News

Epidemic of Christians murdered for their faith

2011-06-07T20:10:00.003+09:30

Massimo Introvigne of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) reported that Christians killed every year for their faith number 105,000, and that number includes only those put to death simply because they are Christians. It does not count the victims of civil or international wars.

"If these numbers are not cried out to the world, if this slaughter is not stopped, if it is not acknowledged that the persecution of Christians is the first worldwide emergency in the matter of violence and religious discrimination, the dialogue between religions will only produce beautiful conferences but no concrete results," he stated.

No flat earth in church history: Many saints all accepted that the Earth was a globe

2011-06-05T17:05:00.003+09:30

The idea that the uncouth people of the Middle Ages thought the Earth was flat is a myth that has been propagating since the nineteenth century, intended to give us a quite unfair view of this vibrant and exciting period.

The myth that Christians in the Middle Ages thought the world was flat was given a massive boost by Andrew Dickson White's book, 'The Warfare of Science with Theology' published in 1896. This book has become something of a running joke among historians of science and it is dutifully mentioned as a prime example of misinformation in the preface of most modern works on science and religion.

The flat Earth is discussed in chapter 2 and one can almost sense White's confusion that hardly any of the sources support his hypothesis that Christians widely believed in a flat earth. He finds himself grudgingly admitting that St Clement, Origen, St Ambrose, St Augustine, St Isodore, St Albertus Magnus and St Thomas Aquinas all accepted the Earth was a globe - in other words none of the great doctors of the church had considered the matter in doubt. Although an analysis of what White actually says suggests he was aware that the flat Earth was largely a myth, he certainly gives an impression of ignorant Christians suppressing rational knowledge of its real shape.

Read more at Medievil Science and Phiosophy

Three reasons to stop 'same sex' marriage

2011-06-04T07:21:00.003+09:30

Redefining marriage from the union of a man and a woman to the union of any two persons jettisons three foundational principles: first, the principle that children are entitled to a relationship with both parents, second, the biological principle for determining parentage, and third, the principle that the state recognizes parentage, but does not assign it.

The essential public purpose of marriage is to attach mothers and fathers to their children and to one another. The child is entitled to a relationship with and care from both of the people who brought him into being.

Same sex marriage redefines parenthood, as a side effect of redefining marriage. Up until now, marriage has made legal parenthood track biological parenthood, with adoption for exceptional situations. The legal presumption of paternity means that children born to a married woman are presumed to be the children of her husband. With this legal rule, and the social practice of sexual exclusivity, marriage attaches children to their biological parents. Same sex couples of course, do not procreate together.

Redefining marriage will have far-reaching legal consequences. Courts are awarding parenting rights to individuals who are neither biological parents nor adoptive parents. Let us call these people “non-parents.” The courts, and now even some legislatures, are giving parental rights to non-parents. Perfectly fit parents are having their rights diminished because they once had a sexual relationship with someone.To do this, the state must establish multi-part tests for determining whether a person warrants the status of “de facto parent.” The court ends up scrutinizing the minutiae of family life to make a determination about whether a person meets the criteria for being a de facto parent.

The alternative to the biological principle for determining parentage is the principle that the government decides who is a parent. Instead of simply recording parentage, the state will determine parentage, not in exceptional cases, but routinely. This is what “getting the state out of the marriage business” will eventually come to mean.

Read more at Mercator

Do people starve because of over population? No, it has been estimated that the world could feed up to 35 billion people.

2011-06-01T20:45:00.004+09:30

Lack of food is not the problem but rather the need for more efficient distribution.

Overpopulation is a myth. It has nothing to do with the amount of people but rather the availability of resources and the capacity of the environment to sustain human activities. To be overpopulated, a nation must have insufficient resources, food and living space.

Indian economist Raj Krishna estimates that India alone is capable of increasing crop yields to the point of providing the entire world’s 6.8 billion inhabitants with food.

Up to 12 million unborn girls have been deliberately aborted by Indian parents determined to ensure they have a male heir

2011-05-28T16:02:00.000+09:30

The elimination of female unborn children in India is widening the gap between girls and boys and storing up social problems for the future. In some towns there is already a shortage of brides and there are fears the growing gender imbalance will worsen attitudes to women. Governmental efforts to reduce discrimination against female babies have been successful in places such as South Korea.

It has been hoped that socio-economic progress would lead to a change in attitude towards girls but the evidence suggests otherwise. Wealthier, better-educated couples are the worst offenders. Although all strata of Indian society share a preference for sons, better-off families have access to and can afford the ultrasound tests to reveal the sex of the child.

Read more at Independent

Recent Gallup poll shows a trend towards preserving the life of the un born in America

2011-05-27T17:29:00.001+09:30

Sixty-one percent of American adults—including some who describe themselves as “pro-choice”—told Gallup in a survey conducted May 5-8 that abortion should be illegal in all or most circumstances.

The percentage saying abortion was “morally wrong” did not differ by gender, with 51 percent of men and 51 percent of women saying abortion was morally wrong. It did differ by age group, however. Younger Americans tended to have a tougher moral view of abortion than their elders.

One person commented at CNSNews and said...

This completely invalidates the claims of NOW and other feminist organizations who say that abortion is all about “women’s health”.

It also is inconsistent with the claim that it is men who push for “forcing” women to bear children. Feminists have classically tried to paint a picture of the poor exploited woman who becomes nothing but a vessel for pro-creation with a dominating man taking away her right to choose.

In truth, a woman who has had a baby has a much more reverent attitude toward life. She knows, from personal experience, that what resides in the womb after conception is much more than just some impersonal “product of pregnancy”. She knows that an intrauterine child is a living human being. She knows this because of a deeply personal and intimate relationship that develops between mother and child from the moment of conception.

John Jay College of Criminal Justice study: Homosexuality clearly a factor in the abuse of adolescent males by catholic clergy

2011-05-26T07:34:00.004+09:30

Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons, a top psychiatrist and expert in handling sexually abusive priests said that...

"Analysis of the research demonstrates clearly that the major cause of the crisis was the homosexual abuse of males."

It is commonly believed that the majority of recent sexual scandals involving catholic priests, were acts of pedophilia. But the data from this study shows that less than 5 percent of abuse involved prepubescent children. Instead, homosexuality, not pedophilia was clearly the primary sexual aberration driving the bulk of abuse. Nearly 80 percent of victims were post-pubescent and adolescent males.

Read more at LifeSiteNews

Chastity education more appropriate for our teens than "Safe Sex" contraceptive propaganda

2011-05-24T16:08:00.004+09:30

A recent study by the US government "National Survey of Family Growth" has found that more young adults aged 15 to 24 had chosen not to have any sexual contact than the previous 2002 study.

These figures suggest that, rather than bombarding all high school kids with contraceptive information (not to mention perverse alternatives to sexual intercourse) abstinence or chastity education is an appropriate option. Indeed, it seems reasonable to infer that official encouragement of abstinence education in the 1990s and up to 2008 has been effective.

Read More at Family Edge

The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution by History and Philosophy of Science professor James Hannam

2011-05-21T12:38:00.004+09:30

Many of the alleged examples of religion holding back scientific progress turn out to be false. For example, the Church has never taught that the Earth is flat or tried to ban lightening rods or tried to ban human dissection or excommunicated Halley's Comet. Yet, all these stories are still regularly trotted out as examples of the church trying to hold back scientific progress.

Christianity has a far more positive role to play in the history of science than commonly believed. The church has supported scientific research in a number of forms. One was simply financial. Until the French Revolution, the Catholic Church was the leading sponsor of scientific research. Starting in the Middle Ages, it paid for priests, monks and friars to study at the universities.

By the seventeenth century, the Jesuit order had become the leading scientific organisation in Europe, publishing thousands of papers and spreading new discoveries around the world. The cathedrals themselves were designed to double up as astronomical observatories to allow ever more accurate determination of the calendar. And of course, there is the father of modern genetics, Gregor Johann Mendel, a scientist and Augustinian monk.

Given that the Church has not been an enemy to science, it is less surprising to find that the era which was most dominated by Christian faith, the Middle Ages, was a time of innovation and progress. Inventions like the mechanical clock, glasses, printing and accountancy all burst onto the scene in the late medieval period.

Read more at Medieval History of Science

http://blogs.nature.com/soapbox_science/2011/05/18/science-owes-much-to-both-christianity-and-the-middle-ages

Marriage redefined is marriage destroyed, National Prayer Day for Families.

2011-05-18T16:05:00.004+09:30

There is currently a bill to legalise homosexual marriage before the parliament. Because of this bill, children could be robbed of their right to a mother and a father. In an attempt to stop this moral decay there will be a national day of prayer and fasting on Sunday 24th, 2011 at Great Hall, Parliament House, Canberra.

Marriage redefined is marriage destroyed. Australia is feeling the effects of its rampant immorality and easy divorce culture. Family life in Australia is descending into relational chaos and our children are paying the price.

Cohabitation and the abuse of children

2011-05-16T20:29:00.004+09:30

According to a recent report (NIS-4), children living with their mother and her boyfriend are about 11 times more likely to be sexually, physically, or emotionally abused than children living with their married biological parents. Likewise, children living with their mother and her boyfriend are six times more likely to be physically, emotionally, or educationally neglected than children living with their married biological parents.

But children living with their own father and mother do not fare much better if their parents are only cohabiting. The federal study of child abuse found that children living with their cohabiting parents are more than four times more likely to be sexually, physically, or emotionally abused than their peers living in a home headed by their married parents. And they are three times more likely to be physically, emotionally, or educationally neglected than children living with their married biological parents. In other words, a child is not much safer when she is living in a home with her parents if her parents’ relationship does not enjoy the legal, social, and moral status and guidance that marriage confers on relationships.

A new study of cultures all around the world suggests that religion comes naturally, even instinctively, to human beings.

2011-05-14T20:48:00.003+09:30

Children in particular found it very easy to think in religious ways, such as believing in God's omniscience, said Oxford University professor Roger Trigg. But adults also jumped first for explanations that implied an unseen agent at work in the world, the study found.

Studies around the world came up with similar findings, including widespread belief in some kind of afterlife and an instinctive tendency to suggest that natural phenomena happen for a purpose.

Professor Trigg is the co-director of the three-year Oxford-based project, which incorporated more than 40 different studies by dozens of researchers looking at countries from China to Poland and the United States to Micronesia.

The study has profound implications for religious freedom. If you've got something so deep-rooted in human nature, thwarting it is in some sense not enabling humans to fulfill their basic interests.

Some believe that religion is a private matter but such a belief is wrong. It isn't just a quirky interest of a few, it's basic human nature. The study shows that it's much more universal, prevalent, and deep-rooted. You can't just pretend it isn't there.

Read more at Belief Blog

British MP Nadine Dorries introduced a bill last week calling for all schoolgirls to be given lessons in how to say “no to fornication."

2011-05-11T20:11:00.006+09:30

British MP Nadine Dorries introduced a private member’s bill last week calling for all schoolgirls aged 13 to 16 to be given lessons in how to say “no to fornication”,

The MP went on to say that...

"The answer to ending our constant struggle with the incredibly high rate of teenage sexual activity and underage pregnancies lies in teaching our girls and boys about the option of abstinence, the ability to 'just say no' as part of their compulsory sex education," she said.

"Peer pressure is a key contributor to early sexual activity in our country. Society is focused on sex.

"Teaching a child at the age of seven to apply a condom on a banana is almost saying, 'Now go and try this for yourself'.

"Girls are taught to have safe sex, but not how to say no to a boyfriend who insists on sexual relations."

Read more at Family Edge

Rebecca Visser responded to the article on the Family Edge site saying ...

Kudos to this MP. Young people do respond to positive messages about their sexuality - messages that actually expect them to rise up to difficult challenges that in the end will help them. We do teens a disservice when we think they are not capable of controlling themselves. The current sex education models basically treat them as if they are animals. If we truly believe teens are better off not having sex when they are young, then we need to teach them how to avoid having sex, to control their hormones, to be in healthy relationships, and to stand up to pressure.

The Australian Human Rights Commission and Gender confusion: transsexual, androgynous, agender, cross dresser, genderfluid, genderqueer, intergender.

2011-05-09T19:00:00.004+09:30

In matters of human sexuality, there are male and female. It is an established biological fact. There are those who claim this classification is completely and artificially constructed by society. They claim that humans are not made male and female. Rather, we should all be free to reject the “gender” identity forced upon us and adopt whatever “gender” we want. We are no longer male or female but can choose to be either one or the other, both, and/or neither.

What is clear, is that the whole “gender” debate, which accuses traditional society of artificially constructing sexual roles, is itself artificial and counterfeit. Advocates of this unrestrained sexuality cannot restrain their imagination in expanding the new categories that must be protected, even to the point of taking it to the ridiculous and absurd. They are likewise creative in manufacturing a whole list of phobias (biphobia or transphobia) for those who disapprove of these aberrant behaviors.

Read more at TFP

Mother of two Jessica Council gives up her life to save her unborn child

2011-05-01T11:48:00.004+09:30

What began as a sore throat quickly developed into throat cancer. Doctors suggested that Jessica could undergo cancer treatment but this would either harm or kill the unborn child that she carried.

On February 5, Jessica went to sleep with a headache and nausea but never woke up. The following day the hospital declared Jessica “brain dead”, and her husband Clint gave the doctors the go-ahead to deliver by C-section. After the delivery, doctors realised the baby was only about 23 and a half weeks along – the absolute threshold of viability.

“I can only testify to God’s grace on that, because Jessica died right when the baby was viable for life outside the womb,” says Clint. Doctors say baby Jessi is doing well.

Clint went on to say, “I am privileged to have had a Wife who was so full of the love of the Father. Rejoice with me, Brothers and Sisters. God has blessed Jessica in taking her to place of perfect peace and no pain. I must be thankful for the time that I had with her rather than ungrateful for all the things we never got to do together. We must give thanks in all things for this is the will of God in Jesus Christ.

Read more at LifeSite

Former SAS commander Jim Wallace attacked by radical gay activists attempting to silence him on same sex 'marriage'

2011-04-29T10:33:00.000+09:30

On Twitter earlier this week Jim made the comment that..
"Just hope that as we remember servicemen and women today we remember the Australia they fought for - wasn't gay marriage and Islamic!"

According to the Australian War Memorial web site, ANZAC day is...
The day we remember all Australians who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. The spirit of ANZAC, with its human qualities of courage, mateship, and sacrifice, continues to have meaning and relevance for our sense of national identity.

It was in this contect that Jim Wallace made these remarks regarding same sex marriage and Muslims.

I disagree with Jim regarding his remarks about Muslims. Part of our national identity is the belief in freedom of religion. As Australians we are free to practice the religion of our choice and I believe that the ANZAC's fought to maintain this freedom.

With regard to his comment about same sex 'marriage', I can't imagine our servicemen and women, past and present, willing to fight and die for the right of two men to have mutual masturbation or perform sodomy on each other and then receive the states blessing in the form of legal same 'sex marriage'.

Well done to Jim Wallace for bringing this issue to light at the time he did.

Source http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/25/3199917.htm

Galileo's heirs advise the pope-modern myth and historical facts

2011-04-26T11:44:00.000+09:30

An article in the swissinfo.ch titled 'Galileo's heirs advise the pope' has some historical errors which I would like to set straight. The article says...

Historically, however, the Catholic Church has had a strained
relationship with science....

I don't believe this to be true at all. The church has supported scientific research for centuries. During Galileo’s time, the Jesuits had a highly respected group of astronomers and scientists in Rome. Many notable scientists received encouragement and funding from the Church and from individual Church officials. Many of the scientific advances during this period were made either by clerics or as a result of Church funding.

Nicolaus Copernicus' unpublished work 'Commentariolus', (which was not printed during his lifetime), first proposed a heliocentric theory of cosmology, placing the sun at the center of the solar system. This led many of his friends to request that he publish his findings. Among these were Cardinal Schonberg of the Roman Curia, Bishop Giese of Culm, and the future Pope Paul III.

Pope Clement VII insisted that this material be expanded into the great work of Copernicus' career, 'On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres', which proposed a sun-centered theory of cosmology. The printed book was dedicated to Pope Clement's successor, Paul III.

In 1616 a handful of clerics managed to put the book 'On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres' on the Index of Prohibited Books; no one could read it until certain passages were corrected. Fewer than ten sentences, characterizing the heliocentric theory as fact rather than hypothesis, had to be changed. In 1758 the book was removed.

Other noteworthy Catholic contributors to science include.
1. Egyptologist Fr. Athanasius Kircher.

2. The man frequently cited as the father of atomic theory Fr. Roger Boscovich.

3. Fr. Giambattista Riccioli was the first person to measure the rate of acceleration of a freely falling body.

4. Geologist, Fr. Nicholas Steno.

5. The scientist who discovered the diffraction of light and even gave the phenomenon its name was Fr. Francesco Maria Grimaldi.

6. Fathers Riccioli and Grimaldi also drew up a very accurate selenograph which currently adorns the entrance to the National Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

The swissinfo.ch article goes on to say that....

The church took exception to Galileo’s insistence that the earth wasn’t the centre of the universe. In 1633 he was found “vehemently suspect of heresy” and spent the rest of his life under house arrest. The church eventually realised Galileo was in fact correct, but it was only in 1992 – almost 360 years later – that Pope John Paul II “expressed regret” for how he was treated.

The church took exception to Galileo because he stopped proposing heliocentricity as a theory and began proclaiming it as truth, even though there was no conclusive proof of it at this time in history. Galileo would not have been in so much trouble if he had chosen to stay within the realm of science and out of the realm of theology. Despite his friends’ warnings, he insisted on moving the debate onto theological grounds.

The Catholic Church today acknowledges that Galileo’s condemnation was wrong. Galileo's long time friend Cardinal Maffeo Barberini (later Pope Urban VIII), was a member of Galileo's scientific society and a fan of Galileo. Galileo received permission from the new pope to write a work on heliocentrism, but was cautioned not to advocate the new position, only to present arguments for and against it. When Galileo wrote the 'Dialogue on the Two World Systems', he used an argument the pope had offered, and placed it in the mouth of his character Simplicio. Pope Urban felt mocked and could not believe how his friend could disgrace him publicly. Galileo had mocked the person he needed as a benefactor. He also alienated the Jesuits who were his long-time supporters, with attacks on one of the Jesuit astronomers. A trial resulted and Galileo was put under house arrest. It was during this time that Galileo wrote his finest work, a book dealing with motion and inertia that is a cornerstone of modern physics.

It is a good thing that the Church did not rush to embrace Galileo’s views, because it turned out that his ideas were not entirely correct. Galileo not only believed that the sun was the fixed centre of the solar system but the fixed centre of the entire universe. Modern science tells us that the sun is not the center of the universe and that it does move—it simply orbits the center of the galaxy rather than the earth.

Galileo and his opponents were partly right and partly wrong. Galileo was right in asserting the mobility of the earth and wrong in asserting the immobility of the sun. His opponents were right in asserting the mobility of the sun and wrong in asserting the immobility of the earth.

Had the Catholic Church rushed to endorse Galileo’s views—and there were many in the Church who were quite favorable to them—the Church would have embraced what modern science has disproved.

It's interesting to note that during all of Galileo's conflicts with the Church, other astronomers, including Johannes Kepler, were openly writing and teaching heliocentrism. Yet he never had the problems Galileo did, in part because he had less to do with the Catholic Church but also because he did not have Galileo's biting arrogance.

So it was that Galileo's spiteful manner, his knack for turning even his best friends into enemies, repeatedly got him in trouble. In considering his famous run-in with the Church, it's important to remember that the root of his problems were not his scientific views but his own unbridled arrogance.

Earth Day founder Ira Einhorn murdered his girlfriend Helen "Holly" Maddux

2011-04-24T09:29:00.006+09:30

Ira Einhorn was on stage hosting the first Earth Day event at the Fairmount Park in Philadelphia on April 22, 1970. Seven years later, police raided his closet and found the "composted" body of his ex-girlfriend inside a trunk.

Is it true that many who have an obsession with environmental issues also have a lack of respect for human life? I don't think this is true for all greenies but I suspect that their 'world view' may lead them to believe that human life has no more dignity than a maggot. This is why greenies in general also support other issues such as population control, euthanasia and abortion.

I think environmental issues need to be addressed without trampling on human rights and human dignity.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42711922/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Archbishop Hickey: The Pope has said nothing to change the official policy on the use of condoms in the matter of HIV.

2010-12-01T19:51:00.003+10:30

When commenting on the news flurry that followed certain comments by Pope Benedict XVI in his latest book, Archbishop Hickey said....

“The Church’s business is to call people to conversion, not to minimise the immorality of certain acts. Only a change of behaviour to self-control, chastity, or fidelity to one married partner, will ensure that HIV is not transmitted. This is what the Church has to offer in the fight against AIDS. This is what the Pope has advocated and it is what the promoters of condoms should also be doing. Instead, they seem intent on doing everything possible to encourage sexual freedom and are very reluctant to promote the obvious human solution of self-control” he said.

He went on to say that...

"The reasons why condoms might make AIDS transmission worse are:
- They give a false sense of security to those engaged in sexual acts because condoms have a high failure rate.
- Continued use over even a short time will guarantee the transmission of HIV or any other sexually transmitted disease.
- Condoms do not encourage a change of behaviour, and only a change of behaviour in terms of self-control, chastity or fidelity to one married partner will ensure that HIV is not transmitted."

Peter FitzSimons of the Sydney Morning Herald gets a dressing down over remarks about the pope.

2010-11-29T21:25:00.004+10:30

Peter FitzSimons yesterday in the Sydney Morning Herald launched an attack on the Catholic Church and the Pope, suggesting people who follow the Pope’s and thus the Church’s teaching on moral issues are ‘brainwashed from birth’.

The first mistake FitzSimons makes is assuming that there is a consensus that condoms are the solution to the AIDS crisis. There is no such consensus among scientists and community leaders, and to place criticism upon a group and a person for an issue which has not been concluded is unfair and wrong.

Read more at The Catholic League of Australia

Adult Stell Cell Technology Leaves Embryonic Treatments For Dead

2010-11-28T13:28:00.003+10:30

Doctors associated with the German umbilical cord blood bank Vita 34 say that they have cured a child’s leukemia completely using an infusion of adult stem cells from umbilical cord blood.

After continuous monitoring of the child for five years now, with no sign of leukemia cells in her blood, doctors say that they have confirmed that the treatment worked.

The new treatment is the latest in a long string of hundreds of successes in the science of stem cell treatments that use mature cells rather than embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cell treatments, which destroy a human life, have never been proven effective in any medical treatment to date. Treatments with mature stem cells do not cause harm to the donor of the cells.

Stem cell pioneer Dr. Colin McGuckin recently told LifeSiteNews that, despite amazing success with umbilical cord blood treatments, it remains difficult to obtain funding for research because of the “cult of celebrity” in science, which rewards controversial research over research that is truly effective in saving lives.

“People aren’t talking about cord blood because it’s not controversial,” McGuckin told LSN. “Consequently, it does not make headlines and therefore researchers who want to use the cells from cord blood do not receive funding.”

lifesitenews

Parnell's Euthanasia Bill Put To Death in SA Parliament

2010-11-27T07:24:00.005+10:30

MP Mark Parnell's controversial voluntary euthanasia bill has thankfully been defeated in the South Australia's state parliament. It sought to amend the Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Act to allow a person to request to end their life.

Family First MLC Dennis Hood said the bill was "dangerous" and he was relieved it was defeated.

"Parliament has spoken loud and clear. Voluntary euthanasia for SA has been soundly defeated and should be moved off the agenda," he said.

Influential Port Pirie Catholic bishop Gregory O'Kelly was among the many vocal opponents of the bill, blaming the recent rise of minor political parties for "pushing death.

"It is a sadness that the first moves around our nation under our new political arrangement seem to be a promotion of death and abuse of marriage," he said in September.

smh.co.au

Protect Life, Marriage and Religious Liberty in Australia

2010-11-25T20:33:00.002+10:30

The Canberra Declaration is a call to our national leaders to protect life, defend marriage, support family, secure our religious freedom and safe guard our children. The values listed in the Canberra Declaration are under threat! They are being attacked and undermined on many fronts, by dedicated and devoted enemies.

Read more about it and sign the petition Canberra Declaration

Childbirth is safer than Abortion

2010-04-01T15:03:00.003+10:30

Abortion harms women by exposing them to a wide range of serious risks, both immediate and long-term. Abortion is not safer than childbirth.

Recent analyses of large medical databases that link to death certificates (“record linkage studies”) show that pregnancy-associated deaths are between two and four times higher for women who abort than for women who deliver.

Maternal mortality is lower in nations with pro-life laws restricting abortions. Countries with permissive abortion law have higher maternal death rates. Ireland, which has constitutional protection for the unborn, has the lowest maternal mortality rate in Europe.

In early 2010, a study in Chile shows that bans on abortion do not increase maternal deaths. Their research found that maternal mortality peaked in Chile in 1961, at a time when abortion was legal. Abortions caused 34 percent of maternal deaths that year. In contrast, in 2007, after Chile banned abortion, maternal mortality rates had been lowered 97.9 percent.

Greater access to abortion does not result in lower maternal mortality.

News media omits facts in an attempt to implicate Pope Benedict XVI in covering up child abuse

2010-03-31T16:51:00.001+10:30

A former judge for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has shot back at New York Times and Associated Press articles that have attempted to implicate Pope Benedict XVI in a “cover-up” of clerical abuse by Fr. Murphy, and others.

Fr. Thomas Brundage slammed the news organizations for making "a huge leap of logic and information" in connecting the pontiff to the case involving Fr. Murphy, and for failing to do the basic courtesy of contacting him or checking the accuracy of quotations erroneously attributed to him.

"As I have found that the reporting on this issue has been inaccurate and poor in terms of the facts, I am also writing out of a sense of duty to the truth"

"He (the Pope) has been most reactive and proactive of any international church official in history with regard to the scourge of clergy sexual abuse of minors. Instead of blaming him for inaction on these matters, he has truly been a strong and effective leader on these issues."