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Dear Friends for Life,
In the computer industry, there is an old saying - "Garbage in, Garbage out." This certainly applies to the raising of our children. If we allow our kids unfettered access to TV, we will pay a heavy price. The culture we live in is increasingly unfriendly to those attempting to live a faithful Catholic life, and the messages of that culture are largely distributed through the entertainment industry. We have always placed a tight control on what TV we would allow our daughter to watch. Drs. Epstein and Jantz cite the following troubling statistics regarding television viewing:
American children watch, on average, 21 to 23 hours of TV per week from preschool through high school, with younger children watching more. This data does not include time in front of the television for purposes of watching a video, nor does it include video games or computer time. The average child sees more than 20,000 TV commercials per year, and will spend seven to ten years of their life watching TV by the time they reach 70 years of age.
By the sixth grade, children witness an average of 8,000 murders and over 100,000 other acts of violence on television, including rapes and aggravated assaults. Children's Saturday morning programming shows 30 violent acts per hour, compared to 5 violent acts per hour on prime time evening television.
Research has shown several major effects on children of seeing violence on television, including desensitization to the pain and suffering of others, becoming more fearful of the world around them, becoming more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways toward others, and imitate the violence they observe on television.American teenagers see an estimated 14,000 sexual references and innuendoes per year on television. The average US teenager views 1,000 beer and wine commercials yearly, which glamorize the use of alcohol. Teenagers will see 25 to 50 such commercials for every public service announcement.
There is more detail on their website, but the statistics should give every parent pause. Granted, there are many good and educational programs on TV, but if we allow our children to consume television without very strict levels of supervision, we should not be surprised by the results.
For more information: http://www.passionatepapist.com/7-tips-for-raising-a-holy-child-in-an-unholy-world/?
God Bless,
Jerry Novotny, OMI
(The Difference is LIFE) "A teacher affects eternity, he can never tell where his influence stops." -Henry Adams
*---*(Due to volume of spam received, do not reply to this message but instead send all emails to jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp. Pass this free service to your friends and various groups. Thank you!)
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Lifeissues.net Newsletter #610
January 13, 2012
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(TABLE OF CONTENTS):
1. Sri Lanka: Women-headed families: no husband, no home and no future for their children
2. HIV/AIDS kills 2,365 people in Cambodia in 2012
3. Female Vaccination Workers, Essential in Pakistan, Become Prey
4. IVF twins pregnancies riskier than two singletons
5. IVF Children More Likely To Have Asthma
6. Philippine president signs contraceptives law opposed by the country's Roman Catholic Church
7. Human Traffickers Hauled In By Thai Authorities
8. How to Make Your Family Holy
9. Delhi gangrape case sparks more debate on death penalty in Singapore
10. The Argument Against Euthanasia
11. Social Justice According to Pius XI
12. Spectacular Images of Fetal Development Now Available as iBook
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(Human Life): "A Baby's First Months... Infinite Possibilities" - The video opens with an introduction to the universe and parallels that infinite and beautiful wonder with the human body. Then a variety of scientific facts about the body are shared leading to this statement, "It all began at your conception." I encourage you to watch this video and see how beautifully it portrays each month of development in utero. Consider sharing it with your group or in a classroom. It's certain to bring a powerful and engaging discussio.
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ITEM #1: Sri Lanka: Women-headed families: no husband, no home and no future for their children
In the Eastern Province, some women head their household all alone without a job, sometimes without a home, or without doors and sanitary facilities, unable to send their children to school. Their husbands died in war or disappeared into the hands of police.
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ITEM #2: HIV/AIDS kills 2,365 people in Cambodia in 2012
In a presentation on HIV/AIDS situation in Cambodia in 2012, Dr. Chhea Chhorvann, deputy director of the National institute of Public Health, said among 2,365 deaths this year, 2,269 were adults and 96 were children; while among last year's deaths, 2, 484 were adults and 124 were children.
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ITEM #3: Female Vaccination Workers, Essential in Pakistan, Become Prey
The front-line heroes of Pakistan's war on polio are its volunteers: young women who tread fearlessly from door to door, in slums and highland villages, administering precious drops of vaccine to children in places where their immunization campaign is often viewed with suspicion.
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ITEM #4: IVF twins pregnancies riskier than two singletons
Having twins as a result of in vitro fertilization (IVF) carries higher risks of complications for both mother and babies than having two single babies from separate IVF procedures, according to a new Swedish study.
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ITEM #5: IVF Children More Likely To Have Asthma
Asthma is more common among children born after IVF and other treatments than among children who have been planned and conceived naturally, suggests a study led by Oxford University researchers.
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ITEM #6: Philippine president signs contraceptives law opposed by the country's Roman Catholic Church
The Philippine president has signed a law that will promote contraception, sexual education and family planning programs vigorously opposed by the country's Roman Catholic Church.
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ITEM #7 Human Traffickers Hauled In By Thai Authorities
Suspects in three separate cases of human traffic were recently arrested. Once case involved a 25-year-old Thai woman lured into working at a karaoke bar in Japan, but being forced into prostitution by yakuza gangsters. The other two cases involved child begging and underage prostitution in north Thailand provinces.
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ITEM #8: How to Make Your Family Holy
My parents came from very different religious backgrounds. My father was a Baptist and my mother Catholic. They fell in love and were married in 1940 in the Deep South; at a time and place that harbored much suspicion and misunderstanding between these two faiths. My father, after looking into Catholicism, agreed to raise his children in the Catholic faith. This was no easy decision for him to take or for the family from which he came to understand.
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ITEM #9: Delhi gangrape case sparks more debate on death penalty in Singapore
Singapore on Sunday said it would cite the "heartbreaking case" of the 23-year-old Delhi braveheart as an example to reject demands for abolition of death penalty in the city state. In a Facebook post, Singapore's Minister for Law and Foreign Affairs K Shanmugam said people were "sickened" by the horrific gangrape and her subsequent death here.
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ITEM #10: The Argument Against Euthanasia
Euthanasia is a problem in our society. Merriam-Webster defines it as "the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy."
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ITEM #11: 2012: Social Justice According to Pius XI
The term "social justice" is the key term and concept of Catholic social teaching with all the other aspects of the Church's social doctrine - the principle of subsidiarity, the just wage or the right to private property - are related to, and rely, on the existence of social justice.
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ITEM #12: Spectacular Images of Fetal Development Now Available as iBook
Both NRLC Director of Education Dr. Randall K. O'Bannon (see below) and myself have written glowing reviews of a book that transformed the way we understand fetal development: "From Conception to Birth: a Life Unfolds." The author is Alexander Tsiaras. His work is amazing, but it is hard to give a name to what Tsiaras does. He describes himself a scientist, an artist, and a journalist, but what he has done is to develop scanning and visualization software that enables him to develop rich, 4-D animations of different human body parts, organs, and processes.
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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)
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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"]
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Websites by Editor:
English LifeIssues Site: http://www.lifeissues.net,
Japanese LifeIssues Site: http://www.japan-lifeissues.net,
HIV/AIDS Site: http://capcha.org
OMI Japan/Korea Site: http://omijapankorea.net/
