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Bishop McHugh
Endorses Ad Disputing
'Population Controllers'
By Catholic News Service
Camden, N.J.--A Catholic bishop who is an expert in population issues has endorsed the views of a group of pro-life and pro-family leaders that the dangers of overpopulation are greatly exaggerated.
Bishop James T. McHugh of Camden, New Jersey, a special adviser on population issues to the Vatican mission at the United Nations, said a full-page ad Oct. 28 in The Washington Times provided 'a good counterbalance to the millions of dollars poured into public relations efforts that promote abortion, contraception and now euthanasia to decrease the number of elderly and sick persons."
Among the 34 signers of the ad were Redemptorist Father Richard Welch, president of Human Life International; Dr. Jack Willke, president of Life Issues Institute; Barbara Wogan-Gallagher, chief U.N. representative for the World Union of Catholic Women's Organizations in Paris; Father Richard John Neuhaus, president of the Institute on Religion and Public Life; Keith Fournier, a deacon and founder of the Liberty, Life and Family Institute; and Judie Brown, president of the American Life League.
The ad, headlined "The Population Controllers vs. the People of the World," was billed as an open letter on World Population Awareness Week, designated for Oct. 24-31 by the Population Institute, a nonprofit organization based in Washington which sees world overpopulation as a serious problem.
"Population controllers" advocate a simplistic and wrong-headed approach to the world's problems, according to the letter.
"hunger? Reduce population. Disease? Reduce population. Urbanization? Reduce population. Conflict? Reduce population. Do these problems exist? Of course they do," the ad states. "But we believe the answers lie in the genius of men and women, not in suppressing their number."
Disputing claims that the world's population is "exploding," the ad cited U.N. statistics that showed the annual growth of population is less than 2 percent. In addition, the ad said, "the entire world's population could fit into the state of Texas, leaving the rest of the world completely empty."
The ad included a list of 51 countries "for which the total fertility rate (TFR) is equal or less than replacement level of 2.1 children per woman.
The United States, with a TFR of 2.05, is 46th on the list. The country with the lowest TFR, 1.24 is Italy, followed by Spain, Germany, Hong Kong, Slovenia, Greece, Austria and Japan, all with a TFR of under 1.5.
"Essentially, the population controllers argue that the birth of a baby diminishes us all," the ad said. "They believe that parenthood is not a cause for rejoicing but of sorrow.
"We believe in the goodness of God and in the inventiveness of men and women," the signers added. "History shows that when we act together, we can think and work ourselves out of multiple and seemingly intractable problems. We stand not with the pessimists who are frightened of the future, but with the optimists who understand that the greatest days of mankind lie ahead."
Writing Oct. 30 in the Catholic Star Herald, Camden diocesan newspaper, Bishop McHugh called the views contained in the ad "an honest and important message."
"I urge people to become aware of the real facts of the global population situation, to respond clearly and forthrightly to the propaganda and to oppose any further efforts to increase government expenditures to control population here in the U.S. or in other nations." he added.
In its materials for World Population Awareness Week, the World Population Institute claims wide support. Last year, 503 organizations from 70 countries co-sponsored the week and 33 governors and 202 mayors issued proclamations.
The organization's theme this year, "Cairo+5; Accomplishments and Failures," stresses the goals of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, Egypt.
The Vatican gave only selective approval of
the U.N. plan approved in Cairo, expressing dissatisfaction with its inclusion
of abortion as an element of population policy and its promotion of contraception
and condom distribution in AIDS prevention programs. Bishop McHugh
was a member of the Vatican delegation in Cairo.
Copyright ©1998 Arlington Catholic Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
This article was published in the Arlington
Catholic Herald,
200 N. Glebe Rd., Suite 607, Arlington, VA 22203; Vol 23, No 44;
dated Nov 5, 1998, on page 10.
E-mail:
letters@catholicherald.com
Fax: 703/524-2782;
Editorial: 703/841-2590;
Advertising: 703/841-2594;
Circulation: 703/841-2565
A note from the Web Master:
It is noteworthy and honorable that some folks are willing to stand up for a ban on Partial-Birth Abortion. Let us not forget that Abortion is also murder. We must understand that murder is murder no matter the method. Because one method of abortion seems to be horrible does not justify the other methods. We should be horrified and sickened by any Abortion regardless of the method. The Fifth Commandment spells it out clearly: "Thou shalt not kill." A fetus is a person, a human being with a God given soul. Imagine the pain the Lord must feel when any Abortion occurs. Please contact both of your Senators and Representative, via letter or phone, to let them know how horrified you are that Abortions are legal and to stop Partial-Birth Abortions and all other Abortions as soon as possible.
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