Record AII
PERTH, WA: September 20, 1990
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Doub e
rap • • •
DOES NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT BISHOPS' VIEWS Mr Gough Whitlam.
TOLD TO CHECK HIS FACTS
Sen Gareth Evans.
CARDINAL CLANCY LASHES OUT
Mr Gough Whitlam is poorly informed about Catholic bishops' views and Senator Gareth Evans should check his facts, says Cardinal Clancy, president of the Australian Bishops Conference. Cardinal Clancy is not happy with remarks made by Mr Whitlam at a recent national conference of the United Nations Association. Senator Evans gets a rap for an "unwarranted outburst and attack" when speaking before the Senates Estimates Committee. "Before making charges of irrationality, Senator Evans should check his facts to find out what the bishops have actually said about the convention," the cardinal said. On Mr Whitlam being "poorly informed" Cardinal Clancy said: "Contrary to his claims, the Australian Catholic Bishops and the Holy See are of one mind in relation to the Convention on the Rights of the Child." The cardinal said that the Holy See acceded to the convention but in doing so it expressed confidence in the interpretation of the introductory paragraph which recognised the rights of the unborn child. The Holy See made reservations about family planning and about the primary and inalienable rights of parents. "In similar vein, the Australian Catholic Bishops welcomed the convention and its signing by Australia as an effort to protect the rights of children. However, the bishops cautioned that the signing would be an empty
gesture if Australia did not seek to protect the unborn child and to uphold parents' rights and duties particularly in regard to education and the nurturing of children," Cardinal Clancy said. (See The Record, September 6.) Mr Whitlam attacked the Hawke government for its tardiness in ratifying conventions. Mr Whitlam went on to say about the January 29 signing of the Child Rights Convention: "In Australia, doubts had been raised about the convention by, among others, the Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney on the advice of a former Commonwealth Crown Solicitor. "The convention was, however, signed on January 26, by several states which are not members of the UN, including the Holy See which, moreover, has already ratified it. "The most reverend gentleman and the learned layman were thus exposed as more Catholic than the pope. "Can it be that Australians are too parochial? On August 22, again at the insistence of Mr Duffy, Australia signed the convention. We should acknowledge and support Mr Duffy's commitment . . . to consummate Australia's ratification of the Geneva Protocols and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Not every minister is prepared to disregard the views of a president and a cardinal on the same day . . ."
Bishops back e bargo but... WASHINGTON (CNS): The chairman of the US bishops' Committee on International Policy has said Iraqi civilians must not be deprived of food or m edicine as a result of implementation of the UN economic sanctions against Iraq.
Archbishop Mahony of Los Angeles, committee chairman, said the bishops agreed with President Bush's "clear assertion that our enemy is (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein — not the Iraqi people". He said the bishops back the embargo against Iraq but urge
that "utmost care and sensitivity be exercised so that innocent civilians" are not deprived of life's basics. Archbishop Mahony said the "moral justification for our intervention" in the Persian Gulf "requires that we maintain the distinction between
the Iraqi regime and ordinary and vulnerable Iraqi citizens". He said Archbishop Pilarczyk, president of the National C onference of Catholic Bishops, spoke on behalf of the US bishops when he described the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait as "devoid of provocation or any
justification" and "a serious threat to international peace".
Archbishop Pilarczyk had also urged prayers for peace in the Middle East and "continued international cooperation to protect both human rights and peace".
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Clocking the 'kilos' for Christ • Page 6
When the country parishes decided to hold yet another day of combined prayer, they did not bank on one of the drop-ins being none other than Archbishop Foley. • See story on Page 3.
We saw Mary claim by trio • Pages 10, 11