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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

BAGHDAD, Iraq, MAY 4, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Iraqi bishops sent an urgent plea to the international conference being held in Sharm al-Sheikh, whose participants aim to approve a plan for the security of that war-torn nation.

The Chaldean bishops from the northern regions appealed especially for the protection of Iraqi lives, among them, those of the nation's Christian minority.

AsiaNews reported the message, which said: "We are urgently asking the entire international community, the participants at the Sharm al-Sheikh conference, the coalition forces and the Iraqi political representatives to intervene without delay to protect innocent Iraqis, their property, their rights and their personal freedom."

The bishops affirm that "Christians are authentic Iraqi people" and plea for protection.

"Christians," they said, "have always sought to integrate themselves with their Arab, Kurd, Turk, Shiite, Sunni, Yezidi brothers, within the nation's social life and have always had a most important role in the building of national historic values, decisively contributing to the destiny of Iraq through their peaceful way of life."

"Enough with violence, threats, attacks and killings!" the statement urged. "Let us work together hand in hand to bring about unity, security and prosperity in our land, Iraq."

Code: ZE07050405

Date: 2007-05-04

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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

Art Historian Discusses the Importance of Wonder

ROME, MAY 4, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Art and architecture of today is no longer spellbinding, says an artist and art historian.

Rodolfo Papa spoke about the limitations of modern art during a recent conference at Rome's Pontifical University of the Holy Cross on "Poetics and Christianity."

Papa, a sculptor and painter, is an art history professor at the Pontifical Academy of Arts and Literature at the Pantheon, a post to which he was nominated by Pope John Paul II in 2000.

Papa told ZENIT that modern architecture and art are afflicted by "the loss of a sense of tradition and, with that, the abuse of tradition."

"To recuperate the soul of art and architecture," Papa noted, "we must think of man in different terms than those used in political and economic ideologies of the 20th century and in the culture of mass consumption."

Papa added that a culture, including art, "must be human. That is, it must contribute to the cultivation of man."

He said: "If a culture really wishes to be a great one, it must establish deep roots that are able to find nourishment from every level of the earth.

"Therefore, in order to think about the future we must study our past to understand it and rediscover its lost instruments.

"This is what I have been trying to do for many years as an art historian and an artist."

Defining beauty

"That which the technological and consumerist man has lost, during the last century, is wonder," Papa observed.

"Art must return to being a place of contemplation" of the beautiful, he continued.

He defined beauty as "a pleasant knowing relative to sight, which is the most cognitive of the senses."

"I would also add," said Papa, "with Leonardo, that it must 'conform' to nature, that is to say, it must not be unnatural. "

"And, as John Paul II said, it 'will save the world', and that, therefore, it is a manifestation of God's revelation to man," he stated. "In the end, as Benedict XVI said, beauty is 'faith made visible.'"

Code: ZE07050427

Date: 2007-05-04

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Says Promotion of Female Priests Overemphasizes Masculinity

ROME, MAY 4, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Those who want to ordain women to the priesthood manifest a failure to recognize the dignity of women, said an expert in moral theology and women's issues.

Pia de Solenni asserted this during her April 27 conference at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.

De Solenni won the Pontifical Prize of the Academies in 2001, receiving an award from John Paul II for her doctoral thesis on St. Thomas Aquinas. She is the director of Life and Women's Issues at the Family Research Council in Washinton, D.C.

At the conference, de Solenni used St. Thomas' arguments to analyze the issue of the ordination of women to the priesthood in light of the natural complementarity between the sexes.

St. Thomas taught that woman was not created from man's head in order to rule over him, nor from his foot to be ruled by him, but from his side in order to rule with him, she explained.

Ordinatio Sacerdotalis

The 1994 Vatican document "Ordinatio Sacerdotalis" concentrates on three basic points, de Solenni explained: "Christ, in ordaining only men, acted freely without constraints by cultural norms; nonadmission to the priesthood is not a sign of lesser dignity; the Church does not have the faculty to ordain women."

De Solenni illustrated the first point saying that many claim Christ ordained only men because of the cultural norms of his day. Since the role of women has changed, some say the Church should also adapt and allow women to be ordained to the priesthood, she said.

De Solenni contended, however, that the Gospels show how Christ often broke with the cultural norms of his day: In fact, it was to the Samaritan woman at the well that he revealed himself clearly as the Messiah -- to her as to no other, she said.

Equal dignity

"Ordinatio Sacerdotalis" points out that the non-admission of women to the priesthood does not signify a lesser dignity. The entire history of the Church, said de Solenni, "witnesses to the presence and active participation of women."

"It was the consent, understanding and devotion of a woman that brought the Church to us," and the fact that the Virgin Mary was not chosen by her son to be a priest "indicates that the sacrament does not discriminate on the basis of dignity or merit," de Solenni explained.

De Solenni reiterated a point from "Ordinatio Sacerdotalis" which says the question of women's vocations should not be confined to ordination.

"Woman will never be the bridegroom, in any form. The temptation to force upon women a masculine paradigm arises from our confused notions of power and authority which, in turn, devalue her vocation as a bride, clearly illustrated by Mary," de Solenni said.

Ordaining a woman, she said, "would be, in essence, to show complete disregard for the reality she is as a woman, as a bride."

Masculine vs. feminine

De Solenni asserted: "The promotion of ordaining women to the priesthood is a sign of misunderstanding and even disrespect for the dignity of woman."

The fact that "the significance of the feminine identity is so largely misunderstood or even disregarded, indicates that our very notion of Church is in peril, has lost personality. She has become an 'it,' a mere institution, rather than a living being," de Solenni added.

The discussion of ordaining women to the priesthood has been a sort of "overemphasis of the masculine," she said.

"No doubt," continued de Solenni, "women need a voice in the Church, but it must be an authentic voice and not their voice made to sound like a man's."

Women, she stated, have a unique role in the Church and in society and that role should not be forced into masculine paradigms. "To do so," she said, "runs the risk of losing what is truly feminine -- not the femininity of fashion, but the varied femininity of women saints, whose personalities and strengths span just as far as those of men saints … if not more."

Code: ZE07050410

Date: 2007-05-04

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PARIS, MAY 4, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See told a UNESCO conference that interreligious dialogue is a basic need for promoting peace in the world.

Monsignor Francesco Follo, the Holy See's permanent observer to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said this on April 24 at the conference. The Vatican press office released the text of his discourse, in French, on Thursday.

"In a world exposed to conflicts that run the risk of provoking acts of violence, the exchanges between cultures offer the possibility, more than ever, for meeting, dialogue and peace," Monsignor Follo said.

Citing Benedict XVI's Aug. 20, 2005, address in Cologne, he added: "Intercultural and interreligious dialogue is a basic need."

"We must recognize," Monsignor Follo added, that "religions have unfortunately been factors of violence in human history and this situation risks repeating itself in new ways."

Therefore, "it is necessary to underline that religions have contributed, and still can, to favoring social unity, reconciliation and peace," he asserted.

The Vatican representative explained that dialogue does not imply "undervaluing the differences among world religions," because they can "offer a great contribution in promoting cultural exchanges that, without hiding their differences, can serve to further justice and peace."

Code: ZE07050409

Date: 2007-05-04

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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

By Gudrun Schultz

NEW YORK, May 3, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Amnesty International US has adopted a new policy supporting a "right" to abortion, a move which the organization is attempting to keep secret from the public, according to reports this week carried by First Things and Consistent Life.

Ryan T. Anderson, writing for First Things, reported on a buried policy statement he unearthed from the members-only, restricted-content page of AI's US website. The policy outlined AI's new position on Sexual and Reproductive Rights that "includes support for abortion."

While the document claims AI would support abortion only in "particular circumstances," in effect the goals of the new position would support abortion on demand.

"The new policy has three basic goals: (1) provide access to abortion in what they claim will only be "particular circumstances," (2) ensure that women have access to medical care after botched-whether legal or illegal-abortions, and (3) eliminate all penalties against women seeking abortions and against abortion providers," Anderson writes.

Although AI denies that they are now supporting abortion as a human right, Anderson states that is simply not true.

"The phrase: 'AI takes no position on whether abortion is right or wrong, nor on whether or not abortion should be legal' is repeated over and over throughout the AI documents. But it's not true."

'Though they try to make a strong distinction between "decriminalization" (what they're for) and "legalization" (what they take no position on), it's mere semantics…[T]hey specify: "'Decriminalization' means the removal of all criminal penalties (including imprisonment, fines, and other punishments) against those seeking, obtaining, providing information about, or carrying out abortions." In other words, besides standard medical protocols, you can not regulate abortion at all. Some medical protocols that carry fines and other punishments are apparently out, too.'

AI also says that their new policy is "to call on states to: Ensure access to abortion services to any woman who becomes pregnant as the result of rape, sexual assault, or incest, or where a pregnancy poses a risk to a woman's life or a grave risk to her health."

"[W]hen you throw in the language of a risk to life and health, even if you include the obligatory word 'grave', all of a sudden every abortion becomes 'ensured,'" Anderson points out. "If you doubt this, just look at the way Roe's health exception and Doe's broad definition of the word have been used."

AI even states that they oppose the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold the partial birth abortion ban. "AI therefore opposes the provision of the federal law upheld by the Court in Carhart that imposes fines and up to two years in prison for doctors who perform particular types of abortions."

Officials with the organization have made a significant attempt to keep the new policy secret from the public. In a letter posted by Karen Schneider, the chair of the Sexual and Reproductive Rights Working Group, on the members-only website section, she states:

"It is very important to be aware of the following: This policy will not be made public at this time. As the IEC [Amnesty International's International Executive Committee] has written to all sections, "There is to be no proactive external publication of the policy position or of the fact of its adoption issued. This means no section or structure is to issue a press release or public statement or external communication of any kind on the policy decision." (emphasis original)

As backup in case the news should get out, the site contained links to letters to be distributed to the public in response to criticism of the new policy, including a form letter "that should be used only to respond to critical editorials or letters to the editor in local newspapers."

A two-page overview of the policy and a FAQ sheet were also included as damage control materials should the news leak out.
 
Rachel MacNair is vice president of Consistent Life and a long-time member of Amnesty International. In an account posted on the Consistent Life website, MacNair details how she was stopped from leafleting attendants at AI's national conference by an AI official, who admitted when asked that AIUSA was censoring people on the issue of the abortion policy.

MacNair had discussed the proposal with a member of the International Executive Committee, which is responsible for making the abortion decision, prior to the censoring incident. She found that he was uninformed about basic pro-life objections to the policy, showing a lack of sincerity in the Committee's "consultation process" on the issue.

During Consistent Life's efforts to educate AI members on the issue, MacNair reported, they were repeatedly prevented from distributing materials to conference attendees at various AI events.

"There are one, two issues here: one is the abortion policy itself, and one is how much it's being decided by members and supporters as opposed to being decided by an elite who knows what's good for us."

MacNair pointes out that polling of AI members in the UK suggested the majority wanted to see AI remain abortion-neutral--in the U.S., many members were not even aware there was a web-based vote "hidden on the web page members-only section with no publicity, and a deadline of December 1."

"So the decision is made - evidence suggests that it always was - and many of those of us AI supporters who are heartsick about it no longer have a voice inasmuch as it can be said that we ever did."

Consistent Life offers a list of alternative Human Rights organizations that do not have policy positions on abortion, suggesting AI supporters send their donations elsewhere.

See First Things report:
http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=719

See Consistent Life coverage:
http://www.consistent-life.org/ai.html

See previous LifeSiteNews coverage:

Amnesty International Considers Pushing Enforcement of Abortion as Human Right
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/apr/06042511.html

UK Amnesty Members Narrowly Reject Abortion Advocacy in Consultation Report
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/mar/07032007.html

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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

By John-Henry Westen and Gudrun Schultz

CHICAGO, Illinois, May 3, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Sen. Hillary Clinton has been scheduled to appear as the keynote speaker at a Catholic charity event in Chicago, despite objections from pro-life groups over her vociferous support for abortion and homosexual activism.

The Mercy Home Graduates Luncheon is an annual fundraiser to support the Mercy Home Catholic children's charity. Mercy Home for Boys & Girls is a long-term residential home for young people ages 11 to 21, administered by Catholic priests. Fr. Scott Donahue is the current president of the organization.

Mercy Home spokesman Mark Schmeltzer told LifeSiteNews.com that Fr. Donohue was approached by Chicago Cardinal Francis George about the upcoming Clinton fundraiser.  "The Cardinal had some very understandable misgivings but he just wanted to be assured this was not a political stop," Schmeltzer told LifeSiteNews.com.

Schmeltzer also said that the Catholic home was "happy to have someone of that high profile," speaking at their event.

Asked if Mercy Home was concerned, as a Catholic institution, that such a staunch advocate of abortion was coming to keynote its fundraiser, Schmeltzer said that Clinton was coming to speak about education.  "We're making it clear that it's not an endorsement of any kind," he said.  "We're not taking a stand on the Senator's (Presidential) candidacy."

"Mercy Home adheres to all the principles of the Catholic Church and the church's teaching of the right to life," said Schmeltzer.  "We are in complete endorsement of the Catholic Church and the church's teaching as an entity of the Catholic Church."

However, when asked about a 2004 US Conference of Bishops document which forbade Catholic institutions from permitting pro-abortion speakers, Schmeltzer replied, "I'm not familiar with whether or not that document was discussed."

In 2004, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a policy document calling on Catholic institutions not to have pro-abortion politicians put on a pedestal due to the scandal it would cause.  In their document, Catholics in Political Life, the Bishops' Conference states: "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honour those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honours or platforms which would suggest support for their actions." (see coverage: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/jun/04062102.html)

Joseph Scheidler, national director of the Pro-Life Action League has organized a demonstration against Senator Clinton's appearance in Chicago.  He told LifeSiteNews.com that her appearance would set a precedent for pro-abortion speakers at other Catholic events.

"They'll use that, Hillary can then say, well, I spoke at Mercy Boys in Chicago," he said.

Asked if Mercy Home would object to a politician speaking who rather than supporting abortion, supported racism, Schmeltzer replied, "I couldn't speak on hypotheticals . . . but I imagine that we would."

To politely express concerns contact:

Cardinal Francis George
Archdiocese of Chicago
155 E. Superior Street
Chicago, IL 60611
312-751-8230 Press 4
312-751-5307 - Fax

Mercy Home
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Call: (312) 738-7560

See related LifeSiteNews coverage:

Archbishop Resigns from Charity Board After Pro-Abortion Sheryl Crow Booked to Perform
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/apr/07042606.html