Pope Francis remembers Cardinal Toppo of India for ‘zeal for the spread of the Gospel’

Bhubaneswar, India, May 3, 2019 / 02:10 pm (CNA).- A category four cyclone struck India’s Odisha state Friday morning, but humanitarian groups and government forces are better prepared than in previous years.

Cyclone Fani made landfall in Puri, about 40 miles south of Bhubaneswar, May 3. According to Al Jazeera, three deaths connected to the storm have been reported on so far.

In a May 2 statement, Catholic Relief Services explained that preparations were being made to ensure the safety of residents in Odisha and in Bangladesh, whither Cylcone Fani is heading. CRS had distributed supplies to Cox’s Bazaar refugee camp in Bangladesh, where almost 1 million Rohingya refugees reside.

“Our teams on the ground are making last-minute preparations so we can respond as soon as the storm moves on,” said Caroline Brennan, communications director for CRS’ humanitarian response team.

“We are working closely with our Church partners in both India and Bangladesh who are best placed to assess the damage and respond quickly.”

Quartz India reported that the government has taken tremendous strides in preparatory storm programs since a cyclone in 1999 claimed over 15,000 lives. After improvements to forecast and mitigation systems, over 1 million people were evacuated before May 2.

According to WSBT 22, more than 800 shelters were opened and 100,000 dry food packets were airdropped. The government also used the India Coast Guard to distribute supplies, including water and other necessities.

While in the Bay of Bengal May 1-2, the cyclone was measured to have winds more than 150 mph and was considered to be “extremely severe.” It has since weakened and authorities have claimed it to be “very severe,” according to the India Meteorological Department

The department reported that the storm made landfall with about 100 mph winds, which has continued to decrease. It also cautioned that ocean levels could rise to an estimated 1.5 to 3 feet above the astronomical tide, affecting lower areas like Kendrapara, Balasore, and Bhadrak districts.

The storm continues to move northeast toward Bengal, which it is expected to hit some time later today. Forecasters said wind speeds will likely drop to around 40 mph by the time the storm arrives in Bangladesh May 4.

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Wellington, New Zealand, Aug 4, 2017 / 11:39 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A long-term inquiry submitted to New Zealand’s parliament Wednesday did not recommend that assisted suicide and euthanasia be legalized in the country.

“We’ve tried to distil all the arguments and our recommendation to both the Parliament and the people of New Zealand is to read this report and come to a deeper understanding of what’s been asked around assisted suicide and euthanasia,” Simon O’Connor, chair of the parliament’s health committee, which prepared the report, said Aug. 2.

The report was an investigation of euthanasia and assisted suicide and attitudes toward them, prompted by a request from former New Zealand Labour Party MP and assisted suicide advocate Maryan Street.

A bill to legalize voluntary euthanasia has been introduced in the New Zealand parliament, but it is unlikely to be passed before the end of the legislature’s term later this month, according to the New Zealand Herald.

Having faced moral opponents and concerns about safeguards in the past, euthanasia bills have previously failed in the country. The effort was renewed, however, in 2014 after a Wellington lawyer’s battle with brain cancer gained political and media attention.

Lecretia Seales had petitioned New Zealand’s High Court for the right to assisted suicide, and died from her cancer. Street introduced a petition in favor of legalizing assisted suicide shortly thereafter.

The health committee’s subsequent inquiry heard from some 22,000 submitters, 80 percent of whom were opposed to a change in legislation that would allow for assisted suicide and euthanasia.

“But I don’t think this is simply a numbers game. It is about actually understanding the arguments for and against and making a decision about which ones are correct,” O’Connor said.

The primary argument against legalization, the report concluded, was that “the public would be endangered.”

“They cited concern for vulnerable people, such as the elderly and the disabled, those with mental illnesses, and those susceptible to coercion. Others argued that life has an innate value and that introducing assisted dying and euthanasia would explicitly undermine that idea. To do so would suggest that some lives are worth more than others. There were also concerns that, once introduced, eligibility for assisted dying would rapidly expand well beyond what was first intended.”

The report noted that “some of remain unconvinced that the models seen overseas provide adequate protection for vulnerable people.”

O’Connor commented that “it probably comes down to the simple question of ‘How many errors would Parliament would be willing to accept in this space?’”

Other opponents, including the Care Alliance and Prime Minister Bill English, a practicing Catholic, have expressed concern that the bill would lead to the abuse of elderly, mentally ill, and disabled citizens, as well as undermine the dignity of the human person.

The health committee wrote in its report that “we were concerned to hear that there is a lack of awareness about the role of palliative care, that access to it is unequal, and that there are concerns about the sustainability of the workforce.”

They recommended that the government consider how “it can better communicate the excellent services that palliative carers provide, address the unequal access, consider how palliative care is funded, and address the workforce shortages.”

They also encouraged the government to improve access to grief counselling and similar services for those at risk of suicide.

The bill to legalize voluntary euthanasia was introduced by David Seymour, an MP of ACT New Zealand and the party’s only MP. The bill would allow euthanasia for mentally sound adults suffering from grievous and incurable medical conditions who request it.

Voluntary euthanasia is supported by the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand.

The New Zealand National Party, which is the center of New Zealand’s coalition government, has ruled out legalizing euthanasia.

The Labour party has said legalizing euthanasia is not among its priorities, and New Zealand First has said a change in the law should go through a referendum rather than parliament.

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CNA Staff, Mar 17, 2021 / 08:46 pm (CNA).- A district court in Japan has ruled that the government’s failure to acknowledge same-sex marriage is a violation of the constitution.A Sapporo district court said the government’s definition of marriage was d… […]