The Iona Institute ~ for Religion and Society
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The Iona Blog
Opinions contained in The Iona Blog are not necessarily those of The Iona Institute. The Iona Blog is open to anyone who broadly shares the views of The Iona Institute. If you wish to post a comment on a relevant topic please email 200 – 400 words to info@ionainstitute.ie and it will be considered for inclusion in the blog.
What the latest poll on same-sex marriage really says
~The latest poll on same-sex marriage published in The Irish Times yesterday convinces me more than ever that a referendum on the matter would lose if the campaign is even remotely fair and balanced. The poll showed 53pc support for a change to the definition of marriage, but that is down a massive 20 points compared with a Red C poll in February and around 10 points compared with other polls on the matter. Read more...
Maria Steen of The Iona Institute debates the abortion issue on Prime Time etc
~In the last few days, Iona Institute board member, Maria Steen, has been on a number of programmes debating the abortion issue, including the Prime Time special which featured the interview with Praveen Halappanavar, the husband of Savita. Maria also appeared on Frontline on Monday night, and on Newstalk’s Sunday Show at the weekend. Read more...
Cardinal Dolan on what the US election meant for Catholic issues
~How did the US election go from a Catholic point of view, not just the general election, but the various ballots as well? In the three states where same-sex marriage was on the ballot, Maine, Maryland and Washington, it triumphed, for the first time ever. There was a ballot in Massachusetts in favour of ‘assisted suicide’ and it lost. Read more...
Butter wouldn’t melt in your mouth atheism
~Michael Nugent of Atheist Ireland had an article in The Irish Times on Friday called ‘Myths about atheism obscure its secular values’. It was a highly sanitised presentation of atheism, what we might call ‘butter wouldn’t melt in your mouth’ atheism. Read more...
Transsexual rights: does the Government know what it is getting into?
~Last month, the youngest ever man to have a ‘gender reassignment’ operation in the UK decided he wanted the procedure reversed. The 18-year-old, who was formerly known as Brad Cooper, and now known as Ria, had been having hormone injections to make him look like a woman. Read more...
It’s because you’re a housewife that your child is autistic?
~Victoria White had a very interesting piece in The Evening Herald on Monday explaining why she voted against the children’s rights referendum even though she had fully intended voting in favour. In the end she voted against it because of her direct experience of social workers. Read more...
How tax individualisation is even less fair in a recession
~During the boom efforts were made to encourage as many women to work as possible. The tax laws designed to achieve this are still in place and now, because of the recession, are more wasteful and inappropriate than ever. I am writing about tax individualisation and how it favours dual income families over one-income families. Read more...
On the children’s rights referendum
~Tomorrow the country goes to the polls to vote on the proposed amendment to the Constitution. My personal opinion is that the stakes are not as high as either side is claiming. I believe the potential harm or good that Article 42A can do is limited. Read more...
Gloating and panicking after the Obama victory
~There has been plenty of gloating on the part of some Barack Obama supporters after his narrow win on Tuesday, and lots of self-flagellation and, frankly, panicking among Republican supporters. It calls to mind Corporal Jones of Dad’s Army fame (Clive Dunne (pictured) who played him died at age 92 yesterday. RIP). Some people are saying the Republican party has to ditch social conservatism, which is to say its support for unborn children and the family based on marriage, if it is to regain the White House. Read more...
The US election and what the marriage gap reveals
~There is a marriage gap in US politics. Married women are more likely to vote Republican and single women are more likely to vote Democrat. Eleanor Clift, a Democrat supporter, draws attention to this fact in an article in The Daily Beast, but ironically in a manner which shows life has gone dramatically backwards for many women in America today. Read more...
Does the children’s amendment shift too much power to the State?
~Here is the key question concerning the children’s rights referendum; if passed will it make it too easy for the State to decide what is in a child’s ‘best interests’ and thereby allow the State to override parents in wide-ranging circumstances? A seminar in Trinity College Dublin last night considered this very thing. Read more...
Is Sweden really Nirvana for working mothers?
~We’re accustomed to hearing Sweden is Nirvana for women, especially working women. In part this is because it has heavily subsidised, universal day-care. However, new data shows that Swedish mothers are more likely than their counterparts in other developed countries to claim disability benefits. So things are not as rosy as they seem on the surface. Read more...
Is there really no way to shield your children from porn?
~New research shows that the vast majority of teenagers watch porn, especially boys, and children as young as 11 are addicted to it. Writing in The Daily Telegraph today Jemima Lewis argues that there is no way to shield your children from porn. She’s only half-right in my view. Read more...
Joe Biden’s blatant double standard
~US Vice-President Joe Biden (pictured) is another of those Catholic politicians who likes to say, ‘I’m pro-life, but’. What he means is, ‘I’m pro-life but I wouldn’t dream of imposing my views on anyone who disagrees with me’. However, when it comes to values he really holds dear, the Veep takes a different approach entirely. Read more...
When if ever should same-sex couples be allowed to adopt?
~A court in Northern Ireland has ruled in favour of unmarried heterosexual couples and same-sex couples being able to adopt children. I was asked by the Breakfast Show on Newstalk about the ruling. Labour TD, Anne Ferris was also on the show. Read more...
Why Richard Dawkins can’t claim all the religiously unaffiliated
~The number of people in Western countries, including Ireland, who say they belong to no religion is on the increase. Census 2011 showed that almost six percent of Irish people say they belong to no religion, while a new poll in the US puts the figure at one in five. But can Richard Dawkins (pictured) and other atheists claim all these people for their camp? The short answer is, absolutely not. Read more...
Mum, dad and the kids hit hardest by the recession
~New figures from the CSO show that one household type, and one only, has suffered an overall loss in gross income in the years between 2005 and 2010, and that was households consisting of mothers and fathers with one to three children. The Government must take care not to hit them hard again. Read more...
An argument and some questions for Mary McAleese to consider
~One of the best philosophers working in Canada today is Margaret Somerville. She has devoted a lot of her energies to examining the ethics of assisted human reproduction and as a natural extension of this has been examining the issue of same-sex marriage, which she opposes. Why does it make sense to extend your ethical framework from assisted human reproduction to same-sex marriage? The reason is that both attack the central importance to children of the natural ties and of motherhood and fatherhood. Read more...
What is the liberal argument against multi-partner marriage?
~Professor John Haldane, during his talk to the Iona Institute, stated that sexual relations in modern societies were “governed by two principles; the principle of sexual attraction and the principle of sentiment”. He said: “The argument that has evolved from that is very simple. It’s just this: that sexual attraction and love are the determinates of human happiness and should be consummated where sincerely and consensually felt.” Read more...
Is opposition to divorce the same as opposition to same-sex marriage?
~During the debate in the Northern Ireland Assembly this week over same-sex marriage, it was suggested that legalising gay marriage could threaten the freedom of Catholic schools to teach the traditional view of marriage. However, Conall McDevitt of the SDLP scoffed at this idea. He asked “Are Catholic schools teaching children about divorce?” Read more...
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