Catholic Church blasts gender-affirming surgery and maternal surrogacy as affronts to human dignity
CBSN
Rome — The Vatican has blasted the practices of gender-affirming surgery and maternal surrogacy in a new document, declaring both are inconsistent with God's plan for human life. The Catholic Church's document puts both practices on a par with abortion and euthanasia in terms of their perceived negative impact on human dignity.
The document, titled "Infinite Dignity," reiterates the Catholic principle that individuals cannot alter their gender, as God created men and women with inherent biological differences.
The declaration, which was developed over five years and approved by Pope Francis, stresses the importance of respecting these differences and cautions against attempts to contradict them and "make oneself God."
Johannesburg — After investing more than $1 billion in Niger over a decade, the U.S. military has agreed to withdraw its more than 1,000 forces from the West African nation over the next few months. It was not a move the U.S. had hoped to make, and officials tell CBS News it will be a severe blow to U.S. counterterrorism efforts in a region known to represent a number of major and growing threats.
Two Japanese navy helicopters carrying eight crew members crashed in the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo during a nighttime training flight after possibly colliding with each other, the country's defense minister said Sunday. One crew member who had been recovered from the waters was later pronounced dead, while rescuers searched for seven others who were still missing.
Tokyo — In North Korea, the release of Taylor Swift's new double album was completely eclipsed by the surprise drop of another brand-new song, complete with an elaborately produced music video. There were no tortured poets in sight for the release of "Friendly Father," an energetic pop-style piece of state propaganda praising North Korea's dictatorial leader Kim Jong Un.
Berlin — German authorities say they have arrested two people suspected of spying for Russia. The suspects, identified as German-Russian nationals, are accused of scouting targets for potential attacks, including U.S. military facilities in Germany, the Federal Public Prosecutor General for Karlsruhe said in a statement released Thursday.