Catholic bishops say abortion can 'never be a fundamental right' ahead of EU charter vote
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=8838&view=post&articleid=275028&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
A plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. / Credit: MichalPL via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)CNA Staff, Apr 9, 2024 / 17:30 pm (CNA).Catholic bishops in the European Union on Tuesday reiterated that a right to abortion can never be a "fundamental" right ahead of a Thursday vote related to the insertion of a "right to abortion" in the European Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights. A draft resolution set to be voted on April 11 would amend the EU's charter, which first came into force in 2009, to include the assertion that "everyone has the right to bodily autonomy, to free, informed, full, and universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, and to all related health care services without discrimination, including access to safe and legal abortion."The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), based in Brussels and made up of bishops delegated by the bishops' conferences of the more than two dozen member state...
A plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. / Credit: MichalPL via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
CNA Staff, Apr 9, 2024 / 17:30 pm (CNA).
Catholic bishops in the European Union on Tuesday reiterated that a right to abortion can never be a "fundamental" right ahead of a Thursday vote related to the insertion of a "right to abortion" in the European Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights.
A draft resolution set to be voted on April 11 would amend the EU's charter, which first came into force in 2009, to include the assertion that "everyone has the right to bodily autonomy, to free, informed, full, and universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, and to all related health care services without discrimination, including access to safe and legal abortion."
The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), based in Brussels and made up of bishops delegated by the bishops' conferences of the more than two dozen member states of the European Union, speaks frequently in support of Catholic values in Europe, particularly against abortion and for the protection of persecuted Christians in other countries.
"The promotion of women and their rights is not related to the promotion of abortion," COMECE said in an April 9 statement.
"We work for a Europe where women can live their maternity freely and as a gift for them and for society and where being a mother is in no way a limitation for personal, social, and professional life. Promoting and facilitating abortion goes in the opposite direction to the real promotion of women and their rights."
The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights cannot include rights that are not recognized by all and are "divisive," the bishops noted.
"The right to life is the fundamental pillar of all other human rights, especially the right to life of the most vulnerable, fragile, and defenseless, like the unborn child in the womb of the mother, the migrant, the old, the person with disabilities, and the sick. The Church has always taught this," the bishops continued.
The European Parliament is a directly-elected body made up of over 700 legislators from EU member states and tasked with adopting EU legislation. Changing the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights to include abortion would require unanimous agreement from all member states, the body says.
The enshrining of abortion rights in the EU's rights charter has long been debated. Abortion activists have for years pushed for the modification to union law, with initiatives such as the Simone Veil Pact calling for broad abortion rights throughout the continent.
In contrast to the highly permissive legal framework found in many U.S. states before and after Roe v. Wade, many European countries restrict abortion after 12 to 14 weeks of pregnancy; some European Union member countries also impose waiting periods and other regulations.
In January 2022, French President Emmanual Macron called upon the European Union to enshrine abortion in law, which Macron said would "give new life to our set of rights" there. In a statement at the time, COMECE expressed "deep concern and opposition" to the idea. COMECE noted at the time that that there is no "right" to abortion enshrined in European or international law.
Earlier this year, France became the first country in Europe to enshrine a "right to abortion" in its constitution.
Full Article
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=8838&url=10&view=post&articleid=275571&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
The spiritual shepherd of the Church in Singapore is Cardinal William Goh, archbishop since early 2013 and a cardinal since 2022. / Credit: Sean Boyce/EWTN NewsNational Catholic Register, May 3, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis recently announced his intention to travel to Southeast Asia in September to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore. The island nation of Singapore is one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse regions in Asia and is home to about 395,000 Catholics. The small but strategically important nation also has the highest urban density in Asia but is ranked as the country with the highest quality of life. Like everywhere else, it also faces the threats of secularism and relativism and a loss of traditional values, especially a commitment to family and respect for the elderly. The spiritual shepherd of the Church in Singapore is Cardinal William Goh, archbishop since early 2013 and a cardinal since 2022. He sat down in his res...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=8838&url=10&view=post&articleid=275563&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
null / Credit: ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 2, 2024 / 18:20 pm (CNA).The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) released a pair of emergency rules that it said are aimed at combating "misinformation" and a "deeply dishonest scare campaign" by the Biden administration about the state's new six-week pro-life law. The rules, published on May 1, establish guidance for lifesaving measures and clarify that certain procedures, including treatment for ectopic pregnancies, are not considered abortion and remain legal under the Florida Heartbeat Protection Act, which went into effect on Wednesday. This comes amid significant criticism over the state's pro-life law that prohibits abortions on women after six weeks of pregnancy except for in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger. The new AHCA rules further clarify those exceptions. "The agency finds there is an immediate danger to th...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=8838&url=10&view=post&articleid=275562&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Oviedo Archbishop Jesús Sanz Montes accused the government of focusing "in a biased and manipulative way on the problem of pedophilia as something attributable only to the Catholic Church." / Credit: Archdiocese of OviedoACI Prensa Staff, May 2, 2024 / 18:50 pm (CNA)."They have done it again. It is a kind of obsessive mantra every time they need a smokescreen to distract from the real problems we have and to which they so clumsily and insidiously apply their tortuous governance."That is how the archbishop of Oviedo, Jesús Sanz Montes, began a letter released this week titled "The Accusing Rattle" in which he responds to the socialist government's announcement of an exclusive plan to address sexual and power abuses committed within the Catholic Church.In the opinion of the prelate, the country's executive "has tried to focus in a biased and manipulative way on the problem of pedophilia as something attributable only to the Catholic Church, which represents an exclusive...