LifeZine. No. 767: 1st Apr 10
Media Note Deaths of Omagh Unborn Twins
Pádraig O’Laimhín, writing in the Irish Catholic newspaper, noted that the recent news mentions of the death toll of the terrible Omagh Bombing in Northern Ireland “specifically mention the killing of twins in their mother’s womb”. He continued, “The hideous crime of killing so many is quite rightly shown as more brutal because of the killing of these two innocents”. But many in the media, he noted, “are being very hypocritical when they do not show equal disgust at the slaughter of other babies intentionally killed”. High-profile cases jump to mind, but the silent death toll of abortion makes the tragedy of the Northern Troubles pale almost to insignificance. Such terrible injustice does not merit an objective response or even a balanced interpretation. In the face of injustice, our response must be proactive. It is time now for the government and other leaders to bring in legislation to protect the unprotected and bring about the necessary constitutional change to reinstate true esteem for the life of the unborn and their mothers. Standing by is not an option. The Irish Catholic. March 18.
Children Raise Money for Belfast Hospice in Classmate’s Memory
Children from Christ the Redeemer Primary School in Belfast have decided to dedicate their traditional Lenten fund-raiser to the city’s Children’s Hospice in thanks for the care and support it gave their classmate before she died. Claudia Raffo (10) from the class of Primary 6 died of cancer recently in the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice in Belfast. Her school principal, Sinead Beare, called it a great loss to the school. “Claudia was a beautiful wee girl—a real gentle and kind child who was friendly with everybody. She had great potential and is a huge loss to the school”. It was the children’s own idea to raise money for the hospice. They have already collected £800 by raffling tickets to a JLS concert. And they hope to bring this up to £1,500 through a Sponsored Fitness Day in the PE Hall on March 24. Anyone who would like to donate can send contributions to Christ the Redeemer Primary School, Lagmore Drive, Belfast. The Irish Catholic. March 11.
Profit First Decision As BCAP Guidelines Will Allow Contraception Ads Before Watershed
After decades of protecting the public from condom makers, UK advertising regulators have confirmed there will be less stringent rules governing condom ads on prime-time TV. A change in the advertising code allowing condom ads before the 9pm watershed was part of (failed) efforts to cut Britain’s high rate of teenage pregnancy. In the biggest shake-up of TV advertising rules in decades, advertisers may now push several other products on TV for the first time, including betting tips, herbal medicines and pornographic films and magazines. The changes stem from an advertising industry review of 400 pieces of legislation that produced a series of proposals last May. The most controversial of these was a plan, revealed in The Independent, to allow abortion ads, which officials have since postponed. (See Family & Life story: “F & L Petition Succeeds! No Abortion Ads on UK TV, Radio—for Now”. CLICK TO READ MORE.....) The Independent. March 25. F & L. March 29.
New EU Directive Threatens Religious Freedom, Expert Warns
A proposed European Union (EU) equality directive may threaten liberty of conscience and freedom of speech, a leading advocate for religious freedom has warned. In testimony to the Social Affairs Committee of the Dutch Parliament, David Fieldsend of Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) for Europe said the proposed EU Equal Treatment Directive, as drafted, might compromise religious liberties in the name of anti-discrimination. Mr Fieldsend was invited to give testimony ahead of the Dutch government deciding its position vis-à-vis the directive in the Council of Ministers. He warned that in similar legislation in other European countries, the definition of “harassment” had been “entirely subjective”, such that certain speech was deemed offensive whether there was any intention to cause offence or not. Such legislation, he noted, imposed interpretations of tolerance that effectively required “agreement with the point of view of the one to be tolerated, rather than simply accepting their right to express their opinion”, and required that “both public and private providers of goods and services be willing to promote activities their religion teaches to be immoral”. He added that although the proposed directive allowed for organisations with a religious ethos to ensure those working for them respected that ethos in teaching, it made “no similar provision for service providers with a religious foundation”. “Whether it be a religious publishing house”, he stated, “a retreat centre for Christian conferences or an elder care centre provided for church members, the founding religious ethos will be diluted, if not lost altogether, if the management are not able to say no when there is a request to make use of their services from someone who does not subscribe to either the beliefs or moral code of the organisation concerned”. Catholic Ireland. March 18.
Bishops of Argentina Call for Laws Respecting Human Dignity
In a statement released after the 155th meeting of the executive committee of the Argentinean bishops’ conference, the prelates called for the enactment of laws respecting human dignity, the family and society. The bishops urged government leaders to respect their autonomy and emphasised that it is the poor who struggle the most when the nation suffers. “For this reason it is time to prioritise the creation of laws that meet the real needs of our people”, they said, instead of pushing “interests that do not take into account the nature of the human person, family and society”. The bishops went on to recall that “our homeland is a gift we have been given. Our nation is a task that brings us together and demands the commitments of our efforts. To assume this mission with a spirit of fraternity and solidarity is the best way to celebrate our country’s bicentennial”. “We Christians invite all men and women of good will to be united with us in prayer to invoke the Lord, Who is the strength of His people, and to pray to Him for our beloved Argentinean country”, the bishops concluded. CNA. March 22.
Fr Paul Marx, Global “Apostle of Life” and Friend of F & L, Enters Eternal Life
Our hearts are heavy at the death of Fr Paul Marx, OSB, PhD, the pioneering U.S. pro-life leader. He was ordained as a Benedictine monk. His endless labours helped launch the pro-life movements of entire countries, including Ireland, and he saved millions of babies. Pope John Paul II hailed him as the “Apostle of Life” and told him he was doing “the most important work on earth”. In 40 years of pro-life campaigning, Fr Marx journeyed to more than 100 countries as a “pro-life missionary”…gave thousands of talks, sermons and interviews…wrote half a dozen books…penned hundreds of articles and numerous pamphlets…distributed countless books, pamphlets, tapes, videos, images and replicas of unborn babies…held international conferences of up to 2,000 people in the USA, Canada and Mexico…personally brought thousands of people into the pro-life movement…went to jail several times for peacefully protesting abortions…and on several occasions strolled into abortion mills and counselled abortion-bound mothers not to kill their babies (he told the outraged abortionists he was the chaplain of the place!). Fr Marx made many pro-life visits to Ireland, a land he loved. He always said the Irish were his favourite people on earth. Fr Marx was born in 1920 to a large German-speaking family in St Michael, Minnesota, and was ordained in 1947. A sociologist, he taught college-level courses on marriage before becoming a full-time pro-lifer. In addition, he was an expert on natural methods of child-spacing. He spent his last years in retirement at St John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. He went to his reward on March 20, the first day of spring. At the moment of death, he raised his arms Heavenward and said, “Take me home”. May God grant him eternal happiness, and may pro-lifers always cherish his memory and follow his example of prayer, persistence and boldness. F&L. M.E.