H. Con. Res. 75, "Bacha Bazi," Zika/Birth Control

H. Con. Res. 75

"....H. Con. Res. 75...[is] a concurrent resolution introduced in September calling ISIS atrocities inflicted on Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities 'genocide.'  That resolution, while not legally binding, would put pressure on the administration to declare that genocide is taking place and give priority to genocide victims looking to come to the U.S. as refugees....religious leaders like Pope Francis, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., and Pastor Rick Warren have all referred to the atrocities as genocide...." (http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/US.php?id=13229).

Kudos to Mike Fitzpatrick on this, as he became a co-sponsor on 12/11/15.

Bacha Bazi

"Young boys are dressed up like women and forced to dance for older men.  The boys are then auctioned off as sex slaves....Yesterday we filed critical legal documents at the United Nations (U.N.) demanding an end to this grotesque practice....Bacha bazi was first brought to our attention as we began advocating for Sergeant First Class (SFC)  Charles Martland, a member of the U.S. military who could be expelled from the Army any day now for standing up to an Afghan Commander who was blatantly sexually abusing young boys as he worked on a U.S. military base....In the name of cultural tolerance and military strategy, the international community has ignored the blatant sexual abuse and human trafficking surrounding bacha bazi, because the main perpetrators are potential allies in the War on Terror.  Yet such action not only flies in the face of international human rights norms, but it is also counterproductive....Take action with us to stop this horrifically evil practice and sign our petition (below and at) BeHeardProject.com" (American Center for Law and Justice, 2/17/16). 

"HLI Statement on Zika and Birth Control"

"....2)      Headlines such as 'Pope approves contraception in areas threatened by Zika virus' immediately went around the world following the interview, and since this misunderstanding is already being used to pressure bishops in Latin America, we hope to see a clarification on this aspect of the Holy Father’s comments as soon as possible. We hope that the clarification emphasizes the unchangeable teaching of the Church on the absolute immorality of the use of contraception for the purpose of avoiding pregnancy, even as the permissibility of natural methods of postponing pregnancy for serious reasons is affirmed, along with the need to ensure that those threatened by Zika receive the best possible prevention advice and support, and those affected receive the best possible care.

"3)      As we await the official English translation of the Holy Father’s comments, we feel obliged to clarify a comparison that is being attributed to Pope Francis by available translations. Let us set aside for the moment what exactly Blessed Pope Paul VI approved in the terrible situation of religious sisters being threatened by rape in the Congo in the 1960s, since there appears to be no official record of this act. The act of rape and the marital act are completely different. While this would normally go without saying, it is important to emphasize this point: A woman who is raped is under no obligation to let the act result in pregnancy. She did not participate in a sexual act, she was assaulted, and thus by using a barrier method of contraception would have no intention (no object) of having contracepted sex. The married couple who uses contraception to prevent pregnancy is engaging in an entirely different act. As the Church teaches, if there is legitimate concern about the health and safety of the mother and child, this may well constitute a serious enough reason to use natural methods (fertility awareness/periodic abstinence) to postpone conception. But unnatural hormonal and barrier methods are never licit, and cannot be approved by the Church.

"4)      It is outrageous that so many in the media and in the population control industry have uncritically accepted the link between Zika and microcephaly as true despite any scientific proof, even as more and more scientists raise doubts about the connection. The vast majority of those who contract Zika will never know they have it, and most of the minority who do become aware of it will see only minor symptoms. A connection between Zika and a few cases of the serious condition of Guillian-Barre syndrome is being investigated, and this investigation should be supported by all.

"5)      While several investigations of a possible link between Zika and microcephaly are underway, many in the media have been trying to shame the Church into changing its unchangeable teaching on contraception, claiming as fact the as-yet unproven and morally irrelevant claim that Zika causes microcephaly in the unborn children of mothers who contract the virus.

"6)      We reiterate here, in complete agreement with the Holy Father, that abortion (an intentional act that ends pregnancy) is an absolutely evil act, and can never be approved under any circumstances, regardless of how pregnancy was achieved. Nor does it cure any disease.

"7)      We are grateful to the bishops of Brazil and other Latin American nations affected by the Zika virus who have already made this teaching clear. They deserve support for teaching this unpopular truth in love, having as their goal the true flourishing and salvation of the faithful under their care" (HLI Statement on Zika and Birth Control, 2/19/16)