All Akcess

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster has said he understands why contraception is seen as "attractive" in tackling Third World poverty.

But Archbishop Vincent Nichols told BBC WM it was not the Church’s role to add to calls for condom distribution.

The Church opposes contraception, because it believes it interferes with the creation of life.

Aid agencies say contraception is an important way for women in developing nations to take control of fertility.

Any form of birth control that might interfere with conception, such as condoms or the Pill, is regarded as sinful by the Catholic Church.

The Church also argues that, in any case, all children should be welcomed as a gift from God.

Asked by BBC WM how Catholic teaching could continue to discourage contraception in poorer parts of the world where the birth rate was rapidly rising, Archbishop Nichols said: "I think when it comes to Third World poverty and the great pressure under which many women are put by men, I can see the arguments, why, in the short term, [the] means that give women protection are attractive."

Child abuse

He went on to say that longer term solutions were needed, and as there were already plenty of "champions" of condoms, it was not the role of the Church to add its voice to those.

"If we solve the poverty then consistently we know that the birth rate comes down.

"If we provide people with security, then consistently birth rates will come down. And they’re the radical issues that we should be addressing, not short term intrusive fixes."

In his interview the Archbishop also talked about the child sex abuse scandal currently confronting the Church worldwide.

Allegations that children have been molested by priests have been growing for years.

Now Pope Benedict XVI has been drawn into the controversy, with critics saying that he failed to investigate an abusive US priest, Fr Lawrence Murphy.

Victims say that Father Murphy may have abused up to 200 boys with hearing impairments.

Archbishop Nichols, who admitted on the Andrew Marr show recently that the Church in England and Wales had had its own share of abuse allegations, said that there had been a breakdown in trust across many institutions in Britain, such as politics and the finance industry, as well as the Church.

Despite the Church in England and Wales taking realistic and thorough steps, there also had to be an "honesty and an openness" about what had gone wrong and a search for higher moral standards.

"Our crisis has been real, our addressing it is real, and I think it’s repeated, or seen in an echo, in other very important parts of society at the moment.

"We have a lot to do until we get back as a society to the point where we relate to each other on an assumption of trustworthiness."

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Afghanistan’s parliament has rejected a presidential decree that would give President Hamid Karzai more control over a key electoral watchdog.

The lower house voted to reject proposals allowing Mr Karzai to select three of the five members of the Electoral Complaints Commission.

The decree initially gave Mr Karzai powers to appoint all the five members.

But he later agreed to allow two UN nominated foreigners after objections by the world body and diplomats.

Correspondents say the proposal triggered concerns that Mr Karzai was backing away from promises to clean up vote fraud and corruption.

The commission stripped Mr Karzai of nearly one-third of his votes in last year’s presidential election.

Mr Karzai was declared the eventual victor after his opponent Abdullah Abdullah dropped out.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Afghanistan’s parliament has rejected a presidential decree that would give President Hamid Karzai more control over a key electoral watchdog.

The lower house voted to reject proposals allowing Mr Karzai to select three of the five members of the Electoral Complaints Commission.

The decree initially gave Mr Karzai powers to appoint all the five members.

But he later agreed to allow two UN nominated foreigners after objections by the world body and diplomats.

Correspondents say the proposal triggered concerns that Mr Karzai was backing away from promises to clean up vote fraud and corruption.

The commission stripped Mr Karzai of nearly one-third of his votes in last year’s presidential election.

Mr Karzai was declared the eventual victor after his opponent Abdullah Abdullah dropped out.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Afghanistan’s parliament has rejected a presidential decree that would give President Hamid Karzai more control over a key electoral watchdog.

The lower house voted to reject proposals allowing Mr Karzai to select three of the five members of the Electoral Complaints Commission.

The decree initially gave Mr Karzai powers to appoint all the five members.

But he later agreed to allow two UN nominated foreigners after objections by the world body and diplomats.

Correspondents say the proposal triggered concerns that Mr Karzai was backing away from promises to clean up vote fraud and corruption.

The commission stripped Mr Karzai of nearly one-third of his votes in last year’s presidential election.

Mr Karzai was declared the eventual victor after his opponent Abdullah Abdullah dropped out.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Popularity: unranked [?]

A landmark law which makes education a fundamental right for children has come into effect in India.

It is now legally enforceable for every child to demand free and elementary education between the ages of six and 14 years.

Indian PM Manmohan Singh said enough funds would be made available to ensure that children had access to education.

An estimated eight million children aged between six and 14 do not currently attend school in India.

Mr Singh said that the government was committed "to ensuring that all children irrespective of gender and social category have access to education".

Recalling his own childhood, Mr Singh, a qualified economist, said: "I read under the dim light of a kerosene lamp. I am what I am totally because of education."

"So I want that the light of education should reach to all," Mr Singh added.

‘Building block’

Analysts say the law marks a historic moment for India’s children.

"It serves as a building block to ensure that every child has the right to guaranteed quality elementary education. The state, with the help of families and communities, has a legal obligation to fulfil this duty," said Karin Hulshof, India representative of UN children’s fund Unicef.

Recently, the World Bank announced two education projects worth a total of $1.05bn for India – one of which is to boost the number of children enrolling in and completing elementary school.

The World Bank says the number of children reportedly enrolled in elementary education in India increased by 57 million to 192 million between 2003 and 2009.

More than two-thirds of this increase took place in government schools.

The number of children out of school declined from 25 million to 8.1 million during the same period, the World Bank says.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Popularity: unranked [?]

A landmark law which makes education a fundamental right for children has come into effect in India.

It is now legally enforceable for every child to demand free and elementary education between the ages of six and 14 years.

Indian PM Manmohan Singh said enough funds would be made available to ensure that children had access to education.

An estimated eight million children aged between six and 14 do not currently attend school in India.

Mr Singh said that the government was committed "to ensuring that all children irrespective of gender and social category have access to education".

Recalling his own childhood, Mr Singh, a qualified economist, said: "I read under the dim light of a kerosene lamp. I am what I am totally because of education."

"So I want that the light of education should reach to all," Mr Singh added.

‘Building block’

Analysts say the law marks a historic moment for India’s children.

"It serves as a building block to ensure that every child has the right to guaranteed quality elementary education. The state, with the help of families and communities, has a legal obligation to fulfil this duty," said Karin Hulshof, India representative of UN children’s fund Unicef.

Recently, the World Bank announced two education projects worth a total of $1.05bn for India – one of which is to boost the number of children enrolling in and completing elementary school.

The World Bank says the number of children reportedly enrolled in elementary education in India increased by 57 million to 192 million between 2003 and 2009.

More than two-thirds of this increase took place in government schools.

The number of children out of school declined from 25 million to 8.1 million during the same period, the World Bank says.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Popularity: unranked [?]