Posted on 07/23/2002 5:59:27 PM PDT by Salvation
July 23, 2002 United States Conference of Catholic BishopsBishop Gregory Commends President Bush for Decision on U.N. Population Fund
WASHINGTON (July 23, 2002) –- Bishop Wilton D. Gregory commended President Bush for his decision to withhold $34 million in U.S. funding from the U.N. Population Fund due to its support for coercive population programs.
"In the name of the Catholic Bishops of the United States, I thank you for taking this action in defense of women and children in developing nations," the Bishop said.
Bishop Gregory, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote to President Bush July 23.
This is the text of the letter:
"I am writing to commend you for your decision to withhold $34 million in U.S. funding from the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) due to its support for coercive population programs.
"Despite many efforts to obfuscate this issue, it has always been about the rights and dignity of women, the lives of children, and our obligation to respect the law. Since 1985, Congress has forbidden the funding of any organization which, as determined by the President of the United States, ‘supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.' No one can plausibly deny that the Chinese population program uses these coercive means, or that the UNFPA supports and even helps manage the Chinese program. Therefore your responsibility was clear.
"No less compelling are the humanitarian and human rights arguments for taking a clear and absolute stand against any involvement in coercive population programs. At the Nuremberg trials over fifty years ago, those who managed a program of coerced abortion were convicted of having committed a crime against humanity. More recently, the nations of the world condemned ‘forced sterilization and forced abortion' as ‘acts of violence against women' at the United Nations' World Conference on Women in 1995. It is tragic that one of the UN's own agencies has failed to appreciate that such policies assault the dignity of women as well as the lives of vulnerable unborn children. I hope the wise action you have taken will encourage the UNFPA to reconsider its involvement in such injustice.
"In the name of the Catholic Bishops of the United States, I thank you for taking this action in defense of women and children in developing nations."
__________________________________
Office of Communications
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000
"In the name of the Catholic Bishops of the United States, I thank you for taking this action in defense of women and children in developing nations."
Gregory had Bernadin as a mentor, so he's guilty-by-association of being a liberal.
He's a dog; that's why you're not getting any responses to your commendable thread.
Bishop Gregory, and President Bush, are very good men.
What are your views on population control -- Zero Population Growth? I have always been opposed to it.
Zero population growth is ridiculous. In pure economic terms, more people usually equals more productivity.
Couples should have as many, or as few, children as they feel they should.
I think you are wrong about this, sinkspur. We've all been flumoxed in the last 6 - 8 months and feel betrayed by Cardinals and Bishops who we trusted (most of them). What has emerged is shocking and has made me, for one, look for any background information on ALL of the Cardinals and Bishops. We can only evaluate them by their words and deeds. I like Bishop Gregory's words to President Bush.
Did you read saradippity's post regarding Bishop George on "Can this man save the Church? Bishop Wilton Gregory"... she says "Whatever the case may be,Bishop Gregory needs our prayers to guide the Church through this turbulence.And,it just may be that for the same reasons he may have been useful to Bernardin,he may be very good for the Church.It will be far more difficult for the media to attack and denigrate him than just about any other bishop.God works in mysterious ways.
I think time will tell on Bishop Gregory. He has made a few odd comments, but we can just wait and pray for him.
...Bush himself proposed $25 million for the organization, an increase from the $21.5 million the fund got during the last year of the Clinton administration. Key lawmakers later agreed on $34 million for the agency.
The president has already signed into law the foreign aid bill that contains the $34 million. But when he did so in January, he noted in an accompanying statement that it gives him "additional discretion to determine the appropriate level of funding for the United Nations Population Fund."
A study from a U.S. government fact-finding mission to China in early May reportedly found no evidence that the U.N.'s program directly or indirectly facilitates forced sterilizations and abortions in China. A British delegation visited China a month before the U.S. team arrived and its investigators also did not find evidence that U.N. funds were misused for such purposes.
At the Chinese Embassy, spokesman Xie Feng told a news conference that it was unfortunate that the administration is not abiding by conclusions of the U.S. government report.
"We hope that this decision will be changed," Xie said. He added that China does not attempt to keep population rates down through coercion but rather through encouragement...
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