Holy See warns UN Township 'hurricane'

THE Vatican this week warned the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) against proposals from some countries aimed at introducing family planning programmes "or other similar interventions".
A statement presented to UNICEF said the Vatican "viewed with concern" the call of some donor countries for the UN body to engage in activities that would "surpass its mandate".
UNICEF risked losing the trust built up in developing countries if it imposed "dictates" on the appropriate size of families set by wealthier nations, the Vatican delegation said. "We would not propose that UNICEF cease its current balanced informational approach concerning the spacing of births for the responsible planning of family and parenthood."
The Holy See's warning follows a fierce debate at the recent 150-nation Earth Summit in Brazil over the place of birth control in global environmental policy.