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Dear Friends for Life, The birth rate is falling in the Catholic country of Mexico. It is not there yet but the birthrate in Mexico continues to fall. At the rate it is going, it will soon be approaching the birthrate of European countries like Spain, France, Italy and England. These countries are simply dying as their birthrates don't even come close to replacing those who die. African Union backs abortions. The African Union in its annual summit meeting made maternal and child mortality a continent-wide priority. It extended the non-binding, pro-abortion Malputo plan of action for an additional five years. Supposedly concentrating on non-controversial interventions to reduce maternal deaths, the Executive Director of the UNFPA in a major speech focused once again on "unsafe abortions, reproductive rights, reproductive health services, and sex education." A congressman tells the UN that abortion is harmful. U.S. Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey, speaking at the United Nations regarding its millennium goals said, "The inclusion of legalized abortion would be unjust to the tiniest humans, intellectually dishonest, and counterproductive." During this Advent Season, let us pray extra hard that God will change the hearts ond minds of those who are determined on terminating the lives of small human beings. God Bless,
Jerry Novotny, OMI
Lifeissues.net Newsletter #504
December 12, 2010
**************************************** (TABLE OF CONTENTS): 1. Philippines: Doctors back bishops' stand on the unborn
2. Thai Church keeps up refugee aid on border
3. Reporting euthanasia in medical practice in Belgium
4. New Study: Cell Phones Harm Fetus, Pregnant Mother
5. Reflections on Terminal Illness
6. Why are the media fixated on condoms?
7. Same-sex attractions: Part I
8. Same-sex attractions: Part II
9. Same-sex attractions: Part III
10. Same-sex attractions: Part IV
11. Children Ease Alzheimer's in Land of Aging
12. Chilling News for Children in Marital Peril
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(Focus on Asia): "Pope Benedict XVI composes prayer for the unborn" - The prayer, which was composed by Benedict XVI, asks God to bless families and to inspire society to embrace each and every life.
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ITEM #1: Philippines: Doctors back bishops' stand on the unborn
The Philippine Catholic Church's campaign for the protection of the unborn has won support from the country's biggest organization of doctors. "We doctors took an oath to save and protect human life, and that definitely includes the unborn child. No doubt the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines supports our stand on this," said Dr. Arthur Catli, executive director of the Philippine Medical Association (PMA).
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ITEM #2: Thai Church keeps up refugee aid on border The Thai Church, together with other NGOs and government institutions, are providing assistance to refugees coming in and out of the border as fighting between ethnic Karen rebels and Myanmar government forces continue.
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ITEM #3: Reporting of euthanasia in medical practice in Flanders, Belgium: cross sectional analysis of reported and unreported cases
Comment: Please read the full article using the URL. Note just one of the chilling quotes from the body of the article: "By disguising the end of life decision as normal medical practice, whether deliberately or not, physicians might feel they have granted their patient's wish without in their eyes having performed real euthanasia and without having to comply with the euthanasia law." The new bioethics has already made "disguising the end of life decision as normal medical practice" a terrible problem in the US, even in states with laws against assisted suicide/euthanasia and regardless of whether or not the victim has asked for euthanasia/assisted suicide. The authors apparently just accept that euthanasia is beneficial and necessary. Their main concern seems to be the "transparency" of the process itself. Just how does making physicians feel more comfortable with reporting their euthanasia decisions protect vulnerable patients or society? -Nancy Valko, RN****************************************
ITEM #4: New Study: Cell Phones Harm Fetus, Pregnant Mother Will speaking on your cell phone with your friends and family during your pregnancy run the risk of your child having behavioral issues? Maybe, according to a report from the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. The study reveals that exposure to constant cell phone output to the fetus may include the following symptoms to child hyperactivity, inattention as well as problems getting along with others.
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ITEM #5: Reflections on Terminal Illness
The human heart brims to the point of overflowing with love - love for family members and friends, love for the beauties of nature, love for the products of the artistic world and, most intensely, love for one's personal existence. Love of our own existence is the foundation of all other loves. The strongest of all desires is the natural desire for immortality in the company of God and those we love. Since unfulfilled desire is the source of suffering, the loss of our personal life and seeming loss of immortality are the most painful of all forms of suffering.
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ITEM #6: Why are the media fixated on condoms?
The media are obsessed with the issue of the Catholic Church and condoms because they seem to believe that condoms are the solution to preventing the transmission of the HIV. Might it be time they began to think about other organizations, such as themselves, that might bear some responsibility?
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ITEM #7: Same-sex attractions: Part I - Sexuality and Homosexuality
The phenomenon of homosexuality is nothing new. But now we face something completely new in the history of the world: the demand that homosexual relationships be approved as normative and recognized as "marriages." Such approval would radically change the understanding of marriage and family that has been at the heart of our civilization for millennia.
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ITEM #8: Same-sex attractions: Part II - The Church's pastoral response
Many myths surround the issue of homosexuality. Some of them arise from ignorance, some from misguided compassion, and some from the misinformation and propaganda of the radical homosexual community.
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ITEM #9: Same-sex attractions: Part III - The Courage apostolate
We must know the doctrine and first principles in order to address this issue accurately, always keeping in mind that doctrinal and moral truth is necessary for love. We must speak the truth in love, as St. Paul the Apostle says (cf. Eph 4:15).
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ITEM #10: Same-sex attractions: Part IV - Fidelity to both love and truth
The greatest difficulty arises from the fact that those in the homosexual lifestyle have chosen to equate themselves with their sexual attractions - and insist that we do the same. But we cannot. To accept a person's self-identification as homosexual does a disservice to that person, whether he realizes it or not. To approve a person's embrace of the homosexual lifestyle in fact hurts the person because the lifestyle does grave harm to him both spiritually and physically.
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ITEM #11: Children Ease Alzheimer's in Land of Aging
While nursing homes and community care or home-care services multiply (heavily subsidised by a 6.6 per cent rise in people's national health insurance premiums), South Korea is training thousands of people as dementia supporters - among them, children aged from 11 up.****************************************
ITEM #12: Chilling News for Children in Marital Peril
Everyone is having more babies out of wedlock - one of the fashion trends I expect my daughter to resist - but the most dramatic rise has been in the middle. Read it again: almost half of the babies born to women with a high school diploma but without a college degree are born out of wedlock. Rates of cohabitation are up across the board, again most dramatically among the moderately educated, rising from 39 percent in 1988 to 68 percent in 2006-2008, not much different from the 74 percent of the high school dropouts.
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YOU CAN CHANGE SOCIETY: 1. BE INFORMED: "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge." Hosea 4:6. Visit Lifeissues.net Website for insights into current Life Issues www.lifeissues.net. Access to all prior Newsletters is located in the Archives on main page. 2. PRAY DAILY: for the courage to be God's presence in society and to strongly support those who are deemed "unworthy of life". "If My people who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14 3. BECOME INVOLVED: Several years ago Fr. Jerry created a project entitled, "Journey for Life into the Heart of Asia". The project appeals for donations to help finance plane travel for lectures and seminars to developing countries in Asia. Strong focus is centered on reaching Asian Catholic Major Seminaries, Universities, Parishes, Hospitals and Family/Pro Life related groups. The lectures place emphasis on "The Asian Family at Crossroads: Life Issues, Trends and Challenges". For information about no-cost Pro Life Talks to your group in Asia: contact Fr. Jerry at jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp. To become a supportive Missionary participant for this Asian project, kindly send your donations to: ** Fr. Jerry Novotny, OMI ** LifeIssues.net, Editor ** Akebono-cho 1-15-9 ** Kochi City, Japan, 780-8072 (or transfer donation directly to ProLife bank account: Jerome Novotny, Shikoku Bank, Asakura Branch, No. 102-1-0080824) ------------------------------ Get a weekly dose of clear thinking: subscribe to our free Lifeissues newsletter! Sign up at www.LifeIssues.net. Pass this free service to your friends and various groups. ------------------------------ Contact EDITOR: Jerry Novotny, OMI Akebono-cho 1-15-9 Kochi City, Japan, 780-8072 [tel/fax: 088-843-0406] [email: jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp] ["Due to volume of spam received, we're asking you not to reply to this message but instead send all correspondence to jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp. Thank you! Editor"] ------------------------------ Websites by Editor: English LifeIssues Site: http://www.lifeissues.net, Japanese LifeIssues Site: http://www.japan-lifeissues.net, OMI Site: http://www.omijapankorea.net/index.html ------------------------------
