Damascus: children at Christian school killed by rebel fire; 2 churches hit : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

• Syrian rebels fired mortar shells at a Christian school and two churches in the Damascus area, killing five children and injuring 27 others, according to a Fides news agency report.

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Damascus: children at Christian school killed by rebel fire; 2 churches hit : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Iran: convert to Christianity released from prison : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

• Mostafa Bordbar, a Muslim convert to Christianity who was sentenced to ten years in prison in July, has been released, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a British organization that monitors the persecution of Christians. 

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Iran: convert to Christianity released from prison : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Pope urges prayers for Filipino storm victims, sends personal contribution to relief effort : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

• Pope Francis has sent a message of condolence to the people of the Philippines in the wake of a murderous typhoon, and followed up with a personal contribution of $150,000 to help relief efforts.
• In Manila, meanwhile, the country’s Catholic bishops have acknowledged that Typhoon Haiyan brought “absolute pandemonium” to the country, and reported that the storm “may even be the worst the world has ever seen.” 

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Pope urges prayers for Filipino storm victims, sends personal contribution to relief effort : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Potential Muslim-Christian genocide feared in Central African Republic : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

• The United Nations’ special adviser on the prevention of genocide said recently that he feared the violence in the Central African Republic could spiral into genocide.
• “We are seeing armed groups killing people under the guise of their religion,” said Adama Dieng. “My feeling is that this will end with Christian communities, Muslim communities killing each other which means that if we don't act now.

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Potential Muslim-Christian genocide feared in Central African Republic : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Australian doctor faces disciplinary action for refusing to do sex-selection abortion : News Headlines

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

• An Australian doctor may lose his medical license for refusing to before a sex-selection abortion.
• Dr. Mark Hobart declined to perform an abortion on a healthy young woman, 19 weeks pregnant, who was disappointed to learn that the baby was a girl. The doctor also refused to refer the couple to another doctor who would perform the abortion.

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Australian doctor faces disciplinary action for refusing to do sex-selection abortion : News Headlines

Who's To Blame For The Shutdown: Dems or GOP? (A Poll)

It seems with the government shutdown, slim-down (or maybe better called "Every American Is Gonna Suffer Except the Politicians" fiasco), every politician on one side of the aisle is pointing his or her dirty little fingers at the other side in blame.

Each side claims the American people blame one side or the other, so in this poll, who do YOU blame?

Daniel Doherty - Wendy Davis Makes it Official

The following excerpts are from Townhall.com:

• We’ve had ample warning this was coming. Now it’s official. State Senator Wendy Davis (D-TX) is running for governor

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Daniel Doherty - Wendy Davis Makes it Official

Canadian Muslim Brotherhood Group Loses Charitable Status Over Terror Funding

The following excerpts are from AINA.org:

• The Canada Revenue Agency has revoked the charitable status of an Islamic group after it says it distributed over $280,000 to an agency allegedly linked to a terrorist organization in Pakistan.
• The CRA announced Friday it will strip the Islamic Society of North America Canada's Development Foundation of its charitable status.

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Canadian Muslim Brotherhood Group Loses Charitable Status Over Terror Funding

Gates, Panetta Question Obama's Syria Strategy

The following excerpts are from AINA.org:

• President Barack Obama's first two defense secretaries on Tuesday night questioned his Syria strategy and said they would have told him not to seek Congress' approval for a strike on President Bashar Assad's forces.
• Speaking at a forum in Dallas, Robert Gates and Leon Panetta disagreed on whether the United States should ultimately carry out a military strike in retaliation for a chemical attack that the U.S. says killed 1,400 people. But both men said Obama shouldn't have asked Congress to approve a strike, and both were skeptical and sometimes sarcastic about the current Russia-backed negotiations to have Syria turn over its chemical weapons.
• Panetta said he supported a strike because Obama needed to enforce the "red line" he set over Syria's use of chemical weapons.
• "When the president of the United States draws a red line, the credibility of this country is dependent on him backing up his word," Panetta said.
• But Gates said a strike would be like "throwing gasoline on an extremely complex fire in the Middle East." He brought up past interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya as examples of how American military action can lead to unintended consequences.
• He also dismissed attacking Syria to enforce a red line.
• "I believe to blow a bunch of stuff up over a couple of days to underscore or validate a point or principle is not a strategy," he said.

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Gates, Panetta Question Obama's Syria Strategy

Churches, Monasteries Abandoned in Small Syrian Christian Town Following Rebel Fighting

The following excerpts are from AINA.org:

• The fate of the small, predominantly Christian town of Maaloula, Syria, remains uncertain after remaining rebel factions continued to clash with the occupying Syrian army over the weekend. Reports from the area indicate that most of the village's cathedrals and worshipping spaces were abandoned Sunday due to the threat of a continued rebel presence linked to al-Qaeda.
• Although Syria's army, loyal to President Bashar Assad, claims to have re-taken control of the small town north of Damascus at the beginning of the weekend, reporters visiting the war-torn region have said that in the past few days, rebel fighters have remained on the fringes of the town, firing at army forces from nearby caves that overlook the small mountain city.
• "There was hardly time to notice the white statue of Christ the Redeemer on the hillside before we were fired on, bullets aimed at our van, blowing our tire and holing the chassis. We screeched to a halt and scrambled clear," Bill Neely, the International Editor for ITV News, wrote in an Op-Ed for The Telegraph.
• "We were caught in the middle of a town the Syrian army had declared liberated from rebel control the day before. But it was not, and for the next four hours, I witnessed a fierce battle as the army tried to dislodge the snipers of, among other groups, Jabhat al-Nusra, the fighters allied to al-Qaeda," Neely added.

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Churches, Monasteries Abandoned in Small Syrian Christian Town Following Rebel Fighting

Two Hostages of Syrian Jihadists Say Chemical Attack Was Launched By the Rebels

The following excerpts are from AINA.org:

• Two Europeans who were allegedly abducted and held hostage for several months in Syria claim they overheard a conversation between their captors suggesting the Syrian rebels were behind the deadly chemical attack in Damascus. The men were released on Sunday.
• Belgian teacher Pierre Piccinin and Italian journalist Domenico Quiric both say they were able to eavesdrop on an English-language Skype session between their abductors in which they allegedly revealed that it was the Syrian rebels who perpetrated the attack so that the West would intervene.
• "In this conversation, they said that the gas attack on two neighborhoods of Damascus was launched by the rebels as a provocation to lead the West to intervene militarily," Quirico told the Italian daily newspaper La Stampa. "We were unaware of everything that was going on during our detention in Syria, and therefore also with the gas attack in Damascus."
• Piccinin said he has a "moral duty" to share what he heard. He also stressed that he and his fellow hostage were completely cut-off from the outside world and didn't even know chemical weapons had been used in the first place.
• "The government of Bashar al-Assad did not use sarin gas or other types of gas in the outskirts of Damascus," Piccinin reportedly told Belgium's RTL radio station.
• Quirico, a journalist, correctly acknowledged that there is no proof that the conversation he overheard was based on irrefutable facts. He was sure to point out that he "cannot say for sure that it is true because I have no means of confirming the truth of what was said." However, he also revealed that one of the three people he overheard in the alleged conversation identified himself as a Free Syrian Army general, according to the La Stampa report.
• Italy's Quotidiano Nazionale reports Quirico as saying: "I am extremely surprised that the United States could think about intervening, knowing very well how the Syrian revolution has become international jihadism -- in other words Al-Qaeda."
• The 62-year-old journalist was highly critical of the opposition in Syria in another interview, claiming that radical Islamic groups operating in Syria want to take down Assad and "create a caliphate and extend it to the entire Middle East and North Africa," the Russia-friendly RT reports.
• Peccinin agreed with Quirico, telling RTL that it would be "insane and suicidal for the West to support these people."
• The two men were reportedly kidnapped in Syria last April by a group of heavily armed men in pickup trucks. They were believed to be with the Free Syrian Army, though that has not been verified.

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Two Hostages of Syrian Jihadists Say Chemical Attack Was Launched By the Rebels

Syria Rebel Coalition Rejects Russia Chemical Weapons Handover Proposal

The following excerpts are from AINA.org:

• The military wing of the U.S.-backed Syrian National Coalition (SNC), an umbrella opposition group fighting against President Bashar Assad, has flatly rejected a proposal by Russia which would see the regime hand over control of its vast chemical weapons stockpiles to international control to avoid U.S. military strikes.
• After more than two and a half years of bloodshed in Syria which has left more than 100,000 people dead and millions displaced, the Russian initiative was announced Monday and quickly agreed to by Assad's government.
• The U.S., Israel and France have voiced cautious optimism that the plan could yield results, but remain skeptical that Syria is genuine in its offer to hand over the weapons, and concerned about how such an operation could actually function in a country where fighting between government forces and rebels is intensifying.
• Late Wednesday, Gen. Salim Idriss, the head of the SNC's military council, said in a video posted online that he and his fellow rebel commanders "announce our definitive rejection of the Russian initiative to place chemical weapons under international custody."
• "We ask that the international community not be content with withdrawing chemical weapons, which are a criminal instrument, but to hold the perpetrator accountable and prosecute him at the International Criminal Court," Idriss said, blaming Assad for an Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack on the Damascus suburbs which the Obama administration says left at least 1,400 people dead.
• French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Thursday, meanwhile, that a United Nations team of inspectors would likely publish its report on the attack in the eastern Ghouta suburbs on Monday.

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Syria Rebel Coalition Rejects Russia Chemical Weapons Handover Proposal

Syria's Rich Archaeological Treasures Imperiled By Civil War

The following excerpts are from AINA.org:

• The Romans occupied modern-day Syria, and before them, the Assyrians, Persians and Akkadians built empires there.
• The country is home to ancient Paleolithic fossils, some of the earliest evidence of agriculture and one of the largest troves of cuneiform tablets ever discovered.
• "It's probably one of the oldest occupied areas of the Earth," said Emma Cunliffe, an archaeology researcher at Durham University in England, who has published a report documenting archeological damage in Syria. "It's been continuously occupied since before modern man even existed."
• Yet hundreds of archaeological sites are imperiled by civil war in Syria; bombing and looting have ravaged some of the richest of these sites; government and rebel forces have occupied ancient castles and bulldozed archaeological mounds created over thousands of years of human occupation. All six of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country have been damaged, Cunliffe said.

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Syria's Rich Archaeological Treasures Imperiled By Civil War

China Argues Against US Action Against Syria

The following excerpts are from AINA.org:

• China on Monday urged the U.S. not to take unilateral action against Syria in response to last month's chemical weapons attack against civilians.
• Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Washington had briefed Beijing over the matter and China was highly concerned about any use of chemical weapons.
• But he said China opposed the U.S. acting alone and believed any response must conform to the U.N. Charter and the basic principles underlying international relations.

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China Argues Against US Action Against Syria

Putin Calls Obama's Syria Military Push 'Nonsense'

The following excerpts are from AINA.org:

• As President Barack Obama seems Congressional approval for a military strike on Syria, his counterpart in the Kremlin said Saturday that Washington's chemical weapons call is "unimaginable nonsense."
• Washington says Syria's government used chemical weapons against its own people. Moscow says it did not.
• Once again, the two old enemies are sparring over Middle East unrest, with Putin dead-set against military action on their former ally.
• Ria Novosti newswire reported today had Putin defending Syria's government, saying he believed they did not use chemical weapons against. The United Nations has not been able to confirm the validity of Washington's charge at this time.
• For his part, Putin did not deny the use of chemical weapons in Syria, but said he doubts it was used by the government. Putin has basically come out and said that chemical weapons were being used to scapegoat the government of Bashar Assad.
• "I am sure this was no more than a provocation by those looking to drag other countries (into the conflict) and obtain support of powerful international player, particularly the United States," Putin said about the chemical attack that reportedly killed hundreds last week. "Claims that the proof exists, but is classified and cannot be presented to anybody are below criticism," Putin said.

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Putin Calls Obama's Syria Military Push 'Nonsense'

UN's Syria Samples to Undergo Meticulous Scrutiny

The following excerpts are from AINA.org:

• They've endured repeated delays, unrelenting scrutiny and even snipers' bullets in Damascus. Now U.N. inspectors, who have been gathering evidence of a possible chemical weapons attack in Syria, are poised to return to the Netherlands in coming days, setting in motion a meticulous process of analyzing samples at specially accredited laboratories.
• According to the team's U.N. mandate, the analysis will establish if a chemical attack took place, but not who was responsible for a deadly Aug. 21 attack that Doctors Without Borders says killed 355 people and included the use of toxic gas. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that Washington knows, based on intelligence, that the Syrian regime carefully prepared for days to launch a chemical weapons attack.
• U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to get an initial briefing on the U.N. team's work this weekend from disarmament chief Angela Kane. The team is expected to leave Syria on Saturday, but it remains unclear exactly how long the process of examining samples will take.

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UN's Syria Samples to Undergo Meticulous Scrutiny

Iraq Opposes Use of Its Airspace or Territory in Any Attack on Syria

The following excerpts are from AINA:

• Iraq said Monday it opposes the use of its airspace or territory in any attack on Syria, as Western powers warn of possible military action against Damascus.
• "We do not agree to any use of our airspace ... to attack any neighbouring country through our land," Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's spokesman said, asked if Baghdad would authorise the use of its airspace in any action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
• "Our position is fixed on this subject."

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Iraq Opposes Use of Its Airspace or Territory in Any Attack on Syria

Liberal Hypocrisy in Iraq and Syria

The following excerpts are from AINA:

• In a response with clear echoes to the beginnings of the Iraq War, Obama has refused Syria's offer to open its chemical weapons sites to United Nations inspectors as coming too late to be credible.
• For the worst half of a decade, liberals were either urging us to give the UN inspectors more time in Iraq or demanding to know "Where are the WMDs?" once the war had begun.
• The common consensus was Syria; a fellow Baathist regime that also served as the pipeline for the majority of suicide bombers aimed at American soldiers. But that answer was met with ridicule and contempt from the questioners.
• Liberals had found their killer talking point and they were not about to let it go. Not until now.

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Liberal Hypocrisy in Iraq and Syria

Woman receives hate-filled letter asking her to move or euthanize autistic son | Fox News

The following excerpts are from FoxNews.com:

• A hate-filled letter received by a family in Canada telling them to move out of the neighborhood or euthanize their autistic son has gone viral, prompting a flood of support for the family.

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Woman receives hate-filled letter asking her to move or euthanize autistic son | Fox News

North Carolina expands conscience protection, bans sex-selective abortions : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

• North Carolina’s bishops have welcomed the passage and signing into law of a bill that recognizes the right of nurses and other healthcare workers not to participate in an abortion. Previous state law on conscience protection had protected only physicians.
• The new law also bans insurance coverage for most abortions in health-insurance exchanges, places limits on abortion coverage in insurance policies offered to city and county employees, and states that “no person shall perform or attempt to perform an abortion upon a woman in this State with knowledge, or an objective reason to know, that a significant factor in the woman seeking the abortion is related to the sex of the unborn child.”

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North Carolina expands conscience protection, bans sex-selective abortions : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Only 24% of Americans aware that religious freedom is 1st Amendment right : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from CatholicCulture's Catholic World News:

• An annual survey of over 1,000 Americans has found that only 24% of respondents are able to identify religious freedom as a First Amendment right.
• The survey, conducted by the Newseum Institute’s First Amendment Center, also found that only 13% of women and 6% of men believe that religious freedom is the most important freedom mentioned in the First Amendment.
• “The majority of Americans (62%) agree that if a religiously affiliated group receives government funding, then the government should be able to require the group to provide health-care benefits to same-sex partners of employees, even if the religious group opposes same-sex marriages or partnerships,” the survey continued.

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Only 24% of Americans aware that religious freedom is 1st Amendment right : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Texas Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz Must Repay $1.4 Million After Medicaid Fraud | LifeNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeNews.com:

• The Planned Parenthood abortion business must repay $1.4 million dollars in Texas after it was found to have participated in a massive Medicaid fraud scheme.
• Last year, a former employee of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast has filed a whistleblower’s complaint with the Attorney General of Texas and the U.S. Department of Justice. The PPGC employee alleges that the abortion business engaged in an elaborate Medicaid fraud scheme.
• Karen Reynolds, who worked as a “health care assistant” from 1999 to 2009 at the Lufkin, Texas, branch of the affiliate formerly known as Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas, submitted company memos and emails to support her charge that PPGC has engaged in a systemwide scheme to bilk Medicaid, Title XX, and the Women’s Health Program of tens of millions of dollars over the course of at least a decade.
• Reynolds alleges bosses trained employees to bill government agencies for medical and family planning services not rendered, for services no reasonable medical personnel would provide, and – the biggest bombshell – for abortion-related services fudged to appear as if they were not.

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Texas Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz Must Repay $1.4 Million After Medicaid Fraud | LifeNews.com

Malaysia: papal envoy voices regrets for uproar over using 'Allah' : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

• Archbishop Joseph Marino has issued a statement expressing regret for any misunderstandings created by his remark that Christians had made a “logical and acceptable” case for using the word “Allah” in reference to God.

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Malaysia: papal envoy voices regrets for uproar over using 'Allah' : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Rio WYD organizers face financial squeeze : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

• With registration lagging below expectations, the World Youth Day (WYD) celebration in Rio de Janeiro faces financial problems, reports John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter.
• Organizers had hoped to attract at least 1 million people to WYD. But less than a month before the events, only 320,000 young people had registered.
• Many young people who might have made the trip to Rio are probably being discouraged by the unrest in Brazil. Angry protests—sometimes breaking out into violence—have been organized to protest government spending priorities, including the decision to host both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.

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Rio WYD organizers face financial squeeze : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Catholic Relief Services gave over $13 million to pro-abortion group in 2012 | LifeSiteNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeSiteNews.com:

• As the U.S. Bishops’ development agency was taking heat last summer for handing out over $5 million to the abortion-supporting group CARE, they were in the midst of giving a total of $13.8 million in grants to the same pro-abortion group during 2012, according to its recently-published IRS filings.
• While CARE claims it “does not fund, support or perform abortions,” in 2009 its president and CEO, Helene Gayle, appeared before a Senate committee to urge the funding of abortions abroad by overturning the Mexico City Policy. CARE also heavily distributes contraceptives, including the abortifacient “emergency contraception,” as part of its development efforts.

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Catholic Relief Services gave over $13 million to pro-abortion group in 2012 | LifeSiteNews.com

Police brutality against pro-family protestors in France : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's  Catholic World News:

• Two dozen members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recently signed a statement decrying police actions against pro-family protestors in France.
• “Hundreds of walkers and protesters were brutalized, gassed, arbitrarily arrested and jailed for 24 hours and more,” the lawmakers stated in reference to protests in recent months. “Reports from lawyers and NGOs indicate that more than 600 individuals have been arrested and jailed.”

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Police brutality against pro-family protestors in France : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

NAACP Attacks Arizona Bill Prohibiting Abortions Based on Race | LifeNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeNews.com:

• Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a motion to intervene Monday in a lawsuit filed by a branch of the NAACP and others against an Arizona bill that prohibits gender- and race-based abortions.
• Alliance Defending Freedom represents the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Steve Montenegro, and The Frederick Douglass Foundation. Also moving to intervene is Maricopa County Attorney William Montgomery, who is empowered to enforce the Arizona law.
• “Every innocent life deserves to be protected, and that’s especially true of babies being targeted for death simply because of their sex or race,” said Senior Counsel Casey Mattox. “There is nothing medically necessary or constitutionally protected about an abortion that is committed on the basis of sex or race, and the NAACP should be opposed to such a practice more than anyone.”
• Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP’s Maricopa County branch is suing together with the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum. Together the groups claim that the Arizona law is unconstitutional and stigmatizes minorities for their decision to have an abortion.
• “It is a tragic injustice to discriminate against unborn babies because of their race or gender,” said Montenegro, primary sponsor of HB 2443. “The public must not be misled by misinformation aimed solely at dismantling a law that gives every child the equality he or she deserves.”

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NAACP Attacks Arizona Bill Prohibiting Abortions Based on Race | LifeNews.com

POPE FRANCIS: BE PROUD TO GO AGAINST THE CURRENT

Vatican City, 23 June 2013 (VIS) – At noon Sunday, the Holy Father Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to pray the Angelus with the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square. Before the Marian prayer he recalled Jesus' most incisive words: “whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” He then asked: “but what does it mean 'to lose one's life for Jesus' cause'? This can happen in two ways: by explicitly confessing the faith or implicitly defending truth. The martyrs are the best example of losing one's life for Christ. In two thousand years an immense host of men and women have sacrificed their lives to remain faithful to Jesus Christ and his Gospel. And today, in many parts of the world, there are … so many martyrs who give their lives for Christ, who are brought to death for not denying Jesus Christ. This is our Church.”

“Today we have more martyrs than in the first centuries! But there is also the daily martyrdom, which doesn't result in death but is also a 'losing of one's life' for Christ: doing one's duty with love, according to the logic of Jesus, the logic of giving and sacrifice. Think how many fathers and mothers put their faith into practice every day, offering their lives for the good of the family! … How many priests, brothers, and sisters generously carry out their service for the Kingdom of God. How many young people give up their own interests to dedicate themselves to children, the disabled, the elderly... These too are martyrs! Everyday martyrs, martyrs of everyday life! And there are many people, Christians and non-Christians, who 'lose their own life' for the truth. Christ said 'I am the truth', so those who serve the truth serve Christ.”

The Holy Father recalled how St. John the Baptist devoted himself entirely to God and, in the end, died for the truth. “How many people pay dearly for their commitment to the truth! How many righteous men and women prefer to go against the current so as to not deny the voice of their conscience, the voice of truth! Righteous people, who are unafraid of going against the current! And we must not be afraid!”

Before concluding, the Pope addressed the young persons present, telling them: “Don't be afraid to go against the current, when they want to steal our hope, when they propose rotten values to us, values like food that has gone bad—and when food has gone bad it makes us sick, these values make us sick. We have to go against the current! And you, young people, be the first: Go against the grain and be proud of going against the grain. Go on, be brave and go against the current! And be proud of doing it!”

You can find more information at: www.visnews.org

The news items contained in the Vatican Information Service may be used, in part or in their entirety, by quoting the source:

V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.

Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City

Pope Francis takes teen with Down syndrome for a spin on the Popemobile | LifeSiteNews.com

Pope Francis takes teen with Down syndrome for a spin on the Popemobile | LifeSiteNews.com

Cardinal to mark Korean War anniversary by dedicating church on border : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

• Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, the archbishop emeritus of Seoul, will dedicate a new church on the border between North and South Korea on June 25, the sixtieth anniversary of the end of the Korean War.

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Cardinal to mark Korean War anniversary by dedicating church on border : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Selfishness leads to death, Pope warns on day dedicated to Gospel of Life : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

• “Whenever we want to assert ourselves, when we become wrapped up in our own selfishness and put ourselves in the place of God, we end up spawning death,” Pope Francis said as he celebrated Mass for “Evangelium Vitae Day” at the Vatican on June 17.
• Thousands of pro-life activists gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the morning Mass, as the Vatican called attention to the pro-life cause in an observance organized for the Year of Faith. In his homily the Pope reflected on the day’s Scripture readings, relating them to the cause of life.

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Selfishness leads to death, Pope warns on day dedicated to Gospel of Life : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

NY Gov. Cuomo unveils radical late-term abortion expansion bill: likens to ‘bill of rights’ | LifeSiteNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeSiteNews.com:

• New York Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled a bill that would radically expand abortion-on-demand in the Empire State today.
• In a press conference, Cuomo at long last revealed the text of his “Women's Equality Act,” a 10-point plan putatively aimed at strengthening women's rights. However, one plank would remove abortion from the state's penal code and affirm abortion at any point during pregnancy if the mother's “health” is in danger – a category so broad it could allow virtually any abortion at any time.
• New York State Right to Life slammed the bill as "a Trojan Horse - a beautifully gift-wrapped package of death and destruction."
• Charmaine Yoest of Americans United for Life (AUL) said that if the bill passes, "New York will be sanctioning unrestricted, virtually unregulated, and taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand, making it the most radically pro-abortion state in the nation."

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NY Gov. Cuomo unveils radical late-term abortion expansion bill: likens to ‘bill of rights’ | LifeSiteNews.com

Some gays distance themselves from campaign supporting lesbian teen accused of statutory rape | LifeSiteNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeSiteNews.com:

• Not every homosexual activist is willing to stand behind Kate Hunt, the 18-year-old Florida woman accused of statutory rape for engaging in oral sex and mutual masturbation with a 14-year-old girl.
• Hunt was arrested in February and charged with two felony counts of lewd and lascivious battery against a child between the ages of 12 and 16 for having sex with her then-14-year-old girlfriend (whose name is being withheld because of victim protection laws).  Florida’s age of consent is 18, or 15 as long as both partners are 18 and under.  If convicted, Hunt faces up to fifteen years in prison and will have to register as a sex offender. 
• Hunt has become a martyr of sorts for homosexual activists nationwide, who have plastered social media with personal pleas and links to a “Free Kate” website and Facebook group started by Hunt’s parents, who claim their daughter’s arrest was motivated by ‘homophobia’ on the part of the victim’s parents.
• So far over 300,000 people have signed a petition in favor of Kate on Change.org.
• But a local chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) has released a statement denouncing the Free Kate movement.

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Some gays distance themselves from campaign supporting lesbian teen accused of statutory rape | LifeSiteNews.com

Girl Scouts Join Planned Parenthood at Huge Pro-Abortion Conference | LifeNews.com

[The following shows why not only the Boys Scouts, but the Girl Scouts have also lost their way. This is why I won't buy Girl Scout cookies.]

The following excerpts are from LifeNews.com:

• In May 2013, WAGGGS participated in Women Deliver, a global conference with the purpose of “call[ing] for action to improve the health and well-being of girls and women.”
• The conference featured speakers such as late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart, philosopher Peter Singer, who supports infanticide and euthanasia, and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Some of the breakout sessions were entitled “Outing and Addressing Abortion Stigma” and “Why I Perform Abortions.” Exhibitors included many abortion and population control advocates such as Amnesty International, Guttmacher Institute, International Planned Parenthood Federation, Marie Stopes International, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, United Nations Population Fund, and WAGGGS.
• After a while, though, the surprise fades. That’s when reactions start to diverge. I became mad. At only fourteen, I learned of WAGGGS’ advocacy for abortion. I was angry that I had been deceived by an organization I had mistakenly come to trust. My sister became sad. She felt hurt and betrayed when she realized that GSUSA simply is not what it says it is. Instead of remaining neutral on issues like abortion, as they promised, the Girl Scouts fund and hang out with aggressive abortion rights advocates.

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Girl Scouts Join Planned Parenthood at Huge Pro-Abortion Conference | LifeNews.com

Bishop Finn not liable in child-porn lawsuit, Missouri judge rules : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

• A federal judge in Missouri has ruled that the Diocese of Kansas City (Missouri) and Bishop Robert Finn cannot be held liable in a civil lawsuit against a priest who had lewd photos of the plaintiff.

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Bishop Finn not liable in child-porn lawsuit, Missouri judge rules : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

IRS Scandal Grows: Agency Withheld Approval of Pro-Life Group | LifeNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeNews.com:

• The scandal involving IRS discrimination against conservative groups is growing. In one case LifeNews has profiled, a pro-life group was told it had to promote abortion.
• Now, the Thomas More Society is speaking out about blatant bias by the supposedly apolitical tax-collection agency. The pro-life legal group informed LifeNews today that cases it handled support mounting accusations that demonstrate the agency’s abuse of pro-life organizations, in addition to those identified as ‘tea party’, ‘patriot’, or ‘government spending’ groups.

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IRS Scandal Grows: Agency Withheld Approval of Pro-Life Group | LifeNews.com

Scientists Claim They Have Cloned Human Embryos for Stem Cells | LifeNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeNews.com:

• Researchers in Oregon claimed they have succeeded in producing cloned human embryos and obtained their embryonic stem cells.
• They have engaged in the grisly research with the goal of producing genetically matched stem cells for research and possible therapies — even though embryonic stem cells have never helped human patients and cause tumors when injected.
• The Oregon Health & Science University  scientists published today a paper in the online journal Cell reporting on the use of cloning techniques to produce human embryos, 21 of whom they were able to sustain to the point in development at which stem cells were present, after which the human embryos were killed and the stem cells harvested.
• Leading pro-life advocates quickly condemned the clone and kill methods that destroyed unique human beings.

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Scientists Claim They Have Cloned Human Embryos for Stem Cells | LifeNews.com

9 arrested after deadly Tanzanian church bombing | Inquirer News

The following link will take you to INQUIRER.net :

9 arrested after deadly Tanzanian church bombing | Inquirer News

PRESS OFFICE COMMUNIQUE ON COLLABORATION BETWEEN CONGREGATION FOR DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH AND CONGREGATION FOR INSTITUTES OF CONSECRATED LIFE

Vatican City, 7 May 2013 (VIS) – “The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) and the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life have for some time been collaborating on a renewed theological vision of Religious Life in the Church. The concern of the Holy See, expressed partially in the Doctrinal Assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in the United States, is motivated by a desire to support the noble and beautiful vocation of Religious so that the eloquent witness of Religious Life may prosper in the Church to the benefit of future generations.”

“The initiatives of the Holy See in this area are concerned primarily with the faith of the Church and its expression in Religious Life. The Church’s faith—in the loving plan of the Father who sent his Son to be our Saviour, in the inspiration of Sacred Scripture, in the gift of grace through the Sacraments, in the nature of the Church guided by the Holy Spirit—this faith is at the heart of the Evangelical Counsels. It motivates the passion for justice shared by so many Religious women and men, and it seeks ever to be expressed in active charity towards those most in need.”

“Recent media commentary on remarks made on Sunday, 5 May, during the General Assembly of the International Union of Superiors General by Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life, has suggested a divergence between the CDF and the Congregation for Religious in their approach to the renewal of Religious Life. Such an interpretation of the cardinal’s remarks is not justified. The prefects of these two Congregations work closely together according to their specific responsibilities and have collaborated throughout the process of the Doctrinal Assessment of the LCWR. Archbishop Gerhard Muller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Cardinal Braz de Aviz met yesterday and reaffirmed their common commitment to the renewal of Religious Life, and particularly to the Doctrinal Assessment of the LCWR and the program of reform it requires, in accordance with the wishes of the Holy Father.”

You can find more information at: www.visnews.org

The news items contained in the Vatican Information Service may be used, in part or in their entirety, by quoting the source:

V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.

Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City

1 dead, 44 injured in blast in Tanzanian Catholic church | Fox News

The following excerpts are from FoxNews.com:

• A Tanzanian police official says a woman died and 44 people were seriously injured when a bomb exploded in a Roman Catholic Church in northern Tanzania.

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1 dead, 44 injured in blast in Tanzanian Catholic church | Fox News

Pope tells Argentine Bishops to use doc restricting communion for pro-aborts | LifeSiteNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeSiteNews.com:

• In a letter to the Bishops of Argentina sent in late March, Pope Francis directed Argentina’s Bishops to govern the Church there following the Aparecida Document. 
• Although the letter did receive some media attention, few outlets mentioned the stress Pope Francis placed on the Aparedica document.   In the letter, the Pope urged the Argentine Assembly of Bishops to use the Aparecida document as their framework. “These are the guidelines we need for this time in history,” he said. 
• The Aparecida document was first presented in 2007 by then-Cardinal Bergoglio – now Pope Francis -- on behalf of the bishops of Latin America. The document made a very clear statement regarding the consequences of supporting abortion - disallowing holy communion for anyone who facilitates an abortion, including politicians.

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Pope tells Argentine Bishops to use doc restricting communion for pro-aborts | LifeSiteNews.com

Roman Catholic bishop of Harrisburg dies suddenly - SFGate

Bishop McFadden Photo Courtesy AP

The following excerpts are from SFGate:

• Bishop Joseph McFadden, who led the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg for the past three years, died unexpectedly Thursday after feeling ill, church officials said. He was 65.
• McFadden had been in his native Philadelphia attending a meeting of the Catholic Bishops of Pennsylvania. Officials said he awoke feeling ill and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A cause of death has not yet been announced.
• McFadden was appointed the 10th bishop of Harrisburg in June 2010 and installed two months later. The diocese serves about 250,000 Catholics in 15 counties in central Pennsylvania.

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Roman Catholic bishop of Harrisburg dies suddenly - SFGate

Colombian Senate overwhelmingly rejects homosexual ‘marriage’ | LifeSiteNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeSiteNews.com:

• The Senate of Colombia voted down a bill to create homosexual "marriage" yesterday by an overwhelming majority of 51-17, with 32 senators either not present or abstaining.
• The defeat of the bill means that it will not pass to the lower Chamber of Deputies, and is effectively dead.  However, the country is rapidly approaching a deadline set by the Constitutional Court in a July 2011 ruling requiring homosexual couples to be given benefits similar to those associated with marriage.
• The defeat followed days of growing protests outside of the Senate building, with demonstrators chanting "I won't shut up, I won't shut up, marriage is between a man and a woman!"

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Colombian Senate overwhelmingly rejects homosexual ‘marriage’ | LifeSiteNews.com

Vatican newspaper raps 'divisive' French push to legalize same-sex marriage : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

• L’Osservatore Romano has criticized French President Francois Hollande for pushing forward with legal recognition of same-sex marriage despite popular protests.

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Vatican newspaper raps 'divisive' French push to legalize same-sex marriage : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Hey Obama, Kermit Gosnell Is What a Real War on Women Looks Like | LifeNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeNews.com:

• At nearly six weeks, the Gosnell trial has something in common with its unborn victims: it has a heartbeat now, and not just in the conservative press. The story is pulsing through the mainstream media, as alive as it’s ever been in the two years since Kermit Gosnell’s conviction. For once, the bloodcurdling accounts–so otherworldly that Snopes had to separate it from urban legend–are receiving the attention the pro-abortion press never wanted to give it.
• Of course, now that the media has been shamed into doing its job, a handful of reporters can’t help but try to spread the blame around. Taking its cues from Gosnell apologists like NARAL, outlets like Slate, The Atlantic, and Huffington Post have the audacity to condemn pro-lifers for the clinic’s barbarism. If women were forced to go to Gosnell, they claim, then they were “driven there by fear of anti-abortion protestors outside Planned Parenthood facilities.” Others insist that conservatives are exploiting the crimes “to further reduce access to safe, legal abortion,” which, if you’ve read the Delaware news, is a far cry from what Planned Parenthood has been offering.

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Hey Obama, Kermit Gosnell Is What a Real War on Women Looks Like | LifeNews.com

Head of Pro-Abortion Group Pleads Guilty to Arranging Sex With Child | LifeNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeNews.com:

• The former director of a leading abortion advocacy group who was caught in a child sex sting pleaded guilty to his crimes.
• Scott Richard Swirling, who was the director of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), was arrested for attempting to arrange for a sexual encounter with a twelve-year-old girl. He was charged with traveling across state lines to engage in illicit sexual conduct, a crime which carries a penalty of up to 30 years.
• Swirling pleaded guilty to traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and faces a maximum sentence of 30 years as well as a fine of up to $250,000, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
• Swirling entered the guilty plea in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The Honorable John D Bates is to sentence him on July 11, 2013.

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Head of Pro-Abortion Group Pleads Guilty to Arranging Sex With Child | LifeNews.com

Cardinal Wuerl supports college chaplain against homosexual critics : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

• Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, DC, has signaled his full support for a priest who had been the object of protests by homosexual activists.
• Celebrating Mass at George Washington University, Cardinal Wuerl expressed his approval of Father Greg Shaffer, the campus chaplain. The cardinal said that he was on campus to “stand in solidarity with a good priest.”

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Cardinal Wuerl supports college chaplain against homosexual critics : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Priest pleads for international assistance as Syrian refugees overwhelm Lebanon : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

• The number of refugees who have fled Syria for Lebanon has surged to 1.2 million and threatens to overwhelm Lebanese institutions, according to the president of Caritas Lebanon.
• “Please listen to the suffering of the Syrian people inside Syria and around in the neighboring countries, especially in Lebanon. Lebanon has four million inhabitants; we are hosting 1.2 million Syrian people....

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Priest pleads for international assistance as Syrian refugees overwhelm Lebanon : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

N.C. Governor Proposes Closing State Trooper Dispatch Office In Asheville

The area of the map shaded in light yellow, shows the area from Asheville to Hickory, which is a distance of just over 77 miles.

Attention all who live or travel in Western North Carolina. North Carolina Governor Pat McRory has proposed closing dispatch offices of the North Carolina State Troopers (Highway Patrol), including the dispatch office on Tunnel Road in Asheville. The dispatching of state troopers for Western North Carolina would then come from Hickory, North Carolina. This can result in dangerous and potentially life threatening situations for travellers due to the inevitable delays in dispatching state troopers throughout the western part of the state.

Please contact your representatives in the state house and senate, by either email or telephone, and tell them you oppose the closing of the Asheville dispatch office of the North Carolina State Troopers. You may find your representatives contact information by clicking this link, and after finding his or her name in the list, click on their name for the contact info.

You can do the same for your state senator by clicking this link.

You can also contact the Office of the Governor by clicking this link and clicking "Email Pat"or by calling (919) 733-5811. You can also Fax the Office of the Governor at (919) 733-2120/

From The Dignitatis Humanae Institute: West responds with indifference as rioters murder Egyptian Christians in their own Cathedral

Note: The following is a press release from The Dignitatis Humanae Institute

Rome, 12 April 2013

Following the deadliest sectarian violence seen in months, the Coptic Pope, Tawadros II, has publically decried the record of President Morsi and his Egyptian government for failing to safeguard Christian communities from repeated hate attacks.

Tawadros II comments came after two incidents in Cairo saw at least five Christians murdered and up to a hundred injured. Funeral mourners at St Mark's Coptic Cathedral were set upon as they tried to leave the Church grounds, attacked with weapons ranging from stones to molotov cocktails and automatic firearms. It took security forces five hours to arrive on the scene, and only after the bloodshed had occurred.

The public rebuke from Tawadros II, the first directly attacking President Morsi, demonstrates the despair with the lack of political will, domestic and international, to recognise the gravity of these repeated persecutions and to take the necessary steps to safeguard Christian communities. Instead, the ruling Muslim Brotherhood has demonstrated a casual indifference towards the plight of the 8 million citizens that make up the Christian community of Egypt.

Christians have long been a persecuted minority in Egypt, yet what little protections that existed under the previous regime have now been swept aside by mob rule and unchecked spates of violence. Such a drift has been seen across the Mena region, with the initial optimism of the Arab Spring now giving way to a Christian Winter. Instead of emerging democracies, the domestic upheaval has led to a resurgence of Salafist fundamentalism. Increasingly, Christian people in predominantly Muslim nations are being harassed and terrorised to the point of seeking emigration.

In support of Tawadros II remarks, Lord Alton, Honorary President of the British Coptic Association and Chairman of the Cross-Party Working Group on Human Dignity, stated:

"When Mohamed Morsi was first elected, after 29 years of Mubarak's dictatorial rule, he was entrusted with a unique and brief opportunity to overturn a history of religious discrimination in Egypt; and indeed he pledged to do so.

As Pope Tawadros II has stated today, the negligence of the Egyptian government demands actions not more words. Any further financial aid to Egypt should be contingent on a notable increase in the state protection afforded to the Christian minority. The international community cannot continue bankrolling President Morsi whilst remaining indifferent to the failings of his government in its primary purpose, to protect its people from harm."    

The Dignitatis Humanae Institute aims to uphold human dignity based on the anthropological truth that man is born in the image and likeness of God and therefore has an innate human dignity of infinite worth to be upheld. The Institute promotes this understanding by supporting Christians in public life, assisting them to present effective and coherent responses to increasing efforts to silence the Christian voice in the public square.

Vatican conference aims to advance public understanding of adult stem-cell research : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

• The Vatican has invited journalists to attend a conference on the medical use of adult stem cells, noting the importance of providing the public with adequate information about the latest developments in this field.
• The conference, which will be held in the Synod Hall at the Vatican from April 11 to 13, will continue the Vatican’s partnership with the NeoStem firm and the Stem for Life Foundation in the quest to advance stem-cell research while using ethically acceptable means.

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Vatican conference aims to advance public understanding of adult stem-cell research : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

[You can also read the latest Vatican News from the Vatican Information Service on our blog here]

Contraceptive mandate goes into full effect August 1, Sebelius says : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

• With the allotted period for public comments coming to an end, the Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has indicated that a mandate requiring contraceptive coverage in health-care programs will go into full effect on August 1.

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Contraceptive mandate goes into full effect August 1, Sebelius says : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

States Should Follow North Dakota Stopping Abortions on Down Syndrome Kids | LifeNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeNews.com:

• North Dakota recently enacted first-of-its-kind legislation: a bill prohibiting abortion when it is performed solely on the basis of a genetic abnormality of the unborn child. The provision was enacted along with a prohibition on abortion based solely on the sex of the unborn child. Both provisions are significant strides toward protecting the unborn against violent discrimination.
• Persons with genetic abnormalities are a prime target in the womb—oftentimes based upon inaccurate medical data. While state and federal laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, prohibit discrimination against persons with genetic abnormalities, that protection was not afforded to such persons before they are born.
• North Dakota became the first state to stand in the gap for these unborn children. House Bill 1305—signed into law by Governor Jack Dalrymple—prohibits abortion providers from performing abortions sought solely because the child has a genetic abnormality. 

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States Should Follow North Dakota Stopping Abortions on Down Syndrome Kids | LifeNews.com

Supreme Court stops Reproductive Health law for 4 months | Sun.Star

The following excerpts are from Cebu City Sun Star:

• The Supreme Court (SC) temporarily stopped on Tuesday the implementation of the Reproductive Health (RH) law, which is set to take effect on Easter Sunday, March 31.
• The RH or Responsible Parenthood Law (Republic Act 10354), which provides state funding for contraceptives, was passed by lawmakers late last year despite the Church's opposition, but petitioners questioned its legality on several grounds, saying it offends religious beliefs and fosters abortion, which remains illegal in the country.
• Voting 15-5 in favor of 10 separate petitions, the SC justices issued a status quo ante (SQA) order, which has the same effect of stopping an assailed ruling but is issued to preserve the status before the filing of a petition, said SC Public Information Office chief Theodore Te.

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Supreme Court stops Reproductive Health law for 4 months | Sun.Star

Pope descends Popemobile to bless disabled man before Inaugural Mass

Video from RomeReports.com of Pope Francis blessing a disabled man.

Pope Francis' Surprise Phone Call To Plaza de Mayo

Vatican City, 19 March 2013 (VIS) – The thousands of people who spent a sleepless night in the main square of Buenos Aires, Plaza de Mayo, to watch the Mass inaugurating former Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio's Petrine ministry had a pleasant surprise. At 7:32am Rome time—that is, 3:32am in Argentina—the speakers placed outside the cathedral in the square began to carry the voice of Pope Francis. He was calling, from the Vatican, to greet them.

As reported by the Argentine newspaper, Clarin, the Pope had called the cell phone of one of his aides, Fr. Alejandro Russo, rector of the cathedral. From the archdiocesan television centre they were then able to connect the call to Plaza de Mayo, so that the pontiff might say hello to his parishioners. Shortly afterwards, the rector announced that he had a special surprise and those gathered began to hear Francis' voice. “Dear sons and daughters, I know you have gathered in the square. I know that you are saying prayers, I need them very much. It is beautiful to pray because we look to heaven and know that we have a good Father who is God.”

A huge wave of applause greeted the Pope's words and he continued: “I want to ask a favour of you. I want to ask for us to walk together, to care for one another, for you to care for each other. Do not cause harm. Protect life. Protect the family; protect nature; protect the young; protect the elderly. Let there not be hatred or fighting. Put aside envy.” And, in the city's slang, he added: “No le saquen el cuero a nadie [literally, “don't flay or skin anyone alive”, that is, don't gossip, don't criticize one another]. Talk with one another so that this desire to protect each other might grow in your hearts. And draw near to God. God is good. He always forgives and understands. Do not be afraid of him. Draw near to him and may the Virgin bless you. May she, as a mother, protect you. Please do not forget this bishop who is far away but who loves you very much. Pray for me!”

“Through the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin, and each of your guardian angels, the glorious patriarch St. Joseph, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, and each of your protector saints, may God All-mighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you,” Francis concluded, imparting the papal blessing to all present before closing the connection.

You can find more information at: www.visnews.org

The news items contained in the Vatican Information Service may be used, in part or in their entirety, by quoting the source:

V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.

Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City

NUMBER OF ELECTORS DOES NOT DEPEND ON DATE OF CONCLAVE

Vatican City, 14 February 2013 (VIS) – In a previous story about the future conclave to elect Benedict XVI's successor it was erroneously stated that the number of cardinal electors could vary according to the date that the conclave commences.

In fact, this number is independent of the date that the conclave begins because John Paul II's Apostolic Constitution "Universi Dominici Gregis", which will regulate the conclave, establishes in no. 33 that cardinals who have reached their eightieth birthday before the day when the Apostolic See becomes vacant will not be cardinal electors.

For that reason, for example, Cardinal Walter Kasper, who turns 80 on 5 March will be an elector, as is also the case for Cardinal Severino Poletto, who turns 80 on 18 March.

You can find more information at: www.visnews.org

The news items contained in the Vatican Information Service may be used, in part or in their entirety, by quoting the source:

V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.

Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City