The Catholic League aligned recently with several Jewish organizations against a bill which would allow the government a stronger hand on what to do with human organs after a person has died.

Catholics, Jews decry bill to ‘harvest’ human organs

The bill, which is sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, would in effect disable the next of kin from challenging decisions of their dead or dying relatives regarding the donation of their organs, the New York Times said.

This becomes contentious when the government has the right to presume that a person is willing to donate their organs unless they specifically state “no” in official documents, most commonly their driver’s license.

Under current law, a donor must indicate permission on their driver’s licenses with two witnesses present.  Or, a donor may fill a donor card.  If the bill is passed, the government may presume the person is willing to donate body organs if the box on the driver’s license indicating “no” is left blank, the Eurasia Review noted.

It is potentially possible under this bill that a person may be dying and incapable of communicating.  If the driver’s license does not indicate otherwise, the government will presume the person’s organs are up for donation, and the next of kin would not be able to challenge this.

Brodsky’s bill is being challenged by Assemblyman Dov Hikind who has launched a campaign against it, with the support of the Rabbinical Alliance of America (with over 800 members nationwide), The National Council of Young Israel (with 146 branches nationwide) and The Catholic League, the nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization, according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

Under Jewish tradition, people are discouraged from donating their organs except when it is urgently needed.

While Hikind expressed support for voluntary organ donation, he expressly disagrees with the government having the power of presumed consent.  If the bill is passed, New York will be the first state to implement it.

William Donohue wrote, in the Eurasia Review, “It is one thing for someone to exercise informed consent and voluntarily donate his or her organs, quite another for the state to assume it has a right to them unless stipulated otherwise. The state does not have a lien on our bodies. Indeed, to assume it does is morally obscene.

“Have we not seen enough evidence in the past one hundred years of what happens when agents of government assume a mantle of authority over the life and limbs of innocent persons? This kind of utilitarian calculus always winds up punishing the least among us while rewarding the stronger.”

Two bombs were set off within minutes of each other in a Christian populated area in Iraq recently, killing one and injuring 80 others, the Associated Press reported.

The explosions took place in the northern city of Mosul, where a large Christian community resides.

There have been attacks by Sunni Muslim insurgents against the Christian minority in Iraq, especially in Mosul.

Some extremist Sunnis view Christians as nonbelievers and believe that Christians support the Shiite-led government, which they oppose.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch warned that minorities including Christians could be caught in the crossfire of longstanding feuds between Arabs and minority Kurds for the area’s oil-rich resources and land, Radio Free Europe reported..

Wisam Jarji, a student who was wounded in the blast said, “I could see blood stains and hear screams all over the place.”

The U.S.-based National Council of Churches sent a letter last week to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton asking her to lobby for more protection for Iraq’s Christian community from the government.

They were particularly worried in the aftermath of the March 7 parliamentary elections as various political forces still vie for power, the AP said.

The U.S. Commision on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) noted in its recent 2010 annual report that President Obama has fallen short of doing what he can to lobby for the protection of religious freedom in the world.

The report noted that until now, President Obama has failed to appoint an Ambassador-At-Large for International Religious Freedom, a request that was made to him last month in a petition signed by lawmakers, scholars and human rights groups.

The same petition requested that the position be given equal level to other Ambassadors-At-Large who report directly to the Secretary of State, according to The Christian Post.

The USCIRF also noted that under Obama’s watch, no countries have been rated CPC, or “countries of particular concern” for having the worst religious violations.

Such a rating can prompt government action including trade restrictions, sanctions, embargoes, and withholding of military or financial aid, among others, The Christian Post said.

The same report said that the USCIRF, an independent US government commission, made these observations even as it said that with every year the issue becomes less and less important to the White House and the State Department.

The position of Ambassador-At-Large for International Religious Freedom, for example, was created in 1998, but it had only been filled in its initial year, and has remained vacant since 1999.

The commission warned Obama that failure to fill the position sent a message to the international community that religious freedom is not an important issue to the American government, the Christian Post said.

The same report noted that USCIRF took issue with the fact that Obama rarely mentioned religious freedom when he visited Ankara and Cairo last year.

Furthermore, Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton replaced the words religious freedom with “freedom of worship.”

The commission said authoritarian governments could skirt the issue by noting that faiths that are okay with them can freely worship.

Credit:svilen001/sxc.hu

They could also permit only token houses of worship for minority faiths.

According to CNN, the USCIRF also reported that:

* Over 24 countries are religious freedom offenders and practice religious persecution.

* Forms of religious persecution may include imprisonment, murder, being fired from jobs, and being kicked out of universities; being forbidden to have bank accounts, driver’s licenses and even birth certificates, among others.

* 13 countries should be rated CPC or “countries of particular concern” because they have the worst religious violations. These countries include Myanmar (Burma), China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Suda, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Vietnam.

* 12 countries on the watch list are Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Laos, Russia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Turkey and Venezuela.

* The report has five more countries under CPC rating than does the State Department’s 2009 report, which did not include Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan or Vietnam.

* 3 countries, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka, should be closely monitored.

Specific Countries

* Egypt. Members of the Baha’I faith and minority Muslim sects are imprisoned, fired from jobs, kicked out of universities, and barred from having bank accounts, birth certificates and driver’s licenses.

* Nigeria. A decade of violence between Muslims and Christians in the Jos state recently culminated in 500 men, women and children hacked to death with machetes and dumped into wells.

* China. Cracked down on Uyghur Muslims in the west.

* Iran. Labeled domestic political opponents “enemies of God” which is a capital offense and can merit severing of the head.

* Eritrea. Harassment of Orthodox Church members and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

* Vietnam. Imprisonment of Buddhists and Protestants.

The USCIRF report urged the government to double its efforts to protect international religious freedom and to raise issues of abuse to the highest levels of the world community, the Christian Post said.

“Anything less betrays our history and values, and fails to leverage the extraordinary capacity we have as a nation to promote religious freedom and related human rights for all,” the report said.

Amid fear and uncertainty, Christian leaders are asking for prayers for their missions in Kyrgyzstan.

Last Wednesday, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was overthrown in a violent uprising that resulted in 81 dead and 1000 injured.

Last Wednesday, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was overthrown in a violent uprising that resulted in 81 dead and 1000 injured.

In the immediate aftermath the nation was paralyzed with armed looting and rampant fear, but it has since calmed down, although the situation is far from steady, the Global Post reported.

An interim government has been established under former foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva, who is now trying to consolidate his power.  Christians hope the new government will permit a freer environment for evangelization.

The Slavic Gospel Association’s (SGA)  Joel Griffith said that while the situation seems to be more political than religious, “these things have ripple effects that are unforeseen.”

The new government expressed gratitude for the Kremlin’s generosity even as they accused the American military of enriching the Bakiyev family through jet fuel purchases from companies linked to Bakiyev’s son, Maxim.  There is no evidence to such claims.

However, the US Manas air base in Kyrgyzstan is a key transit point for troops and supplies to Afghanistan.

Appeals for Prayers, Resources

Sergey Rakhuva, vice president of Russian Ministries asked for prayers for wisdom and courage for believers in Kyrgyzstan so that they may continue to share their faith.  Rakhuva also requested for money and resources so that the church can grow, Mission Network News (MNN) reported.

Russian Ministries has several programs including School Without Walls.

Bob Provost, president of the Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) said “Please join us in praying for our brothers and sisters in Kyrgyzstan, asking the Lord to not only protect the churches, but also to open up many opportunities to proclaim the Gospel, as well as the peace and ultimate reconciliation that can only come through saving faith in Christ,” ASSIST News Service reported.

The SGA lends active support to evangelical ministries in many Central Asian republics, although they are not currently working in Kyrgyzstan.  Provost asked believers for prayers and guidance,  as they “prayerfully seek His will about any possible future assistance to churches in Kyrgyzstan.”

Bakiyev had been in power since 2005.  Immediately after the Soviet breakup churches enjoyed a significant degree of freedom to worship and minister.

However, since 2008, restrictions on evangelical churches increased in Kyrgyzstan and its neighboring countries namely Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.