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I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (1 Tim 2,1-2)
30 November 2010: European Court of Human Rights: Court's judgment concerning Austrian authorities' refusal to allow marriage of homosexual couple becomes final
The five-judge panel of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, meeting on 22 November 2010, rejected the referral request relating to the case of Schalk and Kopf v. Austria (application no. 30141/04) submitted by the applicants. The Court's Chamber judgment of 24 June 2010 has thereby become final (Article 44 of the European Convention on Human Rights).
The case concerned the complaint by a same-sex couple that they were not allowed to contract marriage and did not have any other possibility to have their relationship recognised by law before the entry into force of the Registered Partnership Act in Austria in January 2010. In its Chamber judgment of 24 June 2010, the Court found that Article 12 of the Convention (right to marry) did not impose an obligation on the Austrian Government to grant a same-sex couple access to marriage. It therefore held that there had been no violation of that Article. The Court also found that there had been no violation of Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) in conjunction with Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life). See press release.
23 November 2010: Das EU Parlament has accepted the Berlinguer Report
The Motion for Resolution was accepted by the EU Parliament in Straßbourg.
The European Conservaties and Reformists Party tried to modify Article 40, but was not successful. This vote was not done by name. No individual results are available from the EU websites.
The following voting explanations were made in the parliament (Videos available):
Stresses the need to ensure mutual recognition of official documents issued by national administrations; welcomes the Commission’s efforts to empower citizens to exercise their free movement rights and strongly supports plans to enable the mutual recognition of the effects of civil status documents; calls for further efforts to reduce barriers for citizens who exercise their rights of free movement, particularly with regard to access to the social benefits to which they are entitled and their right to vote in municipal elections;
So if there is a homosexual partnership recognized in one EU country, another EU country will be forced to also recognize homosexual partnerships, if the couple decides to move to another EU country.
Arguments against this Motion for a Resolution:
The subsidiarity principle and the discretion of the Member States Family law should not be undermined by this resolution.
In consequence of this could have an incentive system for a Tourism partnership formed, as it has developed in the adoption and artificial insemination already.
If there is a same sex partnership recognized in one country, that grants the same rights to this partnership as marriage, the same rights would have to be given to this partnership in another EU country, even if there is a clear distingshon between homosexual partnership and (heterosexual) marriage.
The current resolution would, ultimately, make the existence of different national regulations superfluous.
One of the intolerable consequences would be that a citizen of another EU country would be treated better in a certain country as a resident citizen of this country would be treated.
1 Nov 2010, source: christianconcern.com Islamist Organisation kills 58 Christians in Iraq.
The ‘Islamic State of Iraq’, an umbrella organisation dedicated to defend Islam, has increased its attacks against the Christian community in Iraq.
On 1 November 2010 the Islamist organisation claimed credit for a massacre at a Baghdad church that killed 58 and left at least 78 wounded Iraqi Christians. The organisation’s official statement says that an “angry group of mujahideen from among the supporters of Allah raided one of the filthy dens of idolatry that was always used by the Christians of Iraq as a headquarters to fight the religion of Islam and to support those who fight that religion.”
Christians inside the church were listening to a bible reading when the gunmen burst in. After the gunmen killed the priest, they attacked the nearby stock exchange, and then stormed the church and took 120 Christians hostage, according to the Associated Press. “This is more than a tragedy,” said Iraq's Human Rights minister, Wijdan Mikheil, who is a Christian. The organisation also threatened to carry out attacks against Christian churches across the globe.
The government of Iraq has promised in the past to protect the Christian community, which provides a large number of Iraq’s doctors, teachers and other professionals. However, local Christians say not much has been done. Church leaders also blamed inadequate security by the Iraqi government for the deadliest attack in Baghdad since before March elections. “It was a massacre in there and now they are cleaning it up. We Christians don't have enough protection. What shall I do now? Leave and ask for asylum?” said Raed Hadi, a Christian from Baghdad, while cradling the coffin of his cousin, killed in the attack.
“We’ve lost part of our soul now,” said Rudy Khalid, a 16-year-old Christian who lived across the street. “Our destiny, no one knows what to say of it.” Christian community and churches in Iraq have frequently been the target for bombings in recent years and priests have been kidnapped and killed. There are around 1.5million Christians in Iraq, but the population has rapidly declined as Christians fled the country since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
“A new form of colonialism, a new imperialism”
Latin American archbishop says UN behind global conspiracy to spread contraception, abortion and other evils around the world
La Plata, Argentina, Oct 20, 2010 (CNA) -- Archbishop Hector Aguer of La Plata, Argentina, has criticized the United Nations for spreading ideologies that fail to respect fundamental human rights and the family.
In his weekly television program, “Keys to a Better World,” Archbishop Aguer pointed to the cultural changes that are taking place in Argentina through laws put forth by a self-proclaimed “progressive” minority. He said the changes are totally foreign to the nation's cultural tradition.
One such change took place in July, when the country legalized same-sex “marriage.”
The archbishop said these ideas are part of a global plan that is based at “the United Nations and a series of its satellite organizations.”
He said huge amounts of money are behind the attempts to change Argentina and to alter fundamental human rights. “Thus, we can see that there is a conspiracy here in the worst sense of the word,” the archbishop added.
“There is a conspiracy that tends to homogenize thought and conduct in the entire world, and this comes from the centers of world power, especially from the centers of political power, which are sustained by the centers of financial power,” said Archbishop Aguer.
“If this is not a new form of colonialism, a new imperialism, I don’t know what to call it,” he warned.
The archbishop denounced the U.N. for its anti-human and anti-Christian positions and for undermining natural law.
“For several years -- at least 15 -- we could say, ideologies that are contrary to the nature of the human person, and therefore, man’s dignity, authentic rights and corresponding duties, have been imposed on these world centers of power,” he stated.
Archbishop Aguer noted that at diverse international forums, U.N. officials promote “contraception, abortion and other supposed women’s rights founded upon gender ideology.”
20 Oct 2010 Concluding Observations Adopted by CRC (UN Blog @ c-fam.org) (Committee on the Rights of the Child):
The concluding observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child at its 55th session, held in Geneva, have been released. The countries included are Angola, Burundi, Guatemala, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Spain, Sri Lanka, and the Sudan.
In its concluding observations, the CRC calls on Nicaragua to decriminalize abortion. Montenegro is told that it should provide adolescents with appropriate "reproductive health services, including reproductive health education." In addition, the CRC says that it "notes with concern the limited knowledge among adolescents about reproductive health," in Sri Lanka.
8 Oct 2010: Right of Conscience Victory in Europe (source c-fam.org):
Yesterday the Council of Europe completely reversed what was to be an anti-conscience referendum targeting pro-life medical professionals. They passed instead a strong resolution protecting rights of conscience. Many pro-life organizations and officials worked for the victory. A press release from one MP offers more details:
Senator Rónán Mullen together with the Chairperson of the European Peoples' Party at the Council of Europe, Luca Volonte (picture) and Valeriu Ghiletchi, pushed through 29 amendments to a report which initially intended to severely restrict the right of medical staff to refuse to participate in procuring an abortion, but which in the end was transformed into a resolution affirming the right to conscientiously object to abortion. The report was widely expected to carry in its original form.
The final resolution of the report read: "no person and no hospital or institution shall be coerced, held liable or discriminated against in any manner because of a refusal to perform, accommodate, assist or submit to an abortion [...]". Remarkably, former British MP Christine. McCafferty, the original author of the report, was forced to vote against the final resolution due to its radical transformation. The report was initially entitled "Women's access to lawful medical care: the problem of unregulated use of conscientious objection" but eventually changed to "The right to conscientious objection in lawful medical care".
According to Senator Mullen, "This is a momentous victory for freedom of conscience and conscientious objection. The initial report rode roughshod over the right to conscientiously object to abortion. If adopted it would have entailed doctors, nurses and institutions being forced against their consciences and ethos to participate in the procurement of abortion. Thankfully, the adopted resolution is a true vindication of the rights of conscientious objectors to abortion, a right long established in both human rights law and medical ethics.
Check out the votingof you MP and compare it to how Mr. Volonte voted (leading the oppositionto the McCafferty report). Pay attention to the voting on the (changed) report and the recommendation.
Please also note, that although there are 318 MPs only about 110 were involved in the voting.
The European Peoples Party (EPP) Group decided officially to propose a number of amendments
Socialist, Left and Liberal Group decided to support the McCaffery original report
Conservative group was to give freedom of conscience
Sweden EPP group members and other EPP members decided to vote to maintain McCaffery report and against decisions of the EPP group and EPP charter of values.
Please also note, that the adopted text invites member states develop a comprehensive and clear regulations the define and regulate conscientious objection with regard to health and medical services.
6 May 2010: christianconcern.com: UK: Anti-life and anti-Christian campaigner Dr Evan Harris looses seat to Christian candidate in Oxford West and Abingdon
Read more about the story, how Christian Concern worked towards making the change happen.
Christian concerns over Dr Harris’ extreme position on many ethical matters have undoubtedly played an important part in the result. Many local Christians and churches have engaged with the election process in a way not seen before. In particular, constituency resident and ordained Anglican minister, Rev Lynda Rose, has worked tirelessly and boldly to draw voters’ attention to the reality of Dr Harris’ anti-life and secularising agenda.
It seems that for many, these critical issues, which include matters of life and death, have outweighed party considerations. Given Dr Harris’ track-record, such a development is unsurprising.
30 April 2010: UK: Cops arrest preacher over Christian beliefs
(NEW YORK – C-FAM) Irish abortion laws and sovereignty stand in the dock next week when the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) hears a challenge to Ireland's constitutional protection of life "from conception."
Three petitioners in the case A, B & C v. Ireland allege that they were forced to travel overseas to obtain abortions, undergoing unnecessary expenses and hardship due to the nation's pro-life laws. They claim violations of various rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Third-party interveners Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, the European Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defense Fund (on behalf of Family Research Council), contend that it is "Ireland's sovereign right to determine when life begins" and what rights attach to pre-natal life. They also claim that domestic remedies have not been exhausted, and that therefore the ECHR lacks jurisdiction to hear the case.
The right to religious freedom can only mean its exercise - not the freedom from confrontation. The meaning of “freedom of religion” has nothing to do with creating a society that is “free from religion”!
Forcibly removing the symbol of the Cross is a violation on the same level as would to force atheists to mount this symbol. The blank white wall is also an ideological statement – especially, if over the previous centuries, it had not been empty. A "value-neutral" state is fiction, which is often used for propaganda purposes.
An alleged right not to be confronted with religious content, cannot be stronger than the right to free exercise of religion.
The states, which have signed the European Convention on Human Rights, have understood that the "right to freedom of religion" is certainly not a "freedom from religion".
Lawyers speak of the "slippery slope". Resist the beginnings! Today institutions are affected by iconoclastic attempts, tomorrow I will no longer be allowed to wear a religious chain around my neck.
Instead of fighting religious intolerance, religion, by way of its symbols, is being attacked.
One cannot fight political problems by fighting against religion.
Anti-religious fundamentalism makes itself an accomplice of religious fundamentalism when it provokes through intolerance.
Christianity by its very nature pushes outwardly - it can never be dismissed as private nor be locked into a ghetto!
The majority of the affected population would like to retain the cross! It is also a problem of democratic politics, giving priority to individual interests so blatantly.
The cross is the logo of Europe. It is a religious symbol, but still much more than that.
Italy's Parliament passed an emphatic measure last week directing the Italian government to push for a United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolution that "condemns the use of abortion as an instrument of demographic control and affirms the right of each woman not to be forced to undergo abortion." The move has surprised pro-life observers at the UN, where Italy almost invariably supports the European Union (EU) majority in measures hostile to the rights of the unborn. The parliamentary effort was led by Rocco Buttiglione, head of the Union of Christian Democrats, with the support of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's governing People of Freedom Party and the Center Democrats.
The AM No.2 regarding the OBIOLS I GERMA REPORT, which was attacking the Pope and introducing the controversial term "sexual and reproductive health rights" HAS BEEN REJECTED!!! Thanks for praying !!!
The Parliament convened at a plenary sitting in its seat in Strasbourg discusses this week on the Annual Report on Human Rights in the World 2008 and the European Union’s policy on the matter (2008/2336 (INI)). The rapporteur is the Spanish socialist Raimon Obiols i Germà.
The liberal group (ALDE) tabled an amendment written by Sophie in't VELD (Netherlands) and Marco Cappato (Italy). This amendment promotes abortion through sexual and reproductive health rights to combat AIDS and condemns the Pope for having expressed its doubts about the effectiveness of the use of the sole condom in the fight against AIDS in Africa.
The amendment reads as follows:
45a. [The European Parliament] Underlines the importance of promoting sexual and reproductive health rights, as a precondition for any successful fight against HIV/AIDS, which causes enormous loss in terms of human lives and economic development, affecting particularly the poorest regions in the world; firmly condemns the recent declarations made by Pope benedict XVI, banning the use of condoms and warning that condom use could even lead to an increased risk of contagion; is concerned that those statements will severely hamper the fight against HIV/AIDS; points out that empowerment of women also helps to counter HIV/AIDS; calls on the governments of the Member States to act together to promote sexual and reproductive health rights and education, including on the use of condoms as an effective tool in the fight against this scourge;
(NEW YORK – C-FAM) The European Parliament's largest umbrella group backed away from its strong pro-life and pro-family positions in a new draft position statement for the 2009 European elections. Members of the mainly Christian Democrat group pushed back last week with a host of amendments aimed at restoring the organization's traditional role of safeguarding human life and the family at the European Parliament.
In a position statement released in January entitled "Draft EPP Election Document 2009," the European People's Party (EPP) removed some bedrock principles supporting traditional marriage and human life found in their 2004 position statement. The EPP is the largest group in the European Parliament with 288 members from 74 coalition parties, primarily Christian Democrat Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Members of the EPP will use the final version of the statement in the course of campaigning in the upcoming continent-wide elections, scheduled for the 4th through 7th of June.
A resolution has been passed at the European Union that proposes to standardise among all member states the legal status of same-sex relationships. The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) issued a media release saying that the resolution represents a “soft-law” approach to the universal recognition of abortion as a human right.
23.1.2009: lifesitenews.com: Hundreds of Thousands at Giant Washington March For Life
WASHINGTON, D.C., January 23, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Hundreds of thousands of pro-life demonstrators marched through the U.S. capital Thursday, protesting the deaths of almost 50 million unborn children by surgical abortion since the practice was legalized nationwide in 1973.
The March for Life, held on the anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision that struck down state laws nationwide, attracted large groups from around the nation, including Catholic dioceses and parishes, organizations of priests and laity, and various pro-family and pro-life organizations. Well over half of the participants were under thirty years old, including a very high percentage of adolescents. (read more ...)
23.1.2009 Obama: First Decisions: Funding Abortion though Family Planning Programs worldwide
WASHINGTON, D.C., January 23, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Yesterday hundreds of thousands of pro-life advocates convened for the annual March for Life in Washington D.C., to commemorate the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton cases that legalized abortion in the United States.
At the same time, newly-sworn in President Barack Obama defied expectations that he would sign an executive order revoking the Mexico City policy, which prohibits taxpayer monies from going to organizations that promote or perform abortions overseas. Instead Obama postponed doing so for a day, and released a statement defending Roe v. Wade and calling for “common ground” in the “sensitive and often divisive” abortion debate.
“On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters,” said Obama. “I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose.”
He continued, “While this is a sensitive and often divisive issue, no matter what our views, we are united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce the need for abortion, and support women and families in the choices they make. To accomplish these goals, we must work to find common ground to expand access to affordable contraception, accurate health information, and preventative services.”
Today, however, Obama is set to sign an executive order rescinding the Mexico City Policy, ensuring that taxpayer monies will be spent on promoting and performing abortions overseas and initiating what is widely expected to be the most pro-abortion administration in U.S. history.
Supporters of the Pro-Life movement (www.catholicvote.com) have had the following advertisment running on TV in America lately.
Listen to Obama (before the election and decision, if feel it is hard to believe (more ...)
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7,14-15)
In his weekly television program, “Keys to a Better World,” Archbishop Aguer pointed to the cultural changes that are taking place in Argentina through laws put forth by a self-proclaimed “progressive” minority. He said the changes are totally foreign to the nation's cultural tradition.
Senator Rónán Mullen together with the Chairperson of the European Peoples' Party at the Council of Europe, Luca Volonte (picture) and Valeriu Ghiletchi, pushed through 29 amendments to a report which initially intended to severely restrict the right of medical staff to refuse to participate in procuring an abortion, but which in the end was transformed into a resolution affirming the right to conscientiously object to abortion. The report was widely expected to carry in its original form.
