Pope Did Not Give Unconditional Support To Clerk In Gay Marriage Row

 

Pope Francis did not ask to meet a Kentucky county clerk who had been jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples and did not offer her unconditional support, the Vatican said on Friday.

Looking to limit controversy after last week's meeting in Washington between the pope and Kim Davis, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said she was one of "several dozen" people who had been invited by the Vatican ambassador to see Francis.

"The Pope did not enter into the details of the situation of Mrs. Davis and his meeting with her should not be considered a form of support of her position in all of its particular and complex aspects," Lombardi said in a statement.

The meeting with Davis, which was originally kept secret, disappointed many liberal Catholics but delighted conservatives, who saw it as a sign that the pope was clearly condemning a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage.

A senior Vatican official, who declined to be named, said there was a "sense of regret" within the Holy See over the encounter, which sparked widespread debate in the United States, overshadowing almost all other aspects of the pope's visit.

He added that Davis had been in a line of people the pope had met at the Vatican embassy in Washington before he left for New York.

"The only real audience granted by the Pope at the Nunciature (Vatican embassy) was with one of his former students and his family," the statement said.

Davis was jailed for five days in September for refusing to comply with a judge's order to issue marriage licenses in line with the Supreme Court ruling.

Davis has said her beliefs as an Apostolic Christian prevent her from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Her church belongs to a Protestant movement known as Apostolic Pentecostalism.

14-Year-Old Son Confesses to Stabbing His Pregnant Mom More than 20 Times

A 14-year-old boy who was charged earlier this week with killing his pregnant mother has confessed to the crime, investigators said on Thursday.

The teen said he stabbed and strangled his mom, 33-year-old Nita Moseley, more than 20 times when he attacked her at their home outside Houston, according to The Associated Press.

An autopsy performed on Wednesday showed that most of the stab wounds were to her back and neck. She was about five months pregnant.

"The son did provide a voluntary statement in which he confessed to causing the death of his mother,” investigators said in a statement, although they didn’t indicate a motive.

Child welfare authorities said the boy and a younger sibling had been removed twice from her custody because of her substance abuse and her partner's domestic violence

The teenager's father also defended him to local reporters after Moseley's death, calling him "a good kid who was dealt a bad deck of cards."

The unidentified man told KPRC: "This is a story that will let people know that families need to stick together. When they don't, this is the kind of thing that takes place."

The boy was charged with a juvenile count of murder and is currently being held at a juvenile detention facility.

He was initially reported missing, but was discovered a day later in Houston when a member of his family called police.

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Obama, Zuma, His Wife And A Phone Call

We asked a question in one of our post, “If you return to the office from lunch and find two “Call me back” messages in your voicemail - (A) one from your boss (B) one from your spouse. Who, do you call first?”

The responses were quite interesting.

A similar scenario seemed to have played out between two presidents at the recent UN General Assembly in New York during a luncheon hosted by Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations (UN) Secretary General.

A photo from the luncheon of Barack Obama, President of the United States extending greetings to President Jacob Zuma of South Africa who was speaking on the phone has surfaced on the internet with various interpretations and insinuations.

In the photo, Zuma remains seated with his phone glued to his ear, while Obama seem to humorously mimic him.

There were many reactions to the photo; but the strongest one was on the line with one of his wives, and not even Obama could interfere with or intrude in the conversation with Zuma’s First Lady.

If you were President Zuma, would you cut the call and attend to Obama? Was it a sign of disrespect to Obama or a sign of commitment by Zuma to his wife presumed to be on line with him?

What would you do?

To refresh your mind, a survey by USWest with 500 respondents from several states in USA, 70 percent of people surveyed said they would call their spouse before calling the boss if they return to the office from lunch and found two “Call me back” messages in their voicemail - (A) one from your boss (B) one from your spouse.

Yes, 70% said they would call their spouse first. Could President Zuma be in that category?

Can Breast Cancer in Women Be Prevented?

There is no guaranteed way to prevent breast cancer. Reviewing the risk factors and modifying the ones that can be altered (increase exercise, keep a good body weight, etc.) can help in decreasing the risk.

Following the American Cancer Society's guidelines for early detection can help early detection and treatment.

There are some subgroups of women that should consider additional preventive measures.

Women with a strong family history of breast cancer should be evaluated by genetic testing. This should be discussed with a health-care provider and be preceded by a meeting with a genetic counselor who can explain what the testing can and cannot tell and then help interpret the results after testing.

Chemoprevention is the use of medications to reduce the risk of cancer. The two currently approved drugs for chemoprevention of breast cancer are tamoxifen (a medication that blocks estrogen effects on the breast tissue) and raloxifene (Evista), which also blocks the effect of estrogen on breast tissues. Their side effects and whether these medications are right for an individual need to be discussed with a health-care provider.

Aromatase inhibitors are medications that block the production of small amounts of estrogen usually produced in postmenopausal women. They are being used to prevent reoccurrence of breast cancer but are not approved at this time for breast cancer chemoprevention.

For a small group of patients who have a very high risk of breast cancer, surgery to remove the breasts may be an option. Although this reduces the risk significantly, a small chance of developing cancer remains.

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