Catholic Fire

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . This year, therefore, marks its 60th anniversary, and provides us an opportunity to examine some themes in the Declaration which deserve special emphasis. The Declaration asserts, "[E]veryone has the right to life" (Article 3). This, of course, is the most fundamental right, since no other rights can be exercised if one does not exist. Yet this insight of common sense is easily forgotten these days. The Secular Humanist Manifesto II (1973), for example, lists many "rights," including "the right to suicide," but not the "right to life"! The Universal Declaration, furthermore, refers to human rights as "equal and inalienable," and declares that human beings have "inherent dignity" (Preamble). This is a key theme. In other words, governments can neither bestow nor remove human dignity from a human bei...

The Archbishop of Guadalajara, Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez, called on Catholics this week to reject the legalization of abortion and especially its spread across Mexico under pressure from international organizations such as the United Nations. In his weekly column, the cardinal underscored that “the media reported a few days ago that a high official of the United Nations praised the two states and the Federal District for having legalized abortion.” “She praised them and at the same time urged all the states of the country to do the same, so that throughout Mexico killing could go unpunished,” the cardinal said. “It must be said first of all that abortion is a crime; that should be clear. It goes against the human being and life, which is sacred. God our Lord left us a commandment: ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ and therefore we should respect the lives of others, as well as the lives of the unborn, who are human beings and have the right to life,” he explained. However, he warned, some pe...

"The first right of children is that of being born and educated in a welcoming and secure family environment where their physical, psychological and spiritual growth is guaranteed, their potential is developed and where the awareness of personal dignity becomes the base for relating to others and for confronting the future." ~ Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi C.S., Holy See (Vatican) permanent observer to the United Nations at Geneva, March 23, 2007, addressing the U.N, during the 4th session of the Human Rights Council..

NEW YORK, Mar. 5 / Christian Newswire /- A group of women from across Canada who know the pain and experience of abortion first hand, are speaking out at the UN this week. Melony, Lorraine, Evelyn, Maria and Denise, each with their own devastating story and negative impact abortion has had on their lives and bodies. They are participating in a workshop at the United Nations' 51st Conference on the Status of Women (CSW) in NY, on March 6th, 2007. This workshop entitled, "Breast Cancer & Reproductive HEALTH" is featuring Dr. Angela Lanfranchi, a Breast Cancer Surgeon and Joel Brind, PhD, co-founders of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute. The priority theme for the 2007 CSW is The Elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against women. This team of women from Canada Silent No More an outreach to post abortive women across Canada believe that, "Induced abortion is the greatest crime against women and children in this generation", states Deni...