Nothing will ever change the Catholic Church’s stand on contraceptives, says Suva, Fiji, vicar-general Father Sulio Turagakacivi. Responding to concerns by the Catholic Women’s League members regarding the church’s stand on contraception and the expensive exercise of raising children in a money-driven society in this era, Fr Turagakacivi said no laws or ideology would change Read more
A former Kiribati president says he is supporting smaller families and is taking the message around the capital Tarawa. Sir Ieremia Tabai, who is the chairman of the committee campaigning for smaller families, is encouraging the people of Kiribati to have two or three children. As overcrowding and unemployment in Tarawa and Betio are serious Read more
A website aimed at sharing information about doctors and other medical professionals who oppose contraception and abortion for moral or religious reasons was launched last week. It is is called My Decision/Kei a au te Whakataunga (www.mydecision.org.nz). It is owned by the Abortion Law Reform Association of NZ. Last year ALRANZ condemned a group of Southland Read more
An MIT spinoff called MicroCHIPS has announced plans to market an implantable contraceptive chip that can be turned on and off remotely, and lasts for as long as sixteen years. Funded by the (Bill) Gates Foundation to the tune of $5 million, the chip contains enough of the contraceptive drug levonorgestrel to provide contraception for Read more
Health care workers in the Philippines can refuse on conscience grounds to provide state–mandated contraception to patients, the nation’s bishops say. And these workers may also refuse to refer a patient to anywhere else contraception may be obtained, the bishops said in a statement. On July 9, the Philippines’ bishops’ conference issued what they called Read more
The United States Supreme Court has ruled that some businesses can’t be forced to pay for employee health insurance that includes contraception. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that two businesses have protection on religious grounds against a Government mandate requiring coverage of contraceptive services in employee health plans. The contraception mandate is included Read more
A new working document for the upcoming synod on the family has hinted at initiatives to help divorced and remarried Catholics. The 85-page “Instrumentum Laboris” was released by the Vatican on June 26. It was drafted after consultation last year, when a questionnaire about family life was sent to bishops’ conferences. The working document stresses the truth of Church teaching, Read more
When Church teaching is rejected by large numbers of the faithful, action is called for, the International Theological Commission has written. The commission has published a document called “’Sensus Fidei’ in the life of the Church”. It has been approved by the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Muller, Read more
The Kiribati Ministry of Health is warning about the country’s soaring population. It has set up a group called HOPE to take its message about the impact of population growth to local communities. The Catholic Church in Kiribati has several times voiced its opposition to family planning programmes. Kiribati is a country that has a Read more
Catholic doctors who want to follow Church teaching on sexual ethics have been told they can’t train as gynaecologists in the United Kingdom. Charlie O’Donnell, a consultant in emergency and intensive care medicine, sounded this warning at a Catholic Medical Association Conference in the UK. He said the best advice he could give to an Read more