in this issue:
hot button issues: CATHOLIC CRUSADE
abortion: RISKS DENIED
action: SCHIAVO LEGAL DOCUMENT / SCHIAVO PETITION DRIVE
catholic bishops: AQUILA / MENGELING / MYERS
cloning “ban”: DELAWARE
corporate shareholders: PRO-LIFE RESOLUTIONS
dead or nearly dead: DONATE YOUR BODY
help wanted: AQUINAS COLLEGE
lifelines: A THOUGHT
morning-after abortion pill: FDA REJECTION
prayer campaign: HLI
stem cells: ADULT STEM CELLS / MADE TO ORDER BABIES / WEB NOTES
zinger: HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY FROM PLANNED PARENTHOOD
reflection for prayer: 1 PETER 4:14
hot button issues
CATHOLIC CRUSADE: In a full-page ad in the Washington Times and other publications, American Life League’s Crusade for the Defense of Our Catholic Church questions Washington’s archbishop, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, for his reported statement that “I have not gotten to the stage where I’m comfortable in denying the Eucharist” to pro-abortion Catholics.
(Reading: “Are you comfortable now?” American Life League ad, 5/6/04)
abortion
RISKS DENIED: David Reardon, Ph.D., writes in a leading medical journal that researchers “fail to note that couples in which the woman undergoes a therapeutic abortion have high rates of psychiatric sequelae and divorce.”
(Reading: “Abortion, health and the law,” New England Journal of Medicine, 4/29/04, p. 1908)
action
TERRI SCHIAVO: A Florida judge has ruled unconstitutional a state the law allowed Gov. Jeb Bush to intervene in the case of Terri Schiavo, a disabled woman whose estranged husband had ordered her feeding tube removed. The state filed an appeal immediately after the ruling was announced. Jude Douglas Baird ruled the law infringes on Schiavo’s right to privacy. Meanwhile, an attorney has filed a petition for relief on behalf of Terri’s parents. At this writing, Terri remains in isolation from her family.
(Action: Please sign the petition asking Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to place Terri Schiavo in protective custody)
(Reading: “Law keeping brain-damaged woman alive ruled unconstitutional,” Associated Press, 5/6/04; “In re: the guardianship of Theresa Marie Schiavo, incapacitated,” Sixth Judicial Circuit Court, Pinellas County, Fla., 4/26/04)
catholic bishops
AQUILA: “I would remind Catholic politicians, clergy and all of the faithful of the words of St. Paul when he reminds the people who are not living their lives according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and yet still receive the Eucharist that they bring judgment on themselves,” said Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo, N.D. “They bring judgment on themselves. Let those words sink in.”
(Reading: “Denying Communion to pro-abortion politicians is part of Catholic teaching, Bishop of Fargo says,” Catholic News Digest, 5/5/04)
MENGELING: “All Catholics, that includes myself, must examine themselves extremely carefully before they approach the Eucharist,” said Bishop Carl Mengeling of Lansing, Mich. However, Bishop Mengeling will not specifically forbid pro-abortion Catholics from receiving Communion: “Our Catholics are adults. We can’t treat them like children.”
(Reading: “Lansing diocese leaves Eucharist up to individuals,” Lansing State Journal, 5/2/04)
MYERS: “Catholics who publicly dissent from the Church’s teaching on the right to life of all unborn children should recognize that they have freely chosen by their own actions to separate themselves from what the Church believes and teaches. They have also separated themselves in a significant way from the Catholic community,” said Archbishop John Myers of Newark, N.J. “For such a person to express ‘communion’ with Christ and His Church by the reception of the Sacrament of the Eucharist is objectively dishonest.”
(Reading: “A time for honesty,” The Catholic Advocate, 5/5/04)
cloning “ban”
DELAWARE: Delaware State Sen. Robert Venables has withdrawn an alleged cloning ban bill for consideration in the current legislative session. The bill was full of loopholes.
(Reading: “Cloning bill off House agenda,” Delaware News Journal, 4/27/04)
(Analysis: “Delaware state cloning “ban”: loopholes form blueprints for human genetic engineering,” by Dianne N. Irving, Ph.D., 4/14/04)
corporate shareholders
PRO-LIFE RESOLUTIONS: Pro-Vita Advisors announced a record number of corporate resolutions dealing with pro-life concerns. For details on these resolutions and how you can affect corporations at that level, contact .
(Reading: “Pro-Vita Advisors announces a record number of pro-life shareholder resolutions,” Pro-Vita Advisors news release, 4/22/04)
dead or nearly dead?
DONATE YOUR BODY: A U.S. News and World Report article addresses the question of whether or not it is ethical for researchers to perform experiments on the “nearly dead.” It is clear that such practices are already pursued in some hospitals and, according to the article, will “catch on fast.”
(Reading: “Science calls at the deathbed,” U. S. News and World Report, 1/12/04, only available online through paid archives)
help wanted
AQUINAS COLLEGE: The school is seeking applicants for two full-time faculty positions in its associate nursing degree program. Applicants must be knowledgeable of Catholic Church teachings and willing to integrate that knowledge into the nursing curriculum so students are prepared to make sound ethical decisions in the field of nursing. For additional information, please contact ., Aquinas College, 4210 Harding Rd., Nashville, TN 37205. Phone: 615-297-7545 ext. 425.
lifeline
A THOUGHT: In the sentence of life, the devil may be a comma; but never let him be the period.
morning-after abortion pill
FDA REJECTION: The Food and Drug Administration says Barr Laboratories cannot sell its Plan B morning-after abortion pill without a doctor’s prescription. But that may not be the FDA’s final answer. The agency says there’s not enough information available about the drug’s effects on girls under 16. The company could do more research and ask again, or ask that the drug be available over the counter only for those over 16 years of age. A disappointed Planned Parenthood spokesman said, “I think these pills would be very helpful to teenage girls and it’s unfortunate that politics was allowed to corrupt good medical science.”
(Reading: “‘Morning after’ pill won’t go over counter,” Newsday, 5/7/04)
prayer campaign
HLI: Human Life International is sponsoring the second annual Worldwide Call to Life and Conversion. The campaign began on March 25 and runs until December 25.
stem cells
ADULT STEM CELLS: Florida researchers report that adult stem cells taken from bone mark have successfully transformed themselves into brain tissue in three patients. This means a potential breakthrough for sufferers of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and MS.
(Reading: “Bone marrow stem cells can regenerate brain tissue, say researchers,” Irish Examiner, 4/30/04; “Adult stem cells may lead to Alzheimer’s breakthrough,” Herald (UK), 4/29/04)
MADE TO ORDER BABIES: It is reported that a Chicago laboratory “helped create five healthy babies to so that they could serve as stem-cell donors for their ailing brothers and sisters.”
COMMENT: In reality the laboratory assisted in the production of five human embryos whose stem cells will be robbed from them thus causing their untimely deaths.
(Reading: “Chicago lab creates babies for stem cell donation,” Associated Press, 5/4/04)
WEB NOTES: A full section of information about the facts concerning human embryonic stem cell research is available on the American Life League web site.
zinger
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY FROM PLANNED PARENTHOOD: America’s leading abortion provider is asking its supporters to follow up last month’s Washington death march and “keep the momentum going by speaking out in honor of your mother, your grandmother, and mothers and children everywhere.” Planned Parenthood is offering a click-and-send letter to President Bush asking him to support destructive population control programs sponsored by the United Nations.
(Reading: “Keep promises to mothers around the world!” Planned Parenthood action alert, 5/6/04)
reflection for prayer
1 PETER 4:14: It is a blessing when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ, because it means that you have the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God resting on you.