Vatican defends Brazil excommunication,

A senior Vatican cleric has defended the excommunication of the mother and doctors of a nine-year-old girl who had an abortion in Brazil after being raped.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, head of the Catholic church's Congregation for Bishops, told the daily La Stampa on Saturday that the twins the girl had been carrying had a right to live.

"It is a sad case but the real problem is that the twins conceived were two innocent persons, who had the right to live and could not be eliminated," he said.

Re, who also heads the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, added: "Life must always be protected, the attack on the Brazilian church is unjustified."

The row was triggered by the termination on Wednesday of twin foetuses carried by a nine-year-old allegedly raped by her stepfather in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco.

The regional archbishop, Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, pronounced excommunication for the mother for authorising the operation and doctors who carried it out for fear that the slim girl would not survive carrying the foetuses to term.

"God's law is above any human law. So when a human law ... is contrary to God's law, this human law has no value," Cardoso had said.

He also said the accused stepfather would not be expelled from the church. Although the man allegedly committed "a heinous crime ... the abortion - the elimination of an innocent life - was more serious".

Battista Re agreed, saying: "Excommunication for those who carried out the abortion is just" as a pregnancy termination always meant ending an innocent life.

The case has sparked fierce debate in Brazil, where abortion is illegal except in cases of rape or if the woman's health is in danger.

On Friday, President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva hit out at Sobrinho's decision, saying: "As a Christian and a Catholic, I deeply regret that a bishop of the Catholic church has such a conservative attitude."

"The doctors did what had to be done: save the life of a girl of nine years old," he said, adding that "in this case, the medical profession was more right than the church."

One of the doctors involved in the abortion, Rivaldo Albuquerque, told Globo television that he would keep going to mass, regardless of the archbishop's order.

"The people want a church full of forgiveness, love and mercy," he said.

Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao also slammed the archbishop.

"Two things strike me: the assault on the girl and the position of this bishop, which is truly lamentable," he said.

The girl, who was not identified because she is a minor, was last week found to be four months' pregnant after being taken to hospital suffering stomach pains.

Officials said she told them she had suffered sexual abuse by her stepfather since the age of six.

Police said the 23-year-old stepfather also allegedly sexually abused the girl's physically handicapped 14-year-old sister.

He was arrested a week ago and is being kept in protective custody. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

The website of the news group Globo reported that another girl, aged 11, had been found to be seven months pregnant following alleged sexual abuse at the hands of her adoptive father.

The girl has said she does not intend to seek an abortion, according to reports.



So RAPING a nine year old child is acceptable but terminating a pregnancy to save her life is not?

Thats some fucked up 'logic'.

Sigh.

Someone remind me why I'm still Catholic?
>_

That was me, wrong diary ^^

Oh man that makes me angry. What the fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! trhsdooyjirosyjrsiojyjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj

It's things like this that make people loose hope in the world.
That guy deserves to burn, I can't even think of all the possible things that should be done to this sick pig.
And as far as the church goes..
I'm not even going to go there.

I couldn't read the whole thing. I got to "Life must always be protected" and about screamed.

What about the FACT that the nine year old girl COULD DIE if she gave birth to even ONE child, let alone two? Shoot, she could die before she ever GOT to giving birth, given that she's A LITTLE GIRL whose body isn't ready to even CARRY a child, let alone BIRTH a child.

What about protecting the life of the pregnant nine year old? Does that not matter at all to them?

Did you ever hear about the 5 year old Peruvian girl who became pregnant through rape and carried a child to term and gave birth? She's still alive now, as are her kids. So it is possible. Obviously I am not using that to justify this case though!! Just thought it was interesting - http://www.snopes.com/pregnant/medina.asp

And right now I am laughing my butt off that the advertisement that is showing at the end of the post is for "Vatican Gifts: Blessings from the Vatican City". Mmhmm....I'm going to want blessings from them after this post" I don't think so.

"He also said the accused stepfather would not be expelled from the church. Although the man allegedly committed "a heinous crime ... the abortion - the elimination of an innocent life - was more serious"."

How in the name of God can you say this is right?! Yes a baby is a gift from God, however, I think God would forgive a 9 year old & her mother & the doctors for aborting the baby. This story could have ended with: "9 year old girl & her twin babies die while in labor." What the fuck is wrong with people. That piece of shit should not get 15 years in prison he should be dragged into the middle of the street & shot. Oh & the person that shoots him should yell "This is what happens to sick human beings who prey on little girls!" right before he shoots him in the balls & then between the eyes.

And let's not forget that in the Bible, it DOES SAY that the person who harms a child is as good as dead. Not in those exact words, but that's the gyst of it. Harm a child and you're in for more judgment than you could ever possibly imagine.

yeah. it's stuff like this that makes me wonder why people say the bible is good & that people should trust the priest & blah blah blah. well apparently we shouldn't & apparently it's not if the priest think that a child rapist shouldn't be excommunicated but a 9 year old, her mother, & the doctors who did what they thought was best to save her life should be excommunicated. Its all very hypocritical!

Oh & raping a 9 year old LITTLE GIRL isn't eliminating an innocent life? This little girl will never be the same. Nor will she have a chance at a normal life.

It's not the bible, but it's interpretation. The bible didn't say this 9 year old child should die, rather than have an abortion, the bishops did. And the bible does not say that abortion is a worse sin than the sexual abuse of a child. Again, the bishops came to that conclusion on their own. And there's plenty of Christians who would have felt the abortion was acceptable, given the circumstances. Just as I think most Christians would say that the step father should also have been excommunicated.

you are right. i should not have encompassed every Christian into that or the entire bible. It's just when Priest or Bishops saying & do things like that it just comes off very hypocritical to me & it pisses me off.

Yeah kinda ironic isnt it?


Thats its ok for a man to rape a child but not ok to save that childs life.

This guy ought to be publicly castrated and left to bleed to death.

Castrated very, very slowly. Doing it quickly would be far too nice to him.

I have a theory of punishment for this kind of crime.

Its a bit Saw-ish tho.

Involves fire and razor blades.

Man's a child rapist. As far as I'm concerned, it's perfect.

But still good enough for the Catholic church apparently;)

Look at who we're talking about, though. What do they do to their priests who are found to be molesting the kids? They slap them on the wrist, tell them not to do it again, give them something to do as penance, then ship them off to another parish where they will do it again. And when they do it again, what happens to them? THE SAME THING AS BEFORE.

It's really not surprising at all, in light of those facts, that THIS is the decision they have made in this case.

Ooh sounds good. I'm with ya there!

I knew there was a reason I wasn't Catholic.

You know, other than the fact there is almost nothing about the Christian religion I can agree with...

Gosh, yo! I wish I could do exciting enough things for the Catholic church to excommunicate me! It would be nice to be noticed by Rome! What exactly does excommunication mean anyway? That the Church has expelled her? I'm sure she will get over it. She is young! Plenty more churches in the sea, yo!

Its not just her tho, its her mother and all the medical staff involved.

To be excommunicated means to be totally shunned by members of that religion and to never be allowed to be part of it again. To a devout catholic that would be like death.

;D