-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a prelude to war! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- TESTING THE FAITH Catholics in crossfire again Abortion-rights groups try to boot Vatican out of U.N. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- By Mary Jo Anderson � 2000 WorldNetDaily.com Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson is demanding that Vice President Al Gore repudiate two "anti-Catholic" groups that are calling for the eviction of the Holy See from the United Nations. The National Abortion Rights Action League and the Women Leaders Online, both groups enthusiastically endorsing Gore for president, are supporting "See Change," a campaign to oust the Vatican from the United Nations. Since 1964, the Vatican has had "permanent observer" status at the U.N. -- enabling it to play an active role and vote with other countries at U.N. conferences, but not in the General Assembly. Representatives of various nations are gathered at the United Nations in preparation for June's "Beijing +5" Special Session of the General Assembly, entitled, "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-First Century." In the midst of deliberations over how to globally implement its "Platform for Action" -- which had stalled over language that would make abortion and sexual orientation universal human rights -- the abortion advocacy group Catholics for a Free Choice held a press conference outlining its "See Change" campaign to have the Holy See lose its status as a Non-member State Permanent Observer. NARAL and Women Leaders Online are enthusiastically supporting Catholics for a Free Choice's denunciation of the Vatican. The term Holy See stands for the central authority of the Roman Catholic Church, which includes the tiny sovereign State of Vatican City. "As a Catholic, I am appalled that Al Gore has courted the support of two groups trying to throw the Vatican out of the United Nations," Nicholson said. "See Change's anti-Catholic goal is to evict the Vatican from the U.N., to silence the voice of Pope John Paul and to prevent one billion Catholics from speaking up for morality and justice at the world's most prominent international forum," Nicholson said. "Does Al Gore agree with these anti-Catholic goals? If not, why does he refuse to stand up and repudiate them? Why doesn't Gore reject the endorsements of these anti-Catholic groups? "The pattern here is disturbing," Nicholson added. "First, Al Gore and Hillary Clinton insulted Jewish Americans by kissing the ring of Al Sharpton, a racist and anti-Semite whose words and deeds have led to the deaths of Jews, blacks and others. Then Gore accepts the endorsement of NARAL, a group trying to diminish the Vatican." As one of the nation's most powerful pro-abortion special interest groups, NARAL's endorsement of Gore was expected, especially since Gore continues to support the controversial practice of partial birth abortion -- called "infanticide" by Democratic Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan. In an election year that has witnessed several attempts to claim the Catholic vote, the response of candidates to the attempt to remove the Vatican is being closely watched. Tuesday, at the U.N. headquarters in New York, under the sponsorship of the United States mission to the U.N., Catholics for a Free Choice spokeswoman Frances Kissling claimed she had gathered the signatures of 400 organizations to be given to the U.N. Anika Rahman, of an associated abortion rights group, Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, said the Vatican's position at the United Nations was analogous to giving a U.N. seat to the Politburo. Rahman contends the Vatican does not qualify as a sovereign state in international law and therefore is not entitled to its deliberative status -- even though it is recognized as a sovereign state by 177 nations, issues passports, has its own postal system, legal territory and resident citizens. Territorial size is not a factor in determining sovereignty, counter Vatican supporters. "In the context of the international meetings sponsored by the United Nations to promote women, the Holy See has taken positions that are antithetical to women's rights," a press release from the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy stated. Critics of the "See Change" campaign point out the obvious -- that the real target is not to determine the sovereignty of the Vatican, but to silence its pro-life voice in the U.N. Addressing the press at the U.N. on Wednesday, Focus on the Family, Mary Ellen Bork, Family Research Council and Rabbi Yehuda Levin of Jews for Morality all expressed their support of the Vatican's presence at the U.N., and denounced Kissling's "See Change" coalition calling for U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to demote the Vatican to a Non-Governmental Organization. Rabbi Levin compared the assault on the Catholic Church to the assault on the Jews. "Half a century ago, my family was the victim of a movement which wanted to rid the world of Jews, and Jewish teachings and Jewish values. Today, the extremists seek to disallow and disenfranchise the Catholic community and their ideas. Often it is the Catholic presence which reflects our traditional Jewish teaching on respect for life and family. I call upon the U.N. and her members to reject this censorship, reject the bigotry, and reject this hate of the Vatican and of the Jewish pro-life and family [traditions] it expresses. Sixty years ago our people asked, 'Where were you for the Jews?' Today we ask the world, 'Where are you for the Catholics?'" Catholics for a Free Choice graphically counters these arguments: "From opposing condoms to halt the spread of AIDS, to decrying the use of emergency contraception for refugee victims of rape, the Holy See misuses its special status to erect real obstacles to the promotion of women's health and well-being, despite the contention of resolutions introduced in the U.S. Congress. The resolutions, introduced by several anti-choice members of Congress ... oppose any effort to review the status of the Holy See at the U.N. and laud the role played by the Holy See at the U.N." Austin Ruse, president of Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, announced vigorous support for the resolutions before the U.S. House and Senate calling for U.S. endorsement of the continued presence of the Holy See at the UN. "These will be historic documents," noted Ruse, pointing out that it will be the first ever U.S. resolution in support of the Vatican. Ruse found a ready ally when he approached Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., about sponsoring a resolution. Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H. and Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J. have joined the sponsorship of the resolutions. Ruse distributed to the press a "Declaration of Support of the Holy See at the United Nations" written by Princeton Professor, Robert George and William Saunders of the Family Research Council. The declaration has been signed by 1,015 NGOs from 44 countries --overwhelming support for the Vatican as the voice of traditional Western morality, family values and civic standards. Robert L. Maginnis, director of national security and foreign affairs for the Family Research Council, pointed out that the U.S. State Department, in a 1998 report, praised the Catholic Church for its human rights efforts. "The drive to expel the Vatican from the U.N. is obviously intended to intimidate pro-life delegations (to the Beijing +5 conference)," said Maginnis. "If any offensive move to oust the Vatican delegation from the U.N. succeeds, Family Research Council will call upon Congress to reassess American participation in the world organization." Mary Ellen Bork, wife of Judge Robert Bork and Director of the Catholic Campaign for America, said, "Kissling is a letterhead organization funded by the Playboy Foundation." Kissling has long quarreled with the Catholic Church's teaching on abortion. Her funding is drawn from population-control interests and abortion rights foundations, including Playboy and Ted Turner Foundations. Her group, Catholics for a Free Choice, is an NGO at the U.N. And even though the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has said that no group promoting abortion is entitled to use the term "Catholic" in its name, the United Nations declined the Vatican's request that the U.N. ask Kissling to delete "Catholics" from her organization's name in its application for NGO status at the U.N. Abortion rights groups are openly frustrated with the Vatican's defense of national sovereignty, the family, parental rights, and the pre-born during the Beijing +5 "PrepCom" now in progress. They claim the Holy See is "obstructing" the implementation of abortion and sexual orientation as a "universal human right" which activists want codified in international law. Although the Beijing "Platform for Action" is theoretically non-binding on nations, the U.N. is calling for "international monitoring" of the progress nations are making in implementing the provisions of the "Platform." Members of Congress who sit on the advisory board of the Women Leaders Online include Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y. and former Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, D-N.Y. **COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Dear Friends: Catholics who know what is going on don;t want to be in the UN! - Bill <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soap-boxing! 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