Isabel Allende, a leading Latin American novelist, has praised the efforts of the Church in Chile on behalf of human rights following the 1973 overthrow of her cousin President Salvador Allende. She said Cardinal Raúl Silva Henríquez, Archbishop of Santiago from 1961 to 1983, “established an office inside the cathedral” to document cases of disappearance Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Human rights’
Nobel laureate refutes allegations against Pope Francis 
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Tuesday, March 26th, 2013
An Argentine pacifist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1980 has come to the defence of Pope Francis’s actions between 1976 and 1983, when the military ruled the nation. Adolfo Perez Esquivel said Pope Francis preferred to carry out a “silent diplomacy” in helping victims, rather than leading a more public outcry during Argentina’s Read more
Anti-Semitism seen as threat to Catholics too Comments 0
Tuesday, March 5th, 2013
A new anti-Semitism is rising in several countries and could lead to dire consequences for democratic societies and members of all religions, according to witnesses who testified at a United States Congressional hearing. Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders spoke of the threat anti-Semitism poses to non-Jewish communities and even to democratic government. The hearing was called Read more
PNG Bishops oppose death penalty Comments 0
Friday, February 22nd, 2013
The Archbishop of Port Moresby says Papua New Guinea’s government will be slow to activate its death penalty laws because of church opposition, after the Pacific nation’s attorney-general said he is revisiting the idea. Archbishop John Ribat says Attorney-General Kerenga Kua’s plan to activate the never-before-used law is the wrong way to deter crime and Read more
Compensation law change is “eye-for-an-eye” justice – Ombudsman Comments 0
Friday, February 22nd, 2013
A bill allowing victims to get part of the compensation paid to prisoners is “eye-for-an-eye” justice, according to the Ombudsman Beverly Wakem. Some criminals have received large compensation payments for violation of their human rights. The Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims (Continuation and Reform) Amendment Bill will make permanent earlier temporary legislation which allowed victims of crime to Read more
US Supreme Court and same-sex marriage debate Comments 0
Friday, December 14th, 2012
The United States Supreme Court has a history of playing a pivotal role in emotive cultural debates including, for example, abortion (Roe v Wade), racial segregation (Brown v Board of Education) and the death penalty (Roper v Simmons). Marriage equality will now join this list. In a much anticipated move, the US Supreme Court announced Read more
‘Crusty’ Pope portrayed as out of touch in electricity ad Comments 0
Friday, December 14th, 2012
Powershop, a state owned enterprise, has entered the political arena by erecting a number of four-and-half-storey high billboards which suggest the Catholic Church is an example of how “large institutions can sometimes lose touch with their modern constituents.” The Pope is used as a symbol of “crusty utilities, many of whom remain resistant to the Read more
NZ Catholic Bishops make submission to Marriage Bill Select Committee Comments 0
Wednesday, November 28th, 2012
New Zealand Catholic Bishops appeared before the New Zealand Government Administration Select Committee considering the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill on Wednesday to share their concerns over the future implications should it become law. Archbishop John Dew, Bishop Colin Campbell and Mrs Sue Devereux, representing the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, made a verbal submission Read more
Blasphemy charge against girl dropped in Pakistan Comments 0
Friday, November 23rd, 2012
A court in Pakistan has dropped a controversial blasphemy charge against a Christian girl accused of burning pages from the Koran, but many others are suffering under the same draconian blasphemy law. Rimsha Masih, who is 14 but considered to have a lower mental age, was charged after being accused by a neighbour, a Muslim Read more
Church denies complicity in crimes of Argentinian junta Comments 0
Tuesday, November 13th, 2012
Catholic bishops in Argentina have denied claims by a former dictator that the Church was complicit in crimes committed by the 1976-1983 military regime. The bishops said they were open to a profound review of the Church’s role during those years, which human rights groups say resulted in the killing of up to 30,000 people Read more
