Press for U.N. info
Posted on 11/23/2001 4:48:14 AM PST by RMrattlesnake
News Briefs from AgapePress
Friday, November 23, 2001
...Several pro-family groups are concerned about a major public-relations campaign promoting the upcoming United Nations summit on the child. The conference was to have taken place this fall, but following the September 11 terrorist attacks, it was postponed until spring. But according to Family News In Focus, organizers have started a major public-relations campaign to support the conference. The Global Movement for Children, as it is being called, is billed as being very much committed to creating a world that is fit for children, and making sure children's basic needs are met. But Austin Ruse of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute says "it's just one of those things that the U.N. does that doesn't smell right." Peter Brandt of Focus on the Family says while the summit is being billed as "warm and fuzzy," it is in reality a radical agenda by the U.N. to usurp parental responsibilities and offer children access to abortion. He says the problem in large part stems from how the United Nations views children. Brandt says a conference public service announcement insists children are just little adults.
...The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has signed on to a brief for the U.S. Supreme Court, defending an education-choice program that permits vouchers to be used at religious schools. Baptist Press reports the friend-of-the-court brief says the Cleveland, Ohio, program is neutral and therefore does not violate the First Amendment's ban on government establishment of religion. Because the recipients, rather than the government, choose where to redeem the vouchers, the program is constitutional -- even though a large majority of parents have directed the benefits to be used at religious schools, the brief argues. The Supreme Court's announcement in late September that it would rule on the Cleveland voucher program set the stage for a decision that could have a dramatic, long-term impact on public education in the U.S. A favorable ruling for the Cleveland plan is likely to clear the way for the spread of voucher programs in other faltering school districts.
...The Roman Catholic Church in Britain will establish a national child protection unit to try to repair some of the damage caused by priests who abuse children. Creation of the unit was one of 83 recommendations in a report into abuse within the church. It will try to create a "culture of vigilance" to prevent youngsters from falling prey to members of the clergy who target children. The unit, to be chaired by the Archbishop of Birmingham, also will investigate all past allegations of child abuse where no action was taken. Catholic bishops of England and Wales approved the creation of the unit at a conference in London last week.
...A former employee is suing the Virginia Department of Health, claiming that he was fired for distributing religious tracts at work. According to the federal lawsuit, Raymond Barrosse occasionally placed religious tracts in common areas of the government building where he worked in Roanoke. Other members of the community also left flyers and notices of community events in the common area. His attorney says Barrosse had never been disciplined or verbally reprimanded in more than a decade of employment, and no one had told him of any policy against handing out religious material. The lawsuit says Barrosse's firing violated his constitutional rights to equal protection, free speech, and free exercise of religion.
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