Positive News was handed the guardianship of Global Village News and Resources in summer of 2004. Although we would like to continue to make the archives available to subscribers and readers we would like to point out that stories published prior to issue 89 were not under our editorial guidance and would like to make a distinction that these are not necessarily a reflection of the current opinions of our editorial team.

VATICAN - We've come a long way since the middle ages, when the threat of excommunication made kings shudder and generals surrender. In early March, the Vatican received the request from more than 26,000 Catholics around the world, demanding to be excommunicated.

This interesting turn of events in one in a growing list of popular uprising that appears to be taking place around the world as an internet informed and empowered public no longer accepts the unilateral decisions of political and religious leaders. The massive peace marches around the world on February 15th, which mobilized millions, was dramatic evidence of the power of popular dissent.

The demand for excommunication arose out of the tragic events of a nine-year-old girl from Nicaraguan. "Rosa" was raped last November by a 20-year-old man and was infected with two venereal diseases. She subsequently had an abortion. The cardinal of Managua, Miguel Obando y Bravo, had declared that the girl's parents and the doctors who carried out the abortion had excommunicated themselves ipso facto after they braved Nicaragua's strict laws and went ahead with the operation.

The Cardinals threats sparked a rebellion that would have been unheard of a generation ago. Leading the challenge to the Vatican were a group of Spanish women who were outraged at what they perceived as the Church's ongoing assault against women. The petition read: "I also want to be excommunicated in the face of the excommunication of Rosa's parents in Nicaragua because all of us have contributed actively in making the interruption of Rosa's pregnancy possible." In early March, representatives of the Spanish internet campaign handed the list of 26,000 names to Monsignor Manuel Monteiro, the Vatican's representative in Spain. Faced with such a massive task, the Roman Catholic authorities in Managua quickly backed down on their excommunication threats against Rosa's family. Organizers were pleased to point out that nearly half of the signatories were Roman Catholic men; a fact they say demonstrates the changing attitudes of society.

An estimated 15,000 women are taken to hospital every year with abortion-related complications in Nicaragua - one of the leading causes of female mortality.
Although sex education in schools began to concentrate on morality and abstinence after the defeat of the leftwing Sandinistas in 1990 elections, one in three of 15 to 19-year-olds is a mother. Rape is a common cause of pregnancy.

The country's rightwing government has strict anti-abortion laws in place and also warned that the parents might face prosecution. But after the Cardinal backed down, the attorney general declared this week that no charges would be brought because the abortion had been carried out to save the girl's life.

Many women don't fare as well as Rosa did, inspite of the trauma of rape and abortion. With strict laws and without medical care, complications from illegally performed abortions are one of the leading causes of female mortality in Nicaragua. An estimated 15,000 women are taken to hospitals every year with abortion-related complications. Although sex education in schools began to concentrate on morality and abstinence after the defeat of the leftwing Sandinistas in 1990 elections, one in three of 15 to 19-year-olds is a mother. Rape is a common cause of pregnancy.

(Adapted from an article in the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk)
 

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