News Roundup

Assisted suicide takes place in Canadian church

A Canadian woman has been killed via assisted suicide in a church in Canada.

Betty Sanguin arrived at her church, Churchill Park United in Winnipeg, on a stretcher around noon on March 9, having chosen the sanctuary as the place to die. News on the event has come to light more recently.

James Mildred, of pro-life charity, CARE, said in response: “The fact that a church in Canada has endorsed the practice of assisted suicide is deeply troubling…I can honestly say that it is my clear conviction that God’s word is clear on this matter.

“Time and again, the Bible teaches us that our lives are in God’s hands, and we are not to murder or be involved in helping someone kill themselves.”

Chairs were set up in what Renée Sanguin, one of Betty’s daughters, described as a “circle of care.”

In what was dubbed a “crossing-over ceremony”, hymns were sung and guests said their goodbyes.

Afterwards, the church’s minister, Rev. Dawn Rolke, offered a blessing and each of Mrs Sanguin’s six children placed their hands on her as Rolke invited her to go in peace.

 

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Prosecutor files appeal against Finnish MP cleared of ‘hate speech’

The Finnish State prosecutor has filed an appeal against a unanimous court decision which exonerated a Finnish MP and bishop of “hate speech” allegations for quoting the Bible in respect of sexual morality and homosexuality.

The prosecutor is demanding tens of thousands of Euros in fines and that Finnish Parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen and Evangelical Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjolas’ publications be censored.

On 30th March 2022 the Helsinki District Court had dismissed all charges against Räsänen and Pohjola, stating that “it is not for the district court to interpret biblical concepts”.

Responding to news of the appeal, Räsänen said: “After my full exoneration in court, I am dismayed that the prosecutor will not let this campaign against me drop. And yet, the prosecutor’s decision to appeal may lead to the case going all the way to the Supreme Court, offering the possibility of securing a positive precedent for freedom of speech and religion for all Finnish people”.

She added: “Also, I am happy that this decision will lead to the discussion of the Bible’s teachings in society. I am ready to defend freedom of speech and religion in all necessary courts. As far as the European Court of Human rights, if necessary”.

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Sisters of Charity exit healthcare sector after two centuries

The Religious Sisters of Charity have departed from healthcare after more than two centuries, in a move that will pave the way for abortions to be carried out in the New National Maternity Hospital (NMH) after it is built on a site at St Vincent’s Hospital, despite claims to the contrary.

“We will have no role in the future of the new independent charity, the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group, St Vincent’s Holding CLG or the new National Maternity Hospital,” said Sr Patricia Lenihan, superior general of Religious Sisters of Charity. “Our sisters will continue to work with local communities in Ireland and abroad.”

In a deal under discussion with the Government, St Vincent’s Healthcare Group (SVHG) will lease the NMH site to the State for 299 years. In addition, the hospital’s Health Service Executive licence will incorporate legal measures requiring it to provide all procedures allowed under law in Ireland.

In a statement on Thursday, SVHG Chairman, James Menton, said the sisters’ role in the development of modern healthcare for Irish people from all walks of life, “cannot be underestimated and we thank them sincerely for their commitment, dedication and service.”

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Minimum marriage age raised from 16 to 18 in England

People in England and Wales must now be aged 18 or over to get married. The move comes even as campaigners seek ever greater freedom for under 18s to access abortion or engage in sex-change procedures.

On Tuesday, a backbench bill was approved by the House of Lords and cleared Parliament without opposition.

The bill, which was first introduced in June last year, is set to become law later this week after it receives Royal Assent, and will override the previous law that stated people can get married at the age of 16 with parental consent.

Under the new law, adults could face up to seven years jail time for facilitating underage marriages. Participating children will not face jail time.

The law also applies to cultural or religious marriages not registered with the couples’ local council.

The move has been praised by anti-child marriage campaigners. Campaigner Payzee Malika, who’s sister, Banaz, was killed in an “honour killing”, tweeted that this new law “could have saved her”.

Malika herself became a child bride at age 16, something she reflected on as the new bill passed.

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Senator Keoghan resigns from committee following surrogacy row

An Independent Senator has resigned from an Oireachtas children’s committee after enduring fierce criticism in a related committee for airing objections to commercial surrogacy.

In a private meeting on Wednesday, Ms Sharon Keoghan unsuccessfully sought an apology from two other members of the Oireachtas Committee on International Surrogacy. Senator Keoghan was told to “check your Christian privilege” by Senator Lynn Ruane who also condemned her for describing commercial surrogacy as “exploitative” to people who have availed of the practice and were addressing the committee.

Shortly afterwards Ms Keoghan wrote to the Oireachtas Committee on Children, chaired by Sinn Fein’s Kathleen Funchion (who had chaired the bruising encounter at the Surrogacy committee last week), saying she was resigning as she did not feel safe any longer. She is remaining on the surrogacy committee, however.

“I wish to inform you that I wish to resign my position as a member of the above Committee,” she wrote. “I will continue to sit on the Joint Committee on International Surrogacy.

“I no longer feel safe or protected as a member of the committee and have made this difficult decision as a result of that. I will offer my place to an Independent Senator from my grouping and will correspond directly with the Seanad office in order so that a Committee of Selection can be convened.

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U.S. religious freedom body highlights Afghanistan, Nigeria, Russia in new report

Afghanistan, Russia and Nigeria feature prominently in a new report on religious persecution.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released their 2022 report this week.

It focused on the “chilling” plight of religious minorities in Afghanistan. The cover of this year’s report shows images from the Middle East nation – a crowd of women protesting the Taliban, people around a ravaged and bloodied house of worship, and a line of families flanked by soldiers boarding a plane to flee.

For Christians specifically, Nigeria was highlighted as a big concern. The report notes both state and nonstate actors – such as extremist groups Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) – committing egregious violations.

Russia and China were also identified as posing a threat to Christians. Specifically, the Russian invasion of Ukraine causes a risk to non-Russian Orthodox Christians, given the way they were treated when Russia previously invaded Crimea and parts of Eastern Ukraine. And in Russia itself, the government supports legislation that persecutes religious minorities including Protestants, Muslims, Jehovah Witnesses, Falun Gong and the Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

“Russia is one of the worst violators in the world for religious freedom. We have seen an increase in harassment of religious minorities in Russia, and we would only expect that to continue,” Nadine Maenza, the commission chair, told Crux.

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Ukraine chaplain speaks of brutality of war with Russia

Having “the smell of sheep” for one military chaplain serving in Ukraine has now means being surrounded by the smell of burned homes and lives. Pope Francis has previously said priests should “be shepherds with the smell of the sheep”.

“Every city has its own smell of suffering. It can’t be described. The church here must become saturated with this smell and stay close by with different ways of helping,” said Father Oleksandr Khalayim, in an interview with Vatican News.

The priest is a military chaplain and a papal missionary of mercy serving in a Diocese in the southwest of the country near the border with Moldova and Romania. He was in Rome for an April 23-25 World Meeting of Missionaries of Mercy.

Asked how he brings mercy and forgiveness as a chaplain to a war zone, Khalayim told Vatican News that forgiveness may take “three or four generations.”

“For me, right now it is hard to talk about forgiveness if bombs keep coming, if children are still being killed, if our cities are still being bombed,” he said. “To forgive what women and children have suffered through is truly difficult.”

As a missionary of mercy, he said when he speaks with soldiers, he explains that mercy means asking them not to kill if it is possible. But that is not easy for those on the frontlines who are defending their country.

“Even this is mercy — to defend your home and family,” he said.

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Politicians pressed for abortion till viability 

Politicians heard calls for making abortion even more easily available, including extending the current 12-week limit to allow abortions on request “up to viability”. The vast majority of abortions take place in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

The National Women’s Council (NWC) and the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) suggested the changes when representatives appeared before the Oireachtas Health Committee yesterday.

The committee meeting came amid a separate ongoing review of Ireland’s abortion laws chaired by barrister Marie O’Shea with a report due to be delivered to Government later this year.

NWC’s director Orla O’Connor told the committee three areas need to be addressed in her view: the “restrictive legal framework” for abortions; poor national coverage; and an absence of “robust data collection”.

Ms O’Connor’s opening statement said the current law “acts as a gatekeeper creating a series of obstacles that prevent access to abortion, disproportionately affecting the most marginalised”.

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Almost ten million lives lost in UK since advent of abortion

Wednesday marked the 54th anniversary of Great Britain’s Abortion Act coming into effect in 1968.

Since then, a staggering 9,900,961 unborn babies have lost their lives to abortion across England, Wales, and Scotland — in 2020, more than one baby was lost to abortion every two and a half minutes; 25 lives were ended every hour.

Over 1 in 4 (25.2%) pregnancies in England and Wales now end in abortion, according to the most recent Government statistics.

The number of abortions in England and Wales reached a record high with 210,860 taking place in 2020, while the number performed in Scotland was the second-highest on record at 13,815.

This significant rise in abortions accompanied Governments introducing a temporary measure in March 2020 allowing ‘DIY’ home abortions in England and Wales, and Scotland.

Abortion statistics released by the Department of Health and Social Care show that 209,917 abortions were performed for English and Welsh residents in 2020.

This is 2,533 more than in 2019, which was until now the highest number on record.

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Row over RSE at Catholic primary school

A secular education group has said it is “appalled” that a Catholic primary school in Wicklow would advise pupils to ask their parents if they have questions about contraception or same-sex relationships rather than teach the topics in its RSE classes.

‘Education Equality’ spokesperson David Graham believes that the religious ethos of Lacken National School in Blessington was at the root of the advice. He told Newstalk Breakfast that a majority of parents at the school last year signed a letter calling for Relationships and Sexual Education (RSE) to be “fact-based” and “free from the influence of religious ethos”.

He added that the school’s idea of contacting parents when a child asks a question about contraception or same sex relationships is ‘totally inadequate’.

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