News Updates, 7/8

In new encyclical Pope Benedict slams population control, urges openness to life
...the much-anticipated social encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate was released, after being delayed for a year due to the global economic crisis. The encyclical includes several passages of great interest to those involved in the pro-life movement. The most pertinent and striking passages dealing with the life issues are reproduced below...

Caritas in Veritate in Gold and Red [George Weigel]
The revenge of Justice and Peace (or so they may think.

Caritatis in Veritate: papal encyclical calls for new moral approach to global economy
Explaining the title of the encyclical, Pope Benedict writes that the social teachings of the Catholic Church offer a means of appraising the secular world, judging social and economic systems against a clear moral standard. The guiding principle of Catholic social teaching is charity, he says. The teaching function of the Church involves explaining how that charity should be applied to practical issues: "A Christianity without truth would be more or less interchangeable with a pool of good sentiments, helpful for social cohesion, but of little relevance."

Bishops Blast New Stem Cell Guidelines, Some 30,000 Public Comments Ignored
Cardinal Justin Rigali is decrying a decision made by the National Institutes of Health to broaden the guidelines for federal funding of embryonic stem cell research...

Alabama Attorney General Calls Undercover Video of Planned Parenthood 'Extremely Troubling', Seeks Investigation
Alabama Attorney General Troy King has called a new undercover video released last week showing Planned Parenthood of Alabama apparently breaking state mandatory reporting laws for sexual abuse "extremely troubling" and requested the full recordings. The student-led nonprofit responsible for the recordings, Live Action, immediately sent the full footage, which the Attorney General's office received yesterday...

Refused by the Vatican, US sends Kmiec to Malta
Candidacy for Holy See quashed due to stance on abortion

Pope's private chapel reopens after restoration
Altar turned toward tabernacle, communion rail restored

Crude bombs thrown into Massachusetts church
'Nothing more than a tinged mark in one small area'

Gun pulled on pro-life sidewalk counselor
Man was determined his girlfriend would get abortion

Pope, Obama may find common ground in encyclical
Upcoming meeting may be focused on financial crisis

AP, Reuters spinning Pope's 'Charity in Truth'
Ignored Benedict's traditional stances on family, bioethics

Supreme Court ruling goes against Catholic Church
Opens door to lawsuits against Maine diocese

Second bomb blast in Philippines kills two
...on island where al-Qaida-linked militants are active

Connecticut court denies appeal from diocese
...for release of documents on handling of sex-abuse cases

=========
Other Issues
=========

Argentina's Banks To Shut Friday As Swine Flu Measure
Argentina's private-sector banks will shut down Friday as part of a nationwide effort to contain the spread of the A/H1N1 swine flu, local press reported Friday.

Heard through the grapevine, as yet unverified: California's new IOU's (registered warrants) have already been counterfeited
[Counterfeiting fake money...Is there no shame???]

“This may come as a shock to parents”
California slashes tax deduction for dependent children, but won’t touch Planned Parenthood funding

Afghanistan says 14 H1N1 cases on U.S. military base
Fourteen new cases of the H1N1 flu virus have been reported among U.S. citizens on the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan, the Afghan Health Ministry said on Wednesday, the second confirmed cases in three months.

Two Canada hog workers hit by new non-pandemic flu
* New flu virus not connected to H1N1 outbreak
* Hogs transmitted virus to workers

Gore likens fight against 'climate change' to battle with Nazis
[Al Gore is one sick, hypocritical individual - we should pray for his conversion and enlightenment]

Cancer patients to receive California IOUs
Court-appointed lawyers, cancer patients and alcoholics in treatment programmes have become the latest victims of California’s financial crisis, as the state grapples with a budget deficit that has ballooned to $26bn.

RBC is new Fed primary dealer
Royal Bank of Canada joined an exclusive club on Tuesday, as the investment dealer arm of the country’s largest bank was named a primary dealer by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

FBI: U.S. mortgage fraud 'rampant' and growing
U.S. mortgage fraud reports jumped 36 percent last year as desperate homeowners and industry professionals tried to maintain their standard of living from the boom years, the FBI said on Tuesday.
____________
When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.
-P. J. O'Rourke