Catholic Fire

By Stefano Gennarini, J.D. NEW YORK, May 15 (C-FAM) The highest-ranking U.N. human rights official, Navi Pillay, looked down and fidgeted as Pope Francis delivered an unambiguous pro-life message to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and top U.N. officials. Unborn children are “our brothers and sisters,” Pope Francis told Pillay and her colleagues gathered in Rome for a coordination meeting. Pillay’s office facilitates the work of the U.N. committees that recently told the Vatican to change Church teaching on abortion. “Today, in concrete terms, an awareness of the dignity of each of our brothers and sisters whose life is sacred and inviolable from conception to natural death must lead us to share with complete freedom the goods which God’s providence has placed in our hands,” the Pope exhorted. The message comes at a critical time, when the United Nations is discussing a new development framework to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in 2015 and contribute to the e...

By Austin Ruse NEW YORK, February 14 (C-FAM) C-FAM and the Alliance Defending Freedom are hosting a conference in Rome to explore and celebrate the contribution of Pope John Paul II to the pro-life debate at the UN and his work in establishing a global pro-life movement. The conference comes during the weekend of the canonization of John Paul II as a saint in the Catholic Church, expected to bring more than one million people to Rome. Invited speakers include Blessed John Paul II’s close collaborators during the seminal UN conferences in Cairo, Beijing, Rio and many others: papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls, Under-Secretary of State Louis Cardinal Tauran, and Secretary of State Angelo Cardinal Sodano. Confirmed speakers include Papal biographer George Weigel, US Ambassador to the Holy See Raymond Flynn, chief Holy See negotiator John Klink, and Apostolic Nuncio to the UN Renato Cardinal Martino. Continue reading.

By Stefano Gennarini, J.D. NEW YORK, February 5 (C-FAM) The Vatican accused a UN committee of interfering with Church doctrine and violating religious freedom after it was asked to change its teaching on abortion and homosexuality. The Church should change its teaching on abortion, according to a UN committee that monitors the rights of children. The Church should no longer automatically excommunicate those who perform or assist in the performance of an abortion, the UN experts said in observations published Wednesday following a year-long review of the Vatican’s child protection practices. Church teaching on marriage and sexuality should also change according to the observations, because it prevents adolescents from accessing contraception. In addition the experts said Church teaching on homosexuality contributes to “social stigmatization and violence” against homosexual adolescents and children raised by same-sex couples. The Vatican immediately issued a press release say...

Statement of Austin Ruse WASHINGTON DC, January 17(C-FAM) Today C-FAM announces a renewed campaign to show support for the Holy See at the UN. Why is this necessary? Just this past week a UN human rights committee in Geneva grilled Holy See representatives about how the Vatican should answer for sexual abuse all over the world. Enemies of the Church egged the committee on. A few months ago the group calling itself “Catholics” for Choice launched a global campaign to have the Holy See thrown out of the General Assembly. At least one UN delegate is often heard disparaging the Holy See and wondering how it is they are actually in governmental negotiations. From time to time it becomes necessary for everyday people to show their support for the Holy See at the UN. That time has come again. What happens if the Holy See is kicked out of the General Assembly, something our enemies have not a chance of achieving? The Holy See is the conscience of the UN. It is the only del...

WASHINGTON, DC, November 8 (C-FAM) Experts warned the US Senate this week that a pending UN treaty could be used to advance a right to abortion and interfere with the rights of parents. No one can “guarantee that there will never be a lawsuit asserting that the [Disabilities treaty] creates certain abortion rights,” said Professor Timothy Meyer. Nor “can one guarantee the [UN] committee on disabilities will not take such a position,” said the former U.S. State Department advisor. Senators are considering ratifying the treaty on the rights of people with disabilities, which fell short of passage last year when conservatives rallied against it over concerns it may jeopardize national sovereignty, unborn children and parental rights to care for disabled children. The treaty uses the phrase “sexual and reproductive health,” which some say includes abortion. Dr. Susan Yoshihara, who helped negotiate the treaty, testified that term was mired in controversy during the treaty’s drafting,...

'Tis the season to sock it to Phill Kline. It's time to beat up on the annoying pro-life Christian attorney again. In her post today , Jill Stanek shares: I wrote in my column yesterday that part of Planned Parenthood of KS/George Tiller's strategy to beat Phill Kline's rap against them is to file nuisance lawsuits and subpoenas to persecute their prosecutor. The ink is barely dry on the KS Supreme Court's latest decision against PP and in favor of Kline, and the Associated Press is reporting PP plans to file its SIXTH subpoena against Kline to go over the same issue: the working copies of records he has.... This is interesting . According to Jill, as she understands it , the subpoena cites no case law or statute. It has been filed without legal precedent. A hearing is scheduled for December 18 before the very same judge, Stephen Tatum - who has yet to schedule a hearing to decide whether Kline has enough evidence against PP to go to trial! Read the entire post...