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Out of Touch

Last night, a brave attempt in the House to cut out the abortion mandate from health care reform legislation was shut down by one vote. The amendment brought up in the Energy and Commerce Committee would have prohibited Congress from imposing a mandate for abortion coverage in a health reform plan, was strongly supported by the U.S. bishops’ conference – and initially passed in committee with bipartisan support.

So what happened? The amendment was brought to a second vote, resulting in a 30-29 defeat for the effort to ensure “that nothing in the bill could be used to mandate coverage” of abortion, as co-sponsor Rep. Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania said.

It’s yet another disappointment for those who are fighting, on one hand, for true reform in our nation’s health care system, while remaining firm in insisting on a plan that will indeed protect all lives. 

Human Rights in Vietnam: The Under-Reported Story

Message to Vietnam: either get up to date with your social networking technology, or just keep your pleas of totalitarian oppression to yourselves. Unless you're Tweeting and sending us cool YouTube videos of the police attacking peaceful protesters, we Westerners are apparently not interested.
 
Why the events in Vietnam, from the marches in protest of police violence to the physical beatings of Catholics, have not gotten more press outside of Catholic news circles is a mystery. It's not exclusively a Catholic story or a religion story anymore. Once they threw a priest out of a second story window, it classified as a human rights story. However, you will be hard pressed to find much coverage in major mainstream newspapers.

Greed's Opposite

A “stakeholder society” in which business decisions are made in consideration of the good of the whole, not just owners – wishful thinking? That’s the question America magazine asks in its editorial this week, drawing, of course, from Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Caritas in Veritate.

“Business management,” the pope had written, “cannot concern itself only with the interest of proprietors, but must also assume responsibility for all the other stakeholders who contribute to the life of the business: the workers, the clients, the suppliers … the community of reference.”

The Compassion Boom

July 26th was the Feast Day of Jesus’s grandparents, Sts. Joachim and Anne. Pope Benedict XVI marked the occasion by blessing all grandparentsand recognizing how great a source of wisdom they are for their children and society. "This feast makes us think about the topic of education, which has such an important place in the pastoral work of the Church," he said. "In particular, it invites us to pray for grandparents, who, in the family, are the depositaries and the witnesses of the fundamental values of life.”

The pope’s words make a strong point, that we should take time to appreciate the accumulated wisdom of an entire life held in each of our grandparents. 

One of the lessons always drummed into me, from both sets of grandparents, was that people needed to be reminded of hard times. They would argue, oddly, that this country needs another good depression.  That if we were to live through another economic downturn, people would be reminded of what truly matters. People would be forced to acquire certain austere and salutary virtues that were lacking in our decadent times.

Well, we may not be in Hoovervilles but it sure looks like the depression has arrived, or at least as close as we are going to get. Are we more virtuous yet? 

That’s a deep question, perhaps for a later News Wrap, but at least when it comes to the virtue of charity, I think we are holding our own.

A recently released government report shows that human generosity has risen to the challenge of the most recent economic downturn. While the country is suffering under one of the poorest economies in decades, people are volunteering and serving in their communities at record levels.

Dubbed the “Compassion Boom,” the Corporation for National and Community Service found that 61.8 million Americans volunteered in 2008, compared to 60.8 million in 2007.  The Volunteering in America report showed that for the first time in the last two decades, charitable giving had fallen; but it also indicated that volunteerism had surged by a million people.

The positive trend is appearing among the young adult demographic as well, with 8.2 million of those aged 16 to 24 volunteering in 2008, compared with 7.8 million in 2007. Americorps has seen applications rise 217 percent over the last eight months.

If the current economic downturn is at least an opportunity to inculcate patterns of giving and service among younger people, then it may be that blessing in disguise my grandparents were referring to.
The government report, based on U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics, corroborates much of the thinking behind the“Neighbors Helping Neighbors Volunteer Summit”sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and Fairfield University last February.

The summit called together over a hundred nonprofit and charitable groups to assess the current situation and work on ways to better respond to the economic crisis through cooperation. It was founded upon the basic idea that in the times of greatest need, when money and government resources are overextended, we must learn to count on volunteerism, and specifically, on our local community organizations and neighbors.

The idea of neighbors helping neighbors was exemplified by the report’s findings. The number of individuals who reported working to solve a community problem with their neighbors rose from 15.2 million in 2007 to 19.9 million in 2008.

Government policies can change, and funding can run out. We must learn to depend on the generosity and connectedness of our communities.

The most recent report shows that America is moving in the right direction, and strengthening those vital bonds of community. The local parish, the local community center, the local soup kitchen, are truly the last line of defense. The volunteer Summit showed the more these groups can work together towards shared goals, the stronger and more effective they will become.

Efforts such as the "Neighbors Helping Neighbors Volunteer Summit" hosted by the Knights and Fairfield University and the “United We Serve” initiative instituted by President Obama have been attempts to encourage positive trends in volunteerism at the national and local level.

There is no doubt that charitable giving will remain low for some time, as all sectors of the economy still seem mired in recession. Unemployment has slowed, but is still headed in the wrong direction. The only question is will Americans be able to maintain the spirit of generosity and solidarity that has supported the surge in volunteerism in 2008.

Italy, China and Population Control

Last week, Paul noted an attempt in Sweden to force members of the European Union – specifically, predominantly Catholic countries – to significantly loosen their restrictions on abortion.

Aptly quoting Pope Benedict XVI’s criticism of such political moves, especially when under the guise of population control, the News Wrap reiterated the Church’s strong belief that true development will never be fulfilled through means that cheapen the dignity of human life.

The past couple days have turned up some more, related stories in world news, albeit more positive ones.

First, Rome-based teacher and writer Elizabeth Lev writes in Politics Daily how, in a rather surprising move, the Italian parliament recently agreed to present a United Nations resolution condemning abortion as a means of population control. While Italy’s bid will certainly be a hard sell in the UN, Lev praises the parliament’s moment of true dialogue and bipartisanship between “the ‘pro-life’ and ‘pro-choice’ battle lines.” An interesting caveat noted by Lev – the member who introduced the resolution, Rocco Buttiglione, was a lifelong friend of Pope John Paul II.

“Italy has long since ceased to be the home of the stereotypically large raucous family living in joyful poverty; it now has one of the lowest birth rates in world, with a natural population growth of less than 0.1% a year,” Lev concludes. “Yet in this land of contradictions, the Italians continue to love life and children. Would that this recent effort at ‘common ground’ on reducing the number of abortions might some day rival Prada as Italy’s greatest export.”

Second, from across the world comes this understated headline from Reuters: “Shanghai Promoting 2-Child Families.”

China’s one-child policy is no secret, and while some exceptions are made (such as those reported in the Reuters story), many other cases of forced abortions and sterilizations, as well as violent intimidation toward couples who break the policy, have surfaced over the years.

The shift in Shanghai – China’s financial hub – is interesting for two reasons: one, there is already a noted discontent over the one-child policy among Chinese themselves, which many say reflects the country’s growing rich-poor divide. Couples who disobey the policy can be hit by fines as much as eight times their annual income – which means that the well-off are more likely to pay to have a second child, leaving poorer families optionless. Will a changed policy in China’s largest city exacerbate that divide? Time will tell.

More pertinent, though, is the reason why city officials say the change is needed in the first place: Shanghai’s rapidly aging population. It’s a familiar story – a country enforces strict population control, including abortions, only to be hit by the demographic backfire a generation later. Just this past month, we saw Korea’s Planned Parenthood encouraging an increase in births in the country, for the exact same reason.

Clearly, there is wisdom in the Catholic Church’s timeless stand for life. The state flourishes when the lives of its citizens, elderly to unborn, are protected – that much is common sense. 

-- Elizabeth Hansen, Headline Bistro editor

The Failure of Condom Use in Africa: One Scientist Continues to Speak the Truth

It is reassuring when ethical principles can be borne out by empirical evidence. It is even more reassuring when those who may not share your ethics, must admit the logic of your principles when faced with that evidence.

That is exactly the case in the ongoing controversy over the use of condoms in Africa, a continent ravaged by widespread AIDS infection. 

In earlier NewsWraps we discussed issues such as abortion and population control, and the negative consequences they hold not only for the human person but for society in general. We are guided by the insights of “Caritas in Veritate,” where Benedict finds the solutions social dilemmas in the respect for human life and human dignity. The sanctity of life is a prerequisite of the greater good and human progress. 

Benedict, and the Church generally, has defended this teaching in the situation of Africa, arguing that abstinence and monogamous relations can help to curb the spread of the disease which can spread like wildfire in an environment of promiscuous sexual relationships.

This is not a popular position in the international community, where many see the AIDS epidemic on the African continent as something to be solved with a purely technical solution: the use of a condom. If everybody would just wear a condom, the problem just goes away. It's not that simple however.

The Church would argue that human problems must be addressed with solutions that take into account the complexities of human nature and the human spirit, not technical fixes that only work in theory.
The Church’s position recognizes that one must fundamentally change the culture in Africa by fostering reverence and respect for the reproductive act through abstinence and fidelity.

Sooner or later, the scientific community would come to realize this fact, and come to appreciate the logic of the principles of chastity and fidelity. In an interview with the Italian newspaper Tempi, Harvard Research Scientist Edward Green gave a frank and direct assessment of the situation in Africa: condoms are not working to curb infection.

He stated  “Abstinence and fidelity are different from condom use. They avoid the risk of infection altogether (assuming mutual fidelity). This approach is also known as risk avoidance. Condom use introduces risk; it not a form of risk avoidance, but rather risk reduction. Consistent condom use is only 80-85% protective when practiced consistently, although under real-life conditions, such as those most of us live in, condom use is much less protective. We actually knew condoms were not very effective for HIV prevention, from our experience with family planning, before the advent of AIDS.”

This comes from a noted scientist who is a professed believer in contraception in other circumstances. Nevertheless, Green has before defended the Pope’s criticism of condom use in Africa, arguing that the pope’s position is consistent with the evidence, when others relief groups and members of the scientific community attacked him.

Green points to policies such as those in Uganda focused on “partner fidelity above all else,” which have proven successful during the periods in which they were tried. He has refused to step back an inch from his insistence that contraception does not work, while acknowledging that his views are unpopular among many of his colleagues in the scientific community. 

Green argues that where abstinence has been attempted, it has been successful. The failure of contraception to solve the problem of AIDS is made obvious by a sober look at the results of  Green’s work.

His has shown importantly, that it is not only that condoms are less than 100% effective. It is the fact that any level of use can lead to “behavior disinhibition.” In other words, contraception opens to the door to a culture of sexual liberation, leading to inconsistent contraceptive use and sexual risk taking.   Green’s studies have shown that “Condom use is inconsistent everywhere and studies show that inconsistent use does not protect at the population level.”

To sum it up, you are either embracing a culture of chastity and fidelity, or embracing a culture of sexual license.

Despite the evidence of the workability of abstinence as a solution, there is still a bias against it, perhaps stemming from its basis in Christian doctrine. It was seen in full display lashing out at the pope's comments on Africa, despite their basis in truth. This animosity, or hostile secularism, as Carl Anderson has identified it, is deeply entrenched in much of European society and the international community.  

 Greene explained his views of why many governments and NGO’s were critical of the pope’s position in speaking out against contraception in Africa: “They reacted as they did for a number of reasons, starting with the deep-rooted belief that condoms work much better than they actually do. We cannot really blame journalists for being ignorant of the evidence, especially when leading experts keep saying that condoms are the number one weapon we have against AIDS. And yes, people including scientists are influenced by vested interests (most American money for AIDS prevention goes through family planning or reproductive health organizations.)”

The most interesting part of the interview may be the very end. Noting that his work receives little support from Harvard, Dr. Green is asked about the termination of his AIDS research program and the possible political motivation behind it. Was it a coincidence that Harvard announced the program was over shortly after his outspoken support for the Pope? He responded rather cryptically, “I would rather not answer this question. You might ask someone at Harvard what they think.”

The BBC did ask and Harvard University fought back, trying to defuse any accusations that it ended the program because Green endorsed the pope and his stance against contraception. They had a different story: "The research grant that Dr. Green runs through Harvard University had a 3 year term which would have ended on February 28, 2009. Harvard University and the funder agreed to an extension for an additional year. In fact the headline would be much more accurate in stating that 'Harvard extended the research by an additional year.'"

They then responded specifically to the charge: "While Dr. Green may have suggested a correlation between his comments and the project's end, that is not in fact an accurate representation of the situation. Dr. Green may be under public scrutiny for his response to the Pope's comments, but Harvard University does not change grant terms randomly."

Green is un-phased, and remains committed to his work on AIDS in Africa. “I have always been politically incorrect,” he told the BBC. “I have always questioned authority and tried to speak truth to power whatever the consequences.”

Paul Ciarcia, Communications Associate

Timely and True

'The Stoning' is a Film That’s Hard to Watch but Impossible to Ignore

by Andrew Walther

It’s not every day that a movie can provide commentary on the day’s breaking news. But that is exactly what has happened with the newly released film The Stoning of Soraya M.

While the nightly news over the past month has regularly featured footage of Iranian demonstrators being beaten – or worse – by government forces, The Stoning underscores just how dangerous life can be in the Iran of the Ayatollahs.

The film is based on the book by Freidoune Sahebjam and tells the true story of a woman who was stoned to death on a false accusation of adultery. Her husband, enamored of another woman and eager to rid himself of Soraya, resorts to cajoling false testimony from a neighbor that Soraya had made inappropriate advances.

That was enough to have the woman dragged from her children, half buried in a pit, and stoned to death by her neighbors and family members, outraged at her purported “adultery.”

The movie is powerful, timely and an excellent – if unavoidably graphic – reminder of the need for openness and respect in relationships, and of the enormous hurdles women still face in many parts of the world. (Story continued below)

Produced by Steve McEveety – of Braveheart and The Passion of the Christ fame – and starring Jim Caviezel as Freidoune Sahebjam, The Stoning is a stunning and mature film determined to capture the incredible combination of the self-serving immorality of Soraya’s accusers, as well as her strength and poise in her last moments on earth.

From the language (Farsi), to the scenery, to the jarring scenes of the stoning itself, viewers will find themselves immersed in a culture – and a level of violence – with which few are familiar.

The film provides a window into this world, and it captures effortlessly the incredible juxtaposition of the best and worst of human nature.

The story itself could easily have been lost like those of the many other women who suffered similar deaths – which many estimate at 1,000 in the past two decades alone. Indeed, it would never have been told if not for the courage of Zahra Khanum – Soraya’s aunt – who secretly contacted French-based, Iranian journalist Sahebjam, and his determination to write what she told him.

According to the US State Department’s 2008 Human Rights Report on Iran “Adultery remained punishable by death by stoning.” Though some stoning sentences may have been commuted, the State Department noted that “according to domestic human rights activists, on December 25, officials in Mashhad executed two men by stoning, including Houshang Koudadadeh, who was convicted of rape and adultery. A third convicted man, identified only as Mahmoud G., escaped during the stoning.”

In a country in which we have watched might make right on television over the past few weeks, The Stoning is a grim reminder of how fickle matters of life and death can be for women under a brutal, rights-denying, yet ironically anarchic regime.

Its gritty realism is effective. And if the film is hard to watch at times, the viewer is nonetheless drawn to its authenticity and to a solidarity with Soraya – and the women like her – who but for this film, we would never know.

Little wonder that it has won several film festival awards, for this film’s message is a powerful as it is timely.

In Farsi, with English subtitles. Rated R. Online at http://www.thestoning.com/

Forcing "Choice" On EU Countries

As strange as it may sound to “force” the freedom to choose on someone, a group from Sweden is now trying to force choice on an entire nation. 

The “Make Noise for Free Choice” campaign, started by staunch feminist Brigitta Ohlsson of Sweden, is attempting to force predominantly Catholic nations such as Malta, (and Ireland) where the procedure is currently illegal, to provide abortions. According to Ohlsson’s group:  "A cornerstone of the European Union is to work for gender equality and health. Therefore, women who lack the access to free, legal and safe abortions in EU countries such as Ireland, Malta and Poland, can no longer be ignored. The governments of these countries must be put under pressure."

Various EU political leaders have lent their support to the measure, but even with their support, the measure has only received 3,500 signatures.

A True Picture of Abortion in America: Shifting Pro-Life

Poll after poll has reconfirmed what is now a fact of American life: public opinion in the United States has shifted demonstrably in the pro-life direction.

A Gallup Poll in May found that a majority of Americans now self-identify as pro-life. A Knights of Columbus-Marist Poll conducted in July confirmed the trend, indicating that 86% of Americans believe abortion should be significantly restricted. The poll also revealed that across almost every demographic group in terms of age, race, gender, income, region, and education level, with the exception of non-practicing Catholics, a greater percentage of individuals are now identifying as pro-life than in October.
A Pew Poll found only 18% supported unrestricted abortion, and those who believed it should be legal in most circumstances fell from 37% in August of last year to 28% in April. The May Gallup Poll similarly indicated that only 22% of Americans support abortion under all circumstances.

A Headline Bistro Wedding Announcement

Headline Bistro Editor Weds

In a beautiful ceremony at St. Mary's Church in New Haven, Conn. - birthplace of the Knights of Columbus - Headline Bistro editor Elizabeth Ela married Luke Hansen on July 18. Celebrating the wedding Mass was Fr. Peter John Cameron, editor of Magnificat, who told the congregation in his homily that their marriage was a symbol of God's love for each of us.  

Elizabeth and Luke met while attending the Franciscan University of Steubenville. and spoke to Brian Caulfield about their then upcoming marriage in an interview published at Fathers for Good, the Knights of Columbus site dedicated to fatherhood and family issues. Read their story here.

After their honeymoon, Elizabeth will return to her post at headlinebistro while her husband Luke will continue his graduate work toward his Master's degree in New Haven.

All of us at headlinebistro wish them the very best!