Cardinal speaks out against abortion

Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien will use a speech he is giving at the 40th anniversary of the abortion act in the UK to remind Catholic MP's who defend abortion that they should not partake in communion, and they risk their full membership in the Catholic Church.

In his sermon, Cardinal O'Brien will urge voters to consider rejecting candidates who are in favour of abortion. Typically, not everyone is in favour of what the Cardinal has to say. Scottish Liberal member Jeremy Purvis accuses the Cardinal of using 'inflammatory' language, saying:

"It is not right that we would be seen to be put under pressure, or indeed some members threatened, by a religious leader on what is a very sensitive issue."

I'm just glad that we have a Cardinal with the balls to stand up and say what needs to be said. If you are a Catholic, you don't pick and choose the bits you like. You're either Catholic, or you are not, and you take all the hardship that brings. Supporting abortion is NOT an option. If you support abortion, the you ain't Catholic, it's very simple. I find it so sad that this needs to be discussed, for a true Catholic abortion support wouldn't even be a consideration. Good on Cardinal O'Brien, long may he continue to say what needs to be said.

Milan, Champions of Europe

AC Milan, Champions of Europe.

















Maldini lifts the cup




















Kaka gives praise to God.

Choosing life

It's always hard to argue the case for life when there is certainty the baby is going to die. The arguments for aborting a child that you know will not survive after the birth is always a strong one. But life is life. A life is a precious thing and should be cherished no matter how short or difficult that life is.

There was a story in the news in the last week, about a young Irish girl. She is pregnant, and knows her child has a medical problem that means the child is unlikely to live two or three days after birth. She fought for her right to be allowed to come to the UK from Ireland and have the child aborted.

Reading through some blogs today I found a link from the Te-deum blog to this story on the American Papist blog

The young girl has had a change of heart, and chosen life for her child. I applaud her bravery and courage in this most difficult time.

Italian Archbishop receives death threats

Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco has been receiving death threats following comments he made recently opposing so called gay marriage, same sex unions.

Over the weekend a letter was received with a live bullet in the envelope, along with a picture of the Archbishop with a swastika cut into it. This is the latest in a line of incidents which started last month when graffiti was sprayed onto the doors of the Cathedral in Genoa.

The Archbishop spoke out recently against proposed legislation in Italy that will give the same marital rights to same sex unions as those given to normal marriages. He said that such legislation undermines the traditional and ancient position of the institution of marriage within society.

The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has expressed his support for the Archbishop, charging him to continue working for human and religious rights, without which "it was impossible to build a true, free and stable democracy."