NEW YORK (zenit.org) — Though not a single U.N. human rights treaty mentions abortion, treaty bodies have pressured 93 nations 122 times to legalize abortion in the last decade, says the executive vice president of a lobbying group. “Though not a single U.N. human rights treaty mentions abortion, treaty bodies have pressured 93 nations 122…
Many pastors and other Catholic leaders encourage their immigrant flock to participate in labor unions. Catholic thinking does not buy the argument that freedom and happiness automatically accrue as individuals pursue their own interest. Catholicism finds that people experience true freedom through participation in the family and other mediating structures, including unions. The labor movement,…
An Interview With Kevin Burke of Rachel’s Vineyard KING of PRUSSIA, Pa. (zenit.org) — One man’s sharing gives other men permission to examine their own role in abortion and the impact it has had on their lives, said counselor Kevin Burke. Burke, the associate director of Rachel’s Vineyard Ministries, and pastoral associate at Priests For…
Irish Office Opts Out of Controversial Policy DUBLIN, Ireland, August 17, 2007 (zenit.org) — Ireland’s branch of Amnesty International will not promote the organization’s new policy of allowing abortion in cases of rape, incest, or threats to the mother’s life. Noeleen Hartigan, director at Ireland’s Amnesty International office, confirmed that the Irish branch is opting…
Many times Catholics of good faith and good will, starting with the same understanding of their moral obligations, may legitimately arrive at very different conclusions and advocate divergent alternative solutions to given social concerns. Catholics for the Common Good avoids getting involved in these kinds of issues, since they offer no possibility for united Catholic…
DARFUR, Sudan, June 19, 2007 (www.zenit.org).- A Caritas employee was shot and killed on his way home from work at a West Darfur refugee camp on Sunday. The Caritas/Action by Churches Together employee, Adam Adam, worked in a camp for displaced persons in West Darfur. As he was on his way home from work Sunday…
New Studies Reveal Close Relationship By Fr. John Flynn ROME (zenit.org) — The fortunes of family life and religion may well be linked, say experts in recent studies. W. Bradford Wilcox, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, is the author of a research brief published in May by the Institute for American…
ROME (zenit.org) — Giving full legal status to marriage between persons of the same sex continues to be a hotly debated topic. On Thursday in the United States the New Hampshire senate voted in favor of a bill granting same-sex couples virtually all the legal rights heterosexual spouses enjoy, reported the Washington Post the same…
ABATA, Sudan (www.zenit.org) — While people living in displacement camps now have access to basic services, remote communities in Darfur have received little humanitarian assistance because of continued security threats to aid workers. A sick child, one of the many victims of the Darfur conflict. Photo by: Ruth Messinger/American Jewish World Service Charlotte Brudenell (of…
WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S Senate passed S.5, the bill that finances scientific research that requires the destruction of living human beings in their embryonic stage of life. It passed on a 63-34 vote — only three votes more than the minimum amount needed to pass. On June 7, S. 5 was passed by the…
The Common Good of Children Takes Precedence in Debate on Family and Marriage ROME (zenit.com) — Focusing on the rights of children could resolve some of the ideological debates surrounding the family, said a professor and ex-diplomat from Norway. Janne Haaland Matlary explained her position today at the opening session of the congress focusing on…
Sgreccia Links Strong Families to Healthy Economies ROME (zenit.com) — Laws allowing de facto unions will hurt many people, and Catholics will “do everything possible” to prevent their passage, said the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life. Bishop Elio Sgreccia said this at the launch in Rome of Carlo Casini’s book “Unioni di fatto,…