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Majority of Britons believe religion is a force for good
~A majority of Britons believe that religion is a force for good, according to a new survey carried out on the eve of the Pope's visit to the UK. In addition, 49 percent versus 28 percent believe faith-based schools have a right to exist. Read more...
Waters warns of growing attack on religious freedom
~Increasing intolerance of religion in Irish public life is “an indication of an incipient totalitarianism that would obliterate the most fundamental freedom there is,” according to one of Ireland's leading commentators. Writing in the Irish Times, John Waters said that Irish culture “has decided that the declaration of religious conviction is always ‘offensive'”. Read more...
Northern Ireland society breaking down says think tank
~Society in Northern Ireland is breaking down, with soaring levels of unemployment, family splits, mental illness and addiction, a leading UK think-tank has warned. A report from the influential Centre for Social Justice says that the Stormont government needs to get past the issue of the Troubles and begin mending the fractures in communities across the region. Read more...
Women’s ‘double shift’ of home and work duties a myth finds new research
~Feminists who claim that men should do a larger share of the housework and childcare are ignoring the fact that on average, men and women already do the same number of hours of productive work, according to new research. Read more...
Controversial Equal Treatment directive held up by disagreements
~A controversial EU Directive, which many Christians fear will undermine free speech and freedom of religion, is being held up in negotiations between European member states. The Directive seeks to outlaw discrimination on grounds including sexual orientation and religion in the provision of goods and services, and includes a harassment provision which threatens free speech. Read more...
Euro parliament passes motion targeting religious groups
~A non-binding motion targeting EU funding of religious groups that provide health care services in Africa but are pro-life in ethos has been passed by the European Parliament. A bid to delete the motion was led by Dublin Fine Gael MEP Gay Mitchell, but was defeated. Read more...
Couple told they were “too white” to adopt
~A local council in London have told a couple looking to adopt a child in need have been told they were “too white” to adopt, according to The Daily Mail. Francesca Polini and her husband Rick offered to adopt a black or Asian child, who wait longer for adoption because of a national shortage of ethnic minority couples looking to adopt. Read more...
HPV vaccine scientist warns Government as programme is rolled out in schools
~The use of the controversial Gardasil cervical cancer vaccince on girls as young as 12 by the Government is a "public health experiment", according to the leading researcher in its development. Dr Diane Harper, who carried out safety studies to get Gardasil approved, warned of "serious adverse events including death" associated with it, and said that parents should be properly advised of the risks. Read more...
Increase in fees for UK egg donors proposed
~The fees for egg donors in the UK could be dramatically increased to as much £800 under proposals to tackle shortages in supply, it has been revealed. Critics have blasted the proposed move. Josephine Quintavalle, from Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said: “We would be absolutely outraged if the HFEA increases the payment limits above £250. Read more...
Christian student loses legal battle with college over moral beliefs
~A student at a US University who was told to change her beliefs on sexual ethics or leave her course has lost a legal challenge against the University, although she is now set to appeal. Jennifer Keeton, who is studying for a degree in counselling at Augusta State University in Georgia, was told she must undergo re-education training to change her beliefs on traditional sexual morality, training which could include attending gay pride marches. Read more...
Persecution of Christians in West inevitable says Archbishop
~Systematic persecution of Christians by the State is now almost inevitable in the West, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver has said. Speaking in Slovakia this week, Archbishop Chaput said that Christians faced “an aggressively secular political vision and a consumerist economic model that result - in practice, if not in explicit intent -- in a new kind of state-encouraged atheism”. Read more...
Legal battle looms over conscience rights of health workers
~The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has threatened to sue a branch of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) if it tries to force religiously affiliated hospitals to perform abortions against the conscientious objections of their doctors and nurses. Read more...
Couple tell story of false accusation of child abuse
~In a landmark decision, a British couple falsely accused by social services of abusing their 3-month-old son have won the right to tell their story breaking the normal seal of silence that applies to family law cases. Read more...
Ireland most expensive place for child-care: OECD
~Ireland is now the most expensive country in which to get child-care, according to a new study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Read more...
Children at risk of being placed with ‘unsafe carers’
~Children are at risk of being placed with “unsafe carers”, according to a damning new internal Health Service Executive (HSE) audit. The unpublished report comes after a summer of devastating revelations about the care of vulnerable children. Read more...
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Iona institute director addresses 10,000 at Knock
~Don’t allow ‘aggressive secularists’ to reduce religious believers to ‘second class citizenship’, the director of The Iona Institute, David Quinn, told almost 10,000 people at Knock on Friday. Mr Quinn criticised politicians who warned the bishops that they should not “intrude” on “State matters”, or who told other politicians that they shouldn’t let religion “cloud” their judgement. Read more...
Early sexualisation harming children, authors say
~Britain’s hypersexualised society is harming children and the problem is not being addressed, two feminist authors have said. Read more...
Parents, not poverty, determines outcome for children, says Clegg
~Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said that bad parenting does more to hold poor children back than poverty. Mr Clegg suggested that parental support can be the crucial factor in determining the qualifications and job someone ends up with. Read more...
Marriage reduces stress levels, study shows
~Being married or in a long-term relationship improves your ability to deal with stress, new research suggests. The study showed that where a person who is part of a couple is put under pressure they produce fewer stress related hormones than their single counterparts. Read more...
Last Catholic adoption agency in UK forced to close by ‘equality’ ruling
~The last remaining Catholic adoption agency in the UK is being forced to close after a ruling that it could no longer specially favour married couples as adoptive parents. The Charity Commission, the UK's charity watchdog, ruled that Catholic Care, based in the diocese of Leeds, was ‘discriminating’ against same-sex couples as potential adoptive parents. Read more...
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