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Christianity in Britain declined faster than expected, new figures suggest
~Christianity in Britain could be facing a collapse with new figures suggesting it is declining 50 per cent faster than previously thought, The Daily Telegraph reports. An analysis of the 2011 census shows that a decade of mass immigration helped mask the scale of decline in Christian affiliation among the British-born population – while driving a dramatic increase in Islam, particularly among the young. Read more...
No evidence that abortion will help suicidal women says leading doctor
~One of the country’s leading obstetricians has said he has seen no evidence that abortion can help a suicidal pregnant woman and that creates a moral dilemma for doctors. Speaking on Newstalk this morning, the Master of the Rotunda, Dr Sam Coulter Smith, said: "We as doctors are required to practice evidence based intervention, evidence based medicine. Read more...
Concern expressed at new embryo stem cell technique
~Scientists and bioethicists have expressed serious concerns about the ethical implications of a new technique that uses and destroys cloned embryos to harvest stem cells for experimentation. Professor Martin Clynes, director of the National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology at Dublin City University, said that the new technique, which involves the transfer of a donor cell to an egg cell whose nucleus has been removed, creating a human embryo, has“probably” not gotten over the ethical issues involved with so-called therapeutic cloning, the Irish Times reports. Read more...
Archbishop Martin intervenes in debate over abortion legislation
~The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, has warned that the Government's abortion legislation will give the unborn child whose mother was deemed to be suicidal “less protection than is guaranteed in liberal abortion laws in other countries”. Read more...
European Court attacked over new assisted suicide ruling
~The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that guidelines in place in Switzerland which restrict access to 'suicide' drugs are insufficiently clear and are in breach of Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights. However, the court did not rule that there is a right to assisted suicide in the Convention. Read more...
New French coalition formed to fight for freedom of conscience
~A coalition of groups opposed to the legalisation of same-sex marriage in France have come together to stand up for the freedom of conscience of religious individuals and institutions who could find themselves the target of ‘anti-discrimination’ legislation. Read more...
Abortionist found guilty of murder of infants
~Philadelphia abortionist, Dr Kermit Gosnell, has been found guilty of three counts of first degree murder after it was found he killed babies after they had been delivered alive. He was also found guilty of conspiracy to perform abortions past Pennsylvania's 24-week legal threshold. Read more...
Young families hardest hit by recession says ESRI
~Young families have been the hardest hit by the recession, according to new research from a leading think-tank. The study by the the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) shows that households where the adults are under the age of 45 are being hit hardest by unemployment, mortgage arrears and negative equity. Read more...
Irish launch of ‘Global Charter of Conscience’ takes place
~The Irish launch of ‘The Global Charter of Conscience’ took place in Dublin yesterday. The purpose of the charter is to find a way of letting people of different beliefs co-exist in society and have their conscience rights curtailed to the smallest extent possible. Christian writer and speaker Os Guinness launched the document. The event was hosted by the Evangelical Alliance. Read more...
Catholic university under attack for honouring Enda Kenny
~Pro-life groups in the US have described the decision by a prominent US Catholic university to invite Taoiseach Enda Kenny to receive an honourary degree and speak at their graduation ceremony as “unconscionable” in light of the Government's proposed abortion Bill. “After our painful experience for the past 40 years, we know what legal abortion will do to Ireland,” Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America told Catholic News Agency in the US. Read more...
New report finds State guilty of child protection failings
~Up to 40pc of staff working in a State child protection and welfare bureau have not been vetted by gardai, and HSE staff in one local area did not always notify the gardai of cases of suspected physical, sexual abuse or neglect of a child, according to a new report. The review, carried out by the Health Information and Quality Authority, Hiqa, inspected child protection services in the Carlow/Kilkenny area found that delays in reporting suspect cases of abuse and neglect potentially hindered investigations and presented a risk to children, the Irish Times reports. Read more...
Catholics have duty to oppose abortion legislation says Archbishop Eamon Martin.
~The Government's proposed abortion legislation has been slammed as “gravely immoral” and Catholics cannot leave their faith “outside the room” when considering these matters, the Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin, has said. In remarks at the closing of the Novena in the parish of Saint Patrick, Roden Place, Dundalk, Archbishop Martin said the government's proposal “strikes at the very heart of our faith and belief because it directly targets human life which is sacred and a gift from God”. Read more...
Convention recommends amending not deleting women in the home provision
~The Constitutional Convention has submitted its second report to the Government. It recommends amending, rather than deleting, Article 41.2 of the Constitution, which currently refers to women in the home. The report reflected the recommendation of the Convention's meeting in February that the article be made gender neutral to include other carers in the home, and beyond the home. Read more...
Morning Ireland admits academic not unhappy with how his abortion research was used
~RTE's Morning Ireland programme this morning issued a clarification accepting that a prominent New Zealand psychiatrist was not unhappy about how his research was cited by The Iona Institute. On Tuesday, presenter Cathal McCoille interviewed Professor David Fergusson about the way in which his research had been cited by pro life groups. Read more...
Anger at proposal to pay for pre-school places out of Child Benefit
~Education Minister Ruiari Quinn (pictured) has sparked fears of a further cut to Child Benefit after he indicated he would spend the money saved on free pre-school places. According to The Irish Independent, Mr Quinn's comments raising the prospect of further cuts have caused anger within the Coalition. Read more...
Cameron’s commitment to redefining marriage ‘costing votes’
~David Cameron’s insistence on redefining marriage and his refusal to date to grant a tax break to married couples cost the Tories seats in last week's local elections, Conservative activists have claimed. Conservative Grassroots, a network of senior Tory party members, have said that the Prime Minister's commitment to legalising same-sex marriage is harming the Conservative Party’s electoral chances, the Daily Telegraph reports. Read more...
Conscientious objection clause in abortion bill may be unconstitutional says expert
~A prominent legal academic has said that a requirement in the Government's proposed abortion legislation that hospitals must carry out abortions regardless of their religious ethos may not be in accord with the Irish Constitution. Professor Gerry Whyte of Trinity College Dublin, a leading expert in Constitutional law, said that Head 12 of the Government's Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013 may not be compatible with Article 44.2.5 of the Constitution. Read more...
Proposed law will allow grandparents more access to grandchildren
~Draft legislation currently being considered by the Oireachtas is set to remove some of the legal obstacles facing grandparents who wish to have access to their grandchildren where the children's parents split up. The legislation is also set to broaden the definition of a grandparent to take account of situations where parents may have had children from different partners. Read more...
Legalising same-sex marriage would attack the rights of children says bishop
~Legalising same-sex marriage would corrupt the natural setting for rearing children by a mother and a father, the Catholic Archbishop of Miami has said. Speaking at the Red Mass for the Miami Catholic Lawyers Guild, Archbishop Thomas Wenski, said that such a move would further spread “moral relativism,” which he added was one of the signs that democracy is “on its way to totalitarianism”. Read more...
Rise in number of ‘amateur abortions’ at home says IFPA
~An increasing number of women are attempting “amateur abortions” at home, the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) has claimed. Dr Caitríona Henchion, medical director for the IFPA, at a press conference to discuss the Government's proposed abortion legislation, said that one of their Dublin clinics had seen three such women in the first three months of this year, the Irish Times reports. Read more...
Bishops attack proposed abortion bill
~The Government's proposed abortion Bill would be “a dramatic and morally unacceptable change to Irish law”, the Catholic bishops have said. In a statement responding to the Government's publication of the Heads of the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill 2013 this week, the bishops said that it would “make the direct and intentional killing of unborn children lawful in Ireland”. Read more...
Fianna Fail delays taking decision on abortion legislation
~Fianna Fáil has delayed taking a decision on whether to support the Government's proposed abortion legislation after a meeting of the parliamentary party yesterday. Reports suggest that the party leadership wished to see the party support the legislation, but that a majority of the party opposed this option. Read more...
Proposed abortion bill slammed for ignoring psychiatric evidence
~The Pro Life Campaign (PLC) has slammed the Government for “systematically ignoring all of the expert psychiatric evidence presented at the recent Oireachtas hearings on abortion”. In a statement following the Government's publication of the heads of an abortion Bill on Tuesday night, it said that the Oireachtas had heard “unanimous expert evidence that abortion is not a treatment for suicidal ideation”. Read more...
Experts clash over whether law caused death of Savita Halappanavar
~Eleven medical experts have rejected the suggestion made by Dr Peter Boylan that the death of Savita Halappanavar was probably caused by current Irish law. In a letter in yesterday's papers, the consultants, including Professors John Bonnar, Eamon O'Dwyer and Stephen Cusack, said that Dr Boylan's view was a personal one, “not an expert one”. Read more...
Small tax break could be in line for married couples in UK
~Long promised plans to give a modest tax break to married couples could be published by November, according to sources close to Prime Minister David Cameron. Mr Cameron has promised yet again that he would recognise marriage in the tax system before the general election in 2015 on the campaign trail last week, the Daily Mail reports. Read more...
No constitutional right to assisted suicide says Supreme Court
~The Supreme Court has said that there is no constitutional right to assisted suicide. In a ruling yesterday, the court rejected an appeal by a woman with multiple sclerosis against a High Court judgement from earlier this year which had said that assisted suicide was not a right under the Constitution. Read more...
Sinn Fein motion in favour of same-sex marriage defeated
~The Northern Ireland Assembly has defeated a Sinn Féin motion to legalise same sex marriage. It is the second time the issue has been defeated in the Assembly. In October, another motion to permit same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland was defeated by a narrower margin. Read more...
UK Government ‘breaking its promises’ to strength families
~The UK Government has failed to deliver on its promised agenda of strengthening families, and its delay in doing so is fuelling social breakdown, according to an influential think-tank. The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), founded by former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, have said that, despite “a host of commitments to tackle family breakdown” made by the Conservatives while in opposition, the party has done little to fulfil its pledges. Read more...
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‘Not all porn is bad’ new guide tells pupils
~Teachers should be aware that “not all pornography is bad” when taking sex education classes, according to guidance made available to schools. In advice reminiscent of the controversy generated in Ireland about the HSE-sponsored “SpunOut” website which tells teenagers that threesomes “can be fun,” TheSite.org tells teenagers that “porn can be great” and aims to tackle a series of “myths” about the subject. Read more...
Creighton attacks Olivia O\'Leary in abortion debate
~The Minister of State for Europe, Lucinda Creighton, has called for a “reasoned and rational” debate on abortion, and has slammed comparisons between our Constitution and the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan. She was responding to remarks made on RTE Radio by Olivia O\'Leary on Tuesday in which she said that Ireland needed to “kick the Taliban out of our constitution”. Read more...
Bishops intervene in Northern Ireland same-sex marriage debate
~Catholic bishops in the North of Ireland will send a letter to members of the Northern Ireland Assembly to urge them to vote against a Sinn Féin motion to legalise same-sex marriage. The Presbyterian Church has also written to politicians re-stating its opposition to any change in the legal definition of marriage, the BBC reports. Read more...
Government abortion proposal not evidence-based, psychiatrists say
~A group of almost 70 psychiatrists will this morning tell TDs and senators they are \"deeply concerned\" at the Government\'s plan to legislate for abortion where there is a threat of suicide. The group of 68 psychiatrists signed a statement calling for any proposal to be based on a \"rigorous appraisal of the available psychiatric research and medical evidence”, the Irish Independent reports. Read more...
Scottish nurses win right not to participate in abortions
~Two Catholic midwives from Scotland have won the right to refuse to take part in abortion in any way. The two women, sisters Mary Doogan, 58, and Concepta Wood, 52, have been engaged in a long-running legal battle to assert their legal right to conscientiously object to assisting in the abortion procedure, the Daily Telegraph reports. Read more...
Church conference to explore theological meaning of marriage
~The Catholic Church\'s Council for Marriage and the Family is to host a conference to showcase its work. The conference, Marriage at the Heart of the Church, aims to explore the Church\'s teaching of marriage and the family. Read more...
France passes same-sex marriage despite major opposition
~France\'s lower house of parliament has passed legislation permitting same-sex marriage, despite widespread opposition. Approximately 100,000 demonstrators took to the streets in Paris on Sunday, the fourth major rally in Paris since November 18th. Read more...
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