- UK candidates woo Christian swing vote in elections
- Haitian judge says charges against missionaries still in effect
- Ireland poll favors constitutional protection for the unborn
- Canadian parliament overwhelmingly votes down euthanasia, assisted suicide bill
| UK candidates woo Christian swing vote in elections Posted: 22 Apr 2010 08:33 AM PDT
Unlike past British elections where publicly talking of religion by candidates was frowned upon and considered “un-British,” candidates today are pursuing the Christian vote more than ever. The 2010 elections are marked with a desperate battle for marginal seats, and candidates are becoming more vocal about their beliefs in order to woo this sector, which is seen as a swing vote.  Gordon Brown at the IMF headquarters in Washington D.C. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has frequently referred to the "moral compass" he inherited from his clergyman father. Credit: Wikimedia Commons Zoe Dixon, chairman of the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum admitted, “Certainly we try to mobilize the Christian vote in our favor in constituencies.” Paul Woolley, director of the Christian think tank Theos said, “We did some research last year looking at the rhetoric of Gordon Brown and others in their key speeches and the extent to which they used Christian or theological or biblical language.” Wooley noted that while secularism is gaining more ground in British public life, electoral parties are “working hard to make inroads into faith-based communities and organizations.” Examples of these politicians include:
Meanwhile, Christians are being enjoined by faith leaders to participate more in political elections. Preacher Canon J. John, who is prominent within the evangelical community in the UK, urged believers to do their best to find out about their local candidates. “We might want to ask whether they are genuinely committed to moral values or do they simply adopt whatever is the current fashionable view? Does the candidate place their party’s ideology above everything else? Would they be prepared to vote against the party line on moral grounds,” he said. A spokesman for the Christian Peoples Alliance, which is putting up 17 general election candidates, said, “We are building for the politics of tomorrow.” The Westminster 2010 Declaration, signed by former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey and Cardinal O’Brien, the leader of Catholics in Scotland, advised that Christians should work to ensure “religious liberty and freedom of conscience are unequivocally protected against interference by the state and other threats”, while they “will not be intimidated by any cultural or political power into silence or acquiescence.” The declaration goes on: “We call upon all those in UK positions of leadership, responsibility and influence to pledge to respect, uphold and protect the right of Christians to hold these beliefs and to act according to Christian conscience.”  |
| Haitian judge says charges against missionaries still in effect Posted: 22 Apr 2010 08:28 AM PDT
 Charisa Coulter, left, and Laura Silsby are two of 10 missionaries accused of trying to take children after the Haiti earthquake. Photo Source: Getty Images On Monday, the Haitian judge involved in the case of the 10 American Baptist missionaries who attempted to transport orphaned children out of the country declared that all charges still stand, according to several international news reports. Although rumors had been circulating that the volunteers would soon be exonerated, Judge Bernard Saint-Vil denied ever suggesting he would drop charges against the group. Last Friday, Haiti’s top prosecutor in the case, Attorney General Joseph Manes, said that any information suggesting dropped charges was “absolutely incorrect,” according to a report from CNN. Under Haitian law, the charges are required to stand until Judge Saint-Vil “renders his decision.” Missionary group leader Laura Silsby is still being held in Port-au-Prince, nearly two months after eight of her fellow volunteers were released on the condition that they would return if there was a need for future questioning. The ninth missionary was released in March. Interestingly, Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho said via a spokesperson last week that the State Department had informed him that all charges had been dropped against nine of the 10 missionaries (excluding Silsby). Saint-Vil’s statement to the media, however, suggested the opposite. Reverend Clint Henry of Central Valley Baptist Church in Idaho, where the missionaries hail from, said he received an e-mail from the State Department informing him that all the charges had indeed been dropped. Manes, however, said on Friday that, based on the confidential documents his office received from Saint-Vil’s investigation, it remains to be seen whether the case will be dismissed or move to trial. Right now, Saint-Vil has until May to decide if he will release Silsby or arrange a trial. |
| Ireland poll favors constitutional protection for the unborn Posted: 22 Apr 2010 08:24 AM PDT
A poll conducted recently in Ireland showed that 70 percent of Irish people would like their constitution to protect the unborn and ban abortion. The survey, funded by Ireland’s Pro-Life Campaign and carried out by Millward Brown Lansdowne, recorded the opinions of nearly 1000 people aged 18 and older from Jan. 27 to Feb. 6. The poll revealed that only 13 percent opposed protection for the unborn, while some 16 percent were undecided. The survey also revealed that respondents were okay with Ireland’s current medical ethics and laws which allow intervention in case a mother’s life is endangered by her pregnancy. The Pro-Life Campaign’s Dr. Berry Kiely highlighted the fact that the poll distinguished necessary medical interventions in pregnancy from induced abortion which directly targets the unborn child. “This is a critical ethical distinction which abortion advocates constantly seek to blur,” Kiely said. “Abortion advocates ignore the humanity of the unborn child throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy and the latest research highlighting the negative consequences of abortion for women.We cannot arbitrarily airbrush the unborn child out of the debate, or the many testimonies of women who regret their abortions.” “To deny the right to life simply because the unborn child is at an early stage of development completely undermines an authentic vision of human rights,” Kiely commented. Ireland is currently listed as the safest country in the world for pregnant women by the latest U.N. survey on maternal health. Other countries where abortion is banned are Chile, El Salvador, Malta, Nicaragua and Bangladesh. |
| Canadian parliament overwhelmingly votes down euthanasia, assisted suicide bill Posted: 22 Apr 2010 08:00 AM PDT
The Canadian Parliament turned down recently a bill to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide. In a landslide vote, the House of Commons rejected Bill C-384 by a vote of 228 to 59. Immediately after the vote, two members said they mistakenly voted for the bill, instead of against it. Conservative Member and Parliamentary Secretary for Health Stephen Fletcher abstained, stressing that he believed “the individual is ultimately responsible” for his fate. Fletcher, a quadriplegic MP, is confined to a motorized wheel chair. The bill, which was proposed by parliament member Francine Lalonde (La Pointe-de-l’Île, BQ) also irked Congress of Families Managing Director Larry Jacobs who said it might be used to hasten the deaths of the mentally ill, chronically depressed, elderly (who could be put to death for financial gain), bedridden and handicapped. Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, told LifeSiteNews that the defeat of Lalonde’s bill means that Canada should now move on to finding better ways of offering true health care to Canada’s vulnerable patients. |
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