Catholic Insight back issues from April 2007:
Culture: with or without God.(Editorial)
Apr 01, 2007; ... THE TRUTH WILL MAKE YOU FREE (JOHN 8:23) The intellectual and ideological crisis of our day centres on values. What are your values? people in the media frequently ask. In Europe, the arrival of large numbers of non-European immigrants, especially those of the Muslim ...
More correspondence about "Evangelizing through TV in Canada".(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(television)(Letter to the editor)
Apr 01, 2007; ... (C.I., Oct. 2006, pp. 11-14) From Romana Chiste re interview with Fr. Thomas Rosica I loved so much your interview with Fr. Thomas Rosica in the October 2006 Catholic Insight! How much I would love to have Salt + Light TV here in Lethbridge, Alberta; instead, as far ...
Saddam Hussein and consistency on life.(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the editor)
Apr 01, 2007; ... From Norman Lower The December 2006 execution of Saddam Hussein has provided an example of how human beings can be so blatantly inconsistent in their ethics. I shall explain with the following three statements: In 1970 the California Medical Association affirmed: "The ...
Reply by author Margaret Somerville to the review of her book by John B. Shea ("The Ethical Imagination: Journeys of the Human Spirit," C.I., Dec. 2006, pp. 41-43).(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the editor)
Apr 01, 2007; ... Dr. John Shea's thoughtful review of my book raises some matters which I would like to clarify. Dr Shea writes: "A hunt for the universal, absolute, metaphysical 'Truth,' Professor Somerville regards as a 'barrier to finding a shared ethics.' She also holds that concepts of the ...
More correspondence about Fr. Bedard's article "Abusing the Sacraments".(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the editor)
Apr 01, 2007; ... (C.I., Jan. 2007, pp. 39-40; Letters of reply, C.I., Feb. 2007, pp. 7-9 & Mar. 2007, pp. 5-7) From B. Hunt Please take it easy on Fr. Bob Bedard. A good dozen years ago he was telling the congregation at St. Mary's that he was old. He may have aged somewhat more ...
The splendour of truth.(COLUMNIST)
Apr 01, 2007; ... There are as many conversion stories as there are Catholic converts. Richard John Neuhaus, the editor of First Things, himself a convert, recently estimated that there are 200,000 converts in North America annually, so there are many stories to tell. A priest friend recently ...
The theology of Chicken Little.(COLUMNIST)
Apr 01, 2007; ... Since I'm a dyed-in-the-wool procrastinator, April seems like a good time to talk about New Year's resolutions. It usually takes me a month or more to: a) realize the New Year is upon us; b) formulate some resolutions. If you are still keeping up with your 2007 resolutions, good for you; I ...
The least coldhearted option.(COLUMNIST)
Apr 01, 2007; ... The tale of a newborn infant being left and safely retrieved from a Saskatoon doorstep on a very cold Saturday morning in February made newspapers and news broadcasts clear across the nation and into the United States. There was a time not so long ago when such an incident would've been ...
Why I became, and am becoming, a Catholic.
Apr 01, 2007; ... Flannery O'Connor once said, "You don't join the Catholic Church, you become a Catholic!" My journey into the Roman Catholic church from evangelical Anglicanism certainly resonates with O'Connor's statement. Not too long ago I was in an Episcopal seminary in the United States ...
Moment of death: ethical concerns.
Apr 01, 2007; ... One of the politically correct themes on which our journalists lavish their rhetorical talents is the blatant and sensational promotion of the alleged virtues and benefits of the donation of human organs for transplantation, after the diagnosis of brain death or cardiac death. In Canada at ...
Catholics and a climate of cool.
Apr 01, 2007; ... Al Gore may have won an Oscar for his vision of impending doom 'unless we mend our carbon-emitting ways' in An Inconvenient Truth, but February was anything but a good month for Gore's brand of global warming alarmism. Oscars, secular awards and indeed the acclaim of the world ...
The election--Part III: the future of Canada.(Editorial)
Apr 01, 2007; ... Many readers are aware of the darkening clouds surrounding Christianity in the West. Others, however, are not adept at reading these signs of the time except, perhaps, in a very general way. Yes, they know about apostasy in the Western world, but not being inclined, or lacking time, to ...
Prayer a matter of life-and-death.(Vatican)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Vatican City-Prayer is "a question of life or death," as our relationship of love with God depends on it, says Benedict XVI. "Only one who prays, that is, who entrusts himself to God with filial love, can enter into eternal life, which is God ...
Pope calls for a 'Christian revolution'.(Vatican)(Pope Benedict XVI)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Vatican City--The "Christian revolution" of love is able to uproot evil and sow goodness in the world, says Benedict XVI. The Pope made that statement on February 18, 2007, when addressing the thousands of people in St. Peter's Square who defied the inclement weather to attend ...
Benedict strikes out at new eugenics.(Vatican)(Pope Benedict XVI)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Vatican City--On February 24, 2007, Pope Benedict, speaking to members of a Congress on the "Christian conscience as support of the right to life," noted that an "obsessive quest for the 'perfect child'" leads to the elimination of embryos. This quest, noted the Holy Father, leads to ...
Bishop Sgreccia assails de facto unions.(Vatican)(Bishop Elio Sgreccia)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Rome--Laws allowing de facto unions [Editor: common-law marriages] will hurt many people, and Catholics will "do everything possible" to prevent their passage, said the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life. During a press conference held at Vatican Radio, Bishop Elio Sgreccia said ...
Persecution of the Catholic Church.(China)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Beijing--The persecution of individual Catholics, especially priests and bishops, continues. It is even becoming worse and bolder--at a time when China is making significant economic progress, when it has joined the World Trade Organization, and when China is working toward becoming an ...
Human rights and economic issues.(China)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Ottawa--The Canadian federal government is committed to raising human rights issues with Beijing "especially when the interests of Canadian citizens are at stake." (See "Prodding China on human rights" C.I., Feb. 2007, p. 33.) This, in spite of the fact that such protests may harm ...
Organ harvesting.(China)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Vancouver--The Canadian authors of a report on organ harvesting in China say that health and military budget shortfalls in China are alleviated, in part, by money made from illegal organ transplants. In particular, the report claims that large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners, who are ...
Anti-life bullies in action.(Europe)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Brussels--Elitist jurists and bureaucrats in control of the higher echelons of power in the European Union seem set on enforcing laws and policies in all their member-states that will result in the type of population dearth visible in the original founder nations. Their current targets are ...
Genocide denial bill before the E.U.(Europe)(European Union)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Brussels--Legislation is being debated by the European Union over whether those who question the extent of war crimes over the past 20 years should be subject to criminal investigation and incarceration. For example, there is a proposal that those who question the official history of ...
Catholic bishops: ban nuclear weapons.(Great Britan)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... London--In a statement that recalls Pope Benedict's 2006 World Day of Peace message calling for "progressive and concerted nuclear disarmament," the Catholic bishops of England and Wales have called on the British government to de-commission nuclear weapons. Their statement reads as ...
Gambling.(Great Britan)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... London--Despite increasing numbers of addicted gamblers in Britain, and the increasing associated social and moral costs, Britain is easing restrictions on gambling and will be opening "super casinos." The British Medical Association (BMA) has published a study on gambling ...
Vaccinating babies against drugs.(Great Britan)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... London--A secret policy document being prepared by the Blair government has been leaked to the public. It contains the shocking news that officials are looking at vaccinating babies to prevent later addiction to drugs and ...
Holy Land.(Israel)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Vatican City--In Pope Benedict XVI's 2006 Christmas address, he called for an end to violence around the world, especially in the Middle East, where the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been continuing ...
Vatican-Israeli Fundamental Agreement.(Israel)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Jerusalem--In 1993, the Vatican and Israel signed an agreement whereby Israel would extend legal recognition to the Catholic Church in Israel while the Vatican, in its turn, would recognize the Jewish state of Israel and establish diplomatic ties. The Vatican kept its end of the ...
Pilgrimages and tensions.(Israel)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Jerusalem--A number of Catholic bishops have been making pilgrimages to the Holy Land and meeting with civic, political and religious leaders in the area to gain insight into the situation and try to understand how Christians are faring. It is felt that a greater Christian presence would ...
Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem.(Israel)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... In his Lenten message of February 21, 2007, Patriarch Sabbah continued to call for peace and harmony in the Holy Land. He cited the restrictions that citizens must endure, including the barrier wall, military checkpoints, deprivations, restrictions on freedom, and the actions of Israeli ...
Religious freedom in Muslim-dominated areas.(Israel)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Writing in Canada's National Post (Feb. 20, 2007), columnist Father Raymond de Souza commented on the Fatah-Hamas summit held earlier in February in the holy city of Mecca (Makkah), hosted by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah. Fr. de Souza noted that, "Mecca is an odd choice for a summit site, ...
Government drops homosexual package.(Italy)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Rome--In late February, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi offered his resignation, after his government lost a crucial foreign policy vote in the upper house of parliament. In subsequent talks he was able to muster enough support to re-establish his majority, by removing his contentious ...
Pro-life tradition threatened.(Northern Ireland)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Belfast--After four and a half years of Direct Rule by Westminster, Northern Irish voters went to the polls on March 7, 2007, with the resulting government supposedly being a coalition of the Democratic Unionist Party (Ian Paisley, 36 seats) and the nationalist Sinn Fein (Gerry Adams, 28 ...
Persecution of Catholics intensifies.(Pakistan)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Lahore -- A recent Aid to the Church in Need report (The Catholic Times [U.K.], Mar. 4, 2007) focuses on the conditions of Catholics in the Muslim theocratic state of Pakistan. Despite Islamist dominance, Pakistan has 1.1 million Catholics (around 1% of its population) and ...
Hatred of the Catholic Church.(United Nations)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Rome -- International journalist Vittorio Messori recently came out with accusations that the top international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), corporations and lobby groups are entrenched in anti-Catholicism. He specifically targeted the World Health Organization, homosexual rights ...
State coercion.(United States)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Austin, TX -- Republican governor Rich Perry has issued an order mandating all schoolgirls entering sixth grade (11 to 12 years old) to be vaccinated against the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus, or HPV, which can cause cancer. The governor is ignoring the concerns of parents who ...
'We're fed up to the teeth' with dictatorship ... 'Ras Le Bol de la dictature'.(Canada)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Quebec City -- The province's politics of religious instruction borders on totalitarianism, says Cardinal Marc Ouellet, in a news report in the Quebec daily, Le Soleil. "To put all religions on the same footing at school is not neutrality," he declared on February 16. "Rather, ...
Archbishop prompts Telus to back down on cellphone porn.(Canada)(Archbishop Raymond Roussin, Telus Corp.)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Vancouver -- The actions of Archbishop Raymond Roussin of Vancouver were instrumental in ultimately persuading Telus, which provides wireless communications to 4.6 million clients across Canada, to back down from providing pornographic images on its cellphones. It had been the first major ...
StarPhoenix attacks concept of religious hospitals.(Canada)(Saskatoon StarPhoenix daily newspaper)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Saskatoon -- The news that the Catholic hospital in Humboldt, SK decided to ban tubal ligations--although this was later reversed--prompted the Saskatoon StarPhoenix to fulminate against the very existence of religious hospitals. The situation "is a reminder of just how ...
Hospice and palliative care.(Canada)(Canadian Hospital and Palliative Care Association)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Toronto -- A discussion paper pre pared by the Canadian Hospital and Palliative Care Association is being circulated and discussed with respect to euthanasia and assisted suicide. The Catholic Civil Rights League of Canada (CCRL) is concerned that the association could be moving from a ...
The lost tomb of Jesus.(Canada)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2007 ... The latest trash documentary on the supposed tomb of Jesus comes to us via Britain's TV Channel Four, and in Canada via Vision TV. We hope you missed it, because if you did, you missed nothing. As John Robson of the Ottawa Citizen (Mar. 2, 2007) observed: "Don't insult one's ...
A note on separation of Church and state.
Apr 01, 2007; ... It is always around election time that the principle of 'separation of Church and state' is most frequently invoked by the media, and always in connection with moral issues. Both in Canada and the United States, separation of Church and state is currently interpreted to mean that the state ...
Eternal duties towards the poor.
Apr 01, 2007; ... David Brattston's earlier article was entitled "Avarice and Greed. " It appeared in March (pp. 39-40) and covered the views of prominent Christian writers in the early Church. He now reflects on the flip side of these two vices, namely the Christian's duty towards the poor.--Editor ...
Pawel Zuchniewicz, Miracles of John Paul II.(Brief article)(Book review)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Pawel Zuchniewicz, Miracles of John Paul II, published by KSM Inc. (Catholic Youth Studio), Toronto, distributed exclusively by Ignatius Press, 2006, ISBN: 0-978-09790-4, Hardcover, 194 pages, $22.99 (CDN). This book has lots of pictures, large print, short quotations from Pope John Paul ...
Philip Yancey, Prayer: Does it Make any Difference?(Brief article)(Book review)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Philip Yancey, Prayer: Does it Make any Difference?, published by Zondervan (Grand Rapids, Michigan), 2006, ISBN-10: 0-310-27105-3, Hardcover, 351 pages, $25.00 (CDN). This book claims that prayers are answered, and deals with the innumerable reasons of why some ...
Scott Hahn and Leon J. Suprenant, Jr. Catholic for a Reason II, Second Edition: Scripture and the Mystery of the Mother of God.(Brief article)(Book review)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Scott Hahn and Leon J. Suprenant, Jr. Catholic for a Reason II, Second Edition: Scripture and the Mystery of the Mother of God, Emmaus Road Publishing, Steubenville, OH, 2005, ISBN: 1-931018-23-5, 2004, Softcover, 227 pages, $15.95 (USD). For anyone who wants to learn more about the Virgin ...
Joseph F. Girzone, My Struggle with Faith.(Brief article)(Book review)
Apr 01, 2007 ... Joseph F. Girzone, My Struggle with Faith, Doubleday Publishers, New York, 2006, ISBN 978-0-51712-6, Hardcover, 239 pages, $26.96 (CDN). The author of this book is a former Catholic priest who has written sixteen popular earlier books, beginning with Joshua. He retired from the ...
God's Soldiers: Adventure, Politics, Intrigue and Power: A History of the Jesuits.(Book review)
Apr 01, 2007; ... God's Soldiers Adventure, Politics, Intrigue and Power: A History of the Jesuits WRITTEN By Jonathan Wright PUBLISHED BY Doubleday, New York, 2004, ISBN: 0-385-50078-5, Hardcover, pp. 337, $39.95 CND This book is a history of the Jesuit community, not a study of ...