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April 9,
2007 • VOL. 45 NO. 7 • Oakland, CA
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Pro-life
in Poland |
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Fund
raising |
Bill
approves mandating pre-abortion ultrasounds
COLUMBIA, S.C. (CNS) -- Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives
have approved legislation that would make their state the first in the
nation to require women to see the ultrasound images of their child before
an abortion. The vote was 91-23 March 21 after the House rejected two
proposed amendments that would have made exceptions in cases of rape or
incest. After a mandatory third reading March 22, the measure was sent
to the Senate, where it was referred to the Committee on Medical Affairs.
South Carolina law already requires that ultrasounds be performed at abortion
clinics in the state, in order to determine the gestational age of the
child. Doctors then must tell women the likely age, give them information
about fetal development and alternatives to abortion, and wait at least
an hour before performing the abortion, which must take place in the first
trimester. Under the proposed legislation, women will have to sign a form
saying they have seen the ultrasound image.
Zimbabwean
bishops urge restraint amid crisis
HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNS) -- Zimbabwe’s Catholic bishops have urged
those responsible for the country’s crisis to “repent and
listen to the cry of their citizens” and called for restraint among
protesters.
Zimbabwe’s crisis is one of governance, leadership, spirituality
and morality, they said in a March 27 pastoral letter. To avoid “further
bloodshed and avert a mass uprising,” a new constitution is needed
to guide democracy “chosen in free and fair elections that will
offer a chance for economic recovery under genuinely new policies,”
the bishops said.
The country has “Christians on all sides of the conflict, and there
are many Christians sitting on the fence,” said the bishops. Officials
in President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party and opposition officials
serve on parish councils and “profess their loyalty to the same
Church,” said the bishops. However, just “a few steps”
outside church, “Christian state agents, policemen and soldiers
assault and beat peaceful, unarmed demonstrators and torture detainees,”
the bishops said.
Cardinal
would like to be in House of Lords
LONDON (CNS) -- Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor of Westminster has
said he would like to have a seat in the House of Lords, the upper chamber
of the British Parliament. He believes Catholic bishops should be represented
in the political chamber and that he would like to be among the first
Catholic prelate to have a seat since the Reformation.
“Sometimes I regret that there isn’t a Catholic bishop speaking
on the points that do arise,” he said after a lecture in Westminster
Cathedral Hall on the role of religion in public life. “Some of
my fellow bishops think we would be less free if we sat in the Lords,”
said the cardinal. “I don’t quite agree with that.”
Anglican bishops fill 26 seats of the House of Lords. The Catholic Church’s
Code of Canon Law does not allow bishops to hold political office.
Episcopal
bishops to meet over same-sex union issues
NAVASOTA, Texas (CNS) -- The bishops of the U.S. Episcopal Church have
requested a meeting with the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion
to discuss ways of avoiding a rupture with other Anglican churches over
the ordination of an openly gay bishop and the blessing of same-sex unions.
The issues have divided the U.S. church, part of the worldwide Anglican
Communion, and alienated the U.S. church leadership from the bishops of
many other Anglican churches.
Bishop
rededicates site at Camp Pendleton
SAN DIEGO (CNS) -- Standing on the site of a way station established between
two of California’s original 21 missions -- Mission San Diego de
Alcala and Mission San Juan Capistrano -- Auxiliary Bishop Joseph W. Estabrook
of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services rededicated the historic
Las Flores Asistencia in memory of men and women of faith “on whose
shoulders we stand today.”
Las Flores Asistencia, once home to the southernmost Shoshone tribe, is
located on the western edge of what is today Camp Pendleton, a Marine
base north of San Diego.
Elderly
refugees face unreasonable demands
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Poor, elderly refugees in the United States are being
held to unrealistic and overly restrictive standards that result in their
losing Supplemental Security Income benefits, known as SSI, according
to Candy Hill, senior vice president for social policy for Catholic Charities
USA. She told a House committee that, despite efforts to qualify for citizenship,
many elderly refugees simply can’t meet the requirements for English
fluency and other standards.
A seven-year limit on SSI benefits to noncitizens falls hardest on people
who fled persecution or torture in their home countries and came to the
United States empty-handed, Hill said in her testimony. The group includes
Jews who fled the former Soviet Union, Iraqi Kurds, Cubans, Hmong and
Kosovar refugees --all of whom are now disabled or too elderly to support
themselves and who rely on SSI to survive.
Amnesty
International endorses abortion policy
LONDON (CNS) -- The British section of Amnesty International has endorsed
a policy in support of legalizing abortion which could change the human
rights group’s global neutral policy on abortion.
The Amnesty International UK move, which formally adopted the legalization
of abortion in cases of rape, incest, sexual assault and when the mother’s
life is at risk, came despite the results of a yearlong consultation which
showed that the majority of regular members did not want to abandon the
neutral position.
The International Executive Committee of Amnesty International will decide
as early as next month whether to change the current position. If the
committee decides there isn’t sufficient support from its branch
members for a revision, the British section’s stance would be moot.
S.F.
agency joins lawsuit on visas for crime victims
SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- Catholic Charities CYO of the Archdiocese of San
Francisco has joined a coalition of civil rights groups and individuals
nationwide in a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The suit demands compliance
with what are said to be congressional requirements for those federal
agencies to establish access to special visas for undocumented immigrants
who have been victims of serious crime and who have cooperated in the
investigation and prosecution of those crimes.
According to the filing, provisions of the Victims of Trafficking and
Violence Protection Act of 2000 -- also called the Crime Victims Act --
permit such undocumented immigrants to apply for “U visas,”
which provide legal status that can eventually lead to lawful permanent
residence for them and their children on humanitarian grounds. However,
the suit charges, no application regulations have been released and not
a single special visa for crime victims has been granted, even after Congress
granted an extension to July of last year for the development of regulations
and forms for the U visa.
Filipino
government urged to stop evictions
MANILA, Philippines (CNS) -- A Filipino bishop has urged the local government
to stop the “heartless” eviction of about 1,000 families living
along a stretch of highway outside Manila. Auxiliary Bishop Broderick
Pabillo of Manila, chairman of the Philippine bishops’ Housing Committee,
called on the local government to respect the human rights of the poor
dwelling in shanties under the bridges and near the canals.
The Metro Manila Development Authority has been forcing settlers to leave
their homes since late February.
Priest
says Australian troops ruined church
AILEU, East Timor (CNS) -- A priest in East Timor has accused Australian
troops of forcing their way into his church and destroying property in
their search for a rebel leader. The soldiers ruined the door of Sts.
Peter and Paul Church in Aileu, outside Dili, the priest said. The soldiers
also destroyed property as they ransacked an adjoining guest room located
inside the church building.
Alfredo Alves Reinado, who led a revolt that plunged East Timor into chaos
in April 2006, has evaded capture by the Australian-led international
peacekeeping force in the country. He has been a fugitive since he and
50 other inmates escaped from a Dili jail in August.
