calling in forces to protect the abortion forces and clinics, and we're going to see moves to attempt to stifle free speech. It now falls to the pro-life movement to protect the First Amendment."

In the hours following the death of Tiller, pro-abortion journalists and organizations have issued statements blaming the pro-life movement on the whole for the actions of a man acquaintances say suffered from mental illness and belonged to fringe organizations rejected by the pro-life movement.

Mike Hendricks, writing for the Kansas City Star asserts that "the motive for the crime we can all surmise, given the vitriolic rhetoric aimed at Tiller these past couple of decades by anti-abortion activists. And if we're right about that, then we know the identities of his accomplices."

"If anyone is in need of salvation now, it's the anti-abortion movement in Kansas and across the nation. the bullet that killed George Tiller also shattered the moral underpinnings of the movement that inspired its firing."

The National Organization for Women (NOW), a pro-abortion feminist organization, blamed the "anti-abortion" movement for the murder and called on the Department of Homeland Security to declare the movement a form of "domestic terrorism."

"Dr. Tiller's slaying is the most recent in a string of murders in the service of the anti-abortion cause, and hundreds of people have been injured or threatened because they provide legal abortion services," said NOW in a public statement on its website.

"Bringing the killers to justice is not enough - the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security must root out and prosecute as domestic terrorists and violent racketeers the criminal enterprise that has organized and funded criminal acts for decades."

Bonnie Erbe of U.S. News and World report announced on the magazine's website that "Tiller Murder Is Terrorism, and All Pro-Life Extremists Are to Blame."

"Let George Tiller's murder be the last straw. It is time for America's pro-choice majority to stop standing idly by as extreme so-called pro-life advocates murder obstetrician-gynecologists (OB/GYNs) who are providing women with the legal right to terminate pregnancies," opined Erbe adding that, "I am careful to note I am referring here to EXTREMIST pro-life advocates, people who refer to abortion as 'baby-killing' and other inflammatory rhetoric."

The problem is, however, that the whole pro-life movement is based upon the premise that the unborn child is a human being with an inherent right to life. Hence, Erbe's definition of an extremist as being someone who refers to abortion as 'baby-killing'. By that definition this would encompass nearly every mainstream pro-life activist in the country and many very prominent religious, political and other leaders who accept the basic biology of unborn human life and have consequent human rights concerns, as well as a deep concern for the mothers who frequently suffer from having been forced or intimidated into aborting what they knew was their living child.

Jill Stanek notes that, in contrast to the statements by Erbe, Now, and others, "The pro-life movement is the most peaceful social justice movement in American history. There are a thousand abortion clinics and small groups of protesters outside many of them and nothing ever happens, except that some pro-lifers get run over by pro-aborts. So this is so ironic."

"There has never been a social justice movement that has been totally focused on saving human lives, as opposed to expanding voting rights or other rights, like the pro-life movement is."

Pro-life organizations nationwide issued statements today condemning the killing of Tiller, who specialized in late-term abortions in his Wichita, Kansas, clinic.

Tiller was unsuccessfully prosecuted for violating state laws against late-term abortions without the necessary legal justifications, and was under investigation by the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts for the same charges at the time of his death.

He was shot and killed on Sunday morning while fulfilling the functions of an usher at a Lutheran church in Wichita.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Kansas Late-Term Abortionist George Tiller Shot and Killed - Pro-Life Groups React
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09053101.html

U.S. Bishops Express 'Profound Regret' about Shooting Death of Abortion Doctor
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060106.html

UK, American, Canadian Pro-Life Groups Condemn Tiller Murder
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060105.html

Recollections of a Taxi Cab Ride with Abortionist George Tiller

June 1, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) Joe Scheidler, the founder of Pro-Life Action League and longtime pro-life activist, today issued a statement denouncing the slaying of Kansas late-term abortionist George Tiller. Tiller was shot dead Sunday morning as he was serving as an usher at his church.

In condemning the murder Scheidler also recalled a chance encounter he had with the abortionist, in which he shared a taxi-cab ride with him on the way to a pro-abortion conference.

"We deplore the killing of George Tiller on Sunday morning," said Scheidler.

"It has always been my philosophy that we convert abortionists. As activists committed to saving lives, we vigorously oppose violence."

Scheidler recalled how he once shared a taxi with Dr. Tiller as both were headed from the airport in New Orleans to the National Abortion Federation Convention. Scheidler was attending in order to gather information about the pro-abortion movement.

"Tiller apparently recognized me, but did not recall that I was a pro-life activist. He assumed I was another abortionist attending the conference," said Scheidler. "He enthusiastically extolled the value of the ultrasound in performing abortions, and invited me to visit his clinic in Wichita."

The following day Scheidler attended Tiller's presentation on the use of ultrasound. By then the doctor had realized that Scheidler was a pro-life leader, and refused to proceed with his presentation until Scheidler left the room.

"Having sat and talked with George Tiller, I probably feel a little more connection with him than many other pro-lifers might," said Scheidler. "I am adamantly opposed to what he did for a living. But I believe that anyone can come to the truth. Tiller deserved the chance to turn away from the evil of abortion. I cannot condone the taking of his life."

U.S. Bishops Express 'Profound Regret' about Shooting Death of Abortion Doctor
"Our bishops' conference and all its members have repeatedly and publicly denounced all forms of violence in our society, including abortion."

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 1, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) Speaking on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, chairman of the bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, expressed profound regret upon learning of the shooting death of abortion doctor George Tiller.

"Our bishops' conference and all its members have repeatedly and publicly denounced all forms of violence in our society, including abortion as well as the misguided resort to violence by anyone opposed to abortion," Cardinal Rigali said. "Such killing is the opposite of everything we stand for, and everything we want our culture to stand for: respect for the life of each and every human being from its beginning to its natural end. We pray for Dr. Tiller and his family."

Commentary: President Obama Calls Tiller Killing a Heinous Act of Violence but Ignores Heinous Violence of Abortion

Commentary by Judie Brown

Upon learning of the tragic murder of abortionist George Tiller, about whom I have written on numerous occasions, our staff realized that I was 34,000 feet in the air. As I would have hoped, American Life League's Executive Director, Shaun Kenney, who was on the ground, issued the following public statement on behalf of American Life League:

Leaders within the pro-life movement often discuss justice in connection with our mission to end the tragedy of abortion. Today, Dr. George Tiller's life ended in an act defying those principles.

With genuine sorrow, we reflect on today's events in prayer. Justice for all human beings includes the lives of those with whom we fundamentally disagree as well as the victims of abortion. We firmly hope the perpetrators of this act are apprehended, that the facts be made known, and that justice according to the law is preserved and dispensed.

Today's actions were tragic, and serve as another reminder that all human life is sacred. Pro-lifers by our nature and commitment to human rights reject violence as a means of resistance. Our thoughts and prayers indeed extend to the Tiller family and the community at Reformation Lutheran Church.

It is with unrestrained dedication to the principle that each human being is loved by God and is indeed His creation that our hearts go out to the Tiller family, including his surviving wife who is the mother of his four children. A senseless act of violence should never be answered with any words other than those extended with the love of Christ. For those reasons, I am personally proud of our executive director, and pray that others who have said less prudent things will take note of what it truly means to be pro-life in America.

It is not so with all of those who have made various statements regarding this senseless loss of life. Many have lost sight of the ravages that have been wrought by the culture of death and the strangle hold it has placed on our national psyche.

For example, when I listened to the words of President Barack Obama, my heart was struck with the tragic disconnect too many Americans have accepted when it comes to such tragedies in our culture. Apparently, they honestly see a difference between killing before, versus killing after, birth. The president said:

I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning. However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.

The president's sentiments as expressed in this statement represent a serious disassociation between the tragic death of one man in Kansas and the equally tragic deaths of thousands of preborn children that occur on a daily basis throughout this nation. Every act of senseless killing is an outrage and should cause shock in the heart of every one of us. But this is not what I gleaned from the president's words.

It is, in fact, so very sad that the president can treat of one type of heinous crime as an "issue" while describing an equally wicked crime in the proper terms. Such contradictory language is typical of the attitude of far too many in our nation who, after more than 36 years of decriminalized killing, have come to view the born as a completely different class of people than the preborn. Too many in America have become desensitized to what abortion does to not-yet born human beings. But at the same time, they are saddened, as they should be, by what equally horrific acts do to born persons.

Perhaps this is the perfect occasion for each of us to reexamine the culture in which we live: the attitudes we have adopted, and the opinions we have formed. Such an exercise would help us sort out this dichotomy in our language, our attitudes and our behavior.

When Pope John Paul II wrote of violence against the human person in his profound encyclical, Evangelium Vitae, he encapsulated many of the most fundamental principles that pertain to the life of every human being at every stage of his or her life:

Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves 'the creative action of God', and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can, in any circumstance, claim for himself the right to destroy directly an innocent human being.God proclaims that He is absolute Lord of the life of man, who is formed in His image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26-28). Human life is thus given a sacred and inviolable character, which reflects the inviolability of the Creator Himself.

The truth is that every human being's life is sacred; every human being's life is a gift from God; every human being belongs to God, Who is the reason that each person exists.

It is our prayer that men and women of good will can take time to reflect with honesty on the sad events that occurred Sunday in Wichita, and realize that there is not a single human being's life that is ever disposable, whether born or preborn. Judgments in matters of life and death belong to God alone.

Today we invite our fellow Americans to come together in prayer for the Tiller family, in mourning for senseless acts of violence that occur not only through abominable acts of abortion, but through hateful words, detestable acts against the unsuspecting and dreadful acts of dehumanization against our fellow human beings.

May the peace of Christ be with the Tiller family during this time of extreme sorrow.

"The Weekend Cleanup": The Gruesome Aftermath of Legalized Euthanasia in Belgium

By Kathleen Gilbert

LANSDOWN, Virginia, June 1, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - As Canada and several U.S. states mull over legislation to legalize assisted suicide or euthanasia, one Belgian man has claimed that silent acceptance of euthanasia in his country has led to unspeakable routine abuse, and is warning the Western hemisphere to be on guard against the encroaching euthanasia agenda.

Lionel Roosemont told his story at the Second International Symposium on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, held May 29-30 at the National Conference Center in Lansdown, Virginia. The conference was hosted by the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, and co-sponsored by anti-euthanasia groups around the world.

Roosemont says he came face-to-face with the euthanasia culture in Belgium upon learning that his unborn daughter Tikvah, now 13 years old, would suffer severe disabilities related to hydrocephalus. Encouraged to abort Tikvah, Roosemont says he and his wife Renate decided to "swim against the current," and gave birth to their daughter.

Despite lacking most of her brain, the girl proved capable of movement, sight, and hearing, contrary to her doctors' dire forecasts. Though harrowed by the fight to preserve Tikvah's life from ending in abortion, said Roosemont, "it was some of the training we needed to [fight] the equally horrible monster called euthanasia."

In 2002, Belgium passed a law allowing euthanasia as requested by a patient under "constant and unbearable physical or psychological pain" who has issued written consent. A third doctor's opinion must be sought if the illness is not terminal, and a one-month waiting period is mandatory for patients suffering from depression.

Roosemont described the prejudice Tikvah received in a society that, he says, "changed dramatically since [the] euthanasia law was adopted."

"Life is more and more losing its value," said Roosemont. "Can you understand why our daughter is never left alone in a hospital?"

In an interview with LifeSiteNews.com, Roosemont insisted that the actual practice of euthanasia in Belgium disregards the "safeguards" attached to the law. "We have a huge problem with lawlessness," he said. Roosemont claimed that the law is commonly transgressed "without there being any consequences."

Roosemont cited a 2006 report in the medical magazine Huisarts, written by Dr. Marc Cosyns - whom he called the "Kevorkian" of Belgium - stating that Cosyns had euthanized a woman suffering from dementia. Although the procedure was patently illegal - not only was the woman not terminally ill, but she was not fully lucid and had not given written consent - Cosyns was not punished.

"The problem with us is that it's almost become a law [to disregard the safeguards]," said Roosemont.

In his speech to the conference, Roosemont showed a video interview of one of his elder daughters describing an encounter with a teacher concerning Tikvah. Upon seeing Tikvah for the first time, the teacher said that she ought to be euthanized.

"The actual words: 'She's just a euthanasia child,'" Roosemont told LSN. He said he has heard the sentiment twice.

While the loose application of euthanasia restrictions is widely known among Belgians, said Roosemont, the true depth of abuse is little understood. One such abuse he claimed occurs routinely is the administration of lethal drugs at one Belgian hospital to elderly, seriously ill patients - known as the "weekend cleanup" - as described to him by a nurse who worked there.

"It is logical," he said. "It is very logical. We live in the time of instant coffee. What that means is that nobody wants to suffer." Most of the time, he said, elderly victims of euthanasia are not themselves suffering from great pain, but are killed at the request of family burdened with their care.

But because the subject is still taboo in Belgium, Roosemont says indifference is widespread.

"The subject is taboo in Belgium. Main reason: the law has been voted [upon]," he said. "So many people have become accomplices of killing, or helping, at least approving, so you don't talk about that - and the moment someone starts talking about that, most people start to protect themselves."

Asked to comment on the situation in Canada, where MP Francine Lalonde recently introduced a proposal to legalize euthanasia, Roosemont said, "You will be surprised how fast this thing is coming."

"And if ... the stories that I've been hearing here [are true], there's already red [lights] flashing," he said. "The big risk, I think, is that many countries will be [facing] the same thing that happened with Roe v. Wade. Before they know it, it will be there, and then they will react. The laws will be there. That's what I think. So it's high time to do something to inform as many people as possible."

Roosemont urged anti-euthanasia activists to "tell them the stories - for instance, what happened in Belgium."

"Be alert! Not many people know what is hanging over their heads," said Roosemont. "Don't say I didn't warn you. And please, don't run away from the responsibilities."

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

MP Introduces Euthanasia Bill into Canadian Parliament
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051404.html

Canadian National Pro-Life Organization Details Great Success of March for Life

By Steve Jalsevac

May 31, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) Campaign Life Coalition in its June Newsletter reports that the 2009 National March for Life in Ottawa marking 40 years of legalized abortion in Canada was a resounding success with record-breaking attendance. The organization went on to provide many details about the various March for Life events that have not been reported in the secular media.

Despite a forecast of rain that ran all week before May 14 and a misty rain that turned into more of a downpour during the speeches on Parliament Hill and the beginning of the March, CLC confirms, as reported in LifeSiteNews on May 14, over 12,000 people took part in this year's National March for Life. The procession which took well over an hour from start to finish, witnessed to the great injustice of millions of unborn child killings facilitated by the 1969 passage of the Trudeau-led Liberal government's Omnibus Bill.

This year's crowd for the March smashed last year's record of just over 8000 with a 50% increase. "Each year's success builds the foundation for the next National March for Life," says CLC, "as schools, youth groups, and churches return from having experienced the incredible demonstration of solidarity with the unborn and are moved to encourage friends and family to join in subsequent marches."

This year, an unprecedented number of schools and church groups sent buses to Ottawa to take part in the march. Barry Mombourquette brought over 150 students from the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board. He told The Interim it is important for teachers to bring students to the National March for Life, because the students "are the ones who will make a change. They are the future lawyers, doctors, mothers, fathers, lawmakers and teachers." His students enthusiastically shared their views on abortion. A Grade 11 student from St. Thomas More in Hamilton said she came to Ottawa to provide a voice for her unborn brothers and sisters because "their cries are not being heard."

Besides those who came on hundreds of buses, including 65 schools, this year's March was joined by numerous notable dignitaries including 13 bishops. The CLC National News lists them as follows:

His Eminence Marc Cardinal Ouellet - Quebec City
His Grace Archbishop Terrence Prendergast - Ottawa
His Grace Archbishop Thomas Collins - Toronto
His Grace Archbishop Brendan O'Brien - Kingston
His Grace Archbishop Sutton, OMI, emeritus archbishop of Keewatin-LePas
His Excellency Bishop Paul-André Durocher - Alexandria-Cornwall
His Excellency Bishop Ronald Fabbro - London
His Excellency Bishop Jean-Louis Plouffe - Sault Ste Marie
Msgr Gerard Drainville, retired bishop of Amos (Quebec)
His Excellency Bishop Stephen Victor Chmilar- Ukrainian Bishop of Toronto and Eastern Canada
His Excellency Bishop Michael Mulhall - Pembroke
His Excellency Bishop John Stephen Pazak - Byzantine Rites
Retired Archbishop of Ottawa, the Most Reverend Marcel Gervais

Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet gave an impassioned French-only speech on the Hill that was significantly picked up by the Quebec media. In his call to action he stated, "After forty years of exile from the culture of life, we come to Parliament Hill to claim the return of the right to life of the human being in gestation in Canada".

Toronto Archishop Thomas Collins, head of Canada's largest diocese, was also a prominent and heartily cheered first time participant in the March. In his comments on the Hill, immediately following Cardinal Oullet, Archbishop Collins emphasized the reason and compassion of the pro-life cause, stating, "The right to life is a question of justice."

Collins stressed that the marchers have to publicly express their views on the abortion issue and that they "must engage in a public conversation." He stated, "We do this in a public place on Parliament Hill as is our right, for we are citizens..." The archbishop urged such engagement, "especially on issues of injustice, whether it be slavery, civil rights or, in this case, the protection of human life from the first moment of its existence to natural death." In that context he also mentioned the growing push for euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.

CLC also listed the 19 Members of Parliament who were also present on Parliament Hill to greet the demonstrators (many of the MPs addressed the audience of thousands):

Rod Bruinooge          Pierre Lemieux
Harold Albrecht        Colin Mayes
Jeff Watson               Paul Szabo
Stephen Woodworth Dean Del Mastro
Kelly Block              Andrew Sheer
Garry Breitkreuz        John Cummins
Guy Lauzon               Brad Trost
Levar Payne              Chris Warkentin
Maurice Vellacott       Colin Mayes
Dan McTeague

MP Rod Bruinooge (Cons., Winnipeg South) alluded to the weather when he said, "The storm is here," before adding that the real storm was the 12,000 people on the front lawn of Parliament. "We will not go away. We need to be listened to."

Former MP Pat O'Brien told the crowd, "The March for Life is the most important rally on Parliament Hill every year."

The theme of all the MPs' presentations was the need to keep up the fight against abortion and to not relent until the law is changed.

Other dignitaries that addressed the throng included Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus; former MPs Pat O'Brien and Tom Wappel - who serve as the political and legal counsel to CLC respectively - and Lia Mills, a 12-year-old whose school speech became an internationally famous five-minute internet video presentation that provides an articulate, reasoned, point-by-point argument against abortion. Other than young Lia Mills who addressed abortion directly, the speakers generally rallied the crowd to continue giving voice to the unborn and to remain vigilant in their defense of life in all spheres.

Organizers of the National March for Life said they were thrilled with the turnout.

The rains, the first time this has occurred during the March, didn't dampen the spirits of those in the crowd, who were louder and more enthusiastic than ever before.

More than half of those in attendance were youth - high school and university students - many who were proud to display their school banners or pro-life signs reports Campaign Life Coalition. Many wore pro-life t-shirts, signaling their deep commitment to the cause. Jim Hughes, the National President of CLC, said that "the growing number of young people" is a "tremendous blessing" to both the March and to the movement. "This is going to make a difference."

CLC also states it is extremely gratified that the March had the support of the nation's Catholic bishops. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops threw its official support behind the event, as the 13 Bishops, Archbishops and Cardinals concelebrated various Masses and several Bishops took part in the actual procession through the streets of the nation's capital.

Before the National March for Life, there was plenty of opportunity for spiritual nourishment. There was a Canadian Reformed Church and ecumenical prayer service as well as Catholic simultaneous masses at Notre Dame Cathedral and St. Patrick's Basilica that were filled to capacity. The evening before, there was a Mass at St. Theresa's Church preceding the candlelight vigil at the Human Rights Monument. In the bus trips organized by schools, youth groups and churches, many travelers took the opportunity to pray during the journey to Ottawa.

Approximately 500 people took part in the candlelight vigil the evening before the March, holding candles, listening to guest speakers including student activists, the Sisters for Life and the Sister Servants of the Cross (a new community of Sisters in Ottawa). They prayed and sang hymns. It was seen as a powerful reminder that abortion is the human rights issue facing our nation.

After the March, there was musical entertainment by David MacDonald, a veteran pro-life activist and an annual staple of the National March for Life accompanied this year by Kathleen Dunn from Ancaster. McDonald's band invited students to join them on stage and they danced and sang as a testament to the joyful nature of doing the Lord's work. "The issue of abortion may be a grave one", writes CLC in its newletter, "but we need not be in the doldrums fighting it."

After the music, a number of men and women gave powerful and moving personal testimonies as part of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign. The size of the crowd that stayed behind after the March to listen to these testimonies was at least 3-4,000 - by far the largest ever. Many in the crowd were seen wiping tears from their eyes while listening to these heart wrenching personal stories. After that there was a Prayer Service led by Eastern Catholic Chaplaincy of Ottawa. At least 500 people stayed for this impressive Eastern rite ceremony and prayers.

In the evening, the Rose Dinner was said to be a huge and successful event, with the 1100 seats sold out long in advance. Featured speakers were Tom Wappel, former Member of Parliament, as well as Carl Anderson, the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus. Both speakers left the crowd aware of their duty to stand up both politically and in their everyday lives for a just nation where all life is protected.

Organizers are planning for the 2010 National March for Life. CLC exects next year could be bigger and better than this year's event, but every March builds upon the previous ones. The organizers are encouraging pro-life Canadians to begin now to make your plans to join the 13th annual National March for Life in Ottawa next year (May 12-14).

Over 800 people attended the Youth Conference the day after the March. They heard presentations from numerous speakers, including LifeSiteNews Editor-in-Chief, John-Henry Westen. The packed conference centre at the Hampton Inn featured multi-media presentations which provided excellent opportunities to educate future pro-life activists and leaders. The feedback from students and teachers is reported to have been overwhelmingly positive.

(Article compiled with files from June CLC National News, the June Interim newspaper and LifeSiteNews reports)

See Previous LifeSiteNews reports on the 2009 March for Life

Ontario Knights of Columbus Throw Full Support Behind March for Life - Will Subsidize Bus Trips
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051909.html

Thousands More, 12 Bishops, and 18 Politicians Join in Regional Marches for Life Across Canada
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051911.html

Toronto CWL Convention Rallies behind the Pro-Life Cause, March For Life
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052107.html

Cardinal Ouellet at Ottawa March for Life: Canada "is at the Lowest Rung of the Ladder"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052109.html

12-Year-Old Pro-Life Prodigy Gives Moving Speech at Canadian March for Life
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052210.html

CBC "Engaged in Blatant Media Censorship" Says CLC about Lack of National Coverage for March for Life
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052508.html

Canadian Evangelical Leadership Looking to Increase March For Life Attendance
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052608.html

Largest Canadian Paper: No Coverage of March for Life but Detailed Reports on Jailed US Abortionist Shooter
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052709.html

Hamilton "Culture of Life" Committee Breaks Ground in High School Pro-Life Education
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052808.html

U.S. Court Rejects Appeal of Valedictorian Forced to Apologize for Expressing Faith in Christ

By Patrick Craine

June 1, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On Friday, the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the claim of a high school graduate who was penalized by her school after delivering a valedictory address at her 2006 graduation in which she expressed her faith in Christ.

Represented by Liberty Counsel, Erica Corder initially sued the Lewis-Palmer School District in August 2007, but the case was thrown out by a federal judge last year. The Court of Appeals heard Corder's case in March.

Corder was one of 15 valedictorians to give a 30-second speech at the Lewis-Palmer High School graduation. The principal, Mark Brewer, had each speaker present their address to him in advance for approval; but at the graduation Corder opted to give a different speech.

"We are all capable of standing firm and expressing our own beliefs," she said in her address, "which is why I need to tell you about someone who loves you more than you could ever imagine. He died for you on a cross over 2,000 years ago, yet was resurrected and is living today in heaven. His name is Jesus Christ. If you don't already know Him personally I encourage you to find out more about the sacrifice He made for you so that you now have the opportunity to live in eternity with Him" (the full text of Corder's speech is available on page 3-4 of the Court decision).

Following her speech, the principal withheld Corder's diploma until she issued a written apology.

In her suit, Corder asserted that her First Amendment rights to free speech and freedom of religion had been violated, as well as her Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection. She contested the principal's decision to review the speeches in advance, which is not called for in the District's written policy on 'student expression.'

The Court affirmed, however, the principal's right to review valedictorian speeches in advance because they deemed such speeches to be school-sponsored. The Court stated that, "A School District is entitled to review the content of speeches in an effort to preserve neutrality on matters of controversy within a school environment."

As such, the Court said, the school did not violate Corder's right to free speech.

The Court also decided that the school had not violated Corder's right to freedom of religion, arguing that she had not been penalized for her religious views, but rather for violating school policy in delivering a speech different than the one approved by the principal.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Valedictorian Threatened with Loss of Diploma over Religious Graduation Message Sues School

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/aug/07082701.html

Bishops Who Opposed Notre Dame's Obama Honor Receive More Than 700,000 Prayers in Thanks

June 1, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) Beginning the weekend of May 31, which is celebrated by Catholics as Pentecost Sunday, the 83 U.S. Catholic bishops who publicly opposed the University of Notre Dame's commencement honor for President Obama started to receive "spiritual bouquets," consisting of hundreds of thousands of pledges by grateful Catholics to offer prayers for the bishops. The prayers, primarily from people who signed The Cardinal Newman Society's petition opposing the Notre Dame scandal, were offered in thanksgiving for the bishops' inspiring witness to the importance of Catholic identity.

The request for the prayers was made by The Cardinal Newman Society on the Catholic feast of Ascension Thursday, May 21, and were sent to the bishops on Friday, May 29, in advance of Pentecost Sunday.

Each of the 83 bishops were sent a Spiritual Bouquet certificate which reads:

"On behalf of the members and staff of The Cardinal Newman Society and the more than 367,000 faithful who signed the petition at NotreDameScandal.com, this spiritual bouquet is made on the twenty-ninth day of May Anno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi two thousand and nine in grateful appreciation to the Church's shepherds who prayerfully provided witness for a strong Catholic identity on Catholic campuses."

A copy of the Spiritual Bouquet Certificate sent to the bishops may be viewed by clicking here. A list of the 83 bishops may be viewed here.

The overwhelming prayer response in the spiritual bouquet includes:

Mass Intentions: 116,741

Divine Mercy Chaplets: 74,974

Aspirations: 57,728

General Prayers: 236,615

Eucharistic Holy Hour: 37,125

Holy Rosaries: 146,944

Novenas: 19,877

Days of Fasting: 28,862

In addition to these prayers, Catholic priests offered 3,272 Holy Sacrifices of the Mass for the bishops.

"Our bishops deserve our support and prayers for their defense of Catholic identity, and as the battle for the soul of Catholic campuses continues, the bishops will need them more than ever," said Patrick J. Reilly, president of The Cardinal Newman Society.

Prominent Theologians Defend Christopher West and Theology of the Body

By Alex Bush

June 1, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The debate that was sparked by an interview on ABC's Nightline with Christopher West has grown into a rare, and fascinating instance in which a point of Catholic theology that has not been completely defined is being hashed out in public by the Church's top minds. The issue at stake is West's interpretation of the "Theology of the Body" of John Paul II a Catholic take on sexual theology developed by the late pope in a series of talks during his weekly Wednesday audiences between 1979 and 1984.

LifeSiteNews.com reported last week that Dr. David Schindler from the John Paul II Institute, the institution where West received his Masters degree, publicly criticized the man who is perhaps the world's most well-known proponent of the pope's novel work on sexuality. Schindler criticized West not only for what he deemed to be an inappropriate use of language in discussing delicate sexual matters, but also for his take on other theological questions involved in the Theology of the Body.

A number of West's ideas and choices of language, wrote Schindler, are "vulgar and in bad taste, not to mention sometimes bordering on the just plain silly" and "indicate a disordered approach to human sexuality."

Now, however, in response to Schindler's criticisms, two other renowned theologians have come to the defense of the West.

Dr. Janet Smith from Sacred Heart Major Seminary, a highly respected theologian in Catholic circles, has written that Schindler's problems with West do not "correspond" with what she has "read in West's work or heard in his lectures."

Smith, in response to Schindler's concern about the lack of an appropriate modesty in West's language, said that most of West's audience is "sexually wounded and confused" and "have been shaped by our promiscuous and licentious culture."

"People need to think long and hard about the appropriate pedagogy for that group," she said. "As West himself knows, his approach is not for everyone. An analogy that pushes the envelope may be 'offensive' to one person and may be just the hook that draws another person in. West has adopted a style that appeals to a large segment of that population - and even to some who are 'pure and innocent.'"

"It is not hard," she continued, "to find hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals who will testify that they have come to love Christ and his Church, and better understand and live the Church's teaching about sex because of the work of Christopher West."

Another prominent academic, Dr. Michael Waldstein, who was a translator for John Paul II's "Theology of the Body," said that he "was surprised and taken aback by [Schindler's] recent blanket negative statement about Christopher West in reaction to West's Nightline interview."

"West's work is uncompromisingly in line with the Church's faith," Waldstein said.

On the other hand, Fr. Jose Granados, also a professor at the John Paul II Institute, where West obtained his degree, has recently joined Schindler in criticizing his institution's former pupil, saying, "We cannot respond [to the sexual revolution] with a different kind of pansexualism, with a sort of 'Catholic sexual revolution,' which in the end promotes a similar obsession with sex, even if 'holy.' "

To all appearances, however, the discussion about West's work, and the best interpretation of John Paul II's contribution to Catholic theology, is only just beginning.

Related LifeSiteNews.com Coverage:

Christopher West Controversy Fuels Debate about the Problem of Modesty
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052510.html

Newsletter Moto-Live.com

2009-05-31T21:50:00.000-07:00

Moto-Live.com Newsletters : 1 June 2009

Spanish GP, zero hour for Dani Pedrosa
Interview with Dani during his personal countdown

31 May
[19:02] - Ducati conquer Mugello with Stoner
"This was the one I really wanted"
http://www.moto-live.com/en/headlines/news/detail/090531190405.shtml

[13:29] - Pasini wins in Italy !
Mugello : 250cc race
http://www.moto-live.com/en/headlines/news/detail/090531133107.shtml

[12:06] - Smith takes his 2nd win of the season
Mugello : 125cc race
http://www.moto-live.com/en/headlines/news/detail/090531120931.shtml

[10:40] - WSBK: Spies takes Magnificent 7
On home soil
http://www.moto-live.com/en/headlines/news/detail/090531104116.shtml

30 May
[21:39] - De Puniet top Honda at Mugello
On row two
http://www.moto-live.com/en/headlines/news/detail/090530214041.shtml

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LifeSiteNews.com - Sunday May 31, 2009

2009-05-31T21:03:00.000-07:00

LifeSiteNews.com - Sunday May 31, 2009

BREAKING: Kansas Late-Term Abortionist George Tiller Shot and Killed - Pro-Life Groups React

By John Jalsevac

WICHITA, KS, May 31, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) Witnesses have confirmed that a man that was shot and killed in the lobby at a Wichita church this morning was Kansas late-term abortionist George Tiller.

Tiller, 67, was shot just after 10 a.m. at Reformation Lutheran Church at 7601 E. 13th, where he was a congregation member. Police have reportedly apprehended a suspect - a white male who was seen fleeing the scene of the shooting in a blue Taurus.

The Kansas abortionist has long been a lightning rod for the abortion debate, partly on account of his emphasis on providing late-term abortions at his Wichita facility a specialization that recently landed him in court on 19 counts of conducting illegal late-term abortions.

Last month, after a three day trial, a jury acquitted Tiller of all the charges. Immediately following the trial, however, the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts stated that it was bringing 11 charges against Tiller's license. The Board accused Tiller of "performing an abortion on a fetus that was viable without having a documented referral from another physician not legally or financially affiliated with him; unprofessional or dishonorable conduct or professional incompetency; and commitment of acts likely to deceive, defraud or harm the public."

Pro-life organizations immediately denounced this morning's killing. Operation Rescue, which has helped spearheaded the effort to bring the charges against the abortionist, issued a statement, saying:

"We are shocked at this morning's disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down. Operation Rescue has worked for years through peaceful, legal means, and through the proper channels to see him brought to justice. We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning. We pray for Mr. Tiller's family that they will find comfort and healing that can only be found in Jesus Christ."

Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, who has also been closely involved in Tiller's case, issued a brief statement saying simply that he and his coalition "condemn" the shooting.

Jim Hughes, the president of Canada's Campaign Life Coalition, and vice president of International Right to Life, also reacted to the shooting with dismay. "Not only is this sort of violence seriously damaging to the pro-life cause, it is also deeply contrary to everything that is meant by the phrase pro-life," he told LifeSiteNews.com. "Those of us in the pro-life movement do not want to see abortionists die, we want to see them convert."

Hughes speculated that the shooter may be someone who has been personally affected by abortion and was seeking revenge against Tiller. "May God have mercy on his soul," said Hughes of the abortionist.

Fr. Pavone, the head of priests for life, also issued a statement, saying:" I am saddened to hear of the killing of George Tiller this morning. At this point, we do not know the motives of this act, or who is behind it

"But whatever the motives, we at Priests for Life continue to insist on a culture in which violence is never seen as the solution to any problem. Every life has to be protected, without regard to their age or views or actions."

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Jury Declares Abortionist Tiller Not Guilty of Illegal Late-Term Abortions
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09032711.html

Tiller Update 3: Closing Arguments Scheduled for Early Friday after Tiller Admits Alleged Illegal Associate "Worked" for Him
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09032607.html

Tiller Trial Update 2: Tiller Takes the Stand after Alleged Partner Neuhaus Declared Hostile Witness
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09032513.html

Tiller Trial Update: Abortionist Offers "Conflicting" Statements on Tiller Relationship
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09032411.html

Newsletter F1-Live.com

2009-05-31T20:35:00.000-07:00

F1-Live.com Newsletters : 1 June 2009

31 May
[19:06] - Wurz posed to become team chief
Team Superfund readying for F1 entry next year
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090531190603.shtml

[15:57] - BMW drivers hoping Monaco was a 'glitch'
Updated package ready for Istanbul
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090531155706.shtml

[15:17] - Webber hopes for breakthrough wins in 2009
''I believe I will do it this year''
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090531151715.shtml

[14:15] - Whitmarsh expecting a tough Turkish weekend
McLaren package not ideal for Istanbul Park
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090531141527.shtml

[01:29] - Another challenge lies ahead
Turkish GP - McLaren Mercedes - Preview
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090531012911.shtml

30 May
[20:10] - Teams not accepting budget caps
Entries in - FIA - FOTA war is ongoing
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090530201044.shtml

[19:56] - Stefano Domenicali Q&A
Ferrari team boss outlines FOTA demands
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090530195647.shtml

[15:27] - France could return to F1 calendar in 2010
Government pushing for a temporary venue
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090530152757.shtml

[13:55] - Bringing the challenge to the front
Turkish GP - Red Bull Renault - Preview
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090530135514.shtml

[12:42] - Did Friday bring peace to F1?
No FIA reaction yet to conditional entries
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090530124202.shtml

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