Calif. Quietly Shifts Away from Embryo Research
Investors Knock Waste on Useless Research
LOS ANGELES, CA, January 29, 2010 - California's Institute for Regenerative Medicine came into being five years ago, fueled by a conviction that the Bush administration's restriction on embryo-destructive research in the National Institutes of Health was stifling the progress of science. But after years of fruitless work, the Institute has now quietly diverted funds from embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) to adult stem cell research - which has already produced dozens of treatments and all-out cures for maladies ranging from spinal cord injury, to Alzheimer's, to type I diabetes.

Ron Prentice

Marriage Trial Update Blog

Prayers / Oracións

California Marriage Trial
Testimony Concludes-Battle Just Beginning
SAN FRANCISCO, January 29, 2010 -- With the courtroom testimony of the trial for marriage completed, there will be much more to come before Chief U.S. Federal District Judge Vaughn Walker actually renders a decision. Ron Prentice, Chairman and Executive Director of ProtectMarriage.com has provided some analysis and  a glimpse of the long road ahead.

More than 40,000 take a Walk for Life on the West Coast
Saturday January 23rd was the date of the sixth annual West Coast Walk for Life, officially known as “Walk for Life WC”. This year’s event drew by far, the largest crowd in history of the event and estimates pegged the total number at just over 40,000 participants. The City of St Francis was alive with Pro-Life spirit and it took the shape of every age, race, gender and socio-economic status imaginable—including a blind walker led along the 2-plus mile route by two companions, and several individuals walking with canes and a limp. As one participant with a cane told me, “Yes it’s painful, but worth it! We’re speaking for those who never got a chance to speak, let alone walk!” But that’s not all…

California Prop 71 Bait and Switch
A Jobs Program for Scientist
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 -- Investor’s Business Daily opines that Proposition 71 has been a failure [at finding promised cures]. [But] sad fact is that Proposition 71 was a smashing success that splendidly served the broader purpose for which it was brought forth. Using outrageous hype–little children getting out of their wheelchairs, etc.–its designers saw it both as a political  hammer with which to concuss President Bush (only bruising him) and, more importantly, as a way by which to grab a permanent seat at the table of power for the Science Establishment.

Haiti Devastated by Earthquake
Archbishop Dies
How You Can Help
BALTIMORE, MD, January 13, 2010– The U.S. Geological Survey reports that a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti 10 miles southwest of the capital of Port au Prince at 4:53 p.m. Eastern, Tuesday, Jan. 12.Catholic Relief Services is readying food and other aid to help families affected by a powerful earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12. CRS has committed an initial $5 million (US) to help survivors of the devastating quake.

Marriage and Prop 8 Go On Trial in San Francisco

Marriage Trial Update Blog

Prayers / Oracións

National Call for Prayer and Fasting
Trial Could Determine Future of Marriage in U.S.
SAN FRANCISCO, January 8, 2010 -- The greatest threat against Prop 8 and traditional marriage so far is a trial, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, that starts in Federal District Court in San Francisco on Monday, January 11. It is not only an attack on the initiative passed by voters last year, but an attack on the supporters themselves. Plaintiffs claim that there is no rational reason to preserve marriage as between a man and a woman except hatred or bigotry. This case will likely go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and has the potential of forcing same-sex “marriage” not only on California, but on the entire nation.

Petals in the Dust: India's Missing Girls
Gino and Nyna Caputi, Catholics for the Common Good members, provide a wonderful example of the principle of solidarity. They saw something intolerable, something extermely horrible, and they did not turn away. They have taken on a huge project to make a film to let the world know about the deadly assault on girls in India.

Holy Family Sunday Message
Safeguard the Family Founded on Marriage
VATICAN CITY, December 27, 2009 (VIS) - Before praying the Angelus on this Sunday of the Holy Family, the Pope reminded the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square that "God wished to reveal Himself by being born in a human family, and hence the human family has become an icon of God.

U.S. Bishops-- Senate Health Bill Unacceptable
Essential Changes Needed Before Moving Forward
WASHINGTON, DC, Decermber 22, 2009 —The current health care reform bill is “deficient” and should not move forward without “essential changes,” the chairmen of three committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said December 22.

New Abortion Amendment Still Unacceptable
Senate Still Expanding Fed Role in Abortion
WASHINGTON, December 19, 2009 --The Senate health reform bill should not move forward in its current form, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, and Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City said December 19, as senators proceeded closer to a vote. Cardinal DiNardo chairs the bishops’ Committee on Pro-life Activities. Bishop Murphy chairs the bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. Bishop Wester chairs the bishops’ Committee on Migration.

Celebrate Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe December 12
Star of the New Evangelization
Patroness Special to CCG and Marriage Advocates
On the Jubilee Year 2000, Pope John Paul II gave the Americas a new patroness for the evangelization of culture, Our Lady of Guadalupe, whom he identified as the "Star of the New Evangelization". During Proposition 8, we placed the volunteers and the entire campaign to restore marriage under her protection. Since then, we have come to recognize that she is playing a critical role in the life of this apostolate. She is not only our mother and intercessor, but our model and guide.

New US Bishops Bioethical Statements
Reproductive Technologies and Nutrition and Hydration
BALTIMORE, MD, November 17, 2009 - In addition to the Pastoral Letter on marriage, the Bishops approved an important document on reproductive technologies, “Life-Giving Love in an Age of Technology,” which addresses Catholic teaching on a range of infertility treatments including in vitro fertilization, embryo adoption, sperm and egg donation and surrogacy and offered recommendations for approved therapeutic means that help a couple conceive. The Catholic Key Blog reported that like the recent Vatican document Dignitas Personae, it raised serious moral concerns about "embryo adoption" without definitively ruling it out as a legitimate option for couples.