National Media Watch
An editorial written by Catholic Sun editor Rob DeFrancesco and approved by Phoenix Bishop Thomas Olmsted cited a $25,000 grant by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to Planned Parenthood of Central and Northern Arizona as money that “frees up Planned Parenthood funds for those other areas opposing life and counter to our Catholic faith.”
The editorial followed complaints the newspaper received after profiling a group of women who were participating in the foundation’s Race for the Cure event.
The
Women Sue Over Birth-Control Patch
Associated Press, Nov. 1 — A group of 40 women have sued the pharmaceutical company Ortho-McNeil, alleging that their birth-control patch caused serious illnesses and at least one death, AP reported.
One lawsuit alleges that 43 women
suffered from blood clots and other ailments after using the patch. Another
complaint alleges that 25-year-old Kelly Bracken of
“This product should not be on the market,” said Shawn Khorrami, an attorney for the plaintiffs. “When you put out a product that gives women more hormones than they need, then you’re increasing their risk of developing those ailments.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Ortho Evra birth-control patch in 2001. Similar lawsuits have been filed by at least 400 other women nationwide. One study found that women who used the patch faced twice the risk of clots than did women on the birth-control pill.
The sale to the primarily
Bangladeshi Islamic Center of North
Our Lady Help of Christians’ congregation has been merged with nearby Transfiguration parish, another Polish Catholic community.
Scholars Share Religious Data
Newhouse News Service, Nov. 7 — More than 500 researchers met in Portland, Ore. to share their findings as part of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and the Religious Research Association, reported Newhouse.
Among their findings was
A national survey of Catholic
churchgoers found that most were generally satisfied with life in their
parishes. Sociologist James Davidson of
Another study found that churches with large numbers of older worshippers were least likely to attract new members. Those that empower lay leaders and care for young people were more than twice as likely to grow.
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- November 19-25, 2006