Posted on 06/26/2009 10:27:38 PM PDT by topher
Friday June 26, 2009Editorial: Archbishop Weisgerber is Wrong - Vatican Stopped its Donation to UNICEF in 1996
Editorial by John-Henry Westen OTTAWA, June 25, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Seeking to justify the giving of Catholic monies to groups that do not follow church teaching on abortion and contraception, Archbishop James Weisgerber recently used as an example the Vatican's yearly contribution to UNICEF. Ironically, however, the Winnipeg archbishop, who is currently the head of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), only managed to disprove his own point, since the Vatican actually halted its yearly donation to UNICEF in 1996, precisely because the organization was found to be promoting abortion and contraception. Journalist Michael Swan reported Monday in both Catholic News Service and The Catholic Register that Archbishop Weisgerber said it is not necessary that Development and Peace work only with groups that espouse Catholic moral teaching. Reported Swan: "Weisgerber used the example of yearly Vatican contributions to UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children with which the Vatican has disagreed on contraception and abortion policy. Vatican donations are earmarked for specific programs or projects which reflect Vatican priorities." However, the problem with the example is that in 1996, the Vatican announced that it would suspend their yearly contribution, and LifeSiteNews.com has confirmed with the Vatican that, as of yesterday, the donation has not been reinstated. In announcing the decision to suspend the "symbolic contribution" to UNICEF, the then-Vatican representative to the United Nations, Archbishop Renato Martino, explained that the decision was based on four concerns:
Hence, Archbishop Weisgerber's error served to disprove rather than prove his point. The Vatican decision regarding UNICEF is thus an example of the Vatican taking exactly the opposite stance to Development & Peace - of cutting off Catholic funding for groups found to be promoting abortion and contraception. The Vatican's stance on UNICEF bears even more resemblance to the Development and Peace situation than what is reported above. Just as the funded partners of Development and Peace have stated repeatedly they do not engage in activities opposed to Church teaching - so too did UNICEF with the Vatican, in the face of incontrovertible evidence. Archbishop Martino related in 1996 that the Vatican "has had an on-going dialogue with UNICEF for a number of years regarding its concerns. During that time UNICEF has assured the Holy See that, while UNICEF does advocate child spacing, it does not promote any particular family planning method. Further, the Holy See has been assured that UNICEF would never be involved in abortion or abortion-related activities." The difference between the Vatican's take on UNICEF and D&P's take on their pro-abortion partners seems to be that the Vatican accepted hard evidence over the misrepresentations of UNICEF, while D&P is still rejecting the evidence. "However, in spite of such statements, the new involvement of UNICEF in the areas of concern outlined above has forced the Holy See to take this visible step," explained Archbishop Martino. For all LifeSiteNews.com D&P coverage
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It has been funding abortion and other things that are against the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.
This is a case of a "bad bishop", and I encourage Catholics, Evangelicals, and other Christians to write to this Archbishop telling him that it is wrong what he is doing...
I recently posted about an Episcopal minister being somewhat warped/evil (the priestess who spoke about abortion and how it pleases God)...
Commentary : Storm within Catholic Church in Canada over CCODP LifeSiteNews Report
This organization (Canadian Catholic Development and Peace Organzation) has been helping to promote abortion in Mexico...
The following is snippet from the article:
In this case, it is very likely that during this time of intense international and internal pressure upon Mexico to liberalize its abortion laws, a Canadian Catholic organization will no longer be sending funds to groups that advocate the killing of unborn children. Of course CCODP did not intend the funds to be used for this objectionable purpose, but nevertheless, funding to such groups always has a way of freeing up other funds for the unethical activities. That's just common sense.
"The walls of hell are lined with the skulls of bishops."
Saint John of the Cross
"The floor of hell is paved with the skulls of bishops."
Attributed to St. Athanasius, St. John Chrysostom, and St. John Eudes. Probably all three said it, but I like to give credit to Athanasius because he was the earliest.
The Archdiocesan webpage is:
In this SCANDAL, he should not be trying to defend Canadian Catholic Development and Peace, and rather be trying to correct it by purging the organization and restructuring the organization.
Certainly, cutting off funds until this scandal is resolved seems prudent...
Saint Padre Pio liked to give sinners (who needed it) a scolding... He enjoyed it, but he also knew it helped to lead these souls to repentance. It also gave these souls a chance to do some penance at the same time...
In other words, giving Archbishop Weisberger hell now, might put him on the path to heaven...
I have been misspelled his name by accident...
Apologies...
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