Kolbe, saint of Auschwitz Faithful mark 70 years since friar’s death PAGE 8

Paul Goodman PAGE 9

Can the Church work with David Cameron?

No. 6519

Pharmacists who object to handing out pill could lose job

BY SIMON CALDWELL

PHARMACISTS could face the sack if they refuse to hand out morning-after pills under unprecedented new guidelines issued by their industry regulator.

Some chemists say the new guidance circulated last week by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) effectively strips them of their right to conscientiously object to handling such drugs.

They say it will make them “morally complicit” because they will not only be obliged to refer a customer to a pharmacist who is willing to distribute the pills but must also ring ahead to check that the product is in stock. Many pharmacists have objections to dispensing morning-after pills, and some contraceptive pills, because they have an abortifacient action, working post-conception by preventing a fertilised ovum from implanting into the womb.

The guidance will also compel Christian pharmacists to make drugs available for IVF, to which many object because embryos are destroyed in the process. The Government revealed last month that 32 embryos are created for every live birth.

Furthermore, for the first time it informs pharmacists that their right to conscientious objection on religious grounds is secondary to the contractual demands of employers such as the NHS.

Pharmacists will also have a duty to inform a potential employer of any moral objections they have to the morningafter pill when they apply for a post.

Anna Sweeting-Hempsall, a Catholic hospital pharmacist, said the guidelines

“

Employers havetheright nottoemploy pharmacists witha conscientious objection

”

For the latest Catholic education news, visit CatholicHerald.co.uk will lead to the dismissal of some Christians from the profession and prevent others from entering it. “Catholic pharmacists have the obligation to respect the fact that life is sacred from the moment of conception to natural death by not supplying, or participating in the supply of, drugs for abortion or euthanasia,” she said.

“Until now, the conscience clause gave Catholic pharmacists the right not to compromise their beliefs, and provided invaluable protection against unethical employers who might have tried to force pharmacists to act against their conscience and supply these drugs,” she said.

“But the new guidance makes it clear employers have the right to choose not to employ pharmacists with a conscientious objection, or to impose contractual obligations which take precedence over the rights of conscience. In other words, the conscience clause is now meaningless, and Catholic pharmacists who cannot accept being party to attacks on unborn life are virtually unemployable.

“Even if a pharmacist does manage to find a job under a sympathetic employer, the guidance states that the pharmacist must still ‘refer patients to alternative service providers’, which is still an unacceptable level of involvement for Catholics. Surely, if I am prepared to phone round other local pharmacies to find the one that is prepared to dispense a prescription for the morning-after pill, I may as well have supplied it myself,” she said.

The “Guidance on the Provision of Pharmacy Services Affected

Continued on Page 2 ........................................................................................................................................................ EditorialComment:Page13

CatholicHerald.co.uk

August 12 2011 £1.50 (Republic of Ireland €1.80)

Archbishop says he is shocked by riots

Pilgrims visit three shrines in three days

THE VIOLENCE in London is “shocking”, Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster has said, calling for “a forthright common effort” to “bring out the best in our society and not the worst”.

“The criminal violence and theft that have been witnessed are to be condemned,” he said. “They are a callous disregard for the common good of our society and show how easily basic principles of respect and honesty are cast aside.” He asked Catholics to pray for all those affected by the violence. ..................................................... Editorial Comment: Page 13 Stuart Reid: Page 20

BY MADELEINE TEAHAN

YOUNG pilgrims from the Diocese of East Anglia are attempting to complete a “three shrine challenge” over three days in preparation for Pope Benedict’s celebration of World Youth Day, which begins on Tuesday in Madrid.

Sixty pilgrims, aged 16 to 40, began their challenge early on Wednesday morning with Mass at 6am at the National Shrine of Our Lady in Walsingham, before boarding a coach to their next choice of destination at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes.

The pilgrims hope to reach the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza, Spain, today.

Ruth Waterson, 18, who is one of the pilgrims taking part, said she was looking forward to the challenge. “I haven’t heard of any other diocese doing this,” she said. “It will prepare us both mentally and spiritually for World Youth Day. I am hoping that it will deepen my faith even further and also help other people with their beliefs.”

In harmony with the central theme of World Youth Day, the group will be guided by the two youngest priests in England and Wales, Fr Luke Goymour, aged 27, and Fr Michael Collis, aged 26.

Despite the recession about 4,000 British pilgrims are due to make the long journey to welcome Pope Benedict in Madrid next week. Among the faithful are 80 seminarians, 51 religious and 20 bishops.

The Diocese of East Anglia is just one of many travelling abroad ahead of Pope Benedict’s arrival in Madrid. The prologue to World Youth Day is officially known as, “Days in the Diocese”, during which foreign dioceses host British pilgrims as they prepare for the Pontiff ’s arrival. Among the many dioceses participating in “Days in the Diocese” is Portsmouth, which has 127 pilgrims travelling to San Sebastian in the north of Spain.

RIGHT TO LIFE

FACTS ON EUTHANASIA THAT “DIGNITY IN DYING” WILL NOT DISCLOSE TO YOU The pro-euthanasia movement has made loud proclamations about the establishment of the

“Independent Commission on Assisted Suicide”. The Commission has been totally discredited BUT we can depend on its friends in the media (particularly the BBC) promoting its Report as though it were Holy Gospel. We need to establish a mass factual leafleting campaign throughout the UK before the

Report is published this autumn. YOU MUST ENSURE THAT LEAFLETS ARE DISTRIBUTED TO CHURCHES & GROUPS THROUGHOUT YOUR AREA

THEY ARE FREE OF CHARGE.

ORDER NOW For further information or copies of this leaflet contact: RIGHT TO LIFE, PO Box 26264, London W3 9WF Tel: 020 8992 7657 Email: Marietta@righttolife.org.uk Please complete the following information and return to RTL Name:.................................................................................... Addres:................................................................................... .............................................................................................. .............................................................................................. Postcode:...........................Tel:............................................. Email:..................................................................................

Please send me further copies of this leaflet, number required I enclose a donation for the work of RTL:

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Largest Carmelite monastery in Europe to be built in Liverpool

BY MADELEINE TEAHAN

WORK began this week on a Liverpool project to build the largest Carmelite monastery in Europe.

The £3 million convent in Allerton will be funded by the sale of three Carmelite sites in Golders Green, north London, Upholland in Lancashire, and one in Liverpool. The new monastery will house Carmelite sisters who are relocating from west Derby, Liverpool, after 104 years of the

Carmelites’ presence in the area. The prioress Sister Mary said: “While west Derby has been our home for over 100 years and we will be sad to leave, we felt it was time to move to a location which will be more compatible with our way of life. For example, the new monastery will allow us to be much more energy-efficient and the gardens will also enable us to be self-sufficient while protecting the local habitat.”

In April 2010 the nuns applied to Liverpool City Council to relocate following the building of a linking bridge between two neighbouring schools, Cardinal Heenan and Broughton Hall. The nuns say that since the expansion of the schools their convent is no longer a peaceful retreat conducive to prayer and contemplation.

Their application for relocation stated: “Since the 1980s, the area has become increasingly urban with residential properties immediately abutting the Sisters’ garden, which is used as a place of prayer and reflection, and the adjacent schools creating noise and elements of anti-social behaviour which is at odds with the Sisters’ way of life.”

The new monastery has an environmentally friendly design. Built to support traditional prayer and reflection it will also feature solar panels, ground-source heating and rainwater harvesting equipment. At least 1,500 trees will be planted.

Tsunami survivors meet Pope Benedict

BY ED WEST

CHILDREN who survived the Japanese tsunami have told Pope Benedict that “they would never give up” in the face of adversity.

The children, from the city of Ofunato, greeted the Pope at the conclusion of his Wednesday general audience in Rome. The coastal city is affected by radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster which followed the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

They told the Pope of their will to “live and be reborn” and of their effort to “rebuild our still-beautiful city”. They pledged to “never lose their smiles, a source of hope.”

The mayor of the city of Hokuto, Masashi Shirakura, presented the Pope with a branch of cherry tree blossoms.

Adoption agency wins right to appeal BY ED WEST

ENGLAND’S last remaining Catholic adoption agency has been granted an appeal in its long-running legal battle to preserve its religious ethos.

Leeds-based Catholic Care has been fighting for survival since 2008 when it was denied permission to refuse to provide adoption services to same-sex couples.

Earlier this year the Charity Tribunal said the charity must be willing to provide the services, as laid down by the 2007 Equality Act (Sexual Orientation Regulations). In June it ruled it would not accept an appeal.

But this week Mr Justice Warren granted Catholic Care permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal, which has the same status as the High Court.

INSIDE

David Twiston Davies The bishop who led an Amnesty revolt PAGE 12

Christopher Howse The sign of the Cross is a daring act PAGE 9

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