Fr. Euteneuer leaves HLI prexy post

FRONT ROYAL, VA , August 27, 2010—“A priest is a soldier of Christ and the Church, and obedience is the primary virtue of his state in life, but for my part, my discernment about this decision tells me that this is the right thing for me to do and at the right time.”

With this belief, Human Life International (HLI) President Rev. Fr. Thomas Euteneuer heeds his curtain call to leave his post as the organization’s patriarch. In an edition of hli.org’s Spirit and Life, the priest published his heartfelt farewell and expressed his complete confidence in his return to his original diocese in West Palm Beach, Florida..

“I have great peace about the road that lies ahead and about all that has been accomplished up to this point.”

Despite resigning from his position, the staunch priest-prolifer promised to continue sowing the seeds of the culture of life even at his own parish.

“I intend to continue to do pro-life work wherever I may be called to serve, and my bishop agrees that this is a vital charism of my priestly life.”

But before he assumes his full-time assignment in the parish, Fr. Tom wishes to go on a sojourn for renewal and rest first.

“I hope to take some time out before I go back into full-time parish work. I expect that some time of rest and renewal will help me to make the transition. It has been 15 years since I last had any significant time for renewal, and after travelling more than 1.1 million miles, authoring two books, visiting 58 countries and making thousands of public appearances, I am ready for a break!”

Under Fr. Tom’s 10 years of leadership, HLI was able to conduct its mission of spreading the culture of life to 105 countries including the Philippines. At the end of his letter, the priest articulated his gratitude to all off those who supported his undertakings and his request for continued prayers for him and his pro-life mission.

“I have always said that the Lord will bless with an abundance of life those who work for the cause of life. I ask for your kind prayers as I move forward and I promise that I will remember each of you and your families and co-workers every day in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the font of all unity and LIFE!”

Assuming Fr. Euteneuer’s post temporarily is Msgr. Ignacio Barreiro of HLI Rome as appointed by the group’s board of directors, who also conveyed their gratitude in a separate press release.

Pro-Life Philippines Foundation extends its great appreciation to Fr. Thomas Euteneuer for his ten years of proactive and unyielding support to the pro-life advocacy and wishes him all the best in his future vicissitudes. (Cited from an original article from hli.org last 08/31/10)

Arch. Oscar Cruz: ‘Abortion entails excommunication’

MANILA, August 9, 2010— Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz told the media last week that actively supporting the legalization of abortion in the country warrants excommunication and the prelate means it.

The vocal canon lawyer told CBCPNews “that anyone called to active participation for abortion … from the woman concerned, the husband who helped her, the abortionist, or the nurses,” should receive the said penalty.

“Excommunication means that the person concerned is separated from the spiritual benefits enjoyed by all members of the Church. Furthermore, the same person could not take communion,” the prelate added.

The Code of Canon Law specifies that participating in an abortion involves a latae sententiae excommunication (Can. 1398), meaning that the penalty is awarded eventually from the act itself, without need for official pronouncement.

In the United States, Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix, Arizona appealed to this canon when he announced that a nun in his diocese had incurred automatic excommunication by permitting an abortion at a local Catholic hospital.  While he faced tremendous backlash, numerous Catholic commentators pointed out that the bishop had done nothing but alert the nun to the fact that she had excommunicated herself.

Credits:

Cited from an original article by Patrick B. Craine for lifesitenews.com last 8/10/10

Marie Stopes’ employee bonus includes free abortion

LONDON, ENGLAND, August 9, 2010–ENGLISH newspaper Daily Mail recently revealed that employees of a sexual health clinic are being offered working perks that include free abortion and sterilization in the package.

An employee from Marie Stopes International (MSI), the largest abortionist group in the continent, told the Daily Mail, “What you get as a benefit of working here is access to medical services, not just abortions. It’s because we are a medical services provider that people who work here get access to those services.”

MSI employs 430 people in nine centers around Britain, with the bulk of its funding coming from the British taxpayer, to the order of £30 million annually. The MSI website says, “Team members, their partners and dependants will be able to access MSI’s core services (abortion, male/female sterilisation, and family planning) without charge.”

The complete benefits package includes a retirement pension, five weeks paid holiday a year, a cut-rate gym membership, reduced rates at theme parks and an annual medical check-up for £10. Also included are a loan of up to £2,600 to defray public transport costs, childcare vouchers and life insurance.

Anthony Ozimic, of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), called it “macabre” and “sick” to provide employees with abortions, saying, “Abortion is the killing of unborn children, not a job perk.”

Ozimic said that the abortion offer for employees shows that the organization “is a cynical abortion business, not the supportive sexual health service it claims to be.”

London-based Marie Stopes International is a non-governmental organization that boasts of being active in abortion and contraception distribution in 42 countries and claims to be responsible for the great majority of abortions in the UK and abroad.

Population Services Pilipinas is Marie Stopes International’s partner in the Philippines and provides sexual and reproductive healthcare.
Credits:

Cited from an original article by Hilary White for lifesitenews.com last 08/09/10

Pro-Life Seminar Series to tackle homosexuality this August

PRO-LIFE PHILIPPINES FOUNDATION, INC. invites all to attend the Pro-Life Seminar Series for August titled WHEN YOUR LOVED ONE TELLS YOU “I’M GAY”

This talk deems to answer questions related to families confronted with the homosexual issue most popular today. With the proliferation of the homosexual culture in mass media, our young people are increasingly exposed to a stronger promotion of this so-called “alternative lifestyle.” How does the family handle this growing situation?  What should be the attitude of parents and siblings and well-meaning friends when their loved one/s reveals their tendency towards same-sex attractions (SSA)?

This seminar also aims at helping the homosexual person understand the roots of his/her SSA, and hopefully be able to influence him/her to embrace a path of chastity and change.

Mr. Rolando Delos Reyes II of Courage Philippines will be facilitating the talk. An open forum comes after each of the speaker’s discussion.

The seminar is slated on a Saturday, August 21, 2010 from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the Pro-Life Philippines Foundation Office located at  San Lorenzo Ruiz Student Catholic Center, 2486 Legarda Street, Sampaloc,  Manila. A registration fee of P 300.00 includes one snack, one seminar kit, and a certificate of participation signed by the organizers.

For reservations or more information, please call Ellen at 733-7027. Or, you may send us a telefax at 734-9425; a text through mobile# 0919-2337783; or an email at life@prolife.org.ph. Visit our website at www.prolife.org.ph

Legal abortion saves no one

(Official Statement of Pro-Life Philippines Foundation, Inc. on the issue of legalizing abortion)

Abortion does not protect women’s rights; rather, it violates the right to life of all

WE ARE disgusted by the recent pleas of some so-called women’s rights advocates pushing for legalized abortion in the country (Center for Reproductive Rights recent publication) It is utterly a complete abomination to safeguarding human life. This call is UNACCEPTABLE.

Induced abortion is the deliberate termination of the life of an innocent human being and therefore, it is a CRIME! They are oblivious of the fact that abortion is the culprit of all the statistics they are boasting of, ergo, abortion should be eradicated not propagated. How unfathomable it is that these lobbyists brainwash our minds with the unethical idea of compromising the life of the unborn!   And the claim that legalizing it will render the abortion safe for the mother is unfounded as well.  Numerous researches now reveal the many physical, psychological and spiritual side effects on thousands of women who submitted themselves to the so-called “safe abortion”

Central to this petition are three scenarios: that unsafe abortions cause maternal death and illnesses; that rape victims should be given the choice to terminate an unwanted pregnancy; and that poverty causes poor women to turn to unsafe abortions.

On their first argument, we remain ardent in saying that abortion as a medical procedure is never safe. Abortion in an invasive procedure and advocates themselves have stated that “risks associated with induced abortion increase as the pregnancy progresses.” They also failed to mention the numerous adverse effects of committing abortion physically and psychologically. Some of these women who had elective abortion even end up barren for the rest of their lives. Studies have also linked induced abortions to breast and ovarian cancer. Operation Outcry and Canada Silent No More are collecting testimonial declarations from women suffering after legal abortions in developed countries and there are over 4,000 affidavits so far.

As for rape victims, we dare say that the right to life is in equal footing with the right to a freedom of choice – a choice that is very limited due to fear, anger, pressure and poor advice from people around the victim. It is crucial for us to see the link between life and freedom. Pope John Paul II puts it succinctly: “It is of the greatest importance to reestablish the essential connection between life and freedom. These are inseparable goods: where one is violated, the other also end up being violated. There is no true freedom where life is not welcomed and loved; and there is no fullness of life except in freedom.” In this light, we determine that aborting the child of a rape victim does not solve the problem but instead aggravates it. It is not the fault of the child that he/she came to be because of a crime. Further, killing the child does not redeem the rape victim from her status. It all the more drowns her in deeper depression and confusion. There are records of raped women who have found more peace in bringing to birth the child than those who had the child aborted.  And there are even more records showing that the child of rape was truly grateful for having been given the chance to live.

Their last argument is too formulaic for a population control scheme. For the nth time, poverty is the problem not the baby. The government should banish graft & corruption, foster good governance and therefore become a good provider. Legalizing abortion will never alleviate poverty. In hindsight, it could even add fuel to the fire as we are manually deleting potential manpower who could lend warm bodies to participate in ending our economic crises.

Therefore, we firmly believe that the legalization of abortion is not necessary to accomplish the government’s concern for poor women in crisis pregnancies. If the government is serious in its efforts to remedy this dilemma, help should come in providing counseling services especially with abortion-minded women,  post-abortion mothers and fathers, education programs, maternal and child care services, economic and social development programs that would put a stop to rape, incest, sex outside of marriage and other causes of unwanted pregnancies. All men and women need to be educated on fetal development,  the consequences of sex outside of marriage, on human sexuality, fertility and love, respect and relationships. Pregnant women need support and help, not abortion.  We should be saving lives, not taking them.

We therefore call on our legislators, medical professionals, educators and the general public  to lend deaf ears to this malevolent urge to kill the members of our future generation. Help us defend our pro-life country and our families whose quality of life is threatened. SAY NO TO LEGALIZED ABORTION!

Basilan Bishop wants to hear P-Noy’s stance on RH Bill

MANILA, July 22, 2010 –AS P-NOY’s first State of the Nation Address looms, a bishop based in Mindanao has asked the President to clarify his stand on the controversial Reproductive Health bill come July 26.

Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad sais during his interview over Radio Veritas that he wants the President to clearly address the debate over the issue of reproductive health specifically the new administration’s policies on child spacing.

“As we have said we are only for natural family planning. I wish also to hear from the President that he will really say his position concerning RH bill…I wish to hear from the President he will really completely say that he is for natural family planning,” Jumoad said.

This 15th Congress, the RH bill was recently re-filed as House Bill 96 under the names of Iloilo Rep. Janet Garin and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman. In the previous Congress, the bill’s last version made it through the second reading.

Since the inception for push for the passage of the RH bill, the prelate of Basilan has always been vocal in rejecting its provisions. In a 2008 interview with the same radio station, Bishop Jumoad mentioned of what vile effects the bill could bring forth to society once it gets implemented.

“If it [RH Bill] will become a law, morality will go down and it will be very dangerous to our young people. Pre-marital sex would be prevalent. The policy will just spoon-feed Filipinos of the contraceptive mentality which is against cultural, moral, and religious beliefs.”

Aside from the RH Bill, the bishop also hopes that P-Noy will discuss his stance on the peace process in Mindanao.

“I would like hear how he will get rid of corruption in government, what step he will take, how will he generate jobs. I wish to hear would be is giving ultimatum to all absentee mayors particularly in ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao),” Jumoad added. With citations from an original article from philstar.com last 07/23/10.

Rep. Golez: ‘Abortionists beware!’

MANILA, July 6, 2010—A STALWART anti-RH bill congressman filed a bill seeking to protect the unborn and penalize proven offenders who threaten the life inside the mother’s womb.

Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez crafted House Bill No. 13 aptly called Protection of the Unborn Child Act of 2010 to safeguard pregnant women and their unborn children from abortionists and other means that can imperil their lives.

The bill firmly resolves that “The unborn child shall be protected from abortive acts including the use, administration, dispensing, injection or delivery by whatever means of substances, medicines in any form, or practice such as massage, which are hereby declared as abortifacients which cause o may recklessly endanger or expose the unborn child to damag­e, injury or death.”

With this legislative proposition’s advent, the passage of the controversial RH Bill might be delayed due to conflicting provisions. Under the proposals of the RH Bill, couples can subscribe to using artificial contraceptive methods to avert unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases and infections.

On the other hand, Rep. Golez’ bill strongly promotes responsible parenthood and child spacing leaving artificial contraception out of the scene.

Section 8 of House Bill No. 13 also promulgates “The rights of pa­rents of a minor with a unborn child shall be superior to that of the State in all stances, involving the safety, protection and welfare of the unborn child and the mother and shall not be affected by social stigma, laws, regulations, go­vernment policy considerations, health, racial or religious concerns.”

The said provision is opposite of what the RH bill tries to implement which hinges the responsibility of educating students regarding family planning and population control primarily to the government.

Once the bill passes this 15th Congress, abortionists and other violators of the bill will be subjected to imprisonment of at least 6 months or fined from P 10,000.00 to P50,000.00. Cited from an original article by Bernard Taguinod for abante.com.ph last 07/06/10.

Our Position on the Integration of Sex Education in Our Public Schools

PRO-LIFE Philippines Foundation, Inc. is deeply saddened and extremely concerned of the decision of the Department of Education (DepEd) to integrate in our primary and secondary educational system a course on sex education.

From what we read, a novel academic campaign featuring videos and sessions encouraging the use of contraceptives and showing situations involving decision-making over committing sexual intercourse is being pilot tested in less than 30 public schools nationwide among students as young as 11.

In fairness to DepEd, we acknowledge their effort to implement a measure to stop the spread of STIs and STDs and to lower down teen pregnancy rates in the country. We also appreciate the fact that in the said campaign, abstinence and delaying sexual intercourse are well-stressed. But then again, the rest of their efforts need careful scrutiny and adamant criticism.

Sex education doesn’t belong in schools to begin with. It makes sex and sexuality, which are by their very nature private and intimate, public and open. All education is an activity which is essentially public, but because matters of sex are private and intimate (and pertain fundamentally to the family), the teaching of sex cannot be accomplished in the classroom without violating that privacy and intimacy.

Add up to that, implementing sex education could actually send the wrong signals to our children. A clear example would be the instruction on contraceptives. If we teach children to use condoms, we tell them in effect that it is all right to have sex thus they gain a false assurance in a situation where they themselves should not be trying out at an early age.  We should therefore not be surprised that many children become promiscuous and thereby conceive children while they are still children themselves, or that they contract STDs. In the first place, should they be acquainting themselves with contraceptives at their young age?

We also don’t see the requirement for sex education to be singled-out. We affirm that doing so would be redundant. Aspects of education on sexuality are incorporated into various types of programs, sometimes called family life skills or family life education in many developing countries. See, if sex education is about the anatomy of the reproductive system, sophomores take up Biology and elementary students get a basic glimpse in their Science and Health subjects. If sex education is about personal hygiene, don’t we learn that from our Good Manners and Right Conduct subject? And if sex education is about chastity and delayed gratification, aren’t those handled already by Values Education teachers?

Another obstacle with pushing through with the program is its facilitators. Basing from complaints we receive from our members, teachers do not get trained, so they ignore the curriculum or do not know how to deal with it. Apparently, there is much discomfort among teachers in talking about subjects that were taboo when they grew up. So how can we make this program successful when the ones who will execute them are unprepared and unmotivated?

As for the recipients of this program, we believe there is a need to contest the readiness and the maturity of grade-school and high school students on the sensitive topics involving their sexuality. We suppose they are too young to be exposed in ideas and scenarios they are not even meant to experience yet. If ever necessary, college students should be the ones getting this kind of attention. Yes, knowledge is power but if they are given to the wrong hands, it could be detrimental.

We firmly deem that younger teenagers should best receive instructions from their parents or from a mature guardian. Parents have both the primary right and duty to teach their children the morality of human sexuality. Although schools have the right and duty to assist parents in this undertaking, sexual morality must not be imparted in a group setting while this moral education must conform to the tradition and teaching of religion and culture.

Springing from these arguments is our belief that DepEd should reconsider redirecting their vision. We suggest that they become more consistent with their vision and that is to “assist the Filipino child to discover his/her full potential in a child-centered and value-driven teaching-learning environment.”

MARITA F. WASAN

Executive Director

Come and participate at our advocacy seminar this July

As part of its lobby and advocacy efforts, PRO-LIFE PHILIPPINES FOUNDATION, INC. invites all prolifers most especially advocacy group leaders, parishioners, teachers, and students to attend the Pro-Life Seminar Series for July titled “Strategies to Protect Life and the Family in the 15th Congress.”

This seminar aims to shed light on using lobbying activities as means of cultivating a culture of life as well as to educate pro-lifers on how they can help on advancing the pro-life agenda in numerous venues especially in the legislative arm of the government.

Seasoned pro-life lawyer Atty. Jo Aurea Imbong of the Ang Kapatiran will be sharing her expertise on raising arguments against controversial anti-life bills. BUHAY Party-List’s Mr. Jose “Agoy” Descallar will be explaining the prospective landscape of the 15th Congress of the Philippines. Rep. William Irwin Tieng of the BUHAY Party-List will discuss on how prolifers can help convince legislators to support the pro-life cause.

An open forum comes after each of the speaker’s discussion.

The seminar is slated on a Saturday, July 31, 2010 from 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM at the St. Joseph Retreat House Conference Room, Our Lady of Loreto Church, Manzanas Street, Sampaloc, Manila. A registration fee of P 750.00 includes one snack, one lunch, one seminar kit, and a certificate of participation signed by the organizers.

For reservations or more information, please call Ellen at 733-7027. Or, you may send us a telefax at 734-9425; a text through mobile# 0919-2337783; or an email at life@prolife.org.ph. Visit our website at www.prolife.org.ph

6 killed, 75 more injured in Kenyan pro-life rally bombings

NAIROBI, KENYA, June 14, 2010– TWO BOMB explosions in the Kenya capital late Sunday killed 6 pro-life advocates and others assembled for a rally against the pro-abortion draft constitution the African nation will consider in August. The violence is estimated to have injured another 75 people.

The explosions took place at a rally held to protest the constitution, and governmental leaders promised to hold accountable those behind the blasts.

“I want to say clearly that the government will do everything possible to get to the root of this incident. We must condemn this,” Prime Minister Raila Odinga said, according to an AP report. “Kenyans can decide peacefully what they want.”

But local church leaders, who are helping organize the No campaign because of the provisions changing the nation’s current pro-life laws, are not so sure. They blamed governmental leaders who support the constitution of being behind the attacks.

“Having been informed over and over that the passage of the new constitution during the referendum is a government project, we are left in no doubt that the government, either directly or indirectly, had a hand in this attack,” said a statement signed by the National Council of Churches of Kenya and 14 other churches and groups.

“Who else in this country holds explosive devices?” they asked.

William Ruto, the minister of higher education and the leading governmental official who is part of the No campaign, also condemned the attacks — calling them “the darkest hour of our nation.”

“Innocent blood has been shed by people with evil desires, and we are calling upon the police to take action,” Ruto said. “The decision of whether we are going to have a new constitution or not belongs to the people of Kenya, and they have the right to say this or not. Those of us who are saying `no’ have committed no crime.”

The explosion took place in Uhuru Park, a large open-space park in the middle of Nairobi.

Hundreds of people were at the rally at the time of the attacks. They said the first blast took place at the back of the rally. The speaker at the time urged people to come to the front to get away from the explosion when a second blast took place.

Rally participants were praying at the time the explosions occurred.

A week before the bombings, the grassroots organizers of the No campaign started their effort in earnest. Their effort to stop approval of the constitution comes after polling data shows a majority of Kenyans support it.

Tom Namwamba told the Capital News that the No campaign will begin on Wednesday with a large event at the Red Card Center in Upper Hill.

“I can assure you powerful statements will be made on that day,” he said. “We want Kenyans to know that they are in the trap if they accept the new constitution. We want to get them out of that trap.”

However, the Daily Nation newspaper reports market research firm Synovate released a new poll on Friday showing 57 percent of Kenyans will support the pro-abortion constitution while just 20 percent say they will reject it.

Approximately 19 percent of those polled still have no opinion or are undecided and four percent said they do not plan to vote.

A poll conducted March 21–26 by Synovate, formerly known as Steadman, shows the citizens of Kenya are overwhelmingly pro-life.

“Thinking about abortion, which of the following is closest to your view?” the firm asked respondents.

Some 69 percent of Kenya residents are against legalizing abortions while just 9 percent support it. Another 16 percent say it doesn’t matter while 6 percent said they had no opinion.

Answering the question, “When do you believe human life begins?” 77 percent of Kenyans stated that life begins at conception, while 19 percent stated that human life begins at the time of birth.

Respondents were also asked about their views concerning the new Kenyan Constitution and the question found only 19 percent support it as currently written, while a majority, 52 percent, want Parliament to revise the document before passage.

Scott Fischbach, the director of MMCL Go, an international pro-life outreach, provided the polling results to LifeNews.com.

“Currently, advocates of abortion are using the issue of maternal mortality and illegal abortions to argue for legalization of the procedure. However, the answer to illegal abortions and high maternal mortality rates is very simple: provide hope, opportunity and support for pregnant women by insuring a clean water supply, clean blood supply and adequate health care,” he said.

“Kenya is a pro-life country and ought not to head toward an abortion-on-demand policy in its new Constitution,” he added.

Credits:

Cited from an original article by Steven Ertelt for lifenews.com last 07/14/10