Le chercheur

(Picture of Carl Anderson Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight)






Canadian bishops on board for National March for Life
Friday, 08 May 2009


Written by David Wang, The Catholic Register,

Views : 142



OTTAWA - This year’s National March for Life to Parliament Hill on May 14 will see an unprecedented number of Catholic bishops taking part.

“It’s a wonderful occasion,” said Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, who has invited other bishops to attend.

Prendergast attended the March for the first time last spring.


“I was delighted with my participation in it,” he said. “I kind of wish I’d come up before.”

Prendergast said that as of April 20, nine bishops had confirmed their attendance: himself, Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins, Pembroke Bishop Michael Mulhall, London Bishop Ronald Fabbro, Toronto Slovak Bishop John Pazak, Toronto Ukrainian Bishop Stephen Chmilar, Sault Ste-Marie Bishop Jean-Louis Plouffe and retired Keewatin-Le Pas Archbishop Peter Sutton.

Prendergast also confirmed that Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson will speak both at Parliament Hill and at the annual Rose Dinner following the March. The other speaker at the dinner will be retired Liberal MP Tom Wappel.

In previous years, only one or two bishops made the trek to Ottawa. What’s changed? This year’s March falls on the 40th anniversary of the Omnibus Bill that legalized abortion. It also follows the appointment last July 1 of abortionist Henry Morgentaler to Canada’s highest civilian award, the Order of Canada.

“I think it was one of many signs of an attempt to marginalize faith from the public domain,” said Prendergast. “I think we say no, it’s important for people to manifest their commitment.

“One of our difficulties is we’re fighting an uphill battle against the media,” he said.

He noted that last year radio announcements in Ottawa were discouraging people from going downtown because of demonstrations, but failed to say that 8,000 people were demonstrating for life. Yet if 150 demonstrate from another group, it makes the front page, he said.

“The mainstream media is tired of this, they think the issue’s gone away; it’s not important,” he said. “It’s still here, folks.”

He said that when you stand up for something and get involved it becomes your issue, just as children find through becoming involved as altar servers, the parish becomes their church and not somebody else’s.

The bishops got on board for the March for Life at last September’s plenary, when St. Catharines’ Bishop James Wingle asked whether the bishops should show up “en masse” to show their support. After much discussion, the bishops’ Permanent Council asked Prendergast to look into how the bishops might participate. This led to the bishops of Ontario and Quebec being invited to take part.

Though many bishops will not be able to attend, he said, pro-life rallies and demonstrations were to take place across the country so bishops might take part in their own area.


Source: http://www.catholicregister.org

REVEALED: Photographic Evidence of Pro-Abortion Group Funded by Canadian Bishops' Development Arm
Group member confirms to LifeSiteNews that they support abortion on demand and promote the use of contraceptives

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By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

NICARAGUA, April 23, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A representative of a group that is funded by the Canadian bishops' official development arm has admitted in an interview with LifeSiteNews.com that it actively promotes an abortion-on-demand agenda in Nicaragua. The group has worked to block pro-life legislation in the country, demands the legalization of abortion, and supported Obama's decision to revoke the Mexico City Policy. The representative also told LSN that the group promotes and dispenses contraceptives from its "women's health" clinic.

The interview substantiates photos of the group's headquarters, which prominently displays pro-abortion signage, and other documents obtained by LSN and another Canadian pro-life activist.

Recently a traveler to Nicaragua returned with photos of the March 8th Women's Collective, a funded "partner" of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP).

The CCODP (or D&P), which is an arm of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, receives much of its funding from collection drives in parishes held during Lent. Over the last two months LSN has reported that at least 18 groups funded by CCODP are involved in pro-abortion and/or pro-contraception activities. (See all the evidence here: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09041702.html)

The photos of the March 8th Women's Collective, which were first published by Canadian pro-life and pro-family activist John Pacheco on his Socon or Bust blog, show signs posted within the building advocating the legalization of abortion.

According to Pacheco, the eyewitness who took the photos, whom he has spoken to directly, traveled to Nicaragua earlier this year on a "faith-based education trip." One of the projects that she visited on that trip was that of 8 de Marzo (see original blog post at http://www.socon.ca/or_bust/?p=1596).

Pacheco says his source, who wishes to remain anonymous and whom he calls "Conchita," was taken to an office of 8 de Marzo, which includes a clinic capable of doing gynecological exams. The participants were then given a talk by the director of the clinic, Luz Marina Torres, who stated that 8 de Marzo supports the legalization of abortion in Nicaragua and had been involved in campaigns to prevent the passage of the nation's current pro-life penal code, which punishes all abortions except for those necessary to save the life of the mother.

As Torres spoke, she reportedly stood in front of a large banner which proclaims: "VIOLENCE IS: Requiring a girl to carry a pregnancy. We demand the return of therapeutic abortion" (see photo).

"Conchita" also told Pacheco that two doors at the clinic had signs that read, "I support abortion." A poster she photographed proclaimed that 8 de Marzo's mission is to defend "sexual and reproductive rights," a common euphemism used by pro-abortion groups for abortion and contraception (see photo).

A representative of 8 de Marzo who identified herself only as "Carla" confirmed to LSN in a telephone interview that the organization supports the legalization of abortion on demand and has been involved in the struggle against Nicaragua's pro-life penal code.

"In 2006 you were very involved in the struggle to preserve the legal right to perform an abortion," LSN mentioned, at which point Carla interrupted to say, "therapeutic abortion," and added, "yes, and it was stolen here."

"The March 8th Women's Collective, you would like to make abortion available for any woman who would like to choose an abortion, right?" LSN asked. "Claro," responded Carla in Spanish, meaning "of course," or "clearly."

"Do you distribute contraceptives?" asked LSN. "Yes," responded Carla, "there is a sexual and reproductive health campaign, by means of workshops, information...for young people."

LSN has also learned that 8 de Marzo joined a coalition of groups in 2006, including the pro-abortion "Catholics for the Right to Decide," dedicated to stopping pro-life legislation then under consideration by the Nicaraguan Congress.

The purpose of the coalition, called the Focal Point Feminist Movement (Punto Focal - Movimiento Feminista), and its so-called September 28 Campaign, was to "demand of our governments the effective regulation of abortion where it is recognized legally, and to demand its depenalization in cases in which it is still penalized," according to a bulletin issued by the group in September of 2006 (see original in Spanish, page 1, at http://www.puntos.org.ni/servicios/catalogos/actividadesdoc/...).

According to the bulletin, on the first and second of September of that year, 8 de Marzo was to hold a "workshop" for the members of the group, entitled "Reflecting on Therapeutic Abortion" (p.5). On August 16, it held a meeting for the coalition's members to discuss the September 16 Campaign (p.5). It is listed as a member of the coalition on page 8 of the bulletin.

LSN has also verified that 8 de Marzo signed a letter congratulating Barack Obama for approving US overseas funding for pro-abortion groups.

The letter expresses "deep gratitude for your repeal of the Global Gag Rule." The Mexico City Policy, also called the "Global Gag Rule" by pro-abortion groups, was an executive order signed by Presidents Reagan and Bush Sr. and Jr., that prohibited U.S. funding from going to groups that promote or refer for abortions.

"From our daily work with those most affected, we know that your action will have profound positive effects on the lives of millions of people," continued the letter. "We are hopeful that it heralds a new era of U.S. partnership in global cooperation to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and the advancement of women's sexual and reproductive rights worldwide."

It also states: "We specifically call on you to ... support removal of remaining legal and policy restrictions on U.S. funding for safe, voluntary, legal abortion information and services, including the Helms Amendment," and "restore funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), and ensure that officials from your Administration act as a strong voice for women's sexual and reproductive health and rights in the United Nations and other international arenas and do all in their power to translate international agreements into actions that improve women's lives" (see document in its entirety at http://www.filia-frauenstiftung.de/fileadmin/upload_redakteu...).

According to CCODP's 2006-2011 program for Latin America, 8 de Marzo is receiving an unspecified amount of Canadian dollars from the CCODP for "organizational strengthening," "women's health," and "training and development."

The group is one of many CCODP grant recipients documented by LifeSiteNews and SoCon or Bust over the past two months as pro-abortion and/or pro contraception (for full listing of articles on the subject, see http://www.lifesitenews.com/features/DevelopmentPeace/).


Contact Information:

Contact information for every Canadian bishop
http://www.cccb.ca/site/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,...

Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
2500 Don Reid Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1H 2J2
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: (613) 241-9461
Fax: (613) 241-9048

Source ICI

The Evidence Supports the Pope’s View about Condoms



By Richard Bastien



In spite of all the media hype about Benedict XVI’s statement regarding the AIDS crisis in Africa, there is ample evidence to suggest the Pope has a point. To judge whether this is true or not, one need only look at the facts, first with respect to the effectiveness of condoms in preventing the spread of AIDS, and then with respect to other methods of fighting AIDS.



As regards the first point, the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acknowledge that condoms do not provide perfect protection against HIV. While their web site starts out by mentioning that “the most recent meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies of condom effectiveness …demonstrates that the consistent use of latex condoms provides a high degree of protection against heterosexual transmission of HIV”, it then goes on to caution that “condom use cannot provide absolute protection against HIV”. More importantly, it says that “the surest way to avoid transmission of HIV is to abstain from sexual intercourse or to be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and you know is uninfected.”



More specific information about the effectiveness of condoms in the fight against AIDS is provided by organizations supportive of the use of condoms. For example, the Guttmacher Institute, whose mission is “advancing sexual and reproductive health”, did a study on The Effectiveness of Condoms in Reducing Heterosexual Transmission of HIV”. The study concludes that the level of protection from HIV provided by condoms “approximates 87 %, with a range depending upon the incidence among condom nonusers”. It also concludes that “the condom’s efficacy at reducing heterosexual transmission may be comparable to or slightly lower than its effectiveness at preventing pregnancy”. (Family Planning Perspectives, 1999, 31(6):272-279).



In short, using a condom does not provide perfect protection against HIV – it merely reduces the risk. It is like playing Russian roulette with better than usual odds. On June 17, 1987, Dr. Maria Crenshaw, past president of the American Association of Sex Educators stood up before 800 sex-educators at the World Congress of Sexology, in Heidelberg, and asked a revealing question: “If you had available the partner of your dreams, and knew this person carried the HIV virus – would you rely on a condom for protection?” Not a single person raised a hand.



The relative ineffectiveness of condoms in the fight against HIV-AIDS is also attested by experience. Indeed, over the past 20 years, the promotion of behavioral changes has proven much more effective than that of condom use. The director of the AIDS Prevention Research Project at Harvard University, Edward C. Green, recently stated that “research has produced no evidence that condom promotion – or indeed any of the range of risk-reduction interventions popular with donors – has had the desired impact on HIV-infection rates at a population level in high-prevalence generalized epidemics.” Professor Green goes on to note that if we are to progress in the fight against AIDS, “we must accept that the evidence is much stronger for fidelity or partner reduction than for any of the standard-package HIV-prevention measures – in Africa at least”. He also mentions that many African countries that have not seen declines in HIV have seen increases in condom use. However – and this is the point that never gets reported -, in every country in which HIV has declined there have been increases in levels of faithfulness and usually abstinence as well. (First Things, April 2008).



Professor Green’s views are consistent with the findings of various learned journals, like Studies in Family Planning which, in its March 2004 issue, admitted that “no clear examples have emerged yet of a country that has turned back a generalized epidemic primarily by means of condom promotion”. The findings published by this journal further indicate that the promotion of condoms has been accompanied in some cases, not by a reduction, but rather by an increase, in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS. The best example in this regard is Cameroun, where annual sales of condoms increased from 6 million in 1992 to 15 million in 2001 – while the prevalence of HIV rose from 3% to 9% of the total population.



James Shelton, of the US Agency for International Development, expresses similar views in the December 2007 edition of The Lancet, one of the world’s best-known medical journals. He mentions that “something is not working” in the fight against AIDS and then goes on to enumerate “ten myths and one truth about generalized HIV epidemics.” One of the myths is that condoms are the solution. “Condoms alone have limited impact in generalized epidemics”, says Shelton. His view is that the priority should be on “the key driver of generalized epidemics – concurrent partnerships”, i.e. the practice of having sex with multiple partners. He advocates programs that enhance partner-limitation behavior – a solution not inconsistent with what the Pope has been advocating.



The foregoing pertains only to the “mechanics” of sexual relations, which suggests that even from the point of view of a crass materialist, the promotion of condoms as a means of fighting against the scourge of AIDS is, at best, questionable. However, for those who still believe that man is endowed with a soul, it may be noted that, to the extent that it removes a disincentive to engage in casual sex, the promotion of condoms contributes to a moral breakdown which can only facilitate the spread of AIDS.



One need not be a pillar of the Church to see that the views expressed by Benedict XVI are eminently reasonable. To dismiss them as “grievously wrong” or as “contrary to the accumulated evidence” reflects an attitude that is based more on ideology than on common sense.



Richard Bastien is the director of the Catholic Civil Rights League for the National Capital Area and a regular contributor to Égards.


Voir aussi:

Canadian Centre for Policy Studies

On the subject of AIDS prevention, the Pope is right


InsideCatholic.com

InsideCatholic.com

Objet : Canadian Catholic Organization for Development & Peace



March 17, 2009

Archbishop Terrence Prendergast,
Archbishop of Ottawa

Your Grace,

Last week I read a disturbing report about the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace's scandalous activities in funding pro-abortion groups in Mexico. The report claims that hundreds of thousands of dollars are being donated to anti-life, pro-abortion organizations. I have included the full news report here with my correspondence.

As you know, each diocese in Canada collects money on behalf of the CCODP every year. There is a collection envelope during Lent to help fund their activities. This year it is scheduled for this coming Sunday March 29.

For many years, the CCODP has long supported questionable causes, many of which are diametrically opposed to Catholic teaching and the traditional family. Over the years the CCODP has been more interested in promoting social Marxism and social engineering than fulfilling its original mandate of seeking authentic social justice. Personally, I have long since stopped supporting this organization since it is neither Catholic, nor does it seek to foster development or peace. In truth, it sponsors activities and groups which do the exact opposite. I have strongly encouraged family and friends to eschew donations to this group, and I will continue to do so in the future unless some major changes happen within this organization.

This latest revelation, however - while not surprising - represents yet another outrage against the sanctity of human life. What makes this scandal particularly offensive is that the CCODP is taking the sacrificial offerings of unknowing Catholics, who would otherwise be appalled at these revelations, and directing their donations to groups who support the killing of unborn children.

This situation is even more disgraceful considering Ottawa Catholics are heavily involved in the 40 Days for Life Campaign to end the scourge of abortion in Canada. While we are praying, fasting, witnessing and sacrificing here in Ottawa, our money is going to Mexico to kill our brothers and sisters there.

I do not understand why the Catholic bishops continue to support such an organization when it has shown us time and time again that it is more interested in furthering the agenda of the Culture of Death than it is in advancing the Gospel of Life.

This is not merely an isolated event. This theft has been happening for years, and it has not come without a serious cost of credibility to the bishops of Canada. You must understand, your Grace, that this kind of blind support and perhaps even negligent oversight over the initiatives of the CCODP does not enhance the trust or the fidelity a bishop's office deserves.

I can scarcely imagine a more obscene practice which cries out for immediate intervention and correction by the country?s Catholic bishops.

I am therefore asking you to withhold any contributions collected on behalf of the CCODP by the Archdiocese until a full and thorough review is conducted into the beneficiaries of CCODP funding.

If the Archdiocese is seeking a legitimate way to alleviate poverty in the world while still remaining faithful to the Gospel, may I respectfully suggest a Catholic organization like Chalice (chalice.ca) which does the real work of social justice among the less fortunate.

As for the proper disposition on how to clean up the CCODP, I can think of no better illustration than this past Sunday's Gospel reading.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

John Pacheco


Source: Socon.ca

One small victory for freedom of speech


The GazetteMarch 5, 2009

McGill University's student government has bucked an unfortunate national trend by granting full club status to a student anti-abortion group.

The Student Society's decision to grant recognition to Choose Life is not so much a victory for pro-life forces as it is a victory for free speech and freedom of association, values that seem to be under attack, and poorly defended, on many Canadian campuses - where they should be safest.

Students at the University of British Columbia's Okanagan campus, for example, have denied status to an anti-abortion group, and Carleton University's student leaders are considering a motion to refuse support or space to any group that doesn't support "a woman's right to choose."

But anti-abortion groups aren't the only ones having on-campus problems, which is what makes this fundamentally a free-speech issue. Pro-Israeli students often find their views marginalized as well. It appears to be a lot easier, for example, to organize an "Israel-Apartheid" week, like the current ones at McGill and Concordia, than to get a room and a time for a pro-Israeli speaker.

So the McGill students' decision is a hopeful sign that not all students have bought into the notion that debate should be limited to a very narrow spectrum of "acceptable" opinions. But some of the rhetoric in the society's heated two-hour debate over Choose Life's status illustrated the scope of the challenge to free debate: "There's a lot of legitimacy in calling this group oppressive to women," Councillor Sarah Woolf argued. "SSMU operates under an anti-oppressive environment, and we cannot allow this club to continue."

(...)

Pour lire l'article au complet:

Source: © Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

40 Days for Life Campaign begins

TORONTO, Feb. 25 /CNW/ - 40 Days for Life is a period of prayer, fasting

and constant vigil organized by Campaign Life Coalition with the goal of

ending abortion. The campaign began in Texas in 2004 and the first Canadian

ventures took place last fall in Ottawa and Halifax. Here in Toronto this

year, it consists of 40 days from February 25 to April 5, 24/7, 960 hours

on-site prayer vigil at 960 Lawrence Avenue West, outside and across from one

of Toronto's abortuaries.

Many people are not aware that the medical facility located at suite 501,

960 Lawrence Avenue West is also an abortuary in operation since 1996. At this

location many innocent human beings, who are peacefully growing and developing

in their mother's wombs are violently killed by abortion. The slaughter has to

stop!

We believe our most powerful weapon is prayer and fasting. People

dedicate one-hour time periods at the site to witness and plead to heaven for

the tiny lost lives. We also remember the moms and dads whose lives are never

the same after their abortion experience.

Coordinator for the Toronto's 40 Days for Life campaign is Nicole

Campbell.

www.40daysforlife.com/toronto

For further information: Nicole Campbell, Coordinator, 40 Days for Life

Campaign Toronto, Tel: (416) 204-9749, Fax: (416) 204-1027

40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign that has generated measurable lifesaving results in more than 130 cities where it has been implemented. It has lead to a significant drop in abortions on almost all locations, and in some places such as the State of North Dakota Some to the closing of all abortion clinics.

The 40 Days for Life campaign is made up of three key components: prayer and fasting, peaceful vigil and community outreach.

***

UPCOMING MEETINGS: