International Criminal Court Takes a Giant Step in UN General Assembly / John Paul II Accepts Diplomatic Credentials From New American Ambassador

By Austin Ruse

     (NEW YORK – C-FAM) A resolution passed last Monday by the 52nd General Assembly of the United Nations takes the world one step closer to a permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) that will pursue convictions of individuals for several serious crimes. The resolution establishes a conference for treaty ratification next June and July in Rome. 
           
     The new ICC is distinguished from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in that the ICJ can only pursue adjudication between countries who must agree ahead of time to the procedure. The ICJ, located at The Hague, is best known for settling border disputes or disagreements about fishing rights. 
           
     The ICC will not pursue states at all, only individuals who may have committed one of four general crimes: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and aggression. The ICC's immediate progenitor is the Nuremberg Tribunal convened after WWII. 
           
     Of grave concern to pro-family activists is the strong presence of many feminist NGOs in the preparation for the upcoming ICC conference. Feminists look longingly at the equation of "reproductive rights" with human rights. They may not suggest it yet, but the question is obvious; will these feminist NGOs, who will be allowed to make official presentations to the conference next summer, one day push to make pro-life laws crimes against humanity? 

John Paul II Accepts Diplomatic Credentials From New American Ambassador  
            

     (NEW YORK – C-FAM) Mrs. Lindy Boggs, wife of deceased American Congressman Hale Boggs and mother of ABC-Television's Cokie Alberts, presented her credentials as new US  Ambassador to the Holy See Tuesday in Rome. John Paul II took the opportunity to deliver an assertive critique of certain domestic American policies. 

     "The United States carries a weighty and far-reaching responsibility, not only for the well- being of its own people, but for the development and destiny of peoples throughout the world," said the Holy Father. "Reading the founding documents of the United States, one has to be impressed by the concept of freedom they enshrine: a freedom designed to enable people to fulfill their duties and responsibilities toward the family and toward the common good of the community." 

     He then touched on abortion and euthanasia. "The United States of American was founded on the conviction that an inalienable right to life was a self-evident moral truth. Whenever a certain category of people   the unborn or the sick and old   are excluded from that protection, a deadly anarchy subverts the original understanding of justice." 
           
     "These reflections evoke a prayer: that your country will experience a new birth of freedom, freedom grounded in truth and ordered to goodness. Thus will the American people be able to harness their boundless spiritual energy in service of the genuine good of all humanity."

 

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