2005 - Old and frail from the ravages of Parkinson's Disease, His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, sat quietly yesterday in the dock on the first day of his controversial human rights abuse trial before the newly convened International Criminal Court. "The accused, Karol Wojtyla, is charged with vilifying same-sex relationships, imposing traditional sex-role stereotypes upon women everywhere, and propagating hate-speech against [...]
London, Ont. residents pitch in to help Ugandan children The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and the Ugandan Coffee Kids Foundation have entered into an agreement for the sale of premium Ugandan coffee in order to raise money for both organizations. The Ugandan Coffee Kids Foundation was established last year by Paul and Nina Blanchard and Derek Pepper of London, Ont. as a non-profit, [...]
Being at Ground Zero on Sept. 12, 2001 was the last place on earth I expected to be. When a confrere and New York native, Franciscan priest Fr. David Engo, insisted we leave Franciscan University in Steubenville, where we were on sabbatical together, and drive to Manhattan, I instinctively knew it was the right thing to do. The memories of those five [...]
Tennessee Williams's Desire teaches us about corporate creed and the culture of death After You Touched Me!, which did nothing to enhance his reputation as a dramatist, Tennessee Williams relocated to New Orleans in the hope that the Big Easy would provide the inspiration he had been lacking. There can be no doubt that his new venue inspired the title of the [...]
It's being touted by its proponents as yet another "safe, effective, convenient and reliable" option for birth control. But others say that, with regard to dangers, side effects and other complications, it's the same old story. Health Canada has approved a contraceptive patch called Evra, that will see women slap it on their skins, wear it constantly and allow a steady flow [...]
After months of party turmoil, Prime Minister Jean Chretien announced in late August that he would be stepping down as prime minister and leader of the Liberal party - in February 2004. Most political analysts concur that he made this decision only when he realized that he had little chance of turning away a challenge to his leadership by Paul Martin's camp. [...]
Issues associated with euthanasia, assisted suicide and end-of-life care are often difficult to assess due to the individual circumstances connected to the treatment and care of dying persons. Similar difficulties arise concerning the assessment of new guidelines that have been suggested for use in relation to intensive care unit patients. Several media outlets featured headlines warning that the new guidelines would lead [...]
An Alberta priest's principled insistence on upholding Catholic teaching, rather than buckle to contemporary sensibilities by refusing a church wedding to a Planned Parenthood employee, raised a media storm recently. Fr. John Maes, pastor at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church in Medicine Hat, informed Celina Ling that he would not preside over her wedding, after her name appeared in a Medicine Hat [...]
Thinking of buying a pair of Levi's jeans? Or cracking open a cold bottle of Labatt's Blue? You might want to give it a second thought. Levi Strauss and Co. and Labatt's are among a number of Canadian and U.S. corporations getting a jaundiced eye from pro-life, pro-family advocates these days. That's because they've exhibited support in one form or another for [...]
It is a mammoth and daunting task to attempt to be comprehensive in terms of analyzing who are the major funders of anti-life and anti-family causes in the world today. However, a cursory examination of news reports over the last several years reveals some recurring suspects, especially in the realm of foundations, whose billions of dollars in assets seem to serve as [...]
Despite the good news of saved babies, sidewalk counsellors face many difficulties. But the Aug. 29 incident involving Robert Hinchey, an 18-year-old girl and two representatives of a woman's shelter was extremely unusual, ending with the pro-life counsellor getting attacked by pepper spray in a hospital. An immigrant teen Gail (not her real name) changed her mind about getting an abortion after [...]
Amazingly, amidst the commotion and distress at Aid to Women over a pepper spray incident on Aug. 27, four expectant mothers who were first headed for the abortuary next door, changed their minds about abortion and will have their babies. This is the story of that momentous day. Rosanna, a beautiful East Indian mother of four, dressed in an elegant sari adorned [...]
Climbing Parnassus: A New Apologia for Greek and Latin by Tracy Lee Simmons, Forward by William F. Buckley (ISI Books, $24.95 (US) 290 pgs) Amongst the growing numbers of parents seeking alternatives to mainstream public education, especially those of religious persuasions or simply concerned with instilling a heavy dose of humane learning, there would appear to be an increasing interest in a [...]
As I Lay Dying: Meditations Upon Returning by Fr Richard John Neuhaus (Perseus Books, 224 pages, $32.95) To stare certainly at death, across an uncertain number of years and, thereby, to live in ignorance and expectation of what Thomas Hardy called the "day which (lies) sly and unseen among all the other days of the year," the day of our death; this [...]
California now most pro-abortion state SACRAMENTO, Calif. - In one day, California's pro-abortion Democratic Governor Gray Davis signed two bills strongly supported by the abortion industry - bills that the California Pro-Life Council says "jeopardize the lives of women and minors seeking abortions in California." The Reproductive Privacy Act will replace the 1967 Therapeutic Abortion Act, and in the process remove the [...]