A new law to legalise assisted dying would be a ‘disaster’, the Archbishop of Canterbury declared yesterday. Dr Rowan Williams said that condoning assisted suicide would undermine the sanctity of life - and he compared its effects to the legalisation of abortion a generation ago.
The Archbishop told the Church of England’s parliament, the General Synod: ‘The default position on abortion has shifted quite clearly over the past 40 years.
In the News
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February 7th, 2012
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February 7th, 2012The Obama administration’s decision to take on the Catholic Church at this stage of the political cycle is either very brave or very stupid. As Jon Swaine reports this morning, the President’s overhaul of healthcare includes a provision that religious charities, universities and other groups must now provide contraception in staff insurance packages and failure to do so will result in hefty fines. More than 150 Catholic bishops have spoken out against the change, with one accusing Obama of waging a "severe assault on religious liberty". According to Alexander Sample, the Bishop of Marquette, "we Catholics will be compelled to either violate our consciences, or to drop health coverage for our employees and suffer the penalties for doing so.”
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February 7th, 2012Christians have launched a campaign to protect children from internet pornography. Premier Christian Media Trust and campaign group SaferMedia are calling upon the Government to change the law to force internet service providers (ISPs) to introduce a network level filter that would switch the default setting for internet pornography to 'off'.
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February 7th, 2012A strange thing happened to me the other day when I was driving past the Federal Building in Los Angeles. There were a crowd of people assembled there with signs which said that Israel is an aggressive force in the Middle East and that Iran is being picked on. As I stopped at a red light I heard a man with a mega phone lead the protesters in a chant charging Obama with genocide. I saw many young people and several Muslim women with their heads covered. It was an anti-war demonstration that probably a year ago I would have supported. But although I am not in favor of military action, I know that Iran is not another Iraq, and that in fact there is more going on here than the overly-simplified picture that the protestors were painting, as cars drove by honking in support. As the light turned green another sign caught my eye – a picture of the Twin Towers burning which read “911 Was an Inside Job”. As I looked at a sea of Palestinian flags and college kids banging on drums I felt a certain frustration – frustration based on a series of events that have changed my world view.
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February 7th, 2012
Scotland’s four opposition parties are facing strong criticism after each of their leaders endorsed an “Equal Marriage Pledge” promulgated by homosexualist advocacy group Equality Network calling for a redefinition of marriage to include same-sex couples.
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February 7th, 2012The BBC has told its journalists not to call Abu Qatada, the al-Qaeda preacher, an “extremist”.
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February 7th, 2012Abu Qatada is accused by the Home Office of being "a significant international terrorist" and the spiritual guide of Mohamed Atta, one of the al-Qaida terrorists who piloted a jet into the World Trade Centre on 11 September 2001.
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February 7th, 2012London-based radical Muslim cleric Haitham Al-Haddad — who sits on the UK’s Islamic Sharia Council, advocates a ban on music, refers to Christians and Jews as “accursed nations,” and calls for Jihad against Israel — is reportedly due to arrive in the Czech Republic on Friday to preach at a mosque and Muslim center in Prague.
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February 7th, 2012A pro-life activist was arrested in Calgary on Saturday after a police officer objected to his signs, which featured images of aborted babies.
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February 7th, 2012The New York Senate Monday approved the bill 52-7 that would compel New York City to rescind its policy banning private religious worship services in the public schools when school is not in session. The bill had overwhelming bipartisan support, and now moves to the New York Assembly. I joined hundreds of Christians and their pastors from New York City as they visited state lawmakers to urge them to support the bill. I accompanied them to answer questions by the lawmakers and their staff about the Bronx Household of Faith case and to assure them that they would not be “defying the court” by passing the bill. The decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals last June only ruled that it was constitutionally permissible for NYC to have its anti-worship service policy, but that the Constitution did not require it.