Friday 31 October 2014

Population control won't save the planet, admit experts

Professor Corey Bradshaw
Top stories:

Population control won't save the planet, admit experts
Population control will not cure the so-called ‘crisis’ of a perceived shortage of resources for future generations, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Professor Corey Bradshaw from the University of Adelaide said: "Even if we had a third world war in the middle of this century, you would barely make a dent in the trajectory over the next 100 years" [BBC, 27 October] Scientists such as the late Julian Simon argued that a growing population would adapt to the growing number of humans on the planet.

Safe at School condemns government plans on alleged homophobic bullying
SPUC's Safe at School campaign has condemned plans to sink £2 million into dealing with alleged homophobic bullying in schools. The move was announced by Nicky Morgan, the education secretary, in an interview with a homosexual news service. Antonia Tully of Safe at School said: "Tax-paying parents will soon become aware that their money is actually being spent on the promotion of homosexuality. [SPUC, 29 October]

Mother speaks after legal battle to kill daughter
The mother has spoken of her relief after winning a legal battle to allow her disabled daughter to be dehydrated to death. Charlotte Fitzmaurice said: "Although I will live with the guilt forever, I know I have done everything I can for her and she is at peace." Nancy, her daughter, was not terminally-ill and was able to breathe unaided. Dr Andrew Ferguson, chairman of Care Not Killing, said: "It is never ethical to speed up the process of dying by any intervention which has the primary intention to end life".  [Express, 27 October]

Legal bid launched against sex-selective abortions
The Christian Legal Centre is backing a legal bid by a young pro-life activist against the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Aisling Hupert instructed solicitors to bring action after it was announced that the CPS would not press charges against two medics who were filmed by undercover journalists, agreeing to abort babies because they were girls. Andrew Minichello Williams, director of the Christian Legal Centre said: "The Director of Public Prosecutions has refused to enforce the law and this sends the wrong message to the medical world. This case shines a spotlight on this grave injustice against women." [Telegraph, 24 October]

Other stories:

Abortion
Embryology
Same-sex marriage
General
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Wednesday 29 October 2014

Safe at School condemns government plans on alleged homophobic bullying

Nicky Morgan (centre) with Luke Tryl, her special advisor and gay activist

SPUC's Safe at School campaign has condemned plans to sink £2 million into dealing with alleged homophobic bullying in schools.

See "Government to fund campaign to stamp out anti-gay bullying in schools", Telegraph, 29 October 2014 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11193812/Government-to-fund-campaign-to-stamp-out-anti-gay-bullying-in-schools.html)

Safe at School supports parents who object to inappropriate sex education.

Antonia Tully of Safe at School told the media earlier today:
"Tax-paying parents will soon become aware that their money is actually being spent on the promotion of homosexuality. This has certainly been the experience of parents at Welford Primary School in Birmingham, who are protesting against the introduction of a teaching programme named Challenging Homophobia in Primary Schools (CHIPS). CHIPS was introduced without any parental consultation and many parents in the school are worried sick about what their children are being taught."  
The CHIPS programme includes getting six and seven year-old children to design a dress for a "princess boy", getting little girls of six to role play lesbian mothers, and showing 10-11 year old children a news report about a transgender six year-old. See the related press release Birmingham parents call on Council to get CHIPS out of their school A review of CHIPS can be read online.

The stress on homophobic bullying could result in other incidents of bullying being overlooked. In 2012 Ofsted brought out a report:  "No place for bullying" http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/no-place-for-bullying This report placed a great emphasis on homophobic bullying. Yet in Ofsted's sample of 1,060 pupils, children and teenagers spoke of being bullied for being too clever, having a learning disability, being too fat and wearing glasses, among other things. Ofsted could only find three primary school and five secondary school pupils seemingly bullied over sexuality.

Antonia concluded:
"We're advising parents to insist that any advice given by the new government-funded advisers does not indoctrinate children or undermine parents."
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Thursday 23 October 2014

Please join us in a minute's silence on Monday for unborn children

Rhoslyn Thomas, SPUC's youth officer, has initiated a call for people to hold a one minute silence on Monday for unborn children. Here are the details, courtesy of Rhoslyn:
On Monday 27 October, we commemorate the 47th anniversary of Royal Assent given to the Abortion Act by Queen Elizabeth II. Royal Assent is approval of a law passed by a nation’s parliament, given by the constitutional monarch.

We will be holding a minute’s silence on Monday, 27 October 2014 (this Monday) at 11.04am (the time when Royal Assent was given) to remember the (over) 8 million unborn babies (including those aborted in Scotland), who have been killed in the womb since the passing of the Abortion Act.

In 2013, 190,800 unborn babies were aborted in England and Wales under the Abortion Act – at least 550 a day, including non-residents. The highest rate of abortion was among women aged 22 years old. 773 abortions was carried out on mothers under the age of 15 and 81% of abortions were carried out on mothers who described themselves as single. 98% of abortions were funded by the NHS including those in private abortion centres such as the BPAS.

These figures demonstrate why the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children exists and why we need to continue to fight for the unborn and for the family, as a whole. More than ever, we see attacks on all sides to destroy the family as it has always been known: one man and one woman, joined together in matrimony in order to raise the children given to them. Absolute respect for all human life from the moment of conception to the last moment before natural death is the overall objective of SPUC.

Many countries, not least those countries which are part of the Commonwealth, look to Britain for leadership on issues concerning the family. Both David Cameron and Ed Miliband have publicly stated that they intend to export same-sex marriage to other countries and Cameron has even said, “British aid should have more strings attached”. What is passed or rejected in Britain concerning the family has international repercussions.

SPUC invites everyone to hold a minute’s silence in honour of the children who will never be born and who will never know what it is to be loved in this life. We also remember the mothers and fathers who have made this tragic mistake which has also damaged them. We honour as well all those mothers and fathers who have withstood enormous pressures and have given their babies the best chance of life by respecting their right to be born.
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New guidelines help schools support parents in sex education

SPUC's Safe at School has produced new guidelines for primary schools entitled Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) for today's primary school children https://www.spuc.org.uk/campaigns/safeatschool/sreprimary201409

This new publication promotes good practice in primary schools where parents are the main educators of their children in sexual matters and where schools have a key role in supporting parents. The guidelines build on the current government guidance, Sex and Relationship Education Guidance – DfEE 0116/2000.

Amid the increasingly loud calls for compulsory PSHE and sex education, SPUC Safe at School is calling for parents to be re-established as the primary educators of their children in sexual matters.

The new guidelines highlight the changes to the primary science curriculum which make clear that sexual matters are not covered in science lessons. Many primary schools interpreted the old national curriculum for primary science to mean that explicit details of sex had to be taught in science lessons, from which parents cannot withdraw their children. This amounted to compulsory sex education by the back door. However the new national curriculum clarifies that sexual matters are not part of primary school science classes.

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Tuesday 21 October 2014

Report on SPUC support for the pro-life movement in Slovenia

Slovenia 201410
Leonora, Margaret, Rhoslyn
Rhoslyn Thomas, SPUC’s youth & education officer, has kindly sent me the following report of SPUC's visit to the pro-life movement in Slovenia:
From 2-6 October, Leonora Blackhall, SPUC Scotland’s education officer, Margaret Byars of ARCH (Abortion Recovery Care and Helpline) and Rhoslyn Thomas, SPUC’s youth & education officer, travelled to Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia. The aim of the trip was to support a local, newly-established pro-life group named Božji otroci (God’s Children), in their demonstration against the International Federation of Professional Abortion and Contraception Associates (acronym FIAPAC).

FIAPC were holding their bi-annual conference in Ljubljana. SPUC supporters may remember that SPUC Scotland protested against FIAPC's presence in Edinburgh in 2012.

Valentina Pikelj (left) leads the march
Valentina Pikelj is the founder and head of God’s Children. She became pro-life when she quit her job as a civil engineer to train as a nurse. During her training, she met nurses who felt forced to distribute abortion pills to mothers and had to witness the death of babies who had been delivered at 20 weeks and left to die. On one occasion, Valentina came into contact with a mother who decided to give up her baby for adoption. Valentina heard the other nurses asking why this mother hadn’t just aborted the child instead.

Valentina felt useless in the fight against the culture of abortion that she had witnessed, but after participating in a campaign to oppose a law which would have allowed same-sex couples to adopt children, she came to the conclusion that something had to be done about abortion in Slovenia.

18 months ago, Valentina founded God’s Children, which enjoys a central location in Ljubljana, thanks to a supporter who allows use of the office. Božji otroci provide counselling services to mothers considering abortion and, through a small network of supporters, also provide material support such as baby clothes, cots and prams.

God’s Children’s is still in its infancy as a group, but it nevertheless managed to organise a day of praise and worship in the square opposite their office the weekend before the FIAPAC conference which, by their own estimate, attracted some 1,000 people. The day was advertised as Christian event rather than an explicitly pro-life event, but nonetheless included testimonies on abortion throughout the day.

God’s Children then organised a march the following weekend which processed through the city centre to the cultural centre where FIAPAC’s conference was being held. Outside the centre, participants prayed the Rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet together, whilst a separate un-affiliated pro-life group, led by Todd Hunnicutt, a minister for the International Church of Ljubljana (an independent church) stood closer to the entrance, holding pictures of aborted babies.

The representatives from SPUC returned to the conference centre the following day to pray and witness outside the centre once more, where they were passed by the FIAPAC conference delegates leaving for lunch. Some of them, it was noted with sadness, were clearly delegates from Ireland.

Titles of talks at the FIAPAC conference (the conference programme can be found here) were many and varied, including one delivered by Ann Furedi, Director of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), entitled ‘Safe abortion – a moral obligation: why is it so difficult to follow the evidence?’ and another by a representative of Marie Stopes International, ‘Marie Stopes International UK Abortion Study: The association between choice of method of abortion, postabortion contraception and the risk of having another unintended pregnancy’.

Furedi also co-chaired a workshop with a representative of Catholics for Choice entitled, ‘The value of our values in reproductive choice’.

It is believed that the conference had around 100 attendees and had numerous sponsors, including the World Health Organisation, IPAS and BPAS. More surprisingly, Cambridge University Press was also a sponsor.

Though the pro-life movement is very young in Slovenia, God’s Children know of at least four babies and mothers who have been saved from abortion through their efforts. They are very hopeful that with their prayers, many more happy ‘saves’ will occur in the future.
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Amnesty's attack on Northern Ireland abortion law is 'arrogant' says pro-life group SPUC

Criticism by Amnesty International of Northern Ireland’s legal protection for unborn children has been described as arrogant and anti-democratic by SPUC.

SPUC was responding to an opinion poll, commissioned by Amnesty International, which claims that over 70 percent of people in Britain believed Northern Ireland should change its abortion laws to fit in with the rest of the UK.

Liam Gibson, SPUC's development officer in Northern Ireland, told the media this morning:
"A public consultation on proposed changes in the law here will run until January 2015. We will see then just how accurate or not is Amnesty's opinion poll. I expect that the majority of those who respond will oppose the abortion of disabled babies, which is a lethal form of discrimination.

"The number of women from Northern Ireland seeking abortions in Britain continues to decline. Official figures show that it was just 802 in 2013, a  fall of nearly 50 percent from 2001.

"The elected representatives of the people of Northern Ireland have repeatedly rejected all attempts to introduce Britain's Abortion Act 1967 to the Province.

"The claim that there should only be one abortion law for the whole of the UK fails to recognise the movement toward even greater devolution of powers following the Scottish referendum.

"It is scandalous that a group like Amnesty International, which claims to promote human rights, should seek to strip unborn children of their right to life. For Amnesty to imply that Northern Ireland is somehow backward because we protect our children from abortion is extremely insulting. There is no right to abortion recognised in international law."
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Monday 20 October 2014

Welsh government advertises controversial organ donation law

Students in Wales are being informed of a new organ donation law by an advertising campaign from the Welsh government. The new law introduces a system of ‘deemed consent’, whereby anyone who has not explicitly removed themselves from the organ donation register may have their organs removed at death, or, in many cases, when the donor’s heart is still beating. SPUC campaigned against the Human Transplantation (Wales) 2013 Act, pointing out that consent has not been given if it is deemed. SPUC is particularly concerned for foreign students and those who take little interest in current affairs, who may not be aware of the law, even with an advertising campaign. [BBC, 13 October]

Baby boy with fatal tumour is saved by miracle surgery in the womb

A South African couple discovered that a benign tumour had grown on their unborn baby boy’s left lung, taking up 50% of the his lung space and causing fluid on the lungs, resulting in cardiac failure. However, the parents were offered a life-saving treatment for their baby, Ethan, which entailed surgery whilst he was still in the womb. The surgery was successful and was followed up with another operation after birth.  Ethan has now fully recovered from his treatment. [LifeNews.com, 16 October]

'Bucketlist' baby Shane born with anencephaly dies peacefully

A baby boy born with anencephaly has died after living for only a few hours. After Shane was diagnosed in the womb, his parents decided to draw up a 'bucketlist' for him – things they would like him to do before he is born and passes away. As babies with anencephaly usually live for only a hours or days after birth, Shane’s parents completed everything on the list and documented it online before Shane was born. Shane was born at 2:25am on 9 October and died in his parents' arms four hours later. [Fox News, 9 October]

Other stories:

Disability
  • Welfare reform minister says people with disabilities are "not worth" the minimum wage [Guardian, 15 October]
  • Former ballet dancer starts ballet class especially for children with Down’s Syndrome [LifeNews.com, 10 October]
Family issues
General
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Synod’s final report “fails to resolve confusion”, says pro-family coalition

The final report issued by the Extraordinary Synod on the Family fails to resolve the confusion caused by the Synod, says Voice of the Family http://voiceofthefamily.info an international coalition of pro-family groups.

Paragraphs containing controversial ideas on sexual morality remain in the published document, even though these paragraphs did not receive the required two-thirds majority of Synod members. The Vatican’s spokesmen made clear that these paragraphs remain subject to discussion at next year’s Ordinary Synod. Although the final report contains some significant improvements on the original draft, the voting numbers reveal that most Synod Fathers remain open to proposals contrary to Catholic teaching, such as Holy Communion for Catholics in invalid ‘second’ marriages.

Maria Madise, Voice of the Family’s coordinator, said:
“The architects of the Extraordinary Synod are responsible for deepening the confusion that has already damaged families since the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s. This confusion will now continue from today through to next year’s Ordinary Synod.

There has been much talk about ‘welcoming’ and ‘accompanying’ people, but this is impossible without the clarity of the truth.

Several Synod Fathers protested openly in the past days against manipulation by liberals among the Synod’s officials, such as Archbishop Bruno Forte. Gratitude and admiration is due to those Synod Fathers who – despite manipulation – voted to uphold Christ’s doctrine on Holy Matrimony and sexual purity.

We thank the many concerned Catholics who have told us that Voice of the Family is speaking up for them. We urge all those concerned to defend the family to join us as we start the long preparation for next year’s Ordinary Synod on the Family.”
 Related press releases by Voice of the Family:
Follow Voice of the Family via:
Voice of the Family is an international lay coalition of major pro-life and pro-family organizations that has formed to offer expertise and resources to leaders of the church, the media, NGOs, and governments before, during, and after the Catholic Church’s Synod on the Family.

Voice of the Family consists of 18 member organizations from nine nations on five continents. Members include:
The following truths are at the heart of Voice of the Family’s work:
  • Sacramental marriage, binding parents together in an indissoluble union, is the greatest protector of children both born and unborn.
  • The artificial separation of the unitive and procreative dimensions of the sexual act is a major catalyst of the culture of death.
  • Parents are the primary educators of their children and it is through the education and formation of parents, and future parents, that the culture of life will be built.
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Monday 13 October 2014

Extraordinary Synod mid-way statement is "one of the worst official documents in church history" says Voice of the Family

Voice of the Family has published a very strong statement opposing the mid-way statement from the Extraordinary Synod on the Family here in Rome. We have called it "one of the worst official documents drafted in Church history".

Pat Buckley, Voice of the Family's Irish representative says:
“The Synod’s mid-way report represents an attack on marriage and the family. For example, the report in effect gives a tacit approval of adulterous relationships, thereby contradicting the Sixth Commandment and the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ on the indissolubility of marriage."
Fortunately, many Synod Fathers - albeit not widely reported by the media - are standing up for the Catholic position on marriage and are courageously seeking to protect our families in their interventions at the Extraordinary Synod. For full reports and commentaries go to Voice of the Family and subscribe for our future posts.

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Friday 10 October 2014

Why the pro-life movement needs leadership from Catholic bishops

Last Tuesday I addressed the Lepanto Foundation in Rome.

My talk, which was well-received, addressed the following three key points:

– Pro-life movements must defend marriage

– Leading Catholic officials are cooperating with the ‘culture of death’

– The pro-life movement can only defeat the ‘culture of death’ when Catholic leaders join the pro-life battle

The full text of my talk can be found on the Voice of the Family website.

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Michael Voris of Church Militant TV pops into Voice of the Family's Rome HQ

It was good to have Michael Voris of Church Militant TV and his team pop into our Voice of the Family headquarters at the Salvatorian Motherhouse close to St Peter's in Rome where we're serving the Synod Fathers on the basis of the truths: that sacramental marriage, binding parents together in an indissoluble union, is the greatest protector of children both born and unborn; the artificial separation of the unitive and procreative dimensions of the sexual act is a major catalyst of the culture of death; parents are the primary educators of their children and it is through the education and formation of parents, and future parents, that the culture of life will be built. From left to right: John-Henry Westen of LifeSite News, Matthew McCusker and Maria Maria Joanna Madise of SPUC, Michael Voris, Matt and Charlie, of Church Militant TV and Patrick Buckley of SPUC.

Fortunately, many Synod Fathers - albeit not widely reported by the media - are standing up for the Catholic position on marriage and are courageously seeking to protect our families in their interventions at the Extraordinary Synod. For full reports and commentaries go to Voice of the Family and subscribe for our future posts.

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Thursday 9 October 2014

Archbishop Kaigama attacks anti-family population control lobby at Synod

Bishops march for life in Abuja, Nigeria
Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama (pictured to the right in the photo) President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria and Archbishop of Jos, has made a landmark intervention in the Synod here in Rome in which he emphasised the sacredness of marriage and of life - and powerfully opposed the agenda of the population control lobby.He said:
"Now you come to tell us about reproductive rights, and you give us condoms and artificial contraceptives. Those are not the things we want. We want food, we want education, we want good roads, regular light, and so on. Good health care."
His Excellency's strong intervention echoes what he said in June this year at a pro-life conference organized by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria in Abuja when I had the honour of addressing a private meeting of the Catholic bishops. At their pro-life conference, Archbishop Kaigama said that Nigerians refuse to be terrorised by the abortion lobby.

Archbishop Kaigama's full intervention at the Synod was as follows:
We are confronted with some issues, and sometimes [they are] quite perplexing. We recently had a big conference on pro-life issues, and in that conference, we came out very clearly to ascertain the fact that life is sacred, marriage is sacred, and the family has dignity.

We get international organizations, countries, and groups which like to entice us to deviate from our cultural practices, traditions, and even our religious beliefs. And this is because of their belief that their views should be our views. Their opinions and their concept of life should be ours.

We say, "No we have come of age." Most countries in Africa are independent for 50, 60, 100 years. We should be allowed to think for ourselves. We should be able to define: What is marriage? What makes the family? When does life begin? We should have answers to those [questions].

We are wooed by economic things. We are told, "If you limit your population, we're going to give you so much." And we tell them, "Who tells you that our population is overgrown?" In the first place, children die -- infant mortality -- we die in inter-tribal wars, and diseases of all kinds. And yet, you come with money to say, "Decrease your population; we will give you economic help."

Now you come to tell us about reproductive rights, and you give us condoms and artificial contraceptives. Those are not the things we want. We want food, we want education, we want good roads, regular light, and so on. Good health care.

We have been offered the wrong things, and we are expected to accept simply because they think we are poor. And we are saying poverty is not about money. One can be poor in spirituality, poor in ideas, poor in education, and in many other ways.

So we are not poor in that sense. We may be poor materially but we are not poor in every sense. So we say no to what we think is wrong. And time has gone when we would just follow without question. Now, we question. We evaluate. We decide. We ask questions. This is what we do in Africa now.
Our Voice of the Family team had the great honour of meeting His Excellency Archbishop Kaigama and Bishop Osei Bonsu, the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Ghana and Bishop of Konongo-Mampong, last weekend in Rome just before the Synod began.

Fortunately, many Synod Fathers - albeit not widely reported by the media - are standing up for the Catholic position on marriage and are courageously seeking to protect our families in their interventions at the Extraordinary Synod. For full reports and commentaries go to Voice of the Family and subscribe for our future posts.

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Archbishop Fisichella promotes false understanding of conscience once again

Once again, Archbishop Salvatore 'Rino' Fisichella (pictured, right), President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, employs a false understanding of conscience to justify a position which is contrary to Catholic teaching.

I have written previously about the archbishop's article in L'Osservatore Romano in 2009, which implied that there are difficult situations in which doctors enjoy scope for the autonomous exercise of conscience in deciding whether to carry out a direct abortion. On that occasion, Archbishop caused irreperable damage to the cause of protecting unborn children, the weakest, most vulnerable members of the human community.

Today in La Stampa, he uses a false understanding of conscience to cause damage to the integrity of marriage - and once again, it's children who will be the principal victims, including unborn children, since children conceived outside of marriage - the exclusive, permanent union of one man and one woman - are 4-5 times more likely to be aborted than those conceived inside marriage

Matthew McCusker, an SPUC researcher, and a spokesman here in Rome for Voice of the Family, commented:
"Archbishop Fisichella does not sufficiently distinguish between a well-formed and an ill-formed conscience. The Church would not be acting mercifully or pastorally if she changed her teaching or practice to accommodate ill-formed consciences. Her pastors would in fact be neglecting their clear duty to assist Catholics to form their consciences in accordance with the truth."

In his interview in La Stampa, Archbishop Fisichella responds as follows:
*Would you readmit remarried divorcees to the Eucharist in certain cases?*

"I don't want to start judging and theorising based on specific cases. But who in today's world can say they have not had cases of members of their own families living together or divorcing? Unfortunately, we are immersed in a reality in which the beauty of marriage has been wounded. There has been too much emphasis on the Canonist, or legal, dimension of marriage, which has led us often into the waters of legalism. Recuperating the sacramental dimension would make it easier to find different solutions, in continuity with original doctrine. Here we return to the primacy of conscience. Nothing and no one can intervene in this. Of course, it must be a conscience that is illuminated by the Word of God, that is reflected upon and that accepts the obedience of a path."
Fortunately, many Synod Fathers - albeit not widely reported by the media - are standing up for the Catholic position on marriage and are courageously seeking to protect our families in their interventions at the Extraordinary Synod. For full reports and commentaries go to Voice of the Family and subscribe for our future posts.

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Wednesday 8 October 2014

We will protect disabled children in Northern Ireland, vows pro-life movement

The pro-life movement in Northern Ireland has vowed to oppose any attempt to remove the Province’s existing protection for children diagnosed before birth with serious disabilities. Responding to the announcement that David Ford, the Justice Minister, wants to legalise the abortion of disabled children, SPUC predicted that the public would overwhelmingly reject his proposals.

Liam Gibson, SPUC’s Northern Ireland development officer told the media today:
"Abortion advocates alway seek to use so-called hard cases to advance their agenda of abortion on demand. They try to present abortion as a compassionate response for parents who learn their unborn baby is seriously ill. While every case is unique, each one is a tragedy.

Unfortunately, while some women in Northern Ireland receive help and support from their obstetric team, others do not. Some women have been given inadequate or even inaccurate information about their baby's condition, which can leave them feeling that abortion is their only option. Others have spoken publicly about the pressure placed on them to consent to an abortion.

It is important to note that, decades after the passage of the Abortion Act in Britain, there is no research to support the popular assumption that abortion is easier on the mother psychologically. In fact, there is compelling evidence that a significant percentage of women are damaged emotionally by abortion and can suffer extreme stress, anxiety or depression. Women who choose abortion because their babies are disabled are particularly at risk of serious post-abortion depression.

Abortion is not a genuinely compassionate response to a crisis pregnancy. That is why the pro-life movement has in recent years attempted to highlight the desperate need for perinatal hospice care for families who need help and support when facing a very difficult and heartbreaking time in their lives.

Perinatal hospice care applies the principles of palliative medicine to babies diagnosed before birth with life-limiting conditions.

This type of care allows parents to grieve properly for the loss of their child by ensuring that their baby's life, no matter how short, is not meaningless. Parents who have experienced perinatal hospice care speak of it in overwhelmingly positive terms.

Unborn children are one of the most vulnerable groups in our society. This is especially true if they are disabled. Unlike Britain - where disabled babies can be aborted right up to birth - the law in Northern Ireland does not place any less value on the life of a disabled child, even if that life is tragically short. The pro-life movement is committed to protecting all children from abortion, regardless of their disabilities.

It is vitally important that as many people as possible take part in this consultation exercise to ensure that this lethal form of discrimination against the disabled is kept out of Northern Ireland."
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Voice of the Family, co-founded by SPUC, meets Synod Fathers

Archbishop Stankevics from Riga, Latvia, with Maria Madise
Maria Madise, SPUC's international, UN and research officer, and director of Voice of the Family, co-founded by SPUC, sends the following report from our team's headquarters here in Rome, 100 yards from St Peter's Square:
Dear Colleagues,

We are now three days into the Extraordinary Synod on the Family and have grown to 15 pro-life and pro-family groups from 8 different countries and 4 continents. Voice of the Family is undoubtedly becoming louder -recognising marriage as the strongest protector of children, both born and unborn; the contraceptive mentality separating love and life as the major catalyst for the Culture of Death; and parents as the primary educators of their children.

Here are some highlights of the past few days.

On Saturday Voice of the Family team had the honour of dining with Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama from Nigeria, Bishop Joseph Osei Bonsu from Ghana and our pro-life friends in Italy gathered together by Obianuju Ekeocha, of Culture of Life Africa. Both bishops were very attentive to all ideas and inputs from everyone present and received the Voice of the Family position paper as well as the response to the Bishop Bonny proposal with great interest. We hope to meet them again at one of our receptions with their brother bishops.

Video interviews will appear on Voice of the Family website later today.

On Monday we had our first reception where we had the pleasure of welcoming Archbishop Stankevics from Riga, Latvia. His Excellency, a former sportsman and engineer, addressed the gathering as follows:
- The Culture of Death starts the destruction from introducing contraception, then abortion, then euthanasia. When they destroy the family, they have destroyed the Church.
- He mentioned a specific law of overtones -- that makes absurd laws seem normal. He had seen homosexual groups following this approach very specifically and reached a point where it seemed to him that their agenda could never be defeated. It was then when he had realised that the scientific approach is what we can depend on in defending the faith.

Having acquainted himself with SPUC's research, the Archbishop thought that we are moving very much in the direction that he wants to take when addressing the Synod. Later he shared his personal story with us. His mother had chosen life for him, when his own aunt, a doctor, had wanted to abort him. This deeply moving interview will be available on LifeSiteNews as well as on Voice of the Family. Our culture has become the culture of abortion survivors. With countless lives lost to abortion, abortifacients and IVF, it has become a privilege to be born, once conceived. That fills one with sadness, but also with great desire to at least in some way turn this privilege –life – into a hymn of joy and gratitude, prudence, justice and fortitude. Archbishop Stankevics is a beautiful example of that.

Yesterday John Smeaton and John-Henry Westen from LifeSiteNews spoke at the Lepanto Foundation at a monthly conference organised by one of the most distinguished Catholic thinkers and historians today Professor De Mattei. It was Professor De Mattei, who pointed out something very clear for us: truth can tolerate the evil. But evil cannot tolerate the truth. It has to destroy the truth in order to exist.

Both speeches were received very warmly. Should the Synod Fathers speak with the same insight and zeal for families as John did, the flock would be firmly led on the narrow path of goodness and truth. The powerful ending of John-Henry's address highlighted that every child has a right to be conceived in the loving union of a married husband and wife.

We are having our second reception tonight.

Please follow our news, articles and interviews via voiceofthefamily.info.

Our latest stories:

Pro-family coalition condemns bizarre Synod proposal by Algerian bishop
http://voiceofthefamily.info/wordpress/?p=169

Synod: radical Bonny proposals rejected comprehensively in response by pro-life coalition
http://voiceofthefamily.info/wordpress/?p=164

Synod is time to remember, not abandon, Church teaching on homosexuality
http://voiceofthefamily.info/wordpress/?p=180

Cardinal Brandmüller says family care must conform to doctrine
http://voiceofthefamily.info/wordpress/?p=193

Catechesis, not confusion, needed to reclaim families for Church, says Cardinal Burke
http://voiceofthefamily.info/wordpress/?p=196

Key extracts http://voiceofthefamily.info/wordpress/?p=205 from Familiaris Consortio, the Apostolic Exhortation of Pope John Paul II promulgated following the 1980 Synod of Bishops, stating that:
"At a moment of history in which the family is the object of numerous forces that seek to destroy it or in some way to deform it, and aware that the well-being of society and her own good are intimately tied to the good of the family, the Church perceives in a more urgent and compelling way her mission of proclaiming to all people the plan of God for marriage and the family, ensuring their full vitality and human and
Christian development, and thus contributing to the renewal of society and of the People of God." (Familiaris Consortio, 3)

Synod testimony on welcoming gay couples is 'damaging', says pro-family coalition
http://voiceofthefamily.info/wordpress/?p=216

Yours sincerely in Christ,
Maria
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Monday 6 October 2014

Zenit news agency reports on Catholic bishop who appears to back IVF

Johan Bonny, Bishop of Antwerp
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 and the fact that he appears, totally contrary to Catholic teaching, to endorse the use of IVF which typically involves the destruction of human embryos.

Click on the Voice of the Family link to receive updates of our work in Rome.

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Saturday 4 October 2014

Guardian report of school parents meeting "false and misleading" says SPUC Safe at School

SPUC Safe at School has accused The Guardian newspaper of publishing a false and misleading report about a meeting of parents and staff at Welford Primary school in Birmingham ("Police called after reports of disorder at ‘Trojan horse’ school in Birmingham", Guardian, 4 October 2014).

Safe at School told the media today:
"The Guardian's report exagerrated events and linked them to the 'Trojan Horse' fears, but Safe at School has eyewitness evidence that the meeting was attended by parents from a range of religious and ethnic backgrounds - including Christians and Muslims.

The key concern for parents was to protect their primary-aged children from premature sexualisation, a concern that was highlighted in the 2011 Bailey report.* That report, published by the government, found that parents were 'particularly unhappy with the increasingly sexualised culture surrounding their children, which they feel they have no control over.'

Safe at School believes that parents should be encouraged to make their voices heard, as Sir Reg Bailey argued, and this applies especially in schools.* Schools must allow children to be children. They should connect with parents and should be family-friendly places.

These are British values, and have nothing to do with 'radicalisation'."
* The Bailey report is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/bailey-review-of-the-commercialisation-and-sexualisation-of-childhood-final-report-published

Sir Reg Bailey is quoted on that page: "Society has become increasingly full of sexualised imagery. This has created a wallpaper to children’s lives. Parents feel there is no escape and no clear space where children can be children. I want to put the power back in parents’ hands so they can better manage the pressures on their children and make it easier for them to bring up their children the way they want. Parents need encouragement to feel they can change things and that their voices will be heard. Regulators, businesses and broadcasters should do more to connect with parents - it’s not enough for them to work out what is acceptable from what people complain about afterwards. I hope that they see that it’s good business if you look out for families. Then we can all help to make Britain a more family friendly place."

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CORRECTED Extraordinary Synod on the Family: Report from Rome

Voice of the Family team
at work in their HQ in Rome
(Some readers experienced broken links in the original version of this blogpost. These link have now been corrected. Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience.)

Maria Madise, SPUC's International, UN and  Research officer, and manager of the Voice of the Family team here in Rome, reports yesterday:

The beginning of the Extraordinary Synod is only two days away. Voice of the Family team has settled into the daily routine of ora et labora, prayer and work in our Rome headquarters at the Salvatorians' Motherhouse just a few metres from St Peter's Square. We have acquired our press passes from the Holy See Press Office, met with a few Italian pro-life leaders and made preparations for our receptions next week to host prelates and fellow pro-lifers present here in Rome.

By taking a leading role in forming this international coalition of pro-life and pro-family groups, SPUC has brought together already 12 organisations and the alliance is growing. To date, Voice of the Family includes:
Yesterday a joint press release was sent to European and American media, and published on LifeSiteNews.com
New stories are published every day on Voice of the Family website. Please subscribe, if you have not done so yet, to follow the news and reflections from Rome during the Extraordinary Synod on the Family this month.

Please do pass this message on to anyone of your contacts who might be interested in receiving this information.

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Friday 3 October 2014

Cardinal Pell: A change in Catholic discipline on marriage would be sociologically disastrous

Cardinal Pell (right)
I  am currently attending a press conference in Vatican City featuring His Eminence Cardinal Pell (pictured). It's the launch of a book, to which the cardinal has written the preface, entitled The Gospel of the Family, which takes issue with Cardinal Kasper on the reception of Communion by divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.

“Doctrine and pastoral practice cannot be contradictory,” writes His Eminence.

In his address to this afternoon's press conference, Cardinal Pell posed the question: "Was Catholic resistance to Henry VIII all for naught?"

I am here with the Voice of the Family team, founded by SPUC, to support bishops at the Extraordinary Synod as they seek to defend marriage, parents as the primary educators of their children, and Catholic teaching on contraception. Contraception, involving the separation of the unitive and procreative dimensions of the sexual act, has been the catalyst and major source of the culture of death.

In this connection, His Eminence referred to the landmark academic work of Mary Eberstadt, on which I have previously blogged.

He said: "A change in Catholic discipline on marriage would be disastrous".

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