Independent report claims priests told: deny Communion to TDs who support abortion?

The Irish Independent Feb 6^th published a report on the Cardinal Burke story we reported on Feb 4^th. The report under the title ‘Priests told: deny communion to TDs who support abortion’, quotes His Eminence as saying that in accordance with Canon Law, (1) priests should exclude politicians who support abortion from receiving communion, and (2) that the local bishop should "teach clearly in the matter" and (3) should encourage his priests to make sure that the church's discipline is observed.

Catholic Church teaching on issues, such as the right to life of the unborn, is not an 'a la carte' menu from which Catholics may pick and choose, it is an expression of truth that must be accepted by all Catholics in good standing, it is not an optional extra. Catholics who support abortion publicly or those who claim to be personally opposed to abortion, but nevertheless vote for it act contrary, not just to Catholic teaching, but also contrary to natural law. When Catholic legislators publicly support abortion they give grave scandal to others but also place their own souls in danger. Cardinal Burke in recommending the public sanction of denial of Holy Communion in these circumstances is acting in a pastoral capacity and urges the Irish Bishops to act in a similar manner. 

The Independent article reads:

A SENIOR Vatican cardinal has told priests not to give communion to politicians who support abortion. 

Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke warned that legalising abortion creates a "culture of death" and that he fears for the future in Ireland.

The American, who is based in the Vatican, weighed in to the Irish abortion debate and said a diocesan bishop could directly reprimand a politician in certain circumstances.

And in accordance with canon law, he said priests should exclude politicians who support abortion from receiving communion.

"Those who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin should not be admitted to receive holy communion. There can be no question that the practise of abortion is among the gravest of manifest sins," he said.

"As long as (a Catholic politican) continues to support legislation which fosters abortion or other intrinsic evils, then he should be refused holy communion."

The local bishop should "teach clearly in the matter" and should encourage his priests to make sure that the church's discipline is observed, he added.

Cardinal Burke is prefect of the Apostolic Signatura – the supreme authority on justice in the church apart from the Pope. He made the comments in an interview with the Irish 'Catholic Voice' newspaper.

He discussed Catholic teaching in light of the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar and abortion in the US. Ms Halappanavar died after allegedly being refused a termination for an unviable pregnancy.

"Her request would not have made it right for the law to permit such an act, which is always and everywhere wrong," said Cardinal Burke.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr James Reilly promised his Cabinet colleagues to come back with draft abortion laws – but can't give a date.

Government tensions mean the heads of the bill are not yet finalised.

Dr Reilly only gave a verbal briefing to the Cabinet today on the proposed laws as a result.

And there was no detailed discussion among ministers on the issue.

The minister said the next time he comes back, he will have a draft in writing.

A Government spokesman did not have a timeline.

NOTE: The statement by Cardinal Burke is being misquoted he did not say that priests should not give Communion to politicians who support abortion, rather he addressed his remarks to politicians saying that they should not present themselves any more to receive Holy Communion if they support anti life policies.  The following is an extract from the Cardinal's statement
The Cardinal said "[...] those Catholic politicians who obstinately promote anti-life and anti-family legislation, for instance, who support and vote for legislation, who make procured abortion more readily available, … and other such violations of the Moral Law, this is a very grave sin and once they’re warned, they should not present themselves any more to receive Holy Communion until they have amended their ways.”

KENNY EX COMMUNICATES HIMSELF AND ALL CATHOLIC TD'S WHO SUPPORT HIS ABORTION LEGISLATION

Ireland United for Life has issued a press release pointing out that Taoiseach Enda Kenny has excommunicated all those who voted against the pro-abortion legislation from the Fine Gael Party telling them that as adults they should know the consequences of their actions. 
Yes Enda and what about the actions of Catholic adults who persist in voting for abortion and other anti life agendas despite being warned their actions are contrary to church teaching can they remain in Communion with the Church?

The Press Release reads:

Enda Kenny says that those in Fine Gael who voted against the abortion Bill are all "adult people" who should know the consequences of their actions.

Speaking from Berlin he said, “They know the consequences of this, and therefore I don't expect that they can be candidates for the Fine Gael party in the next general election.  I would find that very difficult to have a position where people who know when they sign at the beginning what it is about," he said.  Kenny rounded off his comments by saying "I hope I make that perfectly clear."

Enda Kenny knows that as a catholic in the public square he must not support, promote or vote for abortion- the culture of death.

The Pope has made it perfectly clear that abortion must not be de-criminalised.

Catholic politicians who support abortion legislation should be refused Holy Communion, says Cardinal Raymond Burke, who heads the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican's highest legal tribunal that rules on canon law.

"There can be no question that the practice of abortion is among the gravest of manifest sins" Catholic politicians who support abortion legislation should be refused Holy Communion, says Cardinal Raymond Burke. Once “a Catholic politician has been admonished that he should not come forward to receive Holy Communion,” the Cardinal added, “as long as he continues to support legislation which fosters abortion or other intrinsic evils, then he should be refused Holy Communion.”

Cardinal Burke made that perfectly clear to Bishops and those like Mr Kenny.

What is worse is that Enda Kenny has imposed ex communication on all Catholic TDs who support the Enda Kenny Abortion Bill.

Enda Kenny is an adult who knows the consequences of his actions. Therefore as he knows the consequences of promoting, decriminalising, legislating for and forcing others to support his abortion Bill, he has excluded himself as a candidate for receiving Holy Communion - the precious Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Cardinal Arinze: Being ‘Personally’ Against Abortion Is Like Saying ‘Personally’ Against Shooting Members of Congress

Catholic News Service (CNSNews.com) reported on Feb 18 that Cardinal Arinze had equated people who say they are ‘personally’ against abortion as being like saying ‘personally’ they are against shooting members of Congress.

Cardinal Francis Arinze, who is among some of the favored candidates to be the next Pope, remarked that Catholic politicians who say they are “personally” opposed to abortion but believe it is okay to be “pro-choice” is akin to saying one is “personally” against shooting members of Congress but others can do so because “it’s just pro-choice for that.”

During a question-and-answer session at a conference held at Familyland USA in Bloomington, Ohio in 2007, Cardinal Arinze was asked about Catholic U.S. politicians who vote for abortion and then present themselves for Holy Communion and what could the Church do about the issue.

Arinze said,  “The question of voting [for] abortion is not Catholic law, but Divine law. So, those who kill unborn babies are breaking not the law of the Church but the law of God. … They have gone against Divine law: Thou shall not kill.”

He continued, “To the person who says, ‘Personally I am against abortion but then, if people want to do it, and let them free,’ you could say, ‘You are a member of the Senate or the Congress -- personally I am not in favor of shooting the whole lot of you, but if somebody else wants to shoot all of you in the Senate or all of you in Congress, it’s just pro-choice for that. But personally, personally I’m not in favor.’ That is what he is saying.”

“He is saying that, ‘Personally,’ he’s not in favor killing these millions of children in the womb, but if others want to do it, its pro-choice. That’s what he is saying,” said the cardinal.

As for those pro-abortion Catholic politicians who present themselves for Holy Communion at Mass, Cardinal Arinze said, “Do you really need a cardinal from the Vatican to answer that?”

He continued, “Get the children for first communion and say to them, somebody votes for the killing of unborn babies, and says, I voted for that, I will vote for that every time -- and these babies are killed, not one or two, but in millions, and that person says I am a practicing Catholic -- should that person receive communion next Sunday?”

“The children for First Communion will answer that at the drop of a hat.  You don’t need a cardinal to answer that,” he said.

Cardinal Francis Arinze, who is from Nigeria, is the prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. He is also the Cardinal Bishop of Velletri-Segni (near Rome, Italy), a position that was previously held by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger before he was elected Pope Benedict XVI.

Pope Benedict announced his resignation from the papacy on Feb. 11, a position he will leave at month’s end.  On March 1,  117 cardinal-electors will meet in the Sistine Chapel to vote for the next pope. Cardinal Arinze, because he is 80, cannot vote in the conclave but he is eligible for the papacy.  According to news reports, he is among the favored candidates.

POPE FRANCIS 1 POWERFULLY PRO-LIFE

Ireland United for Life welcomes our new Pope Francis.

Media and pundits who were hostile in pushing for a Pope, by secular opinion poll or diktat of the ignorant, who would abandon Church teaching and go chasing after the secular moral fashions of the world will be distraught, scattered, silenced and very disappointed by the election of  Pope Francis 1.

The new Holy Father has great devotion to Our Lady, has a decades- long record of supporting the sanctity of human life, traditional marriage, Gospel support of the vulnerable, the poor and regard for the dignity and worth of human life.

On September 1 2009 - the feast of St. Raimondo Nonnato, the patron of expectant mothers and the unborn – he said, during mass, to “defend life from conception to its natural end”. He also added that “to really promote the culture of life means also supporting the existence of these unborn children, in all phases of their childhood.”

He said in 2007 that abortion is a “death sentence for the unborn, we are not in agreement with the death penalty.”  He also denounced euthanasia and assisted suicide, calling it a “culture of discarding” the elderly.

As Cardinal he presented a statement in 2007 that we should commit ourselves to “Eucharistic coherence”, that is we should be conscious that people cannot receive Holy Communion and at the same time act or speak against the commandments, in particular, when abortion, euthanasia, and other serious crimes against life and family are facilitated. The responsibility applies particularly to legislators, governors and health professionals.

Pope Francis states that “being disallowed Holy Communion was a consequence for those who facilitated in an abortion”.

In 2005  he said, “Defend the unborn against abortion even if they persecute you, calumniate you, set traps for you, take you to court or kill you. No child should be deprived of the right to be born, the right to be fed and the right to go to school.”

At this watershed time of pushing for decriminalisation of abortion and introducing abortion legislation in Ireland, all politicians, legislators and health professionals who claim to be Catholic should listen to and understand exactly what Pope Francis is saying.

Pope Francis 1st

Cardinal Bergoglio (pronounced Ber-GOAL-io) the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, who was elected Pope yesterday, chose the name Francis I. His Holiness Pope Francis I, a Jesuit, is 76 years old and is the first South American to lead the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis, is known as a valiant defender of life and family. Pro-lifers are cheered by his strong statements on abortion (“abortion is never a solution”) and the dignity of the elderly and the importance of resisting euthanasia (“Even if euthanasia is not legal in many countries, it is being actualized covertly through attitudes of exclusion and abandonment” of the elderly).

In terms of  so called ‘same sex marriage’, Cardinal Bergoglio fought valiantly to have the law in Argentina continue to protect the traditional family. In July 2009, he called on the priests of his Archdiocese to encourage the faithful to attend protest against “same sex marriage."

"Let's not be naive, we're not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God," […] He wrote

"We are not talking about a mere bill, but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God."

Bergoglio also requested his priests to read, a declaration defending the true definition and understanding of marriage, from the pulpits.

"The Argentinean people will have to confront, in the coming weeks, a situation whose result could gravely injure the family.  We are speaking of a bill regarding marriage between people of the same sex," a bill that calls into question "the identity, and the survival of the family: father, mother, and children."

The latter, warns Bergoglio, might also be threatened by homosexual adoption, which would be a true form of discrimination.

The country now needs "the special assistance of the Holy Spirit, to place the light of truth in the middle of the darkness of error, to defend us against the enchantment of so many sophistries with which they seek to justify this bill," he wrote.

Cardinal Bergoglio also defended the life of the unborn even in cases of rape, in very stark terms.

In a 2007 speech given to a gathering of priests and laity on October 2nd, then-Cardinal Bergoglio issued a defense of life even in cases of rape saying: "we aren’t in agreement with the death penalty," but "in Argentina we have the death penalty.  A child conceived by the rape of a mentally ill or retarded woman can be condemned to death."

Moreover, on behalf of the bishops of Latin America, also in 2007, Cardinal Bergoglio presented the "Aparecida Document" regarding the situation of the Church in their countries.  The document, approved by Pope Benedict XVI in July of that year, made a very clear statement regarding the consequences of supporting abortion, disallowing Holy Communion for anyone who facilitates an abortion, including politicians.

The text states in paragraph 436 that "we should commit ourselves to ‘Eucharistic coherence’, that is, we should be conscious that people cannot receive Holy Communion and at the same time act or speak against the commandments, in particular when abortion, euthanasia, and other serious crimes against life and family are facilitated.  This responsibility applies particularly to legislators, governors, and health professionals."

See reports from LifeSite

Holy See Statement on Maternal Mortality during the 21st session Human Rights Council in Geneva

Statement by Archbishop Tomasi Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva

Madame President,

The 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action reminded States that “particular priority should be placed on reducing infant and maternal mortality rates.1” The Delegation of the Holy See notes some signs of hope in reports by the World Health Organization that deaths due to maternal conditions (2) have decreased significantly between 1990 and 2010 (3). However, the situation cited in the current report by the High Commissioner for Human Rights (4), namely, that 287,000 women died due to maternal conditions and between 10 and 15 million mothers suffered debilitating conditions during 2010, is truly tragic.

We wish to point out further concerns arising from the above-cited Report and influencing the Resolution of the Human Rights Council presently introduced on this issue during this 21st Session. First of all, the Report uses ambiguous terms and dubious arguments in maintaining that “maternal mortality and morbidity is a product of discrimination against women, and denial of their human rights, including sexual and reproductive health rights”(5). 

According to the World Health Organization, the following are included as major causes of maternal mortality and morbidity: severe bleeding (mostly bleeding after childbirth), infections (usually after childbirth), high blood pressure during pregnancy (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia)(6). By ignoring these important health conditions, the Report gives a biased view of causality in this health emergency for mothers and children. Additional evidence-based determinants of maternal morbidity and mortality have been identified as weaknesses in health infrastructure, including absence of a skilled birth attendant during the birth process, unsanitary medical environment, lack or insufficiency of emergency medical and surgical facilities and supplies, including antibiotics and surgical gloves. Consequently, a lot of maternal deaths are preventable with basic health care, adequate nutrition and competent obstetric care throughout pregnancy, delivery and postpartum.

With regard to ensuring “universal access ... in the national plan – as essential for improving maternal health”, the Report points to “management of unintended pregnancies, including access to safe abortion services, wherever legal ...” as a major component in assuring maternal health and includes abortifacients, such as misoprostol and mifepristone, as essential medicines to be included in the facilitation of universal access. Thus the Report seems to give abortion, the main aim of which is to terminate the life of a child, precedence over such urgent interventions aimed at saving the lives of both mothers and children as “appropriate antenatal care; detection of domestic violence; management of pre-labour rupture of membranes and pre-term labour; induction of labour for prolonged pregnancy; prevention and management of post-partum hemorrhage; caesarean sections; and appropriate post-partum care.”

My Delegation wishes to register additional serious concerns with regard to the recommendations in the High Commissioner’s Report that promote access to so- called “emergency contraceptives” and to so-called “safe abortion care”. Re-affirming that human life begins at the moment of conception and that life must be defended and protected, the Holy See can never condone abortion or policies that favour abortion.(7)

Moreover, the Holy See “does not consider abortion or abortion services to be a dimension of reproductive health or reproductive health services ... [nor does it] endorse any form of legislation which gives legal recognition to abortion,”(8) which is the very antithesis of human rights.

With regard to the frequent references in the Report to the expression terms “sexual and reproductive health and rights”, the Holy See points out that such a totally unbalanced attention to sexual and reproductive health fails to address the complex and underlying causes responsible for maternal mortality and morbidity (9) in an integrated and complete manner and in a way that respects the full dignity of all members of the family.

In similar regard, my Delegation wishes to express concern about the claim advanced in this Report that “if abortion laws are overly restrictive, responses by providers, police and other actors can discourage care-seeking behaviour,” thus implying that the lack of so-called “legal” abortion is a cause of maternal mortality. This statement is unfounded and lacked citation of any evidence to demonstrate its validity. In fact, in a 2010 Report by the World Health Organization, contrary evidence can be found, namely that, during 2008, three countries that permitted “legal” abortion, i.e., Guyana, Ethiopia, and Nepal, had significantly higher numbers of maternal deaths per 100,000 births, than three countries, from their respective regions, that did not allow abortion, i.e., Chile, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka.(10)

A final concern from my Delegation relates to the recommendation in the Report that national plans “should address improved access for adolescents to comprehensive sexuality education, sexual and reproductive health information and care, including family planning.” This recommendation fails to recognize the role of parents. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes that “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children” (Article 26.3). Thus my Delegation maintains that “parents must be always free to transmit to their children responsibly and without constraints, their heritage of faith, values, and culture”(11), as well as the need for all rights to be accompanied by concomitant responsibilities. Moreover, the Holy See wishes to point out the role of parents in educating their children in authentic human love as self-giving in communion and friendship with God and others through the exercise of authentic freedom and respect for one’s own body and those of others. Lastly, it is essential the involvement of parents in witnessing and teaching to their children that the self-giving in married love of a man and a woman expresses itself through the body, the complementarity and totality of self-giving, and that such sexual giving belongs to this married love, and to this love alone Any national plan or recommendation advanced by the High Commissioner or by this Human Rights Council cannot and should not ignore or bypass parents’ rights.

Thank you, Madame President.

1Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, 25th June 1993, article 47.

2 Deaths due to maternal conditions = deaths of women during pregnancy, childbirth, or in the 42 days after delivery. A maternal death is defined as "the death of a women while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes." (Source: Trends in maternal mortality 1990-2008: estimates developed by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and the World Bank. Geneva, WHO 2010. )

3World Health Organization, et al., Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2010 (Geneva: World Health Organization, 2012).

4 Technical Guidance on the Application of a Human Rights Based Approach to Implementation of Policies and Programmes to Reduce Maternal Morbidity and Mortality: Report of the Office of the UnitedNationsHighCommissionerforHumanRights A/HRC/21/22.

5 Op. cit., para. 14, under general principles section)

6 http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs348/en/index.html

7cf., Statement of the Holy See at the Concluding Session of the 21st Special Session of the General Assembly for the Overall Review and Appraisal of the Implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development New York, 2 July 1999.

8cf., Reservations and Statement of Interpretation by the Holy See Delegation during concluding session of the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 15 September 1995, http://www.its.caltech.edu/~nmcenter/women-cp/beijing3.html

9cf., Final Statement of the Holy See Delegation to the 4th World Conference on Women, Beijing, 15 September 1995, as recorded in Report of the 4th World Conference on Women, Beijing, 1995 www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/pdf/Beijing%20full%20report%20E.pdf

10World Health Organization, et al., Trends in Maternal Mortality, 1990 to 2008 (Geneva, World Health Organization, 2010), p. 33.

11Message of Pope Benedict XVI on the World Day of Peace, 1 January 2011.

Bonny proposals not so bonny

Zenit news agency reports today on the work of our pro-family and pro-life coalition, Voice of the Family, and in particular our criticism of the Bishop of Antwerp Johan Bonny and the fact that his open letter appears to be totally contrary to Catholic teaching and to endorse the use of IVF which typically involves the destruction of human embryos.

Bonny in his open letter ;

▪                denies the reality of moral absolutes in the name of ‘proportionalism’, an approach to morality always condemned by the Church

▪                contradicts those teachings of the Second Vatican Council which uphold objective morality and moral absolutes, including in the area of sexual ethics

▪                quotes selectively from the Second Vatican Council, omitting crucial material which rejects the bishop’s approach

▪                rejects natural moral law, which the Church has upheld throughout its history

▪                effectively denies the indissolubility of marriage, by reducing it to the subjective decisions of couples

▪                offers no real support for couples in difficult situations

▪                ignores the needs of children, including the need to be protected from damaging effects of parents’ irregular situations

▪                gives no criteria for worthiness to receive Holy Communion, and no explanation how mortal sin could possibly be compatible with receiving Holy Communion

▪                fails to define ‘conscience’, even though it is a key topic in the Letter

▪                appears to endorse use of IVF, despite the fact that IVF has been repeatedly condemned by the Church, and typically involves the destruction of human life

implies support for the myth of world ‘over-population’.

Pope Francis on the “guideline we need for this point in history.”

Pope Francis in the letter to the Argentinian Bishops says that the “guideline we need for this point in history,” is a document called the Apareceida which deals among other issues with Eucharistic coherence and is very clear that legislators cannot receive holy communion and at the same time act with deeds or words against the commandments, particularly when abortion, euthanasia, and other grave crimes against life and family are encouraged.

Paragraph 436 reads as follows:

“436: We hope that legislators, heads of government, and health professionals, conscious of the dignity of human life and of the rootedness of the family in our peoples, will defend and protect it from the abominable crimes of abortion and euthanasia; that is their responsibility. Hence, in response to government laws and provisions that are unjust in the light of faith and reason, conscientious objection should be encouraged. We must adhere to “eucharistic coherence,” that is, be conscious that they cannot receive holy communion and at the same time act with deeds or words against the commandments, particularly when abortion, euthanasia, and other grave crimes against life and family are encouraged. This responsibility weighs particularly over legislators, heads of governments, and health professionals.”

This has serious implications for Ireland’s Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who has just introduced draft abortion legislation and for all Catholic TDs who will vote on the issue.

UNJUST LAWS ARE SELF-DESTRUCTING: “The Infant in the Womb is not a Disease but a gift of New Human Life”

H. E. RAYMOND CARDINAL BURKE ON ABORTION:  UNJUST LAWS ARE SELF-DESTRUCTING

“The Infant in the Womb is not a Disease but a gift of New Human Life”

Ireland United for Life has welcomed recent comments on the abortion issue by His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura:  “The fight is certainly winnable” he said, pointing out that Catholic politicians have a responsibility to promote Life and Family, and that they should oppose abortion legislation and prevent legislation abandoning our Pro-Life position.  “A Nation with unjust laws becomes ever-more corrupt and ever-more threatened with self-destruction” he said.

Speaking specifically about Ireland, he warned that abandoning our Pro-Life position and decriminalising abortion will develop a culture against Life.  Catholics need to listen to Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, who has addressed this fundamental issue so frequently, His Eminence, one of the foremost Canon Lawyers of the Catholic Church, gave his comments during a recent interview on American station Ave Maria Radio.

In a separate interview with Irish Newspaper ‘Catholic Voice’ of 3rd February, Cardinal Burke is quoted:  “Abortion has nothing to do with healthcare, the infant in the womb is not a disease but a gift of new human life. ……The taking of an innocent and defenceless human life can never be right, can never be justified.  Therefore, to decriminalize abortion is a contradiction of the most fundamental principles of the legal system, the principle that human life is to be safeguarded and defended at all times”.

Canon 915 – For Those in Public Office:

Speaking in relation to Canon 915, which deals with those in Public Office, he stated “… and Catholic politicians have a particularly heavy responsibility in our Nation by their political activity, to promote human life and to promote the family -  and those Catholic politicians who obstinately promote anti-life and anti-family legislation, for instance, who support and vote for legislation, who make procured abortion more readily available, … and other such violations of the Moral Law, this is a very grave sin and once they’re warned, they should not present themselves any more to receive Holy Communion until they have amended their ways.”  He continued “It’s a very grave sin in itself, it risks their own eternal punishment for having committed so grave a sin …”

Speaking Specifically about Ireland, he said:

“Ireland has been steadfast in upholding the inviolable dignity of human life and one can’t help but also note that Ireland is  one of the safest countries in the world, if not the safest, for ….care of women and also for safe delivery of babies and so forth.  The medical field in Ireland especially in the area of gynaecology and obstetrics, is very advanced.  If through any bad decision, Ireland should abandon its strong position against abortion, it will simply go down a road that many countries have already gone down, including our own.

Once abortion is decriminalized it becomes an ever expanding reality in society and it generates a whole culture of death as we’ve experienced and it’s been experienced in other countries where abortion is possible ‘on demand’ as they say. So it’s a critical moment for Ireland, it’s not only for Ireland itself but it’ll also be a critical moment for Her to give a witness to the whole world with regard to this fundamental issue, which Our Holy Father has addressed so frequently, which the Bishops of Ireland are addressing to the people now and the good Catholics need to listen to Our Holy Father as the One who has received the Grace to be the Teacher of the Universal Church, and to their Bishops with regard to these important matters for the Common Good.”

Concluding, he added “I fear very much for Ireland should it accept abortion, or what it will mean for a Nation which, in fact, has been so much in the forefront in protecting human life ….”

Mrs. M. Morgan-Dupré

Secretary:  Ireland United For Life

The importance of Humanae Vitae

Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth in the UK in his Pastoral letter for the Feast of the Holy Family turned his attention to the 1968 Encyclical of Pope Paul VI Humanae Vitae.

Bishop Egan Writes;

In 1968, at the height of the Sixties, Pope Paul VI wrote an Encyclical Letter that then and now many Catholics find difficult. He repeated the traditional teaching of the Church, based on the natural law and confirmed by revelation, that sexual intercourse is an integral act for love and for life, and that these two aspects of sexuality – love and life - cannot be divorced. Humanae Vitae was a prophetic document. Pope Paul spoke of catastrophic consequences for society and culture if these two ends of marriage were split. 45 years on, we can see what he meant in such things as the reduction of sex to a leisure activity, the trafficking of people for prostitution and pornography, broken family relationships, and the explosion of addictive behaviours leading to despair, shame and guilt.

As Catholics, we believe in the natural way of life. We believe that the purpose of sexual intercourse is to express the love between a man and a woman, a love which, within the permanent commitment of marriage, is open to being fruitful to life. This is the way to lasting happiness and fulfilment, even if to become chaste - that is, to develop a mature and fully integrated sexuality, as a single person or a married couple - involves a life-long struggle and “apprenticeship in self-mastery”. To help us, Jesus calls us to be his disciples, and offers us the healing balm and the strength we need, above all in confession and Holy Communion.

Jesus Christ is the way to personal happiness and authentic humanism. Sadly, the teaching of Humanae Vitae about sexual morality and family values has become something of an ‘elephant in the room’ that no-one seems to mention. In this Year of Faith then, I would like to invite everyone to discover again the Church's wonderful vision of love and life, as expounded in the Catechism. I would also like to ask all families, whatever their form or circumstances, to think about developing a deeper and richer Catholic ethos in the home, so as to give a clearer witness to contemporary culture. For instance, why not spend an evening together as a family, occasionally switch off the computer, make the Sign of the Cross on entering the house, adopt a communal work of justice and charity, or keep special the fast-days and feast-days? I am sure you will think of many other ways of preserving our Catholic distinctiveness.

This encyclical which reaffirmed the Church’s constant teaching on the regulation of births is perhaps the most misunderstood papal encyclical. It simply teaches the truth about human sexuality, a truth which was (and still is) unpalatable to many, a truth that became the spark which led to decades of doubt and dissent among many Catholics, plunging us into what Pope John Paul II so aptly called the “culture of Death.”

Denounced by critics inside and outside the Church, Humanae Vitae has nevertheless proved to be chillingly prophetic in its warnings. Now over forty years later this encyclical is more relevant than ever.

The Encyclical warned of four trends which would occur if the use of artificial contraception became widespread. 

• First it claimed there would be a general lowering of moral standards throughout society. 
• The second claim was that there would be a rise in infidelity. 
• The third claim was that there would be a lessening of respect for women by men, and 
• finally that it would lead to the coercive use of reproductive technologies by governments. 

Any truthful analysis of modern society will clearly show that all of these predictions have come to pass, each with its own drastic consequences, the moral destruction of society Paul VI warned about in his encyclical can be seen all around us.

Response to media criticism of Pope Benedict XVI on the HIV/AIDS issue

The media never miss an opportunity to criticise Pope Benedict XVI and the Catholic Church particularly when it comes to issues such as  HIV/AIDS and the use of condoms

Predictably at the outset of the recent High Level Conference on HIV/AIDS in New York the Guardian had an opinion piece by Nancy Goldstein in which she castigates Pope Benedict for the Catholic Church's stance. Of course in doing so she sublimely ignores the fact that the Catholic Church is actually present on the ground in third world countries caring for and assisting those who are infected by this dreadful scourge.

Zenit.Org has this week published a response by law professor Jane Adolphe to the Goldstein article in which she highlights the truth about Catholic teaching, points out that the key to avoid disease is the avoidance of risky behaviours, and why this is in fact the only adequate response to the issue. Professor Adolphe's article is titled  "WHAT THE POPE HAS TO SAY ABOUT WOMEN AND HIV/AIDS"

This opinion piece is in response to Nancy Goldstein's discussion of the debate occurring at the United Nations over the drafting of the Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS (See "Why Wont the Pope let Women Protect themselves from HIV” June 8, Guardian).

She criticizes Benedict XVI (otherwise known as the Holy See in international law) for having an all-male delegation, but in fact, the delegation contained three women, two of whom were law professors. She also implies that the Pope is anti-woman, when in fact he strongly promotes respect for the inherent dignity of women and girls in fundamental documents, as well as in his catechesis, speeches, messages, homilies, conferences and other activities. Moreover, one of the Vatican's dicasteries, the Pontifical Council for the Laity, has a section devoted to the Study of the Dignity and Vocation of Women, where it implements teachings with particular attention to the equal dignity of man and woman. 

The Pope maintains that there are "deep fundamental anthropological truths of man and woman, the equality of their dignity and the unity of both, the well rooted and profound diversity between the masculine and the feminine and their vocation to reciprocity and complementarity, to collaboration and to communion" (Benedict XVI's address to the conference "Woman and Man, the Humanum in its Entirety," 2008; cf. Pope John Paul II, "Mulieris Dignitatem," 1988, No. 6). In this way, the Pope avoids an indistinct uniformity between women and men, which constitutes a dull and impoverishing equality and counters an understanding of the relationship between women and men that pits one against the other in an endless struggle for power.

He underlines that women bear the brunt of the negative consequences associated with a denial of the complementarity of man and woman, which often dovetails into a disordered view of masculinity, and autonomy. He acknowledges the "disheartening" results flowing from the simple fact of being a female, and the reduced likelihood of: being born, surviving childhood, avoiding violence, receiving adequate nutrition, obtaining an education, accessing basic health care as well as evading HIV and AIDS (cf. Pope John Paul II, Address to Members of the Holy See Delegation to the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 1995; See also Address of Pope Benedict XVI to the Participants of the Fifth General Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops' Conferences, Brazil, 2007).

The Pope promotes a values-based response to HIV and AIDs, which focuses on risk-elimination through: abstinence before marriage and mutual fidelity in marriage, avoiding risk-taking behaviors, and promoting universal access to drugs that prevent the spread of HIV from mother-to-child. In regard to prevention, Benedict XVI does not try to convince women that irresponsible sexual behavior or risky and dangerous encounters form part of an acceptable lifestyle. Rather, he encourages every human person to live in conformity with norms of the natural moral order, an approach that respects fully the inherent dignity of the human person by nature endowed with reason and conscience having rights and responsibilities to self, others and the community. By the way, this position is fully in conformity with international human rights law (e.g. cf. et al. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, preamble para. 1, arts. 1, 29). 

In brief, the Holy Father first and foremost supports character formation and education toward proper behavior, as the key to avoiding the disease. The starting point is that the women and men can and should change irresponsible behavior. The contrary position would accept such behavior, at all costs, and then emphasize simply risk reduction (e.g. condom use or clean needles), as if persons were somehow incapable of breaking free from engaging in self-destructive behavior.

Jane Adolphe is an associate professor of law at Ave Maria School of Law, Naples, Florida. She was a member of the Holy See's delegation to the June 10 meeting at the United Nations on HIV/AIDS.

Spain's King Juan Carlos signs new abortion legislation

We reported in Dec 2009 and January 2010 on the recently approved wide-ranging abortion law approved by the Spanish Government.

The final act needed for the new legislation to enter into force was the signature of the Spanish King Juan Carlos
Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, said

"The world is watching to see whether Spain's Head of State, Juan Carlos de Borbón, will abdicate his moral leadership of the nation and sign the death warrants of millions more Spanish babies who will be killed by abortion," he told LifeNews.com. "He has already been complicit, by his signature, in the deaths of millions in the first abortion law he signed in 1985."

Monsignor Ignacio Barreiro in a new statement says that by signing the act the Spanish King automatically excommunicated himself from the Catholic Church

The full text of Monsignor Barreiro's article is reprinted below

We are very much disappointed to hear of the Spanish Head of State's signature of this terrible law that expands in a significant way the amount of children that can be killed by abortion. Yet, because he has signed other legislation in the past that undermines the moral law and Catholic teaching, this sad decision does not come as a surprise.

We reiterate that regardless of his constitutional status, Juan Carlos de Borbón absolutely retains the basic human right to follow his properly formed conscience. It should be evident to any person of good will, that positive law cannot remove this fundamental freedom for any human person, much less for a person that should be the moral guide of his nation. We have to remember that the legitimacy of a King is grounded in the way in which he follows the Law of God. Other European royalty have recently demonstrated both the awareness of this basic moral precept and the courage to abstain from endorsing unjust laws. So while Spanish positive law may require his endorsement, both natural and divine law require that he reject the endorsement of any immoral legislation, especially that which will result in the deaths of untold numbers of unborn human beings.

We have to remember that in 2005 when the current Head of State sanctioned a law authorizing same sex marriage this office presented this same line of argumentation to the Spanish authorities.

Further, we believe that Juan Carlos de Borbón has incurred a laetae sententiae excommunication, as his action directly resulted in the enactment of this gravely immoral expansion of abortion. (We draw this conclusion logically from the clear teaching of the Church as articulated by Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke, the current Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, Canon 915: The Discipline Regarding the Denial of Holy Communion to Those Obstinately Persevering in Manifest Grave Sin, Periodica De Re Canonica, vol. 96 (2007) pp. 3-58.)

In the wake of last year's Recife Affair, wherein the mere appearance of vacillation on the Church's unchangeable teaching on abortion was used by pro-abortion extremists to forward their cause, it is more important than ever for the Church to clearly articulate the consequences of such capitulation by public figures with regard to abortion.

Last but not least we ask for prayers for the conversion of the current Head of State of Spain. May he return to the Faith that was practised by many of his ancestors in better centuries, before the entry in Spain of liberal ideology.

Archbishop Raymond Burke to visit Ireland

Archbishop Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura at the Vatican, will be travelling to Ireland this month, visiting Cork and Dublin. Because of his forthright defence of the teachings of the Catholic Church, particularly on ethical and moral issues, Archbishop Burke has been dubbed ‘the new John Fisher for our times’.

[At the time of King Henry VIII of England, Cardinal St. John Fisher was the only one of the English bishops of that time who stood up to the King in the matter of his divorce and his claim as ‘Head’ of the Church in England.]

Archbishop Burke has stated that:

‘So serious is the moral obligation to avoid scandal that we are admonished not only not to do wrong but also not to appear to do wrong. When a person acts, he or she must always consider the appearance of the act to be done.’

He said this in relation to the reception of Holy Communion by those Catholics – and, in particular, Catholic politicians – who advocate or vote for or in any way participate in the promotion of abortion.
However, his admonishment can also be applied to other matters of public interest, as can the statement he made when addressing the Institute on Religious Life’s national meeting at Mundelein Seminary, Illinois (USA) recently, and commenting on the scandal of a nun in a maternity hospital endorsing the carrying out of an abortion:

‘Who could imagine that consecrated religious would openly, and in defiance of the bishops as successors of the apostles publicly endorse legislation containing provisions which violated the natural moral law in its most fundamental tenets – the safeguarding and promoting of innocence and defenceless life, and fail to safeguard the demands of the free exercise of conscience for health care workers?’

In this regard, a reading of the Vatican document on the Participation of Catholics in Political Life is strongly recommended.

Analysis of Irish Government proposed legislation on abortion, prepared by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children SPUC

We recently published our first draft of an analysis of the Irish Government’s proposed legislation on abortion in conjunction with the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC). We have since then continued along with SPUC to work on our analysis and now link to John Smeaton’sBLOG and to our joint final report.

John Smeaton writes

I have no doubt that the Irish government's legislative proposals on abortion will be used by the international pro-abortion lobby, worldwide, as a "model" for majority Catholic countries. It's essential that pro-life citizens, politicians and church leaders worldwide study this Bill - not least SPUC's full analysis of it http://www.spuc.org.uk/documents/papers/2013/ireland20130524

Deceptively entitled Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill 2013 (my emphasis) the Irish Government’s legislative proposals strip the right to life from children before, and even during, birth in a broad range of circumstances.

Their Bill will compel all maternity hospitals, including Catholic hospitals, to provide abortions. It will greatly increase the small number of abortions of questionable legality which are performed annually in Ireland.

It is urgently necessary that Catholic politicians are warned that support for the legislation would be contrary to Catholic teaching. In particular Catholics supporting these legislative proposals should be warned not to receive Holy Communion. Furthermore Catholic hospitals should be forbidden by Ireland’s bishops to provide abortion, if the legislative proposals are enacted.

In brief: 

The Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill (2013) if passed will mark a radical change in Ireland's abortion law. In many aspects the Bill is more permissive than the British Abortion Act (1967):

It repeals the comprehensive protection of unborn children under the Offences Against the Person Act (1861). It strips the right to life from children before, and even during, birth in a broad range of circumstances. Threats to life need not be inevitable or immediate.

It permits abortion on the grounds of suicidal ideation – once again, even when a threat of suicide is neither inevitable nor immediate.

Its numerous inconsistencies and ill-defined terms (eg "good faith", "reasonable opinion" and "due regard") render the Bill's limited protection of children virtually unenforceable.

The Bill fails to consider developments in science and legal precedent:

Its arbitrary and unscientific definition of "unborn" excludes all unimplanted embryos conceived naturally or by artificial means leaving such embryos vulnerable to exploitation.

This definition ignores the implications of recent Irish case-law which identifies the point of genetic fusion of parental DNA (ie fertilisation, not implantation) as decisive in establishing motherhood.

The Bill violates rights guaranteed by the Irish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, including the equal right to life and freedom of conscience:

It will compel medical personnel to participate in abortion in some ways, while offering no protection to other professionals.

It will compel maternity hospitals, including Catholic hospitals, to provide abortions.

It legalises abortion without the consent of a pregnant woman in undefined “emergency” situations.

This Bill is so dangerously and deeply flawed that successful amendment of it is impossible. It should therefore be withdrawn in its entirety. If passed, this Bill will hugely increase the number of abortions carried out in Ireland. It is, without doubt, a Bill proposing a clearly unjust law and it must be resisted at every level.

Standing ovation by Nigerian Bishops for UK pro-life leader's tough words

Continuing our series on the Nigerian pro-life conference held in Abuja, Nigeria, on June 5^th and 6, we report that Nigeria's Catholic bishops gave John Smeaton chief executive of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), a standing ovation following his address tough words at a dinner at the end of the first day of the conference which was organised by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria.

Mr. Smeaton praised Nigeria's pro-family culture saying:

[…] “Nigeria’s true wealth […] can be found in its fertility rate, which is more than five children per woman of child-bearing age, in contrast to the UK's rate of less than two. That’s why many politicians and institutions in powerful Western nations are afraid of Nigeria and want to interfere with laws and policies which affect women and children in particular."

Referring to the Nigeria's Catholic bishops Mr. Smeaton said:

"Nigeria's wealth is also reflected in the moral leadership given by Catholic Church leaders in Nigeria. Your opposition in 2010 to the African Union’s pro-abortion Maputo Protocol, led by His Eminence John Onaiyekan, the cardinal archbishop of Abuja, reverberated around the world ... Earlier this year, you, the Catholic bishops of Nigeria publicly thanked Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria's president, for signing into law the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill, 2011".

Mr Smeaton continued:

"As a pro-life leader, as a Catholic parent, I am very grateful to the Nigerian Catholic Bishops for your defence of our families. You are following the example of St. Charles Lwanga and his companions. Standing up against the worldwide homosexual agenda is crucial for the protection of children and it is a fundamental pro-life issue. Bishops around the world should follow the Nigerian bishops' lead and speak out for strong policies against the subversion of the truth and meaning of human sexuality."

Warning again about Western interference in Africa, Mr. Smeaton said:

"The British Prime Minister, David Cameron has threatened to withhold UK aid from poor countries that do not conform saying in connection with the homosexual rights agenda, and I quote: 'British aid should have more strings attached'." Just a few weeks ago, last April, Nigeria’s permanent representative at the UN, Ambassador Joy Ogwu, came under attack from International Planned Federation for opposing abortion on behalf of the Nigerian delegation at the UN."

Pointing out that "the pro-life movement cannot defeat the culture of death on our own", Mr Smeaton called for:

"pro-life organizations and the wider community [to] be fortified by unequivocal, unyielding voices of Catholic Church officials and bishops throughout the world. I implore all Catholic bishops throughout the world to speak out clearly and categorically that politicians who vote for and publicly support abortion legislation must publicly retract and refute the position they have adopted before receiving Jesus Christ in Holy Communion".

Mr Smeaton observed that:

"many leaders of faithful Christian and pro-life, pro-family organizations have found" absoluteness "severely lacking in Catholic leadership today ... In its place we have weakness and compromise."

This lack of absoluteness on the teaching of Humanae Vitae (Pope Paul VI's encyclical against contraception) has had a negative impact on the pro-life fight, because "the use of contraception undermines respect for the sanctity of human life from conception and makes abortion an option", said Mr. Smeaton.