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Petition pleads for pope to come to Quebec City

Posted:

Thu Nov 22, 2007 9:46 pm (GMT -5)

Petition pleads for pope to come to Quebec City

By DEBORAH GYAPONG
Canadian Catholic News
Quebec City

A former Quebec justice minister has launched a petition aimed at bringing Pope Benedict to Quebec City for the 2008 International Eucharistic Congress in June.

"With the petition maybe we can help him decide to come to Quebec City," said Marc Bellemare in a phone interview.

The Vatican, however, says there are no plans for the pope to visit Quebec.

Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec has said he will meet with the pope later this month to get a final answer on his attendance. The Congress also coincides with the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec.

"It is not only the birth of the city but the birth of Catholicism in North America," said Bellemare. "There will be 15,000 people to celebrate. Without the pope it's not the same."

His website ( www.pape2008.com) enables people to sign an electronic version. In less than a week, more than 4,000 had done so.

"He must come!" said Bellemare. "For all the Catholics of the world it is important for him to come here. We need the pope."

The Vatican press office, however, says there are no plans for a papal visit to Quebec.

The press office director Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi told the Catholic News Service Nov. 7 that the pope will visit the United Nations, World Youth Day in Australia and Lourdes, France. "I have not seen any plans for a visit to Quebec."
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Texas Court OK prosecutions for fetal murder

Posted:

Thu Nov 22, 2007 7:52 pm (GMT -5)

Judges OK prosecutions for fetal murder

Separate ruling limits Miranda rights of prisoners.

By Chuck Lindell ( clindell@statesman.com )
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, November 22, 2007

The death of a fetus can be prosecuted as a murder, even if the fetus was too young to survive outside the womb, Texas' highest criminal court ruled Wednesday.

State laws declaring a fetus an individual — and therefore eligible for protection under statutes prohibiting murder — do not conflict with the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling that protects abortion rights, a unanimous Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled.

"The Supreme Court has emphasized that states may protect human life not only once the fetus has reached viability but 'from the outset of the pregnancy,' " the Texas court ruled in Lawrence v. State of Texas. "The Legislature is free to protect the lives of those whom it considers to be human beings."

State laws protecting fetuses do not apply to abortions, the court acknowledged.

In a separate ruling, a divided court ruled that a Caldwell County man, questioned by police about a barroom brawl, did not require a Miranda warning against self-incrimination because he was not technically in police custody — even though he was in jail at the time.

Gerald Herrera, found guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in a 2001 fight outside of Lockhart's Mia Mar Bar in which several people were stabbed.

Herrera appealed, saying the trial court improperly allowed a police detective to testify about a jailhouse conversation in which Herrera admitted participating in the fight.

Herrera claimed that the conversation was inadmissible in court because he was not informed of his Miranda rights before being questioned by Detective David Powell.

In a 6-3 ruling, the Court of Criminal Appeals said Herrera was not entitled to the Miranda warning, which must be given to suspects who are in custody before they can be questioned by police.

Herrera was not technically in police custody when questioned by Powell, according to the majority opinion written by Judge Michael Keasler.

The key, Keasler noted, was Herrera's arrest shortly after the brawl on an unrelated warrant.

Court precedent has established that incarceration does not mean an inmate is in custody if the questioning is done by "outside law enforcement officials about an offense unrelated to the inmate's incarceration," the opinion said.

Judge Charles Holcomb, in a dissent joined by Judge Tom Price, said the majority opinion was "in direct conflict with United States Supreme Court case law."

"The majority holds that (Herrera) must show added limitations on his freedom, beyond the fact that he is under formal arrest, before he is 'in custody,' " Holcomb wrote. "I find this amazing."

Judge Cheryl Johnson filed a separate dissent.

The fetal murder case stemmed from the 2004 Dallas County murder of Antwonyia Smith by her boyfriend, Terence Lawrence.

After learning that Smith was pregnant with his child, Lawrence told a second girlfriend that he would "take care of" the problem and shot Smith three times with a shotgun, court documents show.

Lawrence was convicted of capital murder for killing Smith and her 4- to 6-week-old fetus, and he was sentenced to life in prison.

Lawrence appealed, saying that his due-process rights were violated because he was prosecuted for two murders even though the fetus was not viable, or could not have lived outside the mother's womb. Supreme Court precedent in abortion cases has established that states have no compelling interest to interfere before a fetus is viable, Lawrence said.

The appeals court disagreed.

The opinion, written by Presiding Judge Sharon Keller, said abortion precedent is based on the premise that a woman wants to have the procedure.

"The 'compelling state interest' test, along with the accompanying 'viability' threshold, has no application to a statute that prohibits a third party from causing the death of the woman's unborn child against her will," Keller wrote.

In a concurring opinion, Johnson cautioned the court against assuming that the fetal murder law will be constitutional in all cases.

Lawrence intended to kill the fetus, Johnson noted.

"However, it is easy to foresee that there will be cases involving the stranger-on-stranger murder of a woman who is in the early stages of pregnancy and who would not appear to be pregnant," she wrote.

"In such a case, the statute may be unconstitutional as applied because the defendant ... (could not) have intended the death of the fetus."

clindell@statesman.com; 912-2569
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School board pulls 'anti-God' book

Posted:

Thu Nov 22, 2007 2:41 pm (GMT -5)

School board pulls 'anti-God' book

Halton's Catholic trustees and staff to review fantasy that is `apparently written by an atheist'

Nov 22, 2007 04:30 AM
Kristin Rushowy
Education Reporter

Halton's Catholic board has pulled The Golden Compass fantasy book – soon to be a Hollywood blockbuster starring Nicole Kidman – off school library shelves because of a complaint.

Two other books in the trilogy by British author Philip Pullman have also been removed as a precaution, and principals have been ordered not to distribute December Scholastic book flyers because The Golden Compass is available to order.

"(The complaint) came out of interviews that Philip Pullman had done, where he stated that he is an atheist and that he supports that," said Scott Millard, the board's manager of library services.

"Since we are an educational institution, we want to be able to evaluate the material; we want to make sure we have the best material for students."

Following a recent Star story about the series, an internal memo was sent to elementary principals that said "the book is apparently written by an atheist where the characters and text are anti-God, anti-Catholic and anti-religion."

Millard said if students want the books, they can ask librarians for them but the series won't be on display until a committee review is complete.

The Golden Compass is the first of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy of books and have been likened to the Harry Potter series.

In the U.S., the Catholic League has accused the books of bashing Christianity and promoting atheism to children. The league is urging parents to boycott the movie, which opens Dec. 7.

Catholic schools in Toronto and York Region have the books on their shelves and report no complaints. The public library in Burlington, in Halton Region, lists The Golden Compass as suggested reading for Grades 5 and 6. The award-winning tome was voted the best children's book in the past 70 years by readers across the globe.

While the book was first published in 1995, complaints are surfacing now because of the buzz surrounding the movie, said Rick MacDonald, the Halton board's superintendent of curriculum services.

The Nov. 1 article in the Star prompted several emails from principals wondering if the book is appropriate for schools.

Pullman has made controversial statements, telling The Washington Post in 2001 he was "trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief." In 2003, he said that compared to the Harry Potter series, his books had been "flying under the radar, saying things that are far more subversive than anything poor old Harry has said. My books are about killing God."

The board is unsure how many copies of the Pullman books are in circulation at its 37 elementary schools because they were not purchased centrally and are not a part of the curriculum.

"We have a policy and procedure whereby individual, parents, staff, students or community members can apply to have material reviewed. That's what happened in this case," MacDonald said, adding he did not know who lodged the complaint.

The complaint was received about a week and a half ago, and it is standard procedure to remove books from the shelves during the review.

Any move to ban the book would be taken to trustees.

Millard said he's still trying to find additional members for the review committee, but has sent copies to those already on the committee, such as MacDonald.

Milton pastor David Wilhelm, who is also a trustee and a committee member, said hasn't read the book yet and won't make a judgement until he has. He did not know when the review would be done.

Richard Brock, who heads the Halton elementary branch of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association, said he's had no complaints from teachers about the books being pulled.

The board, he added, is within its rights to restrict distribution of the Scholastic flyer. "With elementary students, you're always going to bend in the direction of caution anyway," he said.

Scholastic Canada received a complaint via email from the board, as well as a handful of other negative emails that appeared to be part of a campaign begun in the U.S.

Halton's Catholic board has 28,500 students at 45 schools in Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville.

Last February, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board removed the award-winning Snow Falling on Cedars from library shelves and teaching materials after a parent complaint about sexual content, but later reinstated the book after a review.
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The company he keeps

Posted:

Thu Nov 22, 2007 10:12 am (GMT -5)
The company he keeps

Archbishop George Niederauer fetes "Catholic who supports gay rights and a woman's right to choose," while Jerry Brown is keynote speaker

California Catholic Daily
November 22, 2007
http://calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=d49af15c-49ba-4196-b40e-ff6618beede7

California Attorney General Jerry Brown was the keynote speaker at an event honoring the 100th anniversary of San Francisco's Catholic Charities CYO, the Nov. 16 archdiocesan newspaper Catholic San Francisco reported.

Over 400 attended the "SharesSF Centennial Civic Luncheon," held Nov. 1 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. The event raised more than $112,000 for Catholic Charities. Archbishop George Niederauer, chairman of Catholic Charities, was also present. Before Brown's talk, Niederauer presented Clint Reilly, Catholic Charities' immediate past president, with the Centennial Service Award for his "leadership and dedication to enhancing the quality of life for the less fortunate," said Catholic San Francisco.

A San Francisco businessman and philanthropist, Reilly has been dedicated to the San Francisco archdiocese, for which he has raised a good deal of money, and to Bay Area politicians, according to an Aug. 11, 2006 Catholic News Agency story. Reilly ran a campaign management firm that worked with U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein.

In February 2001, San Francisco Weekly described Reilly as "a Roman Catholic who supports gay rights and a woman's right to choose." He was named president of San Francisco Catholic Charities/CYO by then Archbishop William Levada in 2001, serving in the post until March 2007.

In 2006, Reilly advised his wife, Janet Reilly, in her unsuccessful campaign for state Assembly. Janet Reilly received the endorsement of the Harvey Milk Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Club. In a 2006 San Francisco Young Democrats questionnaire, Janet Reilly said, "I support equal rights for all Californians and support gay marriage. I will actively work to lead the way for these legal rights, and I will use my leadership role to help defeat anti-gay marriage proposals. I am proud to live in San Francisco where Gavin Newsom stood up for this critical human rights issue and I would be proud to help lead this fight on a state level."

In his keynote address at the luncheon, Attorney General Brown "spoke on the partnership between faith-based nonprofits, government and community institutions in meeting the needs of the poor and the marginalized, particularly women and children," said Catholic San Francisco.

Brown has been a consistent supporter of legalized abortion. According to an Aug. 29 letter California Catholic Daily received from Chief Deputy Attorney General James Humes, Brown's office "asserts that same-sex couples are entitled to equal rights, benefits, and protections that are afforded to married couples."

Lesbian 'parents' torture child

Posted:

Thu Nov 22, 2007 8:50 am (GMT -5)

Women Charged With Child Abuse

By Greg Engle
FOX 35 NEWS
November 20,2007
Link to original

Three workers in Kissimmee were honored Tuesday for helping save a child from suspected abusers. And two women who were supposed to be responsible for the boy have been charged with mistreating him.

Earlier this month they found a seven year old boy walking around a parking lot disoriented and visibly injured.

Jamie Lynn Martin, 26, and Suzette Renee Stevenson, 45, are
accused of leaving a 7-year-old boy in the Osceola County area.

The Florida Department of Children and Families think the workers may have saved the child's life.

Investigators say on November 6th, 45-year-old Suzette Stevenson and 26-year-old Jamie Martin left the 7 year old in a car in the Westgate Resorts parking lot in Kissimmee while they went inside to attend a time share meeting. The young man got out and started to wander around eventually ending up at a buffet. That's when a Westgate employee noticed the young boy's condition and notified her supervisor. The supervisor wasted no time in contacting authorities. .

Osceola County Sheriffs deputies contacted authorities in Baker County near Jacksonville where the women live and arrested the pair.

Both women told the same story, accusing the other of abusing the boy. The abuse they said included tying him to a wall with shoe strings and forcing him to stand for long periods of time; kicking him in the stomach, breaking his toes and even forcing him to drink shampoo.

According to investigators the child wasn't sent to school so teachers wouldn't notice his injuries.

Baker Co. Sheriff Joey Dobson said the boy was born in California. The mother was arrested and jailed in San Bernardino for meth possession. The child was then turned over to the father, who didn't want to take care of him. The father then gave the child to his aunt, who later died. Before she died she left the child with her partner, Suzette Stevenson; Stevenson then moved to Baker County Florida. The child was put into a Pre-K program in Baker County in June 2007, but then was withdrawn.

According to Dobson said that's when the abuse got worse.

Investigators said the boy is still recovering from malnourishment and injuries including lacerations, burns and head trauma.

Westgate employees are collecting clothes and other items to give to the child and they're planning some activities for him once he recovers. While school kids in Baker County are creating their own care package for him.

DCF gave plaques to the three Westgate employees Tuesday.

The Bigger View

Friday, November 23, 2007

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