Six months to Christmas

The ecumenical charity ChurchAds.net launched its new poster for its Christmas advertising campaign on Wednesday. It shows an ultrasound scan of a foetus with a halo.

The chairman of the charity, Francis Goodwin, said that the poster picked up on the trend of announcing a new child with an ultrasound photo. Last year’s campaign, using a painting of the Holy Family in a bus shelter, was supported by more than 700 churches. Organisers hope to more than double the number this year. Mr Goodwin said: “By booking soon, church groups can buy a two-week display at their local bus stop for £150.”

Right to Life

(Right to Life and Passion for Life Campaign led by Lord Alton of Liverpool is seeking to get the electorate to get answers from all parliamentary candidates in the forthcoming election on important pro life issues and to vote accordingly).

Right to Life is a political lobby group defending the right to life from conception to natural death. It works more closely with Pro Life Parliamentarians and the All Party Parliamentary Pro Life Group than any other political lobby group defending the Right to Life from conception to natural death. It’s recent campaigns have been on the Human Fertilization and Embryology Act, campaigning against the production of human embryos, hybrid (animal/human) embryos, saviour siblings and defending the child’s right to a father.

More recently RTL raised awareness and lobbied Peers to vote against an amendment to the Coroners and Justice Bill that would have assisted suicide.

The organisation is now opposing the Director of Public Prosecutions’ Guidelines on Assisted Suicide which they consider overrules the Primacy of Parliament in legalising assisted suicide.

RTL documents and records how MPs vote on all life issues, so that interested parties can find out how their MPs have voted.

The RTL lobby group also has a separate Trust - please see their website here.

The Right to Life Charitable Trust works to help some of the most vulnerable members of our society. They provide support for pregnant women in difficult circumstances and work for the sick and the elderly: people who find themselves in need and have nowhere else to turn. They have also financed a number of cases where families have been concerned about the hospital treatment received by relatives at the end of life.

HFE bill; The results!

In the House of Commons on Wednesday evening (22nd Oct), MPs voted for the HFE bill, and all the devastating effects it will have on the sanctity and dignity of human life. However, there is some good news. The government had come under enormous pressure not to change the abortion law, event though many extreme backbench pro-abortion MPs had been pushing for a mass liberalisation of the law for months. The Passion for Life campaign would like to thank all it's supporters for distributing almost 2million postcards, attending public meetings the length and bread of the UK, emailing, writing, phoning MPs, and making it very clear indeed that the public do not want more liberalisation of the abortion act. On the votes that took place, here's how your MP voted. Please make sure you drop them a line to thank them if they voted how you wanted, or to express your disapointment if they didn't!

Pro Abortionist

Obama's Abortion Extremism

Sen. Barack Obama's views on life issues ranging from abortion to embryonic stem cell research mark him as not merely a pro-choice politician, but rather as the most extreme pro-abortion candidate to have ever run on a major party ticket.

Barack Obama's victory may open abortion floodgates (Telegraph)

When a conquering general rides over a battlefield, with colours flying, receiving the plaudits of his troops, little thought is spared for the corpses that have paved his path to victory. So it is with the American presidential election. Now is the moment when post-election Stockholm Syndrome traditionally engulfs the defeated party, which garlands the successful candidate with good wishes.

Unhappily, such sporting, cricket-pavilion conventions are inappropriate in the present instance. The conventional "Now, let us all rally round our new President" provokes the question: "To help him do what?" Barack Obama has declared: "The first thing I'd do, as president, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing that I'd do." We have no reason to doubt him: he is co-sponsor of the Bill in the Senate.

This legislation would abolish all restrictions on abortion in the United States, overriding state laws, including 38 states' bans on partial-birth abortion. Obama defended partial-birth abortion to the last ditch in the Illinois senate and described himself as "extremely concerned" when the Supreme Court upheld the ban last year.

The practice, euphemistically termed "intact dilation and extraction", is used to kill an unborn baby at five to six months, by removing the infant from the womb feet first, until only the head is undelivered. Scissors are then used to make an "incision" in the back of the head and a suction catheter sucks out the brain until the skull collapses. Hope? Change we need?

That is what the man whom thousands of young people flock to idolise believes is appropriate treatment for America's unborn, for which he has crusaded. He even resisted the Born Alive Bill in Illinois, allowing life support for babies who survive abortions. What kind of individual denies life to some little mite who, against all odds, fights for survival, abandoned in a sluice room - and then characterises himself as the personification of Hope?

This election was an issue of life and death. That is why to deplore Obama's victory is not churlish, but an affirmation of the sacredness of human life, formerly acknowledged by all civilised people, but now dangerously marginalised.

Since the Roe v Wade decision, 46 million Americans have been deprived of lives they never lived. Obama made much play of America's slave-owning past; but he is championing a death cult that future historians will equate with the immorality of slavery when they chronicle these times. By a cruel irony, if Obama's Bill passes, it will disproportionately cull black children: already the abortion rate among black women is 49 per 1,000, compared with 13 per 1,000 among whites.

"He's been sent by God!" claimed an infatuated supporter. Beyond the sinister personality cult of The One, there is a moral imperative to be confronted. Life counts for more than celebrity.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2008

Obama-Biden presents a dilemma for Roman Catholics

Senator Joe Biden, 65, has twice sought the White House himself. He has immense experience in defence and foreign policy — areas in which Senator Obama fares relatively poorly in the polls compared with Senator McCain – but he is a Roman Catholic with a long record of liberal voting, and a long-standing supporter of Roe v. Wade and a woman's ‘right to choose’.

His selection poses a major challenge for American Roman Catholics. A pro-abortion Catholic choice as a vice presidential candidate may offend and alienate very many Christians for whom the sanctity of life and the belief that life begins at conception are articles of faith. 

The American bishops have made clear that Roman Catholic political leaders must defend the dignity of every human person, including the unborn. But Senator Biden's tenure in the United States Senate has been marked by steadfast support for legal abortion.

In 2004, John Kerry's support for abortion sparked a nationwide controversy over whether Roman Catholics who support legal abortion can receive Communion. The debate was re-activated in 2007 when several bishops criticised Rudy Guiliani, also a pro-abortion Roman Catholic.

The Obama campaign will now have the very considerable problem that everywhere Senator Biden campaigns, the media will be church-watching to see if he can find a priest who will permit him to receive the host. Whilst the private/public division has so far pertained - the notion that politicians can personally and privately oppose abortion whilst refusing to pass laws protecting the unborn - the increasingly widespread view is that this is a manifest hypocrisy.

Bishop Saltarelli, the senator’s own bishop, said: "No one today would accept this statement from any public servant: 'I am personally opposed to human slavery and racism but will not impose my personal conviction in the legislative arena.' Likewise, none of us should accept this statement from any public servant: "I am personally opposed to abortion but will not impose my personal conviction in the legislative arena’." 

He has made it clear that pro-abortion Catholic politicians should refrain from receiving the Eucharist. He said: “The promotion of abortion by any Catholic is a grave and serious matter. Objectively, according to the constant teaching of the Scriptures and the Church, it would be more spiritually beneficial for such a person to refrain from receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. I ask Catholics in this position to have the integrity to respect the Eucharist, Catholic
teaching and the Catholic faithful."

The American bishops have instructed Roman Catholic voters to consider many issues, but have characterised the defence of human life as 'foundational' and have explained that the issue has a special claim on the conscience of the Catholic voter. This means that a political candidate like Senator Biden, because of his strong support for abortion rights, is unworthy of support despite his views on other issues like defence, health care and the economy.

And let us not pretend that this is only a problem for America’s Roman Catholics. The Evangelical contingent – the ‘Religious Right’ - in the United States is a hugely influential and highly vocal contingent. Senator Obama might just have handed the White House to Senator McCain (though Cranmer has never doubted that this will be the outcome of this contest). The choice may have given the world's leaders someone to phone at 3.00am, but the experience of the vice president ensures that it is he who will be on the other end of the line, undermining the president at every turn. Senator Biden does not plug the gaps in the Obama quest to become the most powerful political leader on the planet; he draws attention to them. And neither man will have the blessing the most powerful religious leader on the planet. If Senator McCain chooses his running mate wisely, it is he who will be annnointed.

A Principled Protest

On Tuesday, July 8, 2008, the Directors General of Madonna House went to Rideau Hall and returned the Order of Canada medal awarded to our foundress, Catherine Doherty. This is in response to the awarding of the same honour to Dr. Henry Morgentaler.
Below, you can read our press release, followed by our letter to the Governor General:----------------------------------------

ORDER OF CANADA TO BE RETURNED PUBLICLY TUESDAY

Peaceful Visit to Rideau Hall For Group Representing Madonna House Founder, Catherine DohertyOTTAWA (July 7, 2008) -- Representatives from Madonna House, a Catholic community based in Combermere, Ontario, will make the journey to Ottawa Tuesday morning to return the Order of Canada medal awarded to founder, Catherine Doherty.The move is in response to the awarding of one of Canada’s highest honours to Dr. Henry Morgentaler, as announced by the Governor General’s Office on July 1, 2008.

Catherine Doherty (August 15, 1896 - December 14, 1985) was a pioneer of social justice and an internationally acclaimed speaker. In addition to founding the community of Madonna House, she was a prolific writer and best-selling author of dozens of books. She was awarded the Order of Canada in 1976 in recognition of "a lifetime of devoted services to the underprivileged of many nationalities, both in Canada and abroad." Her cause for canonization as a saint was opened by Bishop Brendan O’Brien, then bishop of the diocese of Pembroke, Ontario, in 2000.

Fr. David May, one of the three directors of Madonna House, commented on the decision to return the medal to the Governor General:"Catherine Doherty was honoured to receive this award in 1976. She exemplified what the Order of Canada should be about: an individual committed to strengthening the nation by her contribution to the vulnerable and the marginalized. It is only after much prayer and consultation with our community, as well as with heavy hearts, that we are undertaking this action. The Order has been devalued in recent days, and we are confident that Catherine is spiritually present with us, affirming this gesture of love for our country and for the values which alone can sustain it. Without absolute respect for the gift of life, no society can survive."

Members of the Madonna House community will gather at the entrance to Rideau Hall to present in a symbolic gesture a letter to the Governor General, and will return the Order of Canada pin on Tuesday, July 8, 2008, at 11 a.m. Media are invited to attend, and representatives of the community will be available for interviews following the return of the medal.

Madonna House, founded in 1947 by Catherine Doherty and her husband, Eddie, is a community of more than 200 laymen, women, and priests dedicated to loving and serving Christ through promises of poverty, chastity and obedience. Each of the community’s missions has a distinct mandate, from offering soup kitchens to places of retreat. All operate in a spirit of prayer, openness, and fellowship. In addition to the original community in Combermere, Ontario, there are 18 field houses (missions) in seven countries around the world.

Additional resources on the life of Catherine Doherty and the Madonna House Apostolate can be found by visiting: www.madonnahouse.org or http://www.catherinedoherty/.

July 8, 2008
Her Excellency the Governor General
The Rt. Honourable Michaelle JeanGovernment House, Ottawa

Your Excellency,

Before all else we want to thank you for the work you do for us as Head of State of this country.

Today we address you also as Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada. The argument we present is primarily with those who advised you to award the Order of Canada to Dr. Henry Morgentaler.

A word of explanation is due. "We" are the Madonna House Apostolate. We are an ecclesial community, within the Catholic Church, headquartered in Combermere, Ontario. There are 220 members of the community. We want to return the Order of Canada medal awarded to the community’s founder, Catherine de Hueck Doherty. The return is to protest the very recent award of the same honour to Dr. Henry Morgentaler, a militant abortionist cited for his upstanding contribution to the life of the nation. This is insupportable in our view. The circumstances prompt the unusual act of returning the award of a person no longer living. Catherine died in 1985.

Catherine de Hueck Doherty, was a Russian refugee of the October Revolution. Her life in Canada became a call to a gospel life in Christ lived in the world as a lay person. This call was expressed in social and spiritual works which sought to guard the dignity of the human person and to find justice for the most vulnerable. Her unique vision, affirmed by the Church, of a community -- a spiritual family -- of celibate laymen, lay women and priests, began in Toronto in 1930 with the work of serving the poor. It took her to New York and the struggle for racial justice, then to rural Ontario and neighbourly service. The vision of the Apostolate grew. Men, women and priests joined. Social service and prayer houses were opened around the world. In 1976 Catherine received the Order of Canada for, "a lifetime of devoted services to the underprivileged of many nationalities, both in Canada and abroad."

For her it was her greatest decoration, surpassing the Medal of St. George she once received from the Czar. The Order of Canada was an immeasurable gift to her. It meant: "Canada acceptedme."

How can we be so presumptuous as to ask the Governor General to take back this medal which meant so much to Catherine? This deserves an explanation. I quote Catherine, writing to the staff of Madonna House April 12, 1976, five days after receiving the Order of Canada from Governor General Jules Leger; "they read out what I had done before I approached the Governor General and received the medal. But as I said, beloved family, I haven’t received a medal. As far as the medal is concerned you are all in it, for there would be no Madonna House without you and perhaps none without me, but it is a joint venture as far as I am concerned."

Catherine Doherty’s treasure is a community treasure, something we were proud of.Madonna House Apostolate is today a small community, of no great account, wealthy only in the abundance of nature which surrounds our main house in Combermere, Ontario. We live by begging and the work of our hands. Yet now, the awarding of the Order of Canada to Dr. Morgentaler compels us to protest in the most forceful, peaceful way available to us. Not only do we find his medical practice the dark side of the medical profession but his inclusion in the awards diminishes them. And an award that was meant to be a sign of unity is bringing division. Something is not right. That is the start of why we are returning the medal. "We" means the whole community. We are of one mind in this.Dr. Morgentaler’s work, so enthusiastically listed in his citation, more likely represents the reverse side of an otherwise bright medal. In our view, through his crusade, the dignity of the person is violently transgressed, justice for the most vulnerable is trampled on, the healing arts are compromised, and little faith is shown for the future. Is this really what we want as a nation?Catherine Doherty would not have judged Henry Morgentaler, nor should we. Like all of us, he is a poor person. Has he not been surrounded by death all his life? Yet we have to protest ... simply, peacefully, unremittingly and with the tools we have at hand ... the serious misdirection our country and many of its leaders, in our view, appear to be taking, as exemplified by the award and glowing citation given him for his misguided work. Catherine Doherty would shout, "Wait. Don’t you see where we are going? There is another way. I’ll show it to you." With this act of returning the Order of Canada we are choosing to place truth before honours. It is the truth pointed to in the very motto of the Order of Canada, taken from the Bible, Hebrews 11:16 -- desiderantes meliorem patriam ... "they desire a better homeland...". In truth, does this verse fragment not find its full meaning in the words that rightly complete the line? They are, "they desire a better homeland, theirheavenly homeland." The verse concludes; "That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, since he has founded the city forthem."In the end, by returning the Order of Canada, we simply wish to bring, to the consideration of the people, what was and, arguably still is, a founding vision for Canada. Catherine Doherty would do the same.

Respectfully Yours,
Fr. David May, Susanne Stubbs, Mark Schlingerman
Directors General of Madonna House for all Madonna House Apostolate

Suffer the little ones...

Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy



Abortion limit stays at 24 weeks


LONDON (Reuters) - Parliament voted on Tuesday to keep the upper legal limit on abortion at 24 weeks, disappointing campaigners who argue survival rates have improved.


The vote blocked attempts to lower the legal limit to 22, 20, 16 or 12 weeks in parliament's first look at abortion laws in almost two decades.

The upper limit was reduced from 28 weeks to 24 weeks in 1990. Britain legalised abortion in 1968.

Many European countries allow abortion on demand up to 12 or 13 weeks in to pregnancy, after which it is limited to cases where the baby or mother is at risk. Termination is legal up to 22 to 24 weeks in Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

For three hours, MPs passionately debated the right of women to choose versus the right of a foetus to live.

"While there have been medical advances in caring for premature babies, only a small number born after 24 weeks gestation can survive," health minister Dawn Primarolo told parliament, arguing for the status quo.

She said there was no scientific evidence showing a significant improvement in a baby's chance of survival at 24 weeks since the 1990 law.

Labour MP Julie Morgan said any move to reduce the upper limit was an attack on abortion and the right to choose.

But proponents of a reduction said it was morally wrong for babies at 24 weeks to be terminated when they could survive and that foetal pain and distress must be taken into account.

"I think there comes a point when it has to be said this baby has a right to life also," said Conservative MP and former nurse Nadine Dorries, who argued for a 20-week limit and offered a graphic description of late terminations.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown had said he favoured 24 weeks.

Around 200,000 abortions were carried out in Britain in 2006, of which about 3,000 were conducted after 20 weeks -- 1.5 percent of the total.

OVERHAUL OF LEGISLATION

The abortion vote is the final contentious issue in an overhaul of fertility and embryology laws dating from 1990 being debated by parliament. The government has won all key votes.

Earlier, MPs voted to remove the need for an involved father as well as a mother when women seek fertility treatment, making it easier for lesbian couples to access the treatment.

Parliament passed a bill that says doctors should look for evidence of "supportive parenting" rather than the presence of a father figure when offering in-vitro fertilisation (IVF).

Government ministers said removing the need for a father brought fertility laws into line with equal rights and human rights legislation and to retain the need for a father would have been discriminatory against lesbians and single mothers.

But Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith, supporting the need for a father, said a child's rights should outweigh the human rights of adults to have children and the bill sent a message that "fathers are less important than mothers".

On Monday, parliament approved a bill to allow human-animal embryo research and to permit parents of children with genetic conditions to use IVF to select "saviour siblings" who can act as donors to save their sick brothers and sisters.

Candlemas Challenge

This article appears in the February Parish Magazine of St Martin-on-the-hill, Scarborough.

CHALLENGE OF THE CANDLEMAS CHILD

As February begins, the Christmas season ends.

Candlemas on the 2nd is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, 40 days after his birth. It speaks of his mission in the world to be 'alight to enlighten the Gentiles and the glory of his people Israel'.

Each new life from God is given for a purpose. Sadly - and sinfully - many do not make it even from the womb out into the world.

The Church Catechism states that 'every human life, from the moment of conception until death, is sacred because the human person has been willed for its own sake in the image and likeness of the living and holy God'.

As Christians we need to be aware that 'The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill' could reach the House of Commons this month. Our member of parliament, Robert Goodwill, assures me that 'nothing will be put into law until it has faced considerable scrutiny'. He says that he will be active, with others, 'ensuring that any proposals have the best interests of British society at their heart'. I am not sure we can leave it there.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has recently warned in a newspaper article that 'Society risks losing sight of the sanctity of life; 200,000 abortions a year tell their own story'.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor says 'Whatever our religious creed or political conviction, abortion on this scale can only be a source of distress and profound anguish for us all'.

The Methodist, Baptist and United Reform churches have also joined the debate as parliament reviews the law: 'What most Christians want to see is further moderation and understanding of the issues'.

When we pray for our politicians, as we regularly do, perhaps we also have a responsibility to be informed about their decision making on our behalf. Maybe we should let them know our views when they are involved in issues like those raised in this bill.

It appears that no Lambeth Conference has so far adopted a pro-life stance on behalf of Anglicans, but a petition is being circulated to put this right. It reads 'I, the undersigned, do hereby ask the 2008 Lambeth Conference to proclaim that the Anglican Communion affirms that human life is a precious gift from God that is to be protected at every stage, from conception to natural death; and to encourage all Anglicans to oppose abortion and euthanasia'. Completed copies should be returned to The Right Revd Henry Scriven, c/o Mrs Anna Pienaar, 6 Lakeside Close, South Norwood, London SE25 2DS. The petition can also be signed online at www.anglicansforlife.org/petition2/index.asp.

Holy Innocents

Holy Innocents today - millions of lives extinguished before they know the joy of life.

"You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish".
(Didache)

"God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to humankind the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception".
(Second Vatican Council)

"Lord, we pray for the innocent in the womb; and work for a society which values human life from the cradle to the grave".

Anti Abortion-Pro Life

Anti-abortion campaigners have made the Houses of Parliament their latest target after projecting the figure for the number of abortions carried out to date onto the side of the famous landmark.

The projection, which read 'Abortion 1967-2007 Death Toll 6.7 Million', filled the entire river-side face of the Houses of Parliament.

The move by pro-life alliance Alive and Kicking was to mark the 40th anniversary of the Abortion Act.

According to pro-life campaigners, there have been 6.7 million abortions since the Act was officially passed on October 27 1967 - a figure they say is rapidly approaching the population of London.

Women deserve better than abortion - that is why they are being 'Silent No More'.

To commemorate the tragedy of 40 years of abortion in our country, there will be a 'Silent No More Gathering' taking place at Old Palace Yard, Westminster (opposite entrance to the House of Lords) this Saturday 27th October starting at 10:00a.m. This public gathering will feature the stories of women and men who have had personal abortion experience. They will tell of their feelings of grief and sadness but also of peace and healing. They want to reach out to those struggling after an abortion experience and to tell them that help is available.Women, men and the wider family deserve better than the death of their child as the solution to an unplanned pregnancy.

Speaking at the Westminster event will be, among others:

Margaret Cuthill from Scotland: "My abortions did not resolve any of the fears I had in being pregnant. The reality was I changed one set of problems for another that could never be changed. I chose the death of my children as a life solution".

Tracy Joynes from Southampton: "Abortion killed my baby, it also destroyed a large part of me".

These and other brave people are willing to stand up in public to tell of their personal abortion experience. It is thanks to this courage that the secrecy and silence surrounding the pain of abortion is being brought out into the public domain.

This event is one of a series that have been and will be held in towns and cities across the UK.

Relief that government not interested in abortion amendments

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has commented on this morning's statements by the government on abortion law reform.

Dawn Primarolo, health minister, told the House of Commons Science and Technology select committee that the Abortion Act 1967 "doesn't require further amendment at the present time."

Anthony Ozimic, SPUC political secretary, commented: "We are relieved that the government does not seem interested in seeing the Abortion Act amended at this time. Any amendments to the Abortion Act at this time are likely to result in an increase in the numbers of abortions. We call upon parliamentarians to resist calls, from whatever quarter, to table amendments to the Abortion Act and instead to focus upon the many practical ways of reducing the numbers of abortions, in particular by addressing the pressures upon expectant mothers which lead them to consider abortion."

Abortion robs everyone of their future, the heads of the Roman Catholic Church in England Wales and Scotland said today, but they acknowledged that it would never be abolished altogether from British law.

In an open letter, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor and his Scottish counterpart, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, plead for “a change in minds and hearts” in British attitudes towards termination of pregnancy.

The call marks the 40th anniversary this week of the Abortion Act, which made abortion in the UK legal up to 28 weeks.

The cardinals said that a change in attitudes towards support for young mothers, along with greater emphasis on sexual relations within marriage, could lead to a decrease in the number of abortions without any change to the existing law.

In the letter, they stated: “The 1967 Act was intended to solve the problem of illegal abortion, on the basis that it was a major cause of death in pregnant women. Yet our countries now perform nearly 200,000 abortions every year.

“Whatever our religious creed or political conviction, abortion on this scale can only be a source of distress and profound anguish for us all...Abortion robs everyone of their future. Individually and as a society we believe we have another choice: to give birth to life.”

The cardinals set out their plans for reducing the number of abortions carried out in the UK every year. “Whilst upholding the principle of the sacredness of human life, it is both licit and important for those in public life who oppose abortion on principle to work and vote for achievable incremental improvement to what is an unjust law.”

This approach could be interpreted as a row-back in the rhetoric adopted towards abortion previously by the Catholic Church in England, Wales and Scotland. This year Cardinal O'Brien likened the rate of termination in Scotland to “two Dunblane massacres every day” and called for a reversal in the law.

Speaking on the Today programme on Radio 4 this morning, Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor acknowledged that the Catholic Church was “not able to abolish abortion from the statute book” and defended the more pragmatic tone towards dealing with abortion. “I think there is such a thing as a gradual change and there are many politicians and the people who they represent who would be happy for a gradual change in the law,” he said.

He added that he was sure the Vatican would accept the approach taken by the English and Scottish bishops to press for a steady decrease in the number of abortions, but acknowledged that to engender such a change may “take years”.

Easter eggs!

I have always been an instinctive pro life anti abortion kind of person. What I am as natural man I am even more so as christian man. Two relevant stories have attracted my attention this week.

Right to be a parent ?

Natalie Evans was left infertile after cancer therapy. She has been engaged in a 5 year legal battle for the right to become a parent using six frozen embryos, fertilised by her ex partner, Howard Johnston. The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against her stating that her rights to become a mother do not outweigh the rights of her ex boy friend to choose when, and with whom, to become a father. This was a 'last chance' decision and the embryos will now be destroyed.

Travels with my camera: a matter of life and death.

"I knew that it was the killing of a child. I was ashamed of being Jane Roe", a woman called Norma McCorvey told Miranda Sawyer ( the camera owner referred to above).

McCorvey was in fact Jane Roe involved in Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision by the US Supreme Court which made abortion legal but over which America has argued ever since. McCorvey has since become a pro lifer and in a TV programme for British Television this week gave a rare interview. A conversation with a young woman, a victim of rape and more troubles besides, confirmed that it will never be possible to lessen the moral agony of one of the worst choices imaginable. The camera provided photographs of aborted foetuses which were show at the end of the film.

Pro-Lifers argue that life begins at conception and that the law should give embryos exactly the same rights as a child even where the life begins by IVF in a Petri dish in a laboratory. Is there any difference between killing a person and taking a life? Is abortion murder?

Easter eggs

Of course, easter eggs are a symbol of new life breaking into the world from beyond, whether from the womb or from the tomb.

Church v. State

Thank God the Church of England has managed to get something right ecumenically on this 7th day of this year's Unity Octave:

Archbishops step into gay rights row
The Government is on the horns of a dilemma today over new rules for adoption agencies.
Roman Catholic bishops are warning that adoption agencies run by their church may have to close down if they are required to offer babies to gay couples under the new regulations.
Yesterday the leaders of the Church of England stepped into the public debate, warning the Government not to take a step which might lead religious people to feel that their consciences bar them from undertaking valuable public service.
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, Rowan Williams and John Sentamu, wrote to Prime Minister Tony Blair warning him: "The rights of conscience cannot be made subject to legislation, however well-meaning."
Secular and gay-rights activists have accused Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the leader of the Catholic church in England and Wales, of using "blackmail" in a bid to secure exemptions from the Government.
But Cardinal Murphy O'Connor yesterday denied he was blackmailing the Government.
Speaking on BBC News 24 he said: "I'm not blackmailing anybody. I am just putting to the government the possible consequences of carrying through these particular regulations."
He added: "I don't see any reason why there cannot be an exception... It would seem to me it is not impossible to have these regulations but with a clause that allows a particular religious community to act according to its principles."
The Cardinal has urged ministers to avoid the "unnecessary tragedy" of the church's adoption services closing as a result of plans to put gay couples on an equal footing with other prospective adopters.
He issued the plea in an open letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair and members of the Cabinet.
And he was backed by Catholic bishops in Scotland, who said, in a letter signed by Archbishop of Glasgow Mario Conti, that the proposed regulations put in jeopardy the ability of their adoption services to operate in line with their beliefs.
Both Mr Blair and communities minister Ruth Kelly - a prominent Catholic - are reported to favour an opt-out that would allow the church's adoption services to turn away gay couples.
But the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, yesterday insisted it was "difficult to see" how an exemption could be justified.
In their letter, the Church of England archbishops wrote: "It is vitally important that the interests of vulnerable children are not relegated to suit any political interest. And that conditions are not inadvertently created which make the claims of conscience an obstacle to, rather than the inspiration for, the invaluable public service rendered by parts of the voluntary sector."
Downing Street sought to quell the burgeoning row by insisting that Mr Blair had yet to make up his mind.
Mr Blair's official spokesman said: "The key thing we have to remember in all of this is the interests of the children concerned and that there are arguments on both sides."
But Lord Falconer told the BBC: "We have committed ourselves to anti-discrimination law - on the grounds of sexual orientation - and it is extremely difficult to see how you can be excused from anti-discrimination law on the grounds of religion."
The Equality Act was passed by Parliament last year, and details of the regulations for England and Wales are due to be published by the Department for Communities and Local Government over the next few months.
There are at present 12 Catholic agencies dealing with adoption in England and Wales - five of which also deal with fostering. The agencies account for 32% of voluntary-sector adoptions.
The Catholic Church is lobbying for the right to continue its present policy of referring gay couples to other agencies where their adoption application might be considered.
Archbishop Sentamu said he believed "freedom of conscience can't be made subject to legislation, however well meaning".
"On numerous occasions in the past proper consideration has been given to requirements of conscience as well as other considerations affecting freedom of conscience - the right, for example of some doctors not to perform abortions even though employed by the NHS."
He warned against the danger of intruding into the private sphere by "overlegislating".
"When you overlegislate and you intervene too much in people's private lives I think in the long run you end up with a statute being used to cure all ills, which it cannot," he said.
"And I think the danger therefore is to spin a legal spider's web from which nobody can escape."
The Roman Catholic adoption agencies put the interest of the child first "above the rights of anybody who wants to adopt".
Archbishop Sentamu told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there was no issue of discrimination involved in the call for exemptions.
"I would say to you that actually the Cardinal, the Archbishop of Canterbury and I are not wanting the right to discriminate. We're totally against discrimination."
He said he did not agree with Catholic teaching on the sinfulness of homosexuality.
"But it doesn't mean that on this particular issue about the adoption agency he hasn't got a case.
"The Church of England is very clear that sexual orientation is not sinful.
What the Church of England then goes on to say is that homosexual general acts actually fall short of the glory of God, like adultery and fornication, and they require repentance."
Mr Blair's official spokesman said: "The Prime Minister recognises there are strong views on this issue on all sides and of course welcomes the fact that people are debating both the principles, but also the practicalities.
"What we have to do is focus on the factual position and the factual impact on the children who are at the heart of this, and recognise that this isn't just a debate about principles - it is also a debate about how to help very vulnerable children, not just during the period in care but in aftercare as well."
The Catholic adoption agencies have a record of helping find families for difficult-to-place children and providing aftercare following their placement, he said.
Uniform provision of adoption services by the state was "not always the best answer".
"What we do need to focus on is the real practical outcomes of policy. No matter what the decision is in principle, we have to bear in mind the practical impact on children."
The spokesman said he was "not aware" of any ministers threatening to resign over the issue.
Mr Blair is understood to be meeting groups of Labour backbenchers privately today to discuss the gay adoption regulations.
The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) revealed it had written to ministers calling on them to reject the plea for exemption by the Catholic Church.
The letter said the "over-riding principle" in all family law - including adoption and fostering - was what was in the best interests of the child.
The European Court recently disallowed a judgment by Portugal's Court of Appeal about custody which had rested on the grounds that the father now lived with a male partner, it said.
Custody in this country was with the courts which give the order for adoption, and not agencies, it said.
"We therefore call for the Cardinal's plea to be rejected, and for one, non-discriminatory set of rules to be approved which - as in Northern Ireland - assure equality to suitable gay or lesbian couples seeking to adopt children, where this is in the child's best interests."
Commenting on the remarks made by the Archbishop of York, Peter Tatchell, of the gay human rights group OutRage!, said: "It is shocking that a bishop from a racial minority is advocating discrimination against people from a sexual minority.
"He knows the pain of racism yet he is now openly endorsing homophobic discrimination.
"As Archbishop Desmond Tutu has often said, homophobia is akin to racism. Discrimination against a person because of their race or sexuality can never be justified - not even in the name of religion."
John McDonnell, the only declared candidate for the Labour Party leadership, said: "Human rights are indivisible. The legislation due to come into force in April should be straightforward, simple, uncompromised, and overwhelmingly accepted in a civilised society.
"There can be no undermining of the basic principle that people should not be discriminated against on the grounds of their sexual orientation."
He said he was "personally disappointed" by the churches' approach, adding: "Many of us had thought that the Christian Church had moved on from this relatively primitive view. I would urge religious leaders to behave in the spirit of Christ's teaching, which is one of love and acceptance of all humanity."

Locally at an Anglican Eucharist this morning the Roman Catholic chairman of Scarborough SPUC branch joined the congregation and I was able to introduce him to the parish priest . The way was opened for a SPUC exhibition to be displayed in this prominent church visited by many visitors each week. They come not only to worship but to view a national architectural gem and the famous stained glass art it contains. An ecumenical witness to the sacredness of all life will now be on view also for a period of time. Hip hip hooray!

White Flower emblem

A scandal of contemporary British society is the abortion industry and the euthanasia lobby.
SPUC - Society for the Protection of Unborn Children is the main Christian opposition with the following aims:

1. To affirm, defend and promote the existence and value of human life from the moment of conception until natural death, and to protect human life whether born or unborn.
2. To reassert the principle laid down in the United Nation's "Declaration of the Rights of the Child"(1959) that "the child by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth.
3. To defend, assist and promote the life and welfare of mothers during pregnancy and of their unborn children from the time of conception.

This week, in the parish, is local White Flower Appeal on behalf of the society.

In Germany during World War II Sophie Scholl and her young student friends formed The White Rose Movement and helped to alert Germans to the inhumane policies of that time. The six leaders of the movement were arrested, tried and executed between February and October 1943. Their inspiring story is told in the film "Sophie Scholl".

SPUC's White Flower emblem remains a symbol of the struggle for justice on behalf of the vulnerable humans affected by the inhumane practices of abortion and euthanasia today.

In addition to political and educational work SPUC offers the following services:

1. British Victims of Abortion for men and women hurt by abortion.

2. No Less Human for disabled people, their families and carers - taking a positive position on disability.

3. Patients First Network for vulnerable people at risk from euthanasia.

4. Safe at School for parents and teachers concerned about anti-life education in schools.

Massacre of the Innocents

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, nicknamed ‘Peasant Bruegel’ was probably the most significant and exciting painter in the Northern Europe during the middle part of the sixteenth century. His nickname “Peasant Bruegel” indicates to his subjects: peasant life, proverbs and genre scenes, the New Testament topics set among common folks of contemporary Flanders.

Matthew 2:16-18: "When Herod saw how the astologers [three Wise Men] had tricked him [by not reporting back to him the child's location] he fell into a passion, and gave orders for the massacre of all children in Bethlehem and its neighborhood, of the age of two years and younger, which was the time he had been given by the astrologers [for the birth of the child who was to become king of the Jews.] So the words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah were fulfilled: 'A voice was heard in Rama, wailing and loudly lamenting; it was Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing all consolation, because they were no more.'"

Vividly and gruesomely depicted:Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The Massacre of the Innocents. 1565-7. Oil on panel. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria.

The contemporary equivalent of this New Testament incident is the slaughter of the innocents conceived in the wombs of their mothers by the process of abortion. The liberal political intelligentsia that so reviles the idea of the execution of vicious murderers after a fair trial nevertheless favour so actively the killing of innocent children without trial by abortion. In the UK a 100 teenage girls a week are going in for what are called "repeat" abortions. They have conceived under the age of consent but few are prosecuted for the illegal crime of sexual intercourse with them. Abortion is now taken to be an acceptable form of contraception. The truth is that it is nearer to infanticide. The full figures are enormous.

One Christian organisation which campaigns tirelessly to oppose this situation and provide positive alternatives in the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (www.spuc.org.uk).

Aims of the Society
To affirm, defend and promote the existence and value of human life from the moment of conception, and to defend and protect human life generally.
To reassert the principle laid down in the United Nations 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child that the child "needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth."
To defend, assist and promote the life and welfare of mothers during pregnancy and of their children from the time of conception up to, during and after birth.
To examine existing or proposed laws, legislation or regulations relating to abortion and to support or oppose such as appropriate.

In this work they deserve the prayers of the church and the support of all Christians.