Pharmacy Case Raises Question: Whose Ethics?

JOURNAL SENTINEL, Feb. 28 —  As a Catholic, pharmacist Neil Noesen knows that use of the birth control pill and other contraceptives is wrong. But a judge and others still want him to study “ethics.”

Ruling on a case that dates back to Noesen’s 2002 refusal to fill a prescription for the pill, Administrative Law Judge Colleen Baird in Madison, Wis., Feb. 28 recommended that the state of Wisconsin require Noesen to spend six hours in ethics education and pay the cost of the court proceedings.

Baird found that the 30-year-old pharmacist “fell far short of satisfying the standard of care” outlined in the code of ethics for pharmacists, the Milwaukee daily reported.

The state’s Pharmacy Examining Board will decide by April 13 whether to follow Baird’s recommendations.

“It’s a sad day … when a medical professional is punished for his deeply held religious convictions,” said Pro-Life Wisconsin in a separate statement. The group called the ruling an “unconstitutional infringement” on Noesen’s “free exercise of religion.”

Denver Bishop Tackles Tough Questions

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, March 2 — He wasn’t preaching to the choir, that’s for sure.

A luncheon speech to the City Club of Denver saw “verbal fisticuffs” break out when Archbishop Charles Chaput fielded questions on controversial topics, the Rocky Mountain News reported.

The archbishop, who was one of several vocal bishops during last year’s presidential election, defended the Church’s role in public life. He answered one woman’s objection that religions were imposing their views on society, saying, “If we don’t, you’ll impose your views on us.”

Another question charged that the Church doesn’t appear to care about protecting women hurt by unwanted pregnancies. The newspaper noted that Archbishop Chaput’s voice rose as he said, “That dear baby who gets aborted is who I’m protecting. Somebody doesn’t just get hurt with abortion — they get killed.”

But the sparring was “mostly good natured,” the paper said, and the audience applauded at the end.

Satanism Alive and Well, Publisher Says

THE O’REILLY FACTOR, March 1 — Satanism is becoming so prevalent in Italy that the number of priests who are approached by people seeking help is becoming overwhelming, Legionary Father Owen Kearns said on The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News.

O’Reilly invited Father Kearns, publisher of the Register, on the show to talk about a course at the Legion’s Regina Apostolorum University in Rome that is helping students distinguish between Satanic possession and cases in which people need to consult a psychiatrist. The number of crimes in Italy linked to Satanism has doubled over the past 10 years, Father Kearns said.

Father Kearns spoke of an exorcist in Rome who cannot see all the people that are asking for his help. “So he has to have recourse to a team, including psychologists and medical doctors, who screen out the obvious people that have other disturbances so that he can deal effectively with the people — and it’s about one in 20 as an average — that really are possessed.”

O’Reilly quipped at the end of the segment that he has to “fight evil all the time, so I probably need” the course.