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Monday October 18, 2004

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Sen. John Kerry "Excommunicated," According To Vatican Response

SANTA MONICA, CA, October 18, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Los Angeles based expert in Canon Law, the legal code used by the Catholic Church, announced Friday on EWTN's the World Over Live with Raymond Arroyo that an important Vatican congregation has given an unprecedented boost to his case for heresy against presidential candidate John Kerry.

Marc Balestrieri, JCL who has filed a formal case for Heresy against Kerry for his support of the right to abortion, revealed that he has received a written response prompted by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, affirming that Catholic politicians who persist in supporting the right to abortion are "automatically excommunicated."

Mr. Balestrieri, Director of De Fide, said the Response was written by the Reverend Fr. Basil Cole, O.P., an expert theologian based in Washington D.C., who was delegated by the Undersecretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Very Rev. Fr. Augustine di Noia, O.P., to formally respond. As a result, the Response has encouraged him to expand his complaint to include four more pro-abortion Catholic politicians, both Democrat and Republican.

The Response is significant in that it represents the first time in modern history since Roe v. Wade in 1973 that such a clear reply is given to the Catholic faithful. Drafted under the auspices of the official Vatican Congregation with competency to decide doctrinal questions, it is entirely unambiguous and concludes:

"Consequently, if a Catholic publicly and obstinately supports the civil right to abortion, knowing that the Church teaches officially against that legislation, he or she commits that heresy envisioned by Can. 751 of the Code."

Balestrieri also announced that the Denunciation for Heresy, a kind of lawsuit under the Catholic Church's Canon Law, filed against Senator Kerry is now pending before Kerry's bishop, Archbishop Sean O'Malley of Boston.

The boost given him from the Response has prompted Balestrieri to file four additional Denunciations and Complaints against Sen. Ted Kennedy (D) of Massachusetts; Sen. Tom Harkin (D) of Iowa; Mr. Mario Cuomo (D), former Governor of New York; and Sen. Susan Collins (R) of Maine. Balestrieri said the four have been chosen based on their consistent, extensive, and public pro-abortion records.

See Balestrieri's website:
http://www.defide.com

See the Vatican Response:
http://www.defide.com/resp/response.pdf?PHPSESSID=c61956349a...

jhw

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Polish Omnibus Bill Would Legalize Abortion on Demand, Same-Sex Marriage

WINNIPEG, October 18, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Lech Kowalewski, the spokesman for the Polish Federation of Pro-life Movements, told LifeSiteNews.com about new legislation proposed in Poland that seeks to legalize abortion on demand, same-sex 'marriage', embryonic stem cell research and sex-education from grade one.

Kowalewski, in Canada for the National Pro-Life Conference held October 14-16, said that the legislation was before the constitutional commission to determine if its provisions are constitutional. He suggested that there is little chance of the passage of the bill in its current state. The pro-life leader was concerned however that the commission may remove some of the more outrageous demands of the legislation, for instance the clause that would allow minors to have abortions without even informing their parents, and thus make the bill more palatable to parliament.

Kowalewski, and his wife Eva recalled at the conference their struggles against abortion in communist Poland and the eventual end of communist rule and reversal of anti-life legislation. Kowalewski noted that Poland, with a similar population to Canada (30+ million), had the same number of abortions (100,000 + per year) under communism. However, with liberation came the right to life and the latest abortion figures reveal fewer than 200 abortions per year.

jhw

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Conservative MPs Rob Merrifield and Vic Toews Address National Pro-Life Conference

WINNIPEG, October 18, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Conservative Justice Critic Vic Toews and Conservative MP Rob Merrifield addressed the National Pro-Life Conference Thursday and Friday respectively. Toews focused his comments on the abuse of the Charter by the Supreme Court while Merrifield concentrated his remarks on the recently passed Canadian human reproductive legislation.

Toews quoted from conservative American legal scholar Robert Bork, noting that in his book "Coercing Virtue" Bork reports how US courts are imposing a set of values upon American people. Toews also quoted Abraham Lincoln, speaking 150 years ago in his first inaugural address, "the candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the government upon vital questions affecting the whole people is to be fixed by decisions of the supreme court the people will have ceased to be their own rulers, having to that extent resigned their government into the hands of the court."

Toews commented, "it is no different in Canada."

Merrifield spoke of his experience on the Health Committee as the human reproductive legislation was before the committee. He revealed that while the bill is admittedly bad in that it permits the creation of human embryos for deadly experimentation, it is not being held up even in its positive aspects. The legislation requires that all embryonic stem cell research be conducted only with a license from the regulating agency that is to be created.

While the agency is still a year away from being created, the publicly funded research on human embryos is already underway since the aspects of the legislation dealing with those restrictive provisions have not yet been enacted. "The brave new world of embryonic research is here in Canada," he said.

Merrifield said that with the allowance of the creation of human life for experimentation Canada has made an "important and disserving ethical shift in this nation." He said, "This nation was founded on the principles of respect of human life. And if we change that ethic to the place where we are prepared to destroy life solely for the purpose of betterment of others, then we have never gone their as a nation before. That really doesn't come down to an ethical standard but to a mathematical equation. If we reduce our ethic in this nation to math I fear where we will go as a nation."

jhw

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President Bush Chides Kerry on Abortion and Same-Sex Marriage

WASHINGTON, October 18, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - US President George W. Bush, in a radio address Saturday, renewed his commitment to the pro-life life and traditional marriage cause, in anticipation of the November 2 presidential elections.

"In this time of change, some things do not change," he said. "Those are the values we try to live by -- courage and compassion, reverence and integrity. I stand for a culture of life in which every person matters and every being counts. I stand for marriage and family, which are the foundations of our society. I stand for the appointment of federal judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the strict interpretation of the law."

While highlighting his own pro-life activities, President Bush reminded voters of the abominable pro-abortion record of his opponent, Senator John F. Kerry: "My opponent has voted against sensible bipartisan measures, like parental notification laws. He voted against the ban on partial birth abortion."

Also attacking Kerry for his views on traditional marriage, the president again reiterated that "My opponent says he supports the institution of marriage, but he voted against the Defense of Marriage Act, which Congress passed by an overwhelming majority and my predecessor signed into law."

Read the address at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/10/20041016-1.h...

tv

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U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case on Abortion-Breast Cancer Link

WASHINGTON, October 18, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The US Supreme Court has denied the request of three plaintiffs to hear their case against Planned Parenthood. The women accuse Planned Parenthood of refusing to educate women about the link between abortion and breast cancer.

The original lawsuit was launched in August, 2001, by Agnes Bernardo of Chula Vista, Pamela Colip of Loma Linda, and Sandra Duffy-Hawkins of Sacramento. The women simply wanted Planned Parenthood to begin providing women with accurate information about the overwhelming evidence that abortion raises breast cancer risk; they were not suing for monetary damages.

The Supreme Court dismissed the case, upholding an earlier decision by the California Supreme Court, while ordering the women to pay legal fees in excess of $77,000.

"Twenty-eight out of 37 studies published since 1957 have associated this elective surgical procedure with breast cancer," Karen Malec, president of the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer, said, following the launch of the suit in 2001. "Women have a right to make fully informed decisions concerning their own health. If women are denied crucial information about the risks of a procedure, can it really be said that a choice ever belonged to them?"

"Accurate information about the research has been censored by Planned Parenthood and its supporters since abortion was legalized in the U.S. nearly three decades ago," Malec charges. "It was censored by the same people who ardently professed that they cared about women's health. Planned Parenthood's greed will cost women their lives and devastate families. This is a travesty of justice."

See related reporting from LifeSiteNews.com:
Medical Journals Censor Information on Abortion - Breast Cancer Link
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/aug/04082503.html

tv

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Second Proposal to Sell Teens Morning-After Pill without Prescription Considered by FDA

CHICAGO, October 18, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The US Food and Drug Administration has re-opened the case to approve non-prescription sales of the abortifacient morning-after pill to girls 16 years of age or older, after a new proposal was submitted by the manufacturer, Barr pharmaceuticals.

An earlier proposal to sell the drug without a prescription was rejected by the FDA in May; subsequently, Barr re-applied, because the earlier FDA decision left a loophole saying they might reconsider if Barr could show some way of guaranteeing that the drug will only be sold without prescription to girls and women over 16.

Allowing sales without a prescription, besides encouraging promiscuity, will also raise the rates of sexually transmitted diseases and have other consequences, according to gynecologist Dr. Gene Rudd. "They're not going to get their Pap smears; they're not going to get screened for sexually transmitted disease," he said, according to an Associated Press report.

The FDA is expected to release a decision on the matter by early 2005.

Tv

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Pope Warns of "Threatening Shadows" in Sunday Opening of Eucharistic Year

ROME, October 18, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Pope John Paul II warned of 'threatening shadows' hanging over humanity in his anniversary address. The Pope thanked the many thousands of well-wishers Sunday in his regular weekly greeting. Without specifically naming abortion, cloning or related biotechnologies, the Pope warned, "scientific research (is) sometimes put to the service of the selfishness of the strongest." He asked, "What stronger aspiration is there than that of life?"

Catholic criticisms of the direction taken in biotechnological research are founded upon the dangers of utilitarian philosophies in current bioethics. The Pope's reference to 'the selfishness of the strongest,' is against the current thought in bioethics that in so-called 'therapeutic cloning' individual human lives can be sacrificed for research.

The same evening the Pope was present at a Mass celebrating the opening of the Eucharistic year in the Catholic Church and he announced that the next Eucharistic Congress will be held in Quebec City in 2008. At the celebration, the Pope said the Eucharist is also the source of the world's inner life, and contrasted that life with that of "a culture that denies respect for life in every stage."

ph

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UK Mother Demands Parents be Informed of Minors' Abortion

MANCHESTER, October 18, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Manchester mother has given the British health authorities two weeks to review their policy of not allowing parental consent for minors seeking abortion. Sue Axon, 50, from Baguley, Manchester is launching a judicial review in High Court of the Department of Health rules that would allow a twelve-year-old to obtain an abortion through the assistance of a school nurse without her parents' knowledge or consent.

Mrs. Axon had an abortion herself 20 years ago and says she is not trying to make abortion illegal for minors. She said, "Whether you believe in abortion or not, I do not believe any mother would want her daughter to have an abortion without her knowing about it."

Mrs. Axon said in a television interview, "I feel that as a mother they have taken away my right to protect my children. I am prepared to make a stand and challenge them."

Britain's Family Planning Association, a pro-abortion organization associated with International Planned Parenthood Federation, responded to Mrs. Axon's move by saying, "We fully support the Department of Health guidance on providing sexual health advice and treatment to under 16s. We know that young people worry a great deal about the confidentiality of health services and it's one of the main reasons why they fail to seek professional advice."

Mrs. Axon's solicitor has sent a letter to the Department of Health warning them that if the guidelines are not reviewed she would be seeking a judicial review within 14 days. She will argue that the guidelines infringe her rights as a parent under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Manchester Online coverage:
http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/s/133/133919_mum_take...

ph

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LifeSiteNews.com NewsBytes

Lorne Gunter - Kofi Annan probably bears as much responsibility for slaughter and butchery -- through his inaction and ineptitude -- as any person on Earth
http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/comment/sto...

CBC series reveals Top 10 in countdown to who is the Greatest Canadians
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1832&ncid=18...

Stem Cell Debate Focuses on Morality and Money
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&u=/latimests/...

Anglicans Criticize U.S. Church on Gays
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20041018/D85PRO383.html

B.C. bishop backs same-sex unions despite Anglican report
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2004/10/18/anglican_r...

Pope to visit Quebec in 2008?
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/10/18/papal_vis...

Evangelicals Told To 'Vote Their Values'
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story...

Church Going Reduces Mortality By 25 Per Cent
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/features/scn-sa-toye6oct05,0...

Will the silence of most U.S. Catholic Bishops help elect pro-abortion Kerry?
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/kralis/041015

Conservative MP Breitkreuz Re-Introduces Women's Right to Know Act Motion
http://www.garrybreitkreuz.com/Private%20Members%20Motions/o...

No Sunday shopping in Nova Scotia
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/10/17/sundaysho...

Will "The Passion" be snubbed by Oscars?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6257067/site/newsweek/

Collaboration Among Religions a Duty: Advice in an Age of Terrorism
http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=58866

FDA Weighs Morning After Pill Teen Access
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20041017/D85PC8O80.html

Nurses group opposes stem-cell plan
http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/ca/story/11096131p-12...

Musgrave seeks money to fight "radical" gay agenda
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~64~2471507,00.ht...

Gay-Friendliness a Prerequisite for Media Accreditation
http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/a0034147.cfm

German couple fight state for seven 'stolen' children
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/10...

As technology's power to peek is mushrooming, is anybody noticing?
http://www.pbs.org/wsw/news/fortunearticle_20041011_01.html

Births must keep up with immigrants, cardinal tells Catholics
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1203152004

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