The edges of life are controversial. On one side there are the debates about contraception, abortion and in vitro fertilisation. At the end of life the debates are about euthanasia, organ transplantation, and its cousin, brain death. Trauma surgeon Peter…
Tag: Catholic faith
The Pope praises Humanae Vitae
Early this week an interview of Pope Francis was run by a major Italian newspaper. As is typical with Pope Francis, he is relaxed with the media, and shows a great deal of skill and honesty with his answers. He’s…
St John Paul II, Pope of the family
This last weekend was historic. It has been described as the day of 4 Popes. Pope Francis canonised two of his predecessors, Pope John XXIII and John Paul II, while Pope emeritus Benedict XVI was present.For us in the pro-life…
Frozen with an expiry date
November 22nd this year will be a bad day to be an embryonic New Zealander in vitro.That’s the first deadline of the 2004 HART (Human Assisted Reproductive Technology) act. All embryos in New Zealand that have been frozen for 10…
40 Days for Life
40 days of hopeI remember during my early years at university becoming friends with an exchange student from West Germany. When she left her home country, a wall divided it from the communist country of East Germany, and people had…
A Pro-life view of ‘Tolerance’
"Tolerance is the virtue of a man without convictions.” G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) Something about ‘tolerance’ has always made me uncomfortable. I’ve long been aware that the loudest preachers of tolerance are the ones who are the most intolerant of…
Quotes from Pope Francis’ encyclical Lumen Fidei
The following are a few selected quotes from Pope Francis' first encyclical Lumen Fidei - The Light of Faith. I urge you to read the full text, as these few quotes are only snippets of wisdom from so much more.…
With forty years of pro-life service in New Zealand, nineteen as the director of Family life International NZ, I have gained a little experience and, please God, just a little wisdom over the years as to the means the ‘dark…
The Welcome Gift of New Life
To be truly pro-life and truly pro traditional family in this culture, takes a lot of courage and stickabilty. Most of all it takes a profound and deep faith in our Creator and a great love and respect for the…
Eight Reasons to Consider Having One More Child
"Behold, children are a gift from the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward." Psalm 126 (127) Many years ago, Fr Paul Marx, OSB, founder of Human Life International (and Family Life International NZ) wrote a booklet entitled "Eight…