News Roundup

Attempted shutdown of China’s Christians continues through pandemic

China’s Communist government is aggressively consolidating dominance over its tens of millions of Christians, according to a leading religious freedom expert.

The director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, Nina Shea, says the moves should trouble all China observers, whether Christian or not.

Writing in National Review, she says these churches have constituted the largest nationwide movement with a culture and belief system distinct from that of the Chinese state. “Courageous doctors, lawyers, scientists, and journalists dissent, but they can do so only individually or in small groups outside any national institutional support. Since the 1980s, the church — Protestants and Catholics, open and underground — had survived with more ideological independence than any other civil-society organization in China”.

She added: “Christians have long been persecuted and restricted, but the current comprehensive push to meld churches with the CCP, under penalty of eradication, threatens to be devastating to the faith. It signals the advance of totalitarianism, just as China is rising as a world power”.

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Abortion approval by telephone may continue after Covid crisis

The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, has refused to say that the system of remote or home access to abortion will cease to happen after the Covid-19 crisis comes to an end.

The Minister was responding to a Parliamentary Question submitted by Independent TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan. Deputy Nolan asked if “the revised model of care for the termination of pregnancy which currently permits the use of telemedicine will be maintained beyond the period of the Covid-19 emergency.”

In response, Minister Donnelly said that the arrangement allowing access to abortion via telemedicine “will be reviewed” once the public health emergency is declared over.

Commenting on this development, spokesperson for the Pro Life Campaign, Dr Kirsten Fuller said: “Minister Donnelly’s assurances about bringing the practice of telemedicine abortions to an end falls short of the commitment given by his predecessor as Health Minister, Simon Harris, who clearly stated that telemedicine abortions would only continue until the end of the Covid-19 crisis.

Dr Fuller continued: “Minister Donnelly needs to issue a more explicit statement clarifying that he intends to cease the practice of telemedicine abortions, a practice that as well as ending the lives of unborn babies also potentially puts the lives of pregnant women at risk as it does not involve a face to face consultation between the woman and her doctor before the abortion.

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Anger as attacks on Catholic Churches in the US get little coverage

A series of arson and vandalism attacks have been sustained by Catholic Churches and their property across the United States over the last week. The Ancient Order of the Hibernians, the United States’ oldest Irish association, has questioned the “deafening media silence” over the attacks and asked whether the media “has double standards of newsworthiness when intolerance targets Catholics.”

The latest incident was a fire that destroyed the roof of the San Gabriel Mission in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The Mission was being renovated as part of its 250-year anniversary celebrations.

In a statement the Order said the absence of national reporting was at stark variance with past coverage of similar attacks against other faiths.

“This absence of coverage is particularly glaring given that this attack is only the latest in a wave of wanton destruction targeting Catholics including the vandalism of a Catholic church in Boston, a Catholic school in New York and the ongoing investigation of a fire that destroyed the historic 249-year-old San Gabriel Mission and over the same weekend”.

“The Hibernians ask why such an outrageous attack targeting Catholics is less worthy of reporting than an attack on a house of worship of another faith or a public institution? The News Media needs to take accountability for its apathy and blatant double standard and the creation of a shameful ‘hierarchy of outrage’ in which hate targeting Catholics is not ‘newsworthy’. “

They added “We would remind National News editors of the Latin legal maximum ‘qui tacet consentire videtu’ (silence implies consent); their silence on the rising tide of anti-Catholic violence is shameful.”

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TD says persecution of Chinese Muslims cannot be ignored

A call has been made for the Government to “immediately condemn the barbaric measures being used by the Chinese Government to slash the Uighur Muslim population in China”. Aontú Leader & Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín said the campaign has been labelled a ‘demographic genocide’ by international experts.

He has circulated a letter calling on an Taoiseach to speak out on China’s policy and to lobby other nations to do so as well. This letter has received the support of several TDs and Senators from parties and independents all across the political spectrum.

In the letter, Deputy Tóibín said: “We are deeply concerned about the ‘detention camps’ to which women are being sent if they have more than the ‘permitted’ number of children”.

“News outlets are now reporting that China has subjected ‘hundreds of thousands of women’ to forced pregnancy tests, forced birth control, sterilisation and forced abortions”.

“We are deeply concerned at drone footage that shows hundreds of men and women being led blindfolded onto trains. We are very concerned at reports of men and women being detained without charge or conviction for indefinite lengths of time in “thought transformation camps”.

“We are asking the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister Coveney, to urgently intervene and make Ireland’s opposition to this torture known. We feel it would also be beneficial if the Irish government were to lobby other western and European countries to join us in condemning these practices”.

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Islamist militants in Nigeria Execute Five Men as Warning to Christians

Islamic extremists have executed five Nigerian men in Borno state, with one executioner saying it was a warning to all those involved in muslims converting to Christianity, according to a video posted on Wednesday.

In the 35-second video posted on YouTube by Eons Intelligence before it was removed, three Christians kneel blindfolded by red cloth alongside two others believed to be Muslims while five men armed with AK-47 rifles stand behind them.

“This is a message to all those being used by infidels to convert Muslims to Christianity,” one of the executioners says in the Hausa language.

“We want you out there to understand that those of you being used to convert Muslims to Christianity are only being used for selfish purposes.

“And that is the reason whenever we capture you, they don’t care to rescue you or work towards securing your release from us; and this is because they don’t need you or value your lives. We therefore, call on you to return to Allah by becoming Muslims. We shall continue to block all routes [highways] you travel.

“If you don’t heed our warning, the fate of these five individuals will be your fate.”

The speaker than commands, “Bisimilah [Go on],” and the five men are shot dead.

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Govt to abolish system of oaths derided as ‘embarrassing’

Witnesses will no longer be required to swear before God or make an affirmation when filing affidavits under proposals agreed by Cabinet .

Under the present system, witnesses must swear upon a Bible or other religious book before a solicitor or notary public that the contents of their affidavits are true.

A non-religious litigant can make an affirmation which does not mention a higher being but only after they explicitly decline to take a religious oath.

Under the proposed system, witnesses can make a non-religious “statement of truth”, without having to declare if they believe in a god or not. This will also be done remotely without having to appear before a solicitor or notary public.

Welcoming the proposal, Law Society director general Ken Murphy said the oath and affirmation system places witnesses “in a position of embarrassment and indignity” and is “contrary to the right to privacy”.

Jurors and witnesses appearing in court will still have to take an oath or affirm and newly appointed judges will still have to swear before God.

Mr Murphy said, “given the diverse nature of contemporary Ireland” it would have been better to replace the oath-based system in its entirety.

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Argentine bishops battle legalised abortion    

As the city of Buenos Aires inches closer to legalising abortion, the Catholic bishops of the region have released a statement on the dignity of life.

The Legislature of the city approved the adoption of a national protocol for the “voluntary interruption of a pregnancy.”

This enables abortions in cases where its not explicitly criminalised by Argentina’s penal code, including pregnancies from rape or when the life of the baby is said to threaten that of the mother.

The latter point is contentious as critics say it is loosely applied and used to justify 88 percent of the abortions in the country. For some, it includes the “physical, psychological and social” health of the mother, and ranges from actually life-threatening medical conditions to a consensual relationship between two adults coming to an end.

The bishops of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, including Cardinal Mario Poli, handpicked by Francis as his successor in leading the country’s largest archdiocese, and Bishop Gustavo Carrara, who lives in the slums of the city, released a statement titled “Life is always dignified.”

In their statement, the bishops note that the protocol “contradicts the constitutional guarantees in favor of the most unprotected life,” and added they are not against the rights of women, but they are “in favour of life as it arrives, in every circumstance”.

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HSE considered plan to let nurses give Last Rites to Covid victims

The HSE considered allowing nurses to give the Last Rites to patients dying from Covid-19 as emergency preparations were made for a surge in deaths, internal documents reveal.

Minutes of a meeting of the Covid-19 Mass Fatalities Expert Group show the HSE considered the move after a discussion with its Chaplaincy Council on the need to avoid contact in clinical settings.

The records, released under Freedom of Information and marked “confidential”, state that the HSE and the Chaplaincy Council discussed “the possibility of nurses to be decreed to give Last Rites in some circumstances”.

In a statement, the HSE said it “worked in close collaboration with chaplains and a range of faiths during the Covid-19 pandemic”.

Despite the issue being discussed at the high-level meeting of the Covid-19 Mass Fatalities Expert Group, “nursing staff were not trained in the practice of giving Last Rites”, it added.

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Final arguments submitted in euthanasia case at top European court

Belgian euthanasia law fails to protect the fundamental right to life, according to a legal brief filed with the European Court of Human Rights.

The filing on behalf of Tom Mortier identifies clear violations of the law in the case of his mother who was euthanized by lethal injection in 2012.

ADF International argues that International law has never established a so-called ‘right to die.’

“On the contrary, it solidly affirms the right to life – particularly for the most vulnerable among us,” said Robert Clarke, Deputy Director of ADF International and lead counsel for Tom Mortier.

“One look at the tragic facts of this case exposes the lie that euthanasia is good for society. The sick, suffering, elderly, and vulnerable in our society deserve the utmost respect and care. As this case reaches its final stage, we hope that it will bring Tom some small measure of justice, and help protect others”.

The Belgian law specifies that the person must be in a ‘medically futile condition of constant and unbearable physical or mental suffering that cannot be alleviated, resulting from a serious and incurable disorder caused by illness or accident.’ Tom’s mother was physically healthy, and her treating psychiatrist of more than 20 years did not believe that she satisfied the legal requirements of the Belgian euthanasia law. Nonetheless, she was euthanized in 2012 by an oncologist with no known psychiatric qualifications.

Mortier was informed the day after his mother had been euthanized with the explanation that she had been suffering with ‘untreatable depression’.

Belgium legalized euthanasia in 2002. In 2014, the law was amended to include children with no lower age limit. The youngest child to be euthanized in Belgium was only 9 years old. Between 2003 and 2018 the number of people euthanised grew by about 1000%.

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Gardaí to patrol Croagh Patrick for pilgrim-walkers 

Gardaí will be on duty on all approaches to Croagh Patrick this Reek Sunday to enforce Public Health guidelines due to Covid-19.

Groups closely involved with organising the annual climb have appealed to people to stay away.

In a statement they said that many of the volunteer stewards who know the terrain and the routine are themselves cocooning. “The logistics of members of the public or volunteer emergency services coming to the assistance of someone who had fallen would create unnecessary public health risk”.

“It was furthermore confirmed to us by a consultant in public health medicine that Reek Sunday fell outside the criteria laid out in the roadmap for reopening the country. The public health advice is clear and we absolutely abide by it.”

St Mary’s administrator Fr Charlie McDonnell said that, despite the absence of infrastructure at the mountain and the season being closed for 2020, people were still turning up to climb it with as many as 1,394 there on the weekend of July 12th this year. Similar crowds were there last weekend, he said.

However Archbishop of Tuam Michael Neary will still celebrate the annual Reek vigil Mass at St Mary’s in Westport on Saturday July 25th at 6:30 pm. It will be offered for the intentions of all who had wished to make the pilgrimage to Croagh Patrick’s summit.

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