The Hermeneutic of Continuity

The Resistance Campaign has a petition against euthanasia and assisted suicide. As well as signing it yourself, please check whether your MP has signed it (or refused to do so) by using the MP database . If neither, do use the email form to urge them to sign the petition. Here is the text of the petition: We the undersigned fear that calls to legalise assisted suicide and euthanasia are likely to intensify. Our concerns are heightened by the current economic climate and calls from politicians from all parties for cuts in public services. We believe that people who are disabled or terminally ill (and their families) rely upon such services to live with dignity and that quality services make the difference between a fruitful life, led independently, and mere survival. We support Not Dead Yet’s call to all MPs to sign up to the ‘Resistance’ Charter 2010 (full text here ) declaring that they will support palliative care and independent living services and maintain legal protection...

Chris Gillibrand, author of Catholic Church Conservation , has set up an online petition in support of Pope Benedict. It reads: We, the undersigned, welcome, with all our hearts and souls, the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom, for the liberty and well-being of the church in our country and most especially for the spiritual benefits and pastoral care to be offered to all, whatever their beliefs. Sign the petition here

In recent days, I have skimmed over posts on other blogs about the petition " We've Waited Long Enough " - for the new ICEL translation, that is. I mistakenly assumed that it was the same as the one I mentioned a few weeks ago. It's not, it is a different one. Here is the wording: We believe that the newly approved English translation of the 2002 Missale Romanum needs to be implemented as soon as possible. We believe that the Church in English-speaking nations has waited far too long for an accurate, faithful translation of the original Latin. We believe that the current translation currently in use in English-speaking nations is overdue to be replaced, as it was developed using the method of dynamic translation, a method rejected by the Vatican in the document Liturgiam Authenticam. We stand united with the English-speaking bishops' conferences in their approval of the new translation. We oppose any efforts to continue to delay this new translation. Sign the pet...

C-Fam, the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, have a petition to the UN: " International Call for the Rights and Dignity of the Human Person and the Family " in support of the right to life and the right of parents to education their children. They have over half a million responses so far. Sign the Petition here

Anthony Bennett has organised a petition to the Prime Minister which reads: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to retain the law that makes it a criminal offence to assist another person to commit suicide. Further details: The law currently makes it a criminal offence to assist another person to commit suicide. There has been a stream of media stories about British people travelling to Dignitas in Switzerland to be killed because they wish to end their lives. These are all very tragic stories. However, it is important to note that in recent years no-one in Britain has been prosecuted for taking their relatives to Switzerland to die, nor in respect of other cases of assisted suicide in the U.K. But to decriminalise assisted suicide would - as many commentators have observed - make many elderly people vulnerable to relatives who may have ulterior motives for wishing them to die early. The law as it is acts as a deterrent to those wishing to assist a relative to die early. Th...

In December 2006, I wrote about Chen Guangcheng when the Jubilee Campaign organised postcards to be sent to the Chinese Ambassador. He had been imprisoned on 24 August 2006 after exposing and speaking out against the policy of forced abortions and sterilisations in the Shandong Province. Sadly he is still in prison. A petition has been organised to ask the Prime Minister to put pressure on the Chinese authorities to free Chen Guangcheng. The petition reads: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to take whatever action he can to put pressure on the Chinese authorities to secure the release of Chen Guangcheng, a Chinese prisoner of conscience who, on 20th May 2009 has served 1000 days in prison since being sentanced for highligting abuses of the one-child policy of the Chinese authorities, including forced abortions and sterilisations Further information from petition creator: Chen Guangcheng is a blind lawyer, currently imprisoned in China for "damaging public property ...

Christian Concern for our Nation have organised a petition to the Prime Minister regarding the Coroners and Justice Bill: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Abandon the Government's opposition to the free speech protection clause in the Coroners and Justice Bill. Preserving the sanctity of life and freedom of speech are vitally important to the preservation of liberty and good governance under the rule of law in the United Kingdom. These are under immediate threat by measures in the Coroners and Justice Bill. We the undersigned, therefore, petition HM the Queen, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the House of Lords to: 1. Protect the value of human life in the UK by opposing proposed amendments authorizing state-sanctioned assisted suicide; and 2. Protect freedom of speech by abandoning its opposition to the free speech protection clause currently within the sexual orientation hatred offence which preserves the right to, discuss, criticise and urge to refrain fro...

A petition has been posted regarding the celebration of Holydays: We would like Archbishop Vincent Nichols to reinstate the celebration of Ascension, Corpus Christi and Epiphany to their correct days. It runs until the eve of Corpus Christi. Sign the petition here .

Melanie Jane has started a petition to 10 Downing Street regarding. It reads: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Stop abortion advertising on the television. Further information: Abortion is the easy way out and the young and general public need to be educated on the consequences of having sex. The government need to take action to help unite families and lower the pregnancy rate by raising the moral standards in this country. Abortion is murder. Sign the petition . (Deadline 14 October 2009. You have to be a British citizen or resident to sign.)

I have received a number of requests to publicise the petition in support of the rights of parents that I posted some weeks ago. I am pleased to see that the petition now has 2735 signatures. If you did not get round to signing it, may I encourage you to do so now. (Remember that this is about the rights of parents - you do not have to be a parent to see the benefit to society when such rights are upheld.) Sign the petition here . (Deadline 3 April 2009. You have to be a British citizen or resident to sign.)

From Human Life International Dear Holy Father, Please accept our heartfelt love and admiration for your prophetic and courageous proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in season and out of season. We are in deep solidarity with you against the terrible distortions and attacks by condom-promoters in the press and, even more shamefully, in governments. The Vicar of Christ will always be a sign of contradiction to those blinded by ideology. Your words of compassion and common sense are to be praised highly. Thank you for your witness of hope and love to a world that is increasingly hostile to the truth, especially if it calls into question the foundations of the "Sexual Revolution." With gratitude, Sign the petition here .

There is a petition asking Virgin Media to carry EWTN. The text: We would like to request, respectfully, that Virgin Media, the United Kingdom's leading provider of Cable Television, add the Catholic Channel "Eternal Word Television Network" (EWTN) to its current offering of TV channels. Virgin Media already carry "GOD TV" and we, the undersigned, hope that EWTN might be offered alongside this channel which caters for the needs of Evangelical Christians. There would be no additional cost to Virgin Media in doing this. EWTN does not charge for its services. All its satellite signals are "free to air", that is, available at no cost. It offers its programme transmissions free directly to cable operators, broadcast television and radio stations. Thank you. Sign the petition here. (When you sign the petition, a page appears inviting you to give a donation to support iPetitions. If you close this page without donating, your signature will still be added.)

Roxane Featherstone of Action for Home Education has started a petition to 10 Downing Street regarding the state and the responsibilities of parents. It reads We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to to remind his government that parents must remain responsible in law for ensuring the welfare and education of their children and that the state should not seek to appropriate these responsibilities. Further information: We ask him to remind ministers that recent DCSF consultations have concluded that current law, when applied correctly, is sufficient to the task of protecting home educated children should parents fail in their duties, and that the law represents a satisfactory balance between protecting children and the need for privacy and autonomy in family life. We also ask him to call a halt to the review of home education, begun in Jan 2009. Home educators have already taken part in four consultations in just over three years. New guidelines for LAs regarding Home Education...

Last week, I mentioned the Letter in Support of Pope Benedict . It is most interesting to see in this NLM story that three French Bishops have signed the Letter: Bishop Dominique Rey of Fréjus-Toulon, Bishop André Fort of Orléans, and Bishop Marc Aillet of Bayonne, Lescar and Oloron. The petition currently has 41,247 signatures. If you haven't already done so, Sign Up Now!

I was hoping that someone would organise a petition in support of Pope Benedict XVI at this time. Thankfully there is now a good letter of support which I think is well worded (we can ignore the mistakes in the English translation.) Sign the Letter here .

John Beyer of mediawatch-uk is organising a petition to 10 Downing Street to call for swearing on TV to be curbed. It reads: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to make urgent representation to the Broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, the broadcasting institutions operating in the UK and film regulators, asking them to stop the use of unnecessary swearing and bad language in their productions (including those available for downloading from websites) and to urge providers of user-generated content to take similar action. Further information: Concern about the volume and nature of swearing on television made headlines when in November 2008 Michael Grade, the Executive Chairman of ITV, observed that swearing had become “unrestrained” and “indiscriminate”. He also stated that people do not want to hear those words. In May 2008 the Radio Times conducted an opinion poll, which found that 69% of people believed there is too much swearing on TV. In November 2008 the Sunday Express launc...

Ed West is organising a petition to 10 Downing Street to demand protection for Iraqi Christians. It reads: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to demand from the Iraqi Government protection for Iraq's Christians, especially those who have recently fled the city of Mosul. We also ask for assistance for those who have fled, measures to ensure the safety of those who wish to return, and a full investigation into who is responsible for the murders. More details Further information: At least 13 Christians have been murdered in the city of Mosul in the last two weeks, and around 10,000 Christians have fled the city. These are just the latest attacks: since the 2003 invasion up to half of Iraq's 800,000 Christians have fled persecution, kidnappings and murder. According to the UN High Commission on Refugees the Christians, just 3 per cent of the pre-war population, account for over a third of overseas refugees. Without protection Iraq's ancient minority, who have been ...

C-Fam , the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, is organising a petition to the United Nations. 10 December this year marks the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Although article 3 of the Declaration affirms that everyone has the right to life, radical pro-abortion groups intend to present the UN General Assembly with petitions calling for a universal right to abortion. It is important that the Pro-Life petition gets as many signatures as possible. Go to International Call for the Rights and Dignity of the Human Person and the Family to sign the petition. Do also take a look at C-Fam . the "Friday Fax" has long been an excellent source of pro-life news and information. You can get it sent by email or subscribe to the RSS feed.

A petition has recently been started by Miss A Burt. It reads: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to deny any extension planned for the 1967 Abortion Act to Northern Ireland, as we believe in the right to life. There is an opposite petition, supporting the extension of the abortion act to Northern Ireland so it would be good to get plenty of signatures. Sign the petition (You have to be a British citizen or resident to sign.)

A petition was recently launched on the important question of allowing a free vote on the HFE Bill which is one of the most dangerous pieces of legislation to come before Parliament in recent years. We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to allow free votes on the embryology and fathers components of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill when considered by the House of Commons. Further information: There is a tradition when dealing with matters of conscience that MPs are not whipped. This is particularly true when it comes to human embryos. When the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill was considered by Parliament the (then) government allowed free votes on all matters up until the final vote. The joint committee on the draft Human Tissues and Embryos bill recommended that this approach be adopted for questions over embryology and the role of fathers, but the Brown government has said that free votes will only be allowed on abortion. This decision suggests that th...