Catholic News 2
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The FBI's announcement that it recently came upon new emails possibly pertinent to the Hillary Clinton email investigation raised more questions than answers....
San Francisco, Calif., Oct 29, 2016 / 04:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- When it comes to legalizing marijuana in California, the risks to children, teens and the poor are just too great, said four Bay Area bishops ahead of the November ballot. Discussing the state’s ballot initiative Proposition 64, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco warned that legalization suggests to children that drug use is acceptable. “If you don’t think teens will take up marijuana, look at the history of tobacco. It was ‘cool’ to smoke until the dangers became all too apparent,” he said. “It then took decades for the smoking rate to reach today’s low levels. Will legalized marijuana follow that same pattern?” Cordileone noted that unlike alcohol, there is no reliable standard to measure the effect of marijuana on a driver. He noted his own arrest for driving under the influence in 2012, saying that drivers will wrongly deem themselve...
San Francisco, Calif., Oct 29, 2016 / 04:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- When it comes to legalizing marijuana in California, the risks to children, teens and the poor are just too great, said four Bay Area bishops ahead of the November ballot.
Discussing the state’s ballot initiative Proposition 64, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco warned that legalization suggests to children that drug use is acceptable.
“If you don’t think teens will take up marijuana, look at the history of tobacco. It was ‘cool’ to smoke until the dangers became all too apparent,” he said. “It then took decades for the smoking rate to reach today’s low levels. Will legalized marijuana follow that same pattern?”
Cordileone noted that unlike alcohol, there is no reliable standard to measure the effect of marijuana on a driver. He noted his own arrest for driving under the influence in 2012, saying that drivers will wrongly deem themselves safe to drive and take chances.
“The cost in lives is unacceptable. The parallels with other substances like tobacco are too striking. And the impact on our young people too uncertain,” he said.
California’s Proposition 64, on the ballot this November, would decriminalize marijuana for adults in the state age 21 and older. It would license and regulate sellers, and tax sale and cultivation.
Cardinal William Levada, Archbishop emeritus of San Francisco, also criticized the proposal.
“Experimenting with the health and welfare of our children, the potential impact on road safety, not to mention the medical and legal implications that are far from resolved, seem to me to take us in a dangerous and unwise direction,” he said.
“Even a cursory examination of data on marijuana legalization reveals that too little is known about the impact on the health and education of our children, the increased danger on our highways, the impact on economically challenged neighborhoods and black market expansion of cannabis-related commerce.”
Bishop Michael C. Barber of Oakland and San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop William J. Justice each joined Archbishop Cordileone and Cardinal Levada in writing separate statements opposing Prop. 64.
The bishops cited the results of legalization in other states.
In Colorado, there have been increased emergency room visits and poison control hotline calls due to children ingesting cannabis products that are made to appear like candy. The state has also seen increased marijuana-related traffic deaths and its drug products have appeared in other states. The homeless population has increased sharply, with a 40 percent increase in homeless shelter population in one region. People migrate to the state to use the drug cheaply and legally, even though they have no job or housing plans.
Washington state has shown growing marijuana use among high school seniors, with the percentage of users now at 27 percent, say studies from the American Psychological Association. A study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that traffic deaths doubled in the state after legalization.
“Abuses and excess of any kind, be it with food, alcohol, tobacco or medicine diminish and rob us of our capacity to live a dignified life,” Cardinal Levada said. Given the advances in public health that have reduced tobacco use, raised awareness about the dangers of driving, and promoted exercise and nutrition, he asked why California would want “to encourage a practice that could lead to addiction and unhealthy side effects?”
Auxiliary Bishop Justice said the measure is likely to worsen poverty, especially for people in poorer neighborhoods, “where residents have less power to protect their own interests.” He said legalized marijuana would increase challenges on communities with high unemployment and reduced educational opportunities.
In Colorado, he noted, marijuana operations buy cheap real estate and lock out other buyers in low-income neighborhoods.
“As usage increases, poor communities – as well as other economic groups – will also experience more failed drug tests, missed days at work or school, and even loss of employment,” Bishop Justice said. “Those with the financial strength to weather what is hopefully a temporary setback, will do so. Those with fewer resources have a much tougher time overcoming the financial ramification of even a temporary loss of income.”
For his part, Bishop Barber warned that children would be exposed to “positive, alluring marijuana advertising” under the ballot proposal. The proposition’s language bars the direct marketing and advertising of marijuana directly to minors. But it offers broad allowances for mixed adult and child audiences – for example, it would be legal to advertise marijuana even when a quarter of a television show’s audience consists of children.
“How many children will fail to achieve their potential because of this law?” Bishop Barber asked.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- A handful of recreational marijuana legalization drives has the medical pot industry bracing for something it never expected to deal with: competition....
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Hey NFL players: If you want a safe way to celebrate touchdowns and big plays, just hug it out....
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- On the same day seven defendants celebrated their acquittal in the armed takeover of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon, law enforcement officers dressed in riot gear and firing bean bag rounds arrested nearly 150 oil pipeline protesters camped out in North Dakota....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hillary Clinton's campaign lashed out at the FBI on Saturday, saying there was no indication that a cache of recently discovered emails under review by the agency was connected to the Democratic nominee. Barnstorming the West, Republican rival Donald Trump pounced on the reignited email controversy....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The longtime Hillary Clinton aide at the center of a renewed FBI email investigation testified under oath four months ago she never deleted old emails, while promising in 2013 not to take sensitive files when she left the State Department....
The Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC) has released a Pastoral letter on marriage and family titled, ‘The Family in Zimbabwe in the light of Amoris Laetitia.’The Pastoral letter, addressed to all Zimbabwean families, is a reflection of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, 'Amoris Laetitia' - On the Joy of Love in the family, released in April 2016.In the introduction of this 18 paged letter, the Bishops wish "to promote and protect, support and strengthen the family in every way, especially at a time when families feel the pressure of political tensions, economic collapse and other forces."“The message which we as Bishops of Zimbabwe wish to convey is meant to cheer and encourage, fill with hope, to give praise, understanding and support to all married couples and families,” it reads.On sexuality integrated into humanity, the Bishops write that “God created a man for a woman and woman for man,” hence &ldqu...
The Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC) has released a Pastoral letter on marriage and family titled, ‘The Family in Zimbabwe in the light of Amoris Laetitia.’
The Pastoral letter, addressed to all Zimbabwean families, is a reflection of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, 'Amoris Laetitia' - On the Joy of Love in the family, released in April 2016.
In the introduction of this 18 paged letter, the Bishops wish "to promote and protect, support and strengthen the family in every way, especially at a time when families feel the pressure of political tensions, economic collapse and other forces."
“The message which we as Bishops of Zimbabwe wish to convey is meant to cheer and encourage, fill with hope, to give praise, understanding and support to all married couples and families,” it reads.
On sexuality integrated into humanity, the Bishops write that “God created a man for a woman and woman for man,” hence “same-sex unions are not part of the creator’s design.” The Bishops add, “There is no free option. Men and women should be happy about their complementarity, helping each other with their various gifts.”
The letter also urges families to educate young people about how to relate to their own bodies and how to behave towards persons of the other sex.
On faith and marriage, the letter states that pastors or marriage instructors must try and revive the faith of young bridegrooms or brides by inviting them to meet and encounter Jesus personally. They write that presenting valid baptism certificates alone is not enough as some, though baptised, may no longer be active in the practice of their faith.
The Church leaders in the letter, emphasise that Christian marriage is based on the completely unselfish, self-giving love of Christ and therefore preparation for Holy matrimony needs a complete reawakening of the faith or even a first encounter with Christ in the context of the Christian community.
In other sections, the Bishops address issues of child protection, individualism, human dignity, family at a time of social and political tensions and economic failure as well as poverty.
(Jesuit Communications Zimbabwe – Mozambique)
Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va
The Catholic Church in Ghana will deploy 2000 election observers across the country during general elections slated for December.Matthew Eghan, the National President of the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC), said that the observers selected from all the 20 dioceses of the Church in Ghana would be deployed across all the regions in the country to help ensure a free, fair, transparent and violent-free election on 7 December.Eghan was speaking at the end of a three-day civic education and election observation training workshop organised by the Justice and Peace Commission of the National Catholic Secretariat in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation at the Samaritan Villa in Kumasi, this week. This is according to Ghanaweb Online.Participants at the training workshop were taken through the roles and responsibilities of election observers and instructed on how to gather credible information during an election. They were also cautioned to be diligent as they emba...
The Catholic Church in Ghana will deploy 2000 election observers across the country during general elections slated for December.
Matthew Eghan, the National President of the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC), said that the observers selected from all the 20 dioceses of the Church in Ghana would be deployed across all the regions in the country to help ensure a free, fair, transparent and violent-free election on 7 December.
Eghan was speaking at the end of a three-day civic education and election observation training workshop organised by the Justice and Peace Commission of the National Catholic Secretariat in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation at the Samaritan Villa in Kumasi, this week. This is according to Ghanaweb Online.
Participants at the training workshop were taken through the roles and responsibilities of election observers and instructed on how to gather credible information during an election. They were also cautioned to be diligent as they embarked on their duties and urged to demonstrate fairness in their reports.
Eghan nevertheless was quick to underline that the attainment of peace before, during and after the election was the responsibility of all Ghanaians.
Speaking at the same conference, Vicar General (VG) of the Archdioceses of Kumasi, Fr Louis Tufour, appealed to the various religious groups in the country to educate the populace on the need to ensure a peaceful election.
(Ghanaweb; CISA)
Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va
