Pope Francis addresses his health problems during in-flight press conference

Decentralization by no means guarantees better governance, but is much more theologically, historically, and practically defensible than the Roman centralization and personality cult of the […]

Oviedo, Spain, Sep 10, 2018 / 04:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In the third known act of egregious artistic restoration of Spanish Catholic art in recent history, a 15th century statue of Christ and Mary has been given a fresh – and loud – coat of paint, simultaneously sparking hilarity and outrage online.

The wooden statue, from a chapel in the village of El Ranadoiro, about 35 miles west of Oviedo, depicts Christ on the lap of who appears to be his grandmother, St. Anne, with his mother the Blessed Virgin Mary standing to the side.

The figures, once plain wood, now sport bright colors, with St. Anne in a hot pink veil and sky blue robes, Christ in lime green, and Mary in a light turquoise veil and deep red robes. Each face dons lined eyes and bold red lips; St. Anne’s fingernails are painted a muted pink.

Amatuer artist and local resident Maria Luisa Menendez said she offered her talents to the parish priest, who gave her permission to paint the statues. She also painted two smaller figurines in the parish collection, one of Mary holding Christ, and one of St. Peter, each with similarly bold strokes.

“I’m not a professional, but I always liked to do it, and the figures really needed to be painted. So I painted them as I could, with the colours that looked good to me, and the neighbors liked it,” Menendez told local newspaper El Comercio, as quoted by AFP.

The saintly snafu has some comparing Menendez’ work to that of Cecilia Gimenez, who ‘restored’ the now-infamous Ecce Homo painting in Spain in 2012. Her fuzzy, monkey-like depiction of Christ spawned its own SNL skit and a comedic tributary opera, and continues to draw thousands of visitors a year from all over the world.

Luis Suarez Saro, who had restored the El Ranadoiro sculptures in 2002-2003 with local government approval, has called Menendez’ paint job “crazy.”

Suarez Saro told AFP that Menendez “likes to draw and paint, she did some courses… and she felt the sculptures looked better this way.”

Genaro Alonso, Councilor of Education and Culture of the Principality of Asturias, the region in which the statues are located, reacted strongly, telling local sources that Menendez’ work was “not a restoration, it was a revenge.”

Reactions to the restoration on Twitter ranged from the amused to the outraged.

Spanish art conservation group ACRE bemoaned the botching of yet another piece of historic Spanish art.

“Does no one care about this continued plundering in our country? What kind of society stands by as its ancestor’s legacy is destroyed before its eyes,” the group tweeted.

The incident also called to mind the uproar over a similarly botched statue earlier this summer, when a 16th century St. George statue was ‘restored’ by a local arts and crafts teacher in Estella, another town in northern Spain.

The bright colors and odd expression on the refinished statue’s face left some comparing it to the Belgian comic character Tintin.

“It shows a frightening lack of training of the kind required for this sort of job,” ACRE said at the time of the St. George restoration.

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London, England, Sep 18, 2018 / 02:30 pm (CNA).- British politicians have called for a review of the availability of early sex detection tests for pregnant women. The proposal was made by Labour Members of Parliament and prompted by concerns that the tests are leading to sex-selective abortions.

The MP’s expressed particular concern that women, especially those in the UK’s Asian communities, are being pressured or coerced into having an abortion if they are pregnant with a girl.

Labour MP Naz Shah said it was “morally wrong” that women are using the Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT) to determine whether or not they are pregnant with a girl, and then scheduling an abortion based on the result. Shah, the Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, called for a government investigation into the practice.

The call for government intervention against the practice comes almost 18 months after the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, a government-funded think tank, found that NIPT promoted sex-selective abortions.

The NIPT consists of a blood test given to the mother at the ninth week of pregnancy, at which time the baby’s DNA is detectable in their mother’s bloodstream.

The test is currently administered by the UK’s National Health Service to screen for genetic conditions, such as Down syndrome. Pro-life advocates have already warned that the test is used to “screen out” children with Down’s syndrome and other conditions. Currently in the UK, 90% of children with a prenatal diagnosis of Down’s syndrome are aborted.

While the gender can be detected by the NIPT, the NHS does not share this information with parents unless there is a specific need to do so. While the test is not made available by the NHS expressly for gender screening, it is privately available to parents and can be purchased at a clinic for about £150-£200.

In the London suburb of Slough, which has a substantial South Asian population, the tests are roadside advertisements explicitly market the test as being able to determine the sex of the child. This, said Shah, is where the government should consider stepping in.

“NIPT screenings should be used for their intended purpose, to screen for serious conditions and Down’s syndrome,” said Shah.

“The government needs to look into this exploitative practice and enforce appropriate restrictions.”

Slough’s Labour MP Tan Dhesi agreed with Shah, and pointed out that some Asian countries have “made huge strides in tackling this social evil,” particularly when the government has banned prenatal gender tests.
“In the UK I think we need to be doing likewise, with regards to the private sector as well,” said Dhesi.

Prenatal sex detection has been illegal in India since 1994.

The calls follow a BBC has report on online forums where women have discussed how NIPT results will directly inform their decision to continue with their pregnancy or to have an abortion.

“I need a son to heal me…,” wrote one woman. “My only bet is NIPT followed by continuation, only if it’s a boy.”

Clare McCarthy, spokesperson for Right To Life UK, told CNA that she agrees with the need for government action to address the problem of sex-selective abortion.

“This BBC investigation adds to a growing body of evidence that we have a sex-selective abortion problem here in the UK,” said McCarthy.

“It’s time for the Government to stop denying there is a problem here and take urgent action to put in place a ban on sex-selective abortion.”

McCarthy, however, said it was “seriously concerning” that the same Labour MPs who are opposed to sex-selective abortion also are in favor of removing all legal restrictions on abortion, “under the guise of ‘decriminalisation.’”

If this were happen, McCarthy told CNA that “the evidence from overseas shows that this could make our sex-selective abortion problem even worse.”

While sex-selection abortion is technically illegal in the United Kingdom, women may give other reasons as for why they want to have an abortion.

In England, Scotland, and Wales, abortion must be signed off by two doctors and cannot be performed later than 24 weeks gestation. After 24 weeks of pregnancy the grounds upon which an abortion can be sought narrow significantly.

In Northern Ireland, abortion is illegal, but it is legal for a Northern Irish woman to travel to England, Scotland, or Wales for an abortion.

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